#I watched dub but it’s cute! very polite of her! And different from how other Michiru’s talk to the boys | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

mrwinterr · 5 years ago

Text

Happy

Pairing: Rockstar!Bucky Barnes AU x Female Reader

Summary: You meet your favorite artist and get more than what you bargained for.

Warnings: Smut 18+ (consensual and protected sex, oral [male and female receiving], vaginal fingering, belly bulge, light degradation) dirty talk/language and recording. Mentions of drugs and alcohol and a tiny bit of angst.

Disclaimer: I don’t smoke regularly, so anything that has to do with drugs mentioned are techniques I’ve outweighed based on what I’ve been taught by different people. I don’t know which method works best nor am I encouraging the activity. It just came with this fic’s territory. It’s not that deep. You do you, boo.

Title Inspiration: “Happy” by The Maine

A/N: I might or might not have based some of this on true events. All I can say is, life is short, shoot your shot! Enjoy!

A/N #2: There’s a Part 2 now!

“You owe me.” Your friend next to you said for probably the third time this hour. You learned earlier in the day to tune her out. She had been saying that since you persuaded her to accompany you on the weekend long road trip to the neighboring state just so you could see your favorite band…again.

Growing up your parents thought this was just another phase, but as your teenaged years passed on by and you’re now well into adulthood, you’re still a bigger stan for The Avengers as ever.

The Avengers consisted of three members: Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes. Everyone had their take on each of the guys, Steve was the nice one, Sam was the goofy one and Bucky was the bad one. It was silly. They weren’t *NSYNC or The Backstreet Boys, but the fangirls will be fangirls.

Their music wasn’t exactly mainstream, but they did very well within in their genre’s scene. They graced the covers of a couple of magazines, garnered thousands, close to millions, of views and streams online, were featured on TV every now and then, toured around the globe, sold a bunch of records, even independently, but despite all that notoriety, they stayed true to their sound and that’s what kept you around as a fan.

That and the band’s front man Bucky Barnes.

He was hot – plain and simple. Ok, maybe he was just that to most, including your friend who couldn’t deny it, but you didn’t want to objectify the man. What their music had done to get you through the years, they were more than that. There was a level of respect there. You also didn’t buy into the “bad boy” gimmick the fans have dubbed for him. They were human beings just like the rest of us. Imagine being called something like that by the public? They just so happened to be fortunate enough to share their talent to the rest of the world.

“You’ve already seen them. I don’t know why you think you need to for what a tenth time?” She clearly wasn’t amused by your infatuation with the band, but she was still your friend and she would always be by your side through thick and thin even if she didn’t have the same taste in music as you. You loved her for that. Who else would stand for hours in a dark room full of loud, sweaty, smelly, rude even, and sometimes drunk people with no self-control for you? She really was the real MVP.

And she was right though. You’ve already seen The Avengers perform. It was probably more, but you’ve lost count. Whenever they’re in your city or two to four hours in the next one over, you loved this band alright!

You both were polar opposites standing next to each other in line waiting for the venue doors to open. She was calm and still, arms crossed with an unamused look on her face – she could almost play as the “mom that tagged along and didn’t want to be there” – but you knew she wasn’t really mad. There was a bar inside she could occupy herself at. You on the other hand were trying to contain your excitement. You tried your best to not fidget around in anticipation so much. You didn’t want to sweat off your makeup that you managed to apply on point or get an embarrassing stain on your clothes.

“It doesn’t matter,” was always the response you gave her, “their music means everything to me. I’ll always come out to support them.”

She playfully rolled her eyes and scoffed a bit at that. She wasn’t trying to knock you down. She knew you deeply liked the band, but she also knew another side of you, and she liked to pick at it. “Yeah that and you’re into Bucky,” she said and just flat out poked at the side of your breasts. The bra that you chose to purposely wear tonight gave your boobs an extra push and it didn’t go unnoticed by her. They were out there, tastefully, since you were hardly the flashy type.

“Okay, but who isn’t?” You flare back swatting her hand away and trying to shut her down. You didn’t need to have this conversation with her while other fans were around. You didn’t want to sound like a fangirl. You weren’t 13 anymore.

“Chill.” She said raising her hands up in surrender. She wasn’t going to fight you on this one again.

When the top of the hour hit, the roar of the crowd signaled the doors had opened. Once inside, you hit the line to the bathroom considering you’d been outside for a few hours. You didn’t just have to pee, but you needed to freshen up. Your cheeks were a bit flushed from standing in the heat. You dabbed lightly at your face with a small blotting sheet, sprayed a bit of body spray and finished putting every hair back into place before finding your friend, who was already at the bar.

You sported a 21 and up paper wristband that was handed at the entrance, however you weren’t planning on drinking. Usually you had one or two drinks at most, but you were assuming you would be the designated driver tonight. You just always flashed your ID to the bouncer for the wristband to emphasize that you were of age. Unfortunately, some bands have had a bad reputation of fooling around with underaged girls, who lied about it.

She held up her drink to you with a smile on her face. Yeah, you were going to be the one driving back to the hotel, but at least she’s happy. She tried to coax you into ordering a drink of your own, but you only shook your head at her nonsense and stood away from the crowd.

As an avid concert goer, you’ve been to enough shows that you’d been in every section of the crowd. Hell, you’ve even gone crowd surfing before! Plus, you couldn’t hang with those vicious and hormonal fans in the crowd anymore, so you learned to enjoy the show from the back with a full view.

The opening bands were decent. You’d never heard of them, one was probably local, but you always believed live music was just as good, if not, better than opposed to being recorded and remastered at a studio.

During their sets, you caved and bought a drink from the bar, hoping it’d help to pass the time before the headliners came on. Your friend was seemingly on her phone when a random guy approached you asking if he could buy you a drink. The house lights were on. Did he not see the can of beer in your hands? You politely declined his offer and further advances until he gave up and walked away.

“Girl. He was cute!” Your friend said shoving you lightly.

“I wasn’t interested,” you shrug and taking a swig of your drink.

“You’re not being fair,” she started and seeing that you weren’t catching on continued, “you can’t wait around hoping that one day Bucky will notice you. Honey, he came here to play a show and make money not look for a girlfriend.” Okay, maybe that was a bit harsh, bursting your bubble like that and all, but her intentions were good. Bucky Barnes just set the standards too high.

She wasn’t wrong. Guys like Bucky meet new people every day, met girls probably way prettier than you. The majority of their fans were female because let’s face it, the guys had sex appeal and you know what they say…sex sells.

Looking around the venue, you took in the kinds of girls you were going up against. There was a mixture of women of different backgrounds and sizes decked out in different styles, but the ones who won most of the time were the ones that looked good dressed in risqué clothing and heels. Some of them probably even wore less make-up than you or none at all. You couldn’t understand how it was effortless for some people.

It wasn’t that you had low self-esteem. You had your fair share of internal struggle, so sometimes your insecurity played its part. You had your good days and you had your bad days.

You decided upon wearing something simple that you would be comfortable in while still serving a look. And the only other significant thing you did to your make-up was add in a little more shimmer. Yeah you wanted to impress, not sell your soul to the devil.

“Okay, but I just really wasn’t interested,” you said again hoping she’d understand. She did, aware you wrestled with that demon in your head always taunting and ridiculing you that you could look better when you’re perfect just the way you are. With an added bonus of telling you that Bucky was missing out if he hasn’t noticed you already, she ordered another drink in time before the lights dimmed and ear-piercing screams erupted to alert that The Avengers finally took the stage to headline the show.

Like each of the shows you’d previously attended, they were amazing. They poured their hearts out with each beat and belt. Every lyric resonated with you so deeply. There was just so much raw emotion packed into their performance. The beauty of concerts was that they were designed to let you forget about all the bullshit happening in the world for a few hours. They were therapeutic for you.

If you hadn’t known any better, you’d say your friend secretly liked The Avengers’ music because she broke you out of your shell and had you swaying along with her to their songs…that or it was the alcohol taking over her. You didn’t fight it and you allowed yourself to let loose.

You tried to give each member equal attention, watching them as they played, but you couldn’t help but keep your eyes on Bucky the most. They were just trained on him. His cheeky smile and onstage presence were electric. The mere sight of him, all sweaty as his clothes stuck to his skin accentuating his toned body so well, all but had you shuffling trying to ease your body’s frustration and mind.

The only time you looked away was when you swore you thought he looked at you. Making eye contact with someone on stage was kind of awkward sometimes, but with him it was almost intimidating. Believing he was probably staring at the girl behind you, you downed the rest of your drink, pushed that thought away and tried to enjoy the rest of the show.

A full set of songs that showcased their albums and a two-song encore later, you were driving yourself and your buzzed friend back to your hotel room. It wasn’t that far from the venue, electing to stay within its vicinity. Upon entering the room, you tossed the shirt you bought at the merch booth on your bed before removing your leather jacket while she face-planted down on her bed, arms wide open, letting out an exaggerated sigh of relief. You couldn’t blame her. It felt great to rest right after standing on your feet for hours.

Your back rested against the headboard, you knocked your boots and socks off a while ago and had your bare feet up on your bed. You hadn’t changed out of the rest of your clothes or even wiped off your make-up yet. Instead, you sat there skimming through the timelines of your social media accounts while you waited for your friend to get out of the shower.

You had posted a few photos and videos of the night to your story, like your outfit, a few of you and your friend sightseeing, and of The Avengers’ set. You refreshed your timeline and noticed Bucky’s account pop up before everyone else that you followed. It’s no surprise that you were following them on social media. You liked seeing them share the personal moments of their lives. They used to be interactive with their fans. Bucky had even once commented on the old photo you had with the band years ago.

You met them after a show when they were just starting out with their first full-length album debuting that summer. Now, they hardly came out because all it took was one crazed fan to ruin it for everyone else. Their popularity sometimes deemed it unsafe for venues to let them stick around so late, restricting them from meeting their fans.

You click on Bucky’s account and go through his story. There was one of a view of the open road from their tour bus, a clip of a song he liked, a cryptic quote with a deep underlying meaning to it, him getting ready to go on stage and then of the show.

He had taken a photo of the crowd towards the end of the set, asked fans to tag themselves if they could, because the crowd was amazing…as if they didn’t say that in every town they played in.

His caption read: “Awesome crowd tonight! Probably our best show yet!” topped with how much he loved the city. Sometimes you wanted to reply to his posts like he was one of your friends, but then you second guessed yourself knowing he’d never see the message, or he would and just ignore it because he was busy. You knew it was a long shot, but what did you have to lose and what is it that they said these days? Shoot your shot.

You didn’t linger on the body of the message for too long, settling with a “Great show tonight! You guys were amazing as always! :)” hitting send and closing out the app thinking it would conceal any embarrassment that might come out of it. It was a ridiculous thought.

After surfing through the channels of the TV and picking at the food you had delivered to your room, your phone pinged. You saw that it was a notification from your social media account, but once your face unlocked the phone and the subject appeared, you nearly choked on the drink you were sipping on.

Bucky Barnes sent you a message.

Your heart pathetically started beating really fast. The phone almost slipped from your hands as you opened up the toxic app again to read what he said. He probably just sent you an emoji or something.

“Thanks for coming out.”

That was it. Okay, what did you except? A proposal. That was a fair response. He probably had some downtime and was able to reply to people. You couldn’t be that special…but thinking you could strike gold again, you started typing up a response.

“Of course! Will always be out there to support you guys! Hope the city treats you well and have a safe rest of the tour.” Yeah, that was a good one. You say to yourself thinking that would be the end of it…except it wasn’t.

“Appreciate it. You know of any good spots around here?”

Nope. You did not. Do you look up some recommendations for him? No, that’s too much. Great, you’re having a conversation with him through DMs and you can’t even genuinely contribute enough to hold it down.

“No, not really. I’m not from here actually. My friend and I drove here just to catch the show. Maybe YELP?” Shit. You just might’ve effectively got rid of him with turning him to the Internet instead.

“No way! That’s love. Good thinking.” They came through in separate text bubbles.

Why were guys so short? You couldn’t work with that. You thought about it for a while but came up with nothing, so you sent the sassy ‘girl sticking her hand out’ emoji as a reply. Damn, you were really bad at this.

Several minutes passed by and thinking you were really done with him; you got another message. It was Bucky again and he sent you a photo. It was from your own feed; the group photo of you and his band mates all those years ago.

“I thought I recognized you.” You sat up straight as you read that message over and over, eyes bugging. Thankful your friend was taking her sweet time in the bathroom, so she wouldn’t see you all strung up.

What? There’s no way. That was a long time ago. Your thoughts spiraled at his words that had you blushing. He’s pulling your chain.

“Impossible. That was forever ago!” I guess two could play this game then.

“I swear. You tripped and fell into my arms that night.”

What the hell? He actually remembered that? Yeah, that did indeed happen. You had been waiting outside surrounded by a bunch of other chatty girls, pushing and shoving their way to get to Bucky first. By the time he turned to you and you stepped forward, you lost your footing and fell straight onto him. He played it cool, but then you heard Sam, who was trapped in his own circle of girls, signing and taking pictures away, that Bucky has girls falling for him all the time.

“OMG. That was so embarrassing, and I was so awkward!” You couldn’t even speak to him when you managed to hold your own ground. You were young then, you thought you effectively put that behind you.

“You weren’t awkward! You were cute and that’s what has stuck with me since. One of the most memorable moments.”

Yup, he was definitely pulling your chain. While you were ecstatic that you were interacting with your favorite artist, you couldn’t help but wonder why you. He was a public figure and you were just a fan.

“Is this weird?” Came through as his next message after your silence.

Oh, no. I hope I didn’t offend him. You might as well tell it like it is and get it off your chest.

“I don’t know...just a bit. Probably because I’m just a fan? I feel like you should be careful. I mean I should be too…” You really did wonder though. How was it that people of his status were willing and freely open to people they barely knew only to get threatened of being leaked and blackmailed by their own nudes or messages? What made them trust the other party so easily with that kind of stuff? They couldn’t be that dumb. Well, you got your answer.

“I don’t think of you or anyone as just a fan, but you are right��at the same time I feel that you’re grounded enough and a good person that we can trust each other. If that makes sense.”

You weren’t sure if it did. He still didn’t really know you.

“Awe, well that’s really flattering. I totally understand that because that’s how I feel.” Did you? There was a pause between that message and the next that would come.

“What’s your cell?”

Really? It was just that easy? Oh, okay then. Nonetheless, you still gave him your number. The DMs stopped and transferred over to text messages. You have Bucky Barnes’ phone number. What fan fic were you living in? Shit like this doesn’t just happen, does it?

The texts between you and Bucky went back and forth, some playful and some slightly suggestive, but you were completely oblivious to them thinking that was just in his nature. You found out the band was staying in for the night before heading back out on the road tomorrow afternoon off to the next city. You didn’t realize you were holding your breath when you stared at his most recent text asking if you wanted to hang out. It was kind of late, but you didn’t get a guy like Bucky Barnes asking you to hang out on the regular.

“Are you alright?” Your friend questioned breaking your train of thoughts. You could see her from your peripheral that she was towel drying the ends of her hair even though you’re still staring at your phone.

“Bucky sent me a DM inviting me to his hotel room.” You answered in a stoic demeanor, but it felt really strange coming out of your mouth.

“Okay. How long was I in the shower?” Your friend asked with her hands on her hips wanting an explanation.

You recount the details and show her the messages you and Bucky had been sending to each other. She scrolled through each of them and you could see the look of apprehension forming on her face.

“I don’t know,” she said her words trailing before giving you a worried look, “shouldn’t you be the slightest bit concerned?”

“About?” You ask taking your phone back from her.

“All of this!” She exclaimed her arms outstretched in exasperation and not understanding why you were so blinded by Bucky. “You briefly met the guy, years ago might I add, and you decide it’s okay to meet him at his hotel room in a city you don’t even live in?”

Alright, it did raise a couple of red flags, but you were a consenting adult and you lived a life of being cautious and in fear a little too much you wanted to be reckless for at least one night.

“I know you’re only looking after me, but I got to go for it. You know I like him! Sure, I may not know him on a personal level, but I’m allowed to have some fun, right?” You try reasoning with her. Just how different was all this compared to what people around the world were already doing with each other anyways?

She was a bit skeptic before reluctantly agreeing and letting you go but with the promise from you to be careful, share your location and his room number with her just in case she needed to save you or come after him. You thanked her for understanding and assured her that you’d be back before check-out in the morning.

On the drive to his hotel room, you thought about how you always imagined the different scenarios of what it’d be like when you’d ever meet Bucky again. What things you’d do differently or say. How you’d make sure to not trip or do something to embarrass yourself the next time. How you’d be more confident.

Parking was a pain in any city’s downtown, you ended up having to pay for parking twice in one night. Not surprising to you, they stayed in a nice hotel. It wasn’t over-the-top nor was it fancy, but it was definitely clean and a slight step up than of what was in your budget for booking a room.

When you’re finally at his door, you wonder if you were going to be catfished. Were there other people in his room? Were you really that special? Fuck it. Was the final thought, putting an end to the rest, and knocked at his door.

You hear a click and sliding of the chain door unlock, then you’re face-to-face with Bucky. He’s dressed down in sweats and a zip-up hoodie. He shoots you a smile and steps aside for you to come inside, there wasn’t much light offered to illuminate the room other than the ones the lamps attached on the wall between the beds and what little the TV could provide.

“Oh, thank God. You’re real.” Motherfucker. Did you really just say that?

Bucky laughed at that and you explained, honest with him, that this whole thing just felt surreal. He nodded in agreement, offering to take your jacket from you and a drink. It was alcoholic. Not denying him, you accepted it and waited to see what he would do next.

You watch him sit down on the king-sized bed with his feet up, one foot over the other. You’re standing there next to the dresser that also served as a stand for the TV he was watching a random show on. Not sure what to do, you set the drink aside, kick off your boots, leaving them next to the luggage rack, and sit on the spot next to him with a considerable amount of distance between your bodies.

It’s quiet and you’re trying to hush the voices in your head. Did he really invite you to just watch TV with him? Is this awkward for him? Oh, no. He’s going to realize I’m boring.

You feel the bed shift and you see Bucky is leaning over, opposite of you, to grab something from the nightstand. You don’t see much of what he’s doing as your view was blocked by his large back. When he changes positions, a brief spark of a flame emits from his hands. Your eyes trail up from his hands to his lips and notice it was a blunt. You were pretty sure this was a non-smoking room, but it wasn’t under your name, so it didn’t really matter in the end.

Of course, he did that kind of stuff. It was part of the lifestyle to be exposed to it. He took a steady hit and you watched as he exhaled slowly, a cloud of smoke disappearing into the air in front of him.

“Want a hit?” He asked passing and offering you the blunt.

It’d been a while since you last smoked anything. You tried it a few times and even then, you didn’t think you did it right. You stare at the neatly rolled blunt in between his thumb and forefinger, but not too long as to not let it go to waste and ash up all over the bed.

You steadily take it from him and carefully attempt to take a puff. Wrong. That puff was anything but steady. Not realizing how close you were actually sitting next to Bucky, when you tried to exhale you ended up coughing – terribly. Bucky’s face scrunches up as he braces for the impact of white smoke to hit his face.

“Oh my God,” you say covering your mouth in disbelief, but it was a bad idea because your body didn’t like that, and you ended up coughing even harder.

“I’m so sorry,” you manage to get out in between your coughing fit while passing him back the blunt and trying your best to waft at the smoke. Well, if you thought your first encounter with Bucky was embarrassing. This had to take the cake. It wasn’t proper etiquette to blow smoke in the other person’s face.

He waves it off letting you know that it wasn’t a big deal before taking another hit. He even begins to give you a few pointers to inhale in increments, until you get used to the smoke. You don’t even notice the long looks Bucky gives you hit after hit. You take a second to let the smoke stay in your mouth before you give it a second inhale, letting it process through your system before gently exhaling. It was a lot of fucking steps to remember.

“Don’t try to put too much emphasis into the exhalation,” he said as he watches you take another hit, almost perfecting it and with each puff and pass being deeper and longer than the previous, “see, you’re getting the hang of it!” He whimsically lifts his hand up for a high-five that you softly pat in return, but he seizes that moment to hold your hand instead, intertwining his fingers with yours.

The more you breathed in the more your body started to relax. All the edge was taken off and you felt good. You and Bucky continued to pass the blunt, smoking whatever was left of it and what he had with him, as you told random bits of information about yourselves to one another. By now, you and Bucky were leaning on each other, backs against the headboard, the TV barely audible as it continued to play a rerun of whatever that was on earlier.

“You know I really do remember you?” He says causing you to turn your head to look down at him. He has his gaze fixed on your hands, his thumb barely grazing the back of your hand. He’d been playing with your hand, drawing random shapes on it.

“That’s hard for me to believe,” you answer back truthfully.

“Why?” Bucky questions while looking up at you. He was in a slouched position, his hoodie and shirt rising up, allowing you a thin glimpse of his skin, while you sat a little higher up than him.

You admired his handsome face, the crease lines in his forehead, the faint and not so faint marks scattered all around it, his wet lips that shone when he ran his tongue over them and the stubble that surrounded it all down to his adorable nose. Then there were those blue eyes that once put you in an overawe of intimidation, were now a bit alarming in a new sense. They were swirling and growing darker.

“You meet new people every day, Bucky. There’s no way that I could’ve been that unforgettable to you.” You just couldn’t wrap your mind around that. Staring at him, you tried to read him, but you were too faded to concentrate.

“But you were,” he tells you in a low voice just before you notice his eyes shut and he leans in to place an experimenting kiss to your lips. He pulls back to quietly study your expression, and when you don’t show any sign of disapproval, he goes in for another.

This time with added pressure, more emotion, Bucky pulls you down by the back of your neck and casually slips his tongue in your mouth the moment your lips parted. Your heart started racing when you reciprocated his kiss, trying to keep up with him. He definitely liked to dominate. You could even slightly taste the blunt you both shared moments ago as his tongue tangled with yours.

He slips off his hoodie leaving him in a dark gray shirt. Navigating his body over yours, he pulls you down into a more comfortable position. He’s cradling the side of your face as your lips continue to move one another, getting hungrier and hungrier.

The movements cause your top to ride up, exposing your midriff. His hands wander down to caress your skin before you feel his fingers grip at the waistline of your jeans. You instantly grab his hand and stop him. This was moving all too fast for you.

Bucky didn’t press on it for too long and slipped his fingers out, running his hand back up your side and this time underneath what your tank top was covering left of your upper body. His hand snuck back out and started tugging at the material bunched underneath your breasts. When your top was finally discarded to reveal your red bra, he latched onto your neck, kissing up along your jawline and nipping at your ear, the sound of his harsh breathing sent a tingle at the contact and shivers through your entire body.

You winced when you suddenly felt one of his hands at the back of your head, yanking a handful of your hair causing your head to snap back. It gave him more access and you closed your eyes letting the sharp pain run its course and turn into something pleasurable as he practically devoured your neck. You could feel him inhale deeply, getting high on you, and possibly the lingering aroma of the drugs, and sucking tiny splotches onto your skin then licking to soothe them.

He pushed aside the straps of your bra as his lips travelled down your shoulder before stopping at the curve of your breasts. You briefly opened your eyes to see him fixated on your chest. He uses both hands to grope them.

“You think I didn’t notice these from the stage?” He asks now looking at you, squeezing and releasing them before pulling your bra down, your breasts spilling out of the cups. He instantly latches his mouth onto a nipple, while the other hand digs in between the mattress and your back to unclasp the bra. His tongue swirled around the nub, teeth lightly grazing and sucking at the skin around it.

You run a hand through his hair, it was a little sweaty and you couldn’t blame him. It was getting hot; you could feel the heat radiating off of him. It became even more apparent after he got rid of his shirt and you feel his clammy skin on yours.

He pulls back, straddling your waist, most of his body weight falling on his knees, careful to not to crush you. Your hands cascaded down his chest and rested at his thighs. You gave them a shy squeeze, something you’ve always dreamed of doing and you were only slightly satisfied.

Bucky flashes you another smile before he braces one hand next to your head and leans back over to fish something off the nightstand. When he pulls his other hand back you notice he’s going through something on his phone. Curious, you look at his face trying to get another read at him, but this whole night was just full of surprises. He finally looks at you before speaking.

“Can I ask you something and you promise not to freak out?”

It depends.

“Yeah…” Who were you kidding? You’d gladly get on your knees for this man. He swooped in for another hard kiss, your mind turning into mush just before you could get anything else out.

“I think it’d be so hot if we recorded ourselves,” his face was so close to yours making sure that your focus was on his and only his. He must’ve felt you shift because he allowed more of his weight to drop; he was closing in on you and it was like you almost had no chance of escape. You weren’t going to lie. The way his weight was crushing you and sinking you deeper into the bed felt really nice. You were speechless. He wanted to record a sex tape with you.

“I travel so much,” he starts listing off reasons why while still cradling the side of your face again, your hand bracing his forearm, and starts kissing your face, “it gets really lonely being on the road.” At this point, he’s probably kissed every inch, “I’d love to have this...it’d be so much easier for me to come thinking about you.”

Motherfucker. His dreamy voice speaking those words into you did one hell of a number because you were aching down there plus the way his hips dragged at your still jean-clad lower region didn’t offer much relief.

“I-I don’t know,” you hesitate for a bit. What if his phone got hacked and the footage leaked?

“It’s just for me, baby. I swear,” he asks with hopeful eyes.

Sure, you could’ve had the strength to say no, but you were more than willing to be everything he desired. With your consent, he sealed it with another wild kiss. The magnitude of it setting you ablaze.

Bucky sets his phone back on the nightstand, propping it upright, camera on front face mode to display the both of you on its screen, and at the perfect angle he hits the red record button.

It’s showtime.

He revisits the mission of removing your pants and is this time successful. If you both weren’t so faded, he’d probably have an easier time taking them off, but they were tight, and you were grateful he didn’t clumsily break your ankles in the process. Chucking them somewhere off to the side, with his fingers, he traces the top pattern of the matching red lace panties you had on.

He let out a faint chuckle commenting on how red is his favorite color. Oh, you knew. You precisely chose this set just in case you got lucky. He plants kisses to your hip bones, his lips evading the area that cried out for his attention the most, and slithered down the bed, so he had your calves now placed over his shoulders.

Bucky laid gentle pecks on them and came back up to start nipping at your inner thighs, most likely leaving his mark there also, until you felt the tip of his nose hit your center. Your panties were definitely a deeper shade of red at this point. He pushed your panties to the side enough to get started.

You feel the pads of his fingers begin to rub circular motions at your clit. The first wave causing your hips to jolt involuntarily. You feel the smirk that formed on his face against your thigh at your body’s response.

“So sensitive,” he says pushing your hips back down to continue his task at hand, “and so wet,” he added while pulling his fingers away to examine your arousal that coated his long digits. You don’t take your eyes off him and you almost forget how to breathe when you watch his lips wrap around his fingers, noting his eyes closed and how his cheekbones become more prominent on an already perfect jawline as he sucked them off clean.

When Bucky opens his eyes, they’re darker than before, clouded with lust. He roughly yanked at your panties, still in his other hand, effectively tearing the overpriced garment. After giving it a few more tugs, it was long gone. Headfirst in between your legs, Bucky craved for more of you. He licked a broad strip, down up, to your clit. His tongue teased your folds before dipping inside you, the intrusion causing you to gasp. Your body withered around desperately searching for a path to release. Bucky kept at it, his nose nudging your clit with each plunge his tongue made.

Not denying you of a finish, he adds his fingers into the mix, curling them to find that spot. Noting that your eyes had closed sometime during the act, he stills, and you whine at the sudden halt. Your hand aimlessly reaches out to his face. When you find it, you open your eyes and pick your head up to find out why he had stopped. Bucky offers one of his hands for you to hold on to before speaking.

