#but as soon as he evolved it was like ah yes there he is - My Boy

[gengarscursedbody]

took some photos on the beach with my boy last night and this one is just 🥺💜 I love him so much

[emletish-fish]

Restorative Violence Vs Restorative Justice  and Cobra Kai

I think I’ve figured out why there is so much misunderstanding around the bullying issue and this show. And it is going to come down to where your position is in regards to restorative violence.

To start with, just let me say :  Bullying is a complex issue and a wicked problem.  I am speaking in general terms and there will always be exceptions to the rules, and this is an evolving area.  Also different countries have difference cultural views and different education systems have different models for handling these problems.

That said - Lets look at RESTORATIVE VIOLENCE

So restorative violence is the philosophy that if a kid bullies you, you punch them back harder and then they stop.  Fight Fire with Fire!  Meet violence with violence!   It is super popular advice with conservatives, Boomer Dads and Gen X dads. It’s also reinforced in a lot of modern pop culture (eg vigilante movies etc).

But does it work in practice.

Yes and No.

Here’s what it does:

Kid A is a grade A asshole and he is picking on kid B. Kid B eventually lashes out and beats Kid A. Kid A is now scared of Kid B and no longer picks on him.  Kid A’s problems and whatever was driving him to bully remains completely unresolved, so the impulse is still there + compounded by shame and anger at being beaten by Kid B.

The most likely result is that Kid A moves onto a new, seperate and weaker target Kid C.

Violence is a cycle and restorative Violence continues that cycle.

But it works in the short term, because Kid B is left alone. (Totally sucks for Kid C though, eh?)

This is why it is popular Dad Advice. Dad’s just want THEIR kid left alone, and it will accomplish that in the short term.

It does nothing to resolve bullying in the long term, perpetuates a cycle of violence and creates new victims while compounding the problems that lead Kid A to lash out  - but in the immediate short term it is effective.

We actually have a complete example of the cycle in the show.  Miguel and Kyler.  Kyler relentlessly bullies Miguel. Miguel learns martial arts from Johnny, (and Johnny’s a boomer Dad type who is very pro -restorative violence).  Miguel kicks the shit out of Kyler during lunch time. Boom - problem solved.

But was it?

Not really. Kyler still was and is, a bully.

Kyler learned nothing from this but to simmer in resentment for Miguel - and as soon as Miguel was physically disabled and a ‘weaker’ opponent again, Kyler brutally attacked him. 

Miguel beating Kyler up - that temporarily stopped Kyler beating him up  - because Restorative Violence is a narrow short term solution. 

Look at Aisha and Yasmine.

Aisha front wedgies the girl who has been bullying her. Yasmine backs off Aisha.  But when we next see Yasmine, she is still an absolute and total nightmare. Yasmine is afraid of Aisha, but has no remorse and has not changed her ways.

The front Wedgie doesn’t immediately make Yasmine not a bully, but her target shifts away from Aisha.

Look at Johnny -

Total asshole in high school.  He lost to Daniel and was then nearly murdered over losing a tournament. That showed him! He stopped picking on Daniel.   Ah, he was violent  - someone was even more violent to him - he stopped picking on  Daniel. In the narrow scope of restorative violence - this is success!

But was it?

I mean, for Daniel - Johnny left him alone after that, so yes?

But for Johnny... Johnny is a trauma riddled mess,  and when we meet him in season one, he is a huge fan of restorative violence, has nothing but unhealthy coping mechanisims, and still tries to solve every problem he has with violence.

What helps Johnny begin to break his harmful patterns?

 Meaningful emotional connections and external support and guidance.

Like in the Good Place  -

Now the thing about restorative violence?  - Educators HATE it.

(My god, boomer Dads - stop telling your kids to hit people).

Because Restorative Violence compounds bullying and creates and even bigger problem.  It might in the short term stop one kid from being bullied - but when you are looking at a whole class/ whole school context - you still have the same problem  with the added issue that Kid A is now most likely even more determined to prove that they are tough, and will most likely escalate against their new target.

Restorative Violence only works if you care about 1 kid and the short term. 

This is why some of the schools I have worked in have favoured a restorative justice approach.

Let’s look at RESTORATIVE JUSTICE

Restorative Justice, if you are unfamiliar, seeks to  deal with the root causes of bullying to stop it in the long term.  The goals are to Support and Nuture a bullied kid like Kid B, and create a safe space for them.

And

Attend to the root causes of Bullying displayed by Kid A, so that they can unlearn their patterns of behaviour and anti-bullying measures will have long term success. 

It would work like this:

(note: Please is this just an example off the top on my head, and I am in no way saying that all dyslexic people are bullies. it is merely to illustrate a concept that some of you may be unfamiliar with).

Kid A is a grade A asshole and he is picking on kid B.  Our starting point is still the same.  Kid B is supported, let’s run some anti-bullying seminars grade or school wide. Let’s protect them from their bully and move them into a different class if we have to. Let’s make sure they feel safe, and they understand that Kid A’s behaviour isn’t acceptable, and it is not their fault.  

Kid A - let’s look at Kid A. What is going on with them?  What is causing this behaviour.

Let’s say they’re in yr 3 - so they’ve reached the comprehension gap. (This is the point when the focus shifts from Learning to read and it becomes reading to learn.) Oh, they have undiagnosed Dyslexia. The sudden emphasis at comprehension was making them feel like a failure  - oh, that’s why they’ve been acting out so much, and they started picking on the ‘smart’ kid.

Okay, so let’s get them some small group work, let’s get them some reading solutions, let’s get them a support team and a behaviour plan. Let’s celebrate their success and build their confidence in other areas, so they no longer feel the need to assert themselves through bullying.

In this scenario, it is highly likely that Kid A’s behaviour will turn around,  and the thought to bully Kid C will never cross their minds.  - because the root causes have been tended to.

And We actually have a great example of this working in the show.

Let’s look at Tory.

Wow, Tory was awful to Sam.  (Stalking, Grevious Bodily Harm, giving her PTSD, breaking into her house).

Wow - Tory’s life is complete and utter shit.  Could her life/burdens/difficulties be a contributing factor in her behaviour?

yes!

And see this is something that Kreese cannot help Tory with. Krese believes in restorative violence.  (And look, full honesty here, but if Tory wasn’t in the yyper realtistic Cobra Kai world where no one presses charges, the most likely outcome for her following Kreese’s advice is juvie/jail time, and awful aunt/foster care for her brother).

Then Tory meets Amanda -

What does Amanda do?

Treat her like a person. Help her with groceries and bills. Gets her therapy and gets her back into school.  Her therapist arranges someone to help her with her mom. Tory’s burdens are lighter and her life is far less shit as a result of Amanda’s intervention.

And look at the change!

Tory goes from “There are no rules!”  in season 2, all the way to “It was an accident” and “I won’t cheat to win”.

Tory wants to fight Sam fairly, rather than win at all cost.  She tries to reach a hand out to her defeated opponent.

(Damn, I am so excited for where this storyline goes next. A women centric, complex storyline? in my Cobra Kai? love to see it).

Restorative justice works on the goal of getting the best outcome for everyone.  Through building support and meaningful emotional connections.

Does it work in practice?

yes and no.

in most cases, yes.  (there will always be a few exceptions to any rule),

But it takes time. it takes so much time, and patience and the result are unpredictable, and you need competent and capable adults.

(Note: This is why Sam should no be responsible for performing restorative justice on Tory. Sam is a kid who has been mercilessly attacked by her and should be protected and supported... The support for Tory had to come from an adult with her best interest at heart.)

ETA: Anyway, the difference in how fandom reacts to the kids doing bad stuff will depend where you sit on the Restorative Violence  ---- Restorative Justice spectrum of responses to bullied children. (We will always have a natural inclination to one or the other. Some people will immediately punish, and others will seek to understand).

People who are more inclined to like punishment solutions, or see punishment as The Point will probably like restorative violence. People who like long term solutions that improve the lives of both parties and see stopping bullying as The Point will gravitate towards Restorative justice. 

In Cobra Kai, some of us want to see the characters we see as the wrong-doers suffer, and some of us want to see most/all the characters grow and heal -and therein lies the difference. 

[imfluentinfangirlandgay]

Wordplay - Part 1/2

Got this idea from Discord, made a lil story, yall know the drill by now lmao

[Part 2]

Words: ~3300

The only thing Ingo had been able to remember was his own name. Even now, there was precious little his brain coughed up for him to go off of in terms of who he was. If anything did come to him, it was in the form of foggy half-dreams and vaguely familiar pangs he felt in his very soul, like anytime he saw Rei’s Typhlosion and the ghostly flames it had, or the smiling man in white at the edge of his consciousness that made him feel a deep sense of loss. The biggest mystery to him as of late was a small sentence.

It was only three words. Three little words that started out easy enough and sat stubbornly on the tip of his tongue, never quite within reach like a pesky berry in a tree. “I am ____.” He felt like that third word held much importance, as if it denoted something that he cared for greatly. Was it the Pokemon partner he remembered? The man who looked like him? Maybe his previous occupation? Ingo had pondered over this for hours, only ever getting “I am.” What was that third word?

Something else had clicked into place during a passing conversation. Rei had asked him what he thought about filling in Sneasler’s Pokedex entry with the Sneasler he had evolved, which he had introduced to Lady Sneasler. “Here’s what I’ve learned? What do you think of it now that more people can learn about Sneasler?”

Ingo had said warmly in response, “Sir Rei, I am elated-” and he had ended the sentence there because something had sounded so right there. “I am elated, I am ela- no, that’s not right. I am el- Eeeee” He sounded out the words, feeling them on his tongue. It had something to do with that sound. E.

“Uh, Ingo, are you alright?”

“Hmm?” Ingo blinked, realizing he had spaced out. “Ah, yes, I apologize, Rei, I must depart early, for I have some duties to attend to. I look forward to seeing more of your progress as you continue on this track!” he called off, briskly walking in another direction.

Another time, he had struck another syllable in the word. Irida had asked him how his day had been and was checking in with him about matters in the Coronet Highlands, and had brought up Melli. “Adaman says he told Melli to back down a bit, but I am worried he is making things difficult for you still. How are you holding up?”

“I’m quite alright, it takes a bit to grind my gears. He says that I am emotionless-” There it was again, another mental ding! that told him he’d gotten something else right. “Em… I am Em… Emersed? Embossed? I am Em…” He continued muttering along, Irida watching him with confusion.

“Did something happen?” Ingo shook his head.

“I feel I am on the precipice of remembering something, but I cannot tell what. It has to do with the phrase ‘I am _______’, and I have been filling in that blank slowly. I feel like I must know that last word, but I cannot remember why.” His eyes fixated into the distance again out of habit as Irida’s voice floated into his ears.

“I see. I hope you remember what it is soon… if you think I could help you, please let me know! I’d be happy to try to help you remember.” Ingo nodded, showing his appreciation as she left for the evening.

And now he sat, less than an hour after Irida’s departure, in Sneasler’s cave, watching her latest litter while she went about finishing her own tasks. One of the four laid in his lap, curled against his stomach. Another two played with each other, wrestling nearby. The last sat on his shoulder, messing with his sideburns. It gently petted them, holding the hairs between its claws and occasionally grabbing at his cap and putting it over its own head. Ingo held it’s leg to keep it from falling as he talked aloud to himself.

“I am Emm…a? No, that’s not right. Ember, Emch-, Embed, Emra- that’s not even a word… Emme-” he paused. “I am Emme..r? No, Emmeeeeep, Emmed, Emmek, Emmet-” Yes! His entire brain screamed out as he called out, louder than he intended, “I am Emmet!” It still sounded off though, too excitable. He did his best to lower his tone, especially considering the freshly frightened Sneasel kits, and tried again. “I am… Emmet. I am Emmet.” There, right there. That sounded right, like it was something he had heard a hundred times before. “I am Emmet.” He felt a wave of… nostalgia? Longing? He wasn’t sure. It wasn’t entirely a pleasant emotion, but it did feel like he’d finally just knocked out a particularly nastly piece of food from between his teeth.

Sneasler returned before long, taking her kits and her Warden and curling up on the blanket he provided into a sleep pile, forcing Ingo to sleep.

—-----------------------------------

“I am Emmet.” A voice that was his, and yet wasn’t his, floated through his dreams. “I am Emmet. You are Ingo.”

“Who is Emmet?” Ingo heard himself ask. The black lifted revealing - him. But not him. It was the man in white, with the smile! But now, his eyes were no longer obscured. He stared directly into his own eyes, his own nose, his own chin (clean shaven on his doppelganger). The figure had a smile affixed to his face, his posture relaxed. His hands were behind his back as he kept his back straight.

“I am Emmet. And you are Ingo,” the man repeated.

“Who is Ingo? Who am I? And who are you?” Ingo asked the man, desperation and fear making his voice raise in pitch and volume. He was terrified he would forget again, he would forget this man that made him feel calm and safe, this man that he knew was important to him. Emmet continued to smile. He posed, pointing his left hand directly at Ingo and his other hand at the floor, exactly like Ingo did.

“I am Emmet. I am a Subway Boss. I like Doubles Battles. I like combinations of two Pokemon. And I like winning more than anything else.” His smile widened, reaching his eyes. Ingo couldn’t look away. “I am Emmet. I won together with Ingo. But if we fight again, we won’t know what to expect. Thats why we are waiting for you to come back!” Something was forming, some pressure building in the back of Ingo’s mind. Emmet glitched, his body suddenly in a different position for a split second. He was kneeling, in his hands a Pokemon that Ingo knew he recognized, but didn’t know how. He only saw the flames and glass before his attention was quickly diverted to the tears on Emmet’s still smiling face. Emmet seemed to be hugging the Pokemon as if it were his lifeline, clutching it to his chest. And then he was back in the previous position, pointing at Ingo. "Follow the rules. Safe driving! Follow the schedule. Everybody smile! Check safety. Everything's ready! Aim for victory! All aboard!" The last word left his mouth and Ingo’s eyes widened.

Emmet was suddenly on the ground again, holding the fiery Pokemon, but now there were others around him. A Pokemon with long steel claws and brown fur had one of its claws on Emmet’s shoulder, its eyes downcast, a large Pokemon with massive blades in its jaws was standing behind him with tears in its eyes, making a pitiful sound, another Pokemon with claws and a large rock settled on its back chittered sadly, on Emmet’s other side. All looked heartbroken. The chorus of cries grated against Ingo’s ears, tugging at him in a way he hadn’t previously thought he would have felt.

The loudest of all was Emmet. He wailed, openly and loudly crying into the black. He held onto the Pokemon at his chest, almost screaming until his voice was hoarse. “What do I do? Without Ingo, I’m just Emmet,” he murmured. The Pokemon in his lap gave a long, moaning cry. Emmet’s red eyes gave out a fresh round of tears as they squeezed shut, burying his face back into its body. “I want my brother back.”

The scene lifted, Ingo was falling, falling through the black with those last words reverberating in his head.

I want my brother back.

I want my brother back.

My brother.

I want my brother.

Ingo startled awake to something prodding him. He shot upwards, breathing heavily. He whipped his head around in the black. It was still nighttime. He heard Sneasler to his side, churring lowly at him, asking him if he was alright. Ingo could barely remember to breathe, not to mention talk.

“I-oh, I- uh.” He faltered, remembering to keep his voice down, trying still not to wake the young Sneasel. “I-I apologize, Lady Sneasler. I just had a dream… it was not a bad dream, per se, but it was definitely not the best dream I’ve ever had, and it showed me things but it was so saddening to see and I know it may not have even happened but I know it did, I looked at it and I could tell it had happened at some point and I don’t know-” A claw gently laid on his shoulder. He was rambling. He took a deep breath as Sneasler lifted her young off of him, allowing him to stand. “Thank you, my Lady. I will get some air.” He briskly left the cave, having to stop himself from running. He stepped outside, walking a bit past the mouth of the cave so his loud voice wouldn’t carry too much back into it.

He began to pace, rubbing his chin. Emmet, his brother. Brother? Those Pokemon? Where were they? Were they alright? He had to get back to them, now, to show them that he was alive and well. “Emmet, my brother.” As he spoke the words, he felt something move in his mind, a mental blockade slowly coming down, some dam inside his own head allowing things to trickle by. “That Pokemon… fiery, ghostly… Chandelure,” he said suddenly as it popped into his head. “And the others… that one with the claws… master of earth… Excadrill! And Haxorus and Crustle!” More and more was coming back to him, the dam quickly disintegrating. “I am a Subway Boss. I live in Nimbasa City in Unova with my brother, Emmet. My twin brother. I am thirty-one years old.” He rattled off facts to himself in this fashion, in quick sentences before he could forget everything. He paused momentarily, as the weight of his situation crashed down on him. “I miss Emmet,” he murmured, forlorn.

His legs nearly gave out with the flood of memories his brain thrusted upon him. One after another after another, year after year of his life before Hisui came upon him and overtook him, making him black out.

—-------------------------------------

Ingo knocked on the door. He shifted his hat awkwardly to cover the spot that he knew had caked blood on it from his fall the previous night, trying to cover it from passersby. He tapped his foot. He could hear people behind him pausing while going about their mornings, whispering amongst themselves. He hoped that they couldn’t see the spot on his head, though that was the least of his worries. He raised his hand to knock again when the door slid open.

Rei had clearly just woken up, which was not a surprise as the sun was just rising. His hair was disheveled under his cap, his eyes crusty and narrowed in the hard morning sunlight. “Akari, I swear, if Kamado asked for me again just now- Ingo? What are you doing here? You don’t look good.” His expression shifted as soon as he saw Ingo in the doorway, from irritation to surprise to concern.

“Rei, I need to speak with you urgently. I need help,” was all he said. Rei held the door open for him and he shuffled inside, Rei closing the door behind him. The inside of Rei’s home was neat and tidy, the bed currently unmade. Ingo left his shoes near the door and stood awkwardly in the middle of the home. Rei crossed the dirt floor, sitting on the edge of the wooden platform and motioning for Ingo to sit. He did not.

“What’s going on?” Rei asked.

Inog paused. “I remembered. I know where I came from. I have a brother, a twin brother. We run a Subway together and battle together and live together and do everything together and I need to find him. I need to get back to him. You’ve been everywhere and have caught almost every Pokemon. Rei, if you think any of the Pokemon in your care may be of assistance, would you be willing to lend a hand?” Ingo knew that he was pleading, begging, for Rei to help him at this point. He needed to get back to Emmet, no matter what it took. He needed to get back to Unova.

Rei watched him silently for a moment. “I think I know just the ‘mon.” He stood. “I just want to get dressed, do you mind waiting outside for a minute? I promise I won’t be long!” Ingo nodded and numbly walked outside. He stood by the door, facing the street as he waited. People walked by on their way to the market and the clothetier, not making eye contact with him. He understood he was a little… cold in the face, even if he did not mean to be. Thankfully, he did not have to wait long before he heard the door slide open and Rei let out a gasp.

“Ingo! Your head! What happened?” Ingo turned to see the boy looking at him with open concern.

“My engine malfunctioned after regaining my memories, resulting in a small crash. It merely set me behind schedule, though. I have more important matters to deal with at hand.”

“At least let me take you to get that bandaged up! I swear, I will get you home as soon as possible, but that looks painful-” The sound of pounding feet cut off the rest of Rei’s sentence. They both looked at the gate to see Sneasler pounding into Jubilife, people running and hiding inside buildings as she did so. She ran at full speed, something that she did not do often. The basket on her back thumped with every step she took. She skidded to a halt in front of Ingo and Rei, breathing heavily.

“My Lady-” Sneasler took off the basket and opened it on the ground, revealing a very confused Irida. “Lady Irida?”

“Ingo?” Irida stood on wobbly legs, to which both Ingo and Rei offered an arm out to her. She took them, legs moving unsteadily like a newborn Stantler’s. “What’s going on? Sneasler showed up and literally grabbed me out of my tent and brought me here. She seems agitated. What’s happening? Is something wrong?” She stepped out of the basket carefully, Sneasler making distressed sounds.

Ingo felt guilt curl up in his stomach. “My apologies for this, Lady Irida, this is my fault. Last night, after you left, I finished the sentence I was trying to complete. Then I had a dream and upon awakening, all my memories returned to me.” Irida’s eyes widened. “I remember who I was, who I am. I have a twin brother who misses me dearly, as well as a whole team of Pokemon. Emmet, my brother, I cannot keep him waiting. I saw him, he was devastated, he was…” Ingo trailed off as, to his surprise, his voice choked. “I need to get back to him. I didn’t realize it, but I feel empty without him. He’s my other half, I need him. And he needs me. I came to Rei immediately and I did not inform my Lady of my whereabouts, so I assume she was distressed.” He turned to Sneasler, who had quieted down. Her fur was sticking up everywhere, as if she hadn’t groomed before leaving. Her chest was heaving, her eyes wide and watching him frantically. Ingo looked up at her. “I am deeply sorry for making you worry like this, my Lady. It was not my intent to cause such concern over myself.” Sneasler gently took his chin and twisted his head to the side before shrieking.

“Sneasler? What-”

“He’s injured, too! He said he fell when he remembered stuff but he won’t let me take him anywhere to get it checked.”

“It does not matter, it will heal. I need to find Emmet.”

“Ingo,” Irida cut in sharply, making him halt in his tracks. “I will not hear of you refusing treatment. You will get that wrapped and treated properly before anything happens or by the almighty Sinnoh itself, me and Sneasler will hold you down to make it happen, is that clear?” She gazed up intensely at Ingo, who was just reminded why she was made Leader in the first place. Ingo nodded, holding back the wince at the sharp pain from the back of his head.

“Yes, my Lady. I apologize.”

“Stop apologizing, too! You just got your memories back, you don’t need to be sorry for everything!” She stomped her way into the Galaxy Headquarters, leaving Rei, Ingo, and Sneasler outside Rei’s house still. They stood in silence for a couple minutes until she returned with a nurse, who took one look at Sneasler and shrank away. It took a few words from Irida, but ultimately the nurse must have decided that Sneasler was less scary that Irida’s wrath.

Ingo sat, taking off his cap for the nurse to work her magic. It was matted with blood, as was his silver hair. It apparently trailed down onto his coat collar. The poultice stung slightly, and the bandages applied around his head were a little tight, but he did not complain. It was not until after the nurse had fled, Irida thanking her for her work, that the conversation continued. Ingo gently replaced his cap, conscious of the fresh bandages.

“Now,” Irida sighed, “what was your plan, Ingo?” All four of them had sat on the ground beside Rei’s house now, Sneasler closest to Ingo, a claw laid on his shoulder. He wondered if it was for his comfort or hers.

“I knew that Rei had seen Pokemon with extraordinary powers and abilities, so I came to him upon waking to see if he knew of any that could aid me. He had said that he may have one, before you came into Jubilife.” Irida nodded, looking at Rei.

“And what Pokemon is this?”

Rei rested his chin on his palm. “Dialga, Lord of Time, the almighty Sinnoh that the Diamond Clan recognizes. Though you may need help from Palkia, too. Otherwise you’d just be in modern Hisui, not your region.” Rei stood, brushing off his clothes. “I don’t think we should do it in town, though. It’d freak out the townsfolk.” He paused, looking at Ingo. “Is there anything you need to do before you head back? I’m assuming Dialga and Palkia can take care of it, but if not, I have some other ideas. Arceus could also take care of it. Maybe even the Lake Trio if I goaded them into it? I’m not entirely sure of all their powers yet,” Rei rattled off.

“I… now that you mention it, I would like to entrust my team to the care of a good Trainer in Hisui, so they can stay in their own time. And maybe a moment to collect my things.” Rei nodded.

