#another one in the 'to do list' so yeah... :')

[kaliforniahigh]

maybe you want her, maybe you need her - n.s.

4 times Noah slept with you and 1 time he realized he was falling in love.

Warnings: the expression "slept with" is used loosely in this fic, talks of past experiences, Noah is a little nervous at first, smut (unprotected p in v, oral male receiving, fingering, mutual masturbation) a little bit of dirty talk and realization of feelings.

WC: 3.3k

Requests are closed for now / Click here to be added to the permanent tag list <3

1:

The first Noah slept with you was experimental.

You had just agreed on a friends with benefits relationship a few days ago. He was having a conversation with you on his couch, the guys out there on the back patio grilling some burgers and drinking some beer.

Somehow, the conversation took a turn into the topic of relationships, and Noah expressed to you how he only seemed to find girls looking for a serious relationship. He was young and with a whole career ahead of him, not wanting to settle down with only one person yet.

And you expressed how you only seemed to find uninteresting and rude guys. How you never felt comfortable bringing these people into your home, or even going to their house. And that you weren't looking for a comitted relationship either, and these men only seemed to want a woman to be their housewife.

Then, Noah went into a interesting topic. Casual sex.

He mentioned that he never trusted people enough to have just nice, casual sex with them. He always had this doubt lurking in his head that in the next morning, a picture of him in a compromising position was going to surface on the internet.

You giggled a little at this idea, but completely understood his worries.

You, on the other hand, mentioned how difficult it was to find a guy who was even half decent in bed. Most of them only caring about their pleasure, and just left you unsatisfied while they put on their clothes and left, promising to call to arrange another date.

You blocked their numbers as soon as they left.

As the conversation progressed, you could sense that the same idea was lurking in your and his mind. The more you spoke, the more it sounded like you were the perfect person for each other.

It didn't hurt that Noah was probably the most attractive man you knew. And he's caught himself having dirty thoughts about you more than once.

So, you left his house that day with an arrangement. When you needed someone to satisfy your needs, you would give each other a call.

Turns out, it wasn't exactly a call, but a spur of the moment thing.

Jolly had called you over to help him out with something on his guitar. You knew they were starting to brainstorm ideas for a new album, and being a guitar enthusiast yourself, you participated from time to time.

You ended up staying for the whole afternoon, laughing and playing some tunes, trying to create something that would even resemble a song.

By the time the clock approached 6 PM, everyone was starting to leave. You put your things together, but hanged by the kitchen to get yourself a glass of water. You could hear Noah in the living room bidding everyone goodbye.

Noah entered the kitchen and saw you leaning against the counter, bringing the glass of water to your lips.

"Hmm", se hesitated a little bit, not really sure how to do this. He didn't want to be too straightforward and say things like "Hey, wanna fuck?", but he also couldn't lie and say he hasn't been thinking about you ever since that day. "I was thinking if maybe you'd wanna go up to my room?", he asked instead.

You thought it was adorable how nervous he was about this. A little smiled graced your lips.

"Yeah, sure", you agreed, setting the empty cup down. "Lead the way"

You followed after him as he opened the door to his room. You noticed the place was clean and tidy, and you remembered him saying he was a bit of a clean freak. You stood there, in the middle of his room and watched as he closed the door behind him and turned to face you.

The atmosphere turned a little awkward, and you wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it. In the years you've known him, things have never felt like this. But the knowledge that you were here so you both could have sex undoubtedly shifted things.

"You can kiss me, you know?", you broke the silence, tilting your head to the side, appraising his reaction. He took a couple of steps closer.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm nervous", he laughed a little and you smiled with him.

'It's ok", you reassured.

He looked at you with the eyes that always held your complete attention anytime they were on you, and you felt his hand take yours, prompting you to get closer to him, until you were standing toe to toe. Slowly, his other hand went up your arm, slightly brushing over your shoulder and finally rested on the back of your neck.

He was soft as he brought his lips forward to rest on top of yours, the kiss tentative at first, but as soon as you gripped the sides of his shirt, it became more urgent.

