#plus i WANT to write with you all and plot and chat and becomes friends like seriously...

[hedefects]

okay kind of just had a moment and i'm not trying to vague post or anything since it isn't a big deal and i hate even having to say anything?!?! but i'm just gonna get it out so there's no confusion or anything : i really want to priotize writing, storytelling, collaboration and development on finn / faith. so i'll be unfollowing mutuals who either haven't responded to my attempts at plotting and / or those i just can't see myself actually collaborating with (and by that i mean writing something juicy together, not just random starters / replies that never go anywhere). this also applies to pals with multiple blogs like love you bad but what are we gonna write between finn and daffy duck?? please let's be fr. i also hard block blogs for about a week before unblocking .... this is because i have bad badddd memory issues!! it's not personal in anyway!! i have no beef with anyone!! i hope y'all can understand and won't be offended by my actions <3

[carlsdarling]

Could you write something where carl has always been super in love with the reader but she only starts paying attention to him after Beth’s death also can you include some smut once they get to Alexandria?

New friends & benefits

After losing your best friend Beth, you and Carl finally get closer and you show him your affection... Bit more of a plot, then sex. Everyone is 18 or over.

WARNINGS: smut, nsfw, oral (male receiving)

Beth had been your best friend, you literally shared everything; you had been inseparable - especially during your time in prison. Your cells were next to each other, and you stayed up late chatting together. Sometimes you told each other creepy stories, or you played cards, you put make-up on each other and did each other's hair.

Carl kept trying to join you, but you always sent him away. Sometimes you were pretty mean to him, but he got on your nerves. He was a little younger than the two of you, and you didn't know what to do with him. Plus, he was always gawking at you and peeping at you, whatever you were doing.

Beth often made fun of that. "Carl has a crush on you, Y/N. He literally adores you," she giggled. She was probably right about that, but it wasn't something you were proud of.

Then the day came when the prison fell, Hershel died, and you fled to all points of the compass. Not only had Beth and you been lost to each other; you found yourself completely alone in the wilderness, fleeing from a pack of walkers that the Governor had let loose before he died.

For weeks you wandered around, lonely, starving and thirsty; you were not used to being alone. Shortly after the apocalypse started, you had ended up on Hershel's farm, following the death of your parents, and he had taken you in. The farm had been a relatively sheltered place. And now he was dead, and you had no idea where Beth had ended up. Or the others.

Finally, Daryl and Carol found you on the bank of a river, and you fell weeping into Carol's arms. You learned from Daryl that he had been with Beth for a while until she disappeared. Kidnapped. That's what he said, anyway. They were going to free her.

And then the horrible thing happened. Beth was killed, shot to death. You were paralyzed with grief when Carol told you, and you didn't really realize that you had found Rick's group again. You and Maggie shared your sorrow and your loss, you missed Beth and Hershel so terribly, and for a long time you shut yourself off from everyone else.

One evening, when Maggie was already asleep, you were sitting by the campfire, and Carl surprisingly joined you. You looked at him in amazement. It had been perhaps half a year since you had been separated, but you hardly recognized him. He had grown so much, tall and lanky he had become, and he had developed some beard growth. "I'm so sorry about Beth, Y/N," he said sympathetically, putting his hand on your shoulder. "I liked her, too. Even though you two never liked me." He laughed humorlessly.

"That's hardly true, Carl," you replied, "Thank you. It's just... you were so young. How old are you again?"

"Seventeen," he replied, tossing a branch into the fire. "No longer a child," he pointed out, eyeing you. When you didn't respond, he said goodbye and went to sleep.

One year later

A lot had happened in the interim. You had gotten to Alexandria, and Carl and you had become close buddies. You were really starting to like him. Then Carl lost his eye and tried to push you away; he withdrew from everyone, but you wouldn't let him throw away your friendship and persisted in seeking his company, even though he kept saying mean things to force you away. "I've already lost Beth," you said heatedly, picking up the plate and the ham sandwich. Carl had slammed both against the wall and yelled for you to leave, that he didn't want you around. "I'm not going to lose you, too, Carl. No way," you vowed.

"Look at me, Y/N!" he yelled. "I look terrible! I'm not worth it!" The bullet wound hadn't completely healed and his bandage was still a little bloody.

"How can you say such a thing?" you said, affected. "I don't give a damn what you look like. You are, and will always be, my best friend. Period."

Carl sadly fiddled with a pillow. "And... and what if I still want to be more than besties?" he mumbled, barely audible, avoiding eye contact with you. "You know I've always had a little bit of a crush on you."

You held your breath. Several times over the last few months you had imagined that there could be more between you and Carl, you never thought it possible, but you had fallen a tad in love with him, which embarrassed you, especially because you had rejected him for years. So you didn’t admit it to him, and you also thought he had lost interest in you. He seemed to get along well with Enid, too well. Carl‘s accident didn't change your feelings at all, you only cared about him even more. "I'd be happy about that, Carl," you said, gathering all your courage.

He stared at you. Carl possessed such beautiful eyes - or, rather, a beautiful eye. "Are you kidding me? Before the accident you didn't want to be with me, why now? I do not believe you.“

You decided to prove it to him, and just pressed your lips to his. He flinched, taken aback, but then awkwardly returned the kiss. You embraced each other and continued your caresses. You were careful not to hurt Carl or touch the bandage. Carl was all tense from all the stress and suffering, his neck muscles felt rock hard. "Lie down on your back," you whispered in his ear, gently kissing his neck.

"What are you up to?" he wondered, but obeyed.

"Just let me do it. Relax," you commanded, shoving his shirt up a little and starting to kiss his stomach. Carl gasped excitedly. You played with his belly button with your tongue and licked along the line of soft dark hair leading way down, then undid his belt and jeans. Carl was already hard, and whimpering with arousal, he squirmed under you. "Lift your hips," you said, and he did, and you pulled his jeans and boxers down so that his cock was exposed. "Not bad, it's bigger than I thought," you teased, taking him in your hand and kissing the already slightly wet, reddened tip before sliding his shaft into your mouth. You massaged it with your lips and sucked gently on it, and Carl almost lost his mind. He moaned, thrusted vigorously into your mouth and tugged on your hair.

"I've dreamed of this for so long, Y/N," he confessed, tossing his head back and forth on the pillow, his eye closed. Tenderly you continued to suck Carl off. After a short while, he became fidgety. "I, I think I, I'm about to cum," he stuttered nervously. „Where? Y/N, I…“ Apparently he was apprehensive about cumming in your mouth.

"It's okay, Carl," you assured him, kissing him on the lips. "Just let go. Let yourself go." Again you took his dick in your mouth and sucked and licked on it, Carl was beyond close, he just sighed and whimpered, then his cum filled your mouth. A load squirted, then a second one and a third. You swallowed it all and waited until Carl was finally done with his load before you let his now softened cock slip out of your mouth, licking him clean and lay down next to him.

Carl snuggled up to you, his pants still pulled down, he was all sweaty and sticky. He glanced at you in love. "I didn't know you felt that way about me, Y/N," he whispered hoarsely.

"Yes, I do," you clarified, tugging the blanket over both of you and playing with Carl’s hair.

[vampzyb4tz]

CLOUDY DREAMS

A/N: hi guys!! I'm gonna be starting a series ((which is a Kyle Broflovski x F!Reader.)) They're aged up simply for the plot, but maybe for some smut (?). This is my first time making a fic, and I doubt that anyone's even gonna read this. But yeah, hi! I hope if you read this then you enjoy it<3. Sorry if it sucks, English isn't my first language!

If you like this, reposts are welcome!!

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Chapter 1:

Kyle Broflovski was sitting in history class, reading a book at his desk. He best friend, Stan Marsh, sat next to him. He was hiding his phone under a book, sneakily texting his girlfriend. Cartman was in the desk behind him, talking to Kenny about how all Jews should die. Kenny however wasn't listening, he was also on his phone. He had it hidden behind his bookbag, as he swiped through Instagram. Wendy, who had only become a part of the group since she was dating Stan, was texting Stan while also trying to take notes in class. Butters was just doing his work, since he wasn't the type to act up at all. Not much had changed from Elementary.

Kyle likes his little group, even though he occasionally wondered why he even hung out with them. It was mostly Cartman, and occasionally Kenny when he acted perverted. He liked his friends, he loved his family, he made amazing grades, and he was on the basketball team. His life was going well, he had everything he needed.

Well... Almost everything. Y/n sat at her desk, chatting away with her friend, Bebe Stevens. Y/n had her own little group. She hung around Craig Tucker, Tweek Tweak, Clyde Donovan, Tolkien Black, and Bebe Stevens. She did great academically, and was very interested in music. She was the only thing Kyle wanted that he didn't have. (Yet.)

Now that I have you all caught up, let's get into the story!

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

Your POV:

I was sitting there, chatting with my best friend Bebe. We were currently making plans for after school, and giggling at random things. Clyde was behind me, scrolling through Instagram, and chuckled when he overheard anything funny we said.

Tolkien was writing in his notebook, paying attention to class. Craig was talking to his boyfriend Tweek, and they were holding hands under the desk. I loved staying around my friends even though Bebe and I were currently planning our trip to the mall.

"No!!" I giggled, and covered my mouth to stay quiet. "We're not going into Chick-fil-A so you can bully my ex, Bebe!!" I said, shaking my head. "But he deserves it!! Plus you like the milkshakes there, so it's a win-win." Bebe responded, smiling brightly.

"Don't let her do it, y/n." Tolkien chimed in, shaking his head. "If she does, record it, storm cloud." Clyde chimed in, using the nickname he had given me for my occasional temper. I whipped around, and Bebe began laughing at the fact he'd wanna see her get aggressive.

"You'd wanna see your ex mocking my ex??" I asked, flabbergasted. He nodded, and smirked. "She's funny when she gets mad."

I was about to respond to him, when I felt eyes staring at me. My eyes glanced at the unknown person, and I was met with the eyes of a familiar Jew... Kyle?

He was staring at me? My mind began racing as I wondered why. After all, I had a crush on him, so the fact he was staring at me made my heart skip a few beats.

Meanwhile, in Kyle's head, he was admiring you. He had heard your voice, causing him to look up from his book. Her deep green eyes ran over all of your features. From your pretty eyes, and how they shined when you laughed or found anything amusing, to your sun kissed skin that damn near glowed, and to your beautiful, silky dark/light hair.

He couldn't help it. You were so beautiful, and it drove him crazy. When you look right back at him, his breath hitched. The fact you seemed fine with his staring, your eyes glittering in a way that made you seem happy. His heart fluttered at the possibility of you wanting him to look. Just as he worked up the confidence to talk to you, Stan called his name.

All the hope disappeared from his face, and he reluctantly looked back at his best friend. A small frown tugged at your lips when he looked away. You look at your friends once more, realizing that you'd have to wait another day to speak to Kyle.

××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××

A/N: hi again!! So, as I said before, I really doubt that anyone is gonna read or care about this, but if you do, then thank you! Have a great day or night. Chapter 2 whenever.

[fabuloustrash05]

TMNT 2012: Medieval AU

This is an AU I had in mind long ago, but never did anything with it. I had a lot of ideas and concepts for this AU, but I never had the time to write a fanfic for it (busy writing other fanfics plus personal stuff going on).

However, I did write these plot/character introduction summaries of the Turtles and Karai, so I thought it would be fun to share them with you! Enjoy! <3

Plot Summary:

The Hamato Kingdom was a peaceful land full of joy and laughter. The land was ruled by King Splinter. Not only was he a wise, brave, kind and was loved by all his subjects, but he was also a loving father of his five children, a daughter and four sons, Princess Miwa, Prince Leonardo, Prince Raphael, Prince Donatello, and Prince Michelangelo. The Kingdom was happy, until one fateful day. The King mysteriously fell ill and too soon he met his untimely death. The kingdom was devastated and the king's children were in despair. Now that the king is gone, Miwa must take the throne and become the Queen her father has prepared her for her whole life, but is she truly ready for the task at hand?

Character Introduction Summary:

King Splinter's oldest child and only daughter, Princess Miwa, is known for being one of the most beautiful and most intelligent maidens in the kingdom. Though she is a lady, she is very knowledgeable when it comes to the battlefield and is skilled with a sword, though her father worries for her safety with her dangerous interests. Her whole life her father has molded her to become the perfect future queen of the kingdom. Everyday preparing her for when she must take the throne, though she does not look forward to her fate as queen. Rather she wants to see what's beyond her kingdom and be free from her royal status. She has a fascination with the dark arts of magic, wanting to learn about it, but she fears to tell her family of this secret desire and true interests. Instead she stays inside the castle walls preparing for her time on the throne to arrive, giving her family a false personality and persona and hiding her true self.

Prince Leonardo is the oldest son, but the second oldest child, of King Splinter. The Prince is as kind and wise as his father, many say he reflects his father at a younger age. The prince loves his kingdom and family dearly. He looks up to his father and idolizes him. He’s responsible, wise, and knowledgeable of the royal court, but his insecurities often take over him for he believes he’s not good enough to be given the title of King and believes his sister will make an excellent ruler instead of him. Leo instead spends his days reading, practicing his sword fighting, or riding his horse around the kingdom’s land. He’s known as a handsome young man who many of the maidens in the kingdom admire. Prince Leo is also unaware of a certain arrangement his father has made with another king from the neighboring Kingdom of Salamandria that involves him and their princess. He loves his family and his kingdom and is willing to do anything to keep them happy and safe.

Prince Raphael, the third oldest, is the most rebellious of the King’s sons. A confident and charming young man who loves to hunt and has a fiery passion to fight for and defend his kingdom alongside the royal guards. However because of his royal status he is obligated to stay in the kingdom, just like his brothers, and work on his royal duties. Though he can’t go to war Raphael still trains with his friend, one of the royal guards, Sir Casey, or chats with the royal blacksmith, Slash, there he learns more about weaponry and how to properly use a blade. Sometimes he envies his older brother Leonardo for the attention and praise he gets from the citizens, often feeling stuck in his shadow. While he’s talented with a sword, Raphael is also blessed with the skills of an artist and a poet. Next to hunting, painting is one of his favorite hobbies. Though he may not seem like it at first glance, Prince Raphael is a kind soul with the heart of an artist, who just wishes to live the life he desires, but his biggest struggle and personal sin is his blooming attraction for his older brother’s betrothal.

Prince Donatello is well known as the most intelligent young man in the kingdom, almost always seen having a book in his hand. Though he is smart he tends to not acknowledge the world around him since he practically grew up in the royal library spending most of his days reading and learning from his private tutors. Practically isolated in the library for years. Some rumor that the young prince was born in the library, hence why he almost never leaves. Being fourth in line to the throne, Donatello doesn’t care if he’ll ever become king or not. The young prince just wishes to travel the land beyond his kingdom and explore the world to learn new things. His intelligence can often make him stubborn and will often refuse to admit wrong. Though his stubbornness was one day called out by his sister’s lady in waiting, April, who told him to be more open to the world and get out of his comfort zone. After that day, Donatello has had an admiration towards April and the mysteries of the outside world.

The youngest child is Prince Michelangelo. The kindest of the four brothers, Michelangelo is rumored to have a heart so pure it's made of gold. He cares for the poor and often donates his riches to charities. His kindness however, can often be taken advantage of. It makes him naive and unsure of the dangers out there in the real world, quite often getting himself into trouble. Because of that, the young prince is required to have a personal guard, Sir Leatherhead, who must keep watch of him everyday. Even with that however, Michelangelo loves to spend time with the servants of the castle for he considers them his family as well and even assists them in their chores when his family is not looking. Michelangelo is a carefree young man with very little duties who’s loved by many and is open to try new things.

Fun Fact: I originally planned to make a fanfic of this AU instead of my other AU fanfic "Turtles in the Roaring 20's", but I had more of a story put together and more passion for the 1920s AU compared to this one, so it was scrapped.

[yanderes-galore]

Yooooo hs requests are open!!! Can i request some yan kurloz or porrim hcs?

Kurloz is a very mysterious character :), although a lot of Purplebloods in HOMESTUCK are so- Decided to write because my head has cleared recently so I have motivation that must be used! No quadrant given, I assumed Matesprit.

Yandere! Kurloz Makara Concept ♑️

Pairing: Matesprit ❤️

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Stalking, Manipulation, Mind control/Brainwashing, Possessive behavior, Forced Matespritship.

Kurloz would be an eerie character to be obsessed with you.

He's silent, always silent.