“How about I meet you in the Highlands this afternoon? By the Heights camp?” Ingo considered for a moment.

“That should work. I will wish all those I need to well.”

Sneasler grabbed his coat as he stood, still sitting. She was watching him sadly. Ingo realized what this meant.

“Give me just a moment to take my team to Zisu, and I will come with you for a proper farewell, my Lady. You have given me much in my time in Hisui, and I still need to repay you for it.”

[miraculouscontent]

Marinette was officially done with Hawk Moth interfering in her life. She could take him interrupting school, or her time out with friends (which had become increasingly awkward as of late anyway), or even her moments of being bogged down with projects.

But interrupting her one-on-one time with Luka? First their movie date and now their moment of getting ice cream together? Absolutely not.

As far as she was concerned, this meant war. If Hawk Moth wanted to shove himself into her life like a nosy busybody who couldn’t go five seconds without trying to take away her means of happiness, then fine.

Two could play at that game, and she was feeling petty enough to make the next move. She’d had to mull over the subject for a while to figure anything out, not to stop him for good exactly, but at least put an annoying dent in his plans, much like he always did with her.

She had an idea by evening, and got to put it into action right after school. She was saying good-bye to a few of her friends, and had hopped onto the back of Luka’s bike afterwards, her hands carefully on his waist while he rode off along the sidewalk.

A flicker of black and purple caught her eye, and instead of the usual dread or panic, she grinned to herself.

“Luka! Stop!”

He stiffened, but obeyed, putting full force on the brakes and screeching the bike to a sudden halt.

“What’s wrong?” he asked in concern.

Hurriedly getting off the bike, she took off her helmet and handed it to him. “I’m sorry, will you wait here for a few minutes? I promise I’ll be right back!”

Knowing she had to be quick, she didn’t wait for him to reply. She placed a hand on his shoulder, leaning in to place a long, meaningful kiss on his cheek.

If he had prepared a reply, the kiss stopped it, and she ran off to the nearest hiding place while he stared blankly ahead at nothing.

After ducking into an alley and taking a quick look around to ensure it was safe, Marinette opened her purse to let out Tikki, as well with the other kwami necessary for her plans: Kaalki.

“Let’s do this!”

— — — — —

Soon after Pegabug had entered the scene, giving chase to the akuma, Chat Noir wasn’t far behind. Part of her questioned how he’d gotten there so soon, but she squashed the thought just as quickly as it’d come so as to not dwell on the potential identity questions.

“Love the new look, m’lady. What’s the occasion?” he asked in his usual flirtatious tone. “Or did you dress up just for me?”

“Not now, Chat,” she replied shortly, adjusting her sunglasses as she neared the butterfly in question. “I need you to do something for me.”

“Of course! Anything.”

“When I give the command, grab the akuma.”

“I—” He blanked. “Grab it?”

“I’ll explain later,” she assured. Squinting at the butterfly, which seemed to be on a straight path, she felt the moment hit like the epiphany of her Lucky Charm. “Now!”

Slightly panicked, but not asking anything more, Chat Noir sped forward. He dropped to all fours to pick up speed, then leapt for the butterfly. In a swift motion, he trapped the akuma between his hands, and Pegabug reeled her hand back as she felt the charge of her power.

“Voyage!”

The portal launched from her hands, manifesting right in front of Chat Noir. He went through and she followed behind him.

On the side of the portal, she landed politely on her feet while he crashed onto the floor, though he managed to keep the akuma contained in his hands.

A startled Wang Cheng stood up from his chair, looking between the two in surprise, but he calmed himself soon after. “It is time?”

“Yes,” she confirmed, walking over and helping Chat up due to his inability to use his hands.

He shook himself of the impact, then glanced at Wang, Pegabug, and finally the night sky out the window. “M’lady, if he means time to explain why you catapulted us to China, then I’m all ears.” His fake cat ears twitched in emphasis.

“Not exactly, but we can do that too,” she assured. Closing her eyes, she whispered a quick, “Kaalki, divide,” to allow the horse part of her transformation to drop. Pulling out her yoyo to grab a treat, she offered it to Kaalki to let her recharge before addressing the issue properly.

“Chat, you remember Wang,” she stated, walking alongside Wang as they traversed the rooms of the house. Hearing Chat’s footsteps behind her, she continued, “We saved him after he was akumatized into Kung Food.”

“Yeah, I remember,” Chat confirmed, still just as puzzled as before.

“Well, he’s the only one I know who’s out of the country.” She grinned slyly. “And out of Hawk Moth’s radius.”

Chat tilted his head. “Radius?”

Ladybug waited to answer until she saw the little habitat that had been set up, exactly as she’d asked for. Wang opened it for her and stepped aside, then gestured to it, which gave Chat enough of a hint to approach and outstretch his arms so they were inside the mini enclosure.

He hesitated, but released the akuma and recoiled quick enough for Ladybug to snap the habitat shut, thus sealing the butterfly inside.

“The butterfly miraculous has limits,” she explained, pointing to the trapped akuma, “and this is one of them. Hawk Moth can’t sense or do anything with this akuma from this distance, and he’s only allowed one at a time.”

“Meaning...?”

“Meaning that he can’t make another until this one breathes its last breath.” She tossed a grateful smile Wang’s way. “So please take good care of it, sir.”

Wang bowed his head in respect. Chat, meanwhile, was gaping.

“Wait, so that means—?”

“It might not be long,” she admitted, “because we don’t know how old this butterfly is, but—” She raised a finger as she made her point. “—as long as it lives and kept in that habitat, he can’t akumatize anyone.”

With a confident walk, she made her way back to the room they’d originally come from.

Chat, still in a state of shock, followed after and kept pace with her. “What about sentimonsters?”

Ladybug shrugged. “Mayura can still send them if she wants, but it’ll go just as badly.”

“Why?”

“For one, sentimonsters follow the orders of the one with the object, and no akuma means that Hawk Moth doesn’t have any control. For two, if I can teleport the feather away before Mayura can de-power it herself, then she’s stuck with no sentimonster for even longer than the akuma. Feathers take a few months to wear out, and I think they know that. Once they realize the risks, I don’t think we’ll be seeing any sentimonsters all by themselves.”

Stopping at the spot where she’d made the portal originally, she tossed a smile Kaalki’s way and outstretched her hands accordingly, calling upon her transformation once again with, “Tikki, Kaalki, unify!”

Chat didn’t even flinch at the flash of light, staring at the floor instead as he scratched his head. “But—uh—” He paused, needing a moment to come up with more questions. “what if Mayura makes her own sentimonster again?”

“Then I’m sending it to the moon,” she answered nonchalantly. “If they want to waste my time like this, then I’m not messing around anymore. Either they come fight me themselves or I’m keeping every akuma and feather I can here, where they can’t do anything with them.”

He opened his mouth, perhaps to throw out another argument, but she’s stumped him. His lips pursed as he seemed deep in thought, which evolved into a pout as he asked, “So, I guess we won’t be spending as much time together?”

“What?” Pegabug raised a brow, thrown off by that being his concern.

“A-ah—” He seemed to catch himself, waving his hands in defense. “Nothing, m’lady! You’re a genius, as always, and we still have patrols!”

“...Thanks,” she said neutrally, her mind on anything but him even as he tried to flirt.

After all, there was someone waiting for her back in Paris.

— — — — —

“Luka!”

Marinette beamed in both gratefulness and relief as she saw Luka still in the same spot as before, and even in the same position as well. She ran up to him, grabbing his shoulder again with one hand while she took her helmet back with the other.

She kissed his cheek again, a little more lightly than before but with just as much affection. The contact seemed to bring him back to life, his smile returning to his face as he settled his hands back on the bike’s handles.

“Did everything work out alright?” he asked.

“Mhm. I was just—” She paused, a lie almost reflexively coming out of her mouth before she settled on the closest thing to the truth she could, deciding that he deserved as much. “—taking care of something. Hopefully it works out.”

“Knowing you, I bet it will,” he assured with a fond look.

She beamed at him and put her helmet back on, settling herself behind him on his bike so her hands could rest on his waist again. She heard the ‘clink’ of the kickstand as Luka nudged it up with his heel, and then they were off again.

Happy thoughts of Hawk Moth screaming in his lair as he discovered her plan slowly transitioned into blissful imaginings of all the uninterrupted dates she could go on now. Out of sight, out of mind, just as Hawk Moth deserved to be.

[sidemari]

Can I maybe request a smut with Kaeya and Childe (like as a threesome, but its fine if its only one) but its hardcore? Like as hardcore as you can? Or jusy have fun and write it however you want. I just..

Please?🍓

Threesome with Kaeya and Childe~

Pairings: Childe x Fem!Reader x Kaeya

For heaven’s sake, please read this: It contains sexual content, don’t read it if you’re uncomfortable. Every action of the characters is consensual! Don’t bother me with anything, please, I'm already bothered with myself lol. NSFW under the cut.

Author’s note: I hope you like this work, my dear. Ty for the request and for the patience and love, as always. ❤️

That night was supposed to be just an ordinary meeting between you three, since you just shared information with each other.

Kaeya was the Calvary Captain, Childe was a Fatui Harbinger and you worked for both of them, all alone out there, as a spy.

Perhaps it was a dangerous combination? Yes. But you didn't give a fuck, actually.

You couldn't care less about anything else that same night than both of them just suggesting you that doing a threesome would be an interesting experience.

"Oh, come on, (Name). Let us retribute you for your efforts of collecting information for both of us"

You would discover later that they had some weird ideas in mind but for now your focus was centered in the sensations they were making you feel.

The cuts Childe made in your skin hurted. Even though you were used to being in pain due your risky job, it still hurted. But you couldn't say you didn't enjoy the pain you felt with them.

Kaeya held you still as the blade perforated your skin and you gasped in noticeable discomfort.

"If you squirm, it will hurt even more, princess"

So you obeyed them and tried to ignore the lingering pain you were feeling.

The deepest cut he had made was at your inner thigh, where he licked the blood he drew from the skin before keep going with his will.

However, that same cut didn't stop bleeding so quickly, so, when Childe started eating you out, some vivid red stained his cheeks.

He looked beautiful like that.

He looked so damn beautiful like that.

The cryo user noticed your focus was completely centered on the ginger man and he knew he should step up his game so your focus would be on him instead.

Kaeya whispered such dirty words into your ears between the wet kisses he traced against the skin of your neck as his cold fingers abused the skin of your breasts.

Pinching your nipples without delicacy at all, he made your body arch and your hips move against Childe's face gaining a laughter of his.

"Calm down, love. Kaeya didn't do anything to you yet" His tongue started stimulating your clit once again, his hands holding you in place roughly by your thighs.

Kaeya's hand evolved part of your breast, the temperature of your skin getting lower and lower with every second that passed. Your eyes closed tightly at the weird sensation while he cold burned your skin for a short interval of time.

"K-Kaeya, it's too much" Meanwhile, Childe started penetrating you with one of his fingers, the slick of your sex making it easy for him to move inside your walls. "Ah, Childe! Fuck!"

"She can take it, comrade. Go ahead" Ajax stopped savoring you for a second to give the Cavalry Captain the freedom to keep going with his ministrations.

Kaeya didn't stop with his temperature play, often making some spots of your skin too cold for you to bear and the whines you made whenever everything became too much made him stop his actions at one spot to go and just tease another one.

Your legs were already trembling with only some minutes you three had started and your orgasm was extremely close.

"Childe... Don't stop, I'm gonna cum soon..."

Of course he denied your high to you.

Of course he would do it.

He was a fucking tease.

The fatui harbinger stopped with his stimulation by the second you told him you were close.

"On your knees" Kaeya told you coldly, making you instantly leave his lap and kneel in front of him.

You knew what you had to do.

Opening the zipper of his trousers, you saw the boner you caused him.

Kissing his cock above the fabric of his underwear, you played a little before actually starting your job only to be reprimanded by him.

"Stop teasing me and do what you need to do" His voice tone made you shiver in anticipation.

You just wanted to make them happy.

You just wanted to be their little bitch that night.

Slipping his underwear until it reached his knee, you sucked his tip and soon swallowed him full, knowing if you took your time with it, they'd punish you even more.

Childe also took his trousers and underwear off, taking one of your hands from Kaeya's hips and making you masturbate him. Stopping sucking Kaeya for a second, you used some spit so your movements could be smoother against Childe's member.

The Cavalry Captain brought your face towards his crotch once again, jealousy running his veins because of the devotion you seemed to have for the other man.

"Suck it like the good little slut you are" And you did. You didn't stop your movements at all and trying your best to not choke with his length, you sucked him like his little personal slut while your other hand stimulated Childe's dick and balls.

At some point, Kaeya just started fucking himself into your mouth, too bored with your pace, as Ajax's hand helped your movements on himself.

"Kaeya..." You moaned sloppily with him inside your mouth. "Cum inside me, please"

Childe's eyebrows furrowed in irritation at your plea. He wanted to be the one filling you up first but Kaeya's orgasm was closer, anyways.

"Tsk. Such a naughty little girl. So you wanna be filled, uh? Do you want me to fuck my cum inside you until you can't take anything more inside that pretty pussy of yours?"

"Mhmm... Yes, please" The blue haired man manhandled you back to the bed, stopping your ministrations on Childe out of nowhere.

He thrusted into your pussy harshly, gaining a loud moan from you, the pleasure making you feel weak.

"She isn't all yours, buddy" Childe said, going towards your direction, making you suck him now that your mouth was free. His fingers traced the cut he had made on your cheek while you swallowed him full, making you gasp in sensitivity.

"Such a desperate little bitch, uh? How cute you look while sucking me, doll" Ajax mocked you as you made your pace quicker as Kaeya's thrusts also became faster by that time.

Kaeya's nails sank into your skin when his orgasm reached him, the pain it caused making you feel good, though.

"Fuck!" His cum painted your walls white as you moaned against the fatui's cock.

Kaeya still thrusted into you some more times, igniting your high when his cold fingers teased your clit.

You stopped sucking Childe for a while to enjoy your orgasm, your plump lips glistening with saliva as you felt your walls clenching around Kaeya.

Your body got soft with your orgasm and you were already satisfied, but they weren't finished with you yet.

Kaeya exited you so Childe could be the one fucking you dumb now since he didn't reach his peak until that point. His pace was even faster than Kaeya's, that was now by your side degrading you with his words as he caressed your cheek in fake affection.

"A-Archons! Childe, f-fuck..." You gulped dryly as Ajax's hand traced every wound he had caused on your skin. "It... Hurts"

"Shush... It will go away, girlie. Just relax and enjoy the pain" He pounded into you so harshly you'd be feeling lower back pains by the time he was finished with you. After some more minutes, he finally came, not before gaining a second orgasm of yours.

"Ah, fuck, (Name)! Just like that, take all of it inside your pretty cunt"

You thought that now you'd be left alone to recover now, but they didn't give you a break.

You were already worn out and you didn't know if you could bear any longer stimulation.

But they proved you wrong.

Childe changed positions with you, you were now above him, riding his dick and Kaeya was next to you, relaxing your body so you wouldn't feel much pain with what he would do next.

With Childe still inside you, he pulled you for a kiss while Kaeya entered you from behind.

"Ah! It... Hurts!" You gasped into the kiss while Kaeya caressed your back as a way to distract you from the discomfort, it soon fading away.

The moment you got comfortable, Kaeya started pounding into you from behind as Childe helped you moving above him by holding your hips and guiding your movements against him.

A short interval of time passed with you three like that and soon you started feeling overwhelmed by everything around you.

"Oh gods- Too much..." You whined as Kaeya's hands abused the skin of your breasts and Childe took off one of his hands from your hips to harshly stimulate your clit.

The fatui harbinger ability to hit your g-spot with every single thrust of his as well Kaeya's wet kisses on the many soft spots of your neck brought you close to another orgasm.

"Kaeya... Ajax..." You moaned in pleasure.

Then it reached you.

And it reached you hard.

Your walls were squeezing Childe so hard he came one more time, his hand leaving your clit to caress your cheek proudly.

After some more minutes you were laid down on Childe's abs in pure exhaustion, Kaeya also came inside you.

Both of them took their time exiting you, the comfortable sensation your warm walls gave them being too good for them to separate from you just yet.

You finally were able to get some rest now.

They exited you while sleepiness that hit you after all of it made your mind foggy.

Your cuts still hurted, the skin of your breasts still felt numb due Kaeya's power and only light touches on your body were able to make you whine in overstimulation, but you couldn't feel more satisfied than you were.

Childe and Kaeya would help you with the pain and the wounds, but you were fast asleep when they returned to the bedroom with all the things they needed.

They'd help you properly when you wake up, by now they just wanted to admire how beautiful you looked even with all the little marks they left on your body.

Above anything, they felt extremely proud of you for being so devoted to both of them. And they'd make sure you knew that.

[ludwigplayingthetrombone]

I come bearing another chapter! Here’s chapter 6 of gentiste origins! tw for injury and drugs ment in one panel. Enjoy!

Ch1 Ch2 Ch3 Ch4 Ch5

Tracer: Did you hear? Echo: Your brother Brig: And mccree, he Lucio, He went berserk, and- He kissed your brother! They’re together?? Genji: Oh my! [i knew] Ang: The man ran back into a collapsing building, Genji. Genj: Adds up

Genj: [in japanese] You look happy

Genj: He makes you happy Han: I... Yes, he does. Genji: I told you they’d support you two. But you are his boyfriend though, yes? That’s what you call eachother? Han: I... tend to prefer ‘partner’ over boyfriend, but the sentiment still stands. Why? What do you call Baptiste? Genj: EEH? ME and-?!

Genj: We’re not together? Han: OH. Genj: What gave you that impression? Han: You are together more often than not. You flirt like teenagers. You think I am blind? Have you /seen/ the way he looks at you?

Genj: Good morning, McCree! Jess: H-Hey, Genj Genj: Don’t look so nervous, mccree, I’m not the shotgun type and hanzo doesnt need protecting Jess: Who said I was nervous!

Jess: I’m sorry, Genj. I wanted tot tell you. Genj: Don’t fret, mccree, i am overjoyed! [I saw them together more once hanzo was released. More openly and closer than before. They did alot together. Ate together, sat in the same room together, trained together

[They’re content to just exist together and continue with business as usual. I’m genuinely happy hanzo has found a support system in mccree

[He looks at him so adoringly... I can’t help but ponder what he said. Have I truly not noticed that he could be looking at me the same way?

Zen: Genji. What troubles you? It has been some time since i’ve seen you this distant. Genj: Ah, sorry, master! Returning has given me many new distractions. I suppose I am questioning... my future. I am... stumped Zen: Unstaisfied with your relationship with Baptiste? Genj: What?! No! well, not in that way!

Genj: Baptiste treats me better than anyone i’ve ever been with. He’s incredible.I am afraid of how deep i have fallen for him... seeing hanzo so happy makes me pine more, but i-... My home is with the shambali. Zen: Humans are rather fascinating to me. While we omnics have souls like humans, we do not age, nor are we inclined to grow and evolve in the same way humans do. I believe you have grown from who you once were, just as I suspect baptiste has grown from his past self. I’ve taught you all I know about moving forward with one’s emotions; Perhaps you tow can learn new things together

Zen: I have always seen the shambali as a family, nit a place you must stay chained to. They love you, Genji. If you’ve found love and happiness, they would want you to go towards it. You will always have a home to return to should you need it. Live your life how /you/ wish to.

bap: [groggy] hey. stay. How is Zenyatta? Genj: Amazing as always! I’m glad he’s staying here now. I dont have to fret. Bap: Nice. Genj: I’m sorry I woke you. Welcome back. Bap: I wanted to see you. just tired

Bap: You’ve been in a cheery mood lately Genj:  You think? hmmm. Hanzo said something kind to me, And master soothed my doubts. Bap: The stars must have aligned to make hanzo be nice

Bap: I’m glad he spoke to you. Genj: [soft] Yeah, it made me feel really happy

genj: sleep. Bap: [YAWN] You can go if you-

[i want this.] Ganj: For me? smells good! Bap: Of course! you said you haven’t eaten yet. [I cannot let this mperson slip through my fingers. I seem to have everyone’s support as well. If /hanzo/ can manage a functional relationship, i should be fine?] genj: shoo, snoops Jess: C’mon, genj

[I’ll ask tomorrow] tracer: Gotcha! [genji yelps]

Tracer: That all you got, Genj? Sombra: He’s planning on seeing you soon. Be careful. Bap: Hey! Genji: Hello, may I come in?

Genj: Are you ok? Bap: Sorry, I’ve been on edge for some reason. Genj: No need to apologize

How dare you walk in here looking so handsome. oH GOD! [laugh] You’re like a cat

Genj: You look tired Bap: Aren’t I always? missed you

Genj: [Exhale] Bap: Something wrong? Genj:Ah. No, it’s nothing. Bap: That doesn’t sound like nothing. What’s on your mind? You can tell me.

Bap: woah! Genj: You make me so happy, Jean-baptiste. I hope you know that; you’re so good to me. Bap: Just giving what I believe is owed. paying off this debt you gave me. Genj: smooth

[bap chuckles] Genj: Jean Bap: hm? Genj: Are we dating?

Bap: Dating? Us? Did someone say we were? I know I- I don’t... Seriously, are you ok, Genji? This is coming out of nowhere; what made you bring all this up? Genj: Because I want to know, Baptiste. Because I do not wish for THIS

Genj: to only be about THIS. I have done THIS enough times int he past, and i don’t wish to keep repeating my mistakes! Bap: Woah, hey, hey, hey, easy there. Genj: [soothing me like a child?!] Bap: I thought.. we agreed we were just having fun here, Genji, i didn’t-

Genj: We were until... I thought I could handle this. But continuing this way just... isn’t healthy for me anymore. I don’t want you to become another lover I leave behind. Bap: You’re unhappy- I thought... Genj: Do you truly find this normal, Jean?

Genj: People think we are together because casual lovers do not stare like we do. My feelings have crossed the lines of casual, so I am asking, Do you only want me because I am convenient? Or is there hope of something more? Bap: Genji, please, what hap- Genj: You haven’t ANSWERED ME [zen: temper!]

I-

[attllhak]

Time is Outnumbered By His Sons And His Wife Isn’t Helping; The Floor Is Lava Edition

@tortilla-of-courage @sekiumiarashi @anadorablekiwi @ghostdragonace

Yes, this is actually the longest title of any fic in my docs. I do not know if it’ll stay that way or not.

This fic was actually based on this art by @/cherrypaii (not tagging because I don’t know if you’d want to be tagged here).(if you do see this and would like to be tagged lemme know and I can remove the slash).

Behold and enjoy Time suffering as he realizes, not for the first time, that parenting is very hard.

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

Time felt he should be getting paid.

True, it was his call to adopt the boys, and he had been the one to insist he could handle it, but hindsight is 20/20 and he hadn’t expected this when he took them on.

He got home from work and walked into the kitchen to find all eight of his sons, some of whom should not have been home yet, standing on the kitchen table. He blinked at all of them, took a deep breath, and walked out of the kitchen back into the living room.

“Malon,” he addressed his wife, who was sitting in the living room and stitching together a costume for the play Wind’s little sister was in. “Do you know where our sons are?”

“The kitchen, I believe,” she responded, not looking up.

“Hm, I was afraid of that,” he turned around and walked back into the kitchen.

Sure enough, all of the boys were there. However now Twilight was laying spread out on the floor and looking at the ceiling, and Legend had fallen mostly off the table, clinging on with his arms and dangling, and Warriors was laughing. Sky had wrapped himself up in a blanket and Wind was trying to keep him from accidentally falling off or getting shoved by his brothers. Four was next to them, holding his knees and glaring. Wild and Hyrule both looked awful proud of themselves.