“Baby keep your eyes on me,” he orders, and his eyes don’t leave yours as his head lowers back down to your pulsing heat. You struggle to keep your eyes open and head from lolling back in ecstasy because you desperately wanted to come. Fuck, he was so talented.

The noises as a result of his onslaught were downright sinful. Bucky’s hips started to ground into the bed trying to relieve some friction of his own. His moans tremble across your entire body. There’s no warning when you come, and you don’t even give him a chance to escape your thighs that clamp around face. Not that Bucky minded, feeling you clench around his fingers as he drank in more of what your body had to offer. Bucky only then emerges when your legs fall limp against the bed.

He plops back down next to you, but as he does so, he pulls you on top of him. Your lips reattach themselves with his and the raw nature of tasting yourself on his lips drive you both mad. He hadn’t even wiped around his face, so you feel the wetness on his chin scrape across yours, staining you with your own arousal.

Your hands moved on their own from planting themselves on his firm chest then working their way down the ripples of his abs, through the trail of hair leading to the top of the waistband of his sweats. You tauntingly pulled the drawstring to loosen it before letting it go and instead grip him through the soft material. Bucky grumbled at your actions, but let you carry on.

You palmed him, getting a feel of how thick and long he was. Bucky was growing whiny with each passing move your hand made, he took matters into his own and grabbed your hand, shoving it into his pants. Your hand instinctively wraps around his hard cock and you give it a light squeeze and a few strokes, generating long drawn out moans to spew from Bucky’s mouth.

His cock felt even better with nothing separating you two. Bucky’s pants and boxers easily slide down his muscular legs, which spread apart to give you room. You maneuver south to lie on your stomach, still in between his legs, and grab his member that was curved resting at his stomach and bring it your face.

“Wait,” he says almost breathlessly. Your mouth is only inches away from the head already weeping profusely. He sits up to rest on his elbows and retrieves his phone from the nightstand. Oh.

“Okay, smile for me,” he directs, and you follow his lead before your tongue darts out at his slit and follow the ring around the tip of his cock. You pull back to savor his taste for a moment, your hands spreading the pre-cum around his shaft. Your strokes are then accompanied by the long licks you give at the sides and to his balls that your other hand had been playing with. Bucky’s head rests on his pillow so his other hand could rest on the back of your head and guide you down his length. Your mouth immediately started to water, but it made it easier for you to bob up and down. He let you move at your own pace for the most part. Bucky pushed your hair off to the side, away from your face to get a better view of the outline of his cock poking at the inside of your mouth. You let his cock drag across the inside of your cheeks a few times until it audibly popped out of your mouth.

“Fuck me. I knew you’d be perfect.” His words mixed with his incessant moans were like honey pouring into your ears. He loved the way your eyes looked directly at him through the camera lens when you come up with a long tantalizing lick to the underside of his cock and crawling back up to straddle him.

Bucky gets a good shot of your flushed face and breasts that had some of your drool combined with his pre-cum running down your body before dropping his phone beside him. He sits up causing you to fall back down at the other end of the bed. He picks out a condom from the nightstand and you watch as it rolls down the length of his cock. You bite your lip watching it twitch.

He’s on his knees, but sitting on the balls of his feet, you are lying down patiently waiting for him. He swipes his cock through the wetness of your pussy, prepping himself to slide in. He’s watching your reaction with each pass his dick makes. Your body is yearning for him to be inside of you, to hit that fucking spot over and over.

Just when you think he’s about to do it, he’s reaching over for that damn phone again. Out of habit, you cover your face with your hands. Not only showing the last shred of humility you had left, but also because you probably looked like a fucking bitch in heat.

Bucky pulls your hands away, he still has the phone in his hands, and he’s got it angled to playback from his point of view before he finally pushes into you. He’s big, much bigger than what you’ve experienced, you think you need a moment to adjust, but he never gives you that opportunity and you find that it doesn’t matter when he feels so good. Too good that you find it hard to breathe with each thrust he’s making because he’s hitting it so deep. You push your hands out in front of you to his lower abdomen and attempt to slow him down. Bucky shakes his head and knocks your hands out of the way.

You let out an abrupt yelp at his retaliation to your failed efforts in trying to stop him with a particularly harder and much forceful thrust. Instead, your hands grab fistfuls of the hotel bed’s white blankets and just let him have his way.

“So beautiful,” he says spreading you further then coming down on you to reclaim your lips with his. He rips your hands from their tight grips on the bed sheets to pin them down next to the sides of your head. You don’t care where his phone went, just happy to have both his hands on you. The skin-to-skin contact just hit different sometimes.

The kisses become so feral you start to feel a burn around your mouth from his stubble. Bucky rolls his hips into yours deliciously, a damn true artist, the rhythm he’s got going sends you just about over but never fully beyond the edge to prolong the climax.

Much to your dismay, Bucky withdraws away from you again, back into his previous position, a new idea popping into his wicked mind. With his hard cock still inside you, he slides his hands under your hips and hoists your lower half up towards him, resting your ass on his thighs, effectively bottoming out. You don’t hold back at the way that made you feel and let out an embarrassingly loud moan. He holds still for a second and you’re not quite sure why. You try to move by wiggling your hips, but he holds you still.

He’s staring at how close your bodies are, connected, he moves just the slightest. It causes your pussy to contract and your stomach to tighten up. He does it again in different intervals, his eyes surveying the entire thing. The next push is a little harder and when you see the devious smile breakthrough his face, he does it even more. The thrusts are much sharper and almost painful, but it quickly subsides when you feel the head of his cock probe at the right spot.

Bucky lifts your hips up higher, your back arching in bridge fashion you weren’t aware you could even do until he resumes his new pattern of thrusts again. This new position aided his cock in hitting your sweet spot a little better. He’s filming you again and resting one of his palms on your stomach. He’s not only watching, but he’s feeling the bulge in your belly from the distension caused by the jabs of his cock.

“That’s my girl,” he praised, continuing to pound into you, “you take this cock so well.” The sight boosts Bucky’s ego and for you it actually probably wasn’t a good thing, but you’d be damned the angle did so many wonders to you right now.

“You love watching your cock go deeper and deeper inside me, Bucky?” You ask trying to look up at him from that position. Where did that come from? Your words cause him to freeze momentarily, but you could still feel his cock throbbing inside of you. He liked that.

Another impish thought running through his head, Bucky pulls out, picking you up so you’re also knee-height with him, giving you another searing kiss, then he’s behind you. He gently pushes you down, you on your elbows, Bucky leans over behind you, his soaked cock sliding up your ass resting on the small of your back as he places his phone back on the nightstand in the same position it had been in the beginning.

You don’t dare look at the screen in front of you, so you look down until you feel Bucky enter your pussy once more from behind. Your head rises and it wasn’t due to the surging pleasure, but because Bucky uses your hair as a rope to bring your body upright with his.

He thrusts up into you while he mutters incoherent slurs and lewd noises into your ear. He peppers the side of your face with wet and uncalculated kisses, his hands massaging your breasts before one of them migrates down to cup your pussy. His fingers dip in and starts another assault to your clit. You’re already tethering off the edge and on the brink of succumbing to him, but he just knew when to let up and keep you starved for more.

“Look at you,” he says, using his other hand to turn your head to face the small screen, the numbers continuing to go up. “You’re such a fucking slut for my cock,” you don’t argue with him and instead moan his name. “You like watching yourself fuck this huge cock, don’t you?” You couldn’t lie to yourself anymore; watching the two of you was hot. Your uncontrollable moans now muffled into Bucky’s palm. And he just kept egging you on, “I know I do. It’s gonna remind me just how tight this fucking pussy is.” Damn him.

“You want to come, baby?” He asks, the speed of his fingers picking up a notch.

You pull down Bucky’s hand to respond, “Mmm, yes. Fuck! Please let me come, Bucky,” you don’t know what has possessed you, but it spurs the both of you on even more. Your next words do it for Bucky, “I want to come all over your cock,” and he’s immediately coming and spilling into the condom, still inside you, you feel his release pump through him. He’s biting your shoulder, some of his weight coming down on you, his thrusts becoming erratic, but one did the trick for you and you finally let go.

And what drives Bucky even more wild, is that you don’t stop. You keep rolling your hips into him, riding it all the way out. Bucky’s trying to hold on, with a bruising grip on your waist, his forehead resting on your back; the aftershock of his release proving too much. Your release pours out freely, you feel some of it slide down the inside of your thighs mixed with sweat.

You sag against Bucky, each of your body weight balancing against the other. You feel him scatter lazy kisses up your back and pull your face towards him to press one against your lips, moaning in satisfaction. He slowly pulls out of you with a low groan, your body feeling numb when you fall forward to lie down on the bed. Bucky discards of the condom and shuts his phone off before settling next to you.

He pushes the hair out of your face, and you, facedown, peek an eye open. He has a more than content look on his face, you notice his eyes were back to their normal color. He allows some time to pass for you both to calm down. Sleep wants to overcome your body, but it doesn’t when Bucky’s touch puts you on notice again. He runs his hand up and down your back. He’s insatiable, but he didn’t anticipate your comeback in the end and put him in a daze. He could get addicted to you.

“Is it weird if I fly you out to Brooklyn?” He said out of nowhere. Brooklyn was thousands of miles away from where you lived. He wanted to pay your way to see him again. It was such an outlandish request. You’re starting to regain a more balanced sense of perception and thought, and you ponder on this for a few seconds. “Never mind. You think it’s weird,” he says lifting the blanket over his head turning his back to you. You could tell he was just trying to be cute.

“Oh, come on! You caught me off guard. You can’t blame me!” You respond, but he doesn’t budge. You muster up enough strength to sit up to lean over the side of his body, resting your chin on the top of his shoulder, and try to grab at the blanket. You pull it over his head and see the lazy smile etched across his pretty face. All you do is return the smile and close your eyes, basking in the post-coital bliss.

“Stay for the night,” came as his last request and turning to lie on his back, wrapping his arms around you.

You don’t think about your car, that’s still parked nearby or care if the parking rate is probably going up by the hour and start eating at your bank account. You don’t think about how pissed your friend would be when she wakes up in the morning and you’re still not back in time. You just think about how tomorrow he’d be far away. You scoot up to give him one more kiss before laying your head to rest on him and make the best out of the present. Happy that you went with your gut on this one.

A/N: This could flop. At first, it was easy to write, but then the ending tripped me up. & while I have your attention, please let me know, anonymously or not, if there’s an interest in a Chase Collins fic? Charles Blackwood smut, anyone? Anyway, I hope this delivered! Thanks for reading!

#mrwinterr writes #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes fanfic #sebastian stan imagine #sebastian stan fanfic #sebastian x reader #sebastian stan smut #sebastian stan x you #sebastian stan x y/n #marvel fic #rockstar!bucky barnes #rockstar!bucky #rockstar!au #happy

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commentaryvorg · 3 years ago

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Digimon Data Squad Dub Comparison Episode 3 - The Return of Thomas!

This is a companion to my commentary on the original Japanese Digimon Savers! Reading my commentary on the original version of this episode (which you can find here) is recommended before reading this dub comparison.

Original name ~ Dubbed name

Masaru Daimon ~ Marcus Damon

Yoshino Fujieda ~ Yoshino “Yoshi” Fujieda

Tohma H. Norstein ~ Thomas H. Norstein

Sayuri Daimon ~ Sarah Damon

Chika Daimon ~ Kristy Damon

Captain Rentarou Satsuma ~ Commander Richard Sampson

PetitMeramon ~ DemiMeramon

[Since several characters share the same name between the original and the dub, quotes from the dub will always be in italics, while quotes from the original will not, in order to distinguish them.]

In the original, Masaru’s VA is always the one reading out the title card, but the dub mixes it up with different characters depending on the episode. This time, we get Miki and Megumi reading it, complete with fangirl squealing over Thomas. Uh, thanks, dub.

Sarah: “I think Agumon has been a really good influence!”

Marcus & Agumon: “More, please!”

Sarah: “See, he even says ‘please’ now.”

Agumon giving Marcus a reason to wake up early on a non-school day, that makes sense, but Agumon giving him a reason to be more polite? I dunno.

As you can see, there is no dub equivalent of “Agu-chan”. This is understandable and not the dubbers’ fault since English lends itself a lot less to casual terms of endearment like that, but it is a shame.

Marcus: “You served him first?! What did you do, adopt him while I wasn’t looking?”

Marcus says this like it’s not exactly what she’s literally done, and also like it’s not what he’d want. Don’t you want Agumon to be your new little brother, Marcus?

Sarah: “Keep it up, tough guy, and I’ll give your portion to him, too.”

Her affectionate ribbing calling him “tough guy” is cute.

Sarah: “After all, Agumon is a growing boy.”

A neat little nod to the time Agumon said that about himself in episode 1 (even if it didn’t make sense for him to have known that human phrase, but).

Agumon: “I won’t hand over the last of Sayuri’s fried eggs, not even to you!”

~~~~~

Agumon: “Boss, the only way to get this last fried egg is to take it out of my belly.”

Alas, since dub-Agumon is only referring to this particular last fried egg, we lose the future relevance the original line will have. The dub is not watching ahead to be able to pick up on these things.

Chika: “What a child…”

~~~~~

Kristy: “What a doof.”

Similar snark – he definitely is a doof – but there’s something I like about Chika calling her older brother a “child” that isn’t quite there when all she’s calling him is a doof.

Most of Thomas’s shower scene is cut. I will grant the dub that one improvement it consistently makes is doing its best to remove all the unnecessary fanservice bits.

[as Agumon tumbles from the bike basket]

Kristy: “…Doof Two.”

Agumon: [sighing] “I guess…”

What do you mean, Agumon admits and agrees that he is a doof (and implicitly agrees that his boss is one as well). Original-Agumon would not have nearly enough self-awareness to acknowledge that.

Marcus: “Why can’t you travel in the Digivice like all the other Digimon?”

Agumon: “Those other Digimon just show up when they’re called, but you’re lucky. You have me all the time, Boss!”

Unlike in the original, Marcus does actually bring up how Agumon ought to be in the Digivice. But Agumon doesn’t protest with “but I don’t like it in there”, despite him having made even more of a point of not liking cramped spaces in the previous dub episode than he did in the original. If the dub was going to have them discuss this onscreen, it would have been better to take the claustrophobia angle and show Marcus respecting Agumon’s wishes than to make it seem like Agumon’s just being contrary for the heck of it.

Marcus: “This one? No? Oh, just press everything!”

I enjoy the dub being even more obvious about how Marcus figures out which button on his earpiece is the right one to press.

Street punk #2: “Nothing’s going on at all…”

PetitMeramon: “Nothing at all!”

~~~~~

Street punk #2: “Nothing ever goes on around here any more…”

DemiMeramon: “I agree!”

This is significantly different – here, the DemiMeramon isn’t just parroting the dude’s words, it’s definitely expressing its own opinion about things. The implication here is therefore that it starts setting things on fire because of its own boredom, and these dudes here who happen to also be bored have nothing to do with it. That is categorically not how this is supposed to work.

Masaru: “Let’s fight!”

PetitMeramon: “Fight…”

~~~~~

Marcus: “There it is! Fightin’ time again!”

DemiMeramon: “Oh yeah?!”

Again, it’s not parroting his words; it’s responding on its own terms like it’s lucid and thinking for itself. Not how this should work.

Masaru: “You’re not solid enough, damn it! If I could just hit you once, I could get Agumon to evolve!”

~~~~~

Marcus: “It’s not solid enough to land a blow! But I’ve gotta punch it to start the DNA Charge! Otherwise, Agumon can’t Digivolve!”

The original version of this line sounds reasonably naturally like Masaru is just expressing his frustration at the PetitMeramon. But in the dub, it reads a lot more like awkwardly stilted exposition just to make sure the audience understands why this is a problem.

Marcus: “Stop setting things on fire! I just got these shoes!”

This is one of those dub additions for comedy, but I’m not sure I like the resulting impression that Marcus is somebody who cares that much about what he wears, because Masaru definitely never seems to be that kind of person.

Agumon: “Now be a nice fireball and let us punch you!”

Pfft. This episode in a nutshell. More of that dub-Agumon trait of saying things that would be snarky if it didn’t sound like he obliviously means them completely seriously.

Gaomon: “Yes, Master!”

~~~~~

Gaomon: “Sir, yes sir!”

“Yes, Master!” (spoken in English) is Gaomon’s catchphrase in the Japanese, and… I have no idea why the dub couldn’t just keep it exactly as-is. “Master” is a perfectly reasonable thing for him to call Tohma (especially since he’s a dog!), and it even comes already translated.

Instead, he calls Thomas “sir”, which on its own is… fine, I guess. But in particular, the “sir, yes sir!” catchphrase just makes dub-Gaomon come across as some kind of army grunt, rather than as the very good and loyal dog that he is.

Masaru: “Damn it… That thing pissed me off…”

~~~~~

Marcus: “Urghh… I am exhausted. Whew!”

Masaru here is complaining that he didn’t win, but Marcus is basically just neutrally expressing being exhausted without any sense that he’s specifically frustrated at the DemiMeramon for getting away from him. Since the entire ensuing several scenes are supposed to be a lot about Masaru’s frustration that he’s not good enough, the dub is not starting this off on the right note.

Yoshino: “Well, I didn’t think it would go easily for you from the start.”

~~~~~

Yoshi: “Don’t worry, Marcus, you didn’t let us down! No-one here at DATS actually thought you could do it anyway!”

Yikes, that’s some way more backhanded reassurance than she gave originally. And also, why does she even feels she needs to “reassure” him? Marcus was not expressing any sort of notion that he felt like he’d failed in the first place.

Agumon: “Hi there, pal.”

[Gaomon ignores Agumon and walks past him]

Agumon: “Hmph! No birthday present for that guy!”

How does Agumon even know about birthdays, and birthday presents, and the concept of giving birthday presents to people you’re on friendly terms with? These are not things he should reasonably have learned about yet when he’s only been with humans for like a week.

Masaru: “You bastard! You took away my prey!”

~~~~~

Marcus: “Hey, you! When we talk, you listen!”

It makes perfectly reasonable Masaru-ish sense for him to be mad about Tohma winning what was supposed to be his fight. But Marcus? Isn’t even thinking about the fight, apparently, and is instead just being a jerk.

So far, all Thomas and Gaomon have ignored is Agumon’s greeting and a brief “who are you, blondie?” from Marcus (the “blondie” part is dub-only, unsurprisingly), which is a little rude but not really warranting this response already. Heck, “when we talk, you listen” implies Thomas has been ignoring something substantial that Marcus has been trying to say to him, rather than just a question and a greeting.

There’s a record scratch in the BGM as Thomas ignores Marcus’s attempt to challenge him to a fight and just walks past him. I liked the comedic record scratch they had in episode 1, but this one feels a little cheesy and unnecessary.

Megumi: “His stern-looking profile is so wonderful!”

Miki: “It really is!”

~~~~~

Megumi: “He’s so on top of things!”

Miki: “He so is!”

I appreciate the dub changing the topic of Megumi and Miki’s fawning into admiring Thomas’s work ethic, rather than the original admiring of his appearance. (He is fourteen, you are adults, please stop.)

Tohma: “…it seems rather peculiar that there are a large number of Digimon detected in this country lately.”

…

Satsuma: “Is the frequency not as high in EU?”

Tohma: “No. It must be because it has a larger area.”

~~~~~

Thomas: “It seems there have been an unusually large number of Digimon appearances lately.”

…

Sampson: “Hmm. So do you think these numbers could eventually overwhelm the Data Squad?”

Thomas: “No. But of course, that all depends on having the right team in place.”

Seems the dub is ditching the fact that it’s specifically this country that’s been getting so many more Digimon appearances. Instead, Thomas just takes the opportunity to be a passive-aggressive jerk about Marcus sooner than in the original.

Satsuma: “Oh, let me introduce you. This is…”

[Tohma barely even glances at Masaru; Masaru gets angry]

Masaru: “Hey! I don’t care if you’re called Tohma or Tonma… but around here, I’m your senpai! I’ve only been here for three days, but make sure to call me ‘Daimon-san’ or ‘Daimon-senpai’!”

~~~~~

Sampson: “Oh. Go ahead and introduce yourself, Marcus.”

[Thomas barely even glances at Marcus. Marcus gets angry]

Marcus: “Say what?! Why doesn’t *he* introduce himself to *me*?! I’m the one with seniority, even if it’s only three days.”

This reads a lot less like Marcus getting angry has anything to do with the way Thomas just barely even looked at him, and more that he’s mad at Sampson for thinking he ought to introduce himself first. In that vein, it’s somewhat more reasonable for him to go ranting about seniority, I suppose. However, I liked the way that Masaru suddenly ranting about that with no real provocation was unreasonable and was very transparently him trying to assert some kind of superiority, not really about the appropriate-honorific-respect that he tried to insist was the point.

Marcus: “Who does he think he is, anyway? Look, kid! Agumon and I are the top fighters around here, and don’t you forget it!”

Meanwhile in the dub, the lines specifically asking for honorifics have no English equivalent, so we get this to fill the gap. I guess it has a reasonably similar effect and is a similarly uncalled-for assertion of superiority.

(I do like the “kid”, trying to make Thomas seem beneath him despite their equal age.)

Satsuma: “Already blazing down the warpath, eh?”

~~~~~

Sampson: “You are completely out of line.”

Satsuma was being reasonably tolerant of Masaru’s argumentative nature, accepting that this is just how Masaru is and he’ll hopefully be able to rein it in if he just understands the situation better. But Sampson is simply having none of it.

Sampson: “Marcus, Thomas is *your* superior. Deal.”

I guess it’s a lip-flap issue, but Sampson just telling Marcus to “deal” sounds weirdly colloquial for him. Also, “superior” is not quite the same thing as having seniority in terms of just having more experience. This implies that Thomas is going to have the right to give Marcus orders and Marcus will be obligated to follow them, which is not quite it.

Marcus: “You mean I have to take orders from him?”

…Okay, apparently that literally is what the dub wants us to think, even though this is not how things are actually going to work here.

(This is in place of the line establishing that Masaru and Tohma are the same age, but that will be a fact that gets mentioned in a later dub episode.)

Satsuma: “Be sure to get along with each other, as you are colleagues.”

~~~~~

Sampson: “Unlike some teams, *they* have got discipline.”

Satsuma was trying to mediate between the two, but instead Sampson is very clearly taking Thomas’s side, which he really ought to know is only going to rile Marcus up more.

(If Marcus and Agumon’s lack of discipline is really such a big dealbreaker for you, Sampson, why did you even want to recruit him in the first place?)

Tohma: “I think it will be futile to do so, Captain Satsuma. There is not a chance that this person could benefit DATS.”

~~~~~

Thomas: “Commander, please allow me to say a few words about the new recruit. Based on my first impression, I feel he could never benefit DATS in any way.”

Thomas is being a lot less out of line here, asking politely to speak his opinion and qualifying it as being only based on a first impression. This is also not him pointedly refusing to even try and get along like Tohma was, since Sampson didn’t ask him to. The blame in the dub version of this argument is a lot more heaped onto Marcus’s side rather than equally with both of them, and Sampson obviously siding with Thomas doesn’t help matters.

Masaru: “Say that to my face! Look into a person’s eyes when they’re talking!”

~~~~~

Marcus: “Say that to my face! Look me in the eye! If you have the guts!”

There’s slightly less emphasis on Marcus caring about people looking him in the eye when they’re talking to him, since he turns it into a general jab about Thomas not having any guts, but I do appreciate that it’s pretty much still here and unchanged.

Marcus: “What fighting skills does Your Highness possess, you royal jerk?!”

Ehh, I don’t really like Marcus bringing in jabs about the nobility thing at this point. Thomas has just insulted his fighting strength, and in that particular fighting context, Masaru would not care about anything except his opponent’s strength and would not make uncalled-for jabs at something unrelated.

Yoshino: “This is the worst… Go ahead, do whatever you want.”

~~~~~

Yoshi: “Oh well… Good luck. Protect yourself.”

This is after Marcus refuses to put on his headgear in the boxing ring. Yoshino sounds like she’s just exasperatedly washing her hands of his self-destructive recklessness, because hey, at least she tried. But Yoshi still seems to be genuinely trying to help him, even as the “protect yourself” falls kinda flat because he literally just refused to do so. (It doesn’t sound especially sarcastic – the “good luck” at least sounds very genuine.)

Tohma: “Why did you join DATS?”

Masaru: “Huh?! It was so I could win, obviously!”

Tohma: “Against who?”

Masaru: “Against strong guys!”

~~~~~

Thomas: “What made you join DATS in the first place?”

Marcus: “Huh? It was so I could meet guys like *you*!”

Thomas: “Seriously?”

Yoshi: “He means, he wanted to fight. Strong guys, like you.”

Marcus: “Not him…”

I think what the dub is trying to get at with “guys like you” is similar to a change they made last episode, in which Marcus apparently specifically wants to beat up bad guys, and Thomas is totally one of those, right. I guess props to the dub for at least trying to keep that vaguely consistent? Even though it’s a change that I very much do not like.

I presume the “not him” after Yoshi just said “strong guys like [Thomas]” is Marcus wanting to insist that Thomas isn’t strong, because it otherwise wouldn’t make any sense for him to deny the thing that he literally just said himself.

But, hey, notice something else here? Yoshino doesn’t have a line here in the original. They edited the footage to take away Marcus explaining his own goals and put those words into Yoshi’s mouth instead. Why? Why would you do that. I’d say that maybe they only did so to remove some of the punching from the fight because oh no violence (there will be some Issues the dub has with removing punching from this anime which is very heavily about punching), except they still keep the bit where Thomas punches Marcus in the stomach, so that can’t be it. They actually keep all the punches in this fight uncut, which is Rare for the dub.

Tohma: (He’s beyond help.)

~~~~~

Thomas: (I’m getting tired of this.)

Thomas’s thought is a lot less unreasonable than Tohma’s. Thomas is still coming across as significantly more in the right than Marcus in the dub, rather than them being equally as bad as each other.

Masaru: “A fight doesn’t end until one side admits defeat!”

~~~~~

Marcus: “Sorry ‘bout that. Why don’t you run along and catch up with Sampson. Maybe you can read a report together.”

Ughhh, I really, really don’t like this. The dub has apparently decided that, since Marcus is A Jock™, he must be disdainful of Nerds™ like Thomas and make jabs about that. Masaru doesn’t frigging care! He does not give a damn in the slightest how book-smart and workaholic Tohma is; the only thing that would ever matter to Masaru is how he fares in a fight.

And we get this instead of that fun line showing Masaru’s philosophy about street fights, giving more insight into why he insisted on getting up and continuing the fight even after the “match” had ended.

I also don’t like Marcus’s “apology”. He is very obviously not sorry for deliberately punching Thomas, and trying to act like he is when he obviously isn’t is such an insincere dick thing to do that would never even cross Masaru’s mind.

Yoshino: “Tohma’s beaten Olympic champions in the past.”

~~~~~

Yoshi: “I’ve seen Thomas routinely beat Olympic champions in that very ring!”

…What, in that ring in the gym that’s presumably at DATS? Even if this is the dub assuming it’s not at DATS and is just some gym somewhere nearby in town, you’d have thought that if Tohma had fought champions, he’d have gone to them to do so, rather than inviting them to him. To them, he’s just some random rich kid; why would they go that far out of their way for him?

The “routinely” also serves to make Thomas’s talent sound even more ridiculously over-the-top than it already was.

Yoshino: “Really, the only things worthy of a gold medal around here are your pride and your competitive attitude.”

~~~~~

Yoshi: “Marcus, I’m not impressed by your bragging, and Thomas isn’t even in the room!”

I miss the snark. A lot of characters the dub makes snarkier, but Yoshi kinda becomes a bit less so, it seems.

