#I did think for a while about dai because I think dai and izzy both kids of apollo would be fun and accurate

[cityandking]

watched the new PJO series so obviously I am thinking about a PJO au

branwen — daughter of poseidon, as established. has been at camp for ages, knows everyone, has been on a bunch of quests and is always excited to meet new campers. rarely lets being a daughter of the Big Three get to her

daichi — son of athena. I know apollo is right there but a) his dad is way more of an athena guy and b) wisdom, reason, strategy, (healing) crafts and warfare are more his vibe than poetry or archery, sun or no sun. also, I think him being the odd camper out in the infirmary is very on brand. a very quiet and solemn camper but a menace at the training grounds.

eniko — unclaimed and living in the hermes cabin, but he's a son of boreas (the north wind, god of storms and winter). forever tied to the cold, son of a minor god, altogether insignificant. got lucky (or unlucky) that an older demigod caught wind (no pun intended) of him before the monsters did and trained him up right. came to camp late knowing way too much about everything. lowkey the favorite of his cousin tyche.

minah — daughter of nemesis.

lira — daughter of athena. she’s raised knowing it, but she's close with her human family despite that.

vesper — daughter of hephaestus. inherited his proclivity for fire and a knack for crafting, though her creativity tends to be more along the theoretical and magical axes than forge work or smithing. it was just another mark against her in her father’s eyes, even if the red hair made it easy to mistake her for his full-blooded daughter

[weirdgenetic-fuckup]

No Nut November - Slash

A/n: This is my personal favourite but that might just be because Slash is my favourite, him and duff... might have to write something with the both of them...

Warnings: Smut, no nut November, oral sex(f receiving), fingering(f receiving), cum eating, slight breeding kink??, if you think I missed anything please let me know otherwise enjoy the final part to this short series :3

Intro

To be honest, he had no idea what the bet was. He tuned everything out and didn’t think twice about it. Axl called him later and told him no fucking before Steven. That made no sense to him and he just went home to go about his time.

When he got home he tried to explain it to you over dinner. Which was hard when he didn’t know what he was talking about in the first place. He managed to get the point across about not having sex for the month of November, you were upset but given the circumstances let it pass. You didn’t want to be missing out on a whole month of sex, however something you hadn’t thought about until the next.

You were downstairs making breakfast, as per usual because your manchild doesn’t know how to cook. Frankly you don’t want him to try, you like your house nice and not burn down. You were getting the plates set up when you remembered you had to go out of town for a family thing.

You rushed upstairs to your shared bedroom and found Slash stretched out over the bed. You gently shook him awake and told him about it. “So even if we wanted to do something we couldn’t!” You exclaimed. Slash stared at you blankly, clearly not awake.

“Alright.” He mumbled and face planted into his pillow. You smiled at him, brushing his hair out of the way and giving him a kiss on his forehead.

“Breakfast is ready, by the way.” He groaned.

You went about your day as you usually did, taking some time to pack your bags. You crawled into bed with Slash and he curled up nice and tight to you for a last night together before you left in the morning, likely before he’d wake up for breakfast.

Since you weren’t home for the majority of the month this challenge was easy for you. Slash called whining about it to you more than once but nothing ever actually happened, more often than not one of you would end up talking the other to sleep which was more than welcomed.

When you got back it was between him and Izzy but that was quick to end. Slash came home tired and hugged you from behind while you were cooking. “Izzy’s out.” He mumbled into the crook of your neck.

“Oh, yeah?” You responded. “That means you’re the only one left, right?” Slash was silent for a moment as he thought about it. In the end he never did give you an answer.

Slash dropped to his knees behind you and pulled your pants down. “When the fuck did you get these?” You looked down at him, cheeks red and brows raised in confusion. Slash shook his head and tore your panties off of you before forcefully spreading your legs and licking your flushed cunt.

You abandoned your cooking, turning the stove off while you could as Slash’s tongue worked tirelessly between your folds. You gasped at the feeling, holding onto the counter as he held you down on his face. He sucked your clit and dipped his tongue into you, eating you up so deliciously you could’ve cum right then and there.

Slash pulled back and stood up behind you, harshly bringing you to the island behind you so he could bend you over it. He pulled himself out of his jeans and gave his cock a few strokes as he stared down at your ass. “Been waiting too long for this.” He gleamed in that soft, raspy voice of his before pushing himself all the way into you.

He groaned loudly behind you while you let out a high pitched whine against the cold marble under you. He didn’t waste a single moment before pounding into you, gripping your hips with a bruising hold.

Oftentimes Slash wasn’t quiet, especially when he was needy or pent up and right now he was both. The house filled with echoed sounds of skin slapping on slick skin, your whines and Slash’s grunts and moans.

Your body bounced up and down the island surface with every thrust. Slash couldn’t take his eyes off of where your bodies met, where he disappeared into you before pulling out and pushing back in. He watched in pure amazement as you took him all in with ease.

“Slash! Slash, ‘m gonna-gonna cum!” You whined, hands twitching as your body quickly lost control of itself.

“Fuck, me too, ‘m gonna cum inside.” He said and with a few more thrusts he sent you over the edge. Your body quivered as you squirt on his dick. Slash followed you over and came inside you, coating your gummy walls in a thick layer of his seed just as he said he would.

Of course he didn’t even think to give you a moment to recuperate. He pulled you up and spun you around to face him, crashing his plump lips against yours. You could still taste yourself on his tongue as it danced with yours, saliva mixing together and dribbling down your chin in his haste to feel good.

He groped your body, ass, chest, whatever he could reach. He pulled you tight to him and tugged on your skin, slapping your ass and shoving a finger or two into you just to make you squirm. He hoisted you up onto the counter, lined himself up and slid into you, getting into a rhythm and hitting that spot in you that had you seeing stars.

Fuck, you loved the way he made you feel. His mouth never left you as he rut into you like a dog, desperate for release once more. He was a whining mess as he got closer, in turn bringing you closer as well.

You moaned loudly in his ear while he sucked on the sensitive skin of your neck. One of his hands was buried in your hair, tugging on it gently, while the other went to rub your clit, overstimulating you a bit.

You gripped his shoulders. Your nails dug into his back and without warning he came in you again. He paused for a moment, cock still stuffed deep inside of you as he processed what just happened. Once he had, at least mostly, he continued fucking you. He’d lost any sense of rhythm and you were sure he was overstimulating himself at this point so you gently pushed him back.

“‘M ok, Slash, don’t have to keep going.” You assured, though you weren’t thrilled with the idea. Slash stopped again and pulled out and went back on his knees. His lips suctioned to yours as he ate you once more, though now he was licking his own cum out of you. He didn’t seem to care, all his mind was set on was making you cum and when his lips latched onto your clit and sucked, his tongue swirling around it while he looked up at you with the sweetest puppy eyes you couldn’t help it.

You squirted on his face, your cum mixing with his as it hit his chin, getting in his mouth. He didn’t pull away until he was sure you were done.

He stood up and wrapped his arms around you, burying his sticky face in the crook of your neck. He pulled you off the counter but your legs were shaking so bad you couldn’t hold yourself up. Slash wasn’t in much better condition and slowly lowered the both of you to the ground so he could hold you properly.

[chuplayswithfire]

I have more thoughts on how and why the sex was a mistake. I will be thinking about this all week. All year.

Let's start with: the sex was consensual, they both wanted it, and that does not change that it was the wrong decision for their relationship in that moment. They should not have had sex! Ed is 100% correct and he is not running away when he says that! He is not just avoiding his feelings or getting cold feet, he is genuinely correct, and here's why:

They continue to be on different pages. They have not had a chance to talk it through. It's been like 2-3 max since Ed woke up from the Gravy Basket, and emotions are still running high. Even ignoring that they were just tortured in front of each other and that Stede killed a man right after Ed asked him not to, they were not in the same space emotionally regarding their relationship.

Fir one thing: Stede did *not* get his heartbroken (prior to this). He got his romantic affirmation. Season 1 was an entire arc leading to Stede realizing he is gay, that he is in love, that he is loved in return. For him, for HIM, sex is a natural next step, and we already knew he wanted it from how he deepened their kiss in episode 5. Their relationship itself is not a source of trauma for Stede; he loves Ed and he walked away from his old life to be with him, and now he found him again, and they've agreed to do it together, figure things out, his romantic hopes are realized.

And in that moment, adding to that background informations, is that Stede also wanted to avoid all his messy feelings by being physical. He was tortured and he watched Ed and his crew be tortured, he was insulted and had to listen to Ed be insulted, and he wanted to regain control and power by killing Ned Low, and removing the threat. That's where Stede's head is.

Ed, on the other hand, did get his heart broken and while the majority of what he's working through is about his self-hatred, his dissatisfaction with his career, and his desire to find a life that feels worth living, he is also dealing with a significant amount of trust issues with his relationship with Stede, because Stede left him. He has heard from Stede that he loves him, but Ed's deepest fear is that he's unlovable, and he hasn't gotten over that, or his hurt from how things went, in the like two days it's been.

But he loves Stede, and he's attracted to him, and he wants him, so when Stede initiates and manhandles him a bit and things get hot and heavy, he consents. He's all in, carried away by the moment.

And he regrets it.

He especially wasn't ready because Ed is a planner. I know we were all joking about how they definitely weren't going to take it slow and they were going to rush through, but I do genuinely think he meant it. Ed's natural state is as a planner and tactician, everything has an angle for him and even when he wants to just be simple, he always has a bajillion factors in mind that he's juggling, so we can be sure that Ed probably did very much have thoughts about how he wanted their first time to go, and what he wanted them to do and grow into as a relationship before they had sex, and instead they got tortured, Stede killed a man, and then they fucked in the aftermath.

Not bloody optimal indeed.

Now back to Stede: he is utterly unprepared for the idea that the sex could be a mistake because to and for him it was the natural next step in their relationship. This is his romantic fantasy is the thing; he was a cool brave pirate captain who made an enemy walk the plank in defense of his crew and his boyfriend, and then Ed came to him and Stede got to sweep him off his feet and shove him against the wall, kiss him, bring him to the bed, and pointedly shut the curtains on an audience that doesn't exist, followed by a lazy morning after with breakfast in bed.

So it probably hurts extra that Ed is like that was a mistake. This is literally him living his fantasy from episode 1, Ned Low even has facial hair and is mean to him like Izzy used to be. He could ignore all the realities of that situation, because he was living his fantasy, and Ed dragged them both out of fantasyland, back to the real world, where their relationship isn't fixed 100% and sex didn't change that.

They weren't on the same page. They still aren't, because they need to talk.

[onetimetwotimesthreetimess]

Orange Peel Theory’s Got Nothing on Magnus Bane

“This whole thing sounds stupid,” Alec rolls his eyes at his siblings.

“That’s the point. It’s stupid but cute,” Izzy explains.

He thinks for a moment. “And Jace passed?”

“Jace passed,” Izzy nods.

“And so did you.”

“Yes,” Izzy smiles.

He’s not surprised, both his siblings are gone for their partners.

Alec doesn’t think a stupid orange peel theory is the true test of love but alas, mundane culture rarely ever makes sense to him.

“Alright. I’ll try it,” he sighs at their childish excitement, “but if Magnus doesn’t peel it and I have to get a divorce; I’m blaming you two forever.”

Izzy and Jace chuckle at him. “Okay, bro.”

Alec forgets about the stupid thing for the next few days. They’re busy and Magnus and he barely get any time together.

Then Izzy texts him one day, “Did you try it?”

Children.

Magnus comes out of the kitchen, with coffee for the two of them in his hands. Alec lets out a hand and takes one cup.

His husband sits on one end of the couch, his legs spread on the table in front of them. Alec sidles up next to him, closing any distance.

“Hi,” Magnus exhales against his mouth.

Alec smiles before kissing him. “Hi, baby.”

They spend the day lounging on the couch, trading slow kisses and touches. It’s been a while since they have got the time.

The kids are with Izzy and Simon today.

Then Alec remembers the stupid thing and decides to try it. He excuses himself and goes to the kitchen.

Do they even have oranges? He wonders.

He glances around the kitchen and finds a bowl of fruits with a few oranges in them.

Thank fuck.

He picks one up and walks back to the living room.

Magnus has a book in his hand now and his legs are stretched out on the sofa. He picks up the man's legs and makes space for himself, putting them above his.

He plays with the orange for a few minutes before he speaks, “Baby?”

“Yes, love?” Magnus looks up.

“I don’t feel like peeling this. Could you peel this up for me?” He asks, nonchalantly.

Magnus glances at the object in his hand and gives him an easy smile. “Sure.”

He hurrays himself internally and is about to pass the orange to Magnus before his husband snaps his fingers and voila—he has a plate in his hands with oranges peeled out and separated, displayed in quite a decorative manner on the dish.

Well, shit.

Alec huffs out a breath, picks up a slice and eats it, grumpily.

Magnus puts the book aside and shifts on the couch until he’s lying with his head on Alec’s stomach. He brings his hand to Magnus’s hair and runs them through it gently.

Another half an hour passes before Magnus comments. “You didn’t eat the oranges.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Well, he has magic, so I can’t blame him,” he points out to his siblings who laugh at the incident.

“Why don’t you try again?”

Alec rolls his eyes, “I have better things to do, you know? Like running the Clave?”

“Come on, just one more time,” Jace insists.

“Fine,” he relents because even he wants to see how it goes.

It’s a few days later when the chance arises. The boys ran them ragged this morning, shouting and complaining, not liking anything Alec made for breakfast.

It was one of those mornings when nothing either of them did was getting the boys to settle down. So, they’d accepted defeat and magicked them some ice cream.

Ice cream cures everything in their house.

They’re exhausted by the time they get to have their breakfast. At this point, Alec doesn’t feel like eating much, also he’s running late.

“Darling, what would you like for breakfast?” Magnus murmurs against his neck, his body a strong line against Alec’s.

He hums before picking up an orange, “I don’t know. Just peel this for me,” and hands it over to Magnus and continues, “I need to leave. I’m not very hungry, right now.”

“Alexander,” Magnus says in an affronted tone, “You know, how I feel about skipping breakfast. Not in this house.”

His husband drags him over to the coffee table and snaps his fingers. There’s a small set-up there now. A plate of pancakes with a side of berries. Bacon and sunny side up.

“Eat,” Magnus chides before he can say anything.

He smiles, shaking his head in affection before he starts eating. Then, Magnus speaks, “Oh, wait. I forgot,” before a magically peeled orange appears in front of it.

Alec groans.

“What?” Magnus asks innocently.

“Nothing. Thank you.”

Alec tries a few variations of the thing but the result is all the same.

He can’t test the stupid theory, not that he needs to, but because it’s fun and with each failure, his desire to get it done right increases tenfold.

His siblings can’t win this.

He’s competitive, fuck him.

There was a demon attack today and Magnus and Alec, as psychotic as it sounds, decide to make a date out of it.

They help each other get prepared.

Well, mostly it was Magnus helping Alec ensure that all his eight hundred blades were in place.

“Do you think demons feel anything?” He asks his husband as they portal to the location.

The warlock thinks for a moment, “I don’t know. I don’t think so. Why?”

A mischievous grin appears on his face, “Well, if they did; they wouldn’t be able to concentrate while you looked like that.”

Magnus chuckles softly. “Flirt.”

They both reach home two hours later, taking their time between bantering and flirting while the three shadowhunters along with them groan at their blatant flirtation.

Not entirely exhausted, but the right amount of tired, both of them crash on the couch as they enter the loft. They’re met with two very excited boys, who immediately sober up a little seeing their tired states.

“You okay, Daddy?” “Bapak, are you tired?”

They hug the boys close and kiss their temples, letting them know they are well.

“Hungry?” Magnus asks.

“Starving.”

Then like an idiot, he asks the boys to bring an orange.

He flutters his eyes and hands it to Magnus.

“Peel,” it’s an order this time because Raziel, Magnus will know shit is up now.

“You just said you are starved. What is an orange gonna do?” Magnus raises an eyebrow.

“Just do it,” he whines.

“And they think I’m weird,” Magnus grumbles.

“Don’t use magic. You’re exhausted,” he warns.

Before he can pass off the orange to Magnus, Max comes running to him, snatching the orange. He snaps his fingers and there’s a plate in Alec’s hand again.

“Here, Daddy. I peeled it,” Max yells excitedly.

Internally, he groans like the biggest tragedy just occurred but outside, he can’t help but chuckle in response as he kisses Max on the cheek. “Thank you, baby.”

Fucking warlocks in his house.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The six of them are at the Tang Hotpot on a Saturday evening.

They switched Sunday brunch with Saturday hotpot for the day. Clary mentioned something about hotpot and Jace mentioned never having one and Magnus decided then and there, that it’s time to introduce the white assholes he hangs out with these days to culture.

“So, we put whatever we want to eat it inside this thing and it’ll cook?” Jace acts surprised.

Magnus rolls his eyes, knowing Jace likes to act like he doesn’t know anything about the mundane culture.

It’s always a 50-50 chance between Jace really not knowing something and him just fucking with everyone else.

“That is how cooking works,” Alec says sarcastically. “You cook what you want to eat and voila—“

“Not all of us have partners who can take us to any part of the world and have us taste world cuisine,” Jace grins.

“Clary can literally create portals,” Izzy points out.

There’s a large pot in the middle of the table, divided into two sections. One is the traditional broth while another is a spicier version of the broth with added garlic and spices.

Magnus prefers the spicier one.