“What is going on here?”

“Dad! Get off the floor! You’re dying!” Wind cried at him, apparently very distressed.

Time raised a single eyebrow, but didn’t move. He cast his eye over the group, finally landing on Twilight.

“They’re playing the floor is lava,” the first of his two eldest explained.

“Ah,” Time mused, glancing over the scene again. “And you are?”

“Dead,” Twilight explained.

“He committed suicide,” Wind informed him. “Just after Warriors tried to murder Legend,”

“I see,” Time darted his eye back and forth around the group again. “Boys, we need to discuss your professionalism,”

“Those are brave words for a man who’s standing in lava!” Wild cried, in perfect time to Warriors tripping over Wind and falling over the side of the table with a yelp and Legend finally giving up on holding himself off the ground.

Warriors started screaming, rolling around like he was dying and giving a very over dramatic death monologue. Legend seemed to be ‘suffering’ in silence, and Hyrule had turned to watch his very dramatic brother ‘die’, but did nothing to save him. Soon enough Wind was crying back at Warriors, not letting go of Sky and so having to twist to shout behind him, and the two eventually evolved into a bastardized version of the speech from Titanic. Or devolved. Time wasn’t quite sure which he felt was more fitting.

So there he stood in his kitchen, five of his sons on the table and three on the floor in various states of fake dead, and he could feel the beginnings of a headache pounding behind his eyes. He was too tired for this.

He crossed the room, stepping over both of his eldest as he did, and reached up into the cabinet where they kept all the painkillers. He pulled out the Advil bottle and grabbed a cup from a different cupboard and filled it with tap water. He downed two pills in one go.

He turned back to the table and was instantly filled with regret for doing so. Four had shoved Sky off the table, and now he and Wind were fighting, forcing Wild and Hyrule to avoid them. Warriors had started quoting Hamlet, as apparently his death wasn’t taking long enough for his liking, and Sky remained vaguely catatonic as he lay face down on the floor, still wrapped up in a blanket burrito. Legend had given up on the table and was now using his arms to drag himself to Warriors, determination and annoyance in his eyes.

Time rubbed at his forehead and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Don’t kill each other, you do and you’re grounded,”

“You can’t ground me!” Warriors cried, sitting up to glare at him and interrupting himself mid-monologue. “I’m an adult!”

“Are you?” Time questioned.

“The floor is lava is very serious,” Twilight informed him from the other side of the room, not having moved at all.

“I see,” Time huffed. He shut his eye. “Just, I don’t want to deal with murder charges, so no deaths. And try to keep it contained,”

He moved across the room, stepping over Warriors and Twilight again as he did, receiving several agreements and a ‘no promises!’ from Legend as he left. Warriors picked up his monologue again, but was now quoting Romeo and Juliet.

In a few minutes he’d probably make his way to MacBeth, so long as Legend didn’t make it to him first.

Time stepped into the living room again and collapsed into a chair across from his wife.

“Malon, do you ever wonder if we ended up with too many kids?” He asked, rubbing his eyes with one hand.

“What brought this on?” She asked.

“The boys are on the table, apparently playing the floor is lava, and now Warriors is laying on the floor quoting death monologues from Shakespeare plays,”

“Which play is he on now?” Malon asked, amusement in her eyes.

Time leaned to the side to listen.

“-orld-weried flesh. Eyes, look your last! Arms, take your last embrace! And lips, o you the doors of breath, seal with a-ACK! Legend!”

“I believe Legend just interrupted Romeo’s final monologue,” Time informed her.

“Hm, how many did he go through?”

“He and Wind started with Titanic, then he moved on to Hamlet,” Time rubbed his brow. “Why did we let him get into theater?”

“You said it’d be a constructive outlet,” Malon reminded him.

Time groaned and slid down in his seat, rubbing his face. “Why did I do that?”

He opened his eye and peeked through his fingers, listening to the sounds of fighting and cheering in the other room. Malon had not looked up from her work.

“Can you go in and tell them they’re being ridiculous? They won’t listen to me,” Time was not pouting, and he would deny it if ever asked.

“Why would I do that?” Malon looked up at him and smiled, a knowing look in her eyes. “The floor is lava is very serious,”

It was then that Time realized that Malon had her feet tucked up under her on the couch.

“Why?” Time groaned, not expecting an answer.

Malon just giggled at him.

Time’s life, and family, was a nightmare. A total nightmare.

Well, if you can’t beat 'em, join ‘em.

Time stood up and walked back into the kitchen. Silence fell as he walked in. Hyrule was standing between Four and Wind, holding them apart, and Wild was leaned over the side of the table cheering on Warriors and Legend, who had frozen mid-battle with Legend choking Warriors with his scarf and Warriors’ fingers in Legend’s mouth. Neither Sky nor Twilight had moved.

Time sighed and laid down next to Twilight, resting his forehead on the ground.

“Uh, dad?” Hyrule asked, presumably eying Time’s prone form. “Are you okay?”

“I’m accepting death.” Time said, shutting his good eye again.

Twilight reached over and patted Time’s shoulder. “I feel that,”

A few beats later and scuffling resumed, his boys picking up their fights again.

Time still felt like he deserved to be paid for this.

[itsallyscorner]

just like magic with marvel cast, the vibe is----- a perfect song for a lil b*tch with a good heart and a sarcastic mouth

just like magic is the song we ALL need for 2020😌 Start manifesting ya’ll🖤 Also thank you sm for the request I am so so sorry this took so freakin’ long😭 Love u, happy reading🖤🖤 Tried to add my own lil twist to your request:)

(A lil different from the request, but I tried to make the reader have a bit sas.)

💌.

just like magic

Growing up within the Marvel Cinematic Universe was probably one of things you were most grateful for. When you first started out you weren’t that social. You were new to the business, you didn’t know anybody and you were intimidated by every single actor you crossed paths with.

At first you didn’t feel like you fit in. You felt as if you were a burden to everyone else. You barely talked to anyone which made the others approach you out of force by the Russos. Everyone around you was talented while you were just some newcomer who had jack shit as experience. The first few years you were insecure of yourself mentally and physically. You weren’t as pretty or fit as the other women in the MCU nor did your skills live up to theirs. Which led to some unhealthy habits. Plus there were haters and movie critics who would say horrible things about you and your acting.

You had a rocky start unlike Tom Holland and even Lexi Rabe. Until one day when you realized that you had to change how you were thinking. It took you a while but all that negative thinking you were doing was only bringing you negative energy. So when you had a break from filming movies, your number one goal was to improve yourself.

Wake up in my bed, I just wanna have a good day (Mmm, ah)

Think it in my head, then it happens how it should, ayy

Twelve o'clock, I got a team meeting, then a meditation at like 1:30

Then I ride to the studio listening to some shit I wrote (Oh)

You woke up with smile on your face in a sense of calmness. The sun shined bright hues into your room as you got up from your bed. Today was the first day back on set. You guys were finally filming Civil War and you were honestly so excited. As you did your morning routine, you went over how the day would go in your head. You’re genuinely excited to see the entire cast. It has been almost half a year since you’ve seen everyone and you couldn’t wait to be back.

You took one last look at yourself in the mirror. Compared to the previous year, you looked and felt healthy. Your eyes shined and you looked well relaxed. You know like one of those face cleanser commercials? That’s how you felt. You felt like a breath of fresh air.

The ride to the studio took a good 30 minutes but it felt like seconds. You entered the set with a new sense of confidence and pride. The energy was practically radiating off you.

“(Y/n)?” You hear someone call from behind you. You turn around and see Scarlett looking at you.

“Hey!” You greet her as you approach her. You pulled her into a hug, startling her.

“Oh! Hello to you too, honey.” She laughed as she wrapped her arms around you. “How are you?”

“I’m doing great! Life’s been good.” You answer as a toothy grin graces itself on your face. Scarlett’s eyes are filled with shocked. From the previous times she’s talked to you she’s never seen you so loud or open. You were always shy and closed off from everyone on set.

Good karma, my aesthetic (Aesthetic)

Keep my conscience clear, that's why I'm so magnetic

Manifest it (Yeah), I finessed it (I finessed it)

Take my pen and write some love letters to Heaven

Eventually everyone on set caught on to your new attitude. Though they tried to be discreet about their reactions and shocked expressions, you could still see how they were caught off guard by your sudden change of nature.

Anthony watched as you conversed with Elizabeth and Scarlett on the couch in Robert’s “village” . You were probably the most smiliest person in the room beating Evans, who was eating his lunch.

“She’s like different. But in a good way. It’s like she’s bloomed.” Anthony thought out loud to the men beside him. Chris (E) and Sebastian look in your direction.

“Bloomed?” Chris snorted as he swallowed his food.

“Yeah, like she’s growing into a woman.” Anthony hummed proudly as he went back to his own lunch. Sebastian smiled at you, “I think she’s gained some confidence in herself and finally realized how good of a person she is.”

“If she’s finally realized that, I’m glad she did. She’s like a ball of sunshine, it’s adorable.” Chris smiled proudly at you as your hands move around animatedly while explaining some story to the two women in front of you.

“Y’all think it’s a boy?” Anthony wondered. Sebastian rolled his eyes at his friend. Before he can even respond Anthony is calling you over. You approach the men with a smile and take a seat beside Sebastian.

“What’s up?” You greet them. Chris nods at you as he chews on his sandwich. Sebastian greeting you with a quiet “hey”.

“So who’s the lucky man?” Anthony asks teasingly. Your brows knit together head tilting to the side.

“Man?”

“Yes man, or boy, whatever. Who’s got you feelin’ yourself, (y/n).” Anthony wiggles his brows as he shimmies closer to you. Sebastian, who’s in between you two, cringes at the man to his left.

You didn’t take any offense to the question, knowing that everyone was curious as to why you were so unlike yourself.

You chuckled before smirking at the older man, “Anthony, honey. I don’t need a man to be feelin’ myself. I did this on my own.”

Chris and Sebastian’s mouth drop at your answer. Chris laughed as he pointed out Anthony’s face. Sebastian slung an arm around your shoulder bringing you into a side hug as he laughed with Chris.

“To be fair” Chris began to say but started to laugh, “To be fair, you deserved that.” Anthony’s face went flushed as he nodded to himself. You suddenly felt bad that you put him on the spot.

“Alright, stop laughing at him.” You playfully glare at Chris and Seb. You poke Anthony’s arm, “To answer your question, I’ve just been working on myself. Thinking more positively, I even tried manifestation.”

“You know what, that’s good. You’re taking care of yourself mentally and physically. I’m proud of you for doing this for yourself, we all are.” Anthony tells you as he motions to the two other men.

You look at all three of them, all of them looking at you with pride, “Thanks guys.”

Just like magic (Baby), just like magic (Oh yeah)

Middle finger to my thumb and then I snap it

Just like magic (Yeah), I'm attractive (Oh yeah)

I get everything I want 'cause I attract it (Oh)

As the months passed, the more you evolved into another version of you. You walked with determination, carried yourself with such grace and you’ve gained confidence in your career. You didn’t let your insecurities get to you, instead you faced them and overcame them. You were tired of letting them control you.

Your change in attitude and perspective on life has definitely affected your life in many ways. Manifestation was one of the things that have helped you the most. Writing about your goals and putting that energy out to the world has helped you persevere in your job. You’ve only faced good karma; sending out positive energy and receiving it back from the universe.

So far you’ve been casted in two new projects and have a campaign lined up with Gucci. If you were told a year ago that you’d be working with big time directors and freakin’ Gucci, you wouldn’t have believe them. Life has been unreal ever since you decided to change your life around. But of course you had to thank your Marvel family, without them and their support you probably wouldn’t haven gotten to where you were today.

Looking at my phone, but I'm tryna disconnect it (Oh yeah)

Read a fuckin' book, I be tryna stay connected (Yeah)

Say it's tricky at the top, gotta keep a slim ego for a thick wallet

Losing friends left and right, but I just send 'em love and light (Oh)

As many people recognized your success many people still tried to pull you down. Some fans on social media have noticed your change in behavior and have even praised you for practicing self care. While others still tried to push you off the mountain of success you were currently on and drag you across the ground.

These were the reasons as to why you were barely on your phone anymore. You used to be invested in your phone but after realizing how much negativity it brought you, you’ve decided to slowly disconnect from it. Which led you to becoming more interested into books.

Chris (E) had even brought some of his favorite arts of literature for you to borrow. You were currently on your third book of his, Sapiens A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. You were sitting outside your trailer in a fold up chair under the shade. Your peacefulness was interrupted by Tom (Holland) who had a worried expression on his face.

“Have you not seen it yet?” He asked you as soon as he was in front of you. Being the two most youngest actors on the current set, you guys were closer to each other than with the adults.

“Seen what, Tommy?” You put a finger in between the pages you were reading to save your spot. Tom pulls his phone out and began to type. He tapped on his screen and turned the screen to you.

“She’s been talking crap about you for days.” You read the article and saw that one of your “friends”, Sabrina has been speaking out about your success and how it’s changed you as a person.

“She’s going off about how the more money you get in your wallet, the more bratty and arrogant you become.” He grumbled as he turned his phone off.

“I could care less, honestly. I know I haven’t done anything to her and if I did I was unaware of it. Plus, she stopped talking to me after I said I couldn’t get her a part in a movie.” You shrugged as you placed a proper bookmark in the book.

“You’re not upset?”

“I mean it’s sad that she’s acting so two faced. But if that’s how she wants to roll, then be my guest. It’s her loss, not everyone has great taste.” You flicked a piece of hair away from your face with your hand.

“You’re not gonna release a statement against her?”

“No, probably just wish her well with her life and move on with my own.” You answered much to Tom’s dismay.

Redesign your brain, we gon' make some new habits

Just like magic (Just like magic), just like magic

Filming has officially ended a few months ago and now you guys were doing press tour for Civil War. Before you were the new and improved version of yourself, you dreaded press tours. Some interviewers were nice and respectful, but there were those who would ask inappropriate questions and were just rude in general. All you could remember during those past tours was wanting to leave those rooms as soon as possible.

The q&a panel at New York had a packed room. There were many journalist crowded in the room shoulder to shoulder. You were sat in between Elizabeth and Scarlett, two of the women who have been guiding you and teaching you about life as a woman in the business. They were also like your older sisters.

The panel had been going smoothly for the first half hour until a man with a snobby face and cocky demeanor approached the mic.

“Hello, I’m Keith and my question’s for (y/n).” He began. You nodded in his direction, motioning for him to continue.

“I think everyone’s noticed how you’ve changed and developed as a person. Obviously something’s changed in your life. So I want to know if you’ve had any intimate relationships with any of the men in the cast?” You were surprised at the man’s question. First it was bold of him to ask such a question and second it was just disrespectful to you and the others on the cast.

“I mean someone’s gotta be fucking you good to make you crawl out your shell.” The man finished shrugging nonchalantly. Robert was about to interject but your mouth was quicker than his. The men of the cast were disgusted at the man while they sat at the edge of their seats.

“Well last time I checked my contract, my job was to act, not sleep around with the men who are part of these movies.” You spoke into the mic. All the attention was on you while the room was at a standstill.

“It’s also very upsetting that you think a girl needs to be fucked in order to be confident in herself. I hate to break it to you but women are completely capable of turning their lives around without the help of men and that says a lot about you, sir. So if I were you, I’d take myself back to my seat and rethink my life because if one of us has to redesign our brains it’s you.” You finished as you placed your mic on your lap. The room was silent until the cast began to clap. This was your first time standing up for yourself, usually Robert or Scarlett would swoop in and save you but this time, you were saving yourself.

You shook your head as you blushed, shoving your head in your hands. You felt some pats on the backs and cheers from your dysfunctional family. You look up and see Scarlett and Elizabeth smiling at you proudly.

“Isn’t she amazing?” Robert asked the crowd as he hugged you. The crowd cheering you on.

Just like magic, your life felt like a dream come true, knowing that you were worth it and enough for the people around you and for yourself.

[arvandus]

Icarus (Overhaul x F!Reader)

Ah yes, once again so late on this. This one gave me grief because the characters kept deviating from what I had originally planned. >.< But I worked through it, and here we are.

This is for the BNHarem's “On The Job” Collab for May, which you can find here.

Also, don’t judge my super simple title headings for my fics 😂 I always do these late at night when I should be asleep, so generic background with fancy text is the best I got to offer.

Trigger Warnings: 18+ ONLY!  1 instance of aggression/abuse (hair grabbing/pulling - nonsexual), unprotected sex (fun in fiction, dumb IRL), mutual masturbation, overstimulation, bondage via quirk abuse, degradation...

I think that about covers it.  Once again, I’m terrible at TWs so let me know if I missed anything or if anything is inaccurate. 😬 I just kinda write what I want and don’t really think about the labels when I’m doing it.

Pairing: Overhaul x F!Reader

Word Count: 8281

You hadn’t meant to get caught.  Really, you weren’t even sure what had possessed you to do it in the first place. Desperation? Horniness? Stupidity?

 All of the above?

 All you knew was that it was a poor decision brought forth by the gradual culmination of a single annoying, unavoidable fact: you were disgustingly, shamefully, sinfully attracted to Kai Chisaki.

You weren’t exactly sure how or when it started. There was no “aha” moment, no “big bang” of desire.  Instead, it was subtle, gradually coating your unsuspecting mind like layers of sediment. A shiver down your spine when he spoke your name.  The quickening of your pulse at the briefest of eye contact. And the ever-growing presence of intrusive, curious thoughts.

 Like his hands.  You always noticed them, the white of his gloves drawing your attention like a beacon whenever he was within eyesight.  They were dangerous hands, deadly weapons that you’d seen in action firsthand.  They were a thing to be feared and avoided.  But some strange part of you couldn’t help but wonder... what did they feel like?  You imagined they’d be soft and perfectly manicured, oddly delicate for such a violent man; gentle hands packed with destructive power.

 Or his lips.  They were always covered by his mask.  You never, ever saw him without it.  You imagined what your name would look like on them as he spoke, how they’d feel on your skin.  Would his lips also be soft? How about his kisses? Would they be cautious and controlled, or rough and hungry?

 It didn’t help that he was, in his own way, very attractive.  Just like how his dangerous hands were hidden within innocent white gloves, he was the devil hidden behind a pretty face. A sharp, beautiful jawline. Smooth porcelain skin. A crown of auburn red hair, closely cropped, but still long enough to run fingers through.

 You bet that part of him was soft too.

 The one part of him that wasn’t soft were his eyes.  They were beautiful, certainly… as gold as Heaven’s gates and framed in long, perfect lashes.  But they lacked the warmth of Heaven.  Instead, they spoke of cold arrogance. And if you stared into them long enough, you could see a barely contained disgust lurking beneath their haughty exterior.

 The disgust didn’t bother you, not anymore.  Everyone disgusted Chisaki, and everyone in the Shie Hassaikai knew it. He even made his closest confidants, some he’d known since childhood, wear masks so he wouldn’t share the same air with them.  

 He had you wear a mask too, of course. Simple and white, it covered only your lower face, much like his own.  That much you were grateful for, considering some of the masks you’d seen others wearing.  Your only explanation for the slightly less coverage was that your secretarial position made you a frequent point of contact for those outside of the organization.  You handled incoming calls, visitors, and scheduled meetings between Chisaki and his affiliates.  No doubt he wanted to ensure you were making a good impression while still operating within his mysophobic requirements.

 First impressions were everything to Kai.  Even more so since he took the Boss’s place under dubious circumstances. Still, his long-held reputation for extremist thinking and violence preceded him, and not everyone was in support of his unexpected promotion.  As a result, many people within the organization parted ways following Chisaki’s rise to power... and soon after they mysteriously went missing, never to be heard from or located again.  You had no doubt that it was Chisaki tying up loose ends by sealing loose lips.  After all, they say the mouth is the source of disaster.  And Chisaki valued confidentiality above all else.

 The message he sent was clear: adapt or die.  When given such colorful options, the choice on whether to go or stay became a simple one.

 So, you adapted.  As long as you followed orders, kept your eyes down and your mouth shut, you were safe. After all, it was better to be the right hand of the devil than to be in his path.  The only person you really had to fear was Chisaki himself, and you knew him well enough by now to know how to stay on his good side.

 And all in all, it really wasn’t all that bad.  Sure, you had to orchestrate the occasional clean-up when he disposed of someone who displeased him.  But that wasn’t much different than what you’d dealt with when you worked for the Boss, either.  Sure, the aftermath was messier and it happened far more often.  But violence was violence, and when you worked with the Yakuza long enough, you got used to it.  And despite the odd working conditions and ever-present undertone of danger, you remained good at your job. As such, Chisaki brooked no complaint. He tolerated you, and you tolerated him. Interactions were brief, words exchanged were polite and respectful even though they lacked warmth.  But it was just a job, right?  You didn’t need warmth.

 So why did you feel so dissatisfied?  Why did you constantly feel that something was missing, a longing you couldn’t entirely describe?

 The need only ever waned when Chisaki was in your presence, whether it was to discuss upcoming meetings or simply passing by your desk to get to his office. The dissatisfaction would melt away into a warmth that extended deep into your fingertips whenever the cold-hearted man bothered to look you in the eyes. And when he wasn’t looking at you? It was like being thrown into a winter blizzard, the aching cold returning to pull the corners of your mouth down into a silent frown.

 You craved his attention.  It was shameful and pathetic and you could only imagine the scorn he’d give you if he knew, but you didn’t care.  To be graced with the attention of a man who cared for no one brought a different kind of satisfaction.  The rare treats of attention Chisaki did grant you, whether intended or not, scratched an itch that only he could scratch.

 As time passed, the intrusive thoughts became more frequent, evolving from odd curiosities to shameless lust.  They began to occupy your dreams, forcing you awake with a hot ache between your legs. That was when you really began to realize how in deep you were.  It wasn’t just a simple “attraction.”  You wanted him.  At first you tried to deny and ignore, suppress and excuse.  After all, this was Overhaul.  Wanting him was like wanting the sun in your hand, and just as dangerous. Apparently though, it made little difference to your hormone-addled brain.  It didn’t help that the secretive, forbidden thoughts brought their own special addictive flavor of the taboo.  

 You began to act different in front of him.  Nothing too obvious, of course.  After all, you knew Chisaki wasn’t the type to indulge in desperate women. To be honest, you weren’t even sure Chisaki indulged in women at all.  All you did know was that whenever women tried to gain his favor through flirtation, Chisaki quickly and harshly shut it down.

 So, it was little things... the extra second to release a paper from your grip after he’d grabbed it, the lingering of a glance.  You didn’t so much change the style of your attire – skirts and blouses were already the norm for your position – but you changed the colors. A blouse that matched the purple feathery softness of his jacket, golden jewelry that matched his eyes.  Little messages waiting in secret to be picked up, yet subtle enough that they could be excused as nothing more than coincidence. It was risky, but the thrill of the game gave you an outlet for your roiling feelings.  In the end though, it made no difference.  There was nothing about you that seemed important enough to turn Chisaki’s head more than was professionally necessary.

 Which is where the state of things were when you found yourself alone in his office one evening. You had thought he was still working at the time. You’d stepped away to shred some incriminating documents and burn the scraps in the kiln outside.  It was your last task for the day, so you’d entered Chisaki’s office to announce your departure for the evening.  Except when you entered, the space was empty, with all traces of him gone.  No papers remained on his desk.  His gloves and plague mask were gone.  With an annoyed huff you had stood there, bothered that you’d missed him.