Kurloz never speaks and it can be difficult to read him.

You won't know what he's thinking unless he wants you to know.

Kurloz is a yandere to speak through actions, not words due to his injury.

You most likely feel a chill when around him due to his quiet nature.

Despite being quiet Kurloz does care for his obsession.

In the way he does care for Meulin and Mituna, he cares for you.

Especially if he considers giving Matespritship a try again.

For the most part he'll silently watch you for most of his obsession.

Kurloz is mostly harmless but has secret intentions.

Similar to his Dancestor, Gamzee, he sees you as a "miracle".

For the most part Kurloz speaks to you through signs, or if you chat with him he uses reaction GIFs.

He uses his psychic chucklevoodoos if he wants to get a point across.

He's attentive to what you do and often communicates with Meulin about you.

For the most part, aside from his Ex-Matesprit and Moirail, he keeps to himself about his obsession.

He comes off as some sort of friend to you far as you can tell.

He doesn't care if you're a troll or human, in some way he feels you're important to him as his soon to be Matesprit.

He comes off harmless, he signs to you in a pleasant manner.

He's just so eerie.

Kurloz is a yandere who plots a lot behind the scenes.

He is a master at deception and manipulation.

Mostly due to his powers.

While Kurloz is communicating with you in a friendly manner, smiling and signing like he just wants to be you friend...

He's secretly manipulating things behind the scenes.

With his power he can simply tell others to stay away with threats.

They'll forget ever wanting to talk to you, even if they try then Kurloz will find a way to deal with them.

He's another one of those yanderes that acts akin to quicksand?

It's a slow descent before you realize you're trapped.

Even when you realize what you've gotten yourself into, you can't escape by yourself.

Plus, Kurloz gets rid of all your help.

Kurloz knows what he's doing, no he does not think it's wrong.

Even if you try to get him to stop or even suspect him of sabotaging your life, he'll use his chucklevoodoos on you.

When it comes to Kurloz, he sees his darling and those around them as a puppet.

When Kurloz decides to be involved with you, he'll make all the needed decisions for you.

Soon you may no longer find him creepy.

Kurloz promises you'll get used to the new changes he's made for you.

Friends and family other than him have no purpose in this grand plan his LORD has planned.

Kurloz just knows you're important to it all if you're important to him.

You may not understand it yet but he believes you're part of something grande.

Removing your friends and becoming his new Matesprit is necessary.

It's fated.

You just don't understand it yet.

There's no need to struggle, there's no need to fear...

Kurloz has got you now.

Any sense of unease or fear is quickly negated by him and his power.

He tells he adores you through his psychic abilities.

He holds you in a vice grip, even after he lets go it still feel like he lingers.

Kurloz is someone who controls you, one you can never get rid of.

His feelings of love towards you does nothing to comfort you.

Any positive feeling you feel towards him is most likely forcibly induced by him.

As a yandere, Kurloz acts as your puppet master...

While you act as his precious puppet.

[suzyq31]

WIP Tag

Thanks for the tag @nodirectionhome-ao3! I almost feel unworthy as I really am not writing much now and feeling a lot of conflict about how to move forward in fandom, but it's still fun to have a chance to chat about what I am writing (even if it's slow).

List the titles your top five priorities for WIP updates (link your fics for new readers!)

An upcoming scene, event, or detail in each fic that you're looking forward to writing

Bonus: make a poll for your followers to vote on which top 5 WIP they are most excited to see an update on!

Then tag 10 writer friends

Titles

Maybe Tomorrow: The epilogue is all that's left! This is a hard story to categorize, but essentially Harry and Hermione are fixing up Potter Manor the first Christmas after the war, on Christmas Eve they wake up to find themselves seemingly in the future, or some possible alternate reality. Friends to lovers, time travel, domestic fluff and plenty of angst thrown in.

Untitled James and Lily. A one shot sitting in my drafts. Mischief and games, and a first kiss. Possibly going to connect it to At The Beginning.

Found. I've actually pulled this from Ao3 and it's become a personal project instead. It's a spin off from my Seasons Series. Second generation, original character, coming back from the dead and other fun stuff. Harry/Hermione.

Iris. Another project I'm unsure of. It's still online, but may take it down in future to also write for myself instead of an audience. It's the first long story I ever attempted, and was a tad ambitious with it. Harry and Hermione. Hidden child, post war, angsty as hell. And a mystery plot that is slowly driving me insane as I try to weave in the appropriate clues.

Don't really know at this point. @bettertoflee and I have lost steam on In Between which is supposed to be a steamy, fake dating, 8th year Harmony. Life is just hectic and neither of us are feeling overly motivated. I have several vague James and Lily ideas floating in my brain, as well as a few original short stories I'd like to experiment with...but lately writing has been a chore and my creative muse feels depleted!

As you can see the theme is that I have all these Harry and Hermione WIPS, yet no will to work on them, or at least continue posting (sigh). And I would like to write more James and Lily, yet keep freezing. So fun times all around!

Upcoming Scenes, Events, Details

So it's just the epilogue left. One detail is that so far it's only one scene and not very long, but still, I am so excited to finally wrap this up and reveal some stuff. It's probably the story that has meant the most to me on a personal level, and it feels so good to have finished something that I worked hard on and am proud of.

There is a kiss that I am very eager to write. Plus some group dynamics that I'm having fun experimenting with.

Now that I'm not writing this for an audience there has been some freedom with being able to let go of certain details and it feels great to just jump around and have fun with it. I'm working on a scene of a cute "first" date that makes me all fluttery ❤️ Also Ron will be making another appearance soon, and I do love writing him.

There are some cute scenes I'm excited to write, but they are a ways away and I don't want to say too much. I will say there is a kiss that I am also very excited to write in this one to! Let's just see if I ever get through all the "mystery" bits.

Well, if we could summon the energy/ability, there is a smut scene in In Between that I know I'm eager to write, or read, who knows which of us will make it happen 👀 I would also very much like it if my desire to write would come back as I keep getting snippets of Jily banter in my head that would be good to get down.

Not sure if anyone will be interested in reading any of this, but yes a glimpse at the chaos of my writing life (at least fandom wise).

Anyone who wants to participate, consider yourself tagged! But will also add a few that I am curious about! @glitterwitch1 @myst867 @annonymouslyblonde

[jon-withnoh]

Halli-Hallöchen (i started saying it ironically and it just kinda stuck don't judge me)

Number 9, 29, and 30 for the writer asks!

9. What fic meant the most to you to write?

I'm making it easy on myself and counting Was Wird Aus Uns as having been written in 2022. So for 2023 it's definitely Nie Wirst Du. I loved getting to delve into Danny's and Rebecca's relationship in a story where Rebecca is actually alive. Their complicated relationship with Beatrice was a real treat to write. Plus, I love the little community that's come together to read and comment on the fic every week.

29. If this were an awards show, who would you thank?

I'd thank @neednottoneed for writing fics that are so amazing they led to me making this tumblr account, for being a wonderful friend, and for listening to endless descriptions of plot details in Nie Wirst Du.

@themonsterunderthebed has not only read all of Was Wird Aus Uns despite not being in the fandom but indulges all my flights of fancy and will talk musicals with me for hours.

Also, (I won't tag specific people because I will inevitably forget someone) all the lovely people who have chatted with me on here, shared their thoughts, become my irl friends, took the time to describe details of musical productions I haven't seen or been overall lovely.

30. What’s something that you want to write in 2024?

Ooooooh I have so many ideas. First of all I hope I'll adjust to the 40hr week to the degree that I'll have the energy to write regularly. There are two longer fics I'd really love to write - one based on Mrs de Winter by Susan Hill and one pretty complex Danbea fic. I have no idea how that one would end, but it would be a real treat to write.

[silentstaresfanficandfanart]

what fueled you to write that fast?

I would need that help too

endless love ENDLESS LOVE FOREVER AND EVER

that is tos ay i write what i love and i love what i write and i try my very best to enjoy the process and have fun

do it often and youll get faster

have a rough plan in place or even an outline if you can

and you know that rush you get when you imagine your characters doing stuff in an amv or when you chat about them with a friend? you gotta jump into thew riting while thats still buzzing if you can!

plus it helps to have lovely pepole to encourage you, while its also VERY important to make srue not to prioritize ao3 comments or peoples attention over your enjoyment, as long as you can take that part in without working FOR attention and love you'll do great.

think of it like, Wataru

Wataru is doing his acts and all his amazing things for praise

as lovely as wataru is , hes very very sad and he's just trying to be loved <3 so even if he does an amzing job at everything he does, he's not happy unless someone else enjoys what he does! and that can trap you in trying too hard to gain others aprooval and forgetting what you yourself do!

another thing is challenging yourself, if you doubt yourself doing something big and scary like nanowrimo or actually completing an entire book can make the big scary thing not so bad. The important thing there to remember is that anything that can bleed, can die. That is to say, if you can 'cause damage' to somethings hp bar, you can defeat it as long as you keep attacking it! eventually it will fall.

you can write an entire book just fine, if you just keep writing it.

But you gotta give yourself an hp bar for the thing or it can feel overwhelming. personally i go with a "ask a question, answer it, and ask another question" style usually when im writing

usually i would say a good chapter length is about 5,000 words max, and then writing out an outline

for example

Eichi feels ill, why is eichi unwell?

reveal: Eichi is turning into a horrrible magical monster and keito has to become a magical boy to save him

resolution: keito becomes a magical boy and saves eichi!

question: what's going on and how is keito going to save the world from these aliens

(in this case the question kind of sets up the overarching primary plot point- having at least one can help a lot in storytelling but theres so many different ways to tell stories. i like personally really like the 'no conflict narrative' that some japanese stories have, not that they really lack a conflict but its great for slice of life things and can kind of be stretched a lot of ways i think its called Kishotenketsu

but you know, find a method that works for you but the most important rule for writing a lot fast, is to just have fun and be self indulgent, the hardest thing to do when it comes to writing a lot, is make yourself write at all after all, as long as you actually are writing something you REALLY enjoy and like writing, you'll want to keep writing. stay true and honest to yourself and if you hae ONE big scene in mind you freaking LOVE and dont erally want to write the rest you are tottaly allowed to do that. The difference between talent and skill is often passion.

Oh and NEVER. EVER. INSULT YOUR WRITING.

DONT BE HARSH. DONT BE CRUEL.

AND DONT JUDGE YOUR WRITING UNFAIRLY, INF ACT, TRY NOT TO JUDGE IT AT ALL ,JUST ENJOY IT. SURE ITS OKAY TO STUDY AND SEE WHERE YOU COULD IMPROVE AND GROW, BUT DO THAT BECAUSE YOU ENJOY WRITING AND WANT TO WRITE BETTER NOT BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU'RE BAD do it because you love writing and you want to love it even more and show it how much you love it by getting better <3 compliment yourself and your creative projects often

tldr: Do what you enjoy, never insult yourself, and remember to not push yourself to conform to others expectations and praise, but do praise yourself lots and lots <3 source: a lovely writer who enjoys it very much and can truly say they love writing

personally i got stuck in a huge rut by the way a few years back when my mom told me she struggled to get into my writing because i never finished anything and it took me a long time to finally work past that though she never meant anything harsh by it. It took facing nanowrimo to suddenly kick my love of writing back into gear. completing and sucessfully writing an entire actual book proved to me i could.

also on that note one more tip

writing an entire book actually isint that big a deal, its super exciting sure! you should celebrate it! but it's something we put on a pedestal which makes it seem superhuman to complete, but...it's really not. now ive written several books since nanowrimo last year, and you can really see just looking at my fanfictions how heavily beating that helped me. writing is FUN

writing can BE fun

the biggest thing ive ever seen stop writers is fear, shame, and doubt. Same with artists, or anyone else with any skills. love, love , love~ <3

just keep writing, keep loving it, and you'll find that even if you only write a little a day, youll eventually get your goals done <3 any mountain is climbable with patience time and love!

[erabundus]

@mmriesoftvat &&. said... i know I've said this a million times already, but when i first met you, i was scared as hell. you came into the genpact rpc, guns blazing with the most gorgeous graphics and formatting, and i legitimately didn't think we'd end up becoming friends and partners. i am one of those people that gets incredibly anxious around people i perceive as "popular" and i wanted to really impress you. PLUS, at the time, you were the only other steady wanderer around, i was frothing at the mouth for interactions! AND HOW!! you've become such a good friend over the past several months! i love that we can talk forever about not only plots, but our shared headcanons about wanderer and have the most intense threads. the way you interact with everyone too is nothing short of wonderful. you're so sweet and so fun to talk to! you've also been there for me in those moments where i needed advice or a shoulder to cry on, and i can't thank you enough for being so supportive. the way you build relationships in rp is so indicative of how you work in real life too. you don't just jump into things, but you spend time building up deep bonds and setting up a solid foundation with people. if people get you as an ic partner and are able to get paragraphs of writing out of you, that's when they should know they have an actual friend in you oocly. it's such a cool thing to witness. with me, and the bond you have with milla, it's BEAUTIFUL. i care you so much, you're just an amazing person all around and i am so excited to see what the new year brings for you. love you so much ava, hope you have the best 2024 ever!

SPENCE  THIS  IS  SO  SWEET?

SVKSD  i  was  genuinely  super  nervous  when  i  first  started  writing  here.  i  felt  like  i  was  starting  to  get  burnt  out  on  rp  in  general  —  although  as  it  turns  out,  i  was  just  having  trouble  getting  invested  in  what  i  was  doing.  there's  been  some  ups  and  downs  over  the  past  year,  but  i  don't  think  i've  ever  clicked  with  a  community  and  blog  as  much  as  i  have  with  this  one,  and  a  huge  part  of  that  definitely  has  to  do  with  all  of  the  wonderful  friends  i've  made  here.  

and  it  goes  without  saying  that  you  are  very  much  one  of  them!  it  feels  like  from  the  very  beginning  you  were  always  so  welcoming  and  really  comfortable  (  and  fun  )  to  write  with!  i'm  so  happy  that  we  got  the  opportunity  to  get  to  know  each  other  better  ooc.  your  ideas  are  always  super  fascinating  to  read,  and  the  enthusiasm  you  feel  for  your  muses  is  so  refreshingly  genuine.  a  good  number  of  my  favorite  threads  have  been  with  you  and  i  always  get  really  excited  whenever  i  see  a  new  response.  in  general  i  have  so  much  respect  for  anyone  who  can  handle  a  multi  because  i  have  space  in  my  brain  for  approximately  one  muse  and  blog  at  any  given  time  —  but  you  not  only  pull  it  off  while  allowing  each  character  their  own  time  in  the  spotlight,  but  you're  able  to  keep  them  all  very  distinct  from  each  other.  that  takes  a  lot  of  talent as well as a lot of attention to detail.

VKJVKS  the  more  excited  i  am  about  a  thread,  the  more  that  i  usually  end  up  writing  —  and  i  think  the  fact  that  i  tend  to  throw  paragraphs  at  people  probably  says  a  lot  about  how  enthusiastic  i  am  about  a  lot  of  my  interactions  on  this  blog.  🥺  and  that  goes  doubly  so  for  when  i'm  writing  with  my  friends  —  because  OF  COURSE  i'm  going  to  be  super  excited  to  respond  to  a  thread  with  a  friend!

i  care  YOU  so  much!  💖  you  deserve  to  have  a  wonderful  year,  and  i'm  really  looking  forward  to  all  of  the  headcanons  and  threads  and  chats  2024  might  hold.  

2023 IS ALMOST OVER.

[faetorvic]

Temporary semi-hiatus on all my blogs due to my life being a mess!

bg-3 exclusive rp blog for Torvic, originally from D.octor Who but recreated for this universe! Mutuals only, for rpers over 21yo, will only be written as a bg-3 character. loved by Ele (mid-30s, gmt+1)

An important disclaimer: Torvic is an assh*le but I don't expect your muse to submit, and I'll do my best to give them a reason to stay, whether because Torvic can be held back by me or doesn't actually want to push them away, or due to external reasons. Your muse is allowed to hurt her or be mad (just don't kill her!). I'm also an anxious chicken who worries about offending people and fangirls about muses becoming friends or lovers or family. Plus, we can plot/expect relationship development as we go.

That said, Torvic is your typical 'villain muzzled by magic' and has a lot of toxic mentality to unlearn. If you'd rather interact with nicer muses, you can find my 'Lex' (Tav) at my multi @savingthrcw, awkward mess that she is, or my already good bard @lcdybonbon.