Bowls of broth are placed next to the pot to be added as required. Next to them, platters of raw ingredients are present. There’s thinly sliced meat including beef, pork, lamb and chicken. Next to it is a plate filled with seafood—shrimp, and fish balls. Accompanied with it are noodles and dumplings of a variety.

And then there’s all the leafy vegetables.

The best part about a hotpot is that it is the only preparation with which the boys usually are okay eating vegetables. Most of it has to do with the fascination the cooking element of it brings but regardless, if his kids are eating vegetables, for whatever reason, Alec counts it as a win.

Magnus sits next to him, a hand dragging a random pattern on his thigh as Alec murmurs something against his ear, pulling a small grin out of the man.

“We are out in public. Stop with the obscenity,” Izzy grins.

Alec sticks out his tongue at her.

Years ago, Alec never thought it would be like this one day. He could never comprehend something like this.

An average Saturday dinner with his family and friends, as he sits next to the love of his life, his husband, Alec’s husband—like that very thought wouldn’t have made Alec throw his fists into a punching bag until they bled.

They’re waiting for the last of the preparations to arrive so they still have a few minutes. Alec looks up at Magnus and plants an unhurried kiss on his lips. When he pulls back, Magnus has the sweetest look on his face.

The food arrives so they all straighten up to get started.

Magnus picks up a few pieces of pork and dumps it in the broth.

“This one has improved,” Magnus teases as Alec pours some spicy broth into his bowl. “His white ass couldn’t deal with the spicier broth the first time we tried it.”

“Jokes on you. You married me,” Alec grins back.

“Oh wow,” Jace explains. “This is too good,” he adds before he chokes realising that he dipped his chicken too much into the chilli paste.

“Weak,” Clary chuckles.

“You try it,” Jace challenges her. Clary dips her shrimp into the chilli paste and pops it inside her mouth, all the while keeping eye contact with Jace.

She doesn’t flinch or cough at all.

“I am so attracted to you right now,” Jace comments.

Simon murmurs something against Izzy’s ear and she laughs, heartily before smacking his shoulder lightly.

This is good, he thinks.

Magnus nudges him and without even looking, Alec turns and opens his mouth as Magnus feeds him a bite of fish ball.

“Too sweet?”

He thinks for a moment before replying. “You could add some sesame oil.”

Magnus hums at that.

There are a few pieces of mushrooms in his broth which he doesn’t like at all. He picks them up and puts them on Magnus’s plate who rolls his eyes at him.

“Why do you take mushrooms if you never eat them?”

“I’m picking them out for you. The best mushrooms in the world for you,” he says in mock seriousness.

Magnus shakes his head in fond amusement before he picks up the plate of seafood and a few shrimps. He puts down his chopsticks and starts peeling the shrimp one by one.

When he is done, he transfers the plate to Alec who smiles at him. “Thanks, baby.”

It’s a fun night as they all relax after an exhausting few weeks.

“Alec, do you not know how to peel a shrimp or what?” Izzy comments.

Alec raises his head and frowns. “What?”

“Do you not know how to peel a shrimp?”

“I do.”

“Then why is Magnus doing it for you?”

Alec tilts his head to find Magnus peeling a few more shrimps and placing them on his plate.

“Umm, I like doing it for him,” Magnus adds nonchalantly.

Alec thinks for a moment. As long as he can recall, Magnus has been peeling shrimp for him.

He thinks about Izzy’s question and scoffs—of course, he knows how to peel a shrimp.

Then why doesn’t he do it himself?

“Magnus?”

“Yeah?” The warlock replies as he takes another bite of a dumpling.

“When did you start peeling the shrimps?”

Magnus raises his head at him in a quizzical manner. “Like twenty minutes ago?”

Alec huffs. “No, I meant like at all. When did you start?”

His husband frowns. “I don’t know. Maybe the first time we went out for a hotpot. You seemed confused by everything so I helped.”

The first time was almost five years ago.

“Okay,” he mumbles before he adds. He doesn’t know why but he can’t help but ask. “But why are you doing it still?”

Magnus gives him a small smile. “Because you like shrimps.”

He says it like it’s the simplest of things. And maybe it is.

He huffs out a laugh. “And you couldn’t peel those dammed oranges?”

The small smile turns into a huge grin as Magnus replies, “Well darling, you didn’t really like those oranges, now, did you?”

Alec breaks into laughter. “You knew?”

“After the first two times, yes. I had my doubts,” Magnus laughs.

“So all this while you knew?” Clary laughs. “You were just fucking with Alec.”

Magnus glances around the five of them. “I believe that I was playing all five of you and not just dear Alexander.”

“You are so annoying,” Alec comments, even though he’s laughing.

“I’m annoying?” Magnus teases. “You are the one who was testing my love through an orange.”

“And you failed,” Alec announces, feigning hurt. “My poor heart.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Should I stop peeling the shrimps too?” Magnus asks in amusement, and it’s entirely too enticing with a shrimp between his chopsticks.

Alec steals the chopsticks from Magnus’s hands and pops the piece inside his mouth. “Nope.”

They’re both home two hours later. Alec falls into the bed with Magnus on top of him, “Baby?”

“Yes, love?” Magnus runs his hands gently through his hair.

“You know what I realised?”

“What?”

Alec kisses Magnus’s nose before he speaks. “Some stupid peel theory has got nothing on you.”

——————————————————————————

For Anh @carelessflower 🌻🌈

[unknownperson246]

Do you think you can do a Izzy Stradlin one shot (smut) where the reader and Izzy just had a baby and is feeling self conscious about her body? Thank you🙏🏽

Spilled Milk

words: 660

warnings: *smut* *fluff* *body image* *insecure reader* *daddy kink* *p in v* *giving birth* *praise kink*

☆ ★ ✮ ★ ☆☆ ★ ✮ ★ ☆☆ ★ ✮ ★ ☆☆ ★ ✮ ★ ☆

You were still in the hospital after you and Izzy just had your son. He was 7 pounds and 2 ounces. You both decided not to have sex while you were pregnant because you were exhausted every time you made one move. You would always fall asleep after climbing the stairs. When you both wanted it you would always fall asleep before making the first move. Overall you were tired and felt like a burden on Izzy. After a couple of days, you left the hospital with Izzy and your son whose name was Jeff and the doctor told you to wait to have sex for at least 6 weeks. You put your son in his crib in the nursery. You arrive home and lay in bed. Your son was sound asleep. He barely ever cried and was easy to handle so when you got home he was asleep after being fed. You and Izzy lay down in your bed. You take your clothes off and show Izzy your imperfections.

“I look so fucking hideous man. I mean look at me look at all these stretch marks. Izzy, would you ever want to sleep with me again?.” You go on a rant about how ugly you feel.

“Babe we just had a baby and I would sleep with you over and over again no matter how ugly you are in my eyes you are the most perfect woman I've ever seen. You're amazing for how brave you are in every situation. I love you. You're my soulmate.” Izzy coos in your ear.

“But look at all of this. My boobs are going to go to a size zero after a while. Look at all these stretch marks and look at how much weight I've gained. I’m just a fucking burden.” You say to Izzy feeling bad that he has to take care of you. Izzy knows you can't be satisfied with just words and he can please you with actions.

Izzy cups your face. He kisses your chest bare. He pins you on the bed. His arms press yours on the bed. “I love how amazing these tits feel” Izzy purrs as he squeezes them with his free hand. 

You spill a little bit of milk.

“Be careful Izzy we need that milk for Jeff” You smirk.

Izzy cleans the milk off with a napkin and he starts to kiss down your body. 

“I love how you feel.” You feel Izzy's breath tracing down your body.

“Don't you dare say you feel like a burden because you're not? Do you understand me, baby girl?” Izzy says in an authoritative tone.

Izzy undoes his belt while he is on top of you. He takes his pants off

“Yes, Daddy please just don't get me pregnant again.”  You smile at Izzy as his cock slips inside of you.

“I'll try not to baby girl” He groans as his hips collide with yours over and over again.

His hands are gripping on your tits. Surprisingly they weren't sensitive. You liked the way they felt against his hands. Your pussy also didn't hurt as much as you thought it would after pushing out a whole human.

“Oh, Daddy.” You moan.

“Your body is perfect. Your pussy is irresistible.” Izzy moans as he shoves himself in you over and over again.

“Daddy” You moan as you scratch Izzy’s back. 

“Good girl, keep calling me that. I love when I fuck you.” He moans as his cock is doing its work.

“You're so hot” You cry while scratching his back harder.

Izzy withdrawals and the come gets on your leg.

“Did it hurt?” Izzy asks you.

“If it did I would have told you to stop honey” You kiss Izzy on the tip of his nose. 

You both get dressed up and go check on your son in the nursery. He is sound asleep. You and Izzy head back to bed and take a nap together. 

[o-wild-west-wind]

okay, here’s my actual thoughtful post: I get why people are upset about the finale…I really do. but I want to mention that there’s a bigger picture to this story that’s missing if you’re zooming too close onto Izzy as a character, and I’m honestly so grateful that the show stuck to the thematic arc it introduced in season 1 because, as per usual, it’s about the themes 🤌 and this show never skimps on the symbolism!!

so here’s the thing: the primary themes are toxic masculinity (& it’s opposite, queer joy); trauma; love as a healing force for the above; and, title alert—DEATH. because it’s so much more than a cool title!

now, Izzy has always represented something metaphorical about all of these points; most directly, he’s always represented masculinity, and s2 has been an arc of toxicity deconstruction. but crucially, he’s also represented all that for Ed, who is the deuteragonist of this show. because—don’t forget—Stede and Ed are the show.

I’ve always doubted myself for feeling this after seeing how fandom saw Izzy as a third romantic figure (which like by all means have a blast in your fanfics I don’t care it’s about joy at the end of the day and pursue that as you want to), but after hearing something about djenks referring to Izzy as a father figure, it confirms a major point for me—Izzy is also in a lot of ways a parallel to Ed’s dad, and a representation of the trauma and guilt Ed felt from that formative killing. for so long, Izzy was an aggressive shadow in Ed’s life, and a tangible reminder of those daddy issues—someone telling him what to do, keeping him Blackbeard—and the beautiful thing is how that changed this season, how Izzy became a version of masculinity that could love and be beautiful and make good from the hurt, the literal poison into positivity. someone antithetical to his own paternalistic force, healing our daddy issues one drag show at a time. BUT, Izzy is still thematically representative within Ed’s arc—and by also representing the trauma that made Ed “Blackbeard,” it does make smart writing sense as to why Izzy died (NOT saying you can’t be sad about it—stick with me for a moment).

because here’s the thing—as aforementioned, this show is also about DEATH. killing is the root of everyone’s trauma, and reconciling a relationship with death is the ultimate arc Ed and Stede are both on, with the ultimate path of learning to live despite its inevitability. there’s a reason it was such a huge thing that Ed couldn’t personally kill, and then in this episode killed so many people with his bare hands in the name of love—and there’s a reason that was framed as a good thing. and there’s also Ed’s (and arguably Stede’s) active suicidality, which has been a huge force driving this season. these are characters who see death as this all-consuming thing, and they see their own deaths as the only solution. death is the traumatic force driving almost everything about their being for so long—and its reconciliation is everything for them, the greatest sign of growth. so Izzy’s death, and everyone beginning again with love—healing each other with love—is a cap to it all. it’s death as a positive force, for once. it’s death as love, not trauma. it’s death as something that will always happen, but this time not forced by your own hand. it’s a death to everything toxic, to what “Blackbeard” represented, and all the while a sort of rebirth. it’s kind of a death to…death? it’s functionally like the real physical moon replacing the giant romantic imaginary orb: it’s taking the thing that’s been artificially morphed in Stede and Ed’s heads and making it real this time, with all the bittersweet emotions that come with tangible reality.

and honestly, I’m glad that it was tragic and emotional. I didn’t think I’d be so devastated to see Izzy die, but it really did get to me, especially because of everything he said to Ricky and then to Ed. but think of it this way: Izzy and Ed might be romantically compelling because they were toxic and charged (and I hope people still enjoy everything they get from that dynamic in fan work), but imagine if the show had actually gone in that direction—where would it take us thematically? it would kill the thesis; it would be love as chaos and entertainment, but not healing. instead, this show gave us something so much more powerful: a legitimate, fully-fleshed trauma arc.

trauma hurts. Izzy’s death hurts. but that’s okay. that’s great, actually! it means the storytelling was effective—that Izzy’s arc made you feel something. and i know this won’t be every viewer’s experience, but honestly? I’m glad I can have this grieving process in such a beautifully framed light in the safe space ship of this show, because let’s be real—death, real life death, fucks you up. and let me tell you, I could’ve used this show during so many episodes of grief in my life. but here it is now, reminding us that our grief and trauma doesn’t define us—and WHAT a powerful thing for queer love, especially, to be presented as the thing that heals us all. ESPECIALLY when so much grief and death in this community is woven so deeply with the trauma of our identity.

so grieve as you need to, but don’t forget to turn the poison into positivity 💛 because that’s what the show is telling us—choose live, despite!

[amuseoffyre]

Well, mythical creature. Anything to say for yourself? Fuuuuuuuuuck yooooooou.

Bear with me because this may get rambly, but I find it fascinating that Izzy chooses to pick a fight with the figurehead on the ship. Given the history of figureheads as both identifying markers on a vessel and talismans to keep their crews' safe, I got thinking about the fact that for Izzy, Blackbeard is a figurehead.

Literally and figuratively, Blackbeard's identity looms large. Ed said it himself: he doesn't even need to be on the ship. People recognise the flag and the vessel and that's enough.

When the crew 'kill' Ed, Izzy is the one to keep his body on the ship. Which means that Izzy is the one to cover his head, leaving only his body visible. Only then, after Ed turns out to be alive again, Izzy goes and hides with the figurehead and - significantly - picks a fight with it.

Did Ed ever tell Izzy "I'm the kraken" (ie. a mythical creature)? Who knows. But even if he didn't tell him, Izzy said way back in 1x04, "I was honoured to work for the legendary Blackbeard". Blackbeard who is a legend and a ghost and a mad demon pyrate. A mythical creature, if you will.

For Izzy, he really seems to be redirecting all the rage he didn't/couldn't direct at Ed towards the unicorn. The subtext in the first scene between him and Stede at the bow is... uh. Quite telling.

Stede: He's seen better days, hasn't he? Izzy: At least he's still got both legs. Stede: Yes! Oh, he can't hear you. He's got no head. You've got a head, though, which you should look after.

Given that "losing your head" was another euphemism for insanity and Ed said himself "they think I'm a bit crazy" and Izzy described him as "going mad", Izzy really does seem to be projecting everything on to the figurehead who lost its head.

And then, in a drunken rage, he hacks the legs off the unicorn, dragging them along and throwing them down in front of the crew, declaring "There! It's done! Maybe next time he'll think twice about doing his fucking job".

We know that this is a triggering sentence for him. We saw it in episode 1 when he tries to bring the crew to order, and the memory of hearing it from Blackbeard - knowing he's expendable and not as valued or trusted or safe as he believed himself to be - led to him having his breakdown in front of the crew.

For him to bring this back up again, this open wound that led to the meeting with Blackbeard that then led to the confrontation and the shooting that cost him his leg, all ties in together with the unicorn.

Initially, I didn't twig why he was doing it beyond grief and misery and being drunk off his tits, but then in episode 5, it clicked. Specifically because of this exchange:

Izzy: Flipping the tables on Blackbeard didn't quite numb the pain? Lucius: Maybe we try what he did to you next. Izzy: What who did to me? Lucius: Blackbeard. Because he... chopped off your leg.

Which is what Izzy was doing in episode 4: trying what Blackbeard did to him by hacking the legs of the unicorn. Only it didn't help... until it did when the crew took a piece of the damage he had done and made something new from it to support him. (Hello, I am rolling around in the symbolism 🥰)

What I also find especially compelling is that he recognises that Lucius is trying to process his trauma the same way as he did: by doing unto others what was done unto him. Only Lucius does it by pushing actual Blackbeard overboard while Izzy takes his frustrations out on a myffic wooden pony.

[ladyluscinia]

I do think the way in which Edward is fucking with everyone in Discomfort in a Married State is soooo fascinating.

Like going into this episode he's bored as fuck, yeah, but also Izzy has presumably been building up to this "you're a shell of man posing as Blackbeard" explosion for a while, and Stede told him to "go suck eggs in hell" (directly, Edward thinks; accidentally in reality) which intrigued him but is still, you know, massively disrespectful. It would make sense if he's kind of irritated with both of them?

Not really irritated - not to a lashing out or getting angry level - because Stede is novel and interesting, and Izzy is his First Mate complaining about a real dysfunction they're having. But maybe feeling a little inclined to fuck with them and remind them why they should respect him as Blackbeard?

I actually think that might be where his whole "save the day after making everyone think they're gonna die" bit comes from. He's noticed the clouds and started Lucius's countdown before Stede even wakes up, so he's already putting pressure on Izzy just to watch him squirm. Stede tells him about retirement and then wishes to be Blackbeard which probably sparks the clothes sharing as an idle "what if I really did trade lives with him?" (hello, kill Stede plan) thought, but he also uses it as a smooth way to drop the responsibility to save everyone on Stede this time.

He looks at Izzy and Stede and refuses to step up as "The Legendary Blackbeard", and then dares them both to fill his boots. He's making a point to both of them in that below decks confrontation - albeit one that hits a little closer to home on his stress burnout than he intends, I'll bet - and he's actively dramatizing them failing to measure up when the spotlight is on. "Death it is...... But wait-!"