You took a few steps back and he went with you, lips never separating, until you fell backwards on the bed, and he climbed on top of you.

That night, you found out that Noah was the most attentive partner you've ever been with. He took his time getting to know your body and the things you liked, and he never seemed to be in a hurry to finish soon.

You found yourself blushing everytime you let out a particularly loud moan and he asked "Feels good, angel?", and you couldn't find the words to answer that yes, it does feel really good.

Noah, on the other hand, was trying to cope with the feeling of your fingers tangled in his hair, and the weight of your body on top of his as you rode him until the two of you reached your highs. He observed as you threw your head back, and he wanted to litter your neck and chest with hickeys, but thought that he might take it too far if he did as he wanted.

He got himself dressed along with you and followed you down the stairs, watching you gather your things to leave. He opened the door for you and bid you goodbye and observed as you got in your car to leave.

He stood there for a few seconds after you had already left, thinking about how much he wanted to call you tomorrow and do this all over again.

2:

The second time Noah slept with you was the first time you had his dick down your throat.

It was in a random bathroom, in a party he didn't care about, in a house he didn't even know who it belonged to. But his friends invited him, and he decided to go.

Right now, as he felt your soft and velvety mouth wrapped around his shaft, he was sure it was the best decision he's ever made in his entire life.

"Fuck, that feels so fucking good", he groaned, throwing his head back and hitting it against the wall with a light thud. One of his hands was resting on the back of your head, but not really pushing, leaving it up to you how much of him you wanted to take.

Taking him out of your mouth, he watched as a string of saliva connected his tip to your plush lips, and he almost let himself go right then and there.

He arched his hips forward at the feeling of your delicate hand stroking him up and down.

"Wanna cum in my mouth?", you asked, with an absolute sinful look on your face, as you looked up at him from your position kneeling on the floor. He wanted to take a mental picture of how you looked in this moment.

"Yeah, baby. You gonna swallow everything?", he took advantage of your half open mouth and slipped a digit inside, your warm mouth wrapping around it and sucking his thumb as you hummed in response to his question.

Your hand worked along with your mouth to bring him to the edge, and he could feel himself falling faster and faster as the seconds ticked by.

It was when you took him slightly deeper and he felt his tip hitting the back of your throat that he knew he would cum very soon.

"Keep going, I'm gonna cum", his voice was tight and you looked up to see the veins on his neck straining, a pretty blush covering his chest and neck. Your hands ran up his abdomen, nails scrathing his skin and you felt his muscles go taut underneath your palms. Seconds later he spilled himself down your throat in warm and quick spurts.

"Fucking look at you", he grabbed you by the chin. "Such a good girl, taking all of my cum", he spread a little drop you let escape all over your lips.

You smiled at him. He was absolutely fucked.

3:

The next time Noah slept with you, things got a little dirty.

He had you on his lap, on his couch, two knuckles deep inside your pussy, as you shook on top of him.

"I fucking love your fingers inside of me", you told him, eyes closed and hips shifting a little to get him to go faster.

"That right, baby?", he answered, lips finding your neck and sucking little kisses, feeling the faint taste of your sweat that lingered on your heated skin. "Just getting this pretty cunt ready for my cock", he said, picking up the pace of his fingers, the squelching sound of your wetness making his dick strain against the confines of his sweatpants.

You noticed the lustful look on his face, and your hands moved on their on accord, as you slipped your fingers under the waistband of his sweats, pulling them down enough to take his dick out, and start stroking him up and down. He would tell you to be patient and wait, but he couldn't deny a handjob from you even if he wanted to.

"Fuuuck", he let out a low growl at the feeling. "That's not fucking fair, baby"

"Why not?", you had a fake innocent look on your face, but you knew exactly what you were doing.

"Wanted you to make a mess on my fingers before slipping inside you", he tried to be as clear as possible, but your hands were making it difficult for him to concentrate.

"Yeah?", you leaned closer to him, lips ghosting over his ear. "How about I cum on your fingers and then all over your cock?", you said, and looked to the side to get his reaction.

"Fuck, you're such a dirty girl", he smiled and captured