 Quietly, you walked to his desk, and gently caressed the mahogany wood.  It was immaculate of course, free of dirt and fingerprints.  You knew it would be because he cleaned his space every evening before he left, and you cleaned it every morning before he arrived.

 You sighed as you retrieved the paper towels and cleaning solution.  No harm in giving it a second scrub to save yourself some time tomorrow morning. It wasn’t like anyone would be foolish enough to enter this space without Chisaki present anyway.

 You should have just left it at that.  But as you walked around his desk to wipe the surface with the damp towel, your bare legs just below your skirt bumped his chair. Soft leather, still warm from where he had sat, greeted your exposed skin.

 That should have been your first clue.

 But your mental alarms never sounded.  Instead, you figured you had just missed him.

 You should have just left, but you didn’t. The warmth on the chair was enticing you. He was gone, right?  Left for the evening.  What harm could it do to indulge just a little bit?  With your heart pounding with excitement, you carefully sat down in the warm leather. Immediately the scent of Chisaki’s body wash and clean clothes cradled you.

 That should have been your second clue.

 But you were already too wrapped up in your enjoyment.  You relished in the sensations, leaning back as you closed your eyes.  It was the closest you’d ever felt to him, as if his very presence was there with you. Your desire purred deep in your gut at receiving its first nibble of satisfaction.  If you closed your eyes, you could pretend he was there, holding you.

 Your kept your eyes closed as your imagination began to take root like weeds in your mind, making your skin feel hot.  Your fingers grazed the inside of your thigh, dipping beneath your skirt while your heart pounded.  What if those were his fingers?  The vision combined with the sensations of touch and smell were delicious, and you wanted more.  You dragged the pads of your fingertips up even higher, your arm starting to push your skirt up with it.  Your legs parted easily, as you let out a shaky breath.

 You shouldn’t be doing this.  Not here of all places.  But there was something so sinfully satisfying about it, the danger only heightening the sensations.  After all, the reward was only as great as the risk it took to earn it.  And this was the highest risk you could take, short of literally throwing yourself at him.  Besides, it wasn’t like your fantasies were ever going to come true. Maybe satisfying yourself - right here, right now – would be enough to finally give you the peace of mind you needed.

 And dear God, did you need it.  You could already feel the heat growing in your loins, the moisture dampening your panties.  Your fingers finally brushed against the warm cotton fabric covering your sex and you let out a soft gasp.

 What Chisaki didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.  He was gone, right?  And you were going to clean up any traces of your little visit before you left.  He’d be none the wiser.

 Your fingers slipped beneath your underwear to meet the hot, slick flesh of your folds, your clit already plump and ready with arousal. You knew it wouldn’t take you long to cum, but you wanted to enjoy this, to savor it as the only opportunity you’d get.  You certainly weren’t going to do this again.

 So, you teased yourself, fingertips softly dragging slow circles around your entrance before dipping in.  A shaky moan left your lips, the quickening of your breaths matching the racing of your heart.  In and out you dragged your fingers, relishing in your sleek, sensitive walls, occasionally breaking your rhythm to spread your juices over your swollen labia. You revisited your clit and stifled your moan with a bite of your lip as you began to slowly massage it with practiced skill.  It felt so fucking good.  The scent of yourself mingled with the scent of Chisaki, and you spread your legs wider, leaning back farther into the seat.  You could feel the surge beginning to swell, and you knew it would be soon. Vivid fantasies danced on the inside of your eyelids, and you were fully enthralled, fingers skimming fast circles over your swollen bud as your other hand began to massage your breast through your blouse.

 “Fuuuuuckk....Kai....” You moaned.

 “What do you think you’re doing?”

 The familiar voice made you jump so hard, you nearly fell out of the chair as your eyes flew wide open.

 There was Kai Chisaki, staring down at you from across the desk – his desk. And there were you, sitting in his chair, spread eagle.

 Your breath was knocked out of you and you felt light-headed with panic.  You caught sight of the shoji screen behind him, wide open to the evening air.

 FUCK. Of course.  You forgot to check outside.  He must have stepped out for some fresh air before returning to his office.

 Shit. Shit, shit, shit.  You hadn’t heard him enter.  How long had he been standing there??

 “I asked you a question.” The man seethed through his plague mask.  His gloved hands were clenched into angry fists, and his eyes... eyes that you’d always craved to see you... well, they saw you now, and you were terrified.

 Immediately, you closed your legs and stood up from his chair. Your mouth babbled soundlessly before your voice finally came, tight and small.

 “I’m sorry.  I’m so so sorry.”

 “I didn’t ask for an apology.” He hissed.

 “I know, I’m sorry.” You blubbered.

 “Come. Here.” Chisaki demanded.

 You obeyed, struggling to adjust your skirt as you approached him from around his desk.

 “I didn’t tell you to touch your clothes.” His tone was quiet and constrained yet sharp as a razor’s edge, each word uttered with meticulous precision.

 You stared at him in shock as you slowly removed your hands from your rumpled clothing.  His eyes raked over you, top to bottom, and left you feeling... exposed.

 “Look at you...” he grumbled.  “Disgusting.”

 His mask was unnerving, blocking the lower half of his face and keeping you from being able to fully read his facial expression.  His gold eyes were threatening – predatory like a wolf.

 He was going to kill you.  You knew it was coming. He’d killed others for far less.  But you weren’t ready for it.  You didn’t want to die.

 You dropped to your knees and bowed low in front of him, shrinking yourself to fit beneath his harsh glare.  “Please, Mr. Chisaki-“

 “Overhaul.”

 “Overhaul!” you corrected, as you bowed your head lower to the ground. “Please forgive me.  I meant no disrespect.”

 “No disrespect?” he sneered.  “You debase yourself in my seat, my place of business, and claim no disrespect??”

 His left hand reached forward at lightning speed and grabbed you by your hair, forcing your head back until you were looking him straight up at him.  You winced against his harsh hold on you, yet clenched your teeth in an effort to keep your silence.  He glared down at you as his next words came out through what you could clearly hear as clenched teeth.  

 “Clean it up.”

 With that, he shoved you away from him. On shaking, clumsy legs you pushed yourself to your feet and made your way back to his desk, your skin hot with shame and your ears ringing.  

 You did as he commanded, grabbing the cleaning solution and spraying his seat before carefully, meticulously, wiping every inch of the rich leather.  Minutes passed in silence as you made sure that no spot went unnoticed, even ensuring that the table was once again cleaned as well. By the time you had finished, Kai’s temper seemed to have dwindled to a simmering flame.  His hands were no longer clenched in fists at his sides. Instead, they were tucked deep into his pockets as he supervised you.  It did little to comfort you though... you knew that Chisaki’s reflexes were faster than you could dodge.  He’d catch you before you even reached the door.

 Not that you’d try to.  You knew better.

 When the chair was finally pristine, you disposed of the last of the soiled paper towels in the wastebin and returned the cleaning solution to its home. The task was done, but you didn’t stop. You picked up the trash can with the intent of disposing of its contents; you knew Chisaki wouldn’t want it sitting in his office.  

 It was all to buy you time. Time to figure out what to say or what do to convince Chisaki to spare your life.  But you didn’t even make it to the door before Chisaki’s voice halted your retreat.

 “Where do you think you’re going?”

 “I... I was just...” you stammered.

 “I didn’t give you permission to leave.”

 You swallowed and set down the trashcan.  He approached you slowly, until he was a mere few inches from you. He was so close that you could smell his cleanliness and see the pupils of his eyes dilate as he stared at you.  Slowly, he grabbed the mask that was covering your mouth and nose and removed it from your head.  You stopped breathing.

 There was something... electric in the air.  You could feel it on your skin, making your hairs stand on end and your flesh tighten with goosebumps.  His eyes peered at you intently, taking in every subtlety of your face.  Your lips, your eyes, your skin... and beneath the weight of his stare, you could feel the fear start to transform, replaced by something else entirely.  Something familiar that’d been plaguing you for months, lighting your veins with fire and threatening to incinerate you if it wasn’t released.  After all, part of his allure was the danger. And he hadn’t killed you yet, which meant... something.

 Chisaki’s gaze began to wander beyond just your face, taking in your still rumpled clothes.  The top couple buttons of your blouse were undone, exposing the skin of your neck and the edges of your bra.  Your skirt was still askew, and although he couldn’t see it, you became acutely aware of your still-damp underwear trapped between your folds from when you had hastily closed your legs earlier.  You stared back at him, waiting for him to do something, say something.

 And that’s when you noticed it... a faint flush across his pale cheeks, peaking out from beneath his mask. His chest was rising and falling with each breath, and it was as if he were contemplating something, silently weighing a decision in his closed-off mind.

 A strange bubbling sensation began to build within your chest, foreign and oddly out of place.

 Hope.

 Finally, Chisaki spoke, his voice unusually calm considering the trouble you were in.  “Follow me.”

 Not one to disobey him, you did as he requested as he made his way over to his desk and sat down in his chair.  Then, with an open hand, he gestured at his desk.

 “Sit.”

 Confusion.

 “W-What??” you stuttered.

 “I said sit.” He replied.

 You did as Chisaki commanded, fitting yourself between his legs and his desk before hopping up slightly onto the surface you’d just cleaned. You were right in front of him now, your hands in your lap and your ankles crossed as you realized just how perfect this arrangement was for him to see directly up your skirt.  You worried your lip between your teeth as you watched him assess you.  His elbow was resting on the armrest of his chair, his fingers supporting his face along the jawline as he stared at you with his head cocked at an angle. If it were any other situation, you’d say he looked almost bored... but the glint in his eyes spoke of something else entirely.

 “Continue.” He stated.

 “What? What do you mean?” you asked.

 His eyes stared at you knowingly.  “You didn’t get to cum, did you?”  You shook your head, stunned at his words.  “Continue.” He repeated.

 “Right here?”

 “Where else?  It was good enough for you earlier.”  His tone dropped slightly as his eyes narrowed.  “Continue.”

 Your heart pounded in your ears as you uncrossed your ankles, and with shaky hands began to trace your fingers up your thighs just as you had done before. Except this time, the experience was entirely different. Instead of closing your eyes like before, you kept them open to stare at your observer, watching for his reaction.  So many times you’d fantasized about this... about his eyes being on you and only you... and you weren’t going to miss a moment of it.

 With your eyes locked on each other, you inched your way up to the space between your thighs, your legs parting to grant you access.  Chisaki didn’t look down.  Not right away, at least.  Instead, he continued to watch your face, his body still and silent.  With the heat of his gaze on you, you finally reached your center where your warmth greeted you.  It was still slick from earlier, your fingers sliding easily along your labia as you began to tease yourself for the second time that evening.  You let out slow, shaky breaths as your fingers rubbed slow, lazy circles over your glossy lips.  

 Chisaki still didn’t break his gaze from your eyes, and a part of you wanted him to.  You wanted him to acknowledge what you were offering him and know that he liked it. A small, devious smirk found itself on your lips as you pulled your fingers away from your pussy to show him the evidence of your arousal stretched across your fingers.  It caught his attention just briefly, eyes flicking to your display, before he watched you lick the glistening strands from your fingertips, the soft sounds of your sucking filling the empty, quiet room.

 Chisaki’s eyes narrowed, and the smirk on your face widened.  Soon your fingers were back between your legs, massaging your clit again as your skin began to feel flush with heat.  Round and round the pads of your fingers went, with painstaking slowness that you drew out just for him.  You wanted to show him how good his presence made you feel.  You wanted him to see how badly you wanted him.  Your lips became more swollen, your clit more sensitive. Already you could start to feel the tension build.  It was almost too easy, your body ready to surrender at the drop of a hat.  But you weren’t going to let it happen, not yet at least.  You wanted to draw this out, to savor it in case it never happened again.

 With half-lidded eyes you stared at him as you parted you folds for him, fully exposing yourself. For the first time, his eyes drifted from your face to stare directly at your desire for him – your tight hole open and waiting, every inch of your swollen cunt drenched in glistening arousal.  Chisaki was captivated and you felt your blood surge.  You needed more. With your fingers still spreading yourself open, you dipped your middle digit into your tight heat.   Pleasure bloomed within you and a soft groan vibrated from the back of your throat. With each draw of your fingers, your breaths quickened, your back arching as the tension began to build.

 You struggled to keep your eyes open, to watch Chisaki as you brought yourself closer to orgasm, but it became increasingly difficult. You were single-focused now, chasing your much-needed release with each plunge of your finger into your soft depths.  Your body accommodated it welcomingly, and so you added a second, once again relishing in the renewed stretch that caressed your inner walls. The faster you pumped your fingers, the better it felt until your nerves were singing that familiar hum.  You flowed seamlessly into the final phase, your wet fingers leaving your entrance in favor of rubbing hard, fast circles over your clit.  The finish line was in sight now as your body sprinted with tense, aching muscles and breathy moans.

 You came with a gasp, back arching and thighs twitching as you rode out your orgasm. As you neared the end of it, you dipped your fingers in one last time as your walls gave one last final spasm of pleasure.  Gradually the wave of your euphoria calmed, returning to the gentle, lapping waters of desire that still moved within you to the rhythm of your heartbeat.

 You opened your eyes to see Chisaki still staring at you silently, his eyes once again locked onto yours. The flush across his cheeks was very much apparent now, yet his posture remained unmoved. Still, out of curiosity, you dared a quick glance down to his lap to see his hand strategically placed over the bulge in his pants.  Was he trying to hide it?  Because he was failing.  Or was he stroking himself through his clothes when you weren’t looking?

 “Again.” He ordered.

 Your eyes bulged.  “Again?”

 He didn’t bother to answer, instead waiting silently.  You were a bird trapped in the golden cage of his eyes as your mind struggled to recover enough from the hazy aftereffects of your orgasm to think straight.  He wanted you to do it again?

 At first you were hesitant. You knew your body was still sensitive from what had just transpired.  But then again… your eyes stared at Chisaki’s crotch again as he waited for you.  No doubt he saw you staring, yet he did nothing, said nothing.  It almost felt like an invitation… or a dare.  Do it again and see what happens.

 Fuck. You’d already gotten under his skin... might as well see how deep you could go.

 Between your orgasm only moments before and the juices still coating your pussy, the sensations of your touch at first felt almost... numb.  Except for your clit.  That part was still sensitive, making your muscles twitch and your breath hitch in your throat as you moved your fingers over it experimentally. You kept your touch gentle at first, careful to give your body time to respond as you reawakened the lust that still lurked in your core.  With dark eyes you began to stroke yourself for him again, pulling soft pleasurable moans from your gently parted lips.  It was definitely more intense this time, and you could already tell that this next orgasm would surpass the one before it.  Still, you drew it out as you watched Chisaki.  Or, more specifically, watched his free hand.

 It didn’t take long... you watched his fingers grip around his hard-on through his pants, his hand slowly moving up and down his restricted length.  You bit your lip at the sight and immediately felt a generous wave of hot arousal bloom between your legs, your nipples hardening achingly.  It wasn’t enough to capsize you into ecstasy, but it certainly pulled a needy whimper from your lips.  

 You dipped your fingers into yourself, feeling your walls flutter as you imagined what it would feel like to have Chisaki inside of you.  With each curl of your fingers the heat grew, like the sun reaching its zenith.  You wanted it.  You wanted to cum so badly.  But you wanted to see him even more.  So, you neglected your puffy clit in favor of unbuttoning your blouse just enough to grant you access to your sensitive breasts.  You pushed aside the cup of your bra to free the plump flesh, the bud at its center tightly puckered.  With deft fingers you massaged the soft skin before rolling the nipple slowly between your fingers, pulling more soft gasps and gentle hums from your lips.  The more you groaned and teased yourself, the more Chisaki stroked himself as he watched you, his eyes glowing with hunger.

 It wasn’t until you began to lose yourself, your eyes beginning to drift closed as you moaned and whined to the ebb and flow of your pleasure, that your patience was finally rewarded.

 You could hear it over the sounds of your lewdity – the ‘click click click’ of a zipper being pulled down.  You opened your eyes, not even attempting to hide your eagerness, as Chisaki freed his cock from his pants.

 It was beautiful just like the rest of him; long with a slight curve, its tip red and shining with precum.  Veins stood out in relief, trailing his length like vines, thick and beautiful. You swallowed at the sight of it, desperately wanting to know what it would feel like to have that in you.

 You hadn’t realized your own movements had frozen until Chisaki’s smooth voice cut through your thoughts.

 “I didn’t tell you to stop.” He said, as cool and professional as ever as if he didn’t currently sit before you with his dick in his hand.  

 He was gloating, you knew it... your stunned silence at the sight of his cock stroked his ego just as much as you touching yourself for him did. And you knew that, above all else, Chisaki loved to have his ego stroked.

 “Y-yes Mr. Chisaki...” you whispered, before your fingers began moving again.

 You continued to stroke and play, penetrate and rub as you watched him take his long cock in his hand and begin long, steady strokes.  Even now, he still kept his gloves on, and somehow that made his every move even hotter.  He was no longer propping his face up with his other hand.  Now, he was sitting up straight, eyes on your needy cunt as you put on your show for him.  You could see it, the tension in his temple that came and went, hear the ragged, quick draws of his breaths through his mask.  Your own arousal grew in response, egged on by him searching for his own sweet relief at the lewd sight of you.  It blossomed like a watered seed as you drank in the man in front of you – his hand pumping, precum dripping.

 It was the push your sensitive body needed.  You came surprisingly fast, your orgasm crashing over your body with greater intensity than the first.  Moans and gasps ripped from your throat as your body spasmed, and you made no effort to quell your cries, too consumed by your own pleasure.  With eyes squeezed shut, your hips rocked as you grinded yourself against your hand, your entire body singing in unbridled bliss.

 You were given no respite.  As soon as the pleasure eased just enough for your hips to still, Chisaki spoke.

 “Again.”

 Your eyes, still closed, flew open to look at him with incredulity.  You weren’t even recovered yet, your cunt still twitching with the aftershocks of pleasure. You knew that touching yourself without some sort of break was going to lead you down a jagged, torturous road of overstimulation.  It made your legs start to close up instinctually in denial.

 Your mouth moved silently before you pushed the words out.  “B-But... I can’t....”

 Chisaki’s eyes narrowed, his brows lowering... and along the edge of his mask, you could see his cheeks lift slightly.  He was smirking at you. Cruelly.  

 “You can, and you will.” He said.  A wave of his fingers told you to reopen your legs for him, and you did, slowly, as if you were a puppet on strings.  “Again.” He repeated.

 Chisaki took a moment to remove the glove from his stroking hand before giving his cock a couple more languid strokes.  You stared at the exposed skin in awe.  It was everything you imagined it’d be... pale, smooth, nails clean and perfectly trimmed.  Between his hard cock and his ungloved hand, you stared in shameless longing as an excited chill coursed down your spine.  Maybe… maybe if you were good…

 You swallowed the dryness in your throat and returned your fingers to your core, flinching as you brushed against your sore, overstimulated clit.  Chisaki returned to pleasuring himself as you performed for him, his hand pumping steadily.  Watching him masturbate to you was delicious.  He didn’t rush, instead opting to taking his time, his hand moving smoothly from base to tip, occasionally pausing to run his precum over the head, the shine glinting in the light.  You subconsciously licked your lips, wondering what it would taste like. Would you lick it from his tip? Or his finger?  Maybe both?

 You matched your pace with his, letting his own strokes guide your hand.  The synchrony made your pussy ache more than ever, even as your body screamed for freedom – a break from the constant wave of stimulation that you were subjecting yourself to.  It made you feel closer to him, more connected - as if he were a part of your pleasure without actually touching you.

 But dear God, you desperately you wanted him to touch you.

 He continued his strokes, slow and easy.  Whether it was for him or for you, you weren’t sure... you weren’t even sure if he was aware that you were pacing yourself with him.  His speed gradually quickened, the muscles of his forearms tensed and twitching as he pumped his hard cock with growing fervor. It was the hottest thing you’d ever seen, his eyes starting to roll back in his head as he began to lose himself to the pleasure, legs twitching slightly as he came close... Your heart pounded with excited anticipation as you dipped your fingers into your core, feeling your walls flutter with need.  It was happening... he was going to cum...

 But he never did.  Instead, his pace began to slow as his eyes refocused on you. That was when you realized….

 Chisaki wasn’t trying to cum yet… he was edging himself.

 Maybe he was waiting for you.  Or maybe he had his own agenda.  But either way, it was clear to you that he was delaying his orgasm.

 The hypocrite.

 Still, you wanted to please him. You wanted to give him want he wanted, because then maybe he could give you what you really wanted.  But no matter how hard you tried, no matter how fucking hot the entire situation was, your own orgasm evaded you.  

 It was more than just the repeated orgasms and overstimulation.  The real issue was that your fingers no longer satisfied. Not after seeing what he had to offer, and certainly not after seeing how horny you made him.  You wanted him to touch you, to put his hands on you, to feel his cock in you... A frustrated whine escaped your lips as you felt your resolve break.

 “Please, Mr. Chisaki...” you begged.  Chisaki’s eyes left your open pussy to lock with yours.  Their golden depths burned holes into you, and you licked your lips under the heat of his stare. “Please touch me...”

 Chisaki froze mid-stroke.  “Touch you?” He said it as if the idea repulsed him, yet his eyes betrayed him as he looked back down between your open legs.

 “Please,” You begged.  “Don’t you want to?”

 His brow was deeply furrowed, and you knew he was having his internal debate, just as he’d had before.  After all, what you were asking was no small order.  You knew how he felt about touch.  No doubt he would have already been balls deep in you had it not been an issue for him.

 But that was why you begged. And pleaded.  And groveled.  Anything to make him set aside his golden rule, even if just for one night.

 “Please...” you whined one last time.  “I’ll do anything.  I need you, Kai...”

 Something about you using his given name did something.  His eyes widened slightly, his flush reaching down to his exposed neck.  Then his eyes narrowed, as he stood from his seat.  You watched with a mix of excitement and trepidation as he carefully removed his jacket and loosened his white tie.  He towered over you, his stare pinning you somewhere between his contempt and his hunger as he undid the cuffs of his black shirt and rolled up his sleeves to the elbows. It made your pussy throb and your heart pound as you stared back at him, completely vulnerable.  He stepped forward slightly, filling the space between your legs with his presence.  Even just the graze of his pants against the inside of your knee was enough to set off fireworks on your skin, causing your breath to hitch in your throat.  His cock was still out and hard, mere inches from your tight, needy cunt, and it took every ounce of willpower not to scoot down and close the gap between you.

 You waited.

 “Touch you...” he muttered through his mask, his voice low.

 Chisaki’s eyes raked over you, taking in every inch of you.  Your trembling, parted lips and large pupils; your exposed breast with its perky, hard nipple; your swollen and glossy cunt framed in ruined underwear that was carelessly shoved aside; the sweat from your thighs coating his desk.

 “So fucking filthy.” He breathed.  The profanity sounded strange on his lips, almost more like a prayer than an insult.

 He stared at one of your thighs as he slowly placed a warm, gloved hand on it. You reacted immediately, gasping at his touch, and his eyes darted to yours.

 “...And needy.” He added.

 From your peripheral you could see his other hand grip his cock and begin to pump it. You tried to watch... you wanted to watch.  But the heat of his hand on your thigh made nearly everything else fade away until it was all you cared about.  Your breaths began to come in hot pants as your body trembled beneath him.

 “I didn’t realize that you were so desperate for me.” He said calmly as he continued to stroke himself.  His gloved hand squeezed your soft flesh until you were moaning from the mixture of pleasure and pain. “Pathetic.”