(Edward voice) So what do you think the appropriate amount of gratitude and awe is when Blackbeard saves a whole ship without lifting a finger, hmmm???

...

...What do you mean it's September the 1st?

[funky-little-archivist]

Okay besties listen to me right now. Here’s how steddyhands can still win (real and true)

Stede and Ed clearly love each other very much, but they just can’t seem to stop fighting. They can’t seem to get on quite the same page, and this is a problem they’ve had from the start. They both want different things at the end of the day, and they just haven’t been able to reconcile that issue. Ed wants to explore non pirate life, which he’s never really had a chance to do, while Stede wants to explore pirate life for the exact same reason. I can’t really point at either of them and say that either of these things are wrong or they’re being intentionally malicious with each other. I also can’t point at the writers and complain about them stringing us along when all we want is for gentlebeard to be happy because this feels like very natural progression for both of them. As I said, they’ve been heading in this direction from the very start of the show.

So you know what I think they need? A stabilizing force. An anchor. A mediator. These are two whim-proned people who need someone to keep them grounded. And who’s sitting right there waiting for the chance to do exactly that? Izzy.

All season, apart from the parts where he was mourning blackbeard and the loss of his leg, izzy has been doing pretty much exactly that for both of them. Yes last season izzy was pretty much nothing but toxic for Ed, encouraging the worst parts of him. But he’s since come to regret that and was actively the one that stopped his downwards spiral. And he’s been coaching Stede, getting to know him better and teaching him how to pirate properly. This season izzy has really been encouraging both of them towards the goals they had at the start of season 1, in a way, making them the versions of themselves they want to be. But it does seem like he doesn’t intend for Stede to go off the deep end like Ed did either, as izzy discouraged him getting into the bar fight and kept trying to make him back down. I don’t think season 1 izzy would have ever done that for Ed. He’d have wanted blackbeard to defend his reputation. I think izzy wants them to be better, and as he said he actively approves of and encourages Stede and Ed’s relationship. He knows that they’re good for each other, and he doesn’t necessarily want to see them break up. But he also wants them to be the best versions of themselves.

And I’m honestly starting to think that’s what they need. As I said, they need a calming force, because both of them are very active passionate energies in their own way. But here’s the thing, I could be crazy but I’m actually starting to suspect maybe there’s a chance the show is going in this direction as well? I mean I could be reading too much into it, and listen I’ll be the last to put faith into this kind of theorizing again. But listen

How could it possibly not have been intentional to have izzy serenade Ed and stede’s first time together? It could have been literally anyone. It could have been frenchie, we’ve seen him sing before. But no, it was izzy, he got glammed up, showing his immense emotional growth and maturity compared to the first season, and had him practically sing his blessings for their relationship. And yes, maybe that’s all it was meant to symbolize, that izzy approves now and has moved on. Except he so clearly hasn’t moved on (we all saw that heart eyes stare he gave Ed in man on fire) and for me it’s the fact that he actually played an active part in their scene together, at least for the audience. He set the mood guys. In a sort of metatextual way, izzy was part of Ed and stede’s love scene.

And then there’s the fact that the show has been exploring non traditional non monogamist relationships for the entire season. I mean, already in season 1 we had Lucius telling izzy that they don’t get jealous when izzy tried to use that against him, but now we have olu and Jim actively celebrating each other’s relationships with other people despite still sort of being in some kind on non platonic relationship (shown by olu calling Jim babe during the safe space stand still scene). Olu, Jim and Archie sort of formed a straight up throuple? And then olu and zheng almost invited Jim and Archie to? Share a room with them?? Maybe? Whatever the case, it’s all fluid. And that’s okay! This type of relationship fluidity has been so normalized on the show, I don’t really see a reason for them to get precious about Stede and Ed being the only exclusive couple. At it makes sense, sexual fluidity has always been an integral part of the queer community and it’s so refreshing to see it represented here realistically. (Not to say that monogamy isn’t also accepted and valid in queer spaces but many shows have and will continue to represent that. It’s nice to see a representation of the less traditional, less “sanitized” side of queerness.) (edit: AND LET’S NOT FORGET SPANISH JACKIE! hell she was doing it before anyone else)

And hey as a bisexual myself I understand not everyone will like this allusion but I did see someone say that izzy is quite literally Ed and stede’s unicorn lmao. So. there’s that.

And not that this would be a perfect solution to all their problems either. I don’t want izzy to just continue to play custodian to Ed’s problems and add stede’s to that as well, not to mention that izzy and Ed have SO much work to do to fix their mess of a relationship. But I just think maybe all three of them can help balance each other out, mediate each side of the triangle. The dynamic would just be so satisfyingly perfect, and hey, a stool can’t hold up anything with just two legs, but with three it is stable.

Anyway, basically I’m starting to see it guys and maybe I’m crazy but maybe there’s actually a chance here. Again, I’m by no means saying this is 100% going to happen, and most likely I’m seeing things they didn’t intend. But from interviews from David jenkins and the cast, to subtext in the show, I think maybe there’s a non zero chance. Either way, I cannot wait to see what this show has in store for us in the last three episodes.

[bemusedlybespectacled]

Thoughts on Steddyhands because I’m at full Pepe Silvia levels of conspiracy thinking right now:

I’m more willing to believe in Steddyhands becoming canon than I think I ever have been before because of the comments both Rhys and Con made at various cons PLUS the teaser

HEAR ME OUT

This is a cast with IMO an unusually high awareness of fan theories/shipping (that goes double for Con “my instagram is just fanart” O’Neill), so Stizzy/Steddyhands has to be something they’re aware of.

Moreover, while cons are less edited/monitored than a magazine article or something, there is still usually a certain amount of prep that goes into them. And while Con is willing to spread shipping chaos, I don’t get the sense that Rhys is.

So for both Con AND Rhys to make Stizzy-bait comments (“he looked good at the end of my sword”/“hunky”) HAS to have had, obviously not scripting, but forethought attached to it. Like, Rhys could have very easily said “Stede only has eyes for Ed” or similar and it would be perfectly fine. That he DIDN’T makes me SUSPICIOUS, especially in light of the teaser.

Then comes the Vanity Fair first look, which IS going to be edited in a way that a con isn’t. And let’s look at what it says:

Izzy “goes on a remarkable journey” this season, says O’Neill. “He understands what love is and whom he’s in love with.’’

By the end of season one many fans speculated that Izzy was driven by something at the intersection of love and obsession. This season, according to O’Neill, Izzy gets even deeper into that dynamic. “Physically it’s been quite demanding, and also emotionally it’s been quite demanding to be playing a man enraged by unrequited love, who’s basically a hopeless romantic, and to be able to play all that and also remember that this is fundamentally a comedy.’’

“What I love about this show is it does allow itself to swing between the two,” O’Neill says. “We’re almost operatic in our darkness at times, and then we swing back to the sweetness of the simplicity of the love of our two guys. It’s been challenging just to get the tone right.”

“We’ve gone further this season than we did last season with those tones,” he continues. “So sometimes it’s quite interesting to remind yourself that you have to take your foot out of the tragedy—literally, your foot—and put it back into the comedy.”

on set there’s been “a lot more spontaneity and script revisions based on what’s happening day-to-day,” says Douaihy. “The cast are so comfortable with one another and their characters, that they move through it naturally.’’

In the trailer, we see:

Stede getting in a fight with someone not Izzy, then getting excited and telling Izzy he threw a punch (which to me only makes sense if Izzy taught him to do it)

Stede just hanging out while Izzy practices swordplay shirtless COME ON

Now, let’s play some matchup.

Both Rhys and Con have an awareness of their characters that lets them just get spontaneous while still in character

Both Rhys and Con have, while speaking from what their characters would say/think, said they both thought the other was hot

Con does not specify “whom [Izzy’s] in love with” even though Vanity Fair literally makes a comment about Izzy’s love for Ed, so it’s not like he’s hiding anything important by not specifying Ed if he means Ed

Izzy’s a “hopeless romantic” “enraged by unrequited love” this season

SO, connecting the dots (I’M CONNECTING THEM), here’s my prediction:

Izzy is going to find Stede and try to get him to Ed. This is the “journey” Con is referencing.

During this time he’s going to be training Stede in stuff like throwing a punch. I think this is actually the emotional journey, not simply him hanging out on Ed’s ship and realizing he loves Ed: he leaves Ed and finds Stede and emotionally grows while spending time with him. (I think this also means Izzy is going to spend more time with Stede, plot-wise, than with Ed, because he’s not going to grow there)

“I just need to find the love of his life and it’ll fix him” is a very hopeless romantic thing to think JSYK

Izzy is standing on one foot in the candles scene, which to me means that “taking your literal foot out of the tragedy and into the comedy” is referencing his toe and sword fighting while disabled… which Stede is present for. So Stede has to know what Ed did to Izzy and almost certainly is going to have feelings about it.

All of that is great fodder for improv while in character.

I can think of nothing more emotionally swinging, more romantic, more enraging, and more funny than Izzy training his rival to be a pirate in pursuit of Ed’s love and then falling for Stede himself in the process, knowing that if they get together he has neither of them.

I will note that this doesn’t mean Steddyhands has to be endgame in a canonical sense (even though I want it with all my soul). I do think that Steddyhands will be referenced/built on in an emotional sense, even if it’s only through Stede and Izzy’s bitch4bitch interactions. I WANT TO BELIEVE.

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x44 - Jureimon of the Lost Woods / Trash Day

Previously on Digimon Adventure: Pinocchimon kidnapped Takeru wanting to play a twisted game, but then the grown-ups at FOX took his guns away and gave him a firm scolding. While Pinocchimon was busy, Takeru broke all of his other toys and fled the coop.

Before we begin, an interesting note on this episode's title. Today's episode is 迷いの森のジュレイモン Mayoi no Mori no Jureimon.

Mayoi no Mori is a popular recurring element of Japanese media. It translates to the Forest of Uncertainty or Forest of Indecision or some such. It's the idea of this labyrinthine and possibly even supernatural forest that, once you enter, you may never find your way out of. A place where people go missing and are never heard from again.

It shows up in a lot of places in Japanese media, though it often gets translated a bunch of different ways. Legend of Zelda calls it the Lost Woods. The Mario franchise has used names like "Forest of Illusion", "Forever Forest", or "Maze Woods". Final Fantasy has used terms like "Mazewood" or "Phantom Forest". Naruto called it "The Bewildering Forest". The subtitler for this episode called it "Forest of Doubt".

But they're all different attempts at localizing the same persistent concept: Mayoi no Mori. Throughout Japanese media, this idea persists of a thick, unnavigable forest where the souls of those who made the mistake of entering are doomed to forever wander, searching in futility for a way out that will never come.

I suspect it may be related to Aokigahara, Japan's famous Suicide Forest. But I don't know.

...

...so, let's have fun exploring that!

We join the Chosen Children searching for Yamato, who wandered off into the woods at the end of last episode.

Taichi: HEY!!! YAMATO!!! Sora: YAMATO-KUN!!! Gomamon: GABUMON, WHERE ARE YOU!?!? Hikari: Onii-chan, what do you think happened to Yamato-san? Taichi: How should I know!? What's his deal, anyway? Agumon: He might have been kidnapped by Pinocchimon! Koushiro: Judging by his abrupt disappearance, that's a likely conclusion. Jou: ...no. I don't think that's what happened.

The kids briefly bring up the cliffhanger from the dub and then Jou dismisses it. We're not going to spend too much time pursuing that as a possibility because the audience already knows Pinocchimon was moping in his playroom at the time.

The dub's had a week to stew on that as a cliffhanger, however.

Tai: MATT!!! HEY MATT!!! T.K.: MAAAAAATT!!! Sora: MATT, WHERE ARE YOU!?!? Kari: I'm worried. What do you think could have happened to him, Tai? Tai: Matt's a big boy; He can take care of himself! Agumon: Now, wait a minute; What if he was kidnapped by Puppetmon? Izzy: Yeah, he might have been. Or something worse! Jou: No, it wasn't anything like that.

Taichi responds sharply to Hikari's question in both versions, but there's a bit of a disconnect in Tai's response. Taichi is pissy and dismissive about why Yamato disappeared, but makes no indication that we shouldn't be looking for the guy. Tai sounds like he doesn't think we should be searching for Matt at all.

An odd choice given that his is one of the three voices calling for Matt a moment ago.

Jou recaps the kids on what he saw last episode. We see a silent flashback of Yamato's departure, with Jou noticing him.

Taichi: You saw Yamato leave!? Why didn't you stop him!? Jou: Because I thought he was just excusing himself for a moment. I'm sorry. Taichi: Well, forget it. At least now we know he wasn't taken by Pinocchimon. Agumon: But then where did he disappear to? Sora: Now that I think back, didn't Yamato-kun seem to be acting a little strange to you?

Sora conjures up a flashback to Yamato's Digivice and Crest refusing to function.

Piyomon: Gabumon wasn't able to evolve back then. Palmon: Yeah, but even so....

In the dub:

Tai: What, he just walked away!? And you didn't even try to stop him!? Joe: Well, no! Was I supposed to? I mean, I thought he was just going to go use the bushes! Or something. Tai: Huh. This is weird. I mean, it's one thing if he was kidnapped but why would he just disappear on us like this? Agumon: I'll say! He's been gone way too long for just a potty break. Sora: Wait a minute! Is it just me or has Matt been kinda strange lately?

They have Izzy talk over the second flashback to silence-break it.

Izzy: Come to think of it, he has been acting a little high-strung. Biyomon: Remember when Gabumon had that Digivolving problem? Palmon: (gasp) Yeah! I bet there's a connection!

This dialogue deviates a bit from the original, but not in a negative way. It flows really well. I especially like Palmon's organic response to Biyomon here.

Suddenly, Hikari hears something again. As with last episode, we don't hear whatever's caught her attention; Just a shimmering effect in the audio. Whatever it is, Hikari whips around too late. It's gone, if it was ever here to begin with.

Tailmon: What's wrong, Hikari? Hikari: I heard a voice again. Taichi: (runs up) A voice!? Was it Yamato!?

Taichi's quiet for a moment, listening for Yamato but hearing nothing.

Taichi: Were you hearing things?

This is another visual pun, like the one from inside Whamon. Taichi asks "Soramimi ka?" Soramimi is a Japanese expression that means "air in the ears" and is used to describe mishearing something. Upon asking the question, we cut briefly to Sora and Mimi exchanging awkward glances.

Koushiro: He couldn't have gone far. Taichi: You're right. Let's go!

Taichi rallies the group together and they head out to resume their search. Except Hikari, who stays behind briefly, answering the question now that the others aren't around to hear her.

Hikari: ...no, it wasn't Yamato's voice. Tailmon: (concerned) Hikari?

OMINOUS.

In the dub:

Gatomon: Kari, what is it? Kari: I thought I heard a voice out there. Tai: A voice!? Was it Matt!? (beat) Tai: I don't hear anything.... Come on, Kari! Don't you start losing it too! (Sora and Mimi exchange glances) Izzy: He couldn't be very far away, you know. Maybe we should look for him. Tai: Yeah, I suppose. Okay, guys; Let's go. (The group starts walking, except Kari) Kari: Gatomon, it wasn't Matt's voice I heard! Gatomon: Who's was it?

A small tonal difference here at the end; Hikari's basically talking to herself, with Tailmon beside her worrying. Kari addresses Gatomon to explain herself. But the important point still gets across in both versions. Hikari keeps overhearing somebody who is not yet accounted for in the story.

We leave the group here to join Yamato, storming off with Gabumon hot on his trail.

Gabumon: Yamato! What's wrong!? Yamato, listen to me! Yamato: (glower) ... Gabumon: Yamato....

While they're walking, we pan out to see Pinocchimon and Jureimon watching them from across the pond.

Pinocchimon: Hehehe! That guy is so stupid for breaking off from the rest! It's like he wants me to kill him! Jureimon: Of course, sir. Pinocchimon: Since I know he won't play with me anyway, I guess I'll give him what he wants and murder him. Jureimon: Please wait a moment, Pinocchimon-sama. I have an idea, sir. While you're dealing with the rest of the Chosen Children, your loyal servant Jureimon will handle this one! Ho ho ho ho!

Vulgar mouth on Pinocchimon. The show has used a lot of euphemisms to dance around the word korosu, which means to kill or murder or slaughter, since that word's considered vulgar in children's entertainment. Its favorite euphemism is taosu, which means to defeat or demolish.

We heard a lot of taosu last episode, such as discussing whether or not to "destroy" Kiwimon.

But Pinocchimon here drops two separate instances of its compound form koroshitai, combining korosu with shitai meaning "I want to verb". He's pulling no verbal punches; He intends to murder this child.

In the original, Yamato gives Gabumon a total cold shoulder, refusing to answer him entirely. The dub uses the last shot of Gabumon to let Matt talk to him.

Gabumon: Matt, come on! I'm all for exercise but I'm really not built for long distances! Matt! Where are we going? Matt: Just... away. I need some space! (Pan out to Puppetmon and Cherrymon) Puppetmon: Hehehe. Aww, the poor little kid needs a little space. Someplace far away from his nice little friends and closer to ME!!! Cherrymon: I agree completely. Puppetmon: I'm not waiting! I'll put him out of his misery! Those DigiDestined kids really bug me! Cherrymon: Wait a minute, Puppetmon! I have a better idea. You can take care of those other DigiDestined children if you want to but, as for this one, leave him to me! I'll have him climbing up a tree before I'm through with him! Hahaha hahaha HAHAHA!!!