Links: about page, memes, starter calls, meme calls, plotting calls, open starters, shipping call

Rules:

this Torvic is for muses from bg3 or with a bg3 verse only (which is why I don't need to list type of characters that make me uncomfortable/triggered/uninterested: deities and vamps of this game are fine, the only thing is that I don't want to write Torvic being attracted against her will so as far as your muse having such powers goes, she's immune). Torvic has her 'alien' canon-ish verse in my multi. Tavs and ocs are very welcomed, but no durges yet because I want to play them first. Don't be offended if I don't follow you, it could be plenty reasons: not cutting your posts, something about your blog triggering me, etc.

Torvic is pan and can act sultry/flirty with nearly everyone, BUT I fade to black unless I tell you otherwise (I'm repulsed) & it doesn't necessarily mean she's into the other person. I love ships but never force or expect romance. That said, I won't ship with Halsin and Jaheira.

If we do write smut it will be tagged 'nsft' and under read more. Torvic will not be submissive (while violence is fine), so don't assume the former if we faded. Due to dysphoria I am unlikely to write f/f smut, and if I'm writing f/m I will keep it kinda vague. If s.ex is a topic of discussion between muses I'll tag it nsft-ish.

If Torvic's flirting bothers you (or anything else!), you can say it ic or ooc and she'll magically stop. Your comfort comes before this game (unless you tell me ooc that you want her to continue). Even though she's starting as a villain, I will write her as wanting consensual s.ex while all other kinds of violence are fun to her.

if you don't see me online for a while and there is no psa, I probably have no drafts and don't want to stress anyone out! (And I'm picky so there aren't usually many mutuals for me)

I will be super happy to have a thousand threads with each person! You can send a BUNCH of memes and continue all (or drop them!), reply to opens etc, no need to plot but I'll also be happy to chat about muses and fangirl over our threads: my health is a mess, but the enthusiasm is there! I'd suggest multiple short-lived threads/asks in which our muses are still in a 'getting to know each other/butting heads' phase before we get to the fun of 'today our relationship gets a bit deeper'!

I'll do my best to tag commonly triggering topics unless they are just mentioned in passing, but here you'll find the usual bg-3 stuff: abuse, cults, everything that happens to the other characters, slavery and in-game blasphemy. I ask you to PLEASE tag your n.sft stuff (and that means your wishlist or headcanon posts, if your rules say you tag it and then I open my dash and it's RIGHT THERE because it's not from a thread, I'll unfollow), d.addy k.ink, and images of real life horror/gore. I will not be roleplaying r.ape but it can be mentioned in backstories (her time as a forced Bhaalist was dark but I won't focus on the s.exual side of it, she'll just mention the 'general torture' her parents put her through, either bitter or justifying it/joking).

hello, I'm Ele, I have pt.sd and physical problems, and I'll stay in my comfort zone when writing, which means vanilla angst. NEVER DEATH of characters and possibly always happy endings. I will NOT judge you for what you write (though I might not follow you because it's not my cup of tea). You do your thing, and I'll do mine! I'm also Italian so my English might be meh at times!

[makangerous]

The Emotional Unlocking of Sara Chidouin

Spoiler free! This fic is also on AO3 and is easier to read there, plus you get a summary!: https://archiveofourown.org/works/41981259

Sara Chidouin stared blankly at the ceiling in her bedroom. Her stalker had ensured she didn't get much sleep last night. Now, the morning sun was too bright for her to fall asleep, even after closing the blinds. It was the start of a long weekend, and she was already incredibly bored. She grabbed her phone from her bedside table and was about to call her best friend Joe before she remembered:

That's right, Joe has a big date with Ryoko today. He isn't really a morning person, anyway.

Sara cast the phone aside and sighed. She was happy her two friends enjoyed each other's company so much, but she couldn't help but feel jealous. Hanging out with them both was so awkward now that they were dating. Each of them would gush nonstop about the other. Last week, she had listened to Joe go on and on about their first date. She honestly was beginning to regret introducing the two of them.

I knew Joe first, he's mine, stay away from him--

No. Joe would never want her if she kept having nasty thoughts like that. If she felt entitled to people, she would be no different than the stalker he always protected her from. And Ryoko was her dear friend. Sara wouldn't hesitate to give Joe an earful if she ever heard he'd mistreated Ryoko. Ryoko was just so different from her, though. Outgoing, bubbly, heart worn on the sleeve... Joe had told Sara before that she could easily become as popular as Ryoko, but she kept her emotions locked up too deep, and it scared people away. Sure, she was nice superficially, and others wanted to trust her since she seemed dependable, but no one could tell what she was truly thinking.

Is that why Joe only sees me as a friend? Is he scared of the emotions he can't read, too?

There was a selfish, ruthless part of her hiding at the edge of her consciousness, but she held it off well, and Joe was never in any danger from it. Though, perhaps she didn't have as much control of it as she thought if she was sitting here, plotting how to get Joe to look at her instead of Ryoko...

Instead of letting her mind go around in circles, Sara took her phone again and began writing Joe a text message. Any contact with him would soothe the jealous beast inside her, she reasoned. Ideally, he would reaffirm his love for Ryoko and shut it up for good. Her text was simple:

"Good morning, you sleep ok?"

Joe answered in bursts, as usual.

"Good morning!!!" "I couldn’t sleep, nervous about today lol" "U sleep good?" "No :( " "Was that stalker bothering u? That sucks." "I'll give him a kick to the nuts next time I see him" "I can't get his face out of my mind. He covers it but I catch glimpses here and there." "That's gotta be scary! I only think of faces over and over if I'm in love." "I can't imagine how bad it feels when it's someone you hate." "Do you think about Ryoko's face?"

Joe didn't answer for a minute, even though her message had been read. He probably just had to use the restroom, that was all--

"That's kinda a personal question lol." "Sorry." "Nah you're fine. It's just hard for me to explain in a text." "What are u doing today?" "Not much. Probably homework." "Boring. Hey, wanna hang out tomorrow? Since you're gonna work yourself to death otherwise" "Sure." "Mind if I come over to ur place? I've been hitting up all the fun places in town for dates." "I wanna relax for once" "I don't mind. We can have some tea and chat for a while." "Mm, tea! You always have the best snacks to go with. See U tomorrow! XD"

Damn it, texting Joe had only made things more complicated. She would get to see him soon, but it would mean another long-winded description of Ryoko. She had no idea how much longer she could hold her feelings in. Surely Joe would prefer if her emotions stayed locked up in this case... Ugh. Well, she supposed she'd bury herself in her assignments and try to ignore her heart's nervous beating. Then she'd make a strawberry cake for tomorrow's tea time. Maybe if she put all her feelings into baking it, Joe would instantly fall for her when he took a bite--

No, that's ridiculous. If only this could be solved that easily...

Sara pulled the cake out of the oven and smiled. It had come out perfectly light and spongy. She'd let it cool, then spread some homemade vanilla frosting on it. After that, she'd top it with the rest of the strawberries. She wondered if he'd like it if she arranged them in the shape of a heart--

There you go, thinking stupid thoughts again. You're not his girlfriend.

Speaking of his girlfriend, Ryoko was probably enjoying her date with Joe right now. They likely had just finished their dinner and were about to go catch that new comedy film at the cinema. Her cell phone vibrated. To her surprise, it was a text from Joe.

"Hey." "What's up? Aren't you on a date right now?" "We ate but my stomach feels funny. Canceled on the movie :(" "Oh no! Are you sick?" "Kinda. I just need to lay down I think. I'll get better for tomorrow, I promise!" "Don't worry about coming if you're sick. We can meet up another day." "But what if the only cure for my illness is Sara's lovely desserts? Lol"

Her heart skipped a beat. She was so glad she'd decided to bake something. Lately, she'd been getting lazy and buying sweets from the department store. Joe still praised her skill in finding the most high-quality, unique, and flavorful ones, but she knew he preferred her creations. She couldn't resist hinting at the surprise:

"I just took something out of the oven for you! <3"

She typed the heart at the end and sent it before registering what she had put. The realization hit, and she stared down at her phone, horrified.

Oh crap, hopefully he doesn't read into it--

"Aw yes!!! I'm so excited!! <3"

She gasped. For a second, it felt like her heart had jumped out of her chest and materialized inside Joe's text message.

Calm down. You're the one reading into things. He's just matching your energy.

Joe never used that emoticon with her, though. Maybe he was delirious from his sickness? Sara wanted more than anything to talk with him and figure out his true feelings. But she really ought to let him rest.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be relaxing? Take some medicine and get to bed." "Finnneee. You're so strict, Dr. Sara! I'm gonna dream about yummy cake. Or is it cookies? Or what? Anyway, good night. See ya tomorrow!" "Good night Joe!”

Joe had managed to guess what she'd made on the first try. Was she really that predictable? Then again, Joe always had a sharp intuition when it came to reading other people. She could sort through given information and connect facts together in her mind lightning fast, and so she excelled at school. He told her over and over again that he could never hope to be a genius like she was. Yet Sara desperately wanted to trade her type of intelligence for his right now. She glanced again at the leftover strawberries.

Maybe I should use these to whip up something he'll never expect. What haven't I tried making before that could have strawberries in it? ...Ah! I'll make some jam! We can put it on bread, or he can take it home for later. Let me look up a recipe...

Sara swiped out of her messaging app and jumped into a search engine. If she couldn't tell Joe outright how she felt, she'd show him by going the extra mile. She wasn't content being the girl of his dreams.

Well, he's dreaming about my food, not me, exactly. But that's beside the point.

She would exceed his dreams, and take him outside the boundaries of his imagination. If that didn't sway him, nothing would.

Her doorbell rang just after the sun rose. She squinted out her window at the sky's fading pinks and oranges and reluctantly pulled herself out of bed.

Who the heck is ringing the doorbell at this hour? It's not the stalker, is it?

Her parents had gone out of town for the weekend to celebrate their anniversary. She had to either answer the front door, or ignore them and hope whoever it was went away. That second option sounded best, both for her safety and her sleep--

BING-BONG-BINGBINGBING-BONG-BING-BONG

But that wasn't feasible anymore. This visitor was mashing the doorbell button as their life depended on it. Sara threw a sweater over her camisole, grabbed the golf club she kept by her bedroom door for self-defense, and headed downstairs. Even if the visitor wasn't here to harm her, she might just give them a whack for waking her up. She reached the front door and peered out the peephole. Upon seeing who it was, she immediately cast aside her club and turned the knob.

“Joe? You sure showed up early. What is it, 5:00?”

“Nah, it's around 6. Almost 7, actually. ...I woke up from my nap around midnight and couldn't go back to sleep. Can you tell?” He was grinning ear to ear, but there were bags under his eyes, and he was trembling, like it was taking him a great amount of effort to maintain his expression.

“I can. But couldn't you at least let me get a full night of sleep?”

“Sorry. I just feel funny still, and I don't wanna be alone. My brain wanders off to weird places if I have nothing to do.” A shadow seemed to fall over his face for a split second. His body jolted, then he straightened his back and chuckled slightly. “Besides, I really wanted to see you! We haven't had a tea break in forever!”

Sara couldn't fault him for any of those reasons. “Fair enough. Let me change out of my pajama pants, then I'll start on the tea. Is jasmine tea alright?”

“It sounds delicious! And don't worry about changing. I like those pants. Are those cats on them? Whatever they are, they're cute.”

She pretended to fix her hair so she could hide her blushing cheeks and her smile. “Cut it out, or you're not getting anything.”

“Aw, c'mon. I'd wear stuff like that if I could get away with it.” He followed her into the kitchen and pulled a chair up to the counter.

She filled a kettle with warm water and set it on the stove. As she began preparing the cups, she asked Joe, “So do you have any idea why you haven't been feeling well? Was the restaurant food bad?”

“No, it was amazing. You'll have to try it sometime. There's just been a lot on my mind. And it hasn't been anything I've wanted to bother you with, since you're dealing with much bigger problems. But I don't know if I made a stupid choice or not.”

“About what?”

“Ryoko... I broke up with her last night, Sara.”

Sara whirled to face him. “Why?! You were so happy to be with her.”

“I don't know. She's really into me, and our dates were a lot of fun, but it didn't feel right somehow. I guess you could call it a gut feeling? I feel like crap for breaking her heart.”

“Well... If you know something's not working, there's no point in dragging it out. And I think Ryoko will still want to be your friend, if you give her some time. She loves talking to you. Are you sure there wasn't anything in particular that made you not want to be with her, though?”

“You're not mad at me, are you? You practically set us up.”

“I'm not mad. Only concerned.” It hadn't escaped her notice that he'd answered her question with another question.

“Don't worry, I'll be fine. I told ya, the cure for my sadness is your lovely desserts. Where are you hiding them?”

“I'll bring them out once the tea is done. I made an extra surprise this time.”

“Ooh, a surprise! How do you expect me to wait patiently now? Anyway, do you mind if we eat in your bedroom? These chairs aren't comfortable, and I wanna say hi to your plushies.”

“No problem. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable there. I'm almost done.” Sara and Joe had slept over at each other's houses as kids, and had seen inside each other's bedrooms countless times. Sara had a small table she kept in her room for when they would hang out and do homework. What troubled her is that Joe had brought up the topic of the breakup, yet didn't want to elaborate on it at all.

Why are you hiding things from me, Joe? You came over here this early because you needed to talk to someone, didn't you? Did Ryoko do something? Did I do something?

“No way! Strawberry cake? That's exactly what I was dreaming about!”

Sara gently set down a tray on her bedroom table. The strawberry cake occupied one side, perfectly fluffy, moist, and pink. The other side contained several slices of light and creamy shokupan bread, next to the jar of homemade strawberry mint jam she'd prepared. It smelled heavenly. “That's not all. Look closer. This isn't a store-bought jar. I had some extra strawberries, so I thought I might as well use them.”

“You made your own jam?! That's so clever! It's not even noon and you've already made my day. Mm, I don't even know what to dig into first! I owe you a nice meal now.” He grabbed a slice of bread and placed it on the edge of his plate, then cut out a large piece of cake and crammed it onto the remaining space.

“How about this? I'll call it even if you tell me what's actually on your mind.”

Joe didn't look up from spreading a hearty layer of jam all over his bread. “Can't you figure it out? I guess I can tell you, but there's no fun in that.”

“No, I can't. I'm not good with other people's emotions.”

“Bullshit. Yes, you are. You're great at figuring out what other people are thinking. You just second guess yourself because it's not always in line with what you're thinking and feeling. And you won't trust your own emotions.”

“I don't get why you're making a game out of this. But I suppose I'll play along.”

“Good. Here's a freebie.” Joe took a bite out of the cake. “I'm thinkin' this food is tasty as hell! You try some.” He speared another piece of cake on his fork and held it up to Sara's mouth. Feeding it to her seemed excessive, but something inside her told her to go with it. She'd sampled a bit of the batter before putting it in the oven, so she somewhat knew what to expect. Baking had mellowed out some of the sweetness and really brought out the flavor of the fruit, even more so than she had anticipated. To have Joe feed her something so divine made her feel giddy... She noticed Joe staring at her face intently and felt her cheeks flush. “And there's your clue. How are you feeling right now?”

How I'm feeling... is the clue? Does he expect me to say it out loud? I can't tell him something like that!

“You're thinking about it too much. Just tell me.”

“...Well, it does taste really good. And, um, I'm not used to being fed by anyone, and I didn't think I'd like that sort of thing. It reminds me of those cute dramas on TV.” She couldn't stop now, could she? “I guess I'm embarrassed because... I'm happy I'm doing something like that with you.”

She couldn't say that last part while looking him in the eye. When she looked back at him, he had his arms folded on the table and was leaning over it. His face was intense and gentle at the same time, and entirely too close. “Go on,” was all he said.

Her heart was bursting. She had to let him know, even if it brought the world crashing down around them. “I really like you, Joe. As more than a friend... Did you know that?”

Joe lightly placed his hands on the sides of her head. “I did. So why do you think I broke up with Ryoko?”

God, why was she about to cry? “B-because you knew I liked you.”

“And?”

She held the edge of the table and tried not to shake. Her deduction had better not be wrong. “You like me too...?”

“Good job.” Joe kissed her. Time stopped and for the first time in a long while, Sara allowed herself to feel her bare emotions.

My best friend...I've loved him forever, haven't I?...