 You were pathetic.  But you didn’t care.  You’d say anything, do anything, just to have him keep touching you.  And if he wanted you to beg?  To cry? To humiliate yourself to earn his cock?  You’d do that too.

 His hand slowly eased its grip as it began to move up, up, up until his thumb nestled in the crook of your thigh, just shy of your sensitive, swollen folds. Your hand immediately made way for his as you laid down completely onto his desk, your world spinning.  A warmth fell over you like a blanket, every fiber of your being pulsing at a low hum; you were a glass vibrating at a frequency just shy of shattering.

 Chisaki’s voice floated through your haze like a faraway song carried on the wind. “You were so eager at first.  So willing to shame yourself – shame me – to get what you wanted.”  He scoffed. “Now you can’t even do as I say.”

 You could feel his thigh twitch against yours as he began to pump himself faster. His cock was so close to your pussy that it was torturous.  It made you want to cry.  You could feel the warmth of fresh juices begin to flow from you, coating your entrance in invitation, as you prayed to all the gods above and below for him to enter you without mercy.

 But it never came.  And his hand never ventured further.  Slowly, your thoughts trickled back ever so slightly, and you realized he was waiting for you to speak.  Slowly, around a heavy tongue, you made clumsy words.  “I... I’m sorry...I’m trying... is hard...”

 Chisaki tsked.  “You’re afraid.  Afraid of pushing past your limits. So now I’m going to help you.”

 His gloved thumb crossed the threshold to your swollen bud, and your world exploded into color as a sharp zing of pleasure erupted from between your legs. You cried out, your body spasming, hips writhing to escape his touch. It was too much...

 “Where do you think you’re going?” he demanded.

 Then he did something you didn’t expect – his bare hand released his cock and slammed down onto the desk.  The surface rippled beneath you, transforming until smooth arches of dark mahogany wrapped themselves over your arms, effectively pinning you down.

 Your heart pounded wildly in your chest, your breaths coming out in quick, panicked gasps.

 “Kai!” you protested.

 He bent over you and grabbed your jaw in his gloved hand, his plague doctor mask inches from your face. “You wanted me to touch you,” he whispered.  “Now you’re going to get what you asked for.”

 The look in his eyes wasn’t as controlled as before.  Sure, the disgust and hunger were still there.  But there were more emotions now, peaking through the cracks of his practiced façade.  Anger, contempt, fear, desire, longing... and something else; something wild and unhinged.

 Something within him was on the verge of breaking, of being set free, and you were the one responsible.

 He straightened himself up and returned his gloved hand to your sopping core, his cock once again in his bare hand.  His thumb found its home again, nestled firmly against your engorged clit.

 He wasn’t gentle, he wasn’t slow.  Instead, his thumb ran swift, relentless circles, the digit igniting every frayed nerve. Each swipe had you crying out as wave after wave of sharp, jagged pleasure assaulted you, without so much as a second of recovery in between.  And as Chisaki raced you towards that inevitable cliff, his own hand pumped himself hard and fast.  His strokes began to become erratic, his composure slowly slipping as you began to unravel before him, your whines and cries luring him to follow you to the point of no return.  You could feel his own legs began to spasm against your inner thighs, his hips beginning to jut forward with each drag of his palm along his hard shaft.  The gap between your two bodies began to close, until you could feel the tip of him brush against your core. In that instant, you came undone beneath him with his name spilling from your drooling lips.

 The temptation was too much.  He entered you as you came, his cock burying itself within your clenching walls with a single thrust.  Your legs wrapped around him instantly as your body exploded into a mess of tears, shrieks, and trembles.  With one hand on your hip and one working your clit, he fucked you through your orgasm as you cried and panted, his own grunts joining your one-person symphony as you felt every fiber of your being shatter with white hot pleasure. It was all-consuming, disorienting.  You weren’t even sure you were a person anymore.  You could feel nothing else, see nothing else except the man inside of you, hovering over you, filling your existence.

 It didn’t stop. Even after you were a blubbering mess, tears streaming down your cheeks, your thighs and cunt sore, Chisaki kept going, his cock reaching new depths as it dragged against your spasming, sensitive walls.  His breaths were heavy, each pant labored until he ripped his mask off his face.  It was like a switch had been flipped, changing Chisaki from a man in control to nearly animalistic.  Teeth bared, sweat beading across his forehead, golden eyes absolutely feral. His thrusts took you past your orgasm, unrelenting, and you cried and babbled for him to stop, it was too much, your body couldn’t take anymore.  But even as your string of incoherent words begged for the end, your body spoke of a different kind of freedom, your legs tightening around Chisaki’s waist in an effort to pull him impossibly deeper into you.

 Chisaki snarled, releasing his hand from your cunt as he continued to fuck you, and removed his remaining glove with his teeth.  Suddenly, the white fabric was being shoved into your mouth, gagging your broken words behind its white cotton that smelled and tasted of you.

 “Shut up.” He growled.

 You could see the hives breaking out across his damp, flushed skin now at the contact, but it no longer seemed to matter to him.  And it didn’t matter to you either.  You were wrapped up delirium, your eyes glossing over and rolling into your head with each drive of Chisaki’s hips. Your hips couldn’t even keep up with his thrusts anymore; his movements were too rough, too fast.  All you could do was lay there and receive him as he pounded you without restraint.  That familiar knot was forming again, a dark beast built from the broken pieces of the last. It was a terrifying thing, a formidable presence that you felt building within yourself that would surely decimate you.

 “This is what you really wanted, isn’t it?” Chisaki grunted through clenched teeth. “You wanted me to fuck you senseless, to ruin this tight pussy of yours like the greedy, selfish bitch you are.”

 His words washed over you and you gave the faintest of nods, your mouth still gagged.

 “So, you’re going to take what I give you. You’re going to cum when I say, as often as I say.”  His cock hit deep as his thumb gave a final press against your clit. “Now.”

 You screamed around the cotton in your mouth, back arching and arms straining against the wood trapping you as the tension finally erupted.  It tore through your veins, making your fluids gush and your pussy clench like a vice around Chisaki’s pumping cock.  Not a moment later, you heard him groan followed by the hot sensation of his cum coating your walls.  It only enhanced the waves of pleasure still wrecking you and your pussy milked him greedily as he emptied himself in you.

 The comedown felt like it would never arrive. Your nerves still sang too loudly, the aches echoed too deep.  But finally, Chisaki’s hips stuttered to a stop and your own body lay limp beneath him. It felt like you were submerged under water, every sense dulled or muted, as you stared hazily at the ceiling.  Chisaki was still in you, his dick twitching sensitively each time your body gave a weak aftershock. You had thought he would pull out, leave you there like the ruined mess you were to go clean himself up.  Now doubt he’d return to his senses any moment and be repulsed by what transpired.

 But he never did.  Instead, he braced himself over you, his heavy, hot breaths coating your exposed skin as he settled through his own comedown while you warmed his cock.  You felt the desk ripple beneath you and suddenly your arms were freed from their restraints, the wooden surface back to its original state.  A moment later, he filled your view as he leaned over you, and you had a brief moment of panic, wondering if you were next. Was he going to overhaul you now? After all, he got what he wanted...

 But he never did that either.  Instead, he removed the glove from your mouth as his eyes traced over your face, marking every feature, every nuance.  Your parted, chapped lips... your glossy, sweat-stained skin... the exhaustion in your eyes...  His thumb came up to wipe away at the tears drying along your cheekbones before running the smooth pad over your lower lip.

 Then he did something you didn’t anticipate, something that surprised you above all else. He bent down and captured your mouth with his, his wet tongue gliding into your stunned, open mouth.  It was strangely slow, uncharacteristically tender, and entirely unexpected.  The fog you’d been swimming in a moment before lifted slightly, and you began to kiss him back, your arm wrapping up around his shoulders before tangling your fingers into his damp, auburn locks at the base of his neck.

 Whatever it was, it was short-lived.  He brought a hand up to grasp the hand you had around his neck, his fingers twining with yours as he placed your hand back down on the desk, pinning you within his hold. He pulled away from the kiss and stared down at you with a dark smirk tugging the corners of his wet lips.  And his eyes... his eyes burned gold like the sun. Not a beautiful, gentle gold that kissed open delicate flowers and melted winter snow.  No, this was a force of unrelenting destruction, the kind that burned deserts, scorched forests... and melted wax wings.

 You were Icarus, fueled by foolishness and arrogance. You’d flown too close, fueled by a false sense of confidence that you could handle whatever it was that lurked within him, that your lust was enough to match his.  But you were quickly learning you couldn’t.  His fire burned too hot, his hunger too deep. He was going to devour you until there was nothing left.  And really, what did you expect from a man who denied himself every human urge in his quest for perfection?  

 The sun could never be controlled.

 And Pandora’s box can never be closed.

 Slowly, he lowered his face next to yours until you could feel his lips brush against the shell of your ear.

 “Again.”

[watchingroger]

"You’re loving this, aren’t you?" Douglas grunted. He gripped Herc’s hand where it held him tightly by the waist.

"Not in the least," Herc said mildly. "Why ever would I?"

"Seeing me fall apart. Knowing you’re the-" Douglas’s voice faltered when his foot failed to meet solid ground. He felt Herc stiffen beside him and absorb his momentum. He stayed upright. "The better man," he spat, finishing his thought.

"That’s not really what I’m worried about at the moment."

"Oh," Douglas said. His breath shook his whole body. "What are you worried about?"

"Getting you to bed."

"Neither Martin nor Carolyn will be very happy with that."

"Ha, ha," Herc said. "Doesn’t compare to how unhappy they’ll be if I don’t take good care of you."

"God," Douglas spat. "How did I get this pitiful."

"You’re not well. I’ve seen worse."

"Oh yes, and you-" Douglas’s comment was cut short by a deep guttural groan as Herc lowered him onto the bed. "You won’t let me forget it," he continued as soon as he had enough breath.

"I didn’t mean you," Herc said. “But I can see how you might feel that by never having mentioned it I'm not letting you forget. Are you alright if I take my hand away?"

"I can stay upright."

"Good lad."

"You’ve told Carolyn all about it."

"I haven’t told her anything."

"Now you get to tell her all about this too."

"Is this nonsensical ranting helping you?" Herc demanded.

"A bit. Do you want me to stop?"

"Not if it’s taking your mind off the pain."

Douglas grabbed Herc by his shirt. "I’m going to be sick."

"Alright, alright, don’t try to get up. Aim for the basin this time if you can. My trousers have seen enough today."

——

"Feel better?"

"A bit."

"I do think you should call the hospital."

"You’d love that, wouldn’t you."

"Oh god," Herc exclaimed. "Please enlighten me, Douglas, what exactly would I love about it?"

"Can’t handle a simple outpatient procedure. Everything’s a fucking-" he paused to swallow. "Fucking drama."

"Some people are ill after a general anaesthetic. It’s normal."

Douglas said nothing for a moment. His breathing was loud and ragged. "Why did you come?" He asked eventually.

"Because Arthur’s away and Carolyn had a meeting. And you needed someone here."

"No," Douglas shook his head. "Not now, then."

"Then," Herc repeated. "Ah. Then."

"Well?"

"I was worried."

"Why?"

"Why? You were a mess. I thought maybe you needed someone."

"So you came to ogle at me in hospital and then never returned."

"You made it quite clear I wasn’t wanted. Anyway I did go back. They told me you’d been discharged. I went to your flat but it was empty. I kept going to your flat until they put up a for sale sign. I thought you were dead except I never found an announcement or an obituary."

"I couldn’t be there."

"I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw you at MJN. I was delighted. Not just alive but flying, and happy as far as I could tell. Like there’d never been anything wrong with you."

"Yet you wouldn’t put a word in for me at CalAir."

"Why would I take you away from something that was clearly working for you?"

"Oh, always so giving, aren’t you." The sarcasm in Douglas’s words was evident even through his trembling.

"And, of course, if you’d fallen apart it would be my chief pilot I’d have to answer to."

"Ah, there it is."

"And there’s that rumour you put around about smuggling or thieving or whatever it was."

"It evolved over time," Douglas said defensively. "That’s the nature of a rumour."

"Well you did a good job. Even most of the gang at Air England believed it. Carolyn too."

"I’m sure you disabused her of it pretty quickly."

"Not at all. I haven’t told her anything."

"Really," Douglas said doubtfully.

"Really. What would I stand to gain?"

Douglas said nothing. He pulled his blanket closer around his shoulders. His extreme irritation at Herc’s presence was starting to fade. He was tired.

"Have you told Martin?"

Herc’s voice pierced the fog in Douglas’s mind. "What?"

"Have you told Martin about the thing that I haven’t told Carolyn?"

"Yes," Douglas said. "He knows."

AO3

[scalpel-mom-mori]

Chrome Archlight voicelines

So, because I'm in need of practice and I'm just generally curious, I decided to translate A Chrome's lines. My Chinese isn't very good lol so these are going to be rough but! It'll be a fun time. Please look elsewhere if you want better translations.

If I like it enough, I'll do some more :D

CN Wiki

Sorry for any inconsistencies lmao I did like half of these in the middle of the night. Send me a message if you want to be tagged if/when I do more of these! My notes are in parentheses lol

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Construct joins:

Strike Hawk's team leader Chrome, reporting for duty. Hello, Commandant of Grey Raven, you wouldn't have happened to see my teammate Kamui, would you?

Level up:

It's important to keep improving yourself.

Promote:

Thank you for the promotion.

(Note here, 承蒙was used instead of 謝謝 or 多謝. 承蒙 is an honorific expression of gratitude if I'm not mistaken.)

Evolve:

Strict self-discipline, lead by example, never stop improving.

Skill upgrade:

So this is the Grey Raven's tactical training.

(Bro, I just stuck this in gtranslate ;0; Came out something like "turns out Grey Raven adopted such a tactical exercise method” but I thought that was kind of awkward.)

Equip weapon:

A weapon's strength is determined by its user.

Added to team:

Roger. Strike Hawk's Chrome, reporting for duty.

(Here, Chrome uses the phrase 在此加入, while in his Construct join line, he uses 在此報道. 在此報道 literally means reporting for duty, but tbh "here to join" didn't seem quite right. For "roger," he uses 是 which is comparable to hai in Japanese. Hai, in this context is usually translated as “sir” or “yes sir” but I just went with roger lol. I'm sure there's another phrase that actually is the equivalent to roger or ryokai)

Team leader:

Currently locating its position.

(This one seemed incomplete to me, but Strike Hawk is a recon team I believe, so it does make sense. I just think he'd be more specific than that lol)

Mission complete 1:

Please review the results, Commandant.

General greeting 1:

Strike Hawk usually operates individually, so we have our own communication channels for while we're on missions.

General greeting 2:

After confirming the route, ensure that no one will act rashly. I don't want to get complaints from other teams. Ah, forgive me, Commandant. I was just talking to my team members.

(Ugh this one was so hard ;-; probably screwed something up cri)

General greeting 3:

Commandant, concerning the most recent joint mission, I need to debrief with you as soon as possible. Do you have time now?

(Mmm, I was just guessing at the debrief part. He needs to talk to you about the most recent joint mission but I'm not sure of the exact wording he used.)

General greeting 4:

"Strike Hawk member stationed with Grey Raven Stronghold 101" This is... Kamui's handwriting. Apologies for the trouble, Commandant.

(Not super sure on the note from Kamui but omg lay off him, Chrome. Kamui is best boi)

General greeting 5:

What's wrong Commandant? Is there something that needs to be done? You keep staring at me. My... hair is messed up?

General greeting 6:

What is there to like about normal things? It may be that organized things process more smoothly, which is easier on the ocean ego.

(Ocean ego is a term used by veteran players in their translations, so that's the term I picked. As for the normal/organized thing, think of it like computer processing. Kinda unsure but, it's translated.)

General greeting 7:

Concerning Kamui's temporary deployment application... It's not that I disagree, it's just that if you need assistance, I would also like to help.

(“It’s not that I disagree” is a pretty literal translation. Could also be interpreted as “It’s not that I won’t approve it.”)

General greeting 8:

Regardless of whether it's in combat or in spirit, a team leader must be strictly disciplined and lead by example. The most important thing is to guarantee safety. As long as you understand my meaning.

General greeting 9:

Your private communication channel has been established.

General greeting 10:

If you ever have an emergency, you need to contact me immediately (with our private communication channel). I will be there immediately.

(For this one, I feel like specifying that it's through Chrome and commandant's private channel is unnecessary lol)

General greeting 11:

I want to win every victory for you./ Every victory I win is for you

(Two versions, because the first one is really literal.爲你 is basically “with you in mind” or “for your sake” and the literal translation can be interpreted as he’s doing your work)

General greeting 12:

You have already become my ambition. If you have favorites, I would like to be first among them.

(Okay that second sentence is kind of loosely translated lol. Literally it's "If you have rankings in your heart, I want to be first place" which Idk. I don't particularly like my translation either, but it's less janky.)

Affection increase 1:

Born to excel is… a boring concept, no?

(I think what he’s trying to say is the idea that one is born into greatness is a boring idea lol)

Affection increase 2:

… Many thanks.

Affection increase 3:

Kamui seems to have hit his Inver-device again. Forgive me, I need to go take care of that.

Affection increase 4:

Commandant, please don’t spend money on me.

Affection increase 5:

Perfection is… doing your best, regardless of the odds.

Affection increase 6:

Commandant, do you think honor is more important than safety?

Affection increase 7:

I would like the chance to discuss strategy with the Commandant.

Affection increase 8:

If I may, I would like to know what the Commandant likes.

Affection increase 9:

I want to become your shield, your fortress. I want to become your final answer.

Affection increase 10:

This is the best gift I have ever received.

Affection increase 11:

You are the solution to the world’s ailments.

Affection increase 12:

The gift I’d hoped to receive the most… is already before my eyes.

Idle 1:

Commandant, don’t let your guard down.

(He specifies that it’s during a mission in CN but it’s an idle line so /shrug)

Idle 2:

I look forward to fighting with you, Commandant.

Idle 3:

I am searching for an answer, but the holder of answers… does not say a word.

(I didn’t really know how to translate this one lol. “the holder of answers” is 答案的所有者, which is literally “the owner of answers” but like :p wakaranai.)

Idle 4:

Did something happen? … Nothing, don’t worry. I will be here.

Extended online time 1:

Please remember to rest, Commandant.

Extended online time 2:

Right now is not the time to work, Commandant. As a human, you need plenty of rest to ensure the quality of your work.

Extended online time 3:

Extended time linking minds can cause irreparable psychological damage. Stop overexerting yourself or I will be forced to take disciplinary measures.

Extended online time 4:

Whatever you want me to do, just promise me… you won’t do anything that will harm you, okay?

Connection made 1:

Good day, Commandant.

Connection made 2:

Commandant, you’re here. The new assignment has already been sent. Please give the order.

(This one’s kind of weird. Basically, he’s asking you to approve the assignment he’s sent you.)

Connection made 3:

For now, I’ll assist the Gray Ravens, so please tell me what needs to be done.

(This is a pretty loose translation, but it gets the point across.)

Connection made 4:

It’s good to see you, Commandant.

Connection made 5:

I think I can understand why Kamui is always here.

(ugh okay nerd time, the English just doesn’t convey how much I love this line in CN, but I don’t know how to render it in English without changing it significantly. Literally, it’s like “Why is Kamui always here? I think I can understand his… feelings” but like ugh. You get the point. It’s very much a realization that the Commandant and Grey Raven are people he really enjoys being around and ugh. Am in my feelings about it.)

Connection made 6:

Chrome, online, on standby.

(Not 100% sure of how to translate 聽從指令. Literally, it’s “hearing orders” but I can’t remember the exact phrase in military jargon help ;0;)

Extended offline time 1:

Excellent. I’ve been waiting for you, Commandant.

(So, I think some of Chrome’s lines are missing lol, because the cn wiki only lists one extended time away line, but I’m pretty sure there’s four per unit lol.)

Shake 1:

What is it? A corrupted attack?

Shake 2:

Disorienting…Stay awake, Chrome.

(Mm “Disorienting” was literally dizziness/vertigo. Chrome is really too serious for his own good.)

Shake 3:

Is it… Kamui, or the Commandant? What are they doing?

Quick tap 1:

This… is improper.

(Literally “does not conform to etiquette” but he’s not that stuffy lol)

Quick tap 2:

Is there something wrong?

(Not necessarily in the ‘made a mistake’ sense. I don’t really know how to explain this one. He’s kind of asking “is there somewhere my uniform’s untidy” more than did he do something wrong.)

Quick tap 3:

Please, don’t do that… it’s… a bit… strange…

Activity at max:

Rest is over. Strike Hawk Chrome requesting an envoy mission.

(Not too sure about this one lol. That’s the literal translation but usually activity max lines are reminders to get your rewards lol)

Begin battle:

Pioneers seek victory.

Battle skill 1:

Bring out all your strength

Battle skill 2:

I hope you are satisfied with this

Battle skill 3:

Get behind me

Signature (ultimate):

Go and meet your end

Injured:

Requesting medical assistance

Danger:

Everyone be on guard, change of plans

(Not too sure about this one, but close enough ;-;)

Knocked out:

… I still have more to do

(Literally, “this is a dereliction of duty”)

Assist:

Strike Hawk, team leader Chrome, here to support.

QTE:

Is this all?

Victory:

I promised you I would bring you a victory/ Here is the victory I promised you.

[thesoftdumbass]

somethin' to think about

Frankie Morales x reader (feminine pronouns)

word count: 3,800

warnings: caffeine dependency, cheesy movies, the beginning of one curse word but no more. platonic Santiago x reader and Benny x reader. very fluffy and kind of silly but that's how I like it.

summary: Frankie and his daughter have found a home in Stars Hollow, and the single father/diner owner has to admit that he's found a soft spot in his heart his favorite customer.

> my masterlist

Francisco Morales, a newly single father, wanted to settle down and start a new life for himself and his daughter. After stumbling onto Stars Hollow, a quaint and quiet, friendly little town just a little ways away from his hometown, he decided that it would be the perfect place to begin again. The old hardware store that closed down years earlier was priced well and had an apartment above the shop, so with some hard work, Frankie turned it into a diner to sell the food he grew up learning to make from his mother, as well as the stereotypical diner food that he and his brothers in arms missed while they were serving overseas. Life was good in Stars Hollow, Frankie and his daughter being accepted by the welcoming if not nosy townspeople, and now he and the diner had become a staple in the quiet hamlet.

The bell above the door chimes with the entry of another customer and Frankie looks up from writing in his order book to see you heading his way, already grabbing an overly large mug that he keeps on hand just for you.

“Coffee coffee coffee,” you demand lightly and Frankie huffs.

“You sound like you’ve had plenty today already,” he says, filling the mug anyways and sitting it in front of you at your usual seat along the counter.

“Oh nonsense, there’s no such thing,” your tone and face both hold a smile and Frankie can’t help the way his heartbeat jumps in his chest at this.

“One of these days I’m going to start slipping you decaf.”

A gasp leaves you, faux offended at the threat. “You wouldn’t dare!” Frankie’s affirming hum distracts you for just a moment before you start mixing your coffee just the way you like it. “You would lose a very loyal customer, Morales. I’d have to start getting my coffee at Weston’s.”

Frankie’s scoff brings the smile back to your face, as it’s obvious that neither of you will live up to your threats. “Besides, you know I can’t survive a day without the elixir of life, and yours is the best in town.”

“Of course it’s the best, I’m just saying that your heart may soon explode from caffeine intake.”

“And what a sweet, sweet death that will be, my friend. Keep’em coming.”