I like Puppetmon's twisted retort to Matt "needing space".

But I'm sad to lose "Since I know he won't play with me...." That line was a nice callback to the previous episode, conveying that Pinocchimon is still salty about what happened with Takeru.

"I'll put him out of his misery" is a solid translation for Puppetmon's second line, since obviously Fox isn't going to let Puppetmon's language be as unapologetically violent as Pinocchimon's. The last bit is just Evil Space Filler, though.

As an aside, Jureimon's vocal performance is a deep and bellowing old man who speaks in a respectful and wizened tone. Cherrymon's going for Marlon Brando's Don Vito Corleone from The Godfather for some reason.

Yamato finds a place to finally rest and talk through why seeing Takeru be self-sufficient bothered him so much.

Yamato: I... I've always thought about Takeru. Takeru is... He can't take care of himself without me. Or, I thought so....

Yamato flashes quickly through various clips of Takeru over the course of the series, since they first noticed the snow falling at camp.

Yamato: Before I knew it, he'd grown up. And me? He doesn't need me anymore. (Flashbacks end) Yamato: It's not just Takeru, either. Taichi, Sora, Mimi, Jou, Koushiro... Everyone's changed so much since we came to the Digimon World. They've gotten stronger. Gabumon: (affirming) Mm. Yamato: But, next to them, look at me. I'm the same person I always was! I haven't changed at all! Gabumon: That's not true! You also-- Yamato: What's wrong with me!? This isn't who I want to be! Gabumon: Yamato.... Yamato: I can't stay like this! I have to change! I HAVE TO GET STRONGER!!! And for that to happen... I can't stay with the others.

This would, of course, probably be why his Crest wouldn't shine earlier. Sympathetic though Yamato's reasons are, he's not exactly expressing the virtue of Friendship here. He's wallowing in self-doubt.

The dub slips its first commercial break between scenes, which is a good place for it. Then we come back to Matt's doubts.

Matt: You ever feel like a third wheel, Gabumon? That's what I feel like. All this time, I thought I had, like, a purpose, y'know? To look after my little brother. (Flashbacks) Matt: I thought T.K. wouldn't be able to survive without me watching over him. Suddenly, it's like he's growing up. He doesn't need me anymore. Oh, and it's not just him. (Flashbacks end) Matt: It's everybody, man. I mean, when I think of Tai and Mimi and Sora and the others, this place has changed them for the better. They're stronger now. It's almost like they Digivolved or something. Gabumon: Hm? Matt: But you see, the problem is, I haven't. I'm still stuck in the same place. I haven't changed a bit. Gabumon: You may not see it, Matt, but you've changed a lot! Matt: Oh please, Gabumon. Give me a break. I'm the same jerk I always was! Gabumon: Hey, come on.... Matt: It'll never happen! Not this way. I've finally got it figured out! If I'm ever going to change, I've got to do it on my own! On my own... The others can't help me.

This is pretty much perfect. It his every last beat of the scene while being flavorful and interesting to listen to. 10/10 no notes.

Jureimon suddenly reveals himself with a hearty laugh.

Jureimon: AH HA HA!!! Yamato: WHO'S THERE!?!?

Jureimon calmly walks out to meet Yamato and properly introduces himself.

Jureimon is a Perfect-stage Virus-type Plant Digimon. He's one of the two Virus Perfects for the Wind Guardians, both of whom are pre-evolved forms for Pinocchimon himself.

His name comes from the Japanese word 樹齢 jurei, which means "the age of a tree". He's the Ancient Tree 'mon. The word jurei, sounded out loud, sounds super close to cherry - Something I don't think was lost on his creators, given that they filled his branches with cherry fruit. He's an ancient tree, but specifically a cherry tree.

Which means the dub's choice of "Cherrymon" fits well into the characters' lip flaps while still being evocative of his design.

Jureimon: My name is Jureimon. Yamato: Jureimon? Narrator: Jureimon. Called the Lord of the Deep Woods, this Perfect-stage Digimon lives deep within the forests. His special attack is Cherry Bomb.

A note about Jureimon's title. He's called 樹海の主 Jukai no Omo. The word of interest here is Jukai, which doesn't mean "forest". Rather, it more directly translates to "Sea of Trees" and refers to an especially dense part of a forest.

It. Um. It's also a term for Aokigahara. Jureimon is the Lord of places like Aokigahara.

...

And now he's talking to Yamato, in the midst of an emotional crisis.

Gabumon: You work for Pinocchimon, don't you!? Jureimon: Now, now, calm down. I didn't come here to fight. I am just looking for someone to talk to. Ah ha ha!

This is going to be bad, isn't it?

In the dub:

Cherrymon: Well, well. Look what we've got here. Greetings, nature lovers. (Cherrymon reveals himself) Cherrymon: What? You mean you've never seen a talking tree? Matt: ...not many. Gabumon: (rundown) Be careful. That's Cherrymon, Lord of the Forest and the best reason for the existence of termites. Gabumon: Stop right there or I'll turn you into toothpicks! Cherrymon: You really shouldn't be that rude. Calm down, my fighting days are over; I only want to talk with you. In fact, you might even say I've turned over a new leaf. Ehehe Haha!

"The best reason for the existence of termites" got me. XD It's the casual, matter-of-fact way he slides that into the rundown. Fantastic delivery.

Gabumon has all of his hackles up right now and he is absolutely right to. We are at war and he does not trust the enemy combatant emerging from the deep woods for a friendly chat.

Meanwhile, the other children continue their search for Yamato. Koushiro's using his Digivice to try and track Yamato's, but getting no results.

Koushiro: The Digivice isn't reacting. It doesn't seem to be functioning properly in these woods. Tailmon: I think we should take a break somewhere and wait for him. Everyone needs some time alone once in a while. Taichi: No, we have to find Yamato quickly. We can't do this unless all eight of us are together! Jou: But we're all tired. We should find a place to sit down and rest our legs. Mimi: (quietly, distressed) So the eight of us could stay together and fight... They all.... Palmon: Mimi.... Sora: Mimi-chan....

Quite a bit going on in this scene. We start with the discovery that the deep woods seem to be blocking the signals from their Digivices so they can't find each other.

Senpai and Team Leader have very different ideas of what we should do from here, with Taichi wanting to push the group to exhaustion out of a sense of urgency for fighting the war.

Taichi invokes what Gennai told them before they returned to Tokyo: They can only fix the distortions if all eight of them are together. That's why we had to get retrieve Hikari, and it's why we can't be splitting the party like this.

But Taichi is still trying to be Drill Sergeant and not considering the valid points that Tailmon and Jou are both making.

(That said, given what Yamato's talking to right now, they probably should hurry up and find him. Taichi's right but not because of the words coming out of his mouth.)

Meanwhile, Mimi remains traumatized from their various friends and Chuumon that gave their lives for the children's sake. The road they've walked to reach this point is paved in pixel dust.

In the dub:

Izzy: Mm, it's no use. I'm getting nothing. For some reason, the Digivices aren't working in this forest. Gatomon: You know, I'm not so sure we should be trying to find him. Everyone needs to be alone sometimes. I should know! Tai: I'm not gonna let him break up this team! We're gonna find him whether he wants us to or not! Joe: We're always walking around searching for someone; I've never done so much walking in my life! Mimi: Yeah, it's disgusting. My calves are starting to look like a bodybuilder's! Palmon: Like a what!? Sora: (dismissive) Oh, Mimi....

...okay, so all of this sucks. Well, Izzy and Gatomon are fine. Good job, you two.

Tai's being even more unreasonable than his Japanese counterpart. He offers no reason for why it's so urgent that we find Matt right now. Just that we're gonna drag his ass back here and that's fucking final!

Then Jou and Mimi both have their lines swapped out for whining about their poor constitutions. This is especially egregious for Mimi because the fact that she's practically catatonic right now from trauma is an important part of her character arc, but the dub has her quipping about her "gross" leg muscles like it's just another day.

Suddenly, a loud voice echoes through the forest.

Pinocchimon: YOO-HOO!!!

Perched at the very top of a nearby tree, Pinocchimon calls down to them, startling the group.

Taichi: (gasp) Pinocchimon! Pinocchimon: Hi, Takeru! It's good to see you again! Takeru: Not for me, it isn't! I'm not playing with you anymore! Patamon: That's right! Pinocchimon: Idiot! Playtime is long over! GET THEM, GARBAMON!!!

Three such creatures slide out of the woods in their trash cans.

Garbamon is a Perfect-stage Virus-type Mutant Digimon. Next to Jureimon, they're the other Virus Perfect from the Wind Guardians, and the other pre-evolution for Pinocchimon. Their name, of course, comes from the word "garbage".

They're based, specifically, on a desktop Recycle Bin for deleting files.

All Garbamon: YES, SIR!!! Narrator: Garbamon. A Digimon based on garbage. Their special attack is Unchi Bazooka, but they're still Perfect all the same.

Another rare attack name to feature a Japanese word in it. Unchi means poop. Yep, we're doing that again.

Which is what that last comment is about; Garbamon is along the same vein as the various junk 'mons we've seen like Scumon or Numemon or Nanimon. But these guys are not the pathetic little bottomfeeder Adults of the original V-Pet lineups. These guys are Perfect-stage Wind Guardians and they will fuck your shit up.

In the dub:

Puppetmon: Yoohoo! Tai: Puppetmon!? Puppetmon: Hi, everybody! Hey T.K., did you miss me? T.K.: No, not at all! And I'm not going to play with you anymore, either! Puppetmon: No!? Well, fine! You're not a lot of fun anyway! Front and center, everybody! Garbagemon 1: (slides out) Yes, sir! Garbagemon 2: (slides out) Yes, sir! Garbagemon 3: (slides out) Yes, sir! Palmon: (rundown) Uh-oh, Garbagemon! They're as tough as they are mean! And they don't smell very good, either....

Palmon's diegetic rundown here is completely different. But it still gets across the idea that despite being gross, they shouldn't be underestimated.

Puppetmon here is more outwardly upset about T.K.'s rejection. I do like that the dub has him clearly still nursing that wound, only launching the ambush after he's freshly rejected again.

Once the rundown's over, the Garbamon take aim.

Garbamon: FIRE THE UNCHI BAZOOKA!!!

The Garbamon unload their first volley of their disgusting projectiles. The kids turn and run into the woods as the Garbamon let off a second volley. But then Palmon notices one person who isn't running.

Palmon: Mimi!

Mimi snaps suddenly, furiously snatching one of the poops out of the air as it sails towards her.

Mimi: WHAT THE HELL EVEN IS THIS!?!? ENOUGH ALREADY!!!

She is so done with being the target of long-range poop assaults. She throws it straight back at the Garbamon.

Mimi is not very athletic, so her toss doesn't hit anything. It lands on the ground about halfway between her and the enemy, then flops to a stop in front of the center Garbamon. Still, her outburst takes everyone by surprise. The Garbamon stare slack-jawed at her, ceasing their assault.

A brief shot of Pinocchimon going O_O shows that he, too, is stunned speechless.

Sora swings back, grabbing Mimi by the arm and snapping her out of her temporary insanity. The second Sora grabs her, Mimi's ferocity collapses and she just looks freaked out and terrified again.

Sora: Mimi-chan, hurry! Mimi: Uh-huh!

A powerful moment for Mimi but not one that accomplished much.

In the dub:

Garbagemon: Junk Chuckers ready, aim, FIRE!!! Joe: RUN!!! (The kids flee from the non-specific junk) Palmon: Mimi! Mimi: (catch) I WON'T BUDGE!!! Let's let them do the running for a change! (throw) Garbagemon: :O ... Pinocchimon: O_O ... Sora: Mimi, come on! (grab) Mimi: Yeah, good idea! I must be nuts; I touched that stuff!

Mimi's ferocity comes on the heels of being repeatedly targeted by poop-throwing Digimon. It's the culmination of her individual experiences with Scumon and various Numemon.

Dub Mimi's snapping fury is recontextualized to be general outrage over all the running from enemies they've had to do. This probably goes hand-in-hand with the dub's persistent efforts to not directly admit that the projectile in question is, and has always been, poop.

Though calling it "junk" is getting pretty close to coming clean.

I do, however, love the addition of "I must be nuts; I touched that stuff!" at the end. That's a great line for her to deliver after snapping out of it.

From here, we return to Yamato to hear his answer to Jureimon.

Yamato: Sorry, but I don't feel like chatting with you. Let's go.

Yamato and Gabumon start walking towards the tree line. Jureimon extends his hand, growing it to a large size to cut off Yamato's departure.

Yamato: Get out of the way! Jureimon: Now now, I told you to wait. You don't need to be so hostile. Oh ho ho ho! "What's wrong with me!?" "This isn't who I want to be!" Yamato: (gasp) Jureimon: It's important to step back from time to time and think about who we've become, to better understand ourselves. Yamato: You were listening in? Jureimon: Ho ho ho ho! I didn't need to listen in. Nothing happens in this forest that I don't know about. Yamato: Then tell me! What should I do now? Jureimon: You're asking me what to do? Children these days, always wanting their answers handed to them. They never try to think for themselves. That's the problem right there, if you ask me.

Okay, boomer.

In the dub:

Matt: No offense, but even if I felt like talking, it wouldn't be to a tree. See you around. (Cherrymon blocks Matt's departure) Matt: Hey, what's the idea!? Cherrymon: Young man, didn't anyone ever tell you you should listen to your elders? Or was it redwoods you should listen to? I can never quite get those two straight. But anyway, I digress. So, you're still stuck in the same place. Still the same old jerk you always were. Matt: (gasp) Cherrymon: Surprised, huh? Ah, I know all about it! Must be tough being in such a rut! Matt: You've been spying on me, huh!? Cherrymon: Hahahahaha! Listen to me, kid. I don't need to spy because there's nothing that happens in this forest that I don't know about. Matt: (skeptical) Huh. Alright then, if you're so smart, what am I supposed to do!? Tell me that! Cherrymon: Ah, simple as that, eh? Kids. You want all the answers just handed to you on a mahogany platter but you never want to do the hard work of looking deep within yourself, where all the answers truly lie!

Pretty solid, with some tree jokes thrown in for shits and giggles.

Seeing that this isn't going anywhere good, Gabumon tries to intervene.

Gabumon: Yamato! You don't have to listen to this guy! Let's go! Jureimon: Are you sure about that? If you want to get stronger, you'll have to improve yourself. Yamato: Improve myself? Jureimon: That's right. But it's easier said than done. You will need to have the determination to carry it out. Yamato: Determination? I have that. Tell me, how am I supposed to do it? Jureimon: (thinking) Ha! He's taken the bait....

Jureimon playing Yamato for an absolute sucker.

In the dub:

Gabumon: Let's go. Don't you listen to that talking firewood, Matt! Come on! Cherrymon: That's right, go on! But you'll never learn how to change. You'll always be what you are right now. Matt: (weakly) I want to change! Cherrymon: Yes, of course, but are you really ready? After all, change isn't always a pleasant thing. You might find out a few things that you wish you hadn't. Matt: I'm ready. More than ready. Enough talking, big guy! If you've got some answers, let's see 'em! Cherrymon: (thinking) Haha! He fell for it like an overripe fig.

A small change: Jureimon baits his hook by questioning Yamato's resolve while Cherrymon questions Matt's commitment to change.

Finally, Jureimon reveals exactly what Yamato must do to better himself.

Jureimon: YOU MUST DEFEAT YOUR RIVAL!!! Yamato: Rival? Jureimon: (points) Go take a look at yourself in that lake. There, you will see the rival you must defeat. Yamato: I must defeat... my rival.... Gabumon: Yamato....

Yamato approaches the lake, peering into its waters.

Gabumon: Ah! Yamato: Th... That's...!

Slowly but surely the image of Taichi emerges.

(Honestly, who else was it gonna be? Mimi? Hell no. Yamato'd best not come slinging this shit at her 'cause she's got a mean answer to that now.)

The dub's delivery of Cherrymon's pronouncement is incredibly undercooked. Jureimon screams it as a dramatic, climactic revelation. The apex of what this conversation has been building to. Cherrymon lays it out all casual.

Cherrymon: Alright, kid, I'll help you out. First off, you're gonna have to defeat your rival. Matt: My rival? Cherrymon: (points) There. In that lake, you will see the face of the one who is preventing you from becoming as strong as you could be. Gabumon: Where are you going? Matt: I know it sounds pretty bogus but... Might as well look. Gabumon: Listen, Matt. You don't really believe him, do you? (Tai's image begins to emerge) Gabumon: Ahhh! Matt: TAI!?!? COME ON!!! WHAT KIND OF TRICK IS THIS!?!?

Matt absolutely refuses to sell the idea that he's buying what Cherrymon's selling at all. He's basically rolling his eyes while being dragged around by Yamato's decision-making. The original keeps what's going through Yamato's head here ambiguous. He's considering Jureimon's words but doesn't appear to have committed one way or the other.

From here, we go to commercial and come back to the Garbamon chase.

Garbamon: Don't think you can escape! Take this!

The Garbamon form up, back-to-back, and rotate in circles firing their Unshi Bazookas into the woods. in all directions. This achieves nothing, and instead Adult evolutions of all the Partner 'mons emerge. Everyone but Angemon, Tailmon, and Garurumon, that is.