Kudamon: “If even a small flame from PetitMeramon’s body remains, it has the ability to develop and multiply in a short time. It should have been prevented from doing so earlier.”

~~~~~

Kudamon: “A DemiMeramon can regenerate itself over and over again, multiplying a hundred times in as little as half an hour. Apparently, the area wasn’t sealed off earlier.”

The dub manages to completely leave out the part where this is Masaru’s fault because embers from the PetitMeramon were scattered everywhere from his failed attempts to punch it and then he ran off and left things on fire for new PetitMeramon to regenerate themselves from.

Instead, apparently DemiMeramon can just multiply… whenever? It doesn’t do so from the flames it leaves behind, it just copies itself? Except, if Thomas secured the single DemiMeramon that there was to begin with, it literally should not have been able to do so. Sealing off the area would have been irrelevant once it had been safely turned into an egg. The only way it could have multiplied itself like this is if it did so before Thomas neutralised it – but it clearly didn’t do that in front of Marcus, so this is hardly his fault.

Marcus has the same flashback to punching the DemiMeramon and the same thought that this is his fault, but this makes absolutely no sense with the information the dub has given us. Great job there, dubbers.

Sampson: “And now, the DemiMeramon has been left on its own to multiply at will!”

Um, dub? Do you not remember the part where Thomas brought in the DemiMeramon’s egg? It was not left anywhere. That is not how this happened and not why this is (supposed to be) Marcus’s fault.

Masaru: “Wait! Those fireballs are ours to beat!”

~~~~~

Marcus: “Hey! Hold on a second, that’s our case!”

They really are watering down any sense that Marcus sees this as being about finishing his fight. Instead he’s apparently invested because this is a case, like he ever really cared about the official DATS investigation side of things.

Masaru: “Damn right! We’ll pull it off somehow using our spirits!”

~~~~~

Marcus: “You bet! And we’ll do it with style, too!”

I miss the “somehow”, making it clear that Masaru has absolutely no idea how he’s going to do this and is willing to basically admit that, yet still wants to throw himself into it anyway.

Marcus: “You two can’t handle that many alone! We’ll help!”

The “we’ll help” is a dub addition, but I am surprised by the notion that Marcus sounds willing to just help Thomas, essentially working together with him. That definitely shouldn’t be something he’d want to do right now. (Suddenly the dub is making Marcus come across as more reasonable and less of a jerk than it’s been doing the entire time, because what is consistency.)

Megumi: “His lightning-fast techniques look great!”

~~~~~

Megumi: “His reflexes are lightning fast! And he’s cute!”

Okay, never mind what I said earlier, I guess the dub is still keeping the idea that the computer ladies think Thomas is cute, adding in a reference to that where there wasn’t even one originally.

Agumon: “Wow…”

~~~~~

Agumon: “Cute?”

And because of that, we also lose Agumon being in awe of Tohma and Gaomon’s performance and accidentally making Masaru feel worse, in place of him simply irrelevantly questioning Megumi’s comment.

Kudamon: “Aren’t you going to stop him?”

Satsuma: “Leave him alone.”

~~~~~

Kudamon: “You’re not going to say anything?”

Sampson: “Not yet.”

So apparently, Sampson is planning to give Marcus some kind of talking-to about this at some point probably fairly soon. We’re really losing that sense from Satsuma that he understands that Masaru will be Masaru and is being patient and giving him space to sort his issues with Tohma out on his own, which I enjoyed and am sad to lose.

Agumon: “Aniki… Why are you angry?”

~~~~~

Agumon: “Don’t be upset, Boss! Just because Thomas is better than you!”

Originally Agumon didn’t really understand what was going on in Masaru’s head. Meanwhile, dub-Agumon seems to have Marcus figured out perfectly – and yet is also tactless enough to outright say the thing he’s already realised is upsetting him.

Agumon: “Well, I think Tohma and Gaomon are nasty guys too, but…”

~~~~~

Agumon: “Boss, I’m sorry I said that about Thomas. You’re better than him.”

At least dub-Agumon realises this and apologises after Marcus is clearly not thrilled by it, but his “you’re better than him” reads as pretty empty reassurance when he just said the exact opposite.

(Meanwhile, original-Agumon still didn’t realise this had anything to do with who’s better than who and just thought it had to be about Tohma being kind of a dick, while still being confused at how that would make Aniki this upset…?)

Masaru: “No… It’s myself that I’m mad at, not them.”

~~~~~

Marcus: “No, I’m not. I’m just pig-headed and I let my pride get in my way.”

Marcus, like Masaru, is capable of realising that the problem is himself here… but he goes way further than Masaru does as to why that supposedly is.

And the thing is, this isn’t actually supposed to be the problem in the original! Originally, Masaru’s issue was that Tohma is “better” than him simply in the sense that he’s a stronger and more capable fighter, making Masaru face the fact that he might not be as strong a fighter as he thought he was. But here in the dub, apparently the problem is that Thomas is “better” than Marcus because of Marcus’s personality, because Thomas is supposedly just a better person than some pig-headed arrogant jerk like Marcus.

Which is not the point! Masaru can be reckless and prideful sometimes, but it’s never in a way that makes him a bad fighter or a bad person. He’s been a bit of argumentative jerk in this episode in particular with regards to Tohma, but Tohma himself has been equally bad in that regard in his own very different way. The original was great in having both Masaru and Tohma be equally the problem in this clash between them, in very parallel ways.

Yet apparently the dub wants us to think that, no, Thomas is a perfectly reasonable guy and the problem really is that Marcus is such an arrogant jerk compared to him. Which I guess is somewhat consistent with some of the small changes they’ve been making to the rest of the episode to make Marcus slightly more of a jerk and Thomas slightly less of one, and having Sampson clearly come down on Thomas’s side, to make it look like Marcus’s attitude alone is the problem.

But, urgh! I hate that the dub is doing this to Masaru’s character, presenting Marcus as more of a jerk and as if this is his biggest character flaw, when that has nothing to do with what’s going on with Masaru and just makes Marcus significantly less likeable! Why would you ever think this was a good thing to do with the story’s main protagonist, seriously.

Masaru: “Damn it! What am I doing? Really… what the hell am I doing?”

~~~~~

Marcus: “It’s time I realised it. I still have a lot to learn. Face it. I’m not the ultimate fighter.”

And now, while originally Masaru was unable to properly articulate what it actually was that was frustrating him about himself, Marcus has just fully completed this 100% self-aware reflection. From this, what you’d assume it’d lead into would be, presumably, Marcus trying to be less “pig-headed and prideful” and more like Thomas, since apparently Thomas’s way of doing things obviously makes him better than Marcus as both a fighter and a person?

Yeah, raincheck on that supposed character development. I’m sure you can already tell that’s not what’s going to happen here, since it isn’t in the original, because it doesn’t freaking need to be.

Also, remember how I made a point of how the original changed Masaru’s “already the number one street fighter” into Marcus’s “trying to be the ultimate fighter” in episode 1? That’s becoming extremely relevant right here.

This whole episode is a bit of a wake-up call for Masaru in terms of realising for the first time that maybe he’s not actually the greatest fighter like he thought and there’s still more growing he can do. But Marcus? He’s supposed to have already known that. “Face it, I’m not the ultimate fighter”? You literally never said you were in the first place. You were supposed to already know you had a lot to learn, so why is it only just now “time I realised it”?

There wouldn’t necessarily be anything inherently wrong with the dubbers changing Marcus’s ultimate fighter thing into this if they’d made sure to follow through on it and also change every character moment he gets to be consistent with the new version. Buuut they’re not doing that. I don’t think they realised how meaningful of a change it even was to make in the first place.

Old man: “It’s hard lighting up a fire… The sparks go out easily whenever the wind gets a little too strong.”

Masaru: “Well, obviously!”

~~~~~

Old man: “I’m having trouble starting a fire, though. Y’see, the flames keep dying out on me because the wind’s too strong and it keeps blowing it out.”

Marcus: “Yeah, that’s happened to me, too.”

Unlike Masaru, who was just expressing exasperation at this old guy telling him something obvious like he didn’t already know that the wind blows out flames, Marcus appears to be… getting the metaphor? His own experience that he’s referring to could just be his literal problem of not being able to punch fire, but based on what he’s just been reflecting on a moment ago and also judging from his tone of voice, that doesn’t seem to be it.

Which makes me sad! Masaru is a ridiculously straightforward doofus who wouldn’t know a metaphor if it punched him in the face, and I am disappointed to see the dub water down that delightful part of his character and make Marcus into some kind of regular person who can actually recognise that kind of thing.

Old man: “But… once I get a larger flame going, it burns strongly no matter how much the wind blows. Fire is an interesting thing, isn’t it?”

Masaru: “…This is…”

~~~~~

Old man: “Well… If you learn to use the wind instead of fighting it, you can make the fire burn brighter than ever before. Harness power, don’t extinguish it.”

Marcus: “…He’s right!”

But then, the dub’s version of the metaphor becomes something quite different. Instead of saying that Masaru’s “flame” will soon get so strong that no wind can blow it out, he’s saying that Marcus should harness the “wind” to make his “flame” stronger.

Originally, the metaphor was basically meant to be a reassurance to Masaru that he’s already doing fine – that he just needs to keep going as he has been and continue to grow and soon enough nothing will be able to stop him. But here in the dub, the metaphor appears to be prompting him to take new action of some sort, warning him that his flame will keep getting blown out if he doesn’t do whatever “harnessing the wind” is supposed to mean.

It’s ambiguous exactly what the “wind” could represent here. If it’s something that was getting in Marcus’s way until now, is it meant to be his “pig-headed pride” that he was just thinking was his big problem? Is the point of this supposed to be the old man telling Marcus through metaphor that actually he should keep being exactly the way he is and should just do that harder?

On the one hand I’d be okay with that because hey, guess what, newsflash, there is actually nothing wrong with Masaru being the way he is, and the dub is wrong to try and act like his personality is the issue and to distort his personality into being more of a jerk to make it an issue. But then that just serves to completely undermine the supposed realisation that Marcus had back in the tunnel and set him back on the track of not trying to change at all. (Which, yeah, again, spoilers, he’s not going to; of course he’s not going to be actively trying to make himself more like Thomas, because that’s not something that Masaru would ever do. Masaru has very strong convictions in who he is and wouldn’t change that for anyone.)

And somehow, despite this metaphor being a lot more metaphorical and ambiguous than it was in the original, and despite this being Marcus, he appears to completely understand what the old man is trying to say to him and take those words to heart. Whatever those words actually are. Somehow.

…I suppose it’s possible that actually the “wind” in the metaphor is supposed to represent Thomas, and that this metaphor is trying to encourage Marcus and Thomas to work together to make each other stronger. This would sort of make sense, since GeoGreymon uses fire-based attacks while Gaogamon uses wind-based attacks, and we’ll actually be seeing some metaphorical stuff being done with those attacks of theirs in the next couple of episodes. Still, if that’s the case, it’s nonetheless definitely not what Marcus gets from this metaphor right here.

But you know what else this dub version of the metaphor very much isn’t? It is not remotely useful literal advice about how to punch fire. At no point does it explain the part where a stronger flame won’t be blown out by anything (and will therefore be punchable). So whatever Marcus is getting from the old man’s words here, it isn’t that. This is kind of important for what’s about to happen next.

As Marcus hears about the trouble at the gas tanks and rushes off, the old man has an added line that’s just silence in the original:

Old man: “See what good fire does?”

…which makes even more of a point that this is definitely only meant to be some kind of metaphor. Though, wasn’t he trying to say that the wind would do Marcus good? Marcus already is the fire in this metaphor, so stressing that fire is good seems besides the point. I’m getting increasingly convinced that the dubbers just didn’t have an actual meaning in mind for their version of the metaphor at all and were half-assing this entire conversation. (Yet they somehow still felt they knew better than the original writers enough to change it at all.)

Thomas: “There’s no chance he can secure the DemiMeramon. There’s too many!”

[cut to precisely *three* DemiMeramon flying around]

Yep, sure, three of them is totally too many. Originally the “too many” comment wasn’t there, and Tohma thought Masaru couldn’t do this simply because he hadn’t shown he could handle any PetitMeramon at all. Numbers are not supposed to be the issue here, or at least not the primary one like Thomas is making it sound like it is.

Masaru: “Fire sparks easily go out whenever the wind blows on them. But… Once they burst into flame…!”

[Masaru leaps to punch the Meramon quite solidly in the face and lands with his Digisoul flaring]

Masaru: “They won’t be extinguished so easily!”

~~~~~

Marcus: “Just like the old man said, a fire can be blown out by the wind. Then again… you know what I always say…!”

[Marcus leaps to punch the Meramon quite solidly in the face and lands with his DNA flaring]

Marcus: “You gotta fight fire with fire!”

So… yeah. In the dub, the old man’s words were not actually advice on how to solve this problem, and Marcus’s decision to deliberately make the DemiMeramon stronger had nothing to do with what the old man told him. He had no reason to believe this would work. He really was just being dangerously rash and hot-headed with no sense of actual plan or strategy, and it really did only work out of sheer luck.

(I mean, okay, maybe he could have just figured on his own that making the fire stronger would make it punchable. But Masaru is definitely not supposed to be the kind of person who could figure that out without being nudged in the right direction by someone else. And if Marcus really is perfectly capable of figuring that out on his own, why did he not do so the first time?)

Thomas: “Marcus made Meramon Digivolve on purpose so he could activate his DNA…”

It is very debatable that this was on purpose here, Thomas.

Megumi: “Not bad!”

~~~~~

Megumi: “Marcus proved he could do it!”

Thanks, dub, we needed it made obvious that this fight was about Marcus proving himself, because we couldn’t figure that out on our own.

Thomas: “Don’t get cocky. You just got lucky this time, that’s all.”

This line is basically unchanged, but guess what? Thomas is right to say this, where Tohma wasn’t.

Tohma: “Don’t be absurd. You don’t come up with any strategy or tactics. Do you think using force all the time will let you win at everything?”

Masaru: “Hah, sounds like a sore loser to me.”

~~~~~

Thomas: “Just as I thought, you had no plan and no tactics, just raw power.”

Marcus: “Hah. For a genius, you’re a real sore loser.”

Still basically the same, but again, Thomas is right this time, not being a sore loser. In fact, the added “just as I thought” (and this line comes after the cut back to HQ, so there was conversation prior to it that we didn’t hear) suggests that Thomas has just heard from Marcus himself that, yes, he really did just recklessly charge in with no plan.

I mean, sure, in a sense Thomas is still being a sore loser because Marcus’s raw power still worked. But the point of the sore loser line in the original was that Tohma insisting that Masaru used no tactics in and of itself was him sorely refusing to admit that maybe Masaru actually did have some idea what he was doing after all.

Tohma: “What did you say?”

Masaru: “Wanna make somethin’ of it? I’ll knock you out with one hit to the face this time!”

~~~~~

Thomas: “What did you say?”

Marcus: “Oh, just this: I’ll take my raw power over your tactics any day!”

Granted, outright saying he’d prefer raw power over tactics is definitely something Masaru might also say (of course he would; look at how he never tried to point out that he actually did have a strategy because he doesn’t care about that). But this is a bit of a different way for the dub to show Marcus having his confidence back, since his “conflict” this episode was apparently about “oh no what if raw power is bad and I should be more like Thomas”.

(…Did the dub actually deliberately remove the part where the metaphor was literal advice about punching fire so that Marcus could win through nothing but raw power in order to facilitate this complete backpedal in what briefly appeared to be some ill-advised character development? Ugh, but even if that was on purpose, it’s so much more interesting to show that Masaru actually can do strategy sometimes, and it’s just that his strategies are a lot more risky and head-on than Tohma’s!)

Tohma: “You want me… to act alongside him?”