Frankie has to bite his lip to hide a smile, distracting himself by adjusting the cap on his head so it sits backward. The former pilot may maintain a grumpy exterior at times, but you’ve become a bright spot in his day and your bickering never holds any heat. Another customer needs a refill so he leaves you to your ‘elixir of life’ and heads over, making rounds about the diner to make sure everybody’s happy. When he comes back to the front of the counter, there’s a mop of curly brown hair sticking up behind the thing, a rustling noise being heard from beneath.

“Evie?” At her father’s questioning tone, there’s a bump against the underside of the counter, a muffled “ouch” making its way to his ears. A sigh leaves his lips as his daughter stands from her crouched position, brown eyes locking with his. “You alright, mija?” A quiet “yes” is his answer, so he has to ask the question on his mind. “And why were you crawling around on the floor of the diner?”

A quiet chuckle leaves your lips as the young girl looks shyly at her father, then at you, before answering. “I was looking for my book. I can’t find it, and I thought I might’ve left it back here.”

Evie has so many books that Frankie can’t keep up sometimes, but before he can ask which one she’s looking for in particular, you pipe up beside him. “I think I saw The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in the library at the inn. Is that the one you’re looking for?”

“Yes!” She brightens, eyes wide. “I must have left it when I was doing homework there the other day.”

“If you want you can come to the inn and grab your book after school, and I can make some homemade hot chocolate just for you. If your dad is okay with it, of course.”

Two sets of eyes turn to Frankie questioningly, and he couldn’t say no even if he wanted to. “Of course you can go, sweetheart.”

“Thank you, daddy!” She leans across the counter and kisses him on the cheek. “Thank you Y/N.”

“Anytime, sweetie,” you giggle, her cheery attitude infectious.

Frankie looks at the clock on the wall above the counter before addressing his daughter. “Why don’t you go grab your backpack and I’ll walk you to school?”

Evie hums in affirmation and makes her way into the apartment that she and Frankie live in above the diner to continue getting ready for the day. Frankie watches her go before turning to you, only to notice you down the rest of your coffee.

“Do you want one to go?”

“Do you even have to ask?” Your teasing smirk turns into a grateful smile as Frankie steps back behind the counter and pulls out a styrofoam cup with a lid, filling it with the caffeine that you crave. “You’re too kind to me, Francisco.”

“It’s not on the house if that’s what you’re gunning for,” he teases and you fake a pout.

“It never hurts to try, does it?” You stand from your stool, pulling your coat tight around you and reaching for the full cup in front of you. “I’ll settle my tab later. Do you want me to walk Evie back here, or do you wanna pick her up tonight?”

“You’re gonna be here for dinner anyways, I know you’re too tired to cook for yourself after the Friday brunch special. You can just bring her with you if it’s not too much trouble.”

"Your daughter? Trouble? Please,” you laugh it off. Evie was really a perfect child, you and her have gotten along famously since the beginning. Frankie chuckles, nodding along because of course you’re right. “I’ve gotta head to work. I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah, have a good day,” he waves you away with a small smile, picking up a cloth to wipe down the counter as he waits for Evie to return downstairs.

A long sigh escapes you as you sink into your seat in the diner, your back relieved to sit after running around the kitchen most of the day. Evie settles into the chair across from yours, copying your sigh and both of you make eye contact before bursting into giggles, smiles on both of your faces. Frankie finds you like that, and he can’t help the way his lips twitch up at the sight.

He makes a show of pulling out his order pad and pencil, rolling up his sleeves in the process. “Ah, my two best customers. What can I get for you?”

You hum thoughtfully, opening the menu and observing it as if you haven’t eaten here multiple times a week for years now. “I’m not sure, what would the chef recommend?”

“Well, the daily special is-”

Frankie is cut off as you snap the menu shut, placing it on the table before folding your hands overtop of it decisively. “On second thought, I’ll have the lobster. What say you, madam?” You look toward Evie still across from you, an eyebrow raised and she plays along.

“I believe that the filet mignon and foie gras will do for tonight. And we shan’t forget a chocolate souffle for the table.” The eleven-year-old provides an astounding performance, a posh accent accompanying her words.

The two of you make eye contact for a split second, and your pretenses drop as you once again dissolve into laughter. Frankie only rolls his eyes, accustomed to your antics, though he doesn’t bother to hide the chuckles you elicit. “You two are ridiculous. Burgers and fries it is, then?”

“Why of course, my good sir. And a diet coke for me, please.” He nods and walks away, putting your order in the window and checking on his other guests.

When he comes back to the dining room after speaking with the line cook about another order, there’s someone occupying one of the seats at your table. Your laugh rings out through the diner as Benny, one of Frankie’s old friends, occupies your attention, and Frankie overhears the story being told as he approaches.

“-and suddenly we have to book it out of the river and leave our clothes on the bank. We end up stranded in the jungle, every one of us buck a-”

“Not in front of the kid, Miller,” Frankie chastises as he claps a hand on his friend’s shoulder in greeting.

Benny just laughs as you lean in and murmur conspiratorially, “but you’ll fill me in on the rest later, right?”

“You know it,” and he sends a wink your way as you lean back in your seat, a satisfied smile on your face.

Frankie hears a call go out from the kitchen window that order’s up, and after returning to your table with two plates of food, he takes the last empty chair. You and Evie dig into your food as he talks with his old friend for a few minutes. “When is Will coming in?”

“Tomorrow afternoon. I tried to get him to drive in with me tonight but he decided not to leave his new fiancee until he has to,” Benny rolls his eyes at his brother’s sappy attitude but you and Frankie can tell that he’s happy for him.

The pilot nods, “Pope texted me a little while ago, he’s on his way now.” With a thought coming to him, Frankie grabs your attention with an utterance of your name. “Are you still good with girl’s night?”

With an eager nod, you take a sip of your drink before answering. “Absolutely. I’m already set up for snacks and drinks, and I’ll be scouring my movie collection tonight to find something for us to watch.”

The boys hum in acknowledgment but Evie just laughs softly. “You know we’ll just watch the same thing as always.”

It’s sort of a tradition. Frankie’s best friends from the service don’t live that far away from each other, so every few months they meet up in one of their towns. While they catch a fight or simply hang out and get drinks, you offer to watch Evie, and your weekends together have evolved into binge-a-thons of junk food snacks and cheesy old horror movies.

“And what about it? You know we both have a soft spot for the classics.”

You finish your dinner, fully entertained by the lively conversation, which is only heightened when Santiago arrives at the diner. He and Benny end up eating as well and keeping Frankie on his toes between tables with stories. You might have heard them a half-dozen times before over the years, but you still enjoy the hell out of them, the reminiscences getting even spicier after Evie goes to bed for the night.

Your long workday gets to you eventually and by the time you’re stifling your fourth yawn in five minutes, your company starts to notice.

“You look like you’re ready for bed,” Frankie points out softly.

You hum in acknowledgment, shrugging your shoulders. “I could just drink a cup of-”

“You are not getting any more coffee today, and that’s final.”

“Fine, fine,” you assent to his good-natured firmness.

“C’mon hermosa, I’ll drive you home on my way to the inn. You reserved a room for me, right?” At Pope’s question, you nod.

“‘Course I did, Santi. Can’t have you sleeping on the streets, now can I?”

Santi snorts and stands from his chair, grabbing his jacket off the back of it and tugging it on. “I think if it came down to it, I’d rather bunk with you for the night.” His comment is paired with a cheeky wink and you roll your eyes with a laugh.

“As if you would be invited to bunk with me, sweetheart.”

Santi clutches his chest with mock hurt. “You wound me!”

You smile before bringing a hand up to hide another yawn, and Santiago nods his head to the door. “Alright drama queen, let’s go before I fall asleep on my feet.” You turn to address the rest of your small group, “I’ll see you guys tomorrow! Benny, you didn’t forget your room key again did you?”

A momentary look of panic crosses the man’s face as he pats his pockets before finding the object. “Ah! Got it,” he says proudly, showing it to you.

You shake your head with a laugh at Benny and his forgetfulness. “Alright, goodnight everybody.”

Frankie makes sure the kitchen is clean and everything put away before sending the staff home for the night, the last remaining customer his sometimes-pain-in-the-ass friend. He’s just finished wiping down the other tables and grabbed the salt and pepper shakers to refill, taking a seat across from Benny when the other man looks up from his phone.

“So when are you finally gonna boss up and ask Y/N on a date?”

Frankie’s head bobs like a toy as he looks up at the unexpected words, his brow furrowing a second later. “Pardon?”

Benny stretches his legs out, leaning back in his chair in a relaxing stance. “You heard me. You two would be perfect together, and it’s not hard to see that you’ve got it bad for her.”

Frankie just stares at Benny, unamused eyes fixed on his face for a moment before he sighs, taking the cap off his head and rubbing a hand down his forehead tiredly. “I don’t have time to kill you right now Benny, come back later.”

“She’s got it bad for you, too.” Frankie’s head whips up at this, a hopeful gleam in his eyes, and Benny continues talking. “Look, you both have feelings for each other, you see each other every day, and her and your kid get along famously. And everybody knows you’re going to end up together. Last time I was here I even heard her neighbor and that Kirk guy making a bet on which one of you would make the first move.”

Frankie mutters something about “town gossips” under his breath.

“I want you to be happy, man,” Benny says genuinely, the mood shifting.

“I am happy,” Frankie defends gently.

“But not as happy as you could be. I just think you should go for it, tell Y/N how you feel.” Benny stands from the table, clapping Frankie on the back and pulling his friend into a hug when he does the same. “Somethin’ to think about. I’ll see you tomorrow, man.”

Frankie locks the door to the diner behind Benny as he leaves, flipping the old-fashion open sign to closed. Turning around to lean his back against the door, he closes his eyes, considering the possible outcomes for doing exactly what his friend said. It could end awkwardly with neither of you knowing how to act around each other and you avoiding his diner like the plague. Or, the more attractive prospect, it could lead to something he had only imagined, a life with you by his side.

“Somethin’ to think about,” he repeats to himself, making his way to the apartment upstairs to get ready for bed.

“Everett Amaya Morales, I cannot believe you just said that!” When she only shrugs at you, a brow raised with as much sass as an eleven-year-old can muster, you scoff and cross your arms over your chest in slight indignation. “So you would rather wax Bigfoot’s legs than give Frankenstein’s Monster a makeover?”

She looks at you as if it’s an obvious answer, but to you, it’s anything but. “Yeah! Aren’t you curious how much there is?”

“Oh, there’s twelve pounds of leg hair at least, but I would be afraid for my own safety! One bad rip and Squatch could rip my arm off. Frankenstein’s Monster, on the other hand, has daddy issues and no friends, and I for one think that doing his makeup would be a very good bonding experience. Besides, how do you know that Bigfoot wants their legs waxed?”

“How do you know they don’t,” is her rebuttal.

You sigh theatrically, shoulders deflating in defeat. “Ah, yes, the Sasquatch don’t live by societal gender roles.”

When Evie simply laughs at your reply, you stick your tongue out at her and she returns the gesture before collapsing back against the arm of the couch.

“How could I eat so much takeout and still want ice cream?”

“Well you’re in luck, my friend. I went by the ice cream section when I was at the market earlier, and since I know it’s your favorite, I happened to grab a tub of cookies and cream.”

She looks up at the mention of her favorite flavor. “Extra chunky oreo?”

“Only the best for you, dear,” you respond and laugh as she only throws her arms over her face dramatically.

“But I’m still so full!”

“Eh, the ice cream melts in your stomach and fills in the cracks between all the other food. You’ll be fine.”

Poking her head up from the couch, she looks at you disbelievingly. Or like you’re crazy. Or both. “Yeah...I don’t think the digestive system works like that.”

“Oh it definitely doesn’t, that’s just something my great uncle used to say so we wouldn’t judge him for eating ice cream after a big dinner. That side of the family is obsessed with frozen treats. I, unfortunately, inherited that gene.”

“So…..ice cream?”

“Ice cream,” you concur, getting up to grab some bowls of the sweet stuff for the two of you to eat on the couch as you resume the movie that was interrupted by your earlier disagreement.

You must nod off because you wake to your phone alerting you to a new text. It’s Frankie, telling you that he’s on his way to your place to pick Evie up. Door’s unlocked, you reply as an invitation to come inside when he gets here.

You’re only half paying attention to the television when Frankie lets himself in, shutting the door quietly behind himself so as to not disturb movie night. You meet his eyes and nod your head toward Evie, who fell asleep in a pile of blankets on the floor a little while ago, and in the dim light from the tv, you see his eyes soften with a smile.

“She’s out cold,” you murmur when he gets closer to you. You pat the couch next to you, noticing the way he seems a little tired after his night out. “Boys night end early?”

Frankie looks at his watch, squinting to read the time in the low light. “It’s two am.”

“Ah,” you yawn. “That must be why I’m so sleepy.”

Frankie chuckles quietly, accepting the silent invitation to sit down with you. When you scoot closer to him on the couch bringing your fuzzy blanket with you, he can’t help but breathe you in, enjoying this moment, Frankie reaches for your hand that’s now wrapped comfortably around his arm, rubbing circles across the back of it with his thumb.

You watch the movie in comfortable silence for a little while, only half paying attention, before you break it. “D’you have fun tonight?”

Frankie hums an affirmative, leaning his head over on yours against his shoulder as he does so. “Did my two favorite girls have a good time watching terrible movies?” Your comment about bad movies being the backbone for modern cinema dies in your throat when Frankie’s words sink in. His two favorite girls? Plural?

You look up at him, eyes soft, and you know that if he looked down at you right now he would be able to see the adoration on your face, so you press your head further into his shoulder. “The two of us always have a good time.”

Unbeknownst to you, Frankie is watching you with the same adoration on his face, as he can’t help but thank whatever higher powers that he and Evie found you in this little town. As he feels his chest swell with warm feelings, he thinks once again of what Benny said. If Frankie confesses his feelings for you and you don’t reciprocate, things may get awkward, but if you feel the same and he never finds out, he could hardly live with it. Besides, as he spends time with you, Frankie has a suspicion that your feelings may be on the same plane as his.

Frankie’s hand that’s been moving circles across yours stops, and instead, he grips your hand in his, surrounding it with warmth. You turn your face back to Frankie’s and meet his eyes, and the breath hitches in your chest at how close the two of you are. “I think you and I would have a good time too.”

His deep voice in your ear sends a shiver down your spine and your lips turn upward in a gentle smile. “Yeah?” Your voice sounds breathy to you, but you can’t find it in you to care when he’s looking at you like that.

“Yeah,” when Frankie’s nose brushes against yours, you can’t hold in the sigh that leaves your lips, your eyes closing in contentment. When he speaks again, Frankie’s breath ghosts over your lips, and warmth fills you.

“The guys were asking about spending the day with Evie tomorrow, they wanna have some time with their niece before they leave.” You hum softly, prompting him to keep talking. “I was thinking that while they do...it would be nice for the two of us to do something together.”

“Like a date,” you ask, your eyes opening once again. You’d hate to bring that up and be wrong, but your need for confirmation outweighs the risk of possible embarrassment.

When he nods, your fears dissipate and a smile lights up his face in the dark. “Definitely like a date.”

You bite your lip, looking down as your face warms, but Frankie reaches a hand to cup your chin, a silent encouragement to meet his eyes. The heat you find in them permeates you, and you find yourself nodding shallowly. “I’d love to go on a date with you, Francisco.”

“Yeah?” Frankie finds himself asking this time, his heart picking up speed at your affirmative repetition.

With a kiss placed oh so delicately to your forehead as if he’s reassuring himself that you feel the same way, Frankie turns back to the awful movie currently flashing across the tv screen. You follow suit, content to discuss the details of your date with Frankie later, a smile spreading across your cheeks even as you try to suppress it. With Frankie’s hand now back to holding yours and your head on his shoulder, you doze off, the presence of your two favorite people a comfort. And even in your dreams, you can’t wait to go on a date with your grumpy diner owner.

Me, writing another single father AU with one of my favorite characters even though I don't want kids? It's more likely than you think! This idea has been bouncing around in my head for a while (a la Luke and Lorelai except a little different) and I'm glad I finally let it out for y'all. If you enjoyed it, please let me know! And I'd love your recommendations for which Pedro or Oscar character I should write for next. Thank you lovelies for reading!

If you’d like to be notified when I post something new, message me or send an ask and I’ll add you to any one of my tag lists 💜 (I'll be reforming my tag list, so I'm not tagging anybody this time!)

[kurowrites]

May i ask for WangXian? With nos;

1 (roomates rite?) with 6 (fake dating i think?)

And 5 (something about emotional capacity of a brick? Strangely enough i wish that LWJ would be the one to say this to WWX..if possible 🥺🥺)

I also sorta hope this evolves in to a FWB situation but just the thought of fluff n hilarity from this prompt is already making me squeal n cackle 🤣🤣🤣

Please n thank you 🥰🥰🥰

Have some dumb weekend fluff.

---

When Wei Ying arrived at home, he had a very precise plan how he wanted the rest of the evening to go. He was feeling an exhaustion that barely left him standing, and all he wished for was to eat (though that one was optional, honestly), get fucked into his mattress (though he would probably have to do with a quick wank), and then sleep for the next twelve hours.

Not more, not less.

As they are wont to do, things didn’t turn out quite as he had imagined them on his tedious way home. When he finally walked through the door of the apartment that he and Lan Zhan shared, his first target was the kitchen, where he hoped he would be able to stealthily unearth something from the freezer that could be warmed up in the oven.

When he entered the kitchen, however, he found Lan Zhan at the stove, stirring a pot of food that smelled heavenly. Lan Zhan turned around when he heard the door open, and he gave Wei Ying a critical once-over before he announced: “Take a shower, the food will be ready soon.”

Well, Wei Ying thought, turning around and heading towards the bathroom almost as if he was guided by some higher power. It was rather hard to argue with that.

He had no idea why Lan Zhan was awake this late at night, and why he was cooking dinner, of all things. But Wei Ying was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Not when he was this tired. If a shower was the most direct path to food prepared by Lan Zhan, then he would do that without a single complaint.

The shower helped slightly with his exhaustion and general sense of discomfort, and when he finally left the bathroom, he felt slightly more conscious and decidedly more human than before. And when he stepped back into the kitchen, a steaming, hearty bowl of curry was waiting for him at the table, looking perfect and delicious and like everything that Wei Ying had not dared to hope for tonight.

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying moaned, making a beeline towards the table, stuffing the food into his mouth almost before he had even taken a seat. “You are the best. The bestest. A god among mortals.”

“Hn,” Lan Zhan said, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with that statement. “Eat.”

That, Wei Ying did without needing to be told twice. Lan Zhan had made the curry exactly the way Wei Ying liked it, rich in flavour and very spicy, and it was just so good. Getting to eat Lan Zhan’s cooking, full stop, was already a boon. And Lan Zhan had made this curry just for him, had waited until after his bedtime to feed Wei Ying. He truly was the bestest roommate that ever lived.

Wei Ying eagerly devoured his bowl, and Lan Zhan even gave him seconds.

So good! So delicious!

After he had finished his curry, Wei Ying still felt exhausted, but now he had a warm belly full of delicious food, and a warm flicker in his chest that was the knowledge that his roommate cared enough about him to make food when Wei Ying was down on his last leg. Things were looking a little brighter now.

And Lan Zhan was still in the kitchen, putting away the last of the cookware that he had washed while Wei Ying was eating.

Wei Ying looked at him, and considered. After he had already received the deluxe version of the first item on his to-do list tonight, he decided that maybe his luck was just good enough to get the second item on the list checked off, too.

He got up and put his dirty dishes into the dishwasher, and then he waited until Lan Zhan had put away the last pan. Once Lan Zhan’s hands were free, he smoothly slipped in between Lan Zhan and the kitchen counter, and wrapped his arms around Lan Zhan’s neck.

“Lan Zhan,” he whispered, a sneaky smile playing on his lips. “You are still awake.”

“Indeed,” Lan Zhan calmly observed.

“Mh, I missed you, oh roommate mine,” Wei Ying sighed, a little dramatically. “I feel like I haven’t seen you forever. And now that you’re here…”

He leaned in, gently rubbing his nose against the soft skin of Lan Zhan’s neck.

He felt the tiniest of shudders in response, and then Lan Zhan’s arms wrapped around his waist.

Jackpot.

It wasn’t always easy, figuring out when Lan Zhan was in the mood. They were roommates after all, and generally they just lived together. But sometimes, even the rigid Lan Zhan needed to let off a little steam, and when he was in the right mood, he was perfectly fine with fucking Wei Ying into various surfaces around their apartment. Wei Ying obviously had no objections to that; not only was Lan Zhan really hot, he was also really good at sex.

Maybe it was sad to say that his entire sex life consisted of occasionally seducing his roommate, but it was good. Really good. And Lan Zhan seemed to feel the same, because Wei Ying was pretty sure that Lan Zhan wasn’t having any kind of ‘relations’ with anyone else.

So yes, they had done this many times before, and by now, Wei Ying had become pretty skilled at reading when Lan Zhan was open to seduction. Still, the moment before he could be sure that Lan Zhan was willing to respond was always a nerve-wracking one. Luckily today, Lan Zhan’s hands on his waist spoke a clear language.

He grinned up at Lan Zhan and said cheekily, “I’ve been wanting to get fucked into my mattress very, very thoroughly all day. Honestly, I think all that’s between me and twelve hours of sleep is one good orgasm.”

Lan Zhan didn’t reply, but his hands squeezed Wei Ying’s waist once in response to Wei Ying’s words.

Wei Ying moaned in return, leaning up to press soft kisses against Lan Zhan’s lips.

“You can do with me whatever you want,” he promised. “I’m all yours.”

His clumsy attempt at seduction was apparently deemed sufficient, because Lan Zhan started herding Wei Ying towards his bedroom.

Being in Lan Zhan’s care was always amazing, because Lan Zhan never failed to really take care of everything, especially in moments like these. He silently guided Wei Ying to his bed, stripped him out of his clothing (folding and putting everything away properly, which shouldn’t be hot but was, anyway), then readied lube and condoms, and before long, he was arranging Wei Ying on the bed with almost adorable intent and focus.

Wei Ying let it all happen; he felt too lazy to move on his own volition and was perfectly willing to let Lan Zhan take the wheel after he had signalled his willingness. Lan Zhan moved his limbs around, lifted his hips, and suddenly, Wei Ying found himself in a position where he was more or less pinned on the bed, open for Lan Zhan but not really able to move otherwise.

It was perfect. This was exactly what he had fantasised about. When Lan Zhan worked him open and slowly pushed into him, he was unable to do anything but moan and take what Lan Zhan was giving him. It was incredible, getting slowly fucked into the mattress by Lan Zhan. As he was wont to do, he tortured Wei Ying, letting his orgasm build slowly as he thoroughly worked Wei Ying’s body with precise movements. He had never really told Lan Zhan as much, feeling that such a confession end up on the wrong side of revealing, but he felt safe in Lan Zhan’s hands, and only this let something inside him unfurl slowly, something that had been tense and stressed out all day.

It wasn’t necessarily the physical act in itself that made Wei Ying want to sleep with Lan Zhan occasionally, but this feeling of safety, of being taken care of that Lan Zhan seemed to naturally inspire. He sometimes got horny for that feeling alone.

When he finally came, it was with an almost hazy, sluggish kind of intensity, one that made his eyes close and sleep pull at his consciousness almost before he knew it.

He felt a gentle hand on is back, and a whispered ‘Sleep,’ and then he was gone.

---

When Wei Ying woke up the next morning, finally feeling halfway rested again, Lan Zhan was obviously long gone. He always woke so much earlier than Wei Ying, and had probably finished half of his planned tasks for the day already. It was enough to make one feel bad about one’s own achievements, if Wei Ying didn’t have absolutely no hope of every reaching Lan Zhan’s levels of competence.