The Partner Digimon converge their attacks on the Garbamon, creating a huge explosion. This seems effective until the smoke clears and reveals no trace of their targets.

Taichi: Great work! (Smoke clears; Nothing there) Pinocchimon: Hahahahaha! Did you think those puny attacks would be enough to defeat them!?

(This is a Dragon Ball moment; Their absence proves they got away before the blasts hit. But Digimon disintegrate upon death so there'd be no trace of them either way; This doesn't really work.)

In the dub, the lead Garbagemon gets philosophical.

Garbagemon: Ha! Don't you know that wherever you go, there will always be garbage? Okay, ready guys? MAKE A MESS!!! (The Garbagemon spin and fire into the trees. The Partners emerge and blast them.) Tai: WAY TO GO!!! Joe: That trash is thrashed! Puppetmon: Hehehehehe.... (Smoke clears; Nothing there) Puppetmon: Great, you've totally ruined my garbage fun! I'm beaten! I'm going home! PSYCHE!!!

Oh my god. Remember "PSYCHE!!!"? The 90's/early 00's!

"That trash is thrashed". Nice wordplay, extra Joe line.

With the team's failure revealed, the assault begins anew.

Pinocchimon: Look behind you!

A Garbamon rushes towards the Children from... Wherever they got off to, taking aim with his poopzuka.

Mimi: No.... Garbamon: GOT YOU NOW!!! Mimi: NOOOOOOOO!!!

Mimi lets out a bloodcurdling scream, activating her Crest and Super-Evolving Togemon into Lilimon. Bursting into existence, Lilimon tackles Mimi and pushes them both out of the way of Garbamon's shot.

In the dub:

Puppetmon: Look behind you! Garbagemon: WRAHHH!!! Mimi: It's trash! Look out! Garbagemon: (takes aim) Here's mud in your eye!

The dub takes its second commercial break here instead of where the original put it. Fair; The original's commercial did come surprisingly early.

Then we return, replaying the shots from Mimi and Garbagemon's previous two lines.

Mimi: Oh no! Help! Garbagemon: JUNK CHUCKER!!! Mimi: NIGHTMAAAAAAAAAARE!!!

On the hand, screaming NOOOOOOOO is incredibly overwrought and cliche. On the other hand, screaming NIGHTMAAAAAAAAARE is just silly.

I think they were stuck on that one because of the lip flaps. The word for no is ie, pronounced "eee-yay". It's two syllables, with Mimi's lips moving between them. It's hard to get two syllables out of NOOOOOOOO.

Once Mimi's safe, Lilimon soars into the fight.

Lilimon flies straight for Garbamon, but a second Garbamon suddenly emerges from behind them.

Garbamon 2: You fell for it! Lilimon: Wait, what!?

The pair of Garbamon open fire at once. Lilimon deftly maneuvers between their shots, but then the third Garbamon pops up behind them.

Garbamon 3: NOT DONE YET!!!

Lilimon's line here made me a little sad, because she says "Uso!" which means "Lie". It's an expression of disbelief; In this case, she fell for their trick completely and is conveying her surprise and confusion.

But for a moment, I thought she said "Kuso!" which is a Japanese curse word and literally means "SHIT!!!" Which would have been very apt in this situation. Alas.

In the dub, the Garbagemon remain poetic.

Garbagemon 2: TWICE IS NICE!!! Lillymon: Ah!? (The Garbagemon shoot; Lillymon dodges) Garbagemon 3: TRASH THAT PETUNIA!!!

Well punned.

Unfortunately for the Garbamon, Lilimon finds her footing and goes back on the offensive.

Stepping on the face of the Garbamon in front of her, Lilimon bounds up into the air to meet the third.

Garbamon 1: Do I look like a stepstool!? Lilimon: FLOWER CANNON!!!

Lilimon shoots Garbamon 3 point-blank, vaporizing them into pixel dust.

In the dub:

Garbagemon 1: That chick is heavier than she looks.... Lillymon: FLOWER CANNON!!!

Something about the replacement gag is getting my hackles up but I can't quite put my finger on it.

Inspired by Lilimon's counterattack, Taichi steps up.

Taichi: Yes! Now!

In the dub:

Tai: Alright! Finish them off!

Greymon Super-Evolves into MetalGreymon and fires off his Giga Destroyer. One of the two remaining Garbamon is still stunned from getting stepped on, but the other counterattacks with Unchi Bazooka.

The poop ricochet's harmlessly off the Giga Destroyer missile, doing nothing to impede its path.

Both Garbamon go up in a massive explosion that blows Pinocchimon off his treetop perch. While Pinocchimon hangs on for dear life, the errant final poop lands squarely on his forehead, provoking a furious and agonized shriek.

From here, we return to Yamato and Jureimon.

Yamato: Taichi is... my rival...?

Suddenly, Yamato stands up and starts laughing.

Yamato: Sorry to disappoint, but I've never felt that way about him. Not even once! Jureimon: Ha ha ha! That lake reflects whatever lies in the heart of the person who looks into it. Yamato: What!?

Of course, we know Yamato's not being honest with himself here. We've seen the friction between the two boys throughout the series, especially where Takeru was concerned. He may never have contextualized Taichi as a "rival" but he and Taichi have been locking horns since File Island.

You can tell how little Yamato believes in his own claim by how quickly he abandons it. Yamato says "LOL nice trap", Jureimon says "It's not a trap", and Yamato replies "WAIT WHAT!?!?" and resumes falling for it.

Yamato looks into the lake again. Then, after a moment, he pulls his gaze away once more.

Yamato: (struggling) I refuse to fall for this.... Jureimon: Do not avert your eyes! Properly face yourself!

At Jureimon's urging, Yamato gives in and looks down into the lake again.

In the dub, Cherrymon calls in from offscreen like a game show host while Matt's confronting the ugly revelation of the lake, which sounds absolutely hilarious in his Godfather Voice.

Cherrymon: Behold! The face of your rival! Matt: (hesitantly) ...so you're saying I have to fight Tai, is that it? (Matt stands up and starts laughing) Matt: Ahahahaha! Nice try, foliage-face, you had me going there. But you'll have to do better than that. Cherrymon: Hahahaha! I had nothing to do with it! The Lake of Truth reflects only what is in a person's heart; Hence the name. Matt: (shocked) You've gotta be kidding! Cherrymon: Sorry, kid; It's never wrong. (Matt looks again, then averts his eyes) Matt: That right? Well, I've got news for you. It's off this time! Way off! Cherrymon: Well, you can argue with me all you want but you're really only arguing with yourself.

Remarkably different approaches from Jureimon and Cherrymon. You can really feel Yamato's youth in the original; The way he responds to the booming voice of an elder authoritatively telling him what to do on a complicated issue he lacks confidence in himself to know how to resolve.

Jureimon has managed to manufacture an atmosphere where he can speak to Yamato as if he were a domineering parent commanding his child. Yamato's insecurity and uncertainty has created a vulnerability for an older predator to exploit, by speaking in a confident and certain tone.

Cherrymon takes the opposite approach, appealing to Matt as more of an equal. He pushes the issue but he's gentle and even sympathetic, going so far as to apologize to Matt for what he saw in the lake.

Cherrymon weasels himself into Matt's grievances with Tai as if he were just a passing bystander and not, you know, the guy who told Matt to look in the lake to begin with. He's metaphorically kneeling down on Matt's level. Hey man, it really sucks about that thing that's definitely just a fact of life and has nothing to do with what I said or did.

Yamato bends. He returns his attention to the lake, while Jureimon keeps pressing him.

Jureimon: I understand. Though you are both Chosen Children, everything you and that boy Taichi stand for are complete opposites of each other.

As a subtle psychological cue, Jureimon says Taichi's name with a scoff, as if the word itself tastes rotten and hollow in the mouth. He's monotonous and matter-of-fact except when he spits out Taichi's name as a curse.

Flashback montage of Yamato and Taichi's clashes through the series. We start with their fistfight on File Island, when Taichi wanted to abandon the rest of the group to go see what's beyond the ocean. Then Yamato snapping at Taichi at Digitamamon's diner. Then wrap up with their bitter argument over the graves Mimi built.

(Yamato was in the right in 2/3 of those.)

Jureimon: Whenever Taichi says or does anything, you can't help but react to it. That's how strong Taichi's presence in your heart has become. Until you overcome those feelings, you will never grow beyond where you are now. You must fight Taichi. Only when you free yourself from the hesitation in your heart will you be reborn!

What makes this interesting is that Jureimon isn't necessarily saying that Taichi is holding Yamato back. But rather that Yamato's feelings for Taichi are holding him back, and that those feelings can only truly be settled when he finally lets them out and has it out with Taichi. He must face the truth within himself before he can evolve.

Yamato feels like he's trapped in his cocoon and unable to hatch. Jureimon tells him that he's unwilling to hatch because the direction he must hatch in goes through Taichi.

Jureimon is telling Yamato that he needs to destroy the shadow of Taichi's influence over his mind before he'll be able to grow as an individual.

In the dub, Cherrymon... (sigh) ...makes this about who gets to be the show's main character.

Cherrymon: It's about time you face the truth. The one you call Tai is your leader; Everything he says, you do. Everywhere he goes, you follow. And yet, in your heart, you resent him because you know you're just as qualified to be the boss as he is!

The dub cuts the File Island flashback before Tai and Matt can start throwing punches, like they did in that episode itself.

(Digitamamon flashback) Tai: STOP IT!!! Matt: WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, HUH!? (Mimi's graves flashback) Matt: WHO DIED AND LEFT YOU IN CHARGE OF THE WORLD!?!? Tai: Huh? What do you mean? Matt: I'VE JUST ABOUT HAD IT!!! (Flashbacks end) Cherrymon: Do not be ashamed of your resentment. Do not hide it. Embrace it, for in your anger lies your strength! Only when you recognize that will you at last be free to grow. To change. So face your rival! And prove you are his equal! Or better! By defeating him!

Cherrymon gives Matt a full-blown Emperor Palpatine Dark Side speech. You hate Tai because you deserve to be the team leader, not him, so let your anger grow and strike him down. Thanks, I hate it.

Fortunately, Gabumon is still not buying into any of this, and is ready to be the voice of reason.

Gabumon: That's a lie! It makes no sense at all! Taichi is your nakama. Don't be fooled, Yamato! This is a trap!

As a reminder, nakama is a group of people brought together for a particular activity or goal who form tight-knit social bonds with each other through their mutual pursuit of it. Like a military squad or a sports team.

Taichi himself started using the term to refer to the Chosen Children when he was getting the band back together in the PicoDevimon sub-arc. The term nakama was a big deal for Yamato and was part of what they fought about in the Digitamamon episode; Yamato internalizing and accepting Taichi and Jou as his nakama was what made his Crest of Friendship shine.

So Gabumon's tactical use of the word here is significant. The concept of nakama means a lot to Taichi and Yamato's relationship.

Yamato snaps suddenly as if breaking out of a daze.

Yamato: T-That's right! We're nakama....

Yamato turns on Jureimon furiously.

Yamato: A NAKAMA DOESN'T FIGHT EACH OTHER!!! Jureimon: Heh! Nakama, you say? You don't even believe that a thing like that exists. You can lie to the others, but you can't lie to yourself! Yamato: (suddenly quiet) ... Jureimon: Ha ha ha ha! A perfect picture of yourself, isn't it? Gabumon: YAMATO!!! Jureimon: Nakama. Tomodachi. Yuujou. Pleasant words, but they're all illusions. Nothing but a fleeting emotion. You can't let yourself be exploited by ephemeral things like that! Am I wrong, Yamato-kun?

Jureimon's list here is basically untranslatable because he says the same word twice. Nakama is commonly translated as "friendship" even though it has a much more precise meaning, as mentioned above. Tomodachi actually does mean friendship. And then Yuujou is also friendship, but more formally.

Yuujou, incidentally, is the specific word for Yamato's Crest. Yuujou no Monshou, Crest of Friendship. Jureimon picks that one for last because it has the most meaningful punch.

So trying to translate this list literally would be "Activity group with tight-knit bonds. Friendship. Friendship in a suit and tie. Convenient words, but they're all illusions."

A pragmatic translation would probably be something like, "Colleagues. Buddies. Friends." Switching the focus from the feeling to the objects of said feelings, while still ending on friendship for that punch.

The dub, again, is going to have to make this work without being able to lean on nakama. Though in this context, it'd be easy to just use the conventional "friends" translation. A bit of meaning would be lost, but that's pretty much doomed to happen since we couldn't use nakama in the Digitamamon episode either.

Gabumon: Don't listen! He's just trying to cause trouble! He's playing games with your mind. It's all part of some kind of trap! Tai is your friend, Matt. (Matt snaps out of it) Matt: He's my friend, yeah. He may not always act like it, but.... (Matt whirls furiously on Cherrymon) Matt: He's right! Tai is my friend. You don't fight your friends. Cherrymon: Friends? Ha! Now that's a good one. You don't even believe that such a thing really exists. Matt: Huh!? Cherrymon: Not in your heart of hearts, anyway. Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Hit the nail on the head, didn't I? Gabumon: What's he mean? Cherrymon: Friendship. Loyalty. Comrades. Fine-sounding words, but that's all they are. Words. Delusions. And you're wise enough to see that now. You know that, ultimately, the only person you can depend on is yourself. Isn't that right, Matt?

Cherrymon starts with the meaningful punch and then lists out the other words from there, rather than building up to it. Odd choice.

He handles the friendship redundancy by translating the other friendship and nakama as "loyalty" and "comrades".

Yamato hesitates to answer Jureimon's accusations.

Gabumon: Is that true, Yamato? Yamato: I... I don't know. Gabumon: Yamato.... Jureimon: Listen, I will say this once more. If you want to improve yourself, you must fight Taichi. Unless you have the determination to do that, you'll never be able to change. Unless you face this trial, you will never become the person you want to be!

Now that Jureimon has vanquished Yamato's objection to his words, he doubles down and reiterates his line of attack. Pressing the issue again onto the now more vulnerable Yamato.

As Jureimon makes his pronouncement, the wind kicks up, picking off leaves from his branches that blow over Yamato. Symbolizing him becoming lost in the mayoi no mori that Jureimon embodies.

Yamato: I don't know what to....

Yamato falls to his knees, helpless.

Yamato: (voice breaking) Damn it.... What am I supposed to do!?

In the dub:

Gabumon: He's wrong, isn't he? Matt: (voice breaking) I don't know.... I... I don't know.... Gabumon: You don't!? Cherrymon: Alright, then! That's enough moping around for now. Look, kid, stop staring at your shoes; The choice in front of you is simple! If you truly want to change, to reach your full potential, you must defeat Tai. It's either that or be content to live your life following in the shadow of him forever. (Leaves blow from Cherrymon over Matt) Matt: What a choice.... (Matt falls to his knees) Matt: What do I do? Oh, what do I do!?

Cherrymon comes closer to the original topic this time around. But he still ropes in the dub's idea that Matt's just pissy he doesn't get to be team leader.

Also, Matt doesn't curse when he falls to his knees in the dub because of course he doesn't.

Yamato, here at the height of despair, pulls out his Crest.

Yamato: The Crest of Friendship. Why does someone like me have the Crest of Friendship!? Gabumon: Yamato! I understand, Yamato.... You should do what you think is right.

Yamato jerks up suddenly, having caught the tone of this conversation.

Yamato: (vulnerable) Gabumon...? Gabumon: Charging boldly ahead like Taichi does can't always be the right answer. There are some things that only you can do, Yamato. Yamato: Things that only I can do? Gabumon: Let's look for those things together. And if you do need it so badly... Then I will fight for you, Yamato! Yamato: (shocked) Gabumon...? Gabumon: Even if it means making an enemy out of the others, I will always be with you, Yamato! Yamato: (crying) Gabumon....

Gabumon's proclamation is so affecting, Yamato's Crest reactivates once more.

Gabumon doesn't agree with Jureimon. He hasn't agreed with anything Jureimon's said. He's still convinced that this is the wrong answer, and tells Yamato as much.

(And he's right. Gabumon is right. Yamato was right in two out of three of those clashes with Taichi! And others, like the time Taichi got weirdly misogynistic about Sora's parental issues.

Taichi struggles to empathize with other people. This is a consistent flaw of his, and frequently the spark that sets Yamato off because that is something Yamato does far better than Taichi. Jureimon has poisoned his mind into individualist ways of thinking when Yamato's greatest strengths come from what he brings to the collective good. That's why he has the Crest of Friendship.)

But out of love for his Partner, Gabumon is willing to walk down the wrong path hand in hand with Yamato.

In the dub, the Crest continues beeping and making malfunctioning noises when Matt takes it out even though it... It has no mechanical parts. It's a lanyard with a magic rock inside of it.

Matt: Oh, that's a laugh. Wouldn't you know it that my Crest had to be the Crest of Friendship! Gabumon: Matt... There's one thing he's right about. Whatever you're going to do, do it! Matt: But do what? Gabumon: You've got to hear what your own conscience is telling you and not listen to anyone else! Not Tai or Cherrymon or me! You've got to have faith in yourself, Matt! Matt: What if I make the wrong decision? Gabumon: I know that whatever it is, it will be the right one. Because I have faith in you. And whichever path you take, I'll be there with you. Matt: You mean that? Gabumon: You do have a friend. Never forget that. I'll always be there, Matt, no matter what. Matt: (crying) Gabumon....