Masaru: “You’re joking! I’ll never accept him as my partner!”

~~~~~

Thomas: “But sir, he’s completely undisciplined!”

Marcus: “This clown?! I’ll never be his partner – he’s way too annoying!”

Thomas and Marcus get given specific reasons to object to working together in the dub – and while Thomas’s complaint of “undisciplined” is perfectly reasonable, Marcus’s complaint of “annoying” seems rather beside the point. Too pompous, too uptight, (too makes-him-feel-like-maybe-strategy-and-not-just-raw-power-might-be-useful); something like that would be more relevant to Marcus. Is this supposed to be another Marcus Just Hates Nerds™ thing? Because ugh.

Overall differences

Oh boy. There’s a lot going on in terms of changes in this episode, and basically all of it is bad.

Rather than Masaru and Tohma both being presented as equally out-of-line for their own reasons in their initial arguments, the narrative firmly comes down on Thomas’s side by making Thomas less unreasonably harsh in his comments and by having Sampson clearly taking Thomas’s side.

The bit where they explain how DemiMeramon multiplied makes no sense and certainly doesn’t logically leave it as being Marcus’s fault at all, yet he still claims it is for no reason and we’re just expected to believe that.

Then there’s Marcus’s whole, ahem, “character arc” for the episode, if it can even be called that. Rather than some delightful subtle exploration of how Masaru deals with the realisation that he’s not necessarily the strongest fighter out there like he professes to be, it becomes this heavy-handed thing about how Marcus’s whole problem is that he’s Such A Big Arrogant Jerk. Marcus is way more self-aware about his supposed exact problem than someone like him really ought to be (including admitting he’s not the ultimate fighter when he never said he was), and for a moment it seems like his character development is going to be about him learning to be less of a jerk and more like Thomas. Except it won’t, because this won’t happen in the original, because this is not remotely Masaru’s problem in the original.

Then there’s the old man’s metaphor. Originally he was effectively saying that Masaru is doing fine the way he is and just needs to keep growing and getting stronger like this. Here, the metaphor is changed to imply that Marcus needs to take some kind of new action, except what new action is extremely unclear and is not actually going to happen, because, again, not how it went originally. Marcus apparently somehow gets this metaphor, which is ridiculous because I’m not even sure what it was on about, never mind that Marcus should be the last person who’s any good with metaphors, just like Masaru is.

And then there’s the part where the old man’s changed metaphor had nothing to do with teaching Marcus how he could literally punch fire and defeat the DemiMeramon. So his victory in the climactic fight really was complete boneheaded reckless luck without a semblance of strategy, and Thomas was right to call it that.

This entire dub version of the episode firmly wants you to come down on Thomas’s side and agree that Marcus is a huge dumb arrogant jerk whose personality is the entire problem here, and, urgh. I hate it. I hate it so much. I hate that the dub writers consciously chose to do this to Masaru’s character. Masaru does not deserve this.

(You’re probably starting to see why I’m actually quite glad that Masaru has a different name in the dub. Marcus may be a somewhat different character that the dub is insistently making worse, but at least Masaru will always be untainted and separate from the dub’s nonsense.)

#digimon #digimon savers #digimon data squad

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project-paranoia · 4 years ago

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Live Watch: Guardian Episode One, Part One

It's Guardian! The show that got me interested in this genre! I love spooky things and I love mysteries and fantasy! I simply adore it so much! When I can't sleep I just put on a playlist of Guardian in the background. I was aware of censorship before - every country has some version of it, but to some degree this was my first deep dive into how it might effect a piece of media. Guardian is exceptionally acted and incredibly written, as well as suffering from obvious dubs where the dubbing voice actor sounds nothing like the previous actor and odd cuts that are disrupted. In some ways it's the little drama that could fighting its way past their studio going bankrupt while they were filming, reshoots, and being taken down and altered several times.

In some ways Guardian's struggle fits the spirit and aesthetic of the show. Worn in like an old pair of jeans but still making an effort. Putting emphasis where things count and hoping the kindness of the universe will make allowances for the rest. Attention to detail where the story really matters. It has the charm of a community production put on out of love with actors and crew who would not be anywhere else in the world for any amount of money. That feeling of love comes through, and whether or not I'm barely literate I have so many words to share.

Part of why I love it as well is it has that feeling of 80s and 90s fantasy, like Moomin, Xena or Condor Heroes. Everything feels lived in, nothing's been spit shined except for Shen Wei's suits. It's an old city street of a show, it has history and character built in.

*After all that I don't know that I have a tonne to say about the intro. It's very good but it's also full of spoilers. I think having the intro song be in English does make a difference in making it appealing to English speaking audiences as well as standing out as different and interesting, which the show is. Speaking of Spoilers! Spoilers below!

* The obligatory beginning narration is beautifully animated, I have another post that will be done some time before the heat-death of the universe talking about the fascinating world building options. Unlike some Make It SciFi plots, this one has legs and implications.

* Remakes rarely are able to meet the original on equal ground - and I struggle to believe the actors would Fit as well - but part of me really wants to have a chance to have the Dixingren worldbuilding really leaned into. The writing is good enough we get implication but no real follow through. I want fifty episodes of how Dixing functions, give me more pseudo-science behind the mutations, what are the biological differences. I'm hungry for more!

* I love the cameos of later characters, and the way there was some effort to be discrete with spoilers.

* It's Ya Boy! I love Shen Wei. With that music cue and that sinister turn around they really set him up as dubious. I wish they went with something a little different with the intro so his character wasn't spoiled. The writing, directing, and acting was so good and spoiling who Shen Wei is kind of took the teeth out of that.

* Also cheers to the costume designer who outfitted Zhu Yilong so well and made him look jacked with the fit of those clothes.

* Also you can tell this is a real university because the staff has to sit in tiny student chairs. I'm not joking, please be warned if you're going into academia. Unless you have tenure life is An Adventure - and even then.

* Also shout out to Shen Wei's Prized Cabbage and the Queen of our hearts, Li Qian. Why is this actress not in more things? She has such an expressive and lovely face and she really goes all the way in with her acting. I respect an artist that acts from their chest. Also that windbreaker, white skirt combo is chic and fun all at once, it draws the eye and makes her melt into the background all at once - perfect for the character. I love her so much.

* Here's another one of Shen Wei's coats, it's a lovely color for him but it also is so thin that it looks like it crinkled up just from being worn.

* I'm being distracted by details and missing plot stuff.

* Story of my life.

* I love Li Qian hovering along behind Shen Wei like a duckling following their mother. A) Mood and B) it quietly informs their dynamic. Shen Wei has like one person he can trust but no one he can really confide in and it's the same for Li Qian. A ship will find a port in a storm and Shen Wei has Big Da-ge Energy. My fanfic heart hopes they found comfort in the pseudo familial relationship with each other while it lasted.

* Even in episode one we receive foreshadowing, we love and respect some excellent writing. For those of you who missed it - Professor Ouyang is talking about Lin Jing who I love partially because he's so outrageous large but has the total opposite of intimidating energy.

* What did they feed you Lin Jing? He is so tall and wide, but they do a lot with camera work to try to make him not quite as big. Side note, I would really love to see the actor who plays Lin Jing (Liu Minting) both in more dramas but more specifically in a role where he was like a minister or scholar - someone intellectual. I think the combination of being such a big gentleman and also someone who like plots or plans would be really dynamic if it was written well.

* Also I like the exchange where without a word Professor Ouyang indicates he has one last thing to say, it's private and that he would like Shen Wei to ask Li Qian to leave. That's What You Can Do With Good Actors!

* Li Qian is just so pretty and the actress emotes so well!

* Shen Wei totally understanding what's going on with this shady research immediately and wanting to stay as far away as possible. We see one of the first examples of him being aggressively polite to remove himself from a situation.

* "i'M jUST aN oRDINARY sCHOLAR." No one buys it Shen Wei.

* Angy Thinking Face

* One thing the show is really good at is using establishing shots really well so you always know where everything is and everything is going

* Guo Changcheng, all around good boy and angel. We stan a nervous legend

* Zhou Yunlan Arriving. Why is everyone on this show an Absolute Legend

* Guo Changcheng protecting himself with his certificate is too cute. This young man is trying his best and I support him.

* Also that coat is Young, Pure, Stylish; I love it

* Zhao Yunlan, what's wrong with you? You are amazing!

* His irreverent style and disregard of usual policy makes him fit in really well with his band of misfits and special cases

* Guo Changcheng's OO face is too good, elastic face

* Da Qing my love!

* Jin Ling, I think he has an all seeing eye on his hoodie thing. Illuminati Confirmed.

* Also they filmed the shots so well, so you always know where everyone is in relation to everyone else

* Our Prized Cabbage! I love her!

* Great handheld work: shaky and unhinged, but not migraine inducing

* Foreshadowing in the form of a shadow and reaching for the necklace

* Da Qing's cat behaviours. I really want behind the scenes of the actor discussing how cat was he going to cat

* We get our first real example of how Zhao Yunlan doesn't feel safe emoting negatively and so he uses a super sunny mask to hide his feelings, except with Da Qing who he lets his anger show with because he trusts him.

* I'm not even halfway through and I've written so much, peace and blessings to the readers of this.

* Zhao Yunlan's swagger, after his childhood having a little power must feel comforting and good

* I love how Da Qing is talking as a cat less than a meter from the medical examiner. Does the examiner not care or does he know? Is he deaf?

* Harassing Guo Changcheng is the new team sport

* Zhao Yunlan Realises Something Music

* Also, Lollipop Measurement

* It's nice to see Zhao Yunlan just being himself with Da Qing, he's able to really be honest and genuine with him

* Slow Look Moment

* This moment is so fascinating! Shen Wei doesn't know what's going on yet. He just sees an old friend who winces when he sees him and disappears. We mostly see things from Zhao Yunlan's point of view, but from Shen Wei's perspective this is a first part of just some Odd and Confusing Happenings

* This cat though! I love him!

* The delicate way they’re both feeling each other out. This must be so confusing and startling for Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan is trying to figure out if this teacher is going to bust him or what.

* He forgot to let go, way to set off Zhao Yunlan’s suspicions

* “Mark Stewart” Is he though? Who picked out that English name?

* Li Qian! I love her and I love that striped blouse. Fashion. Got to look good when you’re resisting a mental break. *Also she hears a meow and looks around at eye level, I love that for her.

* Zhao Yunlan! You can’t take pictures of young ladies without their permission. What is wrong with you!

* I love Da Qing’s very cat attitude of I Will Have Vengeance for These Wrongs

* Two for one! Shen Wei meets two faces from his past.

* Also, I get a little frustrated about people making a big deal about the 10,000 years versus 1,000 years age thing with Da Qing. a) He has amnesia and b) the thousand years refers to the amount of time needed to cultivate to a certain stage in Chinese mythology - usually by absorbing energy from the sun, moon, or depending on the animal other sources.

* I feel so bad for Shen Wei, who knows what he thinks. Were his friends brainwashed? Did they forget? Can they not say for some reason? What is happening?

This review is getting a little long, so join in tomorrow for Part Two~~!

#Guardian #watchthrough

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thedefinitionofendgame · 3 years ago

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A New Adventure

Marina and Surrera (+ kids) one-shot | Rated G | Canonverse

A/N: Just some cute Marina-centric (with Surrera too ofc) fluff about graduation and moving on to a different part in life. Features Marina’s son and the Surrera trio. I love both couples and love when I think of a fic that can include both of them :) enjoy!

•

You can read this work on ao3 and fanfiction.net as well

Written & cover by@thedefinitionofendgame (aka me)

The sun was shining and the birds were chirping. For April, it was surprisingly sunny and warm; there were no clouds in sight. It was perfect weather for the special event that was to take place today because in a few short hours, Maya and Carina's son would walk across the stage at his graduation ceremony. He would graduate from one part of life, and walk onward to a new adventure in life. The child they argued on conceiving for years would adjust his cap, straighten his too-big gown and put on a brave smile before stepping out for the crowd.

His three biggest supporters besides his moms, would be cheering the loudest from their designated seats in the third row, six seats in from the aisle. Non-biological cousins who were raised as his siblings because the young boy didn't have any "real" ones. He was his moms' one and only miracle. But Andy and Sullivan's kids—two girls and a boy—were all the love he needed. Emilia had done her walk years before; she was six years older than her cousin. The twins, Clara and Tanner were closer to his age, but still two years older. For their cousin’s graduation though, the trio were on their best behaviour and had put on their fanciest clothes.

Carina wiped her eyes and Maya moved a hand behind her wife's back to pat her lightly. She had tears in her own eyes yet felt the need to keep it together. Sullivan was put in charge of video-taping, as he was the least likely to get emotional and cry. Andy leaned over to Maya and whispered, "I cried when all three of their names were called."

Maya nodded. She remembered having to console her best friend about her own kids growing up before, and now it was finally Maya’s turn. She had never been prouder of her son until this moment. He had overcome so many mountains but those never stopped his short legs. He just kept climbing, more often than not with a smile on his face. Soon, people began to shush one another, as the announcer walked across the stage with a microphone in hand. The ceremony was about to begin!

“Good afternoon everyone. My name is Georgia Davis, and I am so happy you could join us today.” Pause for a polite smattering of applause. “While we know how anxious you are to watch your not-so-little ones walk across the stage, we ask for your patience as we read through their names. This is one of our largest classes yet to graduate. Let’s give our kids a huge round of applause!”

This time the clapping wasn’t forced and nearly deafened the room. After waiting for the noise to settle down, Ms. Davis began to read down her list. Maya and Carina’s son would be near the top, as his hyphenated last name gave him the alphabetical advantage. Bishop came before DeLuca in the alphabet, which was one of the reasons Maya’s last name was first on his birth certificate. For Andy and Sullivan’s kids, they had decided whose last name went first the same way; Herrera won out over Sullivan.

"Andrew Bishop-DeLuca." Maya snapped her attention back to the stage, stopping her day dream. She couldn’t believe she almost missed the moment her son walked out because she was thinking about last names of all things! The teacher smiled and began clapping. Seconds later, a young boy walked across the stage, head held proudly. He had Carina’s brown hair, blue eyes like Maya and walked just like the man he was named after. He was every bit as trouble as the late Andrew DeLuca as well, but just as kind too. Sometimes, Maya knew that it hurt Carina to watch their son embody someone Carina had grown up alongside. Though they both wouldn’t change it for the world, because their child was still unique in his own way.

"Little Andy's all grown up," the real Andy said. Maya and Carina's son had been named after Carina's deceased brother and dubbed with the nickname "Little Andy" after Maya's best friend. It fit him perfectly because some of his aunt’s fiery personality had rubbed off onto him. Whenever he sassed his moms, they blamed it on Andy.

In the middle of the stage, Andrew turned and waved at his family, ignoring the clear instructions he had been given at home to shake the teacher’s hand and not look for his moms. Everyone laughed though, and both Maya and Carina were too proud to be upset. The teacher was ready for this, and gently placed his scroll in his hands, and directed him off stage. Sullivan smiled over from his seat farther down the row; he had gotten the whole thing on video.

After Andrew’s turn, his row of supporters sat quietly and just simply watched everyone else. Georgia Davis had been right when she said this was the largest class in a while, as a total of thirty two graduates crossed the stage. When at last everyone had gone, and many parents were crying, Ms. Davis returned and thanked everyone for coming. More speeches and awards would be given out later. It was now time for refreshments and a chance to stretch after sitting for so long.

Outside, Carina was still sobbing quietly against Maya's shoulder. "We're gonna be empty nesters soon! I can't believe it,” the Italian woman said sadly.

Maya rolled her eyes. She totally supported her wife's emotions today of all days, but calling them “empty nesters” was being a little dramatic. "Babe, he's only graduating from preschool. He starts kindergarten in September, and will be with us for at least another fourteen years. We'll be okay." She had to hold in a chuckle, as she wrapped an arm around Carina.

"Only fourteen years! That'll pass in seconds! We should've had more kids!" Carina wailed, while Maya refrained from telling Carina that having Andrew almost killed her and that another child wasn't going to be possible. Like ever.

Andy sidled over and chose to make matters worse by saying, "I've only got twelve years left with the twins, in that case. And ten with Emilia." Maya's best friend looked like she was going to cry as well, and Maya couldn't handle two crying women, so she had to do something. Quickly. So she grabbed both of their hands and forced them to look at they're not-so-baby-like babies. The Fantastic Four—a cheesy nickname dubbed for all their kids—were now playing on the mini playground. Tanner, who took his role as an “older cousin” very seriously, was helping Andrew climb the jungle gym. Emilia and Clara were running around, probably scuffing up their shoes in true Herrera-Sullivan kid fashion. Sullivan was standing nearby, a grim expression on his face. He now had three headstrong women living in his house and sometimes it was almost too much to bear. But he loved them and his son more than anything else in the world.

Sullivan noticed them watching and waved, a smile lighting up his entire face when he saw his wife. Maya still sometimes wondered how her best friend and the ex-battalion chief managed to get together despite their odds at first. One look at the chemistry between them would answer all ones' questions. They were just made for each other. Sullivan was back to being Fire Chief Sullivan, a title he most definitely hung over Andy's head. Andy had finally made Captain at Station 19 four and a half years prior. Maya stepped down completely by her own accord when Carina got pregnant; having a family meant more to her than any title, now. It was a good thing she stepped down as well, because Carina was hospitalized for nearly five months and someone had to take care of Little Andy at home that entire time.

Andy waved back at her husband, and left Maya and Carina to go stand beside him. Carina was calming down, thankfully, and stared at the big, blue sky above. She rested her head on Maya’s shoulder, even though the blonde was shorter, and sighed. Maya gently reached up to wind her fingers around Carina’s curls. Her wife had once said that was calming, so Maya did it often now. They stood together, thinking about different things probably, but under one general consensus; their son was growing up way too fast. It seemed like just yesterday they were holding him together in the Labour and Delivery wing of Grey-Sloan Memorial. That was before Carina began hemorrhaging and needed lifesaving surgery, of course. But the two moms had had two peaceful hours with their new baby. Together, as a family of three. Maya had looked at her son and thought, so this is what unconditional love is. She had sworn she would love her son for whatever he accomplished, no matter how big or small. She wouldn’t push him to the point of abuse and yell at him if he came second. She would love his other mom more than the world, and make up for all the pain her parents had put her through. Speaking of her parents, Maya’s mom asked for a picture of Andrew today, as she wasn’t exactly invited to the ceremony. Technically anyone could come, but Maya had specifically told her family that it was “parents only” and just left out the fact that Andy, Sullivan and their kids had attended for Andrew. Although Andrew didn’t even care that his grandparents weren’t present; all that mattered to him were his cousins.

“Andrew, Mommy wants to get some pictures of you. Is that okay?” Maya asked, taking Carina with her as she headed over to the jungle gym where the kids were playing. Carina pulled out her cellphone and handed it to Maya, who was ready to capture whatever smile Andrew gave them. Sometimes he was silly, especially around the twins.

Maya’s reply was a fit of giggling from the kids. She raised an eyebrow at them but apparently didn’t come across stern enough. Andy ended up clearing her throat, which caused Emilia to smarten up. She prompted her siblings to listen and Tanner nudged Andrew, who guiltily turned to his mom. He was only four, though, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise that he took longer to listen.

“Do you want us in the picture Auntie Maya?” Emilia asked, gesturing to herself and her siblings.

“Of course.” Maya let them all strike a pose in front of the playground. She clicked away and let Carina try to make them laugh behind her. Sullivan put an arm around his wife, and they just watched the four kids goof off. After the candid moments of sorts, Maya did get Andrew to pose with a proper smile on his face. The twins ambled over to their parents and though they were getting too big to be carried, Andy held Tanner on her hip while Sullivan scooped up Clara. Emilia stood in front of them and they looked ready for a picture. Maya also seemed to think so, and turned the camera on them. “Smile!”

The Herrera-Sullivan’s smiled like their lives depended on it. “Want me to take pictures of you three?” Andy offered, putting Tanner down.

Maya handed her phone over in answer. “Do you want to sit on my shoulders, Bambino?” That was another one of Andrew’s nicknames, dubbed by his Italian mother. Maya was doing her best to learn Carina’s dialect but still could barely keep a basic conversation. Ten year old Emilia was better than her Auntie Maya, and Italian was just one of the four she was learning. Besides English, all the Herrera-Sullivan kids had been taught Spanish. The twins were just starting German and Italian, while Emilia was half fluent in both. It amazed Maya how quickly kids could pick up another language. Andrew was even interested in Italian, though it was mostly because the twins were learning it. He was a bit of a copycat at four years old.

Andrew held out his arms for his mom to pick him up. Maya hoisted her son over her head and he let out a giggle. Carina smoothed down his small collared shirt and straightened his pants, before turning towards the camera. They all smiled really big as Andy snapped picture after picture. As image after image was taken, Maya couldn’t help but wonder where she would be right now if she hadn’t changed her mind about kids. It had taken quite a lot of convincing from her Italian wife—plus babysitting Emilia and the twins constantly—before Maya felt like she was ready to become a mother. Craning her neck to look at Andrew now, everything made sense. Everything had worked out and Andrew was perfect. Of course Maya was being biased because he was her son, yet she couldn’t help it! It was a parent’s right to think their child was perfect even though sometimes they did things that drove them crazy.

Andrew had a habit of copying everything someone said, for either three sentences or three hours. It was very aggravating and Maya had accidentally raised her voice at him a couple times. He also refused to pick up toys—cancelling his cousins coming over was the only thing that made him do chores at this point. But those were small things and they were part of growing up. Heck, Maya knew she did things that probably drove her wife and son crazy. Maybe by the time Andrew graduated high school, their bad habits would be gone. One could only hope.

“Should we head back to our place now?” Maya asked, pocketing the cellphone Andy returned to her. The families had planned for a sleepover with all the cousins plus ice cream and more treats at home. They only lived a ten minute drive from the preschool.

The happy screams that followed were enough. Andy, Sullivan and their kids left first, giving Maya and Carina a moment alone with just Andrew. Carina didn’t say anything, but enveloped Andrew in a hug, that he returned with a smile on his face. “I’m so proud of you, Bambino. Mamma loves you.”

“Mommy loves you too.” Maya crouched down and opened her arms for a group hug. “We are both so proud of you, Andrew. We always will be. You can always count on us to love you for whoever you become.” Together Maya and Carina would fix the mistakes their own parents made and teach their son acceptance and kindness no matter what. It was only right.

Andrew pulled away from the hug and cupped his moms faces in his hands; first Carina, then Maya. “I love you Mamma. I love you Mommy.” Pause. “Now can we go eat ice cream and play with my cousins?”

Both of his moms let out a laugh. “Yes sweet boy, we can. Today is your day! Are you excited to start Kindergarten in the fall?” Maya got Andrew all buckled up and then began the drive towards home.

“Sorta. Tanner says it’s fun. Clara doesn’t like art but I like art!” Andrew informed them. “I didn’t ask Emmy yet. It’s gooder than fifth grade I bet. Uncle Sully says he’s too old to remember Kindergarten, even though I asked him.” In the front passenger seat, Carina snickered. Sullivan hated the fact that people called him ‘Sully’, especially attached to something as endearing as ‘uncle’. Jack Gibson had taught all the firestation kids what to call everyone to get under their skin just a little. Ever since Andrew had heard his Uncle Sullivan’s nickname, ‘Sully’ was the only name he used. While Sullivan was chagrined about it, Andy loved her nephew for using it to bug her husband.

From the driver’s seat, Maya replied, “I’m sure it is buddy.” In the rear-view mirror, Maya looked at her son and smiled. He was looking more like Carina every day, just with blue eyes. Carina was biologically related to Andrew, conceived with the help of a sperm donor. But he was just as much Maya’s as he was Carina’s, and shared more personality traits with her than his ‘Mamma’. He was smart and caring and worked hard for the most part; just like Maya. He was handsome and sweet and loved life, just like Carina. Though preschool graduation was big, high school graduation was going to be bigger.

Like Andy said before, in eight years Emilia would graduate high school. In twelve years, the twins would follow suit. And Andrew would bring up the rear fourteen years from now. Each time all four adults would cry and wish their babies stayed little for just a while longer. They would marvel over what the kid was like as a baby, as a child and as a teen. Comparing who they were before, and who they had become. Maya knew she wasn’t ready to think about Andrew’s future past Kindergarten, but sometimes she wondered.

Whatever he did with his life, he would be good at it. He would do his best and smile and try to get better no matter what. That was something good Maya had passed on to him. Andrew Bishop-DeLuca was a force to be reckoned with and everything he would one day overcome, would only make him stronger. Though what would never change, would be the undying love and support of his moms. Of his cousins and aunt and uncle. Friends he would meet along the way. Maybe a partner down the road. Andrew was going to love and be loved, that was something Maya was certain about. Even if he was only four years old.

The two families would cheers later, with ice cream cake forks and a small sip of champagne for the adults. They would congratulate Andrew and give him hugs and advice for the future. His cousins would tell him all they could remember about Kindergarten, and Uncle Sully would claim he couldn't remember his days in school, then come up with some crazy tale about his life that had everyone in awe but also giggling. Andy would reminisce about her own kids’ graduations in the past and those to come in the future. Carina would cry more tears and Maya would brush them away like she always did. Life would go on, and things would be okay as long as they remembered they would always have each other.

To new beginnings and new adventures with love always guiding the way.

#station 19 #station 19 fanfic #maya x carina #marina #andy herrera #robert sullivan #maya bishop #carina deluca #marina kids #surrera kids #graduation #fluff #the definition of endgame

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eloarei · 4 years ago

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In lighter news... Ah, well, actually it’s just because I’ve been trying to distract myself. Anyway, I’ve been playing video games pretty incessantly this past week or two. See, I usually have a bunch of games sitting around on my PS4 that are half-finished, or I downloaded and never played. So right now I’m sitting here waiting for Mass Effect to come out, so I decided I’d try to knock a few of them out. And since I’m here, I may as well chat about them a bit. In rough order of my beating them recently: Assassin’s Creed 3:

(Ziio~~! I love Ziio. Haytham too.) Man, it took me 9 years to beat this game. Actually, that’s why I never played any of the recent AC games. But now I’m done, so I can move on! This is a really different game from previous AC games, but also very nice in ways. Connor (or Ratonhnhaké:ton) is a pretty cool protag; I like his no-nonsense nature but how he’s also just a little bit of a dork. His design is cool too, and I liked that some scenes took place in his native language. The Tyranny of King Washington DLC was actually pretty great too. The eagle flight thing was a game-changer. Of course, I couldn’t talk about AC3 without mentioning Haytham, Connor’s dad. Finding out he was a templar was totally ‘Top Ten Video Game Betrayals’ lol.

Greedfall:

I started this game with no idea about it, and I found I liked it quite a lot. It’s a little bit in the same vein as Dragon Age. Gameplay-wise it definitely has some similarities, though the characters aren’t quite as likeable. I was fond of the natives, although the politics got a bit tiring. The ending was... somewhat predictable, though I don’t know what I would have suggested doing otherwise. Little phrases from the natives’ language are gonna be stuck in my head forever from how much they said them, like ‘on ol menawi’ and ‘carants’.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake:

Like every other FF7 fan, I was nervous about this, but I’m really happy with how it turned out! The gameplay was pretty good; the expanded story was nice; the characters were fantastic. I loved how they turned out. The English was so much more natural than a lot of dubs/translations feel, and some of their lines were genuinely funny. I liked just about everyone. Oh my god but little Marlene? Literally so cute that I wanted to cry every time she talked. So cute. Best little kid I’ve ever seen in a game. Really looking forward to the next one! Literally I think the only thing I didn’t like about this one (compared to the original FF7) was that max-leveling a materia doesn’t spawn a new one, and that there’s only 1 ‘All/Magnify’. Maybe having more would be too over-powered.

Manual Samuel:

A much smaller game, and probably the most amusingly frustrating game I’ve ever played. Rich entitled Samuel dies, and Death says he’ll bring him back to life if he can survive one day doing everything manually. Which means you have to breathe, blink, and move both feet and hands separately. And talking is a nightmare. Of course then you also have to fight robots. TBH it’s really fun and very stupid-funny, but it made me scream. Highly recommended if you can get it for 50 cents like I did. Little Acre:

Another short game, Little Acre is a very cute point-and-click adventure about a single dad raising his little daughter in a cottage they share with grandpa, who happens to have made a portal to another world. It’s all hand-drawn adorable animation, cute voice acting, and typical point-click puzzles. Another 50 cent recommendation! Control:

This is the game I’m on currently, and I’m enjoying it a lot, even though I’ve had to use more walkthroughs than I like to admit. It’s very spooky, and I’m not good at spooky games! XD; But the more powerful you get, the less the shadows and enemies scare you. It is very ‘Lovecraft Cosmic Horror’, though most people don’t consider it a horror game. Wherever it’s creepy, it’s usually a little funny too, and just... strange. The powers you get are pretty cool, but my favorite thing is the main character Jesse: she frequently says exactly what you’re thinking! (For example: “ ‘Alright, time to clean up,’ she says, as she pulls out her gun.”) She’s very genre savvy and it makes the whole odd affair seem friendly in a way. I haven’t beaten the game yet, but I’m close. I’ve avoided most spoilers. although I know just enough that I’m excited about a couple points I haven’t gotten to yet. Another very recommended game, if you like semi-spooky shooters, government conspiracy, and some tough optional boss battles. Might even be worth watching a playthrough if you can’t play it yourself. Have you played any of these games? What did you think of them? =]

#elo talks #long post #video games #game recs #game reviews

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idic-fictional-reality · 4 years ago

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The last shot ringing in my ears by fideliant

Teen and Up Audiences

1 Chapter

5,550 words

Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield

He just doesn’t want to have to hold Bilbo’s broken body in his arms anymore.

#Alternate Universe - Groundhog’s Day #Angst #Timeloop #Battle of the Five Armies

Hobbit Shorts by EverydayMagic17

General Audiences

2 works

4,082 words

Bilbo Baggins/Fili, fem!Bilbo/Fili, Bilbo Baggins/Dwalin

A personal challenge, trying to pair Bilbo or Fem!Bilbo with every unmarried dwarrow in Thorin's Company. Prompts and requests for a given pairing welcome.

#Dwarrow culture #Battle of the Five Armies Fix-It #Alternate Universe - Everybody Lives/Nobody Dies #fem!Bilbo #pregnancy #Alternate Universe - No One Ring #Idiots in Love #Romantic Soulmates #Dwalin is a softie

Under Goblin Town by AndyHood

Teen and Up Audiences

32 chapters

87,808 words

There is a reason why the hobbits don't leave the Shire. The story of Bullroarer Took had more to it then what Gandalf knew about. The goblins have a long memory and hold a grudge against any and all hobbits, especially Tooks. A story of where Bilbo didn't fall down deeper in the goblin caves and finds the Ring, but was brought in front of the Goblin Kings wrath.

#BAMF Bilbo #trigger warning - torture #Family feels #Adoption #Protective Thorin #Protective Legolas Greenleaf #Protective Bard the Bowman #Alternate Universe - No One Ring #post - Battle of the Five Armies #Battle of the Five Armies Fix-It #Happy Ending

At A Glance by kasumixkira

Teen and Up Audiences

2 works

4,612 words

Bilbo Baggins/Fili

A collection of stories that detail glances of the evolving relationship between Fili and Bilbo during their adventure.

Most will be Hobbit-kink prompt fills, but I do have some little interludes of my own to add in, as inspired by what I write for the prompts.

#Mention of Minor Character Death #Hurt/Comfort #Braiding Kink #tenderness & intimacy without smut

Our Hobbit Lass by Rosa_Cotton

Teen and Up Audiences

31 works

37,250 words

Kili/Others, Bilbo/Kili, fem!Bilbo/Kili, perceived Kili/Tauriel, Bard/Tauriel, Bilbo/Fili, fem!Bilbo/Fili, one sided Bilbo/Thorin, Bilbo/Bofur, fem!Bilbo/Bofur, Bilbo/Dwalin, fem!Bilbo/Dwalin, Bilbo Baggins/Thorin’s Company, Bilbo/Nori, Bilbo/Thorin, one sided Bilbo/Ori, fem!Bilbo/Ori, Bilbo/Ori, one sided Bilbo/Kili, Bilbo/Balin, fem!Bilbo/Balin, Bilbo/Dori, fem!Bilbo/Dori, Bilbo/Other(s), fem!Bilbo/Thorin, fem!Bilbo/Nori, perceived Bilbo/Thorin

#Idiots in Love #Fix-It #Soulmates #Erebor Never Fell #Arranged Marriage #Politics #Werewolves #5+1 Things #Family Reunions #BAMF Dwalin #Age Regression/De-Aging #Courtship #fem!Bilbo #Everybody Lives/Nobody Dies

A Hobbit’s Rescue by LadyLaran

Explicit

69 chapters

174,276 words

Bilbo Baggins/Kili, Fili/Ori

Gandalf keeps a promise he made to a dear friend, Belladonna Took, and in doing so, a lass is saved from a society that scorns women. While she is rescued, the others find that their lives are changed for the better.

#fem!Bilbo #Thorin’s Company #dub-con #AU #Battle of the Five Armies Fix-It #NSFW #The Hobbit Big Bang 2016

Changes by LadyLaran

General Audiences

1 chapter

3,102 words

Bilbo/Thorin, Primula Brandybuck/Drogo Baggins

Bilbo ponders the changes in his life, both the good and the bad, and when he is interrupted by a very uncomfortable Thorin, he decides to enjoy a bit of a Tookish activity!

#fem!Frodo Baggins #Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence #Genderbending #Everybody Lives

The Inevitable Love Story Between Two Oblivious Idiots by Bgtea

Teen and Up Audiences

12 chapters

116,178 words

Bilbo/Thorin, Dwalin/Ori

In which everyone sees the budding romance between Thorin and Bilbo, except, of course, for Thorin and Bilbo themselves.

Also, Dis brings the fear of God in other Dwarves and likes to meddle in her big brother's romantic life, and if she has to do this through scathingly written letters, then so be it.

#Alternate Universe - Everybody Lives/Nobody Dies #Slow Build #Fix-It

The Time for Home by Drenagon

Teen and Up Audiences

54 chapters

211,888 words

Bilbo/Thorin

Bilbo Baggins doesn't fit in in the Shire. He's not a normal hobbit. That doesn't bother him.

Having his warnings ignored? Trying to help those who will not help themselves?

That bothers him.

#Alternate Universe

Soul Stones by ArtemisDesari

Teen and Up Audiences

14 works

69,741 words

Kili/Tauriel (mentioned), Bilbo/Thorin (implied), Fili/OFC, Kili/Tauriel (implied), Kili/OFC (past), Mahal/Yavanna, Kili/Tauriel (past), Dwalin/Nori, Dwalin/Thorin (past)

Mahal carves his children from stone and lays the building blocks of their personalities with gems. Things go a little bit sideways when he watches the Quest for Erebor with Durin and the eldest of the Seven Fathers decides he's less than happy with the outcome. A fix it fic that got a little out of hand with the follow up

#Time Travel Fix-It #Alternate Universe - Everybody Lives/Nobody Dies #post- Battle of the Five Armies #BotFA Fix It

The Blessing by Artemis Desari

Teen and Up Audiences

50 chapters

122,932 words

Bungo Baggins/Belladonna Baggins, Frerin/Belladonna Baggins, Bilbo Baggins/Fili, fem!Bilbo/Fili. Nori/Dwalin

When Gandalf comes to employ a burglar for Thorin's Quest he finds his intended hobbit changed and her daughter still at home, the daughter who looks far younger than she should and who glows with the Blessing of the Lady as brightly as her mother. By the time the rest of the Company arrive he has also found a missing dwarf prince and found the solution to a problem he has long been struggling to solve.

Or: Where Belladonna Took uses Hobbit magic to save Frerin on the fields of Azanulbizar and how their friendship grows, changes, falls apart and affects everything that comes after it.

#Alternate Universe - No One Ring #fem!Bilbo #Canon what canon #Alternate Universe - Everybody Lives/Nobody Dies #Magic

Driven Out and Taken In by GreenT

Teen and Up Audiences

27 chapters

142,904 words

Bilbo/Thorin, Dis/Dwalin, Bofur/Nori, Dori/Balin, Fili/Ori

After the fall of Erebor and the tragedy of Azanulbizar, many dwarves have come to hate the line of Durin. After losing his grandfather, father, and siblings, all Thorin has left is his nephews, who are no more than toddlers. When the meddling wizard Gandalf comes to the rescue, he takes Thorin and his boys onto the backs of Eagles to a place far to the west, in a dainty place called the Shire. He leaves the line of Durin in the caring hands of Bilba Baggins, who has never had the heart to leave home since her mother's death.

The strong, nurturing Hobbit and the pained, stubborn Dwarf are stuck with each other, raising two boys in the curious and not always kind eyes of the Shire.

#thilbo #fem!Ori #fem!Bilbo #Fluff and Angst

A Fairy’s Tale by ISeeFire

Teen and Up Audiences

7 chapters

55,674 words

Bilbo Baggins/Frerin, fem!Bilbo/Frerin

Once upon a time the Fae walked the lands of Middle Earth.

Once upon a time a hobbit took a fairy wife, founding an entire bloodline of hobbits carrying traces of fairy blood in their veins.

Every so often this blood acts up, resulting in a hobbit being born who's just a little bit...different.

Such was the case with the birth of Bilba Baggins, daughter of Bungo and Belladonna Baggins. She's a little more wild than most, a little more adventurous, and a lot more prone to rescuing long lost dwarven princes from the clutches of vile Necromancers, befriending wargs and aiding in the reclamation of kingdoms from megalomaniac dragons.

Frerin, son of Thrain, son of Thror is perfectly fine with this. Well, maybe not the befriending wargs part...

#fem!Bilbo #genderswap #Mild Crack Vibe #Thorin’s Company #Tooth-Rotting Fluff

Wear A Flower in Your Hair (You’re Beautiful) by JackQuaker

Teen and Up Audiences

25 Chapters

69,789 words

Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield

A retelling of The Hobbit in which Bilbo is Bella and she can grow a beard when even male hobbits can't.

A tale of growth, love and self acceptance.

#cute #fem!Bilbo #Rule 63 #thilbo #Alternate Universe - Always A Different Sex #Cultural Differences #Angst With A Happy Ending #Mildly Dubious Consent #non-con warning #abusive relationships #Families of Choice

Take a Shot by Silver_pup

Teen and Up Audiences

3 works

225,846 words

Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield, Gloin/Canonical Wife, Bard of Laketown/Canonical Wife, Dis/Canonical Husband, Dwalin/Ori

What would Bilbo Baggins have changed if he was given the chance to relive the Quest for Erebor? This is the results of his decisions, and the ripples of change it creates across the lands.

#Time Travel Fix-It #Alternate Universe #BAMF #Bromance #Friends to Lovers #Eventual Happy Ending #Slow Build/Slow Burn #Dwalin needs a hug

The Good Earth by The Feels Whale (miscellea)

Teen and Up Audiences

3 works

28,790 words

Bilbo/Thorin

In which the Hobbit’s are reproducing in a way the other races never saw coming.

#Original Dwarf Character(s) #Kid Fic #Implied Mpreg #gardening verse #inexplicable babies #everyone lives

#the hobbit #lotr #fic recs #series rec

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best-underrated-anime · 11 months ago

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Best Underrated Anime Group F Round 2: #F1 vs #F2

#F1: High school girls go to Antarctica

#F2: 90s maid girls with guns

Details and poll under the cut!

#F1: A Place Further than the Universe (Sora yori mo Tooi Basho)

youtube

Summary:

Filled with an overwhelming sense of wonder for the world around her, Mari Tamaki has always dreamt of what lies beyond the reaches of the universe. However, despite harboring such large aspirations on the inside, her fear of the unknown and anxiety over her own possible limitations have always held her back from chasing them. But now, in her second year of high school, Mari is more determined than ever to not let any more of her youth go to waste. Still, her fear continues to prevent her from taking that ambitious step forward—that is, until she has a chance encounter with a girl who has grand dreams of her own. Spurred by her mother's disappearance, Shirase Kobuchizawa has been working hard to fund her trip to Antarctica. Despite facing doubt and ridicule from virtually everyone, Shirase is determined to embark on this expedition to search for her mother in a place further than the universe itself. Inspired by Shirase's resolve, Mari jumps at the chance to join her. Soon, their efforts attract the attention of the bubbly Hinata Miyake, who is eager to stand out, and Yuzuki Shiraishi, a polite girl from a high class background. Together, they set sail toward the frozen south. Sora yori mo Tooi Basho follows the captivating journey of four spirited girls, all in search of something great.

Propaganda 1:

This show literally changed my life I’m not even kidding. It’s messages about living your life to the fullest and finding, creating, and maintaining important friendships in your life literally got me to pick myself up and actually start living my life. All of its main characters are all incredibly memorable, and they all bounce off of each other very well. It’s fun and cute as hell, but also a really powerful story about dealing with grief and moving on. The final three episodes of the show are an emotional gut-punch, but they leave you with a sense of bittersweet fulfillment and a drive to get out in the world and have your own adventure.

Propaganda 2:

Let’s start with the fact that this is Madhouse doing a (relatively) grounded coming of age story about high school girls - the show looks gorgeous, of course. The music’s solid as well. (I still regularly listen to the ending.) But what really shines is the writing and characterization.

The pacing on this is perfect. For a show that spends half its runtime getting to Antarctica, you never feel like the time should be allotted differently or that you’re missing out on hijinks. Episode 12 is a particular standout, with tension building up until it explodes, and then goes still for the true emotional climax of the show. The four main girls all feel like believable teens, and seeing their relationship develop over the course of the series and watching them come into their own is well-done. The way it handles Shirase and her emotions, and how this complicates her relationships with them all is a particular standout. This may not be eligible in that it’s one of those anime people who watch A LOT of anime will recommend highly—it was on Crunchyroll and IGN’s best anime of the 2010s lists and on several “best of” lists for 2018. But it never quite took off the way it truly deserves, so I’m submitting it. It’s getting an English dub soon, though, and I really hope that gives it a resurgence of popularity. The girls are alright.

(Admin: Propaganda has been edited slightly to remove spoilers)

Trigger Warnings: Death via freezing

#F2: Akiba Maid War (Akiba Meido Sensou)

youtube

Summary:

The innocent Nagomi Wahira has always admired the cute girls serving at maid cafes. Hoping to fulfill her dream of becoming one, she moves to Akihabara to work at the maid cafe Ton Tokoton.

Nagomi’s first day seems completely normal—until she has to run an “errand” at a rival maid cafe along with her fellow recruit, the mature Ranko Mannen. There, things quickly go south, and Nagomi soon gets her first taste of Akihabara’s violent maid wars. As she watches Ranko calmly battle her way through a horde of gun- and knife-wielding maids, Nagomi realizes that maid cafes are drastically unlike what she had envisioned.

While struggling to reconcile her expectations with the harsh reality she finds herself in, Nagomi searches for the enjoyment she once saw in the lives of maids.

Propaganda:

It was animated by P.A. Works! As far as I know, they also worked on Buddy Daddies, Angel Beats, Ya Boy Kongming, etc. Cygames also contributed to this anime!! The story is creative as well. Who would’ve thought of a cute maid mafia anime? Keep in mind, this is a P. A. Works ORIGINAL. They went SO crazy on this anime. There’s also 12 episodes, which means that you can binge it all on one day and still be satisfied :D The OP and ED are also catchy, creative and unskippable. Despite its dark themes, it can sometimes get a little more “lighthearted” and silly, even in the most violent scenes ;P

Trigger Warnings: Flashing Lights, Graphic Depictions of Cruelty/Violence/Gore.

Just like what I explained, it’s violent. A lot of guns. And a lot of blood. Yes, they kill fellow maids in like every episode ever lol. Also, since Akiba is known to have flashy street signs, like every city ever…. And the guns, of course…that’s why I put the Flashing Lights warning.

When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.

Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how they’re presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form, where you can submit revisions for taglines, propaganda, trigger warnings, and/or video.

#anime #best underrated anime #polls #poll tournament #tournament #anime tournament #animation #group stage #group stage round 2 #tournament polls #group f #a place further than the universe #sora yori mo tooi basho #akiba maido sensou #akiba maid sensou #akiba maid war #Youtube

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shireness-says · 5 years ago

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hashtag holiday party

Summary: This isn’t Emma’s company, or her holiday party, or her idea of a good time. Is there any good to be salvaged from the worst date ever? ~3.6K. Rated T for language. Also on AO3.

A/N: A couple of weeks ago, there was a great post about the worst company Christmas party date ever on the Ask a Manager blog, and I could resist turning it into a fic! Super thanks to @snidgetsafan, my ever trusty beta. Happy holidays, everyone!

Tagging the interested parties: @ohmightydevviepuu, @profdanglaisstuff, @kmomof4, @katie-dub, @welllpthisishappening, @thisonesatellite, @let-it-raines, @thejollyroger-writer, @phiralovesloki, @winterbaby89, @scientificapricot, @snowbellewells, @searchingwardrobes, @spartanguard, @teamhook, @optomisticgirl

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