Joe pulled back after what felt like the whole morning, entirely too soon. He kept holding her head with one hand while running his fingers through her ponytail with the other. “Doesn't that feel good, having that weight lifted off your chest? I bet it was there for a long time. Sorry it took me so long to realize.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“How did you figure it out?”

“That you liked me, or that I liked you? I guess I noticed how Ryoko acted when she had a crush on me and realized you act the same way around me, except you're way better at hiding it. You only slipped up a couple times. Stuff like being cute on purpose. You're really damn cute on accident a lot, but when you try, it's something else.”

“Wait, how am I cute on accident?” Sara interrupted.

“Like that. You try so hard not to be cute that it draws attention to how cute you are.” He laughed at her flustered expression and kissed her on the forehead. “Anyway! I realized on every date I went on with Ryoko, while I had lots of fun, I always ended up wishing I'd went with you instead. There were all sorts of things I would've pointed out to you. Then your text yesterday gave me a kick in the ass. You asked me if I thought about Ryoko's face over and over. It's not hers. It's yours.”

“Aww...You're right. I fell for you years ago. I never acted on it because I never believed you would want to be anything more than friends with me. After all, I'm scared of my own emotions. And I have this darkness inside me. It's so bad, I feel like a monster sometimes.”

“Sara, it's okay. I think horrible things sometimes, too. As long as you don't act on them, you're fine. If you feel like a monster again, call me, alright? We'll talk about it. It'll all work out.” Joe stretched his arms above his head and stood up. “You mind if I crash on your bed for a couple hours? The exhaustion's finally hitting me, now we've sorted all this out.”

“Only if I get to cuddle you.”

“Duh, that was the point.”

She pulled a spare pillow out of her closet for him. He lay down on his side and held his arms out. She slid into them, rested her head against his chest, and wrapped her arms around his waist. Suddenly, any plans Sara might have had for the day disappeared.

“Your arms feel safe, Sara. Like nothing can go wrong if I stay here. Don't let go, okay?”

“I won't.”

[sapphickorro]

I’d Choose You in Every Universe

Pairing(s) - Lin Beifong x AFAB!Reader (no gender terms are used but female genetalia is present)  / Kuvira x Reader (mentioned?)

Request: can i request lin getting jealous when she sees someone flirting with y/n and how she would react? 

summary: Lin catches you getting a bit too close for comfort with another woman.

warnings:  Drinking, mentions of alcohol, filthy porn with plot, fingering, eating out, vulgar language(?) 

word count: 2,151 (i got carried away…)

A/N:  this is written to be in the time period of season 3 when Kuvira was just a shy guard that didn’t want world domination and Bataar Jr. and her were never a thing. Also, my first smut fic, starting off strong. 

There will be a pt. 2! Idk when i’ll write it though…

ao3 - masterlist

It was Suyin’s annual Zaofu anniversary party. Celebrating the day that Zaofu had become its own city (and a successful one at that). She had all of her close friends and family members come by her house and by the end of the day, the house would be jam packed with people. All of them wearing different earth kingdom themed clothing and formal outfits. She would allow most of her guards to join the party along as long as they had been taking turns watching over Zaofu and not ingesting any alcohol.

Lin had decided to bring you as her plus one this year and the year before to the party. Lin dressed in one of her green earth kingdom suits and you accompanied her in a long green dress that had a slit by your left leg showing a small amount of your thigh.

The sky was still blue, and the sun was still out. The two of you had arrived and entered through the large metal doors. Suyin immediately ran over to the two of you, enveloping your neck in a hug. You wrap your hands around her to give her a small hug back.

“Y/N! So glad to see you again.” Su says as she lets go of her hold on you and walks over to her sister. 

“And Lin, I’m glad to see you as well.” Suyin wraps her arms around Lin’s waist, her head falling onto Lin’s chest as Lin raises her hands in the air, unsure of what to do. 

Lin looks over to you with wide eyes and a face of uncertainty. You smile at her tilting your head a bit to signal that she should hug Su back. Lin grumbles a bit but twists her mouth into a small smile as she pats her sisters back a little. “Glad to see you too, Su.” Lin says with a small voice full of genuinity. 

Su pulls back with a large grin plastered on her face. She grabs yours and Lin’s hands in her own and says, “Well, there are refreshments and food inside, go make yourself at home. I’ve got more people to greet.” 

It was getting late. The sun had already gone down and the party goers had gone from setting off fireworks and dancing throughout the night to settling in Suyin’s massive home and enjoying drinks while chatting with one another. 

Lin had been pulled away from you some time ago to talk to some of her old colleagues. You settled down in the corner of one of the green couches, a drink in your hand as you watched Lin across the room talk to a bunch of old men in suits. 

“This seat taken?” A deep voice pulls you out of your thoughts as you snap your head up to see a girl in Zaofu uniform and a thick braid to accessorize her. 

“Oh, no. Not at all.” You respond as you scooch over a bit more to let the girl sit next to you.

“Kuvira.” She holds her hands out allowing you to shake her hand. “Y/N.” You respond with a small smile. Her calloused hands holding a strong grip over your much smaller hands in comparison. 

“I’ve never seen you around.” You say to her as you let go of her grasp. “Yeah, last year I was patrolling a lot during this time. Some of the other guards wanted me to cover for them so I never had the time to attend the party.” She responds smiling back at you. 

You nod in her response and take a sip of your drink. “Champagne?” She asks and you look at her confused until you realize she was talking about your drink. “Oh, no. This is apple juice. I’m pretty lightweight, I’ve already had enough glasses of wine.” You say as you chuckle and Kuvira laughs lightly with you.

In all honesty, you and Lin were like polar opposites. Drinking was not an exception. Lin could hammer down alcohol like they’re water and come back completely sober. You, on the other hand, could barely tolerate vodka. 

You and Kuvira continue talking until one specifically funny joke warrants a loud burst of laughter from you. This grabs Lin’s attention as she looks over the shoulder of her colleague and sees you laughing as Kuvira’s hand had made its way behind the couch and over your shoulder. Her other hand inching towards your thigh. 

At this sight, Lin excuses herself and walks towards the couch the two of you were sitting on and grabs your arm. “I’m feeling a bit tired, I think we should go.” Lin says coldly looking at you and purposefully ignoring Kuvira.

“Oh, sure. Sorry Kuvira, I’ve got to go.” You say standing up but before you could leave, Kuvira takes a hold of your hand. You look down, shocked as Kuvira stares up at you and says, “I had fun talking with you Y/N. Maybe next time you come over we can talk again?” You open your mouth to respond but Lin pulls you away by your waist hurriedly. You stare behind you to see Kuvira looking at you dumbfoundedly and you lip sync out a “I’m sorry.” 

“Lin, what the hell was that?” You say as you turn your attention back to Lin and you see her scowling with her eyebrows furrowed. You quickly shut your mouth realizing she was angry as she pushes you into one of Suyin’s guest rooms. 

She slams the door closed with one of her legs as her mouth latches onto yours, kissing you fervently. Her hand metal bends the lock closed. You reciprocate eagerly attempting to match her fierceness. Lin breaks the kiss as she starts peppering kisses down your neck. Your lips bruised and red as you pant for air. 

“Lin what–” You attempt to utter out as Lin cuts you off. “Up.” She says one word and you know what she means. You jump onto her arms, her rough large hands holding onto your ass as she starts to kiss down your cleavage. She backs you onto the bed and throws you down. 

Lin takes off her suit jacket in one quick motion. She leans in to kiss you again but you hold her shoulders and stop her before she can get any closer. “Lin, as much as I love how rough you’re going with me right now, what’s wrong?” You said as you looked into her eyes. Lin’s tough facade falls and she leans in closer, making your arms bend in front of her shoulders. She whispers out, “Just, please. We don’t have to continue if you don’t want to but…” She says with her eyes lidded and her breathing slowed down. The moonlight shines onto her face and her cute expression along with her begging makes you want to shed a tear. 

You lean in and break the distance kissing her slowly. She kisses back, much slower this time. As if she was savoring you and memorizing the shape of your lips. Her hands gently hold onto your waist, one arm going around to unzip the dress. 

As she slowly takes off your dress you dip your head into her neck to kiss and mark her. She groans out, leaning her neck to the side to let you have more room. 

You kick your dress off and Lin leans back to admire your braless body. She groans at the sight and leans down to mark her way down to your breasts leaving purple and red spots. She takes a nipple in her mouth and slowly moves her tongue around. A hand fondling with your other breast. You moan out as your back arches to move your breasts closer to her.

Her free hand travels down to your underwear and cups your pussy. You whimper out a please as you try to lower yourself to get more friction from her hand. 

She chuckles as she leans back away from your breasts. You whimper out at the cold air hitting your hardened nipples. Lin stares down at your face, admiring your neediness and lidded eyes. Your lips plump and glossy under the moonlight. “God you’re gorgeous.” She mutters out bringing one hand to cup your face and the other still holding onto your underwear. You lean your face into her touch. 

“Who does this pussy belong to?” She asks you as she starts to rub her thumb on your clothed clit making you buck your hips and moan “You, Lin. You.” 

“You sure it’s not that Zaofu guard that was eyeing you like a hungry pig?” Lin growls leaning close to your ears. You shake your head eagerly, not trusting your voice to respond. 

“You were so close to her tonight, I almost thought you’d forgotten who you belong to.” She whispers coldly into your ears. “No, I belong to you, Lin. Only you.” You squeak out. 

With that, she pushes your underwear to the side and presses a finger inside of you. You immediately moan out her name. “Please, more.” You whimper out, wrapping your arms around her shoulders. 

Lin inserts an extra finger in and slowly pushes in and out making you whine out in neediness. “You just suck up my fingers so well. You were begging to be whored out like this weren’t you?” She says as she gets up and cups your chin, forcing you to open your mouth. She removes her fingers from your vagina and puts them in your mouth. You close your mouth and suck on her fingers, cleaning them off for her. “Good job.” She says as she starts to make her way towards your thighs. She pulls off your underwear and you help by bucking your hips up. She admires your bare pussy and smooth skin.

“Wait.” You say as she starts to lean in. She sits back up staring at you wondering if she did something wrong. “I think it’s rather unfair how much clothes you’ve got on and how little I have.” You say sitting up, drawing a finger down her blouse. She chuckles and starts unbuttoning her shirt as you lean back in to capture her lips. Lin slips in her tongue after your fight for dominance (not really a fight as you let her win rather quickly). 

She slips off her blouse and leans back to take off her pants. Once her pants are off, she pushes you back down onto the bed and grips your thighs.

“Give me a word.” She says as she lingers just barely over your clit. Her hot breath sends sensations through your body. “Red.” You whisper out, breathless. She nods and captures your clit in her mouth, skillfully licking and sucking on it. You buck your hips up moaning. She removes her grasp on your thighs and holds your stomach down.

Your hands move down to her hair and you tug on it moaning and whimpering her name. Lin would usually tie your hands up by the headboard during this time but she was enjoying the tugging right now (although she would deny it if you ever asked her). She then inserts two fingers into your hole, fingering you with precision and hitting your g-spot every time.

“You taste so good,” she mutters into your pussy and her words make your vagina clench around her fingers. “So glad I get this pussy all to myself,” she groans out and you whimper at her words. 

“Look at me,” she says, making your head look down at her, your eyes meeting as she eats you out.

“Lin…” you pant out, unable to finish your sentence. You don’t need to though, Lin can sense you’re getting close and she says, “Let go, let go for me.” And you do just that. You orgasm with a high scream like moan, yelling out her name. 

She eases you out of your high and slowly slips her fingers out causing you to whimper at the emptiness. She gets up and you see her lips drenched with your cum. You blush under her gaze.

“Getting shy now? Don’t worry, this isn’t the end.” She says, leaning down to kiss you, giving you a taste of yourself on her tongue. 

After many more orgasms and many more rounds. She finally relents and pulls you into her arms. “I’ll start the bath,” she says slowly getting up. “No…just stay with me a little longer,” you respond dozing off into sleep. “If I do that, I’m afraid we’ll both fall asleep,” she says, chuckling and pulling away completely from you, resulting in a whine coming out of your mouth. She kisses your forehead and runs off to the bathroom, soon after, you hear the sound of water coming out of the faucet. 

You sigh dreamily and think that in every other universe, you’d choose her over everyone else.

[a-chlolix-blog]

Queen’s Bride AU

AU idea by @scuderiagorobets

- It happened after Queen Wasp, when Chloé decides that she goes to New York with Karen Audrey (excluding the part where Marinette just bashing Chloé, in this AU they are on good terms). So, this AU basically swaps Malediktator.

- In college, when Chloé announces her departure, everyone cheers. Except for Adrien (because he is Chloé's friend), Marinette (because she is in good terms with Chloé)... and Alix.

- At this day, Alix goes to college in the nice yellow and black dress (it was surreal for everyone because even in galas where her dad is present, she didn't wore a dress), with bouquet of flowers and was about to ask Chloé to go to date but Bourgeois' announcement breaks Kubdel's heart.

- To make things worse, Kim and Sabrina are going to tease Alix about her dress and how Chloé decides to leave when she saw Alix in it.

- With all of this, Alix takes the akuma and became Queen's Bride.

Hawkmoth: I need the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses...

Queen's Bride: I can give you all of these jewelries but in one condition... I will have the Bee Miraculous, only for my Queen Bee...

- Bride's costume is Alix's dress, but it's ripped in many places, colours are inverted (not swapped, inverted. Like, using Inversion filter on your photos), her makeup is ruined and her face is covered with bride's veil.

- Her powers is basically Queen Bee's flying ability and Venom, but when person is hit by Bride's Venom, they sits on the knee and tells that they love the person they love. If the loved one says "yes", they both become Bride's minions, if says "no", they both are going to be erased (just like after Timebreaker’s touch).

- It all came to the fight (both physical and mental) between Queen's Bride and Queen Bee.

Queen's Bride: *venoms Queen Bee*

Queen Bee: *sits on the knee* Alixandra Kubdel, I love you! Will you be my forever partner?

Queen's Bride: Chloé Elizabeth Bourgeois, yes! I love you to-

Queen Bee: *venoms Queen's Bride*

- After it all comes to normal and Chloé announces that she stays in Paris, Alix sees the list:

"My dear Ally-Kins,

I'm so sorry that I indirectly broke your heart yesterday. I didn't know that you're going to ask me but you need to know: I love you too. I always have a crush on you, ever since you came back to Paris and into my life last September. And I decided to stay in Paris solely because of you. So, feel free to ask me any time you want, I will always say "yes!"

P.S.: Your dress was gorgeous!

Sincerely,

Your Queen Bee,

Chloé E. B."

~Side-plot~

- Marinette recently starts texting a girl named "Zoe L."

- Chloé recognize the name but she thinks that this is just a coincidence, plus she is happy that Marinette is happy and not jealous about Adrien dating Kagami.

- "Zoe" writes Marinette that their first date will be soon because she will be in Paris.

- And "Zoe" arrives to Paris. It is the "Heart Hunter" episode.

- Yes, this "Zoe L." is Zoé Lee Bourgeois, Chloé's twin sister.

- Chloé is happy that Zoé is back and when the latter says something about a date, Chloé finally understands: Marinette and Zoé are going on a date, just like her and Alix.

- Heart Hunter happened.

- But, instead of ruining Adrien/Kagami date and give Kagami a Dragon Miraculous, Ladybug gives Zoé the Bee Miraculous.

- Chloé discovers this, but she isn't angry about it.

- After defeating the akuma, Marinette and Zoé kiss.

- And it was at this moment, when Miracle Queen and Queen's Bride strike…

~Flashback~

- After initial attack, Queen's Bribe become a nightmare ghost in Chloé's mind.

- Every time Chloé was about to snap, she "sees" Queen's Bride, which terrifies her.

- That's why Chloé is trying not to cause any more akumas.

- She even saves herself from getting one ("Miraculer").

- But after Miraculer, she denounces herself from being Queen Bee because she failed to save her secret identity.

- A mere days later, she’s with Alix, Ladybug and Chat Noir founds Future!Alix aka Future!Bunnix (it will strike later).

~End of Flashback~

- After Heart Hunter, she wasn't wanted to be akumatized, but she was forced by Hawkmoth. It wasn't her choice.

- After becoming Miracle Queen, she reveals the secret identities for everyone except four people: Ladybug, Chat Noir (obviously), Vesperia (she didn't wanted to involve her twin sister into her mess) and Bunnix... She have other plans for Alix.

Miracle Queen: I want you to akumatize Alix Kubdel into Queen's Bride! Now!