This. Is entirely wrong. Dub Gabumon washes his hands of the entire (much shittier) moral conundrum on Matt's hands, telling him "I'll back whatever you decide and that's that." He makes no attempt to engage with the conflict resting on Matt's heart in a scene where he's supposed to be the voice of reason.

This is a bittersweet scene where Gabumon's devotion to Yamato is contrasted by him literally saying, "Yes, I will go fight our friends for you if that's what it takes." But he still makes clear that he disagrees with this course of action, and offers Yamato guidance about a better solution to Taichi's influence over his heart.

In the dub, Gabumon ironically agrees with Cherrymon. Original Gabumon says, "Bold and decisive action isn't always the right answer," and dub Gabumon is like, "You must make a decisive choice right now!"

Original Gabumon offers guidance, and Dub Gabumon says "You must figure your shit out yourself and accept no guidance from anyone, not even me."

Americans suck at recognizing when individualism is bad.

Then the dub kicks up the opening credits Digimon theme song as he evolves, like this is a triumphant moment... Before we head off to go betray our nakama and beat the shit out of Tai.

Speaking of which, Gabumon Warp-Evolves into MetalGarurumon.

MetalGarurumon: Let's go, Yamato! Yamato: Yeah.

MetalGarurumon and heads off with Yamato. As he does, both Jureimon and MetalGarurumon reflect on what went down here.

Jureimon: Ha ha ha! That went perfectly. Jureimon: (thinking) Still, I'm surprised by the strength of their bond. Pinocchimon doesn't have a heart like theirs, so he may still be defeated if he isn't careful. MetalGarurumon: (thinking) Yamato... I know how you really feel. You truly want to believe.... In nakama. In tomodachi. In yuujou.

MetalGarurumon quotes Jureimon's list from earlier, noting that even though Yamato doesn't think he cares so much, he does.

MetalGarurumon lost the battle because he misunderstood the turmoil that was raging in Yamato's heart. But he intends to win the war, because he understands Yamato's truth better than anyone.

In the dub:

MetalGarurumon: Ready. Lead the way. Matt: Right. (The pair head off) Cherrymon: Hahahaha! Yeah, I think that went rather well. Cherrymon: (thinking) Still, I'm surprised by the strength of the bond between them. It took every trick I had to undermine it. If Puppetmon isn't careful, this game could still be lost. MetalGarurumon: I meant what I said, Matt. Cherrymon was wrong! Friendship. Loyalty. They're more than just words, they're real! And they matter. I'm going to prove it to you!

It's... honestly not clear if MetalGarurumon is thinking or saying those words out loud. His lip flaps aren't moving because the original MetalGarurumon is thinking, not speaking. But his tone is conversational, rather than introspective.

In any case, MetalGarurumon makes his intent more clear here.

Both of these carry on from where the previous scenes left them. Original MetalGarurumon is determined to work through this together with Yamato and believes Yamato already has the right ideas in his heart.

Dub MetalGarurumon thinks Yamato well and truly does not believe in friendship, but wants to show him a positive example of friendship in order to sway the decision he makes for himself.

Both of which they intend to do by fighting Taichi/Tai because that's what Yamato/Matt mistakenly thinks he needs right now.

His work complete, Jureimon reports to Pinocchimon, finding him washing his face at a nearby creek.

Pinocchimon: Shit! How dare they throw poop at me!? They'll all pay! Jureimon: Pinocchimon-sama, my plan has worked out perfectly. Pinocchimon: What was your plan? Jureimon: The two Ultimate stages, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon, are going to fight each other. Pinocchimon: Eh!? That sounds fun! Jureimon: If those two fight seriously, neither of them will come out unharmed. No, at best, they might even kill each other. Once the strongest are out of the way, you'll only have to pick off the weaklings. Pinocchimon: Great! I should hurry up and check that out! I don't want to miss such a Super Battle!

"Super Battle" is said in English, for a similar effect as snarking (TM) onto the end of a phrase.

In the dub, Puppetmon seems to be threatening the Garbagemon.

Puppetmon: Yech! Splattering me with their gunk. Those bucket-brains will pay for this! Cherrymon: There you are. The plan went perfectly, just as I thought. Puppetmon: Plan? What plan? Cherrymon: You should have seen it! I played that trusting sap like a violin. He's gonna do our dirty work for us, Puppetmon. Puppetmon: Well, sounds like a plan. Cherrymon: Any second now, we'll hear the sounds of WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon locked in mortal combat. Puppetmon: You're serious!? Cherrymon: Oh, yeah. With any luck they'll destroy each other. With the two strongest Digimon out of the way, the rest will fall like rotten fruit. Puppetmon: Mortal combat!? This I gotta see! Let's go! What are we waiting for!?

That threatening remark might be meant for the kids but "bucket brains" sounds like a jab at the trash cans that the Garbagemon were in.

Were they shouting out the Mortal Kombat series?

I love Cherrymon's enthusiasm here. He runs up like a happy kid shouting "Look what I did! Look what I did!" The dub handles this scene pretty much perfectly.

Pinocchimon turns to go see the fireworks, but Jureimon has a warning for him.

Jureimon: Please be careful around the Chosen Children! If you don't take this seriously, even you could be defeated by them. Pinocchimon: (stops, suddenly serious) I... might be defeated...? Jureimon: They have something that you lack, Pinocchimon-sama. Pinocchimon: (quietly) I lack something? You're saying that I lack something? Jureimon: Yes, it's-- Pinocchimon: THERE IS NOTHING THAT I LACK!!! BULLET HAMMER!!! Jureimon: WAAAAAAUGH!!!

Furious at Jureimon's insinuation, Pinocchimon erases him with his Bullet Hammer. Jureimon lets out an agonized scream and disintegrates into pixel dust - taking his critical insight to the digital grave with him.

(Which Mimi will not be making.)

Pinocchimon: Hmph. I don't care who it is; no one gets away with making fun of me.

Pinocchimon's childishness has become his undoing. He misunderstood what Jureimon was trying to say, interpreted it as mean-spirited mockery, and retaliated with ultimate force before Jureimon could even get a word out to explain. Pinocchimon killed Jureimon in the midst of a temper tantrum.

In the dub:

Cherrymon: Wait a minute! We gotta be careful! The DigiDestined are strong! Stronger than I expected, and to underestimate them could be disastrous! Puppetmon: What!? Are you saying... I might lose? Cherrymon: I'm only saying that I think you should take them seriously. There's something about them. Puppetmon: Something? Hmm... You mean like something I might be missing!? Cherrymon: (backpedaling) Well, not totally.... Puppetmon: I have everything I need to take care of you! PUPPET PUMMEL!!! Cherrymon: OH THE HORROR!!! (Cherrymon disintegrates into pixel dust) Puppetmon: Huh. Man, that kind of negative attitude really brings me down!

You know, from my perspective going over both languages, there's something hilarious about the way Puppetmon keeps trying to rerail the conversation back to the original script but Cherrymon refuses to actually say the things he's supposed to be saying here. XD

Jureimon was trying to warn Pinocchimon not to underestimate their feelings for each other. Pinocchimon doesn't have a heart and can't truly comprehend the strength of the bonds they share - bonds which may be a threat to the entire "Pit them against each other" plan. If he doesn't play this carefully, Yamato may yet turn back against him.

That context didn't make it into the dub, so Cherrymon's forced to say the kids themselves are super strong; Maybe stronger than Puppetmon.

Similarly, Puppetmon's final line doesn't quite convey the childishness of the original. This is overall a weaker scene.

Meanwhile, against all reason, one of the Garbamon actually survived that Giga Destroyer.

It's the one that Lilimon stepped on. Bootprint still on their face, they pop out of their trash can.

Garbamon: Alright, fine. I give up. JUST KIDDING!!!

Garbamon picks up their trash can; A powerful vacuum begins pulling everything into it.

Garbamon: YEAH HAHAHA!!! There's a Black Hole in here! I'll suck all of you into it!

Most of the kids cling to tree to avoid being dragged in. Hikari and Taichi hide behind MetalGreymon's leg; He's dug his claws into the earth to stabilize himself.

Taichi: Damn it. They still had a trick like this up their sleeve.... Hikari: (loses her grip) ONII-CHAN!!! Tailmon: HIKARI!!! Taichi: HIKARI!!!

Hikari and Tailmon both go flying, though Tailmon appears to have jumped and can be briefly seen swimming through the suction to reach Hikari. I don't know what she's planning but she intends to try something.

We'll never find out how Tailmon intended to rescue Hikari, because Garbamon is suddenly killed by a surprise Cocytus Breath from behind. The black hole trash can freezes and shatters right alongside them.

In the dub:

Garbagemon: Okay, okay! I know when I'm beat! You win! I surrender! ...JUST KIDDING!!! HYA HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! (Garbagemon starts sucking everything into the trash can) Garbagemon: Trash Day; Everybody in the can! If you're lucky, you'll get recycled! Taichi: This nasty little creep's really starting to get on my nerves! Kari: (loses her grip) TAI, HELP ME!!! Gatomon: KARI!!! Tai: KARI NO!!!

Garbagemon doesn't mention the black hole inside the trash can, so it's not super clear what happens to things dragged into it. But it's still clear that getting dragged in would be bad, which is the important thing.

With the last Garbamon dead and MetalGarurumon revealed, things begin to escalate right away.

Tailmon: MetalGarurumon!

Yamato steps out from the woods; Everyone's ecstatic to see him. Taichi has the biggest smile on his face to be reunited with their lost nakama member.

Sora: Yamato! Taichi: (running over, ecstatic) YAMATO!!! Where have you been this whole time!?

MetalGreymon degrades back down to Agumon and sprints across the field, smiling as well.

Agumon: Thank you! That was really close, so thanks!

MetalGarurumon says nothing, but fires a warning shot. Blue lasers shoot from his eyes, exploding next to Agumon and startling him. The children all gasp in shock at the unprovoked attack.

In the dub:

Gatomon: It's MetalGarurumon! (Matt emerges) Joe: Matt!

The dub puts a commercial break here. We return right where we left off, with Joe's extra line basically filling in as the respective ends of the commercial. Joe popped in to shill products before we resume the scene. :P

"Matt, you're back! Have you heard about ice-cold Pepsi Zero?"

Joe: Matt! Sora: Matt, you're back! Tai: (running over, ecstatic) BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!!! Where you been, buddy!? (MetalGreymon powers down to Agumon) Agumon: Thanks for saving our necks but did you have to cut it that close?

Agumon is ungrateful and deserves to be shot with lasers.

Now that the stage has been set, MetalGarurumon faces off with Agumon.

Agumon: W-Why!? MetalGarurumon: Agumon, I challenge you! Evolve to Ultimate! Agumon: The hell!? Why do I have to fight you!?

MetalGarurumon answers his question with another warning shot, firing off two missiles that detonate to either side of Agumon.

Following the reaction shot when MetalGarurumon first shoots at Agumon, Taichi whips back around to face Yamato but says nothing. It honestly feels like he should say something here if we're going to the trouble of animating him turning back around and facing Yamato, so the dub puts one in.

Tai: What's he doing!? Agumon: Hey, what is this!? MetalGarurumon: What do you think!? It's a challenge! You might want to Digivolve, and fast! Agumon: What have you been eating out there in the forest!? You want to fight me!?

MetalGarurumon's more aggressive here than his Japanese counterpart. Original MG is laying this down as a formal challenge, using the stock shonen phrase shoubu da, which basically means "Compete with me!" Often times in shonen that competition is fighting, including this one, though it doesn't necessarily have to be. The point is simply to face one another in a contest that will decide a victor.

Dub MG is saying the same thing, but pushes it harder with more threatening language.

I love Dub Agumon's translation of Nandayo!? as a censor-friendly "ARE YOU ON DRUGS!?" Beautiful reaction line.

Sora the peacemaker tries to confront Yamato over this.

Sora: Yamato! W-What... What are you doing!? Taichi: Hey, Yamato! Hurry up and stop him! Yamato: (coldly) No. This will happen. Taichi: (shocked) This will happen...? You....

In the dub:

Sora: This is insane! Matt, what's going on!? Is this some kind of joke!? Tai: Matt! I don't know what he's doing but call him off now! Yamato: (coldly) No, Tai. I won't. Tai: What did you say!? You won't!?

Sora and Taichi are both too shocked and confused to form words properly. Sora stumbles over her "Nani" as she tries to create her sentence.

Taichi initially doesn't realize that Yamato's in on this too and thinks MetalGarurumon went crazy for no reason; When he realizes the truth, he repeats Yamato's raw line straight back to him as if he can't process that those words came out of Yamato's mouth.

As usual, the dub kids are quicker on the uptake. Sora and Tai don't understand why he's doing this but they have an easier time delivering their flabbergasted lines.

With Yamato unwilling to call off MetalGarurumon, all eyes return to Agumon.

MetalGarurumon: I won't miss the next one. Now, evolve to WarGreymon quickly! Agumon: (steeling himself) You're serious about this.

We cut to Jou, Koushiro, and Hikari watching with apprehension. Takeru calls out:

Takeru: Onii-chan!

But Yamato's gaze remains cold and he doesn't acknowledge his brother. Finally, we close on Pinocchimon watching from the treetop perch that got him shitfaced earlier.

Pinocchimon: Hehe! I made it just in time. This is sure to be loads of fun!

Will it be loads of fun? Find out next time, when things will definitely go well for Pinocchimon, who is lacking nothing.

In the dub:

MetalGarurumon: I'm warning you! Hurry up and Digivolve into WarGreymon because I won't miss next time! Agumon: (surprised) ...I think he really means it!

They use the various reaction shots to have offscreen characters continue talking.

MetalGarurumon: Well!? Time's running out, Agumon! T.K.: Tai, stop him! Tai: I wish I could, but there's only one person who can stop him!

Yeah, instead of calling out to Yamato in startled confusion, T.K. yells for Tai to make this stop. I have no idea why.

The episode then closes on Matt's silent stern face; Itself now a response to Tai instead of to Takeru. Pinocchimon's final bit is cut.

Narrator: Will Matt succeed in destroying the DigiDestined from within? Find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters.

This is how far off-track we've drifted. We've gone from "In order to break free from Taichi's influence over his heart, Yamato mistakenly thinks he must fight and defeat Taichi in a formal contest of arms," to "Will Matt SUCCEED IN DESTROYING THE DIGIDESTINED!?!?"

Assessment: This one's a lot of sitting and talking. The Garbamon fight breaks up the discussion a bit, but the focus of this episode is Jureimon and Yamato's conversation.

It is a long talk because, while it's true that Yamato and Taichi are diametrically opposed to one another, it takes a lot of convincing to turn Yamato temporarily into an honest-to-DigiGod shonen rival. They don't really have that kind of relationship. In fact, the scene where they unlocked these Ultimate forms for their Digimon was all about the ways their Crest attributes complement and strengthen one another.

Yamato does need to figure out the emotional blocks holding him back from the true expression of himself that slips out when he's not thinking about it. But this ain't it, champ. This is Jureimon's nonsense.

Jureimon is, honestly, a pretty cool villain. I took him for granted as a kid because he's a big tree that just talks for like ten minutes. But as the physical representation of mayoi no mori, he's fascinating. The episode namedrops those words in the title, but the inescapable forest of lost souls never really appears.

Because, of course, it's not a place. It's him. The deep unnavigable wood is the semantic web Jureimon weaves around Yamato over the course of their talk. He fucks up Yamato for basically the rest of the show. This sets Yamato on his final character arc: The path to his true self-actualization down the road.

A conversation which the dub handles decently well in places but makes critical missteps about important points, particularly pertaining to Jureimon and Gabumon's respective interpretations of Yamato's feelings.

[jqmalikhsgib]

quest

ten

feeling someone try and climb into the bed woke you up. you looked down and smiled when you see your shy boy. laughing you look down before picking him up gently.

“hi, baby. what are you doing up so early?”

he just cuddles you before trying to grab his fathers hand. aaron grunts as he gently opens his eyes and smiles.

it had been a few weeks since your first appointment at marriage counseling. the two of you have become a little bit stronger. you were both still trying to navigate your relationship.

aaron’s been more attentive. he’s also taken time off. letting derek and dave handle everything unless he was extremely needed.

“good morning, theo. how’s my boy?”

“papa, sleepy?”

aaron chuckles. “not too sleepy for you. hungry baby?”

theo nods.

“ill go make breakfast.” you were about to get outta bed before aaron stops you. “ill make breakfast. you and the kids relax.”

“aaron—”

aaron shakes his head. he kissed you gently before getting out of bed and heading downstairs. currently you were packing. finding a house big enough for your family.

you and aaron had money, sure. with aaron growing up wealthy his father left him, his mother, and his brother quite a lot of money. aaron’s grandparents did the exact same. leaving them to never have to worry about anything.

you on the other hand had just come from money. receiving everything that your father left behind. including the house back in texas. but he also had homes all around the world, including a home near quantico.

it’s already been paid off and it has nine bedrooms. big enough for everyone to have there own room and possibly even have more children, which is something aaron needed to discuss with you in the near future.

once aaron finished making breakfast he ran upstairs and smiles when he sees you cuddled up to all your children. he loved having his family back together. even more so having three new children the two of you created together.

his family

though he thinks a lot about the woman that’s missing, haley. she should be here. alive and well. she would have loved theo, izzy, and roe. so much so she would have offered to take them along with jack even if they weren’t hers biologically.

not because she didn’t think you couldn’t handle it. but to give you a little break to yourself. she would have given you pointers and you would have taken them. the two of you would probably be closer than before. bonding over the love you have for the children in your lives.

haley loved you so much. you were a huge part of jack’s life. she loved how much you loved her son. in fact the day she died she told aaron to find you. to not let jack lose two moms.