~~~~~

Emma Swan has many regrets, but chief among them right now is agreeing to this date.

Well, no. First place on her list of regrets is awarded to going to Mary Margaret’s Christmas party, where she ended up trapped in conversation with Walsh.

(Ugh, Walsh. Just the name should have been her clue to get the hell out of dodge when he’d spotted her across the room.)

Walsh isn’t her friend. Walsh wouldn’t even be considered Mary Margaret’s friend, if not for the fact that the woman is friends with absolutely everyone on the planet. He’s her and David’s neighbor, and he had been in town for the holiday, and Mary Margaret’s got a soft spot the size of Maine for lost souls - it’s how she’s ended up Emma’s best friend, after all. Emma and Walsh had interacted at a few previous gatherings, and he’d been fine. No spark to speak of on her end, but whatever, she’s okay to leave it that way. But clearly, he felt differently, because he asked her to accompany him to his company’s holiday party. In full earshot of Mary Margaret, at that, who had gotten such an excited look on her face, obviously already planning the wedding, that Emma couldn’t actually say no. The bastard had probably planned it that way.

(Shit, she doesn’t even know what he does - marketing, maybe? She barely knows the guy, and now she’s being dragged to his holiday party.)

Emma may not be excited, but she puts on a good show at least - none of this slobbing it up to make him regret asking. She can clean up good. And besides, she’ll be shutting that all down with her words later anyways if he’s stupid enough to ask for a second date - no ploys required. The red dress is cocktail appropriate yet a little bit Christmassy, especially when paired with glittery heels, even if her makeup and hair is simple. There’s a big difference between putting in no effort at all, and knowing what just isn’t worth the effort… and anything more than a bit of eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick falls firmly into the latter category.

It’s a good thing she doesn’t too, as Walsh shows up early. Eight whole minutes early, to be precise. Not the end of the world, but not ideal either. Emma sighs heavily and braces herself before going to the door; Mary Margaret would tell her to be optimistic, but Emma just knows it’s all downhill from here.

Sure enough, as soon as Emma opens the door, Walsh clumsily whips a bunch of fake flowers out of his coat sleeve. “For you, milady,” he proclaims dramatically, offering the fake foliage. “I wanted to start with a magic trick for a magical date and the beginning of a magical relationship.”

And ho boy howdy, does Emma want to call it all off right now. That was the original definition of coming on too hard. That was so far beyond the bounds of acceptable first date behavior, she doesn’t even know where to go from there.

(Far, far away, and very quickly at that.)

Mary Margaret’s voice chimes in her ear, though, talking about how it’s sweet and charming and will be a great story to tell the grandkids one day, and Emma just knows she’ll shake her head in disappointment if Emma reports back that she ended the date before it even started. It’s especially hard to face Mary Margaret’s big sad eyes, too, when Emma knows that her friend just wants her to be happy.

Besides, she’s been led to believe there will be an open bar at this thing, and she could go for a free drink. Probably free drinks, plural, if the rest of this date goes the same way.

“O...kay. Okay. That’s… okay. Thank you?” Emma finally manages to stutter out, accepting his “gift”. Can’t say she’s ever received fake flowers from a guy - and can’t say she’d want to again.

“Anything for you, Emma.” His voice is about five notches too reverential for comfort. “Can I help you with your coat?”

“That’s fine, I got it.” No need to create an illusion - no pun intended - that she welcomes his attention any more than she actually does. Plus, she’s a grown woman, and it’s easy enough to slip her coat on over her dress by herself.

If any hope had existed that this date might get better - that this might turn into the cute story to tell their future kids that Mary Margaret is probably hoping for - that hope is thoroughly squashed by the time Emma slides into her seat at the party’s venue. Walsh had circled the parking lot for fifteen minutes, refusing to accept that there was a complimentary valet service (“I just don’t understand why they’ve got whole sections of the parking lot blocked off.” “Because there’s a valet.” “It just feels like there should be more parking spots. Why isn’t there any place to park?” “Because there’s a valet.”). Then, he refuses to give up his coat at the coat check for too goddamn long because, as it turns out, he has all manner of other magic tricks hidden in the pockets and up his sleeves.

It is not nearly as charming as he obviously believes.

Truthfully, it’s a relief when she and Walsh find their table, drink tickets in hand. At least at the table, there’s other people, and she won’t be forced to only focus on Walsh’s embarrassing attempts at seduction.

“Can I get you a drink?” he offers eagerly - almost too eagerly, really, practically tripping over himself.

Still, it’s an offer for a drink. And Emma’s in no place to refuse one of those, not with how she thinks this night is shaping up to go. “That’d be great, actually,” she replies, handing over her ticket. “Just some red wine please - I’m not real picky about what kind.” Anything alcoholic will do at this point.

As Walsh trots off towards the bar, Emma turns her attention towards the rest of the table. They’re a mixed bunch of men and women who smile kindly as Emma looks about. She’s grateful for that - hopefully, Emma can use them as a distraction from whatever she’s sure Walsh will get up to.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” the pretty brunette sitting next to Emma asks. It’s the polite way of pointing out that her companion hadn’t bothered to make introductions.

“Emma Swan,” she replies, extending a hand in greeting. “Nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine,” she smiles back. “I’m Belle French, and this,” she gestures to the man sitting next to her, “is Killian Jones.”

“Hello, lass.” He’s a looker, to say the least - dark hair, blue eyes, charming smile. Sex on legs. Emma tries momentarily, futilely, to remind herself that she shouldn’t be checking out other men while she’s on a date, but fails spectacularly. It’s been evident since the magic flowers that she and Walsh aren’t going anywhere.

“Hi,” she waves back. “So you both work for the company, then?”

“Oh no,” Killian laughs. “Belle’s actually a librarian. She’s just here with me.”

And damn, isn’t that a pity; all the good ones seem to be taken. Not that she can blame Belle - the brunette seems to be lovely, and who wouldn’t want a piece of that?

(Emma doesn’t make a habit of ogling other women’s partners, but she just might make an exception for Killian Jones.)

Emma’s about to strike up a conversation with her neighbors, hopefully learn more - so what do you do here, how did you meet, is this some sort of flexible arrangement I can get in on - but Walsh returns with her drink at that moment.

It is not in a wine glass. It is not wine. It is not what she asked for.

“I got you a mudslide,” he explains with an eager look on his face. “I know how much women love chocolate after all!”

Women love wine too, especially this one, Emma thinks, but accepts the drink gingerly to be polite. No sense wasting the drink ticket. “Thanks,” she responds dryly. “I’m, uh… I’m actually not a big fan of chocolate. But I’m sure it’ll be… fine.” At least it’s liquor, and at least it’s something she can nurse. He could have shown up with a fireball shot.

“Well if you like, we can get you another drink later with -” Walsh darts a hand toward her ear suddenly, and even as Emma jerks away out of instinct, she knows exactly what’s coming. “- this!” He declares triumphantly with a coin in hand. Another magic trick. Because the first one went so well.

It’s… great.

“Huh. That’s… uh… wow. Huh.” There are no words to muddle through this with. There is only the mortification of watching a grown-ass man trying to woo her with magic tricks. “I was just getting to know some of your coworkers, actually; why don’t you introduce me?”

The rest of the table includes Walsh’s boss, Regina, and her husband Robin, and his coworker Ashley with her fiancé Sean. They’re perfectly nice, and friendly, and interesting, and Emma could almost enjoy herself talking to them - if only Walsh would ever give the magic tricks a break. He pulls handkerchiefs out of his sleeves when she reaches for a napkin, procures everything from drink tickets to miniscule flowers from a variety of places all too close to her person for comfort, and is now pulling out a deck of cards. God only knows how many magic tricks he knows with those.

“Why don’t you save those for later?” Emma suggests when he instructs her to pick a card. Without actually making it sound like a suggestion. Alright, it’s a straight-up order. In her defense, it’s been a long night. Walsh has monopolized her attention all evening with these stupid tricks and explanations of all the things they’ll do together, not even bothering to talk to his coworkers beyond the introductions Emma insisted upon. In fact, he’s grown even more insistent about it every time she’s tried to politely redirect his attention. She’s been making an effort at least - to talk about everyone’s Christmases and the baby that Ashley and Sean are expecting and Belle’s job. But it’s hard to keep any conversation going when she’s got Walsh bugging her every other moment to show her another magic trick. She hopes that the message maybe finally has gotten through with a flat refusal to engage. “Now Belle - you were about to tell us about one of the teen programs at the library?”

Unfortunately, Walsh doesn’t take that very well. In some ways, she supposes that the message to stop all the magic tricks finally did get through his thick skull - it’s just that he then stands up from the table and stalks over to the banquet hall’s piano, sitting down with a flourish. Maintaining eye contact with Emma the whole while - oh, how she wishes she hadn’t startled when he’d stood up and stormed away, wishes she had ignored him altogether - he begins to play.

“Is that Adele?” Regina asks after a moment.

Emma groans. “I’m going to need another drink.”

———

It just doesn’t make sense - how such a charming woman as Emma Swan ended up at this holiday party as the date of Walsh Ozman. Killian just can’t understand it; he has to work with Walsh every day, and he’s never been anything less than insufferable.

“I kind of got roped into it,” Emma explains, sipping on the glass of wine she’d finally procured with her second drink ticket. “My best friend is his neighbor, and we were both at her Christmas party, and before I knew it he was asking me and Mary Margaret was giving me that face she has. She’s a matchmaker - always just wants to see everyone happy and paired off. Romance is everywhere if you just look for it and all that.” She takes a long drink, nearly draining the rest of the glass. “Big crock of shit, if this is what it brings.”

He’d like to argue with her, tell her that it’s not all hopeless (if only for the very selfish reason that he’d like to show her otherwise on a much nicer date than she’s currently suffering through)... but Walsh strikes a particularly strong chord right at that moment, rendering anything Killian might try to say in poor taste. Christmas music has been piping through the room since before any of them arrived, but that doesn’t stop Walsh in the least. God, what an obnoxious prick.

“So, how did you two meet?” Emma asks, gesturing between Killian and Belle as she takes another sip, obviously trying to take her mind off the spectacle being staged in her honor across the room.

“Killian moved into the apartment next to mine… what, three years ago now?” Belle asks, looking to him for confirmation. “Anyways, I dropped by with a tray of cookies as a little ‘welcome to the building’ gesture, and as they say, the rest is history,” she beams.

“Of course you did,” he thinks he hears Emma mutter into the remains of her wine. Curious, that. It’s almost like she thinks… “Well, I’m happy for you two. You guys are really cute.”

Killian spares a glance at Belle before hastening to reply. “Oh, no, we’re not -”

But before he can clarify the situation - that he and Belle are just friends, no romantic spark to speak of - the distinct strains of “You’re So Vain” drift over from the piano, where Walsh wears a mournful face best suited to sad puppy dog commercials. Like this whole moment isn’t already the stuff of a terrible comedy movie.

Ashley pushes her drink tickets across the table. “I think you might need something a little stronger.”

The understatement of the century.

———

Emma Swan ends up with a lot of spare drink tickets; everyone seems to recognize that she needs them a lot more than anyone else. With her spare drink tickets, Emma Swan procures a martini, a vodka cranberry, and two rum and cokes before anyone insists she switch to water. It’s certainly understandable that she’d want to drink her way through this utter disaster of a date.

Walsh still plays the piano.

Killian, in turn, discovers that Emma Swan is an effusively nice drunk. She assures Ashley and Sean that they’re going to the best parents, and declares that Regina is both a queen and a boss-ass bitch in a tone that makes it clear that it’s the highest compliment. Killian thinks he even overhears Emma telling Belle that she’s “an angel nurturing the minds of tomorrow so they can make the world a better place and perpetuate the power of human kindness” as he returns with her final cocktail.

(He just might have to print off business cards with that mouthful of a title as a gag gift for Belle.)

Eventually, Walsh does tire of his dramatics and return to the table in a huff. Unfortunately, he’s very insistent that it’s time to leave. It makes sense; this party can’t have been much fun for him, despite the elaborate wallowing routine he created for himself. That means Emma has to leave too, though, and Killian will miss her bright smile and endearingly excessive compliments. There’s also the matter of how he’s not sure he trusts Walsh to take her home.

“You know what, Belle and I are about ready to call it a night too. We’ll follow you out,” he insists. Walsh’s glare only solidifies Killian’s determination to do so. “Swan, do you want to text your friend and let her know you’re on your way?”

“I should text Mary Margaret!” Emma slurs. “Have I told you she’s an angel?”

“You sure did, love.”

The coat check shouldn’t result in any great debacle; it’s the coat check after all, practically just a formality. They get their coats, they go. Unfortunately, it’s Walsh, so unfortunately, that’s not the case.

“You’re like a… like a coat guard. A coat-yguard!” Emma grins as her outerwear is handed back. With clumsy fingers, she extracts a ten dollar bill from her wallet - a little excessive, most likely, but hell, she’s feeling good - and drops it into the tip jar.

Only for Walsh to snatch it right back out.

“You don’t have to pay the tip for me,” Emma insists with a stubborn set to her brows. “I’m fine to do it.”

“Coat check is free, baby,” Walsh tells her with a patronizing tone, trying to stuff the bill into his own coat pocket. Poor taste, that, but still not nearly as poor of taste as refusing to tip.

“Yeah, that’s why you tip,” Emma insists, snatching the bill from his hand to stick it back in the jar again.

“Don’t be stupid, that’s just a scam.” Walsh even rolls his eyes as he reaches back to the jar again.

Emma slaps his hand on the way. “You know what, you douchebag -”

“Emma would you like a ride home with us instead?” Belle interrupts, reading the situation. It’s more than for the best; Killian doesn’t trust Walsh as far as he can spit.

“Oh my god, yes.” After Emma manages to wrestle back into her coat, she turns back to Walsh for one parting shot. “Now that is what a date is supposed to look like, bozo. These two? They’re hashtag relationship goals.” She even makes the symbol with her hands.

He should correct her, really, but at a certain point, it just seems best to steer Emma out of the building and into his car.

By some miracle, her building is only two blocks away from their own. Emma spends the ride in the backseat with Belle, playing with the brunette’s hair and insisting they exchange numbers.

“You’ve been a goddamn gem, Killian Jones,” she salutes in parting as Belle leads her inside.

This night has been many things, but memorable certainly tops the list. One thing is for certain: he won’t be forgetting Emma Swan anytime soon.

———

Emma wakes the next day with a pounding headache, an intense feeling of humiliation, and Belle French’s number in her phone. Surely, she’s had worse nights, but it’s hard to think of any right now.

She finally manages to work up the nerve to text Belle in mid-afternoon; she definitely owes a variety of people a variety of apologies.

Emma Swan, 4:32pm: hey, it’s Emma. thanks for taking care of my drunk ass last night, i’m sure i was a mess. sorry about that

Belle French, 4:41pm: Don’t worry about it, please! You were great, we should do something again sometime.

Emma Swan, 4:44pm: no mixing drinks, please, for the love of god

Emma Swan, 4:45pm: thank Killian for me too. lucky girl - he seems like a real keeper. unlike my date last night…

Belle French, 4:47: Will do! He’s not my boyfriend, though - we really are just neighbors. He’s like a brother to me, truly. Credit where credit is due, though - he really was a lot better than your tosser!

Emma Swan, 4:51: … oh.

Emma Swan, 4:51: do you know if he has a different girlfriend, then?

Belle French, 4:53: I know for a fact that he doesn’t. Let me send you his number.

———

She should be brave - should use that phone number to reach out and ask him to coffee or drinks or straight into a steamy make-out session.

Emma Swan does not do any of these things.

(She especially doesn’t tell Mary Margaret - it was already bad enough to have to relive exactly why she and Walsh won’t be having a second date, there’s no need to encourage her friend to transfer all her hopes to poor Killian instead.)

Instead, she runs into Killian completely by chance a week later, as he’s coming out of the post office and she’s walking to the coffee shop. She nearly plows him over, actually - far too focused on checking her email on her phone and not nearly enough on where she’s going.

“Fancy meeting you here,” he grins once they’ve straightened themselves out again.

“Yeah,” Emma laughs. “And sober this time, too!”

(Not one of her stronger lines.)

“A real plus for certain.” Well, at least he seems charmed.

They lapse into a silence for a moment before Emma finds the words to continue. “I just want to thank you, for being so great that night. And apologize for… everything I did. God, I was a mess that night.”

“You were in the middle of a disaster of a situation,” Killian smiles at her.

“Yeah, well, let’s just call it a lapse in judgement and leave it at that.” Emma winces as memories of the night flick through her brain. “God, did I really make the hashtag symbol with my hands? In public?”

“You really did,” he chuckles. “I take it Belle straightened you out on the relationship bit of relationship goals?”

Emma blushes. “Yeah, she did. Definitely not mortified about that, not at all.”

“Ah, happens to the best of us, Swan.” After another silent moment, his hand steals up to scratch at the bit of neck behind his ear. “Since that’s the case, I was just wondering - well, I’d like to ask, that is, if you’re interested -”

“Do you want to get coffee with me?” Emma interrupts. She thinks that’s where he was going, anyways; she’s just a little more efficient about it.

“I’d love to, Emma.” This time, the grin stretches fully across his face and could probably outshine a whole tree’s worth of Christmas lights.

Who knows? Something good just might have come out of that god-awful holiday party date after all.

#captain swan #cs ff #captain swan ff #my writing #hashtag holiday party #featuring the world's worst date

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anime2357 · 4 years ago

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Hikari analysis (especially for people who dont like her and need some convincing)

Ok so to get started i dont really mind to her mary sue ness. Why? Well for one i dont mind mary sues as long as their not annoying. I know a lot of people consider meiko a mary sue too and while im not sure if she really is one, i didnt really like her from the start. Both are considered mary sues yet i still like hikari because of her character. And that leads to the second part. People like saying she doesnt have a personality but her personality is quiet and polite. And a lot of people who consider hikari a mary sue say it is because of her quietness. Now lets think about her character for a second, and why she might be like that. When she was young she saw these strange creatures all over the tv and even in real life and whenever she would say anything about it, the adults would play it off as her just seeing things or making it up because shes young. Hmmmmmm. That can be really damaging to a child. I know her parents didnt mean to gaslight her like that but still. Its bound to make her question everything she believes and go so far as to think “im seeing things again. I shouldnt speak since they wont believe me.” That girl had to grow up with that, having every adult gaslight the shit out of her. So obviously she would keep her thoughts to herself since, ya know, she had to do that her whole life. And we see her discontent with what she has become in episode 33 of 02 when she was on the ledge with miyako. She even says she wishes she could speak what she is feeling like miyako and not have to bottle up everything inside.

Ok another point i would like to get at is that people say she doesnt have any flaws. Welp i just wrote one of her flaws up top. She cant say what shes feeling and she never quite grew out of that. Ok, i guess people can say that isnt really a flaw but an obstacle at best. Ok i can respect that. So lets go to her second flaw, her need for her brother. Like takeru, she relies on her brother (and no that incest thing is not what im talking about, that was just a fever dream). He was the first one to confirm she wasnt crazy and that everything she saw was real, as well as someone who has her back when she needs him the most. Unlike takeru, hikari never grew out of that. She didnt grow out of her reliance of taichi, and she always considered herself as taichis little sister, not hikari yagami. In episode 13 of 02 takeru even calls her out for being to reliant of taichi. If you only watched the dub it was more of a “you have others with you, ya know” type of scene but in the sub it was more of frustration towards hikari because of her reliance on taichi. Takeru knows what it was like to be known as “someone elses sibling” and not a person of your own. Thats why he gets frustrated that she just accepts the role and doesnt fight it, after all, it was takerus whole arc, and he wanted hikari to get the same arc, which regrettfully she doesnt. Its realistic that sometimes, people dont get the opportunity to grow like some other people.

NeXt point. Shes digimon jesus. Ngl she totally is. In the novels, its explained why(kinda), but since thats a different canon im not ganna get into that. I dont mind that she just randomly gets possessed by a deity because theres random shit all over the digital world. I think a lot of people overlook this but the digital world is the world of complete fantasy. Theres vending machines in the forest and theres telephone booths on the bay. Hell, theres even a tv in the coliseum. So why is it strange that a girl gets possessed by a deity but its ok when the world LITERALLY TURNS INTO A SPIRAL LIKE THATS NOT NORMAL. Anyways i digress. So the reason why i dont see it as a pro quality to her is because SHE CANT CONTROL THAT SHIT LIKE IT JUST HAPPENS OUT OF NOWHERE. IF THE DIGILORD WANTS HER TO JUMP OFF A CLIFF SHE LITERALLY CANT DISOBEY IT!(at least until tri)

Last point, and oh boy its a biggie. So one thing that people say makes her a mary sue is that all the boys (not all but ya know) in the series have a crush on her. Ok. I can see why people hate that aspect of her. To me, however, i dont mind that because it adds to the tragedy of her character (ohhh poor baby is pretty and gets all the boys, how awful. Let me get there.) So, her character up until that point was 1, raised to be quiet or people will gaslight her, 2, always relies on someone else to feel significant, and 3, literally blacks out because a deity takes her body, and there is nothing that she can do about it (at least until tri). Not to mention a group of ugly sea creatures betrays her trust and tries to do not nice things to her. Hell Yeah, its tragic that all of the boys like her. Why, because all who do crush on her only like her for her looks. And the thing is SHE KNOWS. She never reveals her true feelings so she know that people only like her for her looks, reinforcing her original thoughts of people will only like her if shes quiet and a cute face. LIKE BRO. EVERYTHING ABOUT HER LIFE IS REALLY EFFED UP AND THE FACT THAT PEOPLE JUST CHOCK IT UP TO SHES A MARY SUE IS REALLY SAD.

I saw someone who made a funny summary of digimon and they said they didnt like how hikari became a kindergarten teacher since it “follows the female stereotype” (so do a lot of my friends lol) and let me just say, shes probably a kindergarten teacher because she didnt want some other poor kid to be told their crazy and have to deal with the same effed up life she did.

So anyways, to all the people who made it to the end, i cant blame people for not getting hikari. Shes a very subtle character, and if you dont connect ALL of the dots, then you’ll probably miss the greatness of her character. Sometimes i wish people wrote as much about hikari as they do azula from avatar (on the other hand im kinda glad that they dont. I dont want people to start saying shes a disgrace to all females out there)

#digimon #digimon adventure psi #angel digimon #taichi yagami #hikari yagami #angewomon #digimon adventure #digimon adventure 02 #takeru takaishi #anaylsis #character analysis

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zerochanges · 4 years ago

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2020 Favorite Anime

I am sure I don’t have to exactly spell it out that 2020 was a different year, we all know the spiel now. It was in particular a bad year for me for a lot of personal reasons on top of the whole world wide pandemic thing killing millions and shutting down business and and all our hobbies--so I really was straight up not having a good time. It’s because of that I honestly didn’t really keep up with a lot of my hobbies this year so when it comes to choosing my favorite anime and games of 2020, I don’t have as much as I usually would.