Hawkmoth: As you wish...

- So, Alix became Queen's Bribe again, but now she is with her (Miracle) Queen...

- But Hawkmoth is more irritated than surprised when Miracle Queen would rather receive multiple comforting kisses on the face from her Bride than get the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses.

Queen’s Bride: You've done nothing wrong, Sweetie! *continues to kiss her face*

Miracle Queen: Thank you, My lovely Bride~

Hawkmoth: DO AS I SAY!

Miracle Queen: You're not the one with mind controlling bees and a VERY protective Bride.

Hawkmoth: ...

Let me know if you guys wanna read more from this AU!

[whimsicallyenchantedrose]

Until the Stars Are All Alight--Chapter 18: Renewed Shall Be Sword That Was Broken

Hello, and welcome to my entry for the Captain Swan Supernatural Summer 2019!  This au combines two story ideas I’ve wanted to explore for a while. 1. What if CS existed in a Tolkien-esque, LOTR world? 2. What would have happened if it was Killian rather than Neal that Emma ran into when she was stealing the bug?  Huge thank you to my beta, @blackwidownat2814​​​​​, to @clockadile​​​​​ for the amazing story and chapter art, to @kmomof4​​​​​ and @cssns​​​​​for putting this event together, and to the ladies in the CSSNS chat who have helped me think through this story.  If all goes well, I should be posting every Tuesday, and the story will have approximately 18 chapters plus the prologue and epilogue.

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Summary: CS Lord of the Rings au: When Emma Swan steals a yellow Volkswagen Beetle, she has no idea it will lead her toward an adventure filled with danger and intrigue, sacrifice and a love stronger than anything she could imagine.  Tasked with bringing the Savior home, the elf, Killian Jones of Misthaven travels to the Land Without Magic.  Can he convince Emma to fulfill her destiny before the Dark One regains power and takes over all of the Enchanted Forest?

Rating:  T

Word Count: 5088

Other Chapters: (prologue) (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (19) (20) (21) (22) (epilogue) 

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Chapter 18 (Renewed Shall Be Sword That Was Broken)

A/N:  I know, it’s been like 84 years since I updated this fic.  I’m sorry!  I’ve been busy with various fic events, not to mention the fact that my unhelpful muse has been wanting to follow every plot bunny that hops by rather than actually work on this story, but I’m determined to buckle down, and actually see this thing through to the end before allowing myself to write anything else.  Following this chapter, there are 4 chapters and an epilogue to go.  Due to the fact that it has been such a very, very long time since this story last updated–so long that even I had to go back and reread in order to remember what’s been happening–I decided to provide you with a little “previously on” section to catch you up on what’s been happening with our favorites.

Previously on Until the Stars Are All Alight: Emma, Killian and newborn Henry spend seven happy, perfectly normal years in the Land Without Magic.  As Emma’s twenty-eighth birthday approaches, Merlin becomes concerned that Killian will fail in getting Emma to understand and accept her destiny, and so he appears to now-seven-year-old Henry, giving him the storybook and asking him to help his mother believe.  Upon hearing about the encounter, Killian’s resolve is renewed, but Emma only digs in her heels further.  On the morning of her 28th birthday, Emma’s tattoo comes off of her arm and forms itself into the dagger, but even that is not enough to pierce through her determined unbelief.  Seeing this, young Henry decides to destroy the dagger himself.  Taking the dagger, he runs away from home, and quickly runs into Peter Pan, who tricks him into trusting him.  Pan convinces Henry to create a portal and come with him through it, but as soon as they reach the Enchanted Forest, Pan reveals he’s actually the evil Malcolm.  Kidnapping Henry, he takes the boy to Neverland Castle, the fortress Malcolm shares with his wife, Fiona, the Black Fairy.

Malcolm and Fiona imprison Henry with the other children they’d stolen to be their slaves and the pair try everything in their power to convince Henry to give them the dagger, but despite everything he holds firm.  When the Black Fairy threatens the life of Henry’s new friend and cell mate, Henry offers them a compromise.  He can’t give them the dagger, but he can use it to mine all of the dark fairy dust they’d been using their stolen children to mine.  This fairy dust will be enough to free the Dark One from his prison.

When Emma and Killian discover Henry’s run away and taken the dagger, the fear and panic is finally enough to convince Emma to believe.  Using her connection to the dagger, she’s able to create a portal to the Enchanted Forest.  They go to Misthaven castle, and Emma is reunited with her parents.  The Charmings and CS use Merlin’s Mirror to figure out where Henry’s been taken–and they’re horrified when they realize it’s Neverland.  The next morning, Emma, Killian, Graham and Ruby go on a rescue mission.  They succeed in rescuing Henry (and the dagger), and in the process, Emma is forced to kill the Black Fairy.  Pan/Malcolm, however, escapes with the black fairy dust.  He frees Rumple from his prison.  Rumple, angry that the dagger was in Pan’s grasp, but he failed to get it, kills Pan.

And that brings us up to speed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Neverland Castle, present day

For a moment no one moved, afraid it was a trick; afraid the pile of ash before them would reform into the Black Fairy and be more powerful than ever, but nothing happened.

The castle was in complete silence, save for the harsh breathing of the Misthaven contingent who stood victorious.

Emma breathed a quick sigh of relief before rushing to Killian, who’d slumped to the ground, hand massaging his neck and false hand still holding Henry behind him.

“Are you okay?” She asked, letting the dagger clatter to the ground as she gathered her family into her arms.

“Fan-bloody-tastic,” Killian croaked with a roll of his eyes. “Neverland Castle’s hospitality is every bit as lacking as advertised.  What say we leave this dismal place and never look back?”

Emma got to her feet and then offered Killian a hand up.  “I say one hundred percent yes.”  

Taking the dagger in one hand, and Henry’s small hand in the other, she turned toward the castle door, but before she could take a step, Henry tugged at her hand.

“Wait!” he said.  “We can’t leave yet!”

Emma looked to Killian and saw her confusion mirrored in his own eyes.  “Henry, I know we defeated your captors, but this place isn’t safe.  We’ve got to go kid.”

“I know!” he said, “and I want to get out of here as fast as we can too, but we can’t just go!”

“Why not?” Killian asked, as Ruby returned from chasing the Lost Ones, and laced her fingers with Graham’s at her side.

“We can’t just leave the others!” Henry said.  “The Black Fairy has lots and lots of kids trapped in the mines.  We have to free them!”

Tugging again at her hand, Henry led Emma and the others down a steep stone staircase, lit only with the occasional dim wall sconce.  Once they reached the bottom, Henry led them to the left, into a large room lined with caves, each barred over, and each containing a little boy or girl, small, dirty, obviously malnourished and overworked.

But it was the look in their eyes that caught Emma’s attention the most.  She knew that look.  It was the look she’d worn all too often in her worst days in the system.  These children were afraid, but even more than that, they’d lost hope.  They’d lost even the will to hope.

“Death was too good for her,” Emma murmured, looking around.  “She deserved to suffer, to rot in a cage like she did to these kids.”

The fact that Henry had to endure this treatment at her hand, even for a mere couple of days filled her with a rage like she’d never known, but her rage wouldn’t help anyone right now, so with a tremendous act of will, she put it aside, channeling the energy into magic.  With a wave of her hand, the bars disappeared, leaving the children finally, finally free.

But years, in some cases decades, of abuse and sadistic games and tricks left these little ones wary, and they huddled in the back of their prisons, some trembling, others merely looking at them with wide, wary eyes.

Emma crouched down before the first child, a little boy who looked to be no more than Henry’s age.  “You’re safe now,” she crooned softly.  “No one will hurt you again; I promise.”

Slowly, she extended her hand, and the child looked as though he wanted to take it; wanted to believe, but long ingrained fear is hard to overcome.

“It’s okay,” Henry said, stepping up next to her and putting a hand on her shoulder.  “This is my mom.  She’s a hero; she saved us. She just wants to help.”

The boy looked unsure for another moment, and then rushed to Emma, falling into her arms.  Her heart turned over, the tears coming to her eyes as she hugged him back.

With Henry’s help, Emma, Killian, Graham and Ruby coaxed all the children from their prisons and led them out of the castle, out into the fresh clean air just as morning’s first rays began painting the eastern sky.

“So what now?” Emma asked when the last child was free of the castle.  “Now that we defeated Pan and Fiona.  How do we defeat the Dark One?”

There was a mocking laugh behind them, and Emma spun around, dagger held before her.  She found herself face to face with the boy who’d been Pan’s lieutenant.   Around them little boys and girls started crying; their fear of this boy palpable.

“Felix,” Henry whispered, hiding behind his parents.

“Always nice to make an impression,” Felix drawled.

“Felix, it seems you have chosen the wrong side,” Killian growled beside her, his sword held before them, pointed directly at the teenager’s heart.  “Your masters have lost.”

Felix laughed again.  “Have they, though?” He stepped forward, getting right in Emma’s face.  “Pan. Never. Fails.”

Behind her, Henry gasped.  “He got away,” Henry said softly.  “After the Black Fairy dissolved, he got away.”

“Exactly,” Felix said with a nod.  “And he didn’t go empty-handed.”

Henry’s eyes went wide as saucers. “The dark fairy dust.”

Felix nodded again with a satisfied smile. “Thanks to your boy, there, Pan has enough dust to free the Dark One.  We really should be thanking him.  Henry managed to do more for our cause in two days than the rest of us could do in two decades.”

Behind her Henry shook his head, the tears coming to his eyes.  “No!  I didn’t mean it!  She had Gideon!  She was gonna kill him!”

“Doesn’t matter,” Felix said nastily.  “Before you know it, the Dark One will be here, and then you’ll get to watch him destroy your precious parents.”

“No!”

Killian roared, stepping forward, his sword mere inches from plunging into the noxious boy’s chest, Graham beside him.

“I’d suggest you leave now, mate,” he said in a low, deadly voice.  “One more word to my wife or my son, and you’ll pray for death before I’m finished with you!”

Felix merely shrugged, chuckling as he poofed away.

Emma took her son into her arms, hugging him tightly, whispering soothing words to him.  “Shh, it wasn’t your fault.  You’re not to blame.  Whatever happens, this is not your fault.”

After a moment, Ruby stepped up to them.  “She’s right, Henry.  You were tricked.  None of this is your fault.”

“That’s true,” Graham said, with a troubled look in his eyes, “but it’s also true that if Pan has enough dust to free the Dark One we’ve no time to waste.  He’ll be here, looking for his dagger any moment.”

“Why not let him find me?” Emma asked.  “I’m supposed to defeat him, right?  Since we know he’s coming, why not make our stand right here?  I can defeat him with the dagger and then this whole ordeal will be over.”

Killian shook his head.  “It won’t work, love.  The only way to kill the Dark One is by plunging that dagger into his heart, and if you do that, the darkness merely transfers to you.”

Emma growled.  “So what do we do?”

“You have to destroy the sword.”

“How do I do that?”

Killian smiled, perhaps his first genuine smile since this all began.  “I think a trip to Nottingham Forest is in order. It’s time the broken sword was mended, and it’s long past time you met my brother.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Nottingham Forest

Liam stood tall, looking out at the horizon as the first rays of the sun began to peek over the tops of the trees.  For a moment, he wished he was back on his beloved ship.  He was a sailor at heart and always had been, but above all that he was a man of honor, sworn to do his duty come what may, and now his duty was to guard the blade in the shire.

He felt a restlessness today, such as he hadn’t felt in quite some time.  Things were changing.  He didn’t know what, and he didn’t know why he was so sure, but he was.  Something momentous had happened, and it was only a matter of time before it reached the shire.

If only he knew what so he could adequately prepare.

As they had so many times over the years, his thoughts went to Killian.  Was he in trouble?  

Ever since the day Killian was born, nearly a decade after himself, it had been ingrained in Liam to be his brother’s protector and guide.

“You’re his brother, and he’ll look up to you, lad,” his father had said as he held the wee babe, presenting him to Liam for the first time.  “Whatever happens in the years to come, you’ll have each other; remember that.”

He’d solemnly promised his father, and it hadn’t been long before that promise had taken on a far stronger meaning.

When their parents were killed, the Jones boys were left alone, and suddenly, little more than a lad himself, Liam had been thrust into the role of father as well as brother.  Killian had been his whole world, and he’d taken his task to raise him seriously.

And quite a tremendous task it was!  Killian was a good lad who eventually grew into a good man.  He was brave, loyal and true to a decree Liam had never seen in another.  When he loved, he loved with his whole being and he loved completely.

But some of Killian’s greatest strengths were also his greatest weaknesses.  He was often led too much by his heart.  He could be impetuous, sometimes even to the point of recklessness, and Liam had gotten more gray hairs than he cared to count worrying that that impetuosity would one day get Killian hurt or worse.

Liam had hoped to breed discipline into his younger brother by bringing him into military service with him.  To an extent, his plan had worked, but though he gained discipline, Killian was still led far more by his heart than Liam would have liked.

Never had Liam worried more than during Kililan’s liaison with the Dark One’s wife.

Never, that is, until the Jones men learned of the prophecy concerning Killian and the Savior.

Killian had taken the prophecy to heart, becoming invested and protective of the young Emma Swan to an extent it almost became obsessive.  From the first moment Killian glimpsed the small child in the mirror, he wished to go after her, and it was all Liam could do to remind his brother that they had to wait; that there were yet twenty-eight years before the prophecy was to come to pass.

Still, he’d known it was only a matter of time before Killian defied him, and so, eight years ago, when Liam had awoken to an empty tent and an apologetic note on Killian’s bed, he wasn’t at all surprised.

Angry, yes, but not surprised.

He’d watched through the mirror as his brother found and quickly fell in love with Emma Swan.  The development troubled him.  There was more at stake than merely Killian’s well-being here.  The whole fate of their world depended on the savior accepting her destiny and destroying the Dark One.  If Killian failed in his task–if he let his love for this woman sway him into putting aside his duty–the consequences could literally be earth-shattering.

Liam should have known his first salvo at convincing his brother to leave the Land Without Magic would be unsuccessful.  While Killian had always gotten along with August and the two men respected each other, Liam should have known Killian would reject his orders to leave Emma and return home.

And so Liam had gone to him himself.

It had hurt, hurt him deep to his very soul to see Killian in so much pain after Emma had run from him, but Liam knew to strike while the iron was hot–he wouldn’t deny the misgivings he felt within himself at the way he used Killian’s pain for his own purposes, but he comforted himself with the belief that he was doing what was best, both for Killian and for the entire realm, by convincing his brother to go into the west.

But he’d underestimated his brother.  His connection to his love was so strong, he’d been granted a vision of the future, and once he’d gotten that vision–seen the son who’d be born to himself and Emma–there was no dissuading him from returning to her.

Liam had yielded to the inevitable with a heavy heart and a troubled spirit, for if merely loving Emma Swan had kept Killian from his purpose, what hope did any of them have once a son was born to them?

But fate was a fickle mistress and prophecies were rarely if ever all that they seemed.  For as it happened, it was that very child, that very special little boy who was needed to get Emma to believe.

It was several days ago now that Emma had chosen to believe, since Killian and his wife had returned to this land in search of their boy.  Merlin had kept Liam apprised of the situation, and so he knew that his brother was back within the Enchanted Forest.  Liam could only hope that his brother was successful in rescuing his child, because if he lost his son, Liam shuddered to think what it would do to Killian.

Every fiber of Liam’s body had wanted to go to Killian, to offer his assistance, to offer his sword to the rescue mission, but duty was a solemn thing, something that couldn’t be shirked lightly if even at all.  The broken sword still needed to be guarded, and so Liam had remained in the shire, hoping and praying that his brother would one day make it back to him.

“Strangers approaching!”

Liam stood at attention as he heard August’s call.  Behind him Robin and Regina emerged from their tent looking as troubled as he felt.

“Something happened,” Regina said, looking in the direction August indicated.  “I can tell; my dreams last night were troubled.”

“As were mine, my love,” Robin concurred.  He turned to Liam.  “What news have you?”

Liam shrugged.  “All has been quiet this night,” he assured, “but like you, I’ve been uneasy.  It feels as though something momentous is coming to a head, and I feel no small amount of uneasiness in not knowing what it is or how to guard against it.”

Beside them, Regina’s eyes narrowed and a fireball appeared in her open hand. “Well whatever it is, whatever danger heads this way, it won’t enter the shire.  I’m not about to let anyone, anyone harm my family or my home.”