“daddy!” isabella yelled when she spots her dad in the doorway.

the rest of his family looks at him lovingly. he climbs into bed and kisses his kids.

“good morning. breakfast is ready.”

jack was the first one downstairs. he was very hungry. you and aaron laugh as you grab the triplets and head downstairs.

you all enjoyed breakfast together. laughing and giggling. the day was starting off perfect. what you didn’t know was aaron had made plans for you two. he wanted to take you out without the kids.

normally when you go out the kids are around. but he had called both jessica and jj to come and take care of your four children. hoping jj was free the whole day so jessica didn’t have to take care of four children alone, though she had stated plenty of times that she was more than happy to and was more than capable. he just didn’t want to overwhelm her.

with jj having two kids, and one more on the way, he thought having her around to help would be great for jessica.

“jack?”

“yea dad?”

“could you take your siblings to the play room while mom and i clean this up?”

jack nods. he grabs his siblings as he heads the the play area.

“what was that about?”

aaron holds your hand.

“just—we don’t ever get any alone time.”

you scoff playfully. “we have four children, aaron. hard to get that.”

“i know. but if we’re gonna do this, restart everything, we should probably have more time to ourselves, don’t you think?”

“what do you suggest?”

aaron smiles. he kisses the top of your head before he continues to the dishes. you eye him suspiciously.

“what are you up to mister hotchner?”

aaron smirks. “it’s a surprise misses hotchner.”

no matter how many times you hear it your heart skips a beat. being called misses hotchner has always made you feel giddy.

“fine, don’t tell me.”

he chuckles while you help him finish up the dishes.

that night, after a grocery store run, without the kids because aaron insisted they stay with him while you have a little break, when you got home it was quiet.

it made you nervous. you hadn’t been use to the silence in so long.

“aaron?”

when you got no word from him you immediately locked the door and called him.

“hotchner?”

“aaron, where are you?”

“go upstairs.”

you frowned. heading upstairs you walked into your shared bedroom and seen the most beautiful silver dress you had ever seen. you runs your fingers over it.

“do you like it?”

“aaron! it’s beautiful.”

“you better get dressed, angel. we got a date tonight. just you and i.”

“what about the kids?”

“jessica and jj are watching them while i take my lovely wife out on a date she deserves. we got two years to make up for. im gonna make up for it in one night.”

you giggle. “okay, big boy. don’t get ahead of yourself.”

aaron just chuckles. “get dressed and meet me at our favorite spot. you still remember don’t you?”

“of course.”

“see you soon, misses hotchner.”

the line soon goes dead. you squeal like a teenager finally going on her first date with the guy she’s been crushing on for years before getting ready.

when you arrived at your favorite restaurant, the same one aaron proposed, you saw eyes on you. granted you looked like a movie star, you were still very shy.

when aaron sees you he couldn’t keep his eyes off. it was like your first date all over again.

“wow.”

“is it too much?”

aaron shakes his head. “absolutely not. you look breathtaking. everything about you is just—im one lucky man, huh?”

“im one lucky woman. look at you. the glasses are—”

“yeah? this doing it for you?” he laughs.

“absolutely.”

the two of you sit across from each other. aaron had already ordered a bottle of wine.

“i figured white wine would do. unless you want red, darling.”

you shook your head. “this is just fine. thank you.”

the two of you continue to have conversation. talking about the kids and the big move. aaron even discussed work. how a lot of cases were hard but others he took home with him. you listened intensely. once the two of you ordered he begins talking about the time you were gone.

it upset you at how much you missed. in aaron’s life and in jacks. but he kept letting you know that it was passed. the two of you should focus on the new beginnings of your lives and still be able to enjoy the stories you get to tell each other when being apart

when your food arrived you continued to catch up. it was like a new start. it felt good to talk to aaron again. not that you haven’t since being back. but it was always someone around. rather that be your therapist or your children. now you get alone time to just chat.

“how was the team? during everything?”

“they were tip-toying around me. trying to tread lightly. making sure i didn’t get upset or triggered.”

“im sorry you had to go through that. i should have—”

“hey, stop! remember.”

you hummed. “i know. just feel guilty.”

“well you shouldn’t. we both made mistakes. we talk about it every week. no need to talk about it here, with each other. we’re okay.” aaron smiles as he grabs your hand gently. he kisses the back of it to get you to smile gently.

aaron has always been affectionate. but recently it was different. though he kiss you on the cheek, forehead, behind your ear or hand the two of you never actually kissed each other on the mouth.

you weren’t in any rush. but you felt like he was hiding something. you weren’t a profiler but you knew your husband. you were giving him time to completely open up to you. hopefully he would eventually.

when you both hear his phone ring he frowns. he was still using his vacation time. when he sees it’s jj he panics a little.

“jj? are the kids okay?”

this made your heart beat. hoping that your children were safe. aaron’s usual scowl back in tune.

“yes, i understand. ill be right there.” he ended the call and sighs.

“im so sorry, yn. it’s a case involving a boy. he’s a little bit older than jack. i gotta—”

your heart broke just hearing that. you couldn’t imagine what the parents were going through. if something happened to jack or any of your babies you don’t think you’d be able to handle it.

“no, don’t apologize. go!”

“thank you.” he kisses the top of your head. he goes to pay the bill before you head out yourself. suddenly needing to just hug and kiss your babies.

sorry ive been gone for a little while. dealing with family drama kinda sucks the soul out of writing! but im back with a new part

yes i changed the title again. wasn’t really feeling like doing the whole song title anymore

please let me know if you wanna be added or unadded to any of my stories taglist!

taglist:

@ivebeenthearchersstuff @shergoretzxx @slut4ethan @rosiehale23 @madesavage05 @whotfskai @vodkori @zaddyhotch @14buddy22

[weirdgenetic-fuckup]

Lack of Communication pt.1

A/n: I was gonna put the whole thing into just one fic but decided against it because teasing is fun ;) I need something to motivate me to keep writing this story

Warnings: Smut, angst, squirting, fingering (f receiving), oral (f receiving), public sex, if you think I missed anything let me know otherwise enjoy!

When Guns needed a new rhythm guitarist after Izzy left they got you. You knew you would never fully fill in the role Izzy had but you did your best to make it your own nonetheless.

No one was happy about the changing lineup, Duff and Slash tried to shield you from the hate you were getting as best they could but it mostly just ended in drinking and drugs, the best medicine they knew.

One of those nights out of partying you woke up naked in bed with Duff. He held you close, his eyes were closed but he was awake. He never asked you to leave, he didn't say much while you got yourself together and left. That was just the first time.

It became less of an accident and it quickly became something normal, quick hookups whenever you needed it. That being said, he wasn't the only one you were messing around with.

After your flings started with Duff your ruled out the other members of Guns, however you dalliance's didn't end with him. Your partying mainly stayed on or near the Sunset Strip, a place Motley Crue was also known for hanging out around.

You and Nikki already had a similar relationship, though he stuck with you outside of just drinking and drugging and when you initially got together it was before anything happened with Duff, it was also intentional and not some drunken mishap.

Your friendship grew from there, but that was all you ever wanted to be with him, friends with benefits. That's why it was different with Duff.

Guns was going on tour with the Crue, you hadn't thought much of it.

The two bands met up before the plane took off. Nikki came straight to you, pulling you into a hug to which you returned. "Meet me in the bathroom, would you?" He whispered in your ear, using the hug as a cover up.

You agreed of course and snuck off not long after him, letting him pull you into the stall. He trailed kisses down your neck to your collarbone. "I know you love me and all but try to be quiet so we don't get security called on us, ok?" He said in a teasing tone.

"Oh, fuck you, just do your job." You whispered back, pushing his head down. He complied without another word, getting on his knees in front of you and tugging your pants down.

You held your hand over your mouth as he started lapping at your folds, swallowing your juices and pushing a finger into your needy hole. You whined softly and Nikki pinched your inner thigh, glaring up at you.

You rolled your eyes and let him get back to work, curling his finger inside you, tongue swirling around your clit. You tugged on Nikki's black hair, warning him you were close.

You stopped at the gift shop to get yourself some candy so you had an excuse as to why you both had been gone for so long. Your bands bought it and climbed on the plane without another word.

The tour had been going great, you were about a month into it now and almost every show had been sold out. The living arrangements always had limited rooms so you and Duff offered to share as whenever there was a need.

You didn't hate it, no, you definitely wanted to be close to Duff as much as possible. It was just... scary? You talked to Nikki about it all the time, he tried to help you with your feelings but he wasn't much better than you were at figuring it out.

All you knew was you liked being around Duff more than anyone, but being in his presence always made you nervous. You didn't want to say love... strong liking was the term you and Nikki had decided on.

It was around 6:00 am when you felt arms tugging on you. It was Duff dragging you out of bed on your day off before an early flight. "Come on, shower time." You groaned and kicked at him.

"No! It's sleep time, sleep! Get in bed." You grumbled, clawing at the sheets. It was no use, Duff was stronger than you.

He carried you bridal style to the bathroom where he set you down on the counter to help you undress. You let him do it, barely keeping yourself awake.

"I'm assuming you want the water boiling your skin off?" He asked, fumbling with the faucet to get the shower working.

"Yeah..." You yawned. "I'll settle with something warm so you don't die." He chuckled at that.

"I appreciate your compromise."

You nodded. "You know what I don't appreciate?" He hummed for you to go on. "Being woken up at the ass-crack of dawn!" You bit, throwing a small bottle of soap at him. It hit him in the back and he shot you a look.

"You're fine, early shower's not gonna kill you."

"No, I'm gonna kill you." You stated as he picked you up and carried you once more into the shower, setting you down slowly to make sure you wouldn't fall.

The warm water was nice, feeling Duff's hands over your skin was even better as he cleaned you. You helped each other get clean but at some point you were just soaking in the water with each other, talking softly about something or other.

You ran your hands over his back and he hissed. You looked up at him, raised brow in confusion. "Mind checking my back?" You grimaced but nodded anyway.

He turned around and you saw scratching covering the expanse of his back, specially over his shoulders. "Oops..." You muttered.

"Oops?" He asked, looking at you over his shoulder, turning back to face you. "Fuck do you mean 'oops'?"

You shrugged. "I-I may or may not have-"

"Shredded my fucking back?" He interrupted. You chewed your cheek a moment before nodded with a wide grin.

"Precisely." You giggled as he scoffed at you. "C'mon, you know you like it." You said, resting your hands on your hips. Duff's gaze trailed down your body, his hands moving to your sides.

"I do, but it hurts." He mumbled. You rolled your eyes at you.

You had an idea, wanting to tease him as revenge for dragging you into the bathroom at such an early hour on your day off.

You took a step closer to him, kissing down his chest and torso before getting on your knees and going even lower. Duff groaned, making assumptions on where this was headed.

You could see his excitement growing, giving it a few soft kisses, even stroking him a few times before pushing away and sighing as you sat peacefully in front of him.

"You're kidding, right?" He asked, looking down at you with a slightly annoyed expression, though he couldn't even make eye contact with your naked body present before him.

"No." You leaned back against the wall, letting your knees fall to the side and exposing yourself even more. "Maybe I need a big, tall daddy to set me straight." You said, a teasing look on your face.

"Oh, yeah?" He asked, staring at your figure intently as you stood up. "That really what you want?"

"I said daddy, not cunt." You said, quickly getting out of the shower before he could grab you.

"Oh, you bitch." He huffed, stepping out of the shower with a smirk on his face. You were already drying yourself off while he turned the shower off.

You handed him a towel and got to work drying your hair. "Don't worry, you'll deserve that title at some point."

"Don't tempt me." You rolled your eyes at his lighthearted threat.

"Aw, little boy getting all pissy now?" You teased. He threw his towel down. "Uh-oh, is it nap ti-" You were cut off by a yelp as he picked you up and threw you over his shoulder, both of you completely buck naked.

He kicked the door open and closed it, throwing you on the bed and crawling over top of you. "Cunt, is that what you called me?" You nodded, still giggling at his actions. "Am I really a cunt or is that just your way of telling daddy what you want?" He asked, voice low as his lips caressed the shell of your ear.

Your breathing grew heavy as he trailed kisses down your body. Your hands were beside your head, gripping the sheets in anticipation. "Maybe~" You gleamed, smiling down at him.

He smiled back up at you as he kissed your inner thigh. "Well, you've never let me do this before," He said, spreading your legs and staring at your glistening folds, "I have to assume that's what it's about." He began lapping at you, his tongue sending shivers down your spine.

You moaned out for him, babbling on about how good his tongue felt swirling around your clit or dipping into you. He pushed a finger into you, his fingers were long and slim. "Is this good?" He asked, dominant demeanor dissolving as he became focused on your pleasure.

You nodded. "Just do it- do it slow." You said, trying to control your voice as his hot breath fanned over you. He pulled his finger back slowly, causing you to gasp when he curled it. "There! Right there." You moaned. He smiled and went back to licking and sucking your clit, now focusing some of his attention on your hole and continuing that same motion.

He started rutting against the mattress, chasing his own high while bringing you closer to the edge. Every sound that left him went straight against you, sending vibrations through you.

"Fuck, Duff-! M-m'so close!" You let go of the sheets, hands moving to clutch his hair tightly, pulling him closer to you as your hips bucked into him. A string of curses left you muddled with his name as you came, squirting on him and soaking the sheets beneath you.

Duff came up a moment later, sitting beside you and pulling you into his lap. He wiped his mouth and you looked down to notice where his own cum spurted out. You looked back to him and kissed his cheek. "Was that what you were expecting?" He slowly shook his head at your question.

He stared down at you with wide eyes, stars shining in them. "No, I-I didn't think..." He trailed off, not finishing his thought. You weren't sure there was much thought left in him. "Is that why you didn't let me do that sooner?"

"What, go down on me?" He nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, I guess it's just, I don't know... weird?" He just about choked on his spit.

"Weird? Babe, you're hot!" You laughed as he peppered your face with kisses. "You ever done that with someone before?" You thought about it for a moment.

"Yeah, one other guy." That seemed to peak his interest.

"Really? I'm not your first?" He put a hand on his chest. "I'm hurt, truly." You waved a hand his face, chuckling softly. "Who?" The question caught you off guard.

"What..?" You asked, your smile fading slightly.

"Who? Who'd you do that with?" He pushed, holding you tighter to him.

"It-it doesn't matter, does it?" You asked, gaze falling elsewhere, anywhere that wasn't him.

"No, it doesn't." He said, kissing your forehead. "I'm just curious... Who is it..?"

You chewed your cheek. "Do you really want to know..?" He nodded excitedly. You looked up at him, hesitating a moment before speaking. "Nikki."

He smile flipped along with his whole attitude towards you. "Nikki? Like, Sixx? Nikki fucking Sixx?" Your expression fell as you nodded. "Are you fucking kidding me? When?" His grip on you loosened, almost letting go of you completely.

"I-I thought you said it didn't matter?" You said in an attempt to calm him down.

"It matters when it's Nikki!" He yelled. "When? Are you fucking him, too?" You hesitated, not wanting to make the situation worse.

You were sensitive and vulnerable and just wanted to be held but he seemed to be struggling to want his arms around you. "Longer than I've been with you, but it's just casual, like us." You said, looking up at him with a small pout.

"No, don't fucking give me that look." He said, pushing you off of him completely. "Who said we were casual?"

"Who said we were exclusive?" You asked, your voice much softer than his.

He scoffed, getting out of bed and heading for his suitcase. "Nikki Sixx, are you serious?" He grumbled while getting dressed.

"You asked with who!" You said, getting off the bed and going to him. "If you wanted us to be exclusive you should've said something!" You weren't mad, but you felt you needed to raise your voice just so he'd listen to you.

"Would you have wanted to be exclusive? Or were you fine getting dicked down by whoever you could find?" You opened your mouth to speak but he stormed out of the room before you could say anything.

You felt gross, hurt and abandoned. You couldn't stand being in this room anymore and got yourself dressed, stealing one of Duff's shirts, still craving him -his scent and touch- and heading to find Nikki for comfort.

[house-afire]

Testament (Izzy/Lucius)

Prompt: 100 words of inheritance

Izzy dreamt of an enormous moth lighting on his face, beating its wings furiously. It was a strange fancy for a man who’d spent most of his life at sea, away from almost every creeping, crawling thing, but it made more sense once he struggled back awake and felt a sheet of parchment slide off his face.

“What the fuck is this?” Lucius demanded, his voice off-pitch with some emotion Izzy was too inexperienced or hungover (or both) to identify.

He turned over enough to blearily take in whatever Lucius was talking about before Lucius shoved it in his face again. The paper was stamped with Wee John’s powder and paints now—Izzy hadn’t washed his prettiness off before he’d collapsed in bed. But that wasn’t what Lucius meant, of course. He was—God only knew why—all stirred up about what was written on the paper.

“What the fuck does it look like?”

“What does it—it looks like a fucking will, Izzy!”

“Good,” Izzy said. “I did it right, then.”

“What are you doing writing your will?”

It was far too early for this shit. “Pirates die, Twatty. One-legged pirates die even faster. I might’ve lived through last night, might’ve made it out of the Pirate Queen’s brig, just because Bonnet’s got a soft heart and the devil’s own luck, but I can’t ride his fucking coattails forever.”