So this year I decided to just say screw it, there are no rules. I usually try to impose some on myself every year for my lists: rules like no sequels, no long running shows, no shows that technically started last year, only new content from this year and not older stuff I watched/played this year but came out from a prior one. This time, there are no holds barred. I am just going to list my top whatever the hell I feel like listing. So starting with anime and in my usual alphabetical order; here we go.

The 8th Son? Are You Kidding Me?

Maybe a guilty pleasure? Maybe I just enjoy some trashier shows? It’s hard to say. There is nothing that great about 8th Son, it’s very bland and doesn’t stick out amongst the million other isekai (another world) power fantasy series that are all the rage now and yet there is a strange draw to it. Perhaps it’s because almost all the isekai elements in the series feel more forced than anything else, like they are just tacked on to appeal to modern audiences.

8th Son honestly feels more like a good old fashion fantasy series from the 90’s that just had to add isekai elements in it to appeal to kids today. I really enjoyed it for that aspect. The power fantasy isn’t too out of control (although the protagonist is quite strong), and there is no real end goal or attempt to return to your previous life. The protagonist Wendelin is more or less just cool with how things are now. Instead it focuses on his growth as a mage and how he tries to navigate the political intrigue of this feudal world being one of the youngest born in a noble family with no clear line of succession to take over yet being the most talented and magically gifted child of said family.

Ascendance of a Bookworm

Proving that not all isekai series have to be a power fantasy, Ascendance of a Bookworm plays out more like an educational take on medieval times, think something among the lines of Spice and Wolf, if you will. One day Motosu Urano wakes up in the body of the small child Myne in a fantasy world much like medieval Europe but with a few other elements like magic and sorcery. While at first that may sound like a high flying adventure it really isn’t. The series is more about following the average life of a peasant in this world and how far out of reach literature is to them, given the lack of printing press and the like. Urano now Myne tries her best to create books for the common people and spread literature, a herculean task considering the insane douchebaggery of the higher caste in this world. But armed with modern day knowledge of the 21st century Myne is able to create modern conveniences and wow most people around her.

Black Clover

So I am going to include long running shows now this year, get over it. Black Clover has been a favorite of mine in recent years. Out of the modern Jump battle series I find myself more and more drawn into Clover (and also my one true love, the ever underappreciated World Trigger) than the other more popular ones that seem to rule all the anime conversations today. Since I was following the series dubbed as it aired on Toonami this year brought me the end of the first part of the series; finally seeing the epic conclusion of Clover Kingdom’s long standing battle with the Eye of the Midnight Sun and revealing some pretty great and shocking twists behind the war of elves and humans along the way.

This finale was fantastic and honestly while I am glad to see the series continue on and grow from there, and look forward to seeing more of this new second part of Clover that focuses on a war with the Spade Kingdom, I absolutely would not have complained if the whole thing ended right here with this story arc. It wraps up so beautifully and is a compilation of three great years of episodes.

BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt so I’ll Max Out My Defense

Bofuri is not a series I thought I would enjoy as much as I did but it really won me over. Essentially just a ‘cute girls do cute things’ kind of show but with a twist of it being in an MMO game, there is something about it that made it so comfy and easy to watch. There’s always something enjoyable about watching the protagonist Maple, an absolutely clueless newbie at video games continue to be the bane of existence to the developers and admins of the game as she constantly breaks it and becomes insanely overpowered on a regular basis all from her own cluelessness.

As the title suggests she is the only person in the world to get scared of taking damage in a video game and puts all her stats into defense and literally nothing else entirely. After so much grinding the girl is such a tank she can just walk through enemies to kill them. It’s fun little things like this that make the show always worth a chuckle as her legendary player status continues to rise while in reality she just has no clue how to play RPGs whatsoever.

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

If you think Black Clover had a great run of episodes this year in 2020 just wait until you see what Boruto had to offer. While not a perfect year, the series did take off for about 2 months thanks to a pandemic hiatus, once it came back it was stronger than ever. We came out of the gates running and kicked off the return of Boruto with a fantastic 20+ episode long story arc centered on introducing the main group of villains in the series, the Kara. The world of Boruto became much bigger and much darker, and the series in the last year has started to bring in a lot more manga content and moving at a brisker and faster pace, changing the status quo up quite a lot. Watching the New Team 7 grow so much and rise to these challenges was rewarding and I am so excited for the vessel story arc teased at the latest Jump Festa this December.

Ultimately though their first encounter, crushing defeat, and subsequent rematch with Deepa; a new anime only member of Kara meant to introduce the organization to anime viewers was an insane show de force of animation and one of the best battles in 2020 anime, dare I say. These kids are growing into great warriors and the stakes have been raised so much.

Cardfight!! Vanguard Gaiden IF

The 2018 reboot of the Vanguard series saw not only the card game get refreshed but the television anime as well. Dubbed the V Series by fans thanks to all the new card serial numbers starting with a V post reboot, these last two years have been fun and full of fan service for long time viewers of the anime. Gaiden IF is the final season of this reboot before the fourth entry of the franchise Overdress begins in 2021, and was a very strange and experimental one at that. Gaiden IF holding true to its name was a gaiden, or spinoff of the series that wasn’t necessary in the same canon as the regular show and more fascinating had zero card fights during the entire show--instead being one huge parody of card game animes in general and the beloved cast of characters the series has built over its ten year run.

It’s quite hilarious and a great round of fun, especially since there isn’t a main character in sight. Gaiden IF is carried entirely by a cast of side characters and former villains now taking over the role of protagonist. I’ve never seen a show go for an entire season with such minor characters playing such a huge role and that is one of the best aspects of it. Every week watching Ibuki Kouji, one of the most feared and powerful villains in the series being tormented and kicked around as a would-be hero now honestly carries the entire show.

But really, this was one of the first anime to air post pandemic hiatus and it was so refreshing to have Vanguard back. Every week it reminded me how much I loved the franchise and anime in general, it was such a delight to finally have something enjoyable back in my life after such a grueling pandemic hiatus of nothing.

Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibouken (2020)

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think there would be a modern adaptation of Dai no Daibouken, or The Adventures of Dai as it is being called in English now. This was one of my all time favorite Jump manga growing up and I always thought the original unfinished 1991 anime was the best we were ever going to get as far as animation goes, so to see this beautiful new series with its fantastic storyboarding and animation, great use of CG mixed in with hand drawn, and what seems like an outright declaration from the series itself that it will adapt the series in its entirety this time, it’s all too much.

This new Dai adaptation is like a dream anime that was made just for me. Every Saturday morning I giddily log on to watch the new episode just like being a kid again with Saturday morning cartoons. If you are sleeping on this show, don’t! You won’t regret watching it, Dai was one of the all time great Shonen Jump properties of the 90’s and is ready to show kids today what that era has to offer!

Gundam Build Divers Re:rise Season 2

Rerise was hands down one of my favorite shows last year when the first cour aired, and this year is no different either, dare I say once again this was probably my favorite show of the whole year. It’s hard to really go into what made this second cour so good without flat out spoiling all the best parts, and all the character development, and all the amazing battles, but suffice to say, this may be one of the best Gundam shows of the entire decade, Build series or not. Hell I ain’t afraid to say this kicked G-Tekketsu (Iron Blooded Orphans) ass this way to Sunday, I don’t care that this is a toy commercial for a much younger audience. Basically, watch Rerise, it’s going to be a great time.

If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die

This was another series that I expected very little from but ended up really enjoying each week. The basic premise is pretty simple, a super fan obsessed with an idol (singer) goes to insane lengths to support her and thinks her love will never be reciprocated but maybe it just might be. It’s kinda strange and an unusual romance series that isn’t really all that big on romance. In fact it seems to be much bigger on being informative about idol fan culture and nerd culture in general and poking fun at that while never being too mean spirited.

I think that’s the charm of this one. These are by all extent weird kinda creepy people that are obsessed over young girl singers but it never demonizes its cast for that nor does it ever go too far in the power fantasy of them ‘getting the girl’. It’s about the struggle of fan life and the tightknit and utterly bizarre groups of friends you can make in a fandom--and also maybe some love might happen along the way.

Jujutsu Kaisen

Another big modern shonen jump battle manga got its chance to be animated this year, and this time courtesy of studio Mappa who are the real stars of this party. Everything about Jujutsu Kaisen feels like Mappa throwing down the gauntlet and trying to one-up the highly praised and beloved Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba from last year that wowed everyone with UFOtable’s signature beautiful animation. It’s very fascinating to see the insane levels of gorgeous jaw dropping action set pieces between these two series, both raising the bar to ridiculous levels in their own ways. On top of the animation front though are some very easily lovable characters, a much darker feeling supernatural story than one may expect, and probably Crunchyroll’s best dub produced in 2020.

Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!

Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken is another series from beloved auteur Masaaki Yuasa. Bringing with it his signature style and wonderful animation, his hardworking compatriots at studio Science Saro deliver something truly special, an anime about why anime is great and just how the heck it is made to begin with. I think one of my favorite aspects of Yuasa’s work is just how sincere almost his entire output is, and how you can really feel a certain kind of emotion and vision behind each work that is unique to it. For Eizouken it is definitely the joy of creation and what it means to pursue something creative. Easily one of the best watches of 2020 for both its visuals, sound design, characters with great chemistry that have to deliver very heavy and technical dialogue but do so in a really natural and enjoyable way--and hey the shows within the show that the girls make are also usually pretty interesting and good too.

MAJOR 2nd Season 2

I think my favorite aspect of this new middle school arc of MAJOR 2nd was seeing just how much Daigo has changed over the years since we last saw him in elementary school in the first season. No longer in little league and now trying to save his school’s baseball club, Daigo has grown into a strong leader and really feels natural with everyone he talks to. It’s a huge departure from the bullied and reclusive selfish kid he was in the first season. Seeing the kid grow up into somebody reliable and caring like this almost brings a tear to my eye.

It’s an old cliché but saving the falling apart club in your school is a classic underdog story and the fact that Daigo built his own team from the ground up really sells it. The team is largely made up of girls too which brings a really great girl power aspect to it as well. With just 3 boys and the rest of the positions being filled with females, the haphazard team Daigo put together not only has to show that nobodies can make it but that girls are just as good as the boys.

Rent-a-Girlfriend

I love trashy romcom harem anime, I will be the first to admit it. I am not even their target audience, in fact I am probably the exact opposite of their target audience yet I can’t get enough of this kind of garbage, and Rent-a-Girlfriend brings in the garbagest of garbage it can! The name says it all right there, our hero is literally so pathetic he has to pay girls money to go on dates with him. And he just continues to ruin everything around him with his constant lying and all around patheticness. He is like a blackhole of suck that will drag down any and all that go near him. What more can you even want?!

I am half facetious here of course, but to an extent what I said about Kazuya isn’t wrong. He’s the biggest loser around, and I love him. It’s fun to watch him squirm, and it’s nice to learn more about him and see he has a good side deep down too. In a lot of ways he’s probably one of the more relatable leads in these kinds of shows as he’s just as pathetic as all the rest of us who watch these kinds of shows are. But besides Kazuya there are plenty of nice leading ladies too and probably most surprisingly a fairly well fleshed out circle of friends that he hangs out with. Usually these kinds of shows will sideline the male friends of the leads and only focus on time between the lead and the girls, so it’s refreshing to see so much time spent with other boys in the show too.

Also as an addendum to anyone who watches the series dubbed, Aleks Le‘s performance as the lead role is maybe some of the best casting in modern anime dubbing I have ever heard. He kills it in this show. It’s a performance that carries the entire show.

Shadowverse

You might say, I saved the best for last, but honestly this was a coincidence. Shadowverse is a by-the-numbers card game anime. It starts very slow and very bland, and offers nothing new to the genre instead sticking entirely to the classic tropes and clichés of sports anime and Yu-Gi-Oh clones alike. That is for the first 12 episodes or so. It begins to evolve and gets a little more interesting from there, then something happens. Something I cannot explain. Something that makes no sense. Something that the production committee probably should not have allowed to occur. The show just goes absolutely, positively, certifiably, fucking insane.

Out of nowhere, the plot suddenly turns into a straight Neon Genesis Evangelion knock-off, complete with plugsuits, random nonsense mysticism from exotic religions, and soul crushing nightmarishly harsh treatment of the child protagonists. Suddenly time freezes for everyone but the main characters, and the totally original not Kabbalah, Tree of Woe, begins to end the world. Now armed with their new psychic powers (that they just have now out of nowhere!) the kids have to fight brain washed former enemies and loved ones alike that seek to destroy the world via assimilation into the darkness.

Suddenly we have moments like the above where Luca, the coldhearted and cool Shadowverse player who only ever began fighting in tournaments to earn money for his younger sick sister’s treatment has to face off against a possessed evil version of his sister who bemoans all the isolation he put her through, never being there with her, always away trying to earn money. She berates and destroys the young man’s heart for his well intentions. Luca with no other options has to put her down for the good of the world.

You know, for the 12 year old kids in the audience that signed up for a show about a cellphone app.

I haven't even gotten to the best part yet, the show isn’t over! There’s still 12 episodes left in the series and do you wanna know the best part?! The heroes already failed! The world blew up and everyone got sucked into a blackhole and died! That’s not a joke. The bad guys won. And there’s still another season worth of episodes to go! I am not kidding, this is how the show ended the year 2020! This is legendary, no fucks given status if I ever saw it. The best way to end 2020 if ever there was one:

Every week I anxiously log on to watch Shadowverse after it jumped the shark just to see what insanity happens next. This is Tommy Wiseau The Room energy levels of pure insane dribble. Shadowverse might be the biggest disaster of a card game anime of all time, and I simply cannot get enough of it now.

BONUS THOUGHTS For 2020

Random Anime Collecting: This year saw Discotek release three Case Closed/Detective Conan movies on blu-ray. Detective Conan is a series near and dear to my heart, and one I spent a lot of my college days obsessed over. This is a franchise I really went to great lengths to collect after Funimation reprinted many of the long time out of print volumes of the series back in 2013, and I bought them all back then. Buying new Detective Conan movies in 2020 felt super surreal, and also wonderful. I really hope I can keep buying more in 2021.

Hidive for these hard times: I didn’t include anything really from Sentai, I am not sure why, maybe none of what I watched this year would count as a favorite of mine, maybe I was just lazy and didn’t want to add to my list anymore. Honestly though I watched a lot of series this year on Hidive. I think my favorite has been the new dub of Pet Girl of Sakurasou.

A Lost Classic: Nobody is talking about God Mazinger finally getting released in English from Discotek and that kind of bums me out. The series was one I obsessed over when younger, especially because it was rare to find even raw footage of it lead alone subtitled. It was never subtitled in fact, so Discotek’s release is the first time it has ever been in English.

#anime #The 8th Son? Are You Kidding Me?#Ascendance of a Bookworm #Black Clover #Boruto #Boruto Naruto Next Generations #Bofuri #Cardfight!! Vanguard #Dragon Quest #Dragon Quest Dai no Daibouken #dragon quest the adventure of dai #Gundam Build Divers Re:rise #JuJutsu Kaisen #Keep YOur Hands Off Eizouken #MAJOR 2nd #Rent-a-girlfriend #Shadowverse

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mulanxiaojie · 5 years ago

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Are you excited for the film? It seems that ur posting both positive and negative news on the new movie. No hate or anything. Just curious.

I guess it’s because I feel there are both good and bad things about the film. Nothing is 100% perfect or 100% horrible…that being said, all opinions so far are reblogs from other people and not 100% of what they say are what I agree with either. It’s more to promote different viewpoints.

For me…a live-action Mulan has been a dream of mine since 2015. I’m all four of their target demographics. A couple weeks after I fantasized about it, Disney actually announced it and I was ecstatic. Then they took so long and I lost interest. Then came the good and the bad.

Good: An all-Asian cast with a competent Chinese woman who can do martial arts. However, this should be a given and I’m not really applauding them for this sort of ‘representation’.

Bad: I never really liked Liu Yifei that much in the first place because she honestly just can’t act. What I’ve seen her perform in prior has looked so emotionless and sucked any heart or soul out of a story. I also don’t think she fits the role, looks or personality-wise. It’s the same offscreen too – she chose to show herself more through politics than expressing her personality to the wider world. Her impression to me to this day is still a more cold and distant one than a warm and friendly one. Through the trailers, I can tell that that wooden face will likely be the weakness of the film, especially since she takes front and center.

Good: More research was done with a little more thought put in it. Iconic but cringy things from original taken out (Mushu, hair cut) with more Chinese elements added in (phoenix, wuxia).

Bad: It’s still not enough. They removed the worst of it but there is still so many little things that snuck by, and new inaccuracies they decided to add (like her hometown). So you see the crew repeating the 1998′s crew history of patting themselves on the back for being so ‘true’ to the culture while, honestly, still majorly lacking in accuracy and authenticity. Despite what they think, there is still subtle stereotyping and generalizing of the culture.

If you check the cast and crew IMBD page, you’ll see that while the cast is something the internet approved of greatly, the behind-the-scenes crew is still very questionable. It’s like Disney casted Chinese and other Asians to please the public but still secretly wanted westerners to control the story and Chineseness. It’s all just for show.

Just because the fantasy/wuxia elements and set/costume details were done doesn’t mean it was done well. Sure they consulted cultural experts, but then decided to do the art themselves. Why didn’t they just hire Chinese people to work on the production design/costume design/art direction/makeup and even the music? At least a few people in charge of the culture they hold near and dear? Then the westerners can still take part in the project by being assistants instead of acting as the authority. All I see of those in control of art departments of the film is a sea of western influence.

There’s a huge noticeable difference between a Chinese person putting their heart and soul in their cultural arts, and a foreigner messing with this clunky alien thing they did not grow up with. Ends up that even though it is all high quality and highly detailed, I can still sense the shabbiness and orientalism in it. I mean, in some of the behind-the-scenes close-ups, why does the armor look so rustic and imperial gowns look like they are made of cheap fabric? Why did westerners make these decisions..? Well I have some ideas.

No matter what, they are still seeing through a western lens, and altering the art and story to satisfy western sensibilities and emotions. Making it actually Chinese would be too awkward and unnatural for them. Meanwhile we have to watch them tamper with this cultural icon, and viewing it will make it awkward and uncomfortable for us.

For example they wanted to include a kiss in one scene, which would have been a huge mess…thankfully that was shut down by Chinese critics and they removed it. I suppose a lot of bigger things were firmly dealt with, but I’m sure there are a plenty more parts the creators didn’t realize got passed anyway because the cultural experts who first viewed it were too exhausted to nitpick and debate every single subtle little detail.

People want to give Hollywood props now for not lumping all Asians as one, but even among Chinese we recognize the differences and diversity within the culture. It truly, sincerely, is not a monolith. Yet Disney is doing the same again by lumping it all as the same.

Also one of the worst parts is that they speak English instead of Chinese…in an ancient Chinese setting with real actors…it’s going to feel so weird as though it’s dubbed…it’s the biggest complaint of my friends and family…but I guess that can’t be helped.

In order to create a balance that is both true to Chinese culture and still clearly a Disney film, my idea would be to let Disney handle the overall funding and story because they are master storytellers, and then let Chinese people handle the production art and little details and critique during the process. Just consulting isn’t enough. Let people have authority and control over their own culture. Then maybe it would have worked. I don’t think it’s impossible. After all, Dreamworks has done it.

At the end of the day I have no say or control in the movie so I really have no choice but to go along with it. So there you go, I’m posting about it anyway.

Well I went on too long on the bad parts, and I may not even be right, and I haven’t seen the film yet so who knows? Another good thing is that there is the amount of Mulan merch that is going to come out of this. Both cute American novelty trinkets targeted towards Disney fans and gorgeous Chinese fashion with items targeted towards stylish women.

Lastly, there is the music. I’m not interested in the new vocal songs released, but the background orchestra of the original soundtrack is really gonna…I don’t even know how to describe, it’s going to move me to emotional heights, I’m going to soar. Cue the waterworks.

I really rambled on; this ended up being long and yet is only a summary of my thoughts. Initial reviews are saying it’s a good movie though. So I guess I’ll just have to wait and see! It’s gonna be while now tho lol

#admin post #but seriously why is there a huge difference in quality #just comparing the live action disney gifs and the chinese drama gifs I reblog #side by side #lmao #the orientalism #honestly wish I could answer this privately #I'm not looking for any arguments #asian pasian #mulan #disney #live action mulan #ask #answered

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fullmetaldevil-blog · 5 years ago

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Batim Stitched AU: Halloween Birthday Bash ch 3

Ok! I kid you not, what was supposed to have been a cute little short rapidly expanded to a 80+ (and counting) page story. It had become so long that I had to divide it into 4 parts rather then 3 like the initial plan. Anywho without further delay (been delayed long enough) here we go.

SINdy and Confessional belong to @trashboatprince

Angel Henry, Bendy, Alice and Borise (Errand Boy AU) belong to @inkspottie

Bendy (ITT AU) belongs to @soniccrazygal

Beast Bendy (Dubbed BBendy to separate the Bendys from the Family AU) belongs to @doberart

Fate (Broken Cycle AU) belongs to @vespavespa

Shadow and Ben belong to @zanzaflux

On with the show~!

October 31st Halloween day

The sounds of padded feet quietly tiptoed down the hall striving to be as quiet and as careful as possible yet still alerting a large ink cat to their presence. Shadow lifted its head to see Allison sneaking into the kitchen to prepare for the morning. The large cat looked at the sleeping toons beneath it to see the toons were all out like little lights and gently tucked them in though it internally grumbled with having to pull Bendy back onto the bed since the toon was half hanging off the side of the couch. Once it was sure that Bendy was secure and that none of the other toons were disturbed by the cats movements it carefully got off the couch and crept into the kitchen to join Allison in her early morning ritual.

Allison pulled out the spare pans from the oven as quietly as she could setting them on the stove only to feel like someone was watching her. A small gurgling sound confirmed her suspicion as she looked over her shoulder to see Shadow sitting in the doorway watching her. "Good morning Shadow. Coming to watch me cook?"

Her answer was a murmuring sound and a slight nod before the cat trotted into the kitchen and rubbed its head against her side getting a chuckle from her. It brought her a small amount of joy that she won’t be by herself in the kitchen and would have little companion, that she’ll have someone to talk to as she wasn’t expecting the toons or her husband to surface any time soon.

"You can watch, but when I'm almost done can you get them up for me?" She pulled out a box of oatmeal and a bag of sugar from her cabinet before lightly scratching Shadow on its horn. The inky cats grin stretched wider as it leaned into her side, it was happy it could join her.

Allison quietly began to get her collection of pans together as she cooked bacon in one and sausage in the other. A pot soon joined the stove filled with water, raisins and cinnamon that was set to boil while she focused on finishing up the bacon and sausage. All the while Allison cooked Shadow sat next to hear lightly leaning into her side as it watched items go to and from the stove. When the first piece of bacon was ready Allison let it cool before slipping it to the inky cat for keeping her company. The feline enjoyed the crispy breakfast item purring into Allison’s side in thanks.

The pair enjoyed the peaceful bliss of the morning hour. Allison lifted the last of the bacon off the pan setting them on the plate to cool as well as the apple maple sausages. Shadow enjoyed the little sausage links that she slipped him as they were juicy and sweet, the cat purring in delight.. Allison chuckled at the cats response to the food and hefted the two plates setting them on the table and covered them. Shadows horn twitched as it finished off the last of it’s sausage before it’s attention was drawn toward the back door before a small knock was heard.

"Who could that be?" Allison lifted a brow before looking at Shadow who tilted its head looking at her.

Allison readjusted the large pot on the stove and lowered the flame so it wouldn’t boil over. She wiped off her hands on her apron before turning to the back door opening it.

Before her stood an older man with soft blue eyes and fluffy light brown hair with gray on his sides. Much to Allison's surprise small ivory horns poked through his hair on the top of his head and a golden halo floated above. Small white wings with black tips were folded against his back and sides while a small breeze ruffled their feathers. The man smiled before pulling out a small chalk board surprising Allison till she saw the scarring on his mouth and throat. It was a safe assumption that the man before her couldn’t speak.

The male angel quickly jotted something down on his board before he turned it around allowing her to read it while he gave her a warm welcoming smile.

'Good Morning.'

"Good morning to you as well." Allison returned the smile. "I take it you are 'Uncle Angel' or 'Angel Henry' as the boys put it?"

She has an idea as to how Benny’s Uncle looked as he had described him as a full grown man. Though she was briefly confused as why Benny drew the man looking like an angel toon rather than a full sized human with angel features. It was gonna be a question for some other time. While she pondered over her new guest Henry’s nodding returned her attention to him as he erased the board and wrote a quick message before holding it up again along with holding out his hand.

'That’s me. Nice to meet you Mrs. Connor'

"Likewise" Allison chuckled returning the gesture before a set of voices sounded out from behind Henry earning a guilty and concerned look from the man.

Allison peered behind the angel to see 3 very familiar toons along with a familiar beast. Bendy, Alice and Boris perfectly on model were standing behind Henry along with a version of Beast Bendy who seemed to be amused at whatever had the 3 toons occupied. Alice and Bendy seemed to be bickering over something while Boris was simply watching them to make sure they didn’t get out of hand. Henry looked at his toons and companion before he turned back to Allison and waved at her catching her attention before holding up his board.

'Sorry. I couldn't leave my three toons at home.'

Allison scoffed at the angel's statement waving her hands. "You're fine. The more the merrier. You came just in time for breakfast."

A look of surprise crossed Henry's face before he sheepishly scratched the back of his head. He grabbed his halo and pulled on it to stretch it out like toon physics to form a thought bubble, words quickly formed in it he while he gave Allison a sympathetic look.

'Sorry for coming so early. I wasn't sure what time was best. I'll be more than happy to help in the kitchen. The initial invite was for BBendy and I, but I couldn’t leave my three toons at home since it’s their first Halloween as well.’

Henry's statement was met with a warm smile as she stepped aside allowing entry into the home. “LIke I said, you’re fine and I completely understand. We all have moments where we can’t leave our children home. Plus, I’d be more than happy to have a helping hand in the kitchen.”

Henry breathed a sigh of relief nodding at her words. He was happy that the actress was so understanding of his situation as he feared that he would have to leave the toons at home to be watched by the rest of his studio family for which they didn’t have any plans for going out on Halloween night. Many simply planned on passing out candy, watching movies or simply relaxing as they didn’t express interest in taking the toons out trick or treating. He was happy that his toons would be able to enjoy the holiday alongside others. Henry motioned to the group behind him to gain their attention for which the halo bubble instructed them to introduce themselves.

Allison chuckled as the Alice toon was the first to approach her with a warm smile before bowing slightly. “Good Morning Mrs. Connor. My name is Alice Angel and it is a pleasure to meet you.”

Allison bowed slightly in turn. “It’s nice to meet you sweetie.” her answer was a hug as the Angel happily expressed her thanks for allowing them to stay before she headed inside.

Once the little angel had skipped into the home, Boris glanced at Bendy whom had firmly attached himself to Henry showing no signs of introducing himself any time soon. The wolf lightly rolled his eyes before stepping forward.

“Nice t’ meet ya Mrs. Connor. My name is Boris the Wolf.” The wolf held out his hand in greeting.

Allison met his hand with her own before gently pulling the wolf into a hug while lightly giggling. She couldn’t help herself as she had to admit while she loved Bendy, Boris was always one of her favorites because he reminded her of her husband, a soft sweet boy. A small part of her wished that Tom was still a Boris toon, but it wouldn’t have been fair to the man as it wasn’t by choice. Movement behind the wolf caught her attention as she looked past him to catch glimpses of a bushy tail happily wagging back and forth.

“Nice to meet you too Boris and there is some food already in the kitchen.” She beamed at the toon and didn’t need to tell him twice, the wolf politely excused himself before he headed into the home.

Once the wolf was gone Allison turned her attention to the hulking beast Bendy and the smaller toon Bendy that was clinging to Henry. The two Bendy’s looked at each other before the toon one clung a little tighter to Henry indicating he wasn’t moving anywhere before Beast Bendy huffed at his much smaller counterpart and came forward. The Beast leaned his head down till the side of his head was gently rubbing against Allison while she heard a low guttural rumbling in his throat that was followed by a happy sigh when Allison returned his affections by rubbing the side of his face while being careful to avoid his teeth.

“Nice to meet you too Bendy.” Allison chuckled before stepping aside allowing the beast to carefully fit himself through the door. She was surprised at how he was able to fit, but considering he also lived with a Henry, she figured it was safe to assume he was used to getting in and out of doors without too much trouble. A stark difference between their Bendy that would get stuck in them while Benny would laugh at his counterparts misfortune before getting tossed like a toy. She had to admit that BBendy was a familiar sight and she was surprised that she wasn't at all concerned about the beast even though this was a different Bendy. Perhaps being around Benny's friends was putting her mind at ease.

Henry was to last to come to the doorway with his bendy in his arms that brought a small smile to Allison’s face. This Bendy had his face buried in Henry’s chest while he clung to him with his tail curled around the man’s arm. It seemed that this one was a bit shy. Deciding to give the little devil some space, Allison stooped a bit to have her more level with the hiding toon.

“Hi there. I know you, you’re Bendy the Dancing Demon. It’s nice to meet you. My name is Allison Connor.”

The toon nodded and mumbled a small ‘hello’ before he buried his face back into Henry’s chest prompting the man to gesture to his halo.

‘You’ll have to forgive him, he’s like this sometimes.’ Henry gave a sympathetic look at his toon. He knew full well why his Bendy was clingy and he really couldn’t blame him. ‘He’ll hopefully warm up later on after he eats and is around everyone a little more.’

Allison nodded in understanding as stepped aside to wave the angel in before Henry waved at her to gain her attention and gestured to his side. Under his wing was a small stack of presents and even Bendy had a small present in his hand that he had mostly tucked under his body.

‘I brought some gifts that I think he’ll like, the toons pitched in as well.’ he put on a small smile.

“Thank you, you didn’t have too. It is a gift enough just for you to be here.” Allison couldn’t hide her gratitude within her smile. I warmed her heart to see that even though Benny’s friends had been invited which was already a treat to the toon, but they brought gifts to him as well when they weren’t obligated to. To see that they were just at thoughtful as him filled her heart with pride that her toon had the best people around him to call his friends.

Allison helped gather up the gifts for Henry since his Bendy refused to remove himself from his creator for which Allison didn’t fault the shy demon for it. She figured he would eventually move about on his own when the time was right. Henry held the door open for the actress as she cradled the gifts in her hand and hastily retreated to her bedroom to hide them setting them next to her bed. Tom was still hugging the covers for which she lightly tugged on them waking the man and softy urged him to get up to watch the toons. Henry retreated to the kitchen to be met with the rest of the toons as well as Benny, SINdy, Shadow and Bendy whom all had woken up at the arrival of the additional guests. Tom meanwhile slowly stirred himself and dragged himself into the kitchen to watch the group while Allison remained the room to better hide the gifts.

The kitchen was full of bodies as Benny was firmly attached to Henry’s leg getting dirty looks from his Bendy while the angel chatted to the toons father. Though Tom couldn’t hide the look of astonishment and confusion on his face as he watched the words form in the angel's floating halo. It was like watching cartoon physics as he was vaguely reminded of Benny’s little floating Z’s when he’s asleep. He swiftly understood that this Henry couldn’t speak and was patient as the angel formed the words to their conversation. SINdy, Bendy and Shadow were all crowded around BBendy with the beast gurgling happily while the toons eagerly chatted to him. Alice entertained herself as she admired the kitchen before eyeing some cookbooks, but didn’t dare touch them until she asked Tom with the man giving her the go ahead. Little music notes seem to float around her as she gingerly opened them giving them a look through with Boris peering over her shoulder.

A clap rang through the air gaining everyone's attention as Allison returned to the kitchen standing next to her stove. “Good morning everyone and I’d like to thank you all for coming. As much as I’d like to get things underway, I’d like if you all were to head to the living room so I can try and finish cooking breakfast. The kitchen is a little too small to properly accommodate everyone.”

“I can help!” Alice piped up setting the book back on the shelf before stepping forward.

“Me too.” Bendy, SINdy and Benny all chimed in.

‘I’ll lend a hand’ Henry offered, but felt a hand on his shoulder, turning his attention to Tom with a questioning look.

“Actually, I’d like it if you to come with me to get some more groceries. I doubt we have enough eggs and bacon for everyone here.” the mechanic gestured to the crowd, in particular at Benny earning a small sheepish chuckle from the toon. Henry nodded in agreement at the mechanic request while his Bendy lightly pouted in protest.

“Alright everyone." Allison addressed the crowd. “BBendy can you clear some space in the living room? The coffee table and couch can be folded up and set aside to make way for the tables. Benny, SINdy and Bendy can you three get some fold out tables from the garage as set them up in the living room with BBendy?” her request got all three toons doing a mock salute along with a ‘yes ma’am’ while BBendy nodded and turned towards the living room. “Alice can you help me in the kitchen and Shadow, if you’d like, you can rest in the living with BBendy or you can stay in the kitchen with us. Boris you can either help in here or help BBendy with clearing the living room, I'll let you decide.” Alice nodded and stood next to Allison along with Shadow who seemed to be more interested in remaining in the kitchen.

The group dispersed with Benny, SINdy and Bendy retreating to the garage to fetch the spare tables while BBendy accepted Borises offer of assistance, and the pair headed into the living room to prepare. Tom loaned Henry a coat and hat to cover his wings and horns while they got ready to head out. Henry’s Bendy pitched a fit at his dad joining Tom on the shopping run until Tom lent him some of Benny’s clothes so the toon could quiet down and come along. Henry thanked Tom for his willingness to let him come along, only for Tom to comment how he understood the desire as Benny was clingy to Allison as well. He knew all too well that there are times that the toon’s don’t like to be separated from their perceived parent.

Allison watched as everyone split up leaving herself, Alice and Shadow in the kitchen with some semblance of peace and quiet restored to her kitchen, at least for the moment. For as much as she would have liked the additional help, having everyone in one room would have driven her insane. The kitchen simply isn’t large enough to accommodate the additional bodies and everyone would simply be stepping over each other trying to work.

“Shall we?” Alice’s voice chimed in drawing Allison’s attention. She had to admit it was interesting hearing a voice similar to her own, yet not quite. The actress nodded as the two angels rolled up their proverbial sleeves and got to work while Shadow’s grin stretched even wider.

“What would you like me to do ma’am?” The toon angel looked at her human counterpart. She wasn’t sure what the actress had been making prior to their coming as they hadn’t expected to be arriving around breakfast time.

Allison hummed while taking in the kitchen. The planned meal was oatmeal, toast, eggs, bacon, sausage and some fruit. The bacon and sausage were already cooked and were on the kitchen table and the toast was the last thing that needed to be made. That only left the oatmeal, eggs and fruit, but she didn’t want the angel near the stove since she is still a toon made of ink and the last thing she wanted was for her to get hurt. Her eyes finally rested on the bowl of apples on the table. “Can you slice the apples for me and then make some toast?”

“Sure!” The toon angel chirped as she paced to the table, pulling out her chair sitting down and began to slice the small pile of apples.

Allison briefly checked with her to make sure he’s worked with a knife before getting reassurance from the angel before she returned to her stove leaving Alice to her task. The angel happily hummed while she worked, earning a smile from Allison who returned to her stove and turned the flames back up on her oatmeal stirring the pot.

Shadow took up residence next to Allison leaning against her as she stood at the stove, the large ink cat was content with watching the two work while listening to BBendy shuffle around in the living room presuming that it was making some space for the tables and chairs that were to be brought inside. It’s stubby horns twitched at the sound of Allison humming a soft gentle tune that the cat leaned into her mode purring at the lovely melody.

“I know that song.” Alice’s voice chimed.

“Really?” A grin stretched across Allison’s face in astonishment and joy. She was surprised that Alice knew it as it wasn’t a song from the studio as it was a really old tune that is seldom heard.

“Yeah it was one that Henry had on one of his records at home. I think it was called ‘Greensleeves’.” The angel returned the smile. “Henry has a number of classical pieces and that was one of them.”

Alice began to sing the melody of the song before she heard Allison join in encouraging her to sing louder. Shadow purred at it listened to the two ladies sing across the room at each other with their voices in harmony. The inky cat was enjoying the music that the ladies were creating while they worked, it’s tail lightly tapped to the beat.

The pairs voices squeaked briefly when a third voice joined in only to see Ragdoll enter the room carrying the tables along with Bendy in his Ink Devil form carrying chairs. The ragdoll demon’s deeper voice provided the harmony to the ladies melody as the trio sang out. SINdy poked his head out from behind Ragdoll’s horns as he was riding on his friends shoulder and held up his sign.

'We got tables and chairs!'

Allison chuckled breaking away from the tune at the sight of the 2 larger demons and the toon perched on Bennys shoulders before gesturing to the living room. “Well I’m still cooking so you boys can set them up in the living room.”

“Ok” Benny nodded as he ushered Bendy to the living room where they were joined by BBendy and Boris in helping to set up.

Allison turned back to her stove and added in the sweetened condensed milk to the oatmeal while she could hear the toons moving the tables and chairs around. She had to stifle a laugh at hearing the boys bicker about if the table was set up properly until Benny opted to prove his point for which the table folded up like a bear trap with him squeaking loudly inside. She felt pity for her toon, but laughed at SINdy and Bendy both pulling him out of the ‘cursed table’ and made a mental note for Tom to fix it later telling the toons to grab a different table instead.

By the time the boys had finished setting up the tables and with them no longer folding up with Benny inside, Allison finished the oatmeal and poured the hot cereal into several bowls one for each guest. She left plenty in the pot for she knew some go back for more then just seconds as well as her husband and Henry who ran out of the house to do a quick errand. Alice placed the sliced fruits at the sides of the bowls along with some butter and jelly toast. The eggs were the last thing that were prepared as she wanted them piping hot as she sprinkled a little cheese on them before setting them in a large bowl. The bacon and sausages were piled high on a plate so everyone can take their desired amounts.

BBendy grinned at the two ladies making the final touches to everyone’s breakfast and moved towards the door gurgling for Allison’s attention.

“What’s up BBendy?” The actress looked at the demon.

The beast sat down to center himself as he extended his large hand into the kitchen laying his hand out flat and motioned for the plates. After a few light gestures and a small whine Allison realized what he wanted. “Oh why thank you BBendy.” She chuckled while placing the finalized plates onto his hand.

BBendy happily growled and patiently waited for all the plates to be loaded onto his hand before retracting his hand from the kitchen. He turned and held his hand out to Benny, SINdy and Bendy whom happily retrieved the plates from the demon and began to place them at the tables. The toons happily chatted to each other as they ran around setting up all the tables for the guests who would occupy them. Boris was content with gathering up the utensils to set the tables since none of the other toons thought to get them. Allison even joked to the scurrying boys asked if they planned on eating with their hands since Boris was the only one who sought out utensils.

Once the tables were right and prepared, Benny quickly took his seat grinning wide at his bowl of oatmeal with SINdy and Bendy sitting next to him. BBendy took up the end of the table closest to him sharing it with the other Bendy toons. Alice laughed at the congregation of demons calling the Bendy’s table the demon table as she and Boris took the second table making sure to save a seat for Henry and Bendy for when they got back from shopping with Thomas. Allison watched as all the toons chow down on their food chiming in thanks or hums of appreciation before she took a seat at the ‘demon’ table.

SINdy was about to reach for a slice of bacon before a small golden fluffy bee sat on the slice of bacon he was about to grab. The sight of the bee made SINdy’s grin go wide as he held up his sign.

‘Fate!’

SINdy suddenly holding up his sign gained everyone's attention as they all noticed the golden bee that suddenly appeared on their table. The bee buzzed away taking the slice of bacon with it before it glowed turning into a ball of light before reforming to a very familiar shape.

Allison watched as the shape took on an on model bendy form except this one was completely gold and sported a long spaded tail. His face lacked pie cute eyes as they were completely round and had what looked like small bags under his eyes making him look sleepy. The being Benny described as Fate. The figure stood before the group muttering something before pulling out a small item that resembled a salt shaker and sprinkled something shiny onto the bacon before eating it.

The toon noticed the crowd watching him and happily bowed wearing a large grin. “Hello everyone!”

Just as the words left Fates mouth he found himself in a bean pile as the other Bendys ditched the table to give their friend a warm welcome. The pile laughed as they hugged their friends before they decided to get up and to give their friend some space.

Fate lightly patted the dust off himself before he looked over at the woman he knew was his friends mother, Allison. He straightened up his bow tie and pace over to her holding out his hand for a handshake. “Good morning Mrs. Allison Connor, my name is Fatekeeper, but everyone calls me Fate!”

Fate outstretched hand was met with Allisons as she gently shook his. “Nice to meet you Fate. Thank you for coming.”

“Oh I wasn’t about to miss my friends Birthday!” Fate cheered.

“Well we have more than enough for one more at the table, would you like to join us?” Allison gestured to the table with all the toons eagerly grinning at their friend.

“Certainly!” Fate chirped before dashing off to the table taking a seat next to BBendy. The god looked around the table at all the food happily helping himself along with the rest of the toons before he stopped and looked at Allison. “Do you have any glitter?”

Allison couldn’t hide the look of confusion on her face. “G-Glitter? What would you want with that?”

“The food is great” Fate grinned after a spoonful of his oatmeal. “But it would be even better with glitter mixed in.” Everyone deadpanned at the table and all looked at Fate in mild disgust.

“You do realize that glitter is an art supply and isn’t edible.” Bendy groaned at his friend's request.

“And so is Ink, so what's your point? Don’t knock it till you try it.” Fate grinned while pulling out a small salt shaker opening it and sprinkle glitter all over his food. Everyone else slowly grabbed onto their plates shaking their heads no when Fate offered the shaker to any of them. The god shrugged and poured more of the contents onto his food and happily munched away.

Allison briefly looked at Benny like his friend lost his mind, but the toon shrugged and began to dig into his oatmeal. She sighed and sat down before she heard the familiar sound of the door being unlocked. She hastily got up from the table to meet Thomas in the doorway with Henry helping him carry in a large cake box while his Bendy snickered at the two men.

"Looks like you were successful" Allison beamed at the two men.

Henry grinned and nudged his Bendy to temporarily help hold the box earning a brief complaint from the toon while he took a moment to tug his halo off his wrist and to stretch it into a thought bubble.

'Thomas said he needed to get more food for breakfast when in truth he was picking up a cake he ordered.'

"Well you boys arrived just in time" Allison let them through the door. "The toons are all in the living room and don't suspect a thing."

Thomas readjusted his hold on the cake relieving Henry of it "Well I'm just gonna set it in the kitchen and wait till they are all done with their food. Plus we" he lightly nodded towards Henry and Bendy. "Gotta eat ourselves."

Allison chuckled and lightly kissed Tom on his cheek "That's fine. In the meantime I'll round up the gifts and wait till you want to get the cake."

"Thanks." Tom quickly headed into the kitchen while Allison retreated to the bedroom leaving Henry and Bendy to go to the living room to join the rest of the guests in the morning meal.

Henry helped himself and his Bendy to the oatmeal pot while the rest of the toons were all immersed in lively chatter. The angel took a seat next to SINdy silently chuckling at his own Bendy jealously guarding the seat next to him yet a gentle yet stern look from him kept his demon at bay. Henry lightly glanced around the room at his other toons smiling as they socialized with the other guests. Alice was happily chatting with Benny as the pair were enjoying a lively conversation about clothing and fabrics. The angel toon boasting about the outfits Henry made for them for Halloween which was matched by Bennys enthusiasm for the later hours so he can see his friends dressed up. Boris was much quieter and seemed to be enjoying BBendys company along with Shadow who had taken up residence on the floor next to the large beast. The little quiet corner simply enjoyed listening in on others conversations or nibbling on the remainder of the food on the table.

Tom joined the group some time later shocked to see the golden Bendy, but lifted a brow at the toons protecting their respective plates from said Bendy. Shrugging he grabbed his own bowl and plate filling it with the oat meal for which he was surprised it wasn't completely empty. He fully expected to draw the bottom of the barrel with breakfast. Alison's choice of picking a heavier food item seemed to have paid off as it was obvious that the toon’s couldn’t eat as much of it as they could with lighter foods. He gathered up his plate sitting next to the golden Bendy for which the toon quickly turned his attention to him.

"Good morning Mr. Connor." The golden toon chirped. "My name is Fate."

"Nice to meet you" Tom nodded before digging into his oatmeal.

"Do you want some glitter with that? It will taste so good" Fate held out a salt shaker of the art supply to Tom getting both eyebrows raised.

"Ummm… I'm fine, but thank you?" The man looked around realizing why the other toons were slightly protecting their meals.

Thomas gently placed his hand at the edge of his plate pulling it towards himself making sure to keep Fate in his peripherals as so he won't end up with a sparkling meal. The consumption of ink was a normal sight to him, but the consumption of glitter of all things was something he simply couldn’t fathom.

Allison patiently watched the group as they were pounding down the last of their meals and added onto a steadily growing stack of plates. Once all the toons were satisfied, Bendy hopped off his seat and gathered up some of the plates along with Benny as the two carefully balanced them and walked around the table heading for the kitchen.

"Oh thank you boys, but I got them from here." The actress intercepted them to keep them from seeing the cake.

"Are you sure?" Bendy spoke up as Allison reached for the plates in his hands taking them from him. The demon looking at her in confusion.

"I'm fine. Why don't you go back to the table with everyone else." Allison rounded up the plates from Benny.

"Ok" Benny lightly frowned, but retreated back to the living room while his father walked past him with the rest of the dishes from the table.

The couple retreated to the kitchen and quickly placed the plates into the sink and filled it with water so it would be easy to clean them. While the sink was filling up with water Thomas unboxed the cake and grabbed a single candle while Allison grabbed a stack of smaller plates and a handful of forks. She turned the water off before she poked her head out from around the corner and carefully watched the toons who were idly chatting away. Shadow was looking at her and slightly tilted it’s head with it’s stubby horns twitching slightly, it seemed to know she was up to something. Allison placed a finger over her lips silently shushing the inky feline before reaching up and flicked the lights off plunging the room into darkness except for the small hints of light from the curtains.

Henry's and Alice’s halos was the only small light sources as the toons all briefly panicked except for Fate who opted to kick back and watch the show. The little god was quick to figure out Tom and Allison’s surprise and choose to supervise the toons to make sure they didn’t transform to put up a fight. Henry waved around to keep the toons from panicking too much as his halo glowed a bit brighter for them, he was doing his best to reassure the toons as he knew full well what was coming next.

Benny squeaked looking around "W-What's going on?"

"Not sure" Bendy glanced around.

SINdy briefly panicked before his eyes rested on a small light that was entering into the living room. He reached over and tapped his friend gaining Benny's attention and pointed at what was entering the room.

Thomas slowly entered the room carrying a large white cake decorated with a soft yellow icing and strawberries with a single lit candle in the middle. Allison stood next to her husband carrying plates and utensils happily singing 'Happy Birthday' with the rest of the toons that knew the song soon joining in.

Benny's pie cut eyes were near the size of dinner plates at the sight of the pair entering the living room before Allison lightly hugged him. She sang next to the toon while Tom carefully set the cake down in front of Benny with the toon looking up at him confused. Allison continued to sing before she lightly motioned Benny to look down at the cake before him with his pie cut eyes growing wide at the words before him written in golden icing.

Happy Birthday Benny

A small whine escaped him as Allison soon found herself with Ragdoll hugging her tightly softly sobbing. The demons response to the cake earned worried glances from their guests until they saw movement in the darkened room. Long black inky threads slowly snaked around the room before gently wrapping around everyone in the room. Shadow carefully edged itself out of the threads and trotted next to the group choosing to lean against Ragdoll's side gently purring. Everyone else was finding themselves being pulled in for a large group hug. Ragdoll gently lifted his smaller guests with his threads while pulling his larger uncle, father and BBendy into a group hug with the demon whispering 'ThAnK yOu' over and over.

Allison rubbed Ragdoll's back comforting the demon before nudging his cheek. "Benny, you still gotta make a wish and blow out the candle."

The demon slowly released everyone allowing his friends to go back to their seats. He willed his ink back to it's void reducing his size back to normal. He looked at the candle as the little flame flickered and swayed, his mind lost in what he wanted for his wish. Benny closed his eyes allowing his mind to drift back to his earliest memories of birth and retraced his steps to his escape. A shadow of a smile grew on his face as he thought about his life up to this point before he opened his eyes to look at his friends. So many had gathered for the sake of celebrating his birth and then some.

His eyes grew a little wider at the realization of his wish and took a deep breath. His only thought was that he wished for many more gatherings with his friends and family as he blew out the candle earning cheers from his family and friends all around him. A small happy squeak erupted from him as a large joyous grin plastered itself on his face.

"Cake time!" Thomas reached for the cake to have his hand slapped away by Allison with a small gurgling sound akin to snickering from Shadow.

"Don't you dare" The actress pulled out a cake knife and pulled the stack of plates towards herself. "The Birthday boy gets first dibs."

The knife gently cut into the cake dividing it into large enough pieces for everyone before Allison gently lifted up a piece and placed it on a plate and set it before Benny. The toons smiled happily accepting the plate before picking it up and passing it to SINdy earning a raised brow from his mother.

"I always thought you serve your guests before you serve yourself." Benny spoke softly.

Allison felt a sense of pride bloom within her as Benny's selflessness. Even though it was a special day for him he still looked out for others first.

SINdy's grin grew wide as he took the plate Benny handed him and passed it down to Henry who passed it to his Bendy. Bendy looked like he wanted the slice, but lamented and continued to pass it down. For each slice taken and served was met with it being passed down the table until each and everyone individual had a slice each. Pleased hums drifted through the air as everyone enjoyed the light fluffy strawberry cake.

Once everyone was served Benny looked at the remainder of the cake. He cupped the knife in his hand and made a few slices of his own earning a glance from his mother.

"What are you doing?" She leaned down watching the toon continue to slice a few more pieces of cake.

"Well SINdy lives with Sammy who couldn't come, Confessional doesn’t come out much and Shadow has Ben. I thought that they should get a slice of cake too as a thank you for letting them come or not being able to be here." Benny looking up at her with pleading eyes. He felt they deserved some cake and hoped his mom would agree.

"I'll wrap them for you" Allison lifted the slices and set them on a plate.

"Why are you putting them on a real plate instead of a paper one?" Benny lifted a brow. He knew paper plates were for sending people home with food, but never a real one.

A chuckle escaped Allison at his inquiry. "Well by giving them an actual plate, it gives them a reason to come back because they would have to return it."

SINdy and Benny both cheered while Shadow leaned against Allison purring. SINdy was ecstatic that his dad was getting a slice of cake as the man had commented that the last cake he had was stolen from him. The cake wasn’t chocolate, but he was certain that his dad wouldn’t complain and it was far better than a can of bacon soup any day. He couldn’t wait for Confessional to get his piece. He knew the demon preferred smoked meats, but it was nice to have a little something sweet from time to time.

Shadow was happy it's creator was getting a gift, but also wondered how he would handle it. Ben wasn’t exactly used to having people show him their appreciation for something. He was used to responses of fear and drowning people in the ink rather then getting gifts and shows of appreciation. It was curious to see how Ben would handle Allison giving him a gift.

Allison wrapped up all the slices of cake on the plates and carried them into the kitchen before returning with a small pile of brightly wrapped boxes covered in ribbons.

“What are those?” Benny tilted his head watching Allison set the gifts in front of him earning more looks of confusion.

“These are gifts from your friends as they all brought you these for your birthday.” Allison waved to their guests with SINdy taking that as his cue to remove himself from his seat and to search for his present in the pile. Once SINdy found his present he gently scooped it up and approached his friend all grins.

‘I know it isn’t much, but Happy Birthday.’ the cardboard demon held out his folder with a little paper bow stuck to it.

Benny accepted the folder and opened it to reveal a collection of sheet music from the various Alice Angel shorts as well as blank sheet music with a note attached to them.

‘So you can create your own music’ signed: Confessional

A happy squeak erupted from Benny as he hugged his best friend thanking him profusely. He grew up on the Alice angel music and while Allison hardly sang the songs anymore as she had admitted to forgetting some of them, it was nice to see some of the old songs from happier times returned to them. A little piece of his younger days when things were much more cheery returned to him. He was also elated that even though Confessional doesn’t come out much, he added on to his friends gift with a gift that suited both of them. It wasn’t a secret that the two enjoyed playing musical instruments together along with his singing, it was nice that Confessional was encouraging them to create their own music since both were brimming with musical talent. He could only wish he could hug Confessional directly.

Bendy hopped off his seat and grabbed his present and ran up to Benny happily holding it out to him. “Happy Birthday!”

Benny released SINdy and turned to accept the present from Bendy opening it to reveal a small stack of books about the ocean life as they were full of pictures of various oceanic life and information about them. Benny hugged his friend happily thanking him for such a thoughtful gift as he wasn't able to swim without assistance. There was so much about the world he didn’t know and the ocean was such a fascinating place full of wonderful creatures. He was always eager to get his hands on any book that had more information. He knew that as soon as he had the chance, he’d be eagerly reading the contents seeking out new knowledge and creatures he could only dream about.

Much to Henrys surprise his Bendy hopped off his chair and handed Benny a small package before darting back to his seat leaving Benny confused. The toon looked at his quieter friend before opening up the parcel with a big grin spreading across his face at it’s contents.

'What did you get?' SINdy tilted his head with Benny turning the item over to reveal the present.

In Benny’s hands lay little tickets made out of colored construction paper with '1 Free Henry Hug' written on them.

Henry had to stifle a laugh at his toons gift, but Benny was all eager to show his friend his appreciation for the gesture and hopped off his chair and gave his friend a hug. It was nice to see that his Bendy was warming up to the toon, albeit slowly, but it was a start all the same. While Benny was showing his appreciation to his Bendy, BBendy nudged the angel earning some silent snickers from him as he rested his hand on the large demons head with the demon grinning at him eagerly along with Boris.

‘I know, I know.’ The angel had to chuckle at the toons eagerness.

BBendy reached over to the last present which was really more of one giant one with a bunch of smaller ones taped to it and slid it over to Henry. The angel lightly tapped Benny on the shoulder getting his to release his Bendy from the plushtoons hold and to turn his attention to the gift.

‘This one is from Boris, BBendy and myself’ The angel gestured to the box.

Benny cautiously approached the large box and looked up at Henry before looking back at the gift. He grasped onto the paper and opened it enough to get a good look at the interior before plastering himself to Henry loudly squeaking his thanks earning small protests from Bendy about ‘using up a Henry hug’ ticket.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Allison peered into the opening of the gift and saw a collection of toys ranging from marble runs to lincoln logs, all of which encouraged building whatever your imagination can come up with. They were toys that can easily be enjoyed alone or with family and friends. It warmed her heart as she knew it was a gift that was chosen not only for the toon but for her and Tom as well. Benny loved it when they were able to do projects together and this was the perfect toy to let them build whatever they wanted however they wanted. She could already imagine Tom and Benny building castles out of Lincoln logs accompanied by marble runs. Oh the things those two would build and the chaos that ensues, but she couldn’t hide the smile as she was already looking forward to it

Alice looked at her gift and gently grasped onto it before striding to the plush toon who had moved onto BBendy hugging him as best he could. She lightly cleared her throat earning Benny’s attention. “Here, Happy Birthday.” she held out the package.

Benny released BBendy from his hug and strode up to Alice graciously accepting the gift with a warm smile and a ‘thank you’. He gently tore open the wrapping to reveal a journal with a ribbon that bound it closed. He looked up at her before she gently opened the book for him revealing a collection of easy to make recipes that didn’t involve a stove. Recipes that he could easily make himself and that kept him as far away from open flames and things that could potentially hurt him. Benny happily skimmed the book and even found a few recipes that little notes encouraging assistance as either the stove or the oven were involved.