The men flanked her, agreeing silently with her assessment.  The shire had been a haven, a place of refuge for decades and none of them would allow any malevolent force to change that, not while they still had breath in their bodies.

For several moments the three stood still, tense and watchful as they waited for the announced strangers to appear over the horizon.

When they finally did, Liam relaxed, sheathing his sword and letting the relief fill him, for heading their way were none other than Killian and his savior wife.  Whatever perils still lay ahead, it seemed that for the moment at least, rejoicing was in order.

The prodigal brother had returned at last.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Emma smiled to herself as she watched Killian with little Roland, the two of them brandishing tree branches like swords, engaged in what looked like a sword fight for the ages.  Killian laughed as he let the little boy’s “sword” connect and then fell to the ground dramatically clutching his chest.

Killian had always been amazing with children, and not for the first time Emma imagined a life after all of this; a life where they might expand their family and give Henry a sibling or two.

The past few days had been a whirlwind, and Emma felt as though she’d suddenly been thrust into the deep end when it came to all this magic and Enchanted Forest stuff.  No warning, no easing into it, just right into the fray.

They’d succeeded thus far, of course.  They’d saved Henry and his new friends and then sent them back to Misthaven with Ruby and Graham.

But how long could her “beginner’s luck” hold out?  Emma couldn’t help but feel a little bit like an imposter.  What did she know about magic or defeating supervillains or any of that?  The whole fate of this realm (she still couldn’t believe she was now thinking in terms of different realms) depended on her defeating this Dark One character who everyone spoke of in hushed tones as though he were the devil himself.

What if she failed?  What if everyone was depending on her and she just…failed?  She’d spent her entire life not being good enough.  What if this was no different?

Roland cautiously approached the apparently “dead” Killian, and just before he reached him, Killian jumped up with a roar, pulling the little boy down and beginning to tickle him. Roland squirmed and squealed with laughter.

Emma took a deep breath, watching the nonsense, and she resolutely put her self-doubts aside.  Worrying about all of it would do no good.

After sending Henry and the other children off with the Misthaven contingent, she and Killian had made their way quickly to Nottingham Forest.  Killian had filled the time telling her all about the place, about his brother Liam (apparently the greatest elf ever to walk the earth, if you were to listen to Killian go on and on about him), about Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men (and woman), and about Regina, the former Evil Queen who’d been banished but then gone on to amend her life and marry Robin.

He’d introduced her to them excitedly as they arrived, and as soon as the pleasantries were at an end, they’d gotten down to the business at hand.

“So you’re telling me the Dark One is free?” Robin asked after Killian told his tale. 

“We can’t know for sure,” Killian answered, “but we have to assume so, given the fact Pan escaped with the dust.”

“And he knows the blade is here?” Liam asked, looking more than a little troubled.

“Well, given the fact that Pan or Malcolm or whatever was living here as a spy for years,” Emma answered, “I’d say that’s a safe bet.”

“I knew I should have incinerated him the moment he showed up,” Regina said with a sneer.  “There was always something about that man that made me think of a weasel.”

“What any of us should or shouldn’t have done is immaterial now,” Liam answered.  “The question is how do we proceed?  Even with every soldier in our battalion on high alert, I fear we’ll be no match for the Dark One and his allies.”

“Just how dangerous is this guy?” Emma said.  “He has magic; big deal.  So do I, even if I don’t really know how to use it yet.”

Everyone present shifted nervously, eyeing each other significantly.  “Swan, he’s more formidable than you could ever imagine," Killian answered, his face troubled. "Even the entire army of Misthaven and Merlin himself had difficulty containing him.”

Great, so I’m supposed to vanquish the unvanquishable.  Perfect.

She let out a long, slow breath.  “Alright, then, so let’s get this magic blade put back together then so we’re at least ready for him.  How do we do it?  Do I use my magic or what?”

Regina had scoffed.  “I hardly think you’re powerful enough for that, Mrs. Jones.”

Emma rolled her eyes.  She’d known this woman for little more than an hour and already she was getting tired of her snark.  “So what?  You’re powerful enough?”

Robin intervened.  “I’m fairly certain none of us is powerful enough to reforge the blade, nor do any of us know how it’s to be done.  My advice is to summon the wizard, Merlin and seek his counsel.”

And so it had been decided.  They would contact Merlin, but until he answered, until he arrived, there was little to do but sit and wait, hoping against hope that the Dark One wouldn’t arrive and kill them all one by one in the meantime.

Emma missed the old days when the biggest threat she had to deal with was a bad tempered bail jumper.

Someone sat beside her, and Emma looked over to find Killian’s brother Liam. He smiled at her, friendly enough, but Emma could tell there was something on his mind, something that troubled him.  “Emma, can we talk?”

“Is this like a protective big brother talk where you wanna make sure I’m good enough for Killlian?” Emma asked lightly.

He was silent for a beat too long, and Emma felt a pit in her stomach open up.  She’d been joking, trying to disperse some of the “we’re probably all going to die” tension they were all under, but maybe…maybe Liam really didn’t think she was good enough.

Liam leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees as he gazed over at his brother.  “There was a time, I’ll admit, when I thought you weren’t.”

The pit widened.  “Why?”  The word came out harsher than she intended.

He glanced over at her, his look apologetic.  “Killian is…” he began, clearly searching for words.  “He’s intense, passionate, fully committed to anyone and anything he gives his heart to.  He’ll follow his heart to the ends of the earth, making any sacrifice, giving everything of himself, even to his own detriment.”

“I know what my husband is like,” Emma said, voice hard.  “So, what are you saying?  I’m not worthy of that love?  I’m a ‘detriment’ to him or whatever?”

Liam was silent for another long moment. “I watched through the mirror as he steadily fell deeper and deeper in love with you,” he said finally.  “You consumed him, became his whole world.  At the same time, I saw you steadfastly refuse to believe the truth he tried to tell you.  I watched as he put aside his own realm, his own duty, his own identity to please you.”

Emma felt her anger growing.  Yeah, she’d made mistakes, but who could have believed the apparently completely bat-shit crazy bull Killian had been telling her?   “Wow, were you always this self righteous?”

He gave her a sad smile.  “When it comes to my brother, yes, but that’s not the point I’m trying to make, admittedly rather poorly.”

Emma crossed her arms.  “Yeah, so what is the point you’re trying to make?”

He sat up, looking at her fully, his look intent.  “I was wrong,” he said simply.  “Killian has often told me I can be a stubborn, self-righteous ass, and when it came to you, clearly that’s precisely what I was.”

“What do you mean?”

“After my failed attempt to convince my brother to move on into the west, I realized my error,” Liam said.  “I saw how deeply he loves you and how deeply you love him back.  I saw how happy the both of you were with your son.  I realized how truly unfair it was to resent you for having difficulty believing when it meant that everything you knew to be true was false.   You are good enough for my brother, Emma, just as he is for you.”

She let out a breath, feeling the anger melt away.  “Thank you for saying that,” she said after a moment.

“I just ask one thing of you,” Liam said.  “Don’t break his heart.  As deeply in love as Killian is, I’m fairly certain it would never mend again.”

Emma’s first inclination was to laugh at the very absurdity of that idea, but she could see how important it was to Liam, and so she took a moment, truly thinking about the answer she’d give Killian’s brother.

“Liam,” she said finally, “I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future.  I don’t know how everything is going to go down with the Dark One and with everything else we have to deal with, so I can’t make any guarantees that something won’t happen to me, but I can promise you this.  I’ll never willingly hurt Killian.  He’s like…it’s like he’s a part of my very being now.  Hurting him would be like hurting myself.  I don’t know; maybe that’s what they mean by True Love.”

Liam smiled fully this time.  “Indeed it is, and I believe you.”

He got to his feet, but then turned back to her.  “Just a word of caution about the coming fight.  I think perhaps you’d best prepare yourself.  I believe you are capable of defeating the Dark One, but doing so won’t come without a cost.  I fear the cost of a task of this magnitude…it will be well nigh unbearably steep.  I don’t say this to scare you, only to help you steel yourself for what is to come.  You must be both courageous and resolute. The likelihood of all of us coming out of this alive is…not high.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

With a curse, Emma stormed out of the clearing and into the woods.  Killian watched her go with a heavy heart and troubled spirit.  He could feel the frustration coming off of her in waves.  She was trying so very hard, but it seemed the more effort she put into it, the farther she was from achieving her ends.

Merlin had been prompt (for him at least) in answering their summons.  It was midday when he appeared, no more than two hours after they’d sent their message.

If they’d had any hope that the situation wasn’t as dire as they believed, one look at the wizard’s face would have dispelled that notion.  He looked more troubled than Killian had ever seen him.  In point of fact, he looked frightened, something Killian had never seen before.

That alone left Killian bloody terrified.

“I’m afraid it is as you supposed,” Merlin said by way of greeting as soon as the leaders of the group were assembled.  “The Dark One has indeed escaped his prison.  As we speak, he’s amassing his armies, and when that task is completed, I’ve no doubt he will come for the blade.”

That pronouncement elicited a near-unison shout of dismay from all those present.  There was little the wizard could have said that would have been more dire.

“So, let’s get this sword put back together and get the hell away from here,” Emma had said.  “There are innocents–women, children, old men–here in this camp.  They don’t need to be caught in the crossfire.”

Robin Hood had shot her a grateful look, and Killian felt his heart swell at his wife’s care and compassion for others. 

“Aye,” Merlin agreed with a quick nod.

“Could you give us any idea exactly how we might do that?” Regina asked dryly, crossing her arms.  “Both Mrs. Jones and I have made attempts with our magic, but the blade seems impervious to it.”

Merlin nodded again. “No, ordinary magic would have no effect, as it wasn’t ordinary magic that broke the blade in the first place.”

Merlin reached into his robes and pulled out a small, ornately decorated box, no bigger than a ring box, and held it out before the assembly.  Killian eyed it, brows furrowed.

“What is that?”

“This,” Merlin said, “is the flame of Prometheus.  It’s ancient magic, far more powerful than any magic existing in our world today.  With this flame, we can renew the sword.”

Emma’s eyebrow raised.  “Excuse my ignorance, but shouldn’t a flame look a little more…fiery?  Looks like a stone box to me.”

Merlin nodded.  “You didn’t think a magic this powerful would be as easy as that to access, did you?”

“Of course not, what was I thinking?” Emma muttered under her breath.  Killian felt a smile twitch at his lips, despite the precarious situation they found themselves in.

“Enough with the riddles,” Liam said. “Speak plainly.  Just tell us what we need to do to light the flame.”

“It’s not we who must do it,” Merlin said, “but she.” He pointed one long finger at Emma.  “The savior must reach to the depths of herself and bring forth her strongest magic.  Only then can the box be opened and the flame lit.”

And she’d tried.  With everything within her she’d tried.  With every fiber of her being she’d tried.  The assembled group of heroes had done all in their power to help her, offering their support, and in Regina’s case, pointers on the best ways to call forth and control magic, but none of it was to any avail.

The box remained resolutely shut, the flame nowhere in sight.

Finally, in frustration, Emma had stormed off.  Regina began to follow after, but Merlin stopped her with a gentle hand to her arm.

“Lieutenant Jones,” he said, “I believe you are the one who can best help your wife right now.”

Killian nodded, already turning to follow the path Emma had trod.  His heart ached for her.  He cursed the fates, or whatever it was that had put such a burden on the woman he loved.  It was not fair, and she did not deserve any of it.

But what was fair, what was just didn’t matter now.  What mattered was her; only her.

By the time he reached her, the tears had crested and spilled from her eyes.  She hurled the box to the forest floor uttering another curse.  “It’s useless,” she spat.  “No matter what I do, I can’t get this damn thing to open.  I’m useless!”

Killian rushed to her, taking her in his arms and rubbing a soothing hand down her back.  “Breathe, Swan,” he murmured.  “Relax.”

She pulled away, frown darkening her face.  “How can I relax, Killian when the strongest evil force ever known is about to come attack us, and I’m the only one who can stop him?”

Killian led her over to a downed tree trunk, sat her down and then pulled her to him with an arm around her shoulders and a gentle kiss to the top of her head.  “You are not alone, Swan,” he said softly.  “You will never be alone.  I’ll be here with you, beside you every step of the way.”

Turning her head, she kissed him softly.  “And you’ll never know how much that means to me, but it still doesn’t change the fact that I can’t get this flame lit.  What good am I anyway?  What good have I ever been?  Sometimes it feels like the only use I am to anyone is as the savior, and if I can’t even do that…”

Killian turned her to him, gently raising her chin until she met his eyes.  “I want you to listen, Swan, and I want you to listen well,” he said, voice grave.  “I didn’t fall in love with the Savior.  I fell in love with Emma Swan.  I fell in love with your strength, your courage, your resilience, your heart that remained open to love and hope even despite all the adversity you had to endure.  You, my love, are a survivor, and you are, without a doubt, the best woman I’ve ever known.  You are an exemplary wife and mother, and Henry and I could want for no better person in our lives.  I loved you before you showed the first hint of magic, and I’ll continue to love you no matter what happens.  You, Emma Swan, are enough.  Just you.  Not your magic. Not your title.  You.”

Emma’s tears began flowing in earnest at this, but a new look came into her eyes as she listened to his words.

Hope. 

“Do you really think I can do this, Killian?” she asked, looking deeply into his eyes in the way he knew meant she was searching him for a lie.  He kept his expression open and honest, willing her to see his absolute sincerity.

“There is not a shadow of doubt in my mind,” he answered firmly.

She smiled fully then, reaching a hand up behind his neck to bring him down for another long drugging kiss.  When they pulled back, Killian looked down and smiled.

“What?” she asked.

“Look down, love,” he said, pointing to the box she’d tossed to the forest floor.

Only it was a cold, stone box no longer.  It had opened to reveal a strong, flickering white-hot flame.  They’d done it.

With the attaining of the flame, the mending of the sword was a simple thing.  Merlin pulled the flame from its box, held it before him until it transformed into a swirling, magical sphere between his outstretched hands.  Having been instructed what to do next, Emma held the two ends of the sword into the heart of the magical fire, and with a bright flash of magic, the broken ends fused together, sealing themselves so completely there was no seam and it was impossible to see where the break had been.

They’d done it.  They’d mended the broken sword, and now all that remained was to journey to the heart of the Underworld to destroy it–and its Dark master–once and for all.

 Notes:

–Thanks for sticking with me over this looooooooong delay.  As mentioned above, the muse has been quite the fickle mistress as of late, but I hope it’s back to stay now.  I am determined to finish this story before I do anything else fanfiction related, and to that end, I plan to devote time every single work day toward this story.  The good news?  I’ve already gotten a start on the next chapter, so you won’t have to wait long for the next installment.

–I didn’t finish everything I wanted to in this chapter, but it was already getting really long, so I decided to break it up into two.  

–Up next: Emma, Killian, Liam, Merlin, Robin and Regina, as well as a contingent of elves and Merry Men set out for the Underworld, but their way is not smooth, and they find themselves confronted with some rather formidable foes.  I feel compelled to give you the same warning Liam gave Emma.  Steel yourself.  Of the six named characters above, two will not survive the next chapter…

                                                                                NEXT CHAPTER-->

[arlakos]

Miraculous Rant

Actually, you know what, while im still mad from the previous post I made, lets go off on a rant. No punches pulled. Lets do this.

The lovesquare is the most terrible ship in this fandom. One girl is a hyper obsessed stalker who tracks her crush with her planner for 3 whole seasons, while the boy couldn’t learn to take a hint and stop flirting for 3 whole seasons until he decided to move on with another girl. Ironically that makes them perfect for eachother, but its in a creepy kind of way, not a loving kind of way.

Adrigami and Lukanette in the S3 Finale were wasted events and never should have occured because they were immediately axed in the first few episodes of the next season. I feel sorry for those that were hoping their ships could be real for at least a short actual while, and it makes me want to curse the writers for their story-boner for the status quo of teases

Despite what I said earlier, none of the girls are good for Adrien. Marinette’s stalkery and a borderline yandere, Kagami’s somewhat controlling and too similar to Adrien help him grow as a person, Chloe is a queen bee beyotch and honestly too much like a sibling to Adrien, and Lila is garbage. Fuck it, have Luka date Adrien and they can play some sweet music together (not like that you pervs, I meant they both play instruments).

Nino needs more love. Not only that, but there needs to be more Adrien/Nino bro moments. If Marinette and Alya can have moments together, why not the bros?