Wei Ying stretched lazily and wandered into the kitchen to look of food. His plans today mostly consisted of eating and lazing around; the first day in a long while that he would be able to enjoy without having to stress about work, and he intended to enjoy it by doing absolutely nothing.

In the kitchen, he found breakfast prepared for him already – Lan Zhan really was too good to him! Grateful, Wei Ying sat down and dug in with enthusiasm.

Once he was finished, he considered for one moment that he should probably go to the bathroom and try to make himself at least somewhat presentable, but he really wasn’t feeling it. His primary goal today was to vegetate. He didn’t need to look actually human to do that. Instead of going to the bathroom, therefore, he went in search of Lan Zhan. It didn’t take long; he found him in the living room, reading a book on the sofa.

Without ceremony, Wei Ying flopped onto the sofa next to Lan Zhan, leaning his weight onto Lan Zhan’s shoulder. Lan Zhan, Wei Ying couldn’t help but notice, looked and smelled as good as he always did, while Wei Ying was still a disaster zone. It was truly enviable. Not that Wei Ying felt he had enough energy to put effort into it, right now.

“Ah, Lan Zhan,” he sighed, rubbing his face against Lan Zhan’s shoulder. “What would I do without a roommate like you? You are the best. Roommate of the year. Maybe of the century. The breakfast wasn’t needed, but appreciated anyway.”

He had expected one of Lan Zhan’s customary little “Hn”s, ignoring Wei Ying in favour of keeping his eyes on the book he was reading. Instead, he felt Lan Zhan’s posture grow stiff, right before Wei Ying was gently pushed off of Lan Zhan, and Lan Zhan heaved a heavy sigh that Wei Ying didn’t know how to interpret.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan said with a certain sense of gravity in his voice, not quite looking at Wei Ying. “I hate to agree with your brother on anything, but I think he was not entirely wrong when he told you that you have the emotional capacity of a brick.”

Wei Ying jerked back a little. He wouldn’t want to admit it, but the words hurt.

He knew that he wasn’t always the most sensitive person on the planet, but for Lan Zhan to use words like that… He racked his brain, trying to think of what he had done to make Lan Zhan this upset.

Lan Zhan had cooked for him yesterday without Wei Ying asking him to do it, and Wei Ying had said thank you. Wei Ying had asked for sex, but he’d checked in with Lan Zhan first to make sure he was okay with it. And the rest of the time, he’d been unconscious.

Was Lan Zhan upset that he hadn’t really done his share of housework lately, since he’d been so busy with his job?

“Lan Zhan, I –” he laughed nervously, pushing his hands through his hair. “You’re probably right about that, because I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Lan Zhan sent him a look, which was somewhat less angry than Wei Ying had expected it to be (what a relief, Lan Zhan wasn’t actually angry at him), and then he sighed.

“Wei Ying,” he said, and suddenly he sounded a little sad. “You keep calling me roommate.”

“That’s… what you are?” Wei Ying asked, confused.

Apparently, that had been the wrong thing to say, because Lan Zhan’s expression soured.

“Lan Zhan!” Wei Ying exclaimed, keeping himself from latching onto Lan Zhan at the last moment. He doubted Lan Zhan wanted Wei Ying to touch him again right now. “Is that wrong?”

Lan Zhan huffed once.

“No, I guess it is not,” he pressed out. “I had simply hoped I would at least merit a ‘friend’ by now.”

Wei Ying gaped at Lan Zhan. Sat and stared at him in disbelief, watching as Lan Zhan’s ears slowly turned a brilliant pink.

“Lan Zhan!” he exclaimed, and then he couldn’t go on, because he was choked with too many feelings.

Lan Zhan, that Lan Zhan, considered him a friend?

A friend??

“Wait,” Wei Ying suddenly realised. “At least a friend?”

Lan Zhan sent him the flattest look he had ever seen. It was genuinely impressive.

“We’re fucking, Wei Ying,” he said, in a tone of voice equally as flat.

There was a beat of silence, a pronouncing ringing that went through the living room, freezing the air in between them for a moment.

And then Wei Ying tipped his head up and burst into laughter, loud and unrestrained. How could he not? Lan Zhan was funny, and Wei Ying was so relieved, and so happy, and…

“I thought you were barely tolerating me, Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying sighed as he back flopped against the sofa, the sudden storm of emotions ravaging his already exhausted body and dragging him back down as he took a deep breath. “I never thought you would ever –”

He bit on his lips and looked up at Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan, who always took such good care of him.

Lan Zhan, who–

“I love you, Lan Zhan.”

The words left his lips almost against his will.

How could he not say that, when Lan Zhan looked at him with soft, molten eyes, the trace of a blush still staining his cheeks a pretty pink?

He loved this man.

“I really love you, Lan Zhan,” he couldn’t help but repeat. “So, you see, maybe slightly more emotional capacity than a brick. Though I wouldn’t–”

Lan Zhan, judging from the way he lifted Wei Ying into his lap, pressed their hot faces together, and peppered Wei Ying’s lips and cheeks with little kisses, apparently felt the same.  

Definitely more than the emotional capacity of a brick.

[commentaryvorg]

Digimon Savers Commentary Episode 33 - The Last Decisive Battle! Kouki’s Ultimate Evolution!

In this episode, with the Holy Capital dragged into the human world, Masaru gets caught up fighting Kouki amidst his home city, while Kurata executes the final stage of his plan to kill ElDoradimon and all of its Digimon citizens.

Here’s an unnecessarily long recap; I told you they started happening eventually. Rather than briefly summarising the events of the episode to remind us, it feels like we’re being made to watch several of the important scenes over again, and I’m just there twiddling my thumbs waiting to get to the new stuff. It’s nearly two minutes long. Some very detailed Ultimate-level Digimon are onscreen a lot in this episode, more so than usual up until this point; this is probably why. Animation budgets.

Anyway, recap eventually over, ElDoradimon’s appearance out in the Yokohama bay caused a huge tsunami over the waterfront. I wonder if Kurata did damage control on this – since he knew what he was about to do, he could have sent word ahead to the human world telling them the Digimon were about to “invade” the city and people should evacuate. But he also could have not bothered to do that; I wouldn’t be surprised. We’ll see later this episode that at least some people haven’t evacuated yet.

Everyone on the Digimon side is staring in horror and shock at finding themselves in the human world. The Digimon citizens especially deteriorate into panic, and I don’t blame them. From their perspective, their entire home has just been forcibly dragged into an alien world full of people who want them all dead. That’s terrifying.

As a couple of wayward Gizmon: XT descend on the city, MirageGaogamon and Rosemon dispatch them easily. (Is this the first time any of the Digimon partners have stayed evolved in between episodes? I think it might be. Except for ShineGreymon at the beginning of last episode, but that shouldn’t count when he then promptly devolved for no reason.)

Baromon, at Yushima’s behest, tries to calm the citizens so that they still stand a chance of winning the battle.

Yoshino:  “Besides, that muscular idiot will be here soon.”

Ah, yes. The most appropriate way to describe Masaru. (He and Ikuto and their partners have not quite yet arrived through the Gate, which is still hanging open above them.)

Baromon:  “Yes! We still have Suguru’s son with us!”

Piccolomon: “Suguru’s son will take care of this somehow!”

Yes, clearly! The power of that perfect legendary hero who turned a desert into a lake just by punching it is definitely still here and able to win you the battle, somehow, even though it hasn’t done so yet. This thought actually rallies the citizens into cheers again. They are so desperately clinging to this much harder than they should, but I suppose anything makes them think there’s a chance is good.

Tohma:  (But… ElDoradimon has fallen into the human world. What the hell is Kurata thinking?)

Credit to Tohma, he’s able to not let this Masaru’s Dad Is Awesome moment pull him into his jealousy and stays focused on the important strategic concerns. Kurata is also here now, having hitched a lift through the Gate on one of his Gizmon, chuckling to himself.

Just as the Digital Gate is about to close, Yatagaramon shoots out of it with his three passengers. (Somehow Masaru and Agumon are now on his back along with Ikuto, even though they were in his claws at the end of last episode.)

For some reason, Yatagaramon then flies a good ways into the human city and deposits Masaru and Agumon on a random rooftop. They immediately rush back across the roof in the direction of the sea and ElDoradimon, but are blocked by the chain-link fence that Japanese rooftops have.

Masaru:  “We can’t stay here. Let’s go!”

You also could have not come here in the first place??? If getting to ElDoradimon was you guys’ highest priority, as it should be, why did Yatagaramon stop here?

The real reason for this, of course, is that this is where the writers wanted the fight with Kouki to begin. He arrives through his own (presumably space-time bomb-induced) Digital Gate on the rooftop, having somehow pinpointed Masaru’s exact location, at which point it makes sense for Masaru and Agumon to want to stay and deal with this here while they tell Ikuto and Yatagaramon to head back to the Holy Capital.

(Really, though, while having this fight with Kouki amidst the human city was important to the episode, there’s other ways this could have worked. Kouki could have led Masaru into the city on purpose after their fight began closer to ElDoradimon, especially since, from the perspective of Kurata’s grand plan, this is really just one big distraction to keep Masaru out of the way.)

Masaru and Kouki both roar and charge at each other, meeting fist-to-fist and flaring up with their respective Digisouls.

Masaru:  “That bastard Kouki… There’s something different about him this time!”

Ha, Masaru can sense just from punching him that Kouki’s stronger than before. I enjoy his ability to pick up on things like this intuitively through fighting; it’s very him.

Kouki somehow levitates into the air – geez, Masaru and co. never get to do that from the power of their Digisouls, unfair – before evolving into BioDarkdramon. Masaru evolves Agumon in turn.

…I suspect that the only real reason ShineGreymon randomly devolved at the beginning of last episode was for the purposes of having a scene here where Agumon is unevolved and so Masaru and Kouki get to punch each other, human-to-human, one more time before the real fight starts. Otherwise, ShineGreymon could have stayed as ShineGreymon throughout all of last episode, he could have been the one to fly them hurriedly back to the Digital Gate, and the fight with Kouki could have started more immediately without Masaru getting awkwardly stranded on a random rooftop he had no reason to come to.

Anyway, as the two gigantic armoured Ultimate-level dragon monsters charge at each other, opening time! The very first shot of it features ShineGreymon grabbing this fancy sword, which we will be seeing in this episode. I don’t know if said sword really deserves so much importance as to be put right at the beginning of the opening, though.

Back at the Holy Capital, Rosemon and MirageGaogamon are busy dispatching any Gizmon: XT who get close – several of them at a time, as you’d expect, because evolution levels. A couple of the city’s Pumpmon (Perfect-level) are inspired to get in on the action, so they use their Trick-or-Treat attack, which involves dropping a giant pumpkin on the enemy’s head to take control of them, apparently, and using this they get two Gizmon: XT to destroy each other. I might otherwise raise an eyebrow at regular Perfect-levels being able to so easily deal with these Gizmon: XT that were supposed to be a fair bit stronger than Perfect-levels should be, but perhaps if they’re using trickery to turn the enemy’s own strength against it, that’s one way to trump the usual power levels.

Meanwhile, on a long bridge over the sea (probably a real Yokohama landmark, knowing Digimon), a military van is acting as a portable command centre for Kurata.

What’s really rich is that the tech guys working there are wearing what looks like DATS uniforms. Either Kurata had his men wear knock-offs of that uniform out of spite towards DATS, or possibly, these are actual former DATS technicians who sided with Kurata during the whole bit between episodes 25 and 26. You know, where Kurata came in claiming that Mercurimon had attacked them and the main DATS team had traitorously sided with him and all Digimon are dangerous monsters who need to be eradicated.

Technician: “Currently, the enemy suppression rate is at 37%.”

Presumably what he means by this is that they’ve currently killed 37% of the Digimon who were in the Holy Capital to begin with. Calling it a “rate” doesn’t make much sense – but upon examination (of a Japanese online dictionary), it seems that might be a subs thing; the word used for “rate” here can apparently also mean “proportion” and should probably have been translated as that in this context.

Kurata:  “Throw the XT beta army at the enemy Ultimate-levels.”

Here’s an interesting little tidbit that could help explain why these Gizmon: XT have been getting progressively less threatening as they’ve grown in number. It seems he really has been mass-producing these things to the point that some of them are just beta versions that probably really aren’t as strong as the one he showed off in episode 25. Or, at least, that’s one way we could choose to interpret his use of the word “beta” here.

Kurata:  “Kouki-kun will continue to keep ShineGreymon busy.”

Yep, Kouki really is doing nothing but playing distraction. Not that Kouki minds, I’m sure, since he’s been champing at the bit to get a rematch with Masaru for several episodes now.

As the enemy suppression percentage reaches 40, Kurata takes this as his cue to begin implementing the next stages of his plan, which involve something called the DHS, and the Javelin’s Core. The latter is an absolutely massive metal javelin, which begins to be lifted into the air by four large helicopters. Along with that, some military ships move out into the water, carrying unusual-looking cannons on their decks.

Back in the human city, ShineGreymon and BioDarkdramon are wrestling each other in midair. As BioDarkdramon manages to kick his opponent away for a moment, he takes the opportunity to round on Masaru, tiny and fragile and an easy target, back on the rooftop. ShineGreymon tackles him away before he can get close, and then, for Masaru’s safety, offers him his hand to climb up on. Riding on your giant Digimon partner, not for the sake of transport, but for the sake of fighting! (Though, actually, Tohma did this first.)

Reporter:  “The monsters who are threatening us have suddenly intruded into the gulf coast!”

Ah, yes, those terrible monstrous Digimon are invading us again! That’s legitimately how this development must look to the human civilians who don’t know why ElDoradimon really ended up here. This isn’t really the main point of Kurata’s move to drag the Holy Capital over here, but it’s certainly helping with his propaganda that Digimon are horrible dangerous threats to humanity’s safety.

Reporter:  “Right now, a weapon designed by Professor Kurata to protect us is on its way. […]”

Miki:  “They’re making it sound like Kurata is a defender of justice.”

They sure are. Kurata, humanity’s hero, here to save us all from these vicious scary Digimon with his brilliant inventions!

Megumi:  “Shh. We’re still wanted criminals.”

Also, hey, it’s Miki and Megumi! We haven’t seen them since they stayed behind in the human world in episode 27, but they’re still here, having apparently been dodging arrest from Kurata’s people all this time. (Though, really, Megumi, you might not want to say you’re wanted criminals out loud like that, not when you’re here amongst a crowd of people watching the news report.)

Reporter:  “The government has declared their full support to Professor Kurata in his efforts to resolve this problem.”

Just in case anyone was ever wondering how Kurata got enough money and resources to create this ridiculously many Gizmon, not to mention some of his other toys he uses this episode: looks like he’s getting a lot of government funding and help from the Japanese military. This is a lot of the reason why he dragged ElDoradimon over here – in the human world, his home turf, he has access to a lot more stuff than he could reasonably bring to the middle of nowhere in the Digital World.

Chika and Sayuri are in their living room, watching this report, wondering if this means Masaru is back in the human world, hoping he’s okay. Sayuri must have been feeling so helpless this whole time; at least now that Masaru’s here again, within her reach, it’s something.

Out in the city, a bunch of human civilians (who are hopefully busy evacuating if they have any sense) watch the two giant armoured dragon monsters chase each other through the sky overhead.

Masaru is surfing on ShineGreymon’s shoulder now. That’s definitely not a very precarious position that should really put him at huge risk of falling off; it’s fine because anime physics.

ShineGreymon, the one being pursued, circles all the way around a skyscraper in order to get himself behind BioDarkdramon instead. He begins charging a Glorious Burst (telegraphing your location by calling your attacks, guys!), but turning to him upon hearing this, BioDarkdramon casually hangs there, making no attempt to dodge.

BioDarkdramon:  “Go ahead and shoot! Do it if you’ve got the guts.”

He’s hovering in front of a skyscraper full of civilians who haven’t evacuated yet. If ShineGreymon used a ranged attack here, it’d slam BioDarkdramon back through the building, killing hundreds of innocent people.

Masaru:  “That’s dirty, Kouki!”

BioDarkdramon: “Dumbass! There’s nothing clean or dirty in a fight!”

Oh, but there is. Masaru’s street fights are very anything-goes, but only insofar as that involves the people who have chosen to fight. He has always had very strong principles about not harming those weaker than you, those who aren’t involved and therefore haven’t made the choice to risk getting hurt. Bringing unrelated innocents into this and putting them at risk is disgusting tactics according to Masaru’s standards. That is Not What A Man Does.

Kouki doesn’t give a damn, though. He’s perfectly happy to get a few hundred innocents – innocent humans – hurt or killed if it’ll let him win.

There’s been a lot of obvious similarities between Masaru and Kouki, in how they’re both reckless hotheads eager to fight any opponent and who refuse to take losing lying down. But here’s their big contrast, made even clearer here than it already was from all of Kouki’s assholery in previous episodes. Masaru, despite his fighty nature, is a fundamentally good person with a strong moral code – his concept of manliness! – that he adheres to no matter what. Kouki doesn’t frickin’ care about any of that and only enjoys selfishly exerting power over others.

If anyone ever imagined, upon hearing that Masaru is a notorious street fighter, that this means he’s nothing but a violent thug who only cares about beating people up, they’re wrong. That’s what Kouki is, and Masaru’s nothing like Kouki in the ways that really count.

BioDarkdramon: “Also, let me tell you something else. You aren’t able to attack me, but I can attack you as much as I want!”

At this, BioDarkdramon charges at ShineGreymon with an attack. ShineGreymon dodges at first, but then, seeing BioDarkdramon continuing on right towards another skyscraper, has no choice but to put himself back in the way and absorb his momentum, just barely saving the building from destruction.

Not only is Kouki completely chill with potentially getting a few hundred innocents killed, he’s also totally willing to use that, and the fact that Masaru has actual standards where he doesn’t, in order to get himself an advantage. Those are some really horrifically dirty tactics, risking innocents just for his own gain. Masaru must be fuming.

(It’s this that makes me think things would have worked fine if their fight had started out by the bay, instead of Yatagaramon randomly bringing them far away from where they wanted to be. Kouki would have wanted to lead Masaru and ShineGreymon into the city during the fight anyway, precisely so that he could use this dirty tactic to stand a better chance of winning.)

…Well, I say Masaru’s probably fuming, but actually, after ShineGreymon blocks the hit, BioDarkdramon flings him to the ground and Masaru implicitly passes out from the impact for a little bit while we cut to other things.

Back at ElDoradimon, where Rosemon and MirageGaogamon are still working together to take down Gizmon, and Yatagaramon approaches overhead, four military ships have surrounded the city.

At Kurata’s order to initiate the Digital Hazard System – the DHS mentioned earlier – they fire their cannon things, which turn out to be a strange kind of solidified energy that works something like ropes, lashing onto each of ElDoradimon’s feet. Not that ElDoradimon was going anywhere anyway, but Kurata really wants to make sure it stays put.

The energy-ropes apparently also hurt, because the poor city turtle roars like it’s in huge pain. Baromon, horrified at seeing his beloved living city suffering, throws aside all sense of self-preservation and desperately climbs up onto the ramparts to try and appeal to his foes.

Baromon:  “STOP! Don’t put ElDoradimon through any more pain!”

The humans driving the ships probably can’t even see him from this distance. Kurata certainly can’t. Even if they did, they wouldn’t care. Digimon are just vicious monsters, right?

All Baromon actually succeeded in doing with this is to expose himself to attack and forget to watch his back. One of the Gizmon: XT still skulking around the city takes the opportunity to shoot a laser at him from behind, piercing right through him.

Baromon:  “T-Tell Suguru’s son… to take care… of ElDoradimon…”

As Yushima and some of the city’s warriors watch in horror, the last thought Baromon clings to is still the notion that their heroic saviour’s son will be able to somehow miraculously turn things around.

(He doesn’t even seem to realise that Suguru’s son is currently nowhere near the Holy Capital, busy settling a personal score and dealing with a diversion that’s threatening his own city. Masaru is just one person, not some kind of perfect legendary hero.)

With that, Baromon dies. They actually remember to show his egg disintegrating, for once, I guess because he’s a reasonably important character and they want to hammer it home that he’s really gone.

Gawappamon furiously fires off an attack at the offending Gizmon. The shot direction keeps managing to make it ambiguous as to whether any of Gawappamon’s attacks actually defeat a Gizmon: XT, which is good, because I’d be complaining about evolution level violation if they did. Gawappamon is only Adult. Given how dire things are getting, I’m really surprised Yushima hasn’t pulled out a stronger evolution. I’d expect him to be capable of it; Satsuma was.

Along with the ships chaining ElDoradimon down, Tohma and Yoshino notice the helicopters overhead carrying the javelin’s core. Out on that long bridge across the bay, there’s way more than just the one military truck Kurata’s using as a base. He’s got rows and rows of them filling the whole bridge, all of which open up to reveal countless Gizmon: XT. The swarm of Gizmon begin to fly towards the javelin’s core, which is now hanging directly above ElDoradimon.

Both of these fancy weapons of Kurata look Very Bad, so Tohma orders MirageGaogamon to deal with the Gizmon and Rosemon to go for the ships.

Back in the human city, Masaru regains consciousness, clutched protectively to ShineGreymon’s chest. (Aww, look at him protecting his comparatively small and fragile aniki.)

BioDarkdramon: “What’s wrong, Daimon Masaru? You finished already?”

Masaru:  “Don’t look down on me! Come down! I’ll kick your ass!”

I love the sheer Masaru-level audacity. It very much comes across like he personally will kick the giant dragon-monster’s ass, because ShineGreymon is currently lying on his back, not seeming ready to get back into the fight just yet.

Kouki responds by attacking the building ShineGreymon protected earlier, attempting to collapse the entire thing onto Masaru. (Geez, I hope the people in it evacuated during the interim while Masaru was out; it is very possible they all just got killed.) We get a very rare heroic instance of the “Did I get him?” *smoke clears* NOPE trope, as it turns out ShineGreymon got up just in time to shield Masaru from the whole-ass building falling onto him, while barely seeming hurt from the impact. Because, you know, that’s just a thing Ultimate-levels can do with their utterly ridiculous levels of power.

ShineGreymon: “Aniki, are you okay?”

Masaru:  “Thanks!”

BioDarkdramon: “Hey hey, being all chumly, are we? You make me puke!”

Shush, Kouki, this is a shounen anime, being adorable friends is a requirement. Also it’s nice to see a rare moment of ShineGreymon feeling like a character in his evolved form, caring about protecting his (tiny and fragile!) aniki.

Apparently no longer even trying to hide that this whole thing is just a diversion, Kouki goes on to taunt that Masaru shouldn’t even have the time to waste around here anyway because of what’s happening to ElDoradimon.

Masaru looks over towards the sea to see the javelin hanging above the turtle’s back, as the swarm of Gizmon: XT begin to wrap around the comparatively gigantic core, coating it with a layer of thousands of Gizmon.

Masaru:  “Wh-What is that?”

Kurata:  “A weapon that’s made specifically against ElDoradimon. The Gizmon Javelin.”

The writers are using that narrative trick of switching between two scenes at once for the sake of some more dynamic exposition. But though it sounds like Kurata is answering Masaru’s question, in reality, he’s nowhere near him at all. He apparently just felt like gloating at an audience of two technicians who must already know full well what the Gizmon Javelin is. Continuing to be very full of himself and his genius inventions, this Kurata.