Alice found herself with a happy plushtoon thanking her. Benny had to eat a lot often wanting to help Allison or Tom with food preparations, and if he could help make his own food then he was all the more eager to learn. He greatly looked forward to trying out the recipes the toon angel had given to him.

Shadow watched with a slight frown on its face. It didn’t have anything to bring as a gift to its friend and watching everyone else present gifts made it feel guilty. It had heard Allison allude that them simply being there for its friends birthday was gift enough, but it still felt twinges of guilt. It didn’t have anything to offer,let alone what would even be able to offer?

SINdy caught on to the ink cats downcast feelings and gently rested a hand on the cats shoulder gaining it’s attention as he held up his sign.

‘It’s ok Shadow. You being able to come was gift enough as Ben may not always be up for the trip. I’m sure Benny is just as happy that you’re here, regardless if you have a gift or not.’

The lost smile returned to Shadows face as it processed SINdy’s words. It was true it’s creator wasn’t always up for the constant traveling around, but it was happy that he let it come over for the celebration. A purr escaped the cat as it leaned it’s head into SINdy’s chest gently nuzzling him before it trotted up to Benny and gently headbutted him in the chest purring loudly earning a bubble of laughter from the toon at the cats display of affection. Shadows grin stretched even wider at the toon’s laughter as it seemed that it playing with Benny was gift enough for the toon.

While Shadow was tickling Benny a grunt sounded out as Tom eased himself out of his chair and began to gather up the now empty dessert plates. "Well I gotta go back to the garage since the cart won't paint itself.

Tom soon found a chorus of 'can we help?' As he found himself surrounded by a cluster of pie cut eyes and grins. Henry silently chuckled at the man's plight before helping in gathering the dishes.

"Well I hate to burst you guys bubble, but I need some help in the kitchen." Allison placed her hands on her hips laughing at her husband's sudden crowd.

Thd toons all shared looks of confusion as to which parent they should help with. BBendy shrugged and lifted himself up and strode next to Thomas lightly head butting him indicating he was gonna help Tom. The other toons took the hint and began to divide themselves up to each respective parent. Benny, SINdy, Shadow, Alice, Henry and his Bendy all came to Allison's side to help in the house while Fate, BBendy, Bendy and Boris all went to Tom's side.

Tom shrugged and motioned for his group to follow him into his garage workshop to finalize the cart and to prepare it for the night. Once the group was gone the toons and angel turned their attention to Allison ready to see what she needed.

An eager grin split her face as she motioned to the kitchen. "How about we make some cookies?"

Her answer was instant as the toons cheered while Henry silently chuckled at Benny who glued himself to his mother's leg in excitement.

Henry lightly waved to Allison gaining her attention before pointing to his halo.

'What cookies are we making? I know a recipe or two.'

"We're gonna make sugar cookies and peanut butter cookies. Everyone loves the peanut butter cookies and sugar cookies because everyone loves to decorate them."

'I can help with the sugar cookies' Henry lightly hummed.

"Ok that sounds good, so who wants to make peanut butter cookies with me?" Allison smiled at her and Henry's little helpers.

Much to Henry's surprise his Bendy slowly stepped forward wringing his gloves slightly and rocking on his heels.

"Can I help? They sound really good and I've never had them before." Bendy gave her a small hopeful look.

Allison took a knee to look at the toon directly. "Sure, and when we're done you'll get the first cookie."

A grin grew on the toons face in excitement. "Thank you!"

Benny approached Henry grinning up at his uncle. "Can I make sugar cookies with you?" Earning a nod from his uncle with Benny eagerly standing next to him.

SINdy looked torn as he wanted peanut butter cookies, but also wanted to help make cookies with his friend. A small frown formed on his face as he looked between the two with Henry catching onto the cardboard demons internal struggles. The man knelt down and rested his hand on the demons shoulder with a warm smile.

'I'm sure Allison would be more than willing to give you some peanut butter cookies. We're gonna be making more than enough for everyone to enjoy.'

A hopeful grin grew on SINdy's face as he turned and looked at Allison.

"He's right sweetie. I got enough ingredients so everyone gets some as well as some to take home" Allison reassured the demon for which she got a bright grin in response.

With the concerns laid to rest the group divided themselves based on who wanted to make what. Allison had Henry's Bendy and Alice to make peanut butter cookies with the young angel eager to learn the recipe to make at home for her family and dad. Henry had SINdy and Benny for which the two were having fun playing with the dough. Allison had to laugh as it felt like the time she and Linda ‘child swapped’ when she had Bendy and Linda had Benny. There was a sense of amusing nostalgia of working with another parents toon.

Henry was quick on the ball with handing out the rolling pins to make sure the two toons didn't use their faces to roll the dough. Being his Bendy's creator and former animator, he was well prepared to keep toon logic to a minimum. He took his eyes off the toons briefly to get the pumpkin cookie cutters only to turn around to see both boys flatten the dough out with their faces before bursting into laughter. Their rolling pins clearly forgotten. All he could do was smile at the toons antics as they both were having harmless fun.

Allison had a bit of a time with Bendy as she kept catching him trying to eat the peanut butter for which Shadow luckily intervened by using its tail to tickle the demon every time his hand wandered.The little demon wanted the cookies so badly he could hardly wait. A chuckle escaped Allison at the impatient demon, but simply handed him and Alice a fork before she rolled a single ball of dough and laid it on the pan. She had Alice and Bendy take turns crisscrossing the forks over the dough pressing each ball made on the cookie sheet. She explained to Alice that the forks were vital as not only do they had a lovely visual pattern to the cookie, but they also help flatten the dough so the cookies can have nice even uniform shape and to bake evenly.

Since Henry's cookies would take some time to be ready to bake as they needed to be cut and laid out on the cookie sheets, Allison set the stove and once it was ready for the cookies she slid in the pans. Bendy was immediately glued to the window watching the cookies bake lightly tapping his foot impatiently while Alice took up residence in a chair and enjoyed idle chatter with Allison swapping recipes. Allison even pulled out a few empty note cards from her recipe box and jotted a few down for the ever inquisitive angel.

Shadow laid next to Allison chuckling at the toon glued to the window. It reminded it of its creators counterpart in its world. It would watch it’s world’s Bendy impatiently pace back and forth in Junes home with the girls occasionally joining him in his impatience while June would get a good laugh. It was amusing to see that even though it was in another world surrounded by different Bendy’s, they all had little traits that made them all similar, yet they are all so different. Shadow laid it’s head down amused and content, it was patient and knew it would get a cookie soon enough.

Once the timer went off indicating that the cookies were ready, Allison had to fend Bendy off as the toon kept repeatedly reaching for the cookies with the actress ultimately holding the trays high out of the toons reach telling him that they are too hot and needed to cool. Henry took the opportunity to set his trays in the oven to bake, though was soon finding a demonic barnacle on his leg that went by the name Benny as soon as he had the trays in hand. Both respective parents would have found the others predicament with the toons funny if they weren’t combating their own set of toons whom were eager about getting cookies.

Allison lightly tested her batch of cookies ensuring they were cool enough to handle before pacing to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of milk before grabbing a few glasses.

“What’s with the milk?” Bendy lifted a brow as the actress paced around the room.

“You’ll need them for the cookies.” Allison smiled as she poured out several glasses of milk and passed out each glass to her guests. “You’ll definitely need them for the peanut butter cookies.” handing Bendy a glass.

The toon accepted the glass questiongly before he soon found Allison holding out a still warm peanut butter cookies to him. He thanked her and bit down on the cookie with his pie cut eyes growing wide before he eagerly scarfed down the rest of the cookie.

“It’s so good!” the toon happily chirped before taking a swig of his milk. “May I have another one please?”

“Certainly”

Allison handed Bendy another cookie before passing out the first tray of cookies to everyone whom happily enjoyed them while they waited for the sugar cookies to be done. The room was filled with pleased hums and the smell of peanuts while Allison took a moment to divide up the second tray of cookies into smaller containers. Since Benny wanted to share some of his cake with the guests that were unable to attend for one reason or another, it was only fitting that they should have some cookies to go alongside the cake. The actress stowed away all the excess cookies while the ding of a timer sounded off.

Henry opened up the stove and just as he pulled out the trays, like clockwork, Benny was clinging to his leg looking at the trays. He internally chucked about the clinging toon until he felt another small weight against his other leg and looked to see SINdy clinging to him as well. It seemed that SINdy was picking up on the habits of his best friend. The angel set the trays atop the stove to cool before closing up the oven and setting the oven mitt aside.

‘They gotta cool first before we can decorate them’ The angel looked down at the two grinning demons.

Benny and SINdy were willing to wait for while Henry and Allison seized the moment to clean up the kitchen knowing full well that once the cookies were ready, all hell would break loose from the toons trying to decorate them. The images of the toons covered in different colored icings ran through the parents minds, but at the end of the day they were toons. You can’t fault them for wanting to have a little fun.

While Allison and Henry were busy washing the dishes Allison peeked over her shoulder to see the toons all moving around the kitchen cleaning up as well as setting out the icing on the table so they all could decorate. Alice was leading the pack in organizing the kitchen with Benny and Bendy right behind her. SINdy was busy setting out the icing and filling the little bags that Henry had suggested in filling with the topping since it would be easier to decorate. It warmed Allison's heart to see all the toons cooperating and helping each other with various tasks.

Henry finished up washing the last dish and passed it off to Allison to dry before he left to check on the cookies. Though as soon as he approached the trays and gave them a light pat to check their temperature, he felt two small weights on his legs. He didn’t even bother looking down as he knew full well it was SINdy and Benny.

A smile graced his face as he grabbed a spatula and began to gently lift the cookies off the tray. ‘They are cool enough now and everyone gets 3 to decorate.’

Allison chuckled as the toons all rushed back to the table and grabbed their respective plates before forming a line leading up to Henry. Benny was the fastest with SINdy right behind him followed up by Bendy and Alice. One by one Henry placed a cookie onto each toons plate and they returned to the table were Allison helped each one with showing them how to decorate them before standing back and let them work.

Shadow sat next to the group watching the toons decorate their cookies from little bats to pumpkins and ghosts. It wished that its creator can have some cookies knowing they were his favorite. A light pat on the head took Shadow out of its supervision of the toons and to Allison whom held a container with a few cookies that were yet to be decorated.

“I'm gonna give these to Ben as a thank you for allowing you to come.” the actress lightly scratched the ink cat on the side of it’s horn. Her answer from the large ink cat was loud purring as it nzzled its head into her side, the large feline showing its gratitude.

Allison joined the toons in decorating the cookies as she wasn’t about to send some of them out the house plain. Since they were gifts they had to be decorated properly. Benny scooted over allowing his mother to work next to him with him eagerly showing her his decorated pumpkin cookies. Some of the other toons took the plushtoons cue and began to show Allison their cookies as well, with quite a few of them being creative chaos.

A content smile crossed Henry’s face as he watched the table bustling with icing and sprinkles as the cookies were being covered in anything and everything the toons could get their hands on. His halo lightly bobbed up and down above his head before he gently grasped onto it and curiously peered through it. Allison was sporting small golden horns and a halo that floated above her head, while a little Bendy plush outline glowed in the center of Benny’s body. It wasn’t a surprise to the angel, Benny told him that when he reunited with Allison she was an Alice angel toon and naturally Benny would appear as a plush toy since he used to be one. Over Alice and Bendy were his sketches of the toons which was a normal sight to him since he was the one that created them. However when his halo was turned towards SINdy he was met with a face full of a shadowy black figure whose body strongly resembled a cape with a floating round head and horns curved downwards. The face was mostly covered in what resembled ink with two small glowing orbs for eyes and large teeth that turned upwards into a grin at the sight of the angel. The demon known as Confessional.

Henry flinched when Confessional turned his attention away from watching SINdy whom he was covering with his cloak, to Henry. The demons face split into a mischievous grin before a gloved floating hand rose up and waggled a single finger prompting Henry to remove his halo and to let it go back to floating above his head once more. It was a small warning from Confessional to not look at SINdy though the golden ring. The angel smirked as he understood why Confessional doesn’t want SINdy seen, and opted to roll up his sleeves and to help Allison with the toons as they not only decorated their cookies, but began to decorate each other as well.

------ Out in the Garage ------

“All right here we go.” a rough voice broke the silence of the air as Thomas let his small group inside the garage.

The toons fanned out at the sight of the interior as the garage was fairly large with more than enough room to house 4 cars and shelf space. They flocked to the sight of the cart with all the sounds of ‘ooo’s’ and ‘aahs’ drifting through the air. The smaller Bendy’s were quick to climb onto the cart finding they had plenty of room to move around and they even encouraged Boris to sit with them as well. BBendy whined slightly as the demon was way too big to fit on the cart, but when the toons popped in and out the sides of the cart like a whack a mole game, the large demon was eager to catch his friends.

Tom watched the spectacle with being strongly reminded of a squirrel running around a tree before he spoke up. “All right you guys, for as much as you enjoy the cart, it’s not going anywhere unless it’s painted.”

The two Bendy toons ditched the cart and came up to Thomas while Boris and BBendy were watching from a distance.

“What color is it gonna be?” Bendy spoke up.

“Well my thought was to make it a soft gold color as it’s the color most commonly seen with Beehive depictions.” Tom fingered through his cabinets until he secured some yellow and brown paints. “Thing is we gotta mix it first before painting.” the man set a few tins down as well as come empty buckets.

“Can I help?” Bendy was at the man's side.

“Sure, but let me set it up first and then we'll go from there.” Thomas looked up at the cart before looking back at his paints. “Well need 3 different colors, 2 yellow and brown.”

“How come?” Fate tilted his head while looking at the older man.

“Well I figured that the interior be brown along with part of the bottom and that the outside portions be one shade of yellow and the lighter yellow would highlight the honeycombs.”

Fate smiled and rested his hands on the back of his head “For not being an artist you have an eye for details.”

The gods comment earned a chuckle out of the mechanic. “Well when you’re designing machinery there is a sort of art form to it I suppose. You have to know how to draw to create a design.”

“So does that mean you know how to draw like Henry?” Bendy chirped.

Tom burst into laughter “NO, no, no. I can draw, but mechanical things for measurements and blueprints. I’m not an artist to where I can create a masterpiece of the mind. What I draw is of the practical nature where everything has a function and purpose since it’s supposed to be something real, not imaginary.” his eyes widened at his choice of words noting the small frown that formed on Bendy’s face as well as the rest of the toons.

Guilt settled into Tom’s stomach, it was true that his line of work focused one something real while Henry focused on something imaginary, but what happens when that imagination becomes real? How do you explain that what wasn’t supposed to be, is?

Fate felt bad for Tom’s poor choice of words, but knew what the mechanic meant, a small smile graced his face as he opted to lend the poor man a hand. “See Bendy, what he means is his job is to make things physical work.” The toon looked at the golden Bendy in confusion. “Take this for example.” Fate reached over and grabbed a wrench off Tom’s work table holding it out for the toon. “His job is to design a wrench or to design a better one since it is a tool that is used to make humans lives easier. What he makes is for their physical lives in the world around them while and artist seeks to make things to help their minds. Images of nature, space, or beings of the imagination that touch people's hearts rather than their bodies. In a way they are both artists, but of opposite natures.”

“Then what about the Ink Machine?” Boris deciding to speak up.

“When I was commissioned to make the Ink Machine it was done on the premise of turning something imaginary into something real. A combination of our arts as Fate described it. It was made to bring literally life to the imaginary, solely to make the children happy from one side, and a company profit on the other.” Tom rested his hand on the cart looking at the group. “The 1930’s was a rough time as the stock market had crashed and many people were poor and struggling to make ends meet. The thought of having cartoon characters real to where the children could laugh and play with their favorite characters was too good to pass up even though our Joey only saw it as a means to keep the company afloat. I made it with the intention of seeing children smile. I already told Benny and SINdy this, but at the end of the day while the machine was a curse and many suffered for it, it achieved in bringing you all to life. Now what remains has a chance to start new and to care for the surviving toons. You guys gave many of us old adults a reason to smile again, despite what happened.” the shadow of a smile formed on the man’s face.

Bendy returned the softened expression with one of his own. It was nice knowing that at least this Thomas Connor had good intentions behind his actions, while that doesn’t speak for every iteration of the mechanic and engineer, at the least the ones they know never meant any harm, and if anything, were satisfied at the birth of all the toons.

Fate clapped his hands together grinning . “Now that we got that settled, why don’t we get to painting this cart. It’s ain’t gonna paint itself!”

Bendy laughed at his friends comment agreeing along with BBendy who was poking a small pile of brushes.

Thomas grabbed the container of brushes and passed them out to everyone while Fate stirred the three buckets of paint with mixing in a little touch of his own in one of them and kept that bucket to himself. Bendy and Boris shared the base yellow color with Tom instructing what needed to be painted that color while the mechanic and BBendy kept the brown for themselves making it easy for them as BBendy lifted the cart making painting the underside easier for the both of them. Fate giggled and floated up to the top of the cart and began to paint in the details earning a deadpan look from Bendy and a happy expression from Boris.

“Seriously Fate? Glitter? This ain’t a disco ball.” Bendy groaned at the gods painting.

“Tsk, tsk Bendy. Gotta have a little fun with the evening and besides, the glitter will actually make it easier for light to reflect off the cart making it easier for people to see us. I imagine it gets pretty dark up here at night and anything that can reflect light would be helpful.” The God cheekily grinned at his far younger companion. “Plue if we’re gonna go out in it, might as well go in style.”

A grunt sounded out from under the cart as Thomas slid out from under it. “Fate’s got a point Bendy. It gets dark out and while I’m not going with you guys tonight, anything to ensure your safety is a must.”

Boris looked at the mechanic tilting his head. “You’re not coming?”

“Well while the kids are out and about for Halloween trick-or-treating at the different houses, it wouldn’t be fair to have our house empty with no candy for any of the kids while you all are running around. So I volunteered to stay home and to pass out candy to any potential visitors.” Thomas brushed off the dust off his pant leg as he stood up cracking his back earning a small groan from the man.

BBendy grunted and gurgled while fate listening to the large demon before speaking. “BBendy wants to know if Benny is ok with you staying home.”

Tom scratched the back of his head. “Well, He was already told how Halloween works with the trick-or-treating as well as passing out candy, so I’m sure he’ll be fine with it. Plus he already knows I don’t have a costume.” The groups motions all came to a halt at the mention of the word and the all looked at each other earning a raised brow from Tom. “Something I said?”

“We don’t have a costume.” Bendy gestured to the rest of the group and especially at BBendy.

“I have one that Henry made me” Boris chimed in.

“I can just transform for mine since no one will be none the wiser.” Fate cheekily grinned.

Bendy frowned slightly pouting. “Yeah, but I don’t have one.”

Tom had to chuckle at the little pouting demon as well as the far larger one as it looked that the wind was knocked out of both their sails. “Well the faster we finish painting the cart, the faster we can see about solving your problem with the costumes.”

BBendy gurgled happily and pulled the aged man into a one arm hug with Tom briefly panicking at the sudden action. Once he realized that the demon was hugging him in gratitude he relaxed in the demon's hold.

The group resumed their painting the cart with renewed vigor as they still needed to make their costumes before nightfall and the fall month’s days are shorter and the nights were longer. Tom kept a fan on facing the cart to help it dry faster so he wouldn’t have to worry about any damp or wet spots once the evening set in. BBendy was all grins as he was sporting off his strength in helping adjust the carts angles making it easier for everyone to paint as well as himself. Tom had to chuckle at how small the paint brush looked in the demons large hand but the demon was happy with such a simple little thing. He even had little sparkles around his face which was an amusing display of toon logic.

The remainder of the painting process went smoothly with everyone keeping a watchful eye on Fate whom was determined to make some sections of the beehive shaped cart as sparkly as possible with Bendy groaning all the way. Tom resorted to telling Fate he could make some sections have a shine to them as long as he didn’t get too carried away which made the gods eyes light up and he went to town on the cart decorating it to his heart's content. Once fate was done Tom had the group turn over their brushes to wash them for which he discovered that BBendy wasn’t at all bothered by water as the demon was eager to help Tom clean the brushes while Fate and Bendy helped boris in setting up some fans to help the cart dry even faster.

“Alright guys, I think that wraps it up.” Tom put the brushes away. “Lets head back inside and see what we can do about your costumes.”

The toons cheered and all rushed out the door to head back inside leaving Tom behind to lock up the garage chuckling at their eagerness. It was always amusing to him to see that despite the fact that many of the toons are about 30 years old, if not older, that they behave like a cluster of excited children. Seeing them so excited over something that he himself as an adult had long since grown out of tugged a smile on his face as he had to admit that they made him feel younger than he actually was.

Tom reentered the house through the backdoor by the kitchen to find the kitchen was controlled chaos. All the toons were munching on cookies that Allison and Henry had baked and their set of toons were eagerly showing the cookies they made to the rest of the group that hac come inside. Allison was passing out extra cookies to Fate, Bendy, Boris and BBendy since they were outside helping him in the garage with the cart rather them making the sweet treats. He himself was rewarded with 3 peanut butter cookies which he thoroughly enjoyed alongside the toons.

“Benny.” Tom spoke gaining his demon’s attention. “Can you help BBendy and Bendy with a costume. Apparently they don’t have any.”

Benny eagerly nodded and ran up to BBendy and gently grabbed onto his finger. “Wanna come to the living room so I can make you a costume? You too Bendy.” the toon chirped at his friend.

Both toons finished their cookies and followed Benny into the living room with Shadow soon following after them. While they were gone Henry retreated to the corner of the kitchen and grabbed his bag he had brought along opening it. One by one he pulled out his own toons costumes separating their respective pieces.

“Oh those are adorable!” Allison cooed at the sight of the costumes that Henry had pulled out for his toons.

The angel blushed slightly as he scratched the side of his cheek. ‘Thank you. I like to sew and while it would have been easier to draw the costumes, I wanted to make them by hand.’

“Draw the costumes?” Allison’s brow lifted in confusion.

‘Oh I guess Benny didn’t tell you.’ the Angel got up and picked up an ink pen out of a little canister by the phone. ‘See whatever I draw with ink I can bring to life a long as the image is completed.’ He drew a small sunflower to prove his point, and much to Allison’s surprise a real sunflower replaced the small drawing that the man had done for which he set the flower in a glass of water. ‘While drawing would have been a lot faster, it isn’t as satisfying as when you do it with your bare hands. I had the time at home so it was just a matter of getting the materials and the needed measurements.’

“I think that is very cute and impressive that you were able to make their clothes and costumes.” Allison grinned at the man.

Henry handed over the costumes to his toons with Tom showing Alice were the bathroom was so she could change into her costume. though the little angel wanted to have her hair done so Allison volunteered to help her so Henry could focus on helping his Bendy and Boris with their costumes as well as to change into her own. Boris was able to get into his costume easily enough the cartoon wolf's tail wagged back and forth happily as he sported his skeleton costume. Bendy needed a little help with his costume for which his creator was more then willing to lend the toon a hand.

‘Are you gonna wear a costume as well?’ Henry looked over at Tom earning a confused look from the man before he realized that the angel was addressing him.

“No, I volunteered to stay home to pass out candy for any children that would brave the long driveway up to the house. I set up some lights along the path so it isn’t so dark. If anyone comes up they get a bag of candy.” Tom shrugged.

‘I see.’ Henry couldn’t fault the man for not wanting to come.

Something stumbled into Tom’s leg startling the man as he looked down to see SINdy struggling to get into his costume from earlier. The combination of the two costumes blinded him and he was caught up in the material.

His little sign and hand frantically waved around ‘Can I get a little help please.’

“Hold still” Tom caught the little struggling toon and held him still before he began to untangle the costumes.

Henry watched Tom gently untangle the toon with a certain level of care that came with being a parent. It was amusing to see a Tom that had a tender side and wasn’t completely rough around the edges. The man practiced patience with lifting the costume off the toon and then carefully redressed him as to make sure the cardboard demon didn’t get tangled again all the while a big grin was on SINdy’s face as he was thankful for the help.

SINdy was all dressed and ready to go along with Alice and Allison coming out of the restroom both sporting off their costumes. Alice happily ran up to Henry showing off her costume and her hair happily chirping about how Allison did it for her and that the actress let her fix her hair as well. Henry complemented the little angel on her outfit and hair while he dug around in his bag pulling out his costume and headed to the bathroom to change. SINdy broke away from the group eagerly rushing into the living room to see BBendy sporting a large fluffy vest, small wings and little antenna on his head and he was absolutely peachy. The demon was all grins in his costume as he rocked back and forth in place happily. Bendy just put on his antenna grinning happily while Benny was fixing Shadows bee costume. The ink cat’s grin seemed wider than normal as Benny was working on the finishing touches. Fate was a little golden bee riding on top of Benny’s head while the toon worked on his friends costumes.

“I see everyone is almost ready to go.” Allison snickered before putting on her antennae headband as she entered the living room.

“Almost” Tom sounded out from the hallway as the man opened up the closet and pulled out a small stack of extra pillow cases before entering the living room. “They can’t get candy if they don’t have a bag of some sort.” the mechanic held out the pile for the toons all to take their respective bags earning a chorus of ‘thank you’s’.

Henry exited the bathroom to see all the toons dressed and ready to go. The now mummified angel smiled at Allison. ‘Are we ready to head out?’

Allison peaked out the window to see the sun had set dying the sky a deep scarlet with hints of purples. “Yeah I think it’s about that time.”

Upon her stating that it was time to go all the toons cheered in excitement at finally being able to head out for the night. Thomas found a cluster of leg weights on himself as well as a fluffy bee on his head as he headed towards the garage to open it up for them to take the cart with Allison and Henry both trailing behind laughing at the mechanics misfortunes with his demonic baggage.

Tom opened the door heading inside and Allison and Henry both stood in the doorway stunned at the project that the man had built. The wooden cart looked like a perfect beehive with little pockets of open honeycombs for the toons to hide inside as well as little boards on the outside with cushions for them to sit on if they didn’t want to ride inside.

“Oh Tom it’s so cute!” Allison jogged up to the cart to look it over while the toons clambered onto it with each one claiming a spot to sit down.

“Well it was the least I could do. I’m not going, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna damper their fun.” Tom scratched the back of his head.

“Thank you for your effort.”Allison pulled her husband into a kiss. She was happy that despite the start of the week with Tom being moody about the time of year with the ink machine that he finally lightened up and was not only participating, but also enjoying the holiday. She couldn’t be any happier.

“Are we ready to go?” Benny lightly tugged on Allison’s pant leg looking up at her breaking her out of her kiss with Thomas. Bennys answer was a big grin from his mother and a nod earning a happy squeak from the plushtoon, he couldn’t wait!

Allison grabbed onto the handle and began to push the cart before BBendy nudged her, he wanted to push it for her. A chuckle escaped the woman as she allowed the demon to nudge the cart forward, but BBendy walked on his knuckles, so him pushing the cart and trying to walk proved to be a bit of a challenge.

Tom watched the group trying to move the cart before he got an idea and rushed back to his table rummaging around. He pulled out a set of straps and briefly examined them before jogging back to the cart and group..

“Hey Shadow?” the man looked at the cat as it tilted its head at him. “Would you be willing to help pull the cart?” Tom held out the straps that he tied together to form a makeshift harness.

Shadow looked at the cart and then back at Tom nodding its head, it didn’t mind helping out one bit.

Tom paced up to the cart and with a few turns of a screwdriver the straps were attached to the cart while Benny helped shadow into the harness. Once the cat got the all clear it lightly tugged on the cart finding it wasn’t very heavy and slowly began to pull the cart. Allison got behind and helped push while the toons piled into it and they all waved good-bye to Tom as they headed down the driveway and into the street to begin their night of trick-or treating.

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