Chloe’s character is a mess, and is neither redeemable, nor notably evil. Her role as a villain in season 1 is very hamfisted, such as in the episodes Mr Pigeon and Kung Food. Not only that, Chloe also lacks any of the qualities that makes a good “bully villain” or rival to Marinette, and her sympathetic moments (which are Written by Sebastien) are mostly overshadowed by the fact that Astruc wants her to be a bully, so it just makes her bipolar and confusing when her character is tugged between two writers.

Chloe should not have joined Hawkmoth in Miracle Queen, see my other post as to why I think so. TLDR, its kinda ooc  for her to go full on 2d villain like Hawkmoth especially after Miraculer, plus Lila was being build up to be the main antagonist of S3

Chloe got kicked from the Team in Miraculer because people know her identity? Fine. Kagami gets to be Ryuko again despite being known to Hawkmoth in Ikari Gozen? Not cool. Ladybug shouldn’t be a hypocrite and be willing to break her own rules just because “Kagami is my friend and Chloe’s not”. Same goes for her breaking the rule with secrect identities with Alya, only for her to go on and on about the rules to Chat when he pries.

Zoe is a bland character who’s only notable trait that she likes Marinette, which automatically makes her worthy of a miraculous after two episodes and no actual development.

Astruc is a petty frick who makes episodes that give the finger to fans of the show that have a different opinion than him. Queen Banana, Miracle Queen, and Reverser are good examples of this (Reverser did Nathaniel dirty).

Master Fu is a shit guardian. Read my post for more.

FRICK THE FEAST EPISODE. Not only did is ruin Fu as character, it ruined all the good theories as to why the order fell, and wasted the idea of a new villain being introduced or even taking over as the main antagonist! Speaking of Feast, despite the sentimonster destroying an order when he wasn’t even big, he still go beat by 2 kids even when he was supersized!

Marinette is not a good Guardian. Her ability to choose heroes does not make her capable, and just because “tradition is stupid” doesnt mean that Marinette shouldn’t be tested like others before her!

Despite the Kwami’s being ancient magical buildings, they seem to act like kids a lot, and that annoys me when in S1 they are supposed to apparently be mentors to their wielders, like how Tikki was before she was mentally de-aged.

Lila is trash and should be removed from the show. The only reasons her lies work is because the writers dumb down every other character in the show and ignore the fact the people have smartphones with google.

The “Miraculous” Ladybug spell should require both Ladybug and Chat Noir to cast, because not only does the power have nothing to do with creation, but it also “destroys” anything created by the akuma, which thematically makes no sense. Also it would place more emphasis on the two heroes being equals and “two halfs of the same coin”

On that note, Ladybug has too many powers. Not only is she the only one who can purify akumas, and can cast a spell that can fix Paris time and time again like its no one’s buisness, but she also now gets a new suit and the ability to nullify Hawkmoth’s akumas. Like COME ON! Give Chat some powers too.

Mayura’s feather’s shouldnt be able to be purified by Ladybug since they have no dark energy, and (thematically speaking) Chat should be given an ability that allows him to “vanquish” the energy in Mayura[’s feathers similar to how Ladybug can purify Hawkmoth’s akumas. At least it would develop a rivalry between Chat and Mayura, and would make Chat necassary against Shadowmoth rather than being replacable with any other hero.

The are too many temporary heroes. They should have just stuck with the 3 heroes from s2 and leave it at that. Sure, new heroes were cool, but the overuse has made the whole hero thing feel less special. It made sense for the first 3 to have them, but now it’s just like Oprah where everyone gets a miraculous. Except Gabe.

Chat Blanc was a stupid reason as to why secret identities cant be revealed, also Chat could have told LB who Hawkmoth once he returned back to normal was and the show would be over.

Hawkmoth should not be Gabriel. Frick the lore about Gabriel’s wife dying and him going evil to get her back, it makes the story feel too much like a star wars/Darth vader reference and leaves Gabriel acting bipolar, flipping from wanting to save his wife and doing this out of necessity to being a power hungry madman wanting to take over the world ( which is said in his canon music video). Having Hawkmoth be his own character means he can be an actual maniac who wants world domination and not just have villanous plot that rely on obtaining magical jewellery (perhaps doing other evil things/taking a more active role), while Gabriel being his own character means he can be a father that has become estranged from his son due to the lose of his S,O, and thus can have a plot about him reuniting with his son (I liked the end seen in Simon says, ok?)

On that same note, I think Mayura shouldn’t have been Nathalie. Considering Hawkmoth’s plans were repetitive as heck for most of the show, when I heard about the Mayura leaks back in Season 2 (when she was called “le Paon”) I was theorising that Mayura would actually being Hawkmoth’s boss, the villain the was responsible for giving him his Miraculous and the one who destroyed the Order of the Miraculous, and would take over as the main villain in season 3 due to Hawkmoth’s failures. However, that turned out not to be the case.

Not only that, but Mayuras power is a copy paste power with some modifications to make it complement Hawkmoth’s power, by basically giving his akuma’s magic pokemon.

Speaking of Hawkmoth’s power, for a miraculous that is supposed to be used for good, how can his power mind control people and make them become evil? More importantly, for a miraculous that is supposedly weaker than the main heroes of the show, having it be able to multiply and posses people to create an army is kinda strong.

Fuck the Maribat ship that the salt fandom came up with. Its trash, it was made to bash most of the Miraculous cast sans Marinette, and anyone thinks it is good are either those same salters or are the same people who think that Rey-lo and the Twilight Saga are masterpieces of romance.

Whew! I needed that vent. Hope you enjoyed it as as much as I did, and Tune in next time on the next episode of:  Arlakos loses his Mind and Rants for 2 pages of writing!

[shihalyfie]

The difference between the friend dynamics in the Adventure and 02 groups

This is a point I’ve reiterated in a lot of my 02-based metas, but there is a fairly distinct difference between the Adventure Chosen Children having a tight, deep bond and yet not quite being friends in “social life”, whereas the 02 group was a much tighter group on a social level. I always feel that I need to be really careful about saying this, because if I don’t word it carefully, it sounds like I’m trivializing the Adventure group’s bonds (plus, a lot of Adventure diehards will get very upset at you for suggesting this no matter how you put it), so I thought I should write something a bit more in-depth about it.

I think a lot of of this ultimately ties into what each series was about. The fact that Adventure was meant to be a series about “self-recognition of the individual” whereas 02 was about “relationships with others” has been pointed out by many a fan (and official staff too, while we’re at it), and it naturally lends to how the characters and the relationships between them will have a fundamental difference.

The idea that the Adventure group wouldn’t be the type to get together all that easily never really took that long after Adventure to set in. Of course, Our War Game! having this as a plot point also had a meta purpose (basically, limiting the number of people who could participate in the Diablomon battle), but it also has a very important point behind it: the Adventure kids’ social lives were never all that intertwined.

Again, this is something that sounds really awful to say without further qualification. What do you mean, the Adventure kids weren’t friends? Does that mean their entire adventure was for nothing? Did they go through all that only to forget about each other right after it?!

Well, no, that’s kind of exaggeration. I think to properly flesh out the nature of the issue, it’s important to define the differing ways you can be friends with someone. Imagine that you go on the best vacation in your life. You meet a handful of people there. You swap stories and get life-changing advice. You take commemorative photos after some really spectacular experiences. You swap numbers and social media contacts and then you go home. Are you going to keep in touch every so often with the people who gave you some very important advice, and maybe check on their important life events or organize a reunion sometime in the future? Very possibly! Does that mean everyone you met at that trip will now be regularly going out for lunch with you every week now?...Probably not, especially if you already have friends from school. That doesn’t mean you aren’t friends with the important people you met during that best life-changing vacation; it just means that they fill a very different niche in your life from the friends who don’t necessarily understand the life-changing vacation but have the free time to chat with you over lunch.

When the Adventure group found themselves pulled into the Digital World during summer camp, they had already come from very different social spheres. In short:

Taichi, Sora, and Koushirou were the only ones with a background of knowing each other beforehand, thanks to being in the soccer club;

Yamato went to the same school as the others but was a stranger to them, to the point people didn’t even realize Takeru was his brother at first;

Mimi had her own friend circle (see Adventure episode 29);

Jou was assigned as Mimi’s camp group leader but had no other prior relation to her, and Yamato didn’t even initially know his age;

Takeru wasn’t even supposed to be there since he didn’t go to their school and was only tagging along with Yamato;

Hikari was brought halfway into the adventure by virtue of being the eighth Chosen and Taichi’s sister.

Although six of the eight come from the same school, you can see that they’re basically “kids brought together by a certain circumstance” -- they’re not kids who would have normally come into each other’s purview had it not been for this. Which also means that as soon as their adventure ended and some years passed, the aspects of their real lives and social circles started kicking back in:

Taichi continued soccer;

Yamato formed a band (and presumably had a good relationship with his own bandmates);

Sora quit soccer for tennis;

Koushirou quit soccer for the computer club;

Mimi moved to the US;

Jou started attending a private school outside Odaiba;

Takeru and Hikari were never in their age group to begin with.

In the case of Taichi, Yamato, Sora, and Koushirou, it’s representative of how, although they originally had a shared interest in soccer, ultimately, they started to drift into their own specialties. Again, remember that Adventure was a series fundamentally about finding yourself and finding your own path, and all of these choices actually tie into their character arcs: Taichi is a straightforward person and a natural, charismatic leader, meaning soccer was good for him to begin with; Yamato learned to become more sociable and make friends at school; Sora started playing tennis as part of properly reconciling with her mother, and Koushirou decided to pursue a club relevant to his actual interests instead of one purely so that he could have minimal presence in it.

Mimi’s moving to the US is an interesting case because it’s likely because she’s often described (by both fans and official staff) as someone who is easily likeable and can get along with practically anyone. Considering that she’s constantly considerate of others and lacking in condescension or malice, it’s easy to see why; her infamous bouts of complaining were largely because she was under a lot of stress at the time of Adventure’s events (it’s even said that her cracking under pressure was meant to be representative of how an ordinary child her age would react to the situation), and otherwise she has no problems making friends -- hence why she was shown in Adventure episode 29 as already having friends in Taako and Mii-chan that she presumably hung out with prior to the events of the series. So in moving to the US, the point is made that Mimi could move to an entire other country and still hit it up with people there (and she does, given how she makes friends in Michael and the other American Chosen without issue). So thus, Mimi’s moving is also part of her own path -- becoming an effective “ambassador” between international Chosen as they start to pop up all over the globe.

As for Jou, his character arc has heavily to do with the fact that he’s always been on the “elite” academic track -- Japanese school entrance exams stretch back as far as high school, so the fight to get into medical school comes back as early as here, and since the events of Adventure helped Jou come to terms with why he wanted to be a doctor rather than just following his father’s wishes, it’s understandable that he would now be putting everything into that goal -- even if it means going to a different school outside Odaiba and committing himself to the prep school life. And, generally speaking, the other kids respect that too, given that the only time they tried to pull him from it was a time they were literally suffocating on the spot and needed Ikkakumon’s specific backup badly (02 episode 16).

And finally, Takeru and Hikari? The fact that they’re that much younger than the others in this group really is a big deal. When they’re on something “purpose-based” like an adventure, of course the others will have no problem keeping them around, and of course they’ll be happy to participate with these older kids. But if we’re talking about mundane, ordinary life -- there’s not a lot of evidence to suggest they really would prefer the company of kids so much older than them for conversations over lunch. This is especially because it’s hard to imagine they didn’t have other friends at school, too.

Not that they mind being around all these older kids when the time calls for it, but as far as socialization goes, they have their own lives to live. And that’s fine; again, Adventure was a narrative about kids coming to terms with themselves and what they wanted, and it’s not their fault for prioritizing those paths and forming their own social circles rather than insisting on being a specific eight-person group (no matter how much the fanbase wants to have the romantic image of them sticking together all the time no matter what).

Plus, it’s not like they all completely drifted apart and cut each other off!

Just because they’re not “daily life friends” doesn’t mean they’re not still important to each other. 02 episode 38 has Taichi, Sora, Jou, and Koushirou show up for Yamato’s concert -- it’s unlikely they were attending every single one of his concerts, but this was a very important one that was going to be broadcast on TV, so it’s only natural that even Jou (who, again, doesn’t go to school in Odaiba anymore) would still come to support him.

In fact, the fact they can come together when a situation like this happens even without necessarily meeting up every single day of their lives is probably a testament to how strong that bond is in itself. They don’t need to hang out once a day or week to maintain their friendship, and having other friends they’d rather hang out with throughout the day or invite to events doesn’t necessarily mean the other Adventure kids are less worthy friends to them. That experience in August 1999 was so impactful on all of them that they will never forget it, so even if they spent quite a long amount of time not interacting with each other, when a circumstance that necessitates them coming together does bring them together, they can hit it off like nothing happened. Think about how you might have an important friend that you may not chat with on a daily basis, but you talk to them once in a while and hit it off like you never had a break in the conversation. But because that strong bond is based on that one very specific experience that happened in one specific summer, it’s only natural that the majority of meetups over this are going to be based on something to do with that experience, like Digimon incidents; for ordinary things like “band concerts” or “club activities”, it’ll naturally be easier to stick around friends who have more similar social interests, like fellow band or club members.

On the other hand, this is very much not the case for the 02 group.

To understand why the 02 group has a fundamentally different dynamic, we need to dial back to a little before the actual “adventure” part of 02 started.

Right off the bat, we see:

Takeru moves to Odaiba from Sangenjaya, and specifically to the same building Miyako and Iori live in, meaning he’ll be walking to school with them every day;

02 episode 7 indicates that the Motomiya and Yagami families live in the same apartment complex, meaning Daisuke and Hikari are also likely to walk to school together;

Miyako and Iori are established as having already long hit it off with each other as neighbors;

Daisuke, Hikari, and Takeru end up in the same class (with Daisuke and Hikari having known each other already).

In other words: Even before anything to do with Digimon had been introduced (or re-introduced, technically) into their lives, the kids were already being thrown into each other’s social circles. You could technically argue that Daisuke wouldn’t have necessarily met Miyako and Iori if not for the Digimon incident coming into his life later in the episode, but Takeru being neighbors with them basically fills in all of the gaps here -- unlike with the Adventure kids where the adventure in August 1999 threw them together when they likely wouldn’t have been in the same social circle otherwise, the 02 kids are the social circle even independently of the Digimon incidents. In fact, due to being functionally neighbors, there are a lot of ways these kids’ social lives intersect, with Daisuke and Miyako being Taichi and Koushirou’s juniors, Miyako working for Yamato’s band, Yamato being classmates with Miyako’s sister Chizuru, and Jun and Miyako’s other sister Momoe being classmates.

Since, again, 02 was a series fundamentally structured on examining relationships, you can basically view Adventure being a series about “bringing some people together as they find self-assertion even when they’re from different social circles” while 02 follows that up with “so if they were in the same social circle, how would they deal with that?” -- especially since 02 makes it clear that certain kinds of emotional baggage associated with that can actually make it much more complicated.

A lot of 02′s first half is dedicated to the 02 kids doing completely mundane things that have very little relevance to the Digital World conflict -- watching TV in the computer room (remember: this was before they realized the “genius boy” being covered on the news was actually relevant to this), or having a picnic in the Digital World. Mimi even explicitly points out that this kind of thing wouldn’t have happened with the Adventure kids, but it’s not just because of the fact that Adventure involved a lot of running for their lives! It’s easy to dismiss a lot of what happens in these early episodes as “filler”, but a lot of this is dedicated to depicting how the 02 kids were constantly spending time with each other for reasons completely separated from Digimon incidents. This even includes completely ordinary things like soccer games -- Takeru, Hikari, Miyako, and Iori come to support Daisuke with an obvious motive of seeing him do well, so it’s apparent that they’ve come to enjoy hanging out with him beyond just obligation.

Part of this is because of the different nature of the Digimon conflict that they experienced. The Adventure kids had an experience that really was, functionally, “one” experience -- an extremely formative and important one, but one condensed one that they all experienced together. The nature of what the 02 territory war and conflict was, on the other hand, meant that what the conflict “was” to the 02 kids was of a completely different nature. This wasn’t summer vacation; this involved going back and forth between the fight and real life, to the point where Digimon fighting became integrated into “daily life” -- so of course you’d probably hope that the people you’re fighting with are also people you like to bond with on a social level. “Digimon life” and “social life” became synonymous to them.