(The fact that he designed this weapon specially for ElDoradimon also lends some amount of credence to my theory I mentioned a few episodes ago, that his assassinations of SaberLeomon and Mercurimon required preparation and special honing of the Gizmon to destroy their data specifically. Killing an Ultimate-level is not as easy as just shooting it with the regular old death laser without any planning, it would seem – and especially not an Ultimate-level this huge.)

BioDarkdramon: “Once that’s completed, ElDoradimon is dead meat. Wha’cha gonna do?”

Kouki is having a great time taunting Masaru about how he can’t be in two places at once, both defending the Holy Capital from Kurata and his own home city from Kouki’s wanton destruction. The latter is even more tricky right now, given that ShineGreymon’s usual ranged attacks will also do a number on the city if he tries to use them.

BioDarkdramon fires off a shockwave at the pair just to punctuate his point. ShineGreymon is unharmed, but Masaru goes flying out of his grasp and ShineGreymon has to reach out and catch him. Again: so tiny and fragile! ShineGreymon working so hard to protect his aniki!

BioDarkdramon: “Daimon Masaru, you are powerless. Bite your nails while you watch ElDoradimon disappear! After that, I’ll savour my time beating y—”

Masaru:  “No thanks! I’ve got no plans to stand by and watch this happen!”

I love how, despite Kouki’s attempt at evil gloating, just full-on being a huge asshole and trying to enjoy watching his enemy suffer and squirm, Masaru shuts him right down and is having none of it.

Masaru:  “No matter how many times I’ve fallen, I’ll stand right back up again! Again and again! As long as there’s still a possibility, I’ll never give up! You are going down!”

Like hell he’s ever going to let himself just sit there and be powerless, no matter how bad things get!

(And really, despite how dire things look and the way Kouki’s trying to taunt him about this, Masaru and ShineGreymon are both still standing, able to fight. This really isn’t necessarily a situation in which he feels powerless as much as some of the other things he’s been through.)

From the strength of Masaru’s sheer stubborn determination, and as the intro to Believer starts up, his Digivice begins to glow in his pocket. This honestly isn’t any particularly interesting or unique kind of emotion from Masaru here that’s triggering a new power, but also this new power isn’t especially strong or useful either compared to a full-on evolution level, so I don’t really mind.

Glowing with the same power, ShineGreymon punches the ground and summons up a fancy double-ended sword out of a ring of flame. (It’s a cool animation, so don’t think too hard about the fact that it makes it look like he just pulled it out of the tarmac of this ordinary human street.) This is the GeoGrey Sword. Not sure why it gets named after his Adult-level and isn’t, like, the ShineGrey Sword, but hey.

Now that he has a melee weapon, it’s a lot easier for ShineGreymon to safely fight without risking levelling the city every time he attacks. In this particular instance, summoning up a giant sword is pretty useful and exactly what he needs to turn the tides!

(It… really won’t be the rest of the time, though. Get ready for me to poke fun at that.)

This time, Masaru stays on the ground instead of riding on ShineGreymon’s shoulder, which is less Friends but probably a lot more practical, considering the way ShineGreymon’s spinning and dancing around with his sword moves.

One of his swipes manages to slice into the… I hesitate to call it “skin”; leathery fabric? …the non-armoured part in BioDarkdramon’s midriff, and Kouki is furious. How dare Masaru and his partner injure him! What do you mean this fight isn’t just a one-sided beatdown in which Kouki taunts Masaru about his powerlessness and savours his suffering as revenge for the defeats in previous episodes.

BioDarkdramon: “All of you will die!”

I really want to take note of the specific Japanese phrasing here, for reasons. Kouki doesn’t directly use the word “die” – what he says literally means “disappear” – but apparently the subbers felt like it was appropriate to sub it as this anyway. Someone like Kouki is entirely the sort of person who wouldn’t beat around the bush and would get very rough and direct about death when he’s furious like this, so I’m going to assume that, despite the literal wording, this is a turn of phrase that is nonetheless frequently used to mean death in Japanese, enough that it might as well be what he’s literally saying. I want to trust that the subbers used their judgement and knowledge of Japanese connotations to sub it that way to give us the correct and most accurate effect.

This matters to me a lot; you’ll find out why in a couple of episodes.

BioDarkdramon happens to have placed himself above ShineGreymon in the air, which you’d think would instantly solve the ranged-attacks-would-wreck-the-city problem. ShineGreymon can fire a Glorious Burst at him from here and it’d dissipate harmlessly into the sky. Maybe we can pretend this is a sign of Kouki being so furious that he’s getting careless, but in practice it’s meaningless, because now that he has his new sword, ShineGreymon isn’t even thinking about the ranged attacks any more.

BioDarkdramon fires off an orb of dark energy at ShineGreymon (and the city), but ShineGreymon uses his new sword like a baseball bat to deflect it and send it into the ocean instead. Actually another pretty useful application for the sword! that we will never be seeing again.

(Also, the animators have already forgotten to keep drawing the wound on BioDarkdramon’s stomach, whoops.)

ShineGreymon: “This is the end!”

BioDarkdramon: “Cut the bullshit! This won’t end. It’ll never end! Not until I beat you!”

Kouki: the world’s sorest loser ever, as you’d expect from an asshole like him.

They charge at each other in midair with their respective blades, and ShineGreymon remains unharmed as he runs BioDarkdramon through, defeating him. He catches the unconscious Kouki and the egg and places them on the street, then he and Masaru rush off to try and help ElDoradimon. No way Masaru’s going to sit around having a conversation with his defeated Bio-Hybrid rival like the other two did; he’s got better things to do right now, besides which he wouldn’t even care about anything Kouki had to say.

Kurata hears that BioDarkdramon has lost, but he barely cares, because Kouki did his job and provided ample distraction; the Gizmon Javelin has finished forming. We never even saw any of MirageGaogamon and Rosemon’s attempts to take out these weapons, but we can assume they were largely fruitless against the sheer size and scale of them. Even Ultimate-levels have their limits when Kurata’s basically levied the entire Japanese military and spiced it up with his own anti-Digimon tech.

Just to give you a sense of how huge this thing is: it’s really freaking huge. I do not blame MirageGaogamon for not being able to take that down. Exponential increase in power from a higher evolution level only goes so far; there must be thousands of Gizmon: XT in there.

Masaru:  “ShineGreymon, we’ve gotta destroy that thing!”

Oh, Masaru. He and ShineGreymon are rushing to make it there as fast as they can, determined to feel like they can do something about this. In the urgency of the moment (and perhaps the still-lingering idea that he’s the saviour’s son and the whole city’s counting on him specifically), it doesn’t seem to occur to him that obviously Tohma and Yoshino and Ikuto must have been working on destroying that thing the entire time and getting nowhere, in which case he’d be no different. He just doesn’t want it to not be possible.

(As they fly towards the bay, they happen to pass directly over the news crew. Chika, watching on TV, realises her brother really is here – I doubt she could see Masaru directly, and she’s not seen ShineGreymon before, but it’s a fair guess that he might be the next evolution for Agumon, so, sure.)

But even if ShineGreymon taking out the javelin were somehow miraculously possible, it’s too late. Before he can even get close, Kurata gives the order, and the javelin begins to drop.

MirageGaogamon and Rosemon, seeing this, immediately switch tacks from trying to take out the Gizmon to just getting their partners the hell out of there. Tohma and Yoshino are still there in the capital, and the capital is screwed. Gawappamon and Yushima also implicitly manage to abandon ship, along with a small scattering of the city’s warriors, but most of them probably weren’t so lucky.

The poor city turtle roars in agony one last time as the javelin pierces through it, turning the city to rubble in an instant, disintegrating ElDoradimon into data and a soon-to-be-lost egg just a moment later. It’s pretty stark and horrifying, all of the onlookers watching in horror as this gigantic, beautiful creature is torn apart, all while Kurata chuckles to himself like it’s the best day ever. All the Digimon who were still inside the city must have been killed too (all the baby Digimon who were sheltering inside from the battle!), hundreds if not thousands of lives wiped out in an instant.

As debris floats past, Masaru stands on ShineGreymon’s shoulder, staring at the gigantic empty space where an entire city just was, having been powerless to get there in time, to stop it, to fulfil his promise of protecting the city (and living up to his dad’s reputation)… and with no other way to express it, he just roars in desperate anguish.

The remaining Gizmon are sucking up all the life energy from this, of course. This was the big haul that Kurata wanted, to get him enough energy to fulfil his other goal. We get another glimpse of that thing in the tank, just to remind us what he was working towards.

Not long after, the DATS group – the usual four, plus Yushima – are standing at the waterfront with their (surprisingly still evolved!) partners, looking out at where ElDoradimon no longer is, trying to process their overwhelming loss.

Ikuto:  “We couldn’t stop it in the end.”

Yoshino:  “We were useless.”

Oh, Yoshino. I’m sure everyone’s feeling that way, but it’s very heartbreakingly her to be the one to voice it.

Masaru:  “Not yet!”

Yoshino:  “Masaru!”

Masaru:  “The battle’s not over yet! There’s gotta be those in the Holy Capital who survived! We have to save as many as we can!”

Oh, Masaru. Everyone else was ready to lick their metaphorical wounds and feel sorry for themselves, but no. Masaru will not feel powerless; he will not accept that they just lost and there’s nothing they can do. There has to be something they can still be doing to make a difference. Even if it’s only working to save the scant handfuls of surviving Digimon who might have made it out in time, that’s something they can work on that means they aren’t just giving up. He is so stubbornly, utterly incapable of letting himself fully acknowledge the terribleness of a situation and I love him for it.

(And I mean, it’s fair that of course they should try to focus on doing that! But it is very very Masaru to refuse to even think about how much they lost and grieve for those who just died before turning to that.)

As the group head out on their partners (oh, that’s why the writers kept them evolved) to go look for survivors, a couple of men in suits are observing Tohma through binoculars and noting that he’s the one they’re looking for. Before Tohma can climb onto MirageGaogamon’s hand to head off too, the men approach him.

Man:  “Master Tohma. We’ve come for you.”

Given the respectful way they’re referring to him, this doesn’t seem like a sinister kidnapping sort of thing; rather, they simply require his presence for some reason. Despite the better things Tohma has to be doing right now, this is evidently something he can’t refuse, as next we see he and Gaomon are in a helicopter heading away from the site of the battle.

Masaru notices Tohma isn’t following them, sees him in the helicopter, and calls out to him in vain. He has no idea that Tohma was called away; all he knows is that he’s leaving. Why would Tohma be abandoning the fight at a time like this?!

Overall thoughts

For a Masaru-focused episode, which are usually my favourite things, this one isn’t massively interesting or issuey, but it’s fine and solid enough. (And, hey, unlike with Yoshino, at least we have plenty of other excellent Masaru episodes to choose from, so I can hardly complain.)

On an objective scale, Kouki is arguably the least interesting of the Bio-Hybrids, because he doesn’t have any kind of issues that are the root of him doing this. Thanks to Ivan being terrible, though, Kouki comes in the middle of my personal rankings of the trio anyway. He may not have any issues, but he is a solid foil to Masaru, very similar to him in a lot of superficial ways but completely the opposite in the ways that really matter. He serves that purpose well, and this episode in particular does a great job of highlighting it.

Kurata’s approach to this battle continues to be impressive even as it’s horrifying. Again, I enjoy the way this mini-arc progresses – how the previous two episodes’ developments were all leading towards this one, in which Kurata had ElDoradimon in such a hopeless position that there was really nothing anyone could do to save it. It’s neat how, though each of these three episodes may have felt on the surface like victories in that the Bio-Hybrids were defeated, our heroes kept losing ground each time in the actual battle that mattered and ultimately utterly failed.

---

[Dub comparison]

[bangtaninink]

“wh– i just kissed your forehead. chill out!” + tae + fwb au hmmm

DRABBLE NUMBER......... 005 MEMBER............................ kim taehyung (v) AU......................................... friends with benefits WARNINGS......................... sexual content

"how was... oh fuck yeah, right there... work today?" you ask, bringing your hand up above your head, palm pressed against the headboard of taehyung's bed to stop your head from knocking against it.

"ah fuck... it was good," he replies, face hidden in the crook of your neck where he's panting, one hand squeezing your breast as his hips piston into you. "that one lady came in again today though."

"oh my god, that foreign chick with the collection of berets? what was her name again?" you chuckle, before it quickly turns into a moan. "mmm, go a bit slower? yeah, like that."

"amelia or... something?" with a groan, taehyung sits up, bringing your legs up to rest on his shoulders, hands coming down to hold onto your hips as he rolls his own in slow, controlled waves.

"she still down bad for you?"

"always," taehyung says, chuckling lowly, crease between his brows deepening. "i'm gonna come soon."

"wait, i need to put a pillow under me."

"i got you." his hips still for a moment to grab the pillow next to you, sliding it under your back when you arch up and make room. he checks on you silently with a raised eyebrow before he resumes the rolling of his hips, hands moving to hold your thighs, fingertips dimpling your skin. "what should i... fuck, _____... what should i do about her?"

"why don't you ask her out?" you suggest. "ah fuck, i'm gonna come."

"i'm not gonna ask her out."

the both of you stop talking, letting the room fill with the sound of your pants and skin slapping against skin, bodies covered in a light sheen of sweat from the summer air. you throw your head back, moans escalating until you feel your muscles contract, walls closing in around taehyung, whose hips stutter at the sudden warmth and tightness enveloping him. his hands let go of your thighs to hold himself up, palms flat on the bed as you tremble below him, spilling into the condom with a groan muffled against your calf.

with lethargy in his bones, taehyung falls onto the bed next to you, pulling off and tying up the condom, tossing it in the general direction of his trash can before lying down, eyes shut as he tries to catch his breath.

"why aren't you gonna ask her out?" you ask, chest rising and falling as you even out your own breaths.

"she's a cat person," taehyung answers with a sigh.

"oh. okay, fair."

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

the long groan you let out has taehyung sticking his head out of the kitchen, eyebrows furrowed, halfway through a nutella and strawberries sandwich.

"you good?" he asks, voice muffled by a mouthful of bread.

"remember that guy i told you about?"

"minhyuk. no, wait. minwoo. right?"

"right, yeah. him."

"what's goin' on with him?" taehyung asks, walking over to join you on the sofa.

"he's just... not very subtle. and by that, i mean: he literally just asked me out to dinner just then."

"oh-ho-ho. did he now? for when?"

"tomorrow night, so therefore, are you free tomorrow?"

"no way, josé. you're not using me to get out of a date."

"c'mon, tae. please?" you whine, face scrunching up. "i don't wanna go on a date with this guy right now!"

"why not? i thought you said he was a paralegal -- and a dog person," taehyung says, taking another bite of his sandwich. "sounds like a win to me. also, can you button up your shirt? you're gonna turn me on again, and i don't wanna not be eating this sandwich right now." you sigh, pulling your shirt closed to button it up, bra disappearing out of sight. "i think you should say yes to the date. what's the worst that could happen?"

"a lot of things could happen."

"okay, fair. but this guy seems chill, and you two have literally been talking and texting any chance you get. if you're not talking to or texting me, you're talking to or texting him. that sounds like a clear sign to me that you're into him."

"have i ever told you that i hate when you make sense? it weirds me out. it's so... uncharacteristic of you," you say, groaning.

"i'm evolving," taehyung replies, wiggling his eyebrows.

"whatever helps you sleep at night. alright, i gotta go before my boss chews my ass out."

"hmm... butt stuff. we haven't done that in a while. we should do that next time. i'll walk you to the door." you walk to his front door with a frown, and he laughs when he catches you, finishing off his sandwich and clapping crumbs off his hand. "text him back, and then text me when you're home from the date. i want all the juicy details."

"you're annoying," you sigh, grabbing your bag as he opens the door. "i'll talk to you later."

"mhm." he chuckles softly, leaning over to press a kiss to your forehead before you can cross the threshold of his door, leaving you frozen mid-step.

"what?"

"what?" taehyung repeats.

"what the fuck was that?"

"what the fuck was what?"

"that. why'd you do that? you've never done that before," you say, eyebrows furrowed.

"wh-- i just kissed your forehead. chill out!" he laughs, leaning against the doorway. "just go. you're gonna be late for work."

you sigh and shake your head, but head out anyway, walking towards the elevator with a wave goodbye over your shoulder. taehyung watches until you're in the elevator and the doors have shut before he shuts his own door, the corners of his lips falling while his shoulders drop, a sigh slipping from his lips as he shuffles back to the sofa.

"you're such an idiot, kim taehyung."

[darknessisafriend]

Periods Commodus x Reader

Here I’m back with an imagine about our dear Emperor, @beatlebabe1996​ I dedicate this to you ;) 

You and Commodus had been married for a bit less than a month now, slowly, you had gotten used to each other’s presence, his frequent brooding and worries, but also his playfulness. Commodus was a man to discover and each day you learned more about him and fell even more in love with him; what had started as an arranged marriage had evolved into love. Even your husband, who was very suspicious over you at first and distant was learning to let down his guard, learning to know you were trustworthy. Yet, you still had a lot to learn about each other, you were discreet and shy, and he had a terrifying reputation…

You groaned in bed, burying your head under the sheets as the chamberlain came to wake you and your husband; today you really didn’t want to get up, you had a difficult night and pains in your lower belly had awaken you, you had understood your periods were coming. And as you woke up, you realized a slight wetness between your thighs, oh no…not when your husband was next to you, he would be disgusted, like many roman men were, some even considered it as a bad omen; what if Commodus reacted that badly too? Your heart started to hammer in your chest, you didn’t know how you would get out of that situation. You retained a little jump as you felt Commodus’ arm wrap around you.

“My Y/N…it’s time to rise.” He said softly and placed a feather like kiss on your temple. You closed your eyes, those soft lips gave you goosebump; but you lightly groaned, pretending not to feel very well.

“I’m…I think I’m going to stay in bed a bit more. I’m not feeling at my best…” you muttered. And you instantly felt your husband’s worry grow.

“What is it Y/N? are you feeling any pain?” he quickly asked, ready to call for a doctor.

“Commodus, please don’t worry about it. Just get up and start your day, I will surely feel better later.” You tried to convince him, you didn’t want the doctors involved and telling you to sleep separately from your husband until your periods ended, you wanted his comfort during that tough time of the month. But you knew how stubborn he was, he wouldn’t let go so easily.

“Tell me what you have. I don’t like things to be hidden from me. Especially from people I love. Don’t make me order you Y/N” He replied on a tone without appeal, he won’t leave this bed until you told him your symptoms.

“My belly hurts quite a lot…” you moaned as another cramp hit you. However, you didn’t expect Commodus to pull on the sheet to take a look and so you couldn’t prevent him from seeing the blood that had tainted your nightgown, you looked away in shame, your heart racing in fear that he would get angry.

“Oh Y/N tell me this is just your monthly bleeding…” murmured your husband, just for you to hear and avoid getting attention from anyone else. In fact, at the view of the blood, his heart had skipped a beat, fearing you had gotten severely ill.

“Yes, it is. I’m sorry, I should have known it was coming and I should have gone to my quarters.” You quickly apologized, not knowing how he would react. But he didn’t answer, instead you felt him get off the bed, perhaps in disgust he wanted to get away from you, you squinted your eyes shut, what would he do next?

“Love, here.” You jumped, startled by his voice so close to you. Slowly you opened your eyes and met his clear orbs, he looked at you softly, no hint of disgust or anger. You were speechless, you had to admit. And only after long seconds you noticed he held a piece of cloth in his hand, perhaps one of his expensive neck scarves made of silk.

“What…?” you asked confused.

“To absorb the blood for now.” He explained, not caring to dirty and taint the cloth “And I got you a clean loincloth.” He gave her a little smile, handing it to you as well and you couldn’t help but look at him as if he was crazy. “What?” he asked, curious as to why you looked at him like that.

“Well you’re not…? horrified or disgusted? Something like that?”

He chuckled, shaking his head “I have seen a lot more blood in the Colosseum.” He said jokingly, trying to relax you.  his hand going to caress your hair. “And I heard some doctors say it could be a thing that helped the woman to procreate. So, something that would give me a baby with you, an heir…it’s neither disgusting nor horrifying. It’s beautiful.” He replied more seriously. He respected you and would never treat you in such way, the only woman he could trust and have close to him.

“But all men they…” you tried to explain, to be sure of how he felt.

“I’m not like all men my dear. I am Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus, the Emperor.” He smirked proudly at you. And you couldn’t help but giggle, indeed he wasn’t, he was unique, in many ways. He sat on the edge of the bed. “Don’t be ashamed my love. I will take care of you today, only emergencies of the Empire will get my attention.” He added, and you sighed in relief, he was a very caring lover, fully dedicated. So, you got up, taking the cloth and the loincloth and going to change.

Once you were all cleaned, you sighed contently, you were in fresh, absorbent undergarments. You felt much better and knowing Commodus would be mostly by your side today greatly helped. As the day passed, Commodus spent his time with you in your shared bedroom, away from the Senate or councilors, working at his desk, dressed in his black and red toga, reading and replying to petitions from the People.

Each time he heard you groan as you cramps became more painful, he left his desk and joined you on the bed, lying down next to you, wrapping an arm around you. “Be strong my love, it will go away.” He murmured against your ear as his hand gently massaged your lower belly. His warmth and gentle caresses alone appeased your pain, or at least distracted you from them. He stayed as long as you needed, or until you dozed off, tired by those changes in your body.

You were discovering how caring Commodus was, he had this tender side that was well hidden by a protective wall around his heart, he had been betrayed so many times. But with you, he could be himself, because you made yourself vulnerable to him and he felt safe enough to be in return. Soon, your poor husband witnessed your mood swings for the first time and found you snaping at him for no reason and then you ended up on the verge of tears. But Commodus showed himself very understanding, these monthly bleedings really seemed to impact the woman deeply.

“You know, I do have mood swings too sometimes…” he said as he hugged you, soothingly caressing your back, his words making you laugh.

“That’s actually true, mister grumpy!” you giggled, burying your face in his neck, now placing soft kisses against his warm skin, making Commodus hum in pleasure.

“How about we go for a bath?” he suggested, kissing your temple.

“Hmm good idea.” You grinned, nibbling his skin, earning a small moan from the Emperor, your mood swings were quick, but he wasn’t complaining from that one, he actually enjoyed it, a lot.

You both headed for the baths, hand in hand. Commodus had especially requested the water to be warmer, he had quickly understood warmth relaxed you and soothed your pains; and indeed, he was a very good observer. As you both entered the warm waters, you sighed in contentment and a slave came to bring a plate full of nuts and dates.

“I asked our physician Galen about what you go through. He recommends you eat these. Helps with fatigue and moodiness.” Your husband explained to you as he took some to eat, you looked at him, once again amazed.

“Dear, you surprise me more each time. It’s such a sweet attention. Thank you.” You smiled happily, swimming to join him, wrapping your arms around his waist.

“Anything for you Y/N. You are my world.” He replied as if those words were naturally coming out of his mouth and with you it was. He took a date and presented it to your mouth, smiling as you eagerly ate it.

“I had never dreamt of such wonderful husband.” You murmured, tenderly kissing him, grateful to have him; your mouth traveling to his jaw. You felt him sigh contently, how much he loved feeling you so close to him, purely desiring him…his hand buried in your hair as you nibbled his earlobe.

“Oh Y/N…” he breathed, slowly starting to feel aroused, he wrapped his arm around your waist while his hand seized your chin, making you look at him in the eyes. “Kiss me.” He said softly that request was the sweetest command, as if he feared you would stop.

“Yes, my love.” You agreed softly, instantly closing the gap between the two of you. He supported you just as you supported him. An endless devotion and an always stronger love, you could fight the whole world just to be in each other’s arms.

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