Lucius didn’t look like someone who’d heard a reasonable explanation and was ready to let a painted-up cripple with a pounding headache and a shit taste in his mouth go the fuck back to sleep. He was still tense and white-faced, his lips pressed into a thin line.

“Fine. You want to be all morbidly defeatist, then fine. Mood, honestly. But what I want to know is why you think you’re going to die before my fucking wedding.”

Lucius stabbed his finger down at the damning line: my ring to Lucius Spriggs for his wedding. The last few words were in a wobbly, heavy hand.

Izzy silently cursed himself for having written that little proviso in before his head had hit the pillow. He’d just been falling-down drunk and too fucking sentimental, that was all. He’d have left the ring to Lucius is any case; he fucking had left it to him, no strings attached, before Calypso’s birthday had done his head in. What Lucius would do with it—and especially what day he would put it on, if he even kept it at all and didn’t just sell it off at their next port—didn’t need to get solemnized in Izzy’s piss-poor will and testament.

Of course the boy would want some explanation for it. He’d done this to himself, hadn’t he?

Izzy sighed. “Look at what my life’s been, lately. One near-miss after the next. I want my shit in order, that’s all.”

Lucius sat down on the edge of Izzy’s narrow bed. “I get that. But that means planning for your life too, okay? Not just the end of it. And I’ve marked you down as a yes on the RSVPs, all right? I’ll be very disappointed if you no-show, no matter how good an excuse you have. Like being dead.”

“I changed my mind. I’m not leaving my ring to some twat who wakes me up after a Calypso party.”

Lucius probably knew that for the dodge it was, but he let Izzy have it. He must’ve known too much earnestness was bad for a man’s blood.

“Excuse me, don’t you fucking dare. It’s wildly romantic to have your death ring. If you even try leaving it to someone else, I’ll tell everyone you bequeathed your sword to Stede.”

Izzy had known that was a mistake. He’d never fucking hear the end of it if the rest of them found out about that while he was still alive.

“He’s a fucking captain. He needs a better one than what he’s got. It was a practical choice—”

“Mm, very practical. Now he’ll have something even sharper to cut himself with.”

“He’s getting better.”

“Aren’t we all,” Lucius said, with a fleeting smile that had a wistful edge to it. “Look at me, up at the crack of dawn, well before our usually diligent first mate—”

Izzy groaned and covered his eyes. “Fuck off, you’re only up because you never went to fucking sleep.”

“That’s neither here nor there. Anyway, I have the updated duty roster. That’s what I came to drop off before I started, you know, going through your things. Look, you really shouldn’t leave papers out like that if you don’t want people to read them.”

Of course Spriggs was contrary enough that the only time he’d break a sweat on this ship was right after the fucking revelry when all decent people were still hungover.

“Working on Calypso’s birthday,” Izzy muttered. “Fucking disrespectful. See if I don’t have her put some hex on you.”

Lucius brightened. “Ooh, speaking of our goddess—you two did look good last night. Was our Dizzy Izzy a virgin sacrifice?”

“Fuck off, Spriggs.”

“Do you only like bears? Is that why you don’t want me sketching you? Because I’ve got the beard now, so that’s something.”

I left you the ring, Twatty, Izzy almost said. I’m already giving you the only pretty thing I have.

But everything he’d doled out on that silly slip of paper had meant something—his knife and sword-hand glove to Jim, his trunk to Fang, his share of current plunder to Frenchie, all of it—and Lucius, he knew, would understand that and not quarrel over it. It would take a lot of fucking talking, though, and he was bone-tired still.

Instead of any of that, he rubbed his hand over Lucius’s cheek, feeling the bristles beneath his palm. Lucius’s breath caught sharply before he leaned into Izzy’s touch.

“Suits you,” Izzy said.

“Being caressed by a silver fox always suits me.”

He kept his face tilted against Izzy’s hand as he carefully folded the will back up and stretched his arm out to put it back where he’d found it. Out of sight, out of mind—at least with Lucius now lying down next to him, curling up to fit around him. His breath, warm on Izzy’s cheek, smelt of Fang and Roach’s fruity drinks. It was nice. Like the last of Bonnet’s marmalade, scraped out to the edge of the bread. Sooner or later he’d have nothing but dry crust again—or he’d starve altogether—but not now. Not yet.

[ticklishraspberries]

Assessment (Cristina, George)

Summary: Cristina asks George to help her practice a simple abdominal examn, and it goes differently than expected. (Based on this prompt by @allytheally. Hope you enjoy!!)

“Just let me practice on you, Bambi!” Cristina said, her tone uncharacteristically close to begging. It still wasn’t quite begging, which George would have taken great joy in, but it was close enough to give him a little bit of satisfaction.

“Fine,” he said. “But you’re buying my lunch today.”

“Deal, lay down.”

Feeling ridiculous, George laid down on one of the extra beds in the hallway, elbows at his sides and hands resting on his chest.

“Bailey claims I’m too rough when I give secondary assessments,” Cristina said. “You’re wimpy, you’ll tell me if I hurt you, right?”

“Hey, I am not wimpy! I grew up with two older brothers, I can take a punch,” he replied.

Cristina rolled her eyes. “Whatever, just…Tell me if I hurt you.”

George nodded, looking up at the ceiling. He could have been scrubbing in on a surgery, but instead, he was helping Cristina practice her patient etiquette.

Without warning, Cristina brought her hands to his abdomen and pressed, and he twitched under her sudden touch, but it wasn’t as painful as she’d made it sound.

“See, you’re already squirming! I’m not that heavy-handed, you’re just being a baby!”

“People’s bodies react to stimuli,” he replied. “I’m not being a baby, I’m literally just reacting! It doesn’t hurt, just hurry up.”

“Fine, bossy,” she replied, and did as instructed, but George noticed that she did lighten her touch ever-so-slightly. But that just made it worse, because it hadn’t hurt in the first place, and now it…Well, it tickled, and George would rather be in pain than have Cristina Yang find a new thing to tease him about.

He tensed despite his best efforts, but he assumed the average patient would do the same. It was awkward, uncomfortable, sometimes painful and sometimes ticklish to get felt up by doctors. He would have to keep that in mind in the future, try and make the experience less uncomfortable.

“Why are you so tense?” she asked, annoyance clear in her tone.

“I’m not,” George replied, defensive.

“You are, you’re being all weird. There’s no way I’m hurting you, this is the pressure I’d use in pediatrics.”

To prove her point, she lightened her touch again, barely pressing down, brushing fingers over his belly through his scrubs and he couldn’t help but let out a little squeak.

Time seemed to freeze in the hall, and George looked up at Cristina, feeling as vulnerable as a patient with their chest cavity open on the table beneath her curious gaze.

“No way,” she said. “Are you…Are you ticklish?”

“No, I’m not, and I think I just heard my pager, actually, so—”

“Oh, no, O’Malley, you are not getting out of this one,” she said, grinning. “Lay down, I’m finishing my assessment. Have you been having any abdominal pain lately?”

“Cristina, seriously, don’t you dare!” George cried, but was quickly cut off by his own giggling.

“I am never letting you live this down. I’m telling Meredith, and Izzie. I’ll even tell Karev, he’ll have a field day with—”

“No, Cristina, please!” he said, batting uselessly at her hands. “I’ll murder you, I’m serious.”

He had always hated being tickled, his brothers always taking it way too far. If the others all found out, he would be tormented every day, just like when he was a child.

“You don’t sound so serious when you’re giggling,” Cristina said.

She used both hands to scribble fingers over his belly and sides, and George squirmed like mad on the gurney, whining. He felt ridiculous, blushing and giggling like a child while on call as a surgical intern.

She focused on the sides of his stomach, one of his worst spots, and he squealed in the most embarrassing way. God, he was never going to hear the end of this, he knew it.

“Oh my god, this is priceless,” Cristina said. She was laughing, too, but it didn’t feel malicious. George wasn’t as close to her as he was to Izzie or Meredith, but he still considered her a friend. She’s grown on him, despite her know-it-all attitude, her relentless teasing, and apparently, now, he would have to put up with her tickling him.

Life as an intern could get weird.

“What is going on here?”

George groaned when he recognized the voice as Izzie’s, and if Izzie was here, it meant that Meredith wasn’t far behind.

“O’Malley’s ticklish,” Cristina said. “I was practicing an abdominal exam on him, and he started giggling!”

Izzie giggled. “Oh my god, no way! George, how am I your best friend and I didn’t know this?” she asked.

George forced himself to sit up, squirming wildly away from Cristina. “No, no, we are never speaking of this again. I’m serious, both of you!”

“What’s George serious about?” Meredith asked, coming around the corner, just as he’d predicted.

“That we aren’t allowed to tickle him,” Izzie replied.

“I hate you all,” George said, arms crossed protectively around his middle. “And I’m leaving now, I’m gonna go do my job instead of messing around.”

He stormed down the hallway with the sound of his friends laughing, his cheeks still flushed, still slightly short of breath, but also feeling oddly lighter than he had when he entered the hospital that morning.

[unknownperson246]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE WRITE A FIC FOR IZZY WITH A BREEDING KINK HES SO FINE 🙏🙏

hii so sorry it's late but here it is.

Can't Wait

Words: 1,958

Warnings: *smut* *spanking kink* *breeding kink* *degradation* *losing virginity* *first time* *bleeding* *masturbating* *cussing* *phone sex* *oral sex* *m receiving* *p in v* *harder kinks* *reader is innocent and naive* *reader loses virginity*

✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧✧･ﾟ:*

It is the year 1988. You and Izzy have been married for 8 months now. You were a virgin. Not because you didn't want to have sex but it was because you were busy with academics early in your high school and college life.  You and Izzy had not had actual sex. You would only give him oral. But as soon as you wanted to try he had to go on tour. He was all over the place for 8 months. You have been so excited to see him come home after a long tour he went on with his band. You haven't seen him in months. All you could do was talk to him on the phone. Sometimes you both even had phone sex. You knew how to masturbate to his picture and to his voice telling you sweet things while you stuck your fingers in yourself moving them as they replicated Izzy's hard and stiff cock. Izzy would also masturbate to a picture of you and your voice on the other side at the same time. That way it was like both of you were in each other's presence. You're sad about only one thing. As soon as he comes home he is going to be busy with his band. He is making a new album called Use Your Illusion One with his band. They are going to be leaving on tour again soon and that makes you sad. 

 You are so proud of them. They have been working hard and they deserve a long break. You have been so lonely and sad when he is not around. All you do is sleep in the bed you share hoping he would come in your dreams. You do it so time passes quickly. You sleep while hugging the clothes he left behind. You spray his bottle of perfume on your bed and yourself and his clothes so you can awaken old memories. You always missed him. The day he comes finally has arrived. You have yearned for him for 6 months. You both love each other so much. He goes straight through the door frame entering the house you both share.

 He puts his guitar down and goes straight to you. You jump on him, hugging him tightly. Little did you know Izzy picked up a strange kink. Kids had never popped up in his mind for the future. He didn't even know he wanted kids. After he watched Axl and Erin's son run around and play hide and seek with both of his parents he envisioned having a mini you and a mini him running around the house creating havoc. In public, he hated chaos and havoc but having kids was different. He didn't think about their sticky little hands touching everything and how weird and tiny they were. He knew you felt lonely since it was only the two of you. He knew it would only be you when he left. You had friends and family but it wasn't the same as having a husband. 

“Izzy I’ve missed you. I’ve been so lonely” You coo in his ear while your arms and legs are wrapped around his body. 

He held onto you. He wanted to act on his ideas and thoughts he had when he was on tour with guns. 

“Well, what if I told you that we could fix that.” He said, smirking. 

“What do you mean?” You ask confused.

His hand went to your lower abdomen. He patted it a couple of times. You didn't know what he meant but it sent shivers down your spine when he touched you like that. You missed his touch. You still couldn't get his hint about him wanting to knock you up. He unbuttoned your jeans while he tugged your jeans downwards. He slid them off of you all the way. He dropped them on the kitchen floor.  He slowly started to undo your panties and he took you upstairs. You got his hint about wanting sex. You were nervous and excited about doing it with him. He knew you were a bit naive and innocent. He always saw you as a determined woman. It turned him on at how innocent you were. He knew that you hadn't had a conversation about wanting kids but he thought he would surprise you.  You knew how babies were made but you had no idea he was talking about wanting kids when he touched your lower stomach because it never occurred to you that he wanted one. He just didn't seem like the dad type to you.  He didn't tell you straight away because he wanted to keep his excitement about fucking you. He took you upstairs. He remembered that both of you went lingerie shopping before he left. He bought you the most sexy things. He bought you garters and a lot of silky lingerie for you to wear when you both fucked. He remembers where you last placed them. He pulled the dark red one out and made you wear it. He watched you take your shirt off. He saw your heavy tits and his hand went down to his hardened cock. He was trying to resist the urge to touch himself. He only wanted for him to be inside of you. His cock grew stiff. He only thought about how they would grow heavier with milk to feed his child. He started to moan lightly watching you change. Once you were finished he shoved you against the wall grabbing your wrists behind your back like he was a cop getting ready to arrest you.

“Lean on the wall slut. I bet you slept with other men while I was gone” He hisses in your ear. You stare at the bulge forming underneath his jeans.  He was hardening at the idea of impregnating you with his baby. He wanted to see you nice and swollen with his seed growing inside of your belly.

“How could I be a slut if I am a virgin?” You try to explain to him because you thought he meant those harsh and cruel words.

“Mmm. I love when you talk back you dirty brat” He grunts getting his hand ready. He was waiting for an opportunity for your mouth to open.

You feel his hand land on your bare ass. He kept attacking it with his hand. He kept spanking you over and over. You look up at the ceiling, losing count of how many times he hit your bottom. It was like the 40s in America where teachers would punish you by smacking kids with a ruler. You weren't in the 40s. You feel your pussy aching with lust for his cock. You feel your tits hardening. You felt your nipples get sensitive. You didn't know that it was called being aroused. You were craving it so bad. You weren't nervous about your first time anymore. The idea of getting you pregnant alongside the idea that he was going to take your virginity made him feral.

“Izzy I already feel so good” you whine to him as his hand strokes your ass.

You were confused because he was being so sweet to you in the kitchen. You didn't know much about kinks. You only were aware of a few of them. You felt yourself getting wet. 

“Izzy I feel something wet down there,” You tell him.

“Let it happen slut” He explains to you while remaining in his kinky self.

He undoes his pants and his fully cured cock springs out. He flipped you around to face him. You’re back is now pressed against the wall. You watch his cock dripping with his pre-come. He grabbed it with his hand making it turn into a hook shape. He put it at your entrance You feel the tip of his huge and thick cock touching your entrance. You felt shivers go down your spine. It didn't hurt but it felt new to you. You moaned as he slowly slid into you.

“I see your filthy cunt. I’m going to fill you up with my baby” He groans as he keeps hitting your g spot. His hips slammed into your hips as he thrust in you. 

“You're going to fuck a baby into me?” You moan while he keeps grinding himself against you.

You were turned on the idea of having a baby with your husband. “Uh-huh. I’m going to fill that pretty cunt up tonight. I can’t wait to watch your body grow to accommodate my seed.” He moans while he holds your hips. His hips kept slamming into yours.

His hand traveled up beneath your lingerie. He started to grope your tits underneath the lingerie. “These beautiful tits will feed my baby” He moans.

“Our baby” You correct him. 

After he hears your words he starts thrusting faster. He is determined to get you pregnant the first time you both try. The thought of his sperm getting into your egg wanted to make him come without even fucking you.  His fingers went down to your clit. He started fluctuating his pointer and middle finger on your clit as he pumped himself inside of you. He got off at the idea of taking your virginity. He thought of you as fresh and pure but not in a negative sense. You had your first real orgasm. You felt your stomach knotting up and you felt your toes curl. Your legs shook and you struggled to stand. You wanted to drop down to the floor. You restrained yourself from moaning and crying his name. You gave up. Both of your bodies get coated in sweat.

“Izzy” You cry as your hands go to his back. Your nails start to dig into his pale back scratching him. 

“Soon we will have a baby whore.” He moaned.

He kept thrusting inside of you. You felt your hips ache. His fingers were digging into your hips as his dick was curled up inside of you. You still wanted to drop down to the floor but you made an effort to keep standing up. He kept kissing your neck trying to distract himself from giving up. He kept on going no matter how good it felt. You come down from your high as you watch your husband’s head go back into the air. You saw his eyes roll. He was preparing to dump his wet load inside of you. You felt his seed coat the sides of your walls. You felt his seed travel inside of you. Izzy pulled out of you. His cock glistening with your slick all over it. White strings of both of you come mixed with your blood followed out.

“Lay down on the bed” He commanded. While his cock swung around. He was trying to protect his artwork. He wanted to be sure to get you pregnant the first time. In case it didn't work you both kept doing it 3 times a week.

You obeyed his orders and lay down on the edge of the bed. He finally took the lingerie off of you. You were now fully naked. He was watching your body as he smirked.

“So how was your first time?” He asked you. 

“It was amazing,” You say, catching your breath. He laid down beside you on the edge of the bed naked trying to catch his breath alongside you before he covered himself with the blanket on the bed. He held your belly imagining it getting bigger.

“I can't wait to hold our baby” He whispers in your ear. He reaches his arms out for your body and cuddles you. He nips at your ear and runs gentle circles around your nipples that are still hard.