And when it all comes down to it, it’s hard to pinpoint a “single experience” that the events of 02 embodied, or at least in the same way August 1999′s adventure was. As much as they were running for their lives, the Adventure kids have the luxury of looking at the events of their series as a formative singular time for them, one that they could even look at nostalgically, but for the 02 kids, it’s hard to condense everything into one singular experience (it’s easy for the audience to see it as one series, but for the kids themselves, it’s a very long chain of vaguely connected events). Actually, most of the year involved fighting with someone who ended up becoming their important friend and the other involved helping him deal with his trauma, so it’s not like everyone would be likely to have the most romantic image of this experience itself to “bond” over as much as they care more about the take-home they got out of it: each other.

One thing that 02 doesn’t really spotlight front and center with its starter cast of characters is that, unlike the Adventure kids, who either came with their own social circles prior to Adventure or eventually developed their own in the course of their lives, it’s heavily implied that the 02 kids actually had difficulty making other friends even on a social level, or at least were likely to be in a situation where the other 02 kids really were better company than their other options even for mundane situations. This is especially in the case of the newly introduced characters, who are, effectively, a bit socially “displaced” from others and likely to have struggles fitting in.

There are quite a few signs that Daisuke had serious difficulty making friends prior to the events of the series (with Hikari being the closest thing he had to one), and the fact that the 12-year-old Miyako is portrayed as constantly hanging out with the 9-year-old Iori, brought together by being neighbors, rather than people closer to their own ages stands out. Iori is particularly interesting in that, unlike with Takeru and Hikari, who were portrayed as kids likely to socialize better with those their own age, Iori’s unusual maturity for his age heavily implies that he would actually be out of place with his classroom peers (a very common phenomenon for some people in real life, too!). 02 episode 3 depicting him left alone in the classroom with only a teacher to watch him while his stubborn fixation on principles leaves him slow to finish his lunch says a lot -- his own behavior is liable to isolate him from others, and it’s thus not all that surprising he ended up bonding with some kids who are older than him and more accepting (and even treat him with proper respect, too).

Takeru and Hikari, too. There’s been a lot of arguments over whether the two of them would theoretically be closer to the Adventure kids or the 02 kids, but I would honestly say it’s technically both at once -- they have the same “not socially close, but intuitively understanding” relationship that the Adventure kids all have with each other, but hold the other 02 kids as part of their social circle and hang out with them in “daily life”. So in other words, they have the Adventure kids’ relationship with the other Adventure kids, and the 02 kids’ relationship with the 02 kids. This is presumably why Takeru and Hikari end up hitting it off so well at the start of 02 even though they didn’t interact all that intimately in Adventure; not only do they have that shared experience they intuitively understand, they also were able to start hanging out in day-to-day life and actually, well, socialize.

This applies to them in relation to the rest of the group as well. While neither of them were necessarily portrayed as having social problems, one common thread between the two is that they’re both very emotionally closed-in. Takeru’s response to negativity is to cover it up with smiles, until he can’t hide it anymore and bursts (which scares the hell out of Iori in 02 episode 19 and ultimately forms the basis of their Jogress arc), whereas Hikari has issues vocalizing whenever she’s hurt or in pain (said by herself in 02 episode 31, but with precedent from Adventure episode 48). That means that, even with potential social circles at school, it’s unlikely they necessarily would have had someone they could emotionally bond with deeply off the bat (especially since Takeru had just moved from Sangenjaya), and it’s likely why they kept gravitating towards each other (despite never truly talking about anything in-depth for most of the series) up until the Jogress arc.

In other words, while the Adventure kids’ adventure of self-actualization meant that their relationships to each other were mainly formed on simply understanding that they had a similar experience and empathizing, the 02 kids -- full of a group of somewhat socially maladjusted and out of place kids, plus two who had been on the prior adventure but were young enough to now still be carrying some deep-seated, unresolved emotional baggage -- were in a position where they arguably needed each others’ help to grow.

Jogress isn’t just an obligatory evolution gimmick; it’s something very important to 02 as a series and understanding what it wants to say about relationships. I think one thing that makes me very sad is how often its constant pigeonholing as a gimmick makes me hear people saying that Daisuke and Ken was the only plot-relevant one and the rest were forced “spares”, saying that something like Takeru-Hikari and Miyako-Iori would make more sense. But when the point of the series is about building your relationships from scratch and learning to grow together, I really don’t feel that a story about relationships that naturally existed already would have helped it nearly as much. It’s not like Daisuke and Ken was that likely of a friendship, either!

This is especially in the case of Takeru and Hikari, who certainly were vibing pretty well with each other, but were still very emotionally closed-in with a lot of emotional baggage until the more to-the-point Miyako and Iori were able to break through their shells. (02 episode 13 is so often considered a “Takeru and Hikari bonding” episode, but while it does do a lot to show off the depth of their relationship that hadn’t been depicted much besides them just hanging out all the time, it also does not solve Hikari’s core problem in nearly the same way Miyako gets to the bottom of it in episode 31.) This is also why Takeru and Hikari have such a different relationship with the 02 kids compared to theirs with the Adventure kids; while they were largely tagging along with the older kids and learning a bit about inner strength back during their summer adventure, the 02 group is the one who not only provided them with friendship on a more equal peer level, but also poked deeply into their emotional issues that they very much needed others to help them out of. These are friends who finally get them.

That Ken ultimately becomes yet another addition to this group of kids in need of friends finding support in each other should go without saying -- after all, it’s made abundantly clear he was very lonely and friendless until Daisuke and the others reached out to him -- but it ultimately culminates in them choosing to integrate this lonely boy from Tamachi into their social life. (Remember: Ken is the only of the six 02 kids to live in Tamachi and not Odaiba, but the last quarter of the series has them going out of their way to meet up.) The episode that establishes that everyone has truly made their peace with Ken and wants to unequivocally support him (with the most originally stubborn against it, Iori, graciously accepting him) is sealed off with a Christmas party. A completely ordinary Christmas party that has nothing to do with the Digimon incidents at hand, where they can play meaningless card games and celebrate the little things like Ken laughing, because it’s not just forgiving him or learning to work with him, but actively enjoying his presence and supporting him.

The Digimon Animation Chronicle profile for Ken in Diablomon Strikes Back refers to him as Daisuke’s “best friend” (親友). Usually, the word for “friends” within Adventure and 02 would be nakama (仲間); you may have heard this word from One Piece fans, but this is a word that roughly means “one of us” and has a stronger emphasis on being in a certain group, or being like-minded. Thus, “you’re a Chosen Child like us,” or, more pertinently, “you have the same goal as us and we’re in this together” (after all, it’s not like being a Chosen Child was ever an exclusive club or anything).

But in the case of Daisuke and Ken’s relationship, it’s not just about having happened to gain a deep bond over the course of 02, it’s that Daisuke now really does have a sense of emotional closeness to Ken that the two are considered best friends by default -- in any situation, despite him living all the way in Tamachi. Even though the franchise loves to put them in the category that “protagonists and rivals” usually get, where most others are ones who tend to have friction but understand each other in the end, Daisuke and Ken are unique in that they’re not like that at all. They have a very straightforward sense of emotionally confiding in each other, at worst maybe lightly bantering a bit, but they are friends before anything else, and that extends to the rest of the 02 group as well.

The aftermath

On its face, it sounds like the 02 kids are getting a pretty luxurious deal -- they got a fun adventure of emotional growth out of it, and they’re tight friends with each other at that! Well, that probably sounds great, but there’s a flip side to all of this.

Firstly, as I mentioned earlier, the Adventure kids’ adventure in 1999 was a lot more “romantic” than the 02 kids’ eight-month-long ordeal. Sure, a lot of it definitely was stressful, what with the running for their lives and the scary villains and the emotional conflict, but there was also the part about getting to meet Gennai and the other friendly Digimon around and getting to explore villages. They were on summer break, so they didn’t even really have to worry about school (especially once they realized time dilation was a thing); it’s basically the epitome of the romantic coming-of-age story. (Fun fact: Stand By Me is really culturally influential in Japan.)

02, on the other hand, was an eight-month-long ordeal of having to fight a territory war crammed into the after-hours of school, juggling fighting this war with keeping it from parents, in a fight that would retroactively turn out to be against what would later become a heavily traumatized and beloved friend, plus eventually watching him get subject to even worse trauma. Oh, and the series also ended on witnessing a bunch of deaths (or in other words, the worst New Year’s Eve ever). While it seemed like the kids had the luxury of enjoying the Digital World in ways the Adventure kids couldn’t at first, actually, they didn’t get to enjoy as much of it at all, since they never got to form any lasting relationships with anyone like Gennai or Elecmon. These kids were basically too busy trying to keep each others’ heads on straight to really be able to focus on that.

The comparative mess that the 02 kids went through, and the messes that they kind of are, means that they’re rather dependent on each other for emotional support. This is not inherently a bad thing, mind you; the fact that some people are more independent than others is a simple fact of life, and the 02 kids (whether it’s from naturally being a bit misfit or from the degree of their experiences) being the type who grow together with mutual support isn’t inherently anything bad. It does, however, mean that they’re likely to have some difficulties ahead coming out of 02 as “growing up” conspires to make it more and more difficult for them to stick together -- after all, how many people have actually been able to stick with their elementary school friends all the way into adulthood? This is especially because Japanese high schools admit students by examination, and rank by academic ability; it’s not particularly common for those from the same elementary/middle school to attend the same high school, even if they live close to each other, and it’s very unlikely that all of them will be sticking together in school by that point.

So, how did they fare?

Well, before we get into anything else, we should probably bring up one thing that seems like such a tiny little detail but is actually very important for this: Technology didn’t stagnate at 02′s D-Terminals, and by the time of Kizuna in 2010, smartphones and group chats existed! (Earlier than they did in real life, at that.) This is actually really important because of how much it does for that question of “how to keep in contact when circumstances like school keep you apart” -- especially when the Adventure group would certainly appreciate the method to keep in touch despite their lives largely getting increasingly separate. That, and even more so if other similar technological things like social media existed; there’s a lot of ways to keep in touch despite physical and circumstantial distance.

Of course, they’d been keeping in touch via email since 02, but a group chat is much lower pressure and actively encourages everyone to keep in touch; think about how useful group chats have been for connecting with your own longtime friends. It’s ambiguous whether the 02 group was privy to this particular chat from To Sora given that they were clearly on call for incidents like the Parrotmon one, but it’s also entirely possible that this is a room for The Ones Who Went on That One Adventure in August 1999, especially since they use the Crests as their icons, and the 02 group has their own (let’s be real, they totally would; think about how many Discord servers with overlapping people you might be in right now). This, combined with the fact that the Adventure and 02 groups seem to have formed a sort of recon squad for the increasing number of Digimon incidents in Tokyo, means that there are actually a lot more opportunities to stay involved with each other than ever before!

As it seems, the Adventure group does seem to be rather emotionally close to the point that Taichi is willing to reach out to Yamato simply to dump his emotional troubles about his future career prospects on him (despite them going to very different universities at this point). Yet, at the same time, there’s still a palpable sense of distance going on here, and a depiction of Taichi and Yamato having developed separate social lives and their own friend circles -- Taichi with Morikawa and Nemoto, and Yamato with Abe (their names come from the novel), who are also acquainted with each other enough to talk about career and worry about each other.

When Taichi and Yamato talk over beer, they don’t even have updates on the same people (Yamato has to update Taichi on Sora and Takeru’s status), and ultimately, Yamato comments on their drifting -- saying that it’s a potentially inevitable part of choosing one’s path. It’s not hard to see why he says this; it’s been a recurring theme for them since after the events of Adventure. Sora and Mimi haven’t been around for Digimon incidents lately because of their careers, and it’s highly likely Jou hasn’t either; Koushirou keeps in touch, but our only depictions have been in the range of business and Digimon incidents.

But for the 02 group? Absolutely not.

The Kizuna drama CD has a lot about what the 02 group was doing (and planning to do) during their little “vacation” in New York. In fact, there’s a lot to go on about here:

Daisuke and Takeru show up together even though Iori was allegedly said to be “first” approached, meaning the two of them were basically hanging out anyway.

Daisuke insists on going on a trip that’s about his own personal career with friends -- and not just any friends, but specifically the group of himself, Ken, Miyako, Iori, Takeru, and Hikari. He also wanted his seniors along, but they were too busy -- but it’s pointed out that the other 02 group members aren’t exactly full of free time either, meaning that these five have a special place of importance to Daisuke in his ramen career trip.

Even the Digimon are aware of what the other humans (the ones that aren’t even their partners!) have been up to lately.

Miyako and Hawkmon say that it’s only natural for them to show up when the group is getting together -- i.e. being with this specific company is a fact of life to her, to the point she invents D-3 gate exploitation to be with them.

The group keeps saying “it’s been a while” for periods of time in which it is made pretty obvious it’s actually not a lot of time at all. (Miyako had just left for Spain to the point her coming back elicits an “already?!” kind of reaction, yet that constitutes “a while”, and the most likely very short time between the trip planning and the movie is also apparently “a while”, and it’s very likely that Takeru’s “a while” in greeting Iori may well have not been that long, either.) It really makes you think about how often the people in this group must be meeting up to think that this constitutes “a while”...

Hikari is ready to fight people for denying her the chance to play with Miyako.

Beyond that, they’ve all apparently been regular enough presences in Daisuke’s life for completely offhand comments and actions to have major impacts on his career thoughts.

In the movie itself, Miyako refuses to take on the exact same request that she ultimately gladly participates in with the rest of the 02 group in New York -- presumably, because the fact her friends are there makes it all better.

As it turns out, despite everything -- despite everyone going in completely different directions with their careers, attending different schools (Iori’s still in high school while everyone else is in university!), the 02 group has been maintaining this attitude of going out of their way to hang out with each other, in a sort of “we do it together, or we don’t do it at all” sense. Of course, that’s not to say they’ve all stayed so socially maladjusted that they’ve become completely incapable of making any other friends at all, but there is a very clear, strong preference of them wanting to be in each other’s specific company to the point that they would do ridiculous things to make it work.

So, you might be asking: what’s the trade-off?

Yamato attributes the alienation between the Adventure group to “choosing one’s own path”. Inherently, this is not quite right (nor is the sentiment that “choices are bad” in general), especially considering that Daisuke, Iori, and Hikari already made their choices in path a long time ago, yet are still behaving like this. The question is actually more of priorities; notice that while the older Adventure characters are mainly portrayed in Kizuna as aggressively pursuing career prospects, the 02 characters, despite having their current educational statuses listed in their profiles, simply seem to have this as not an object.

Iori’s still in school uniform; he’s arguably cramming this all between school club obligations. Ken, Miyako, Takeru, and Hikari don’t have their current educational status involved at all, and even though Daisuke’s ramen trip is technically for his future career, he’s also happy to just “play around” about sightseeing (and, again, there’s also no reason he needed to bring his friends for this). Takeru’s working on his novel, but he hasn’t actually decided it’ll be his career yet. It’s not about whether they’ve made choices or not; it’s about the fact they’re going about this remarkably casually to the point where maintaining their relationship with their friends is more important than career. And this extends to the 02 epilogue as well; compared to their seniors’ more prominent history-making careers, the 02 group’s is more low-scale and community-oriented (the only exception being Sora, but even that ties into individual ambition more than anything else, considering that not succeeding her mother is already a pretty big deal in itself).

The take-home

Adventure and 02 are both very well-known for showcasing people with different personalities and goals in life, and celebrating their differences. I think, personally, the difference between the Adventure and 02 groups’ dynamics is also something that reflects on the different ways to live one’s life as well. This is especially something that most of us can probably understand well now that we’re adults looking back at this, especially in light of Kizuna.

There are some of us who really want to do large-scale things in this world, and will need that understanding of the self to get there but may struggle with maintaining consistent friendships on that turbulent path, and have to adapt by managing the different levels of their relationships and learning to get along with different people in different ways. There are some of us who gain happiness more from mutual support with the people around us even if it means not ostensibly achieving as “great” things, and feel most comfortable with a single consistent set of friends. Some of us are in between, or feel elements of both as we try to experiment with things in life (actually, I’m pretty sure that’s probably most of us to some degree).

Think about your own life and future prospects right now, and then think about the friends you may be in touch with, or haven’t been in touch with for a while, or the ones you talk to for different purposes or fulfill different niches in your life. We’re all trying to straddle this balance; there’s no one right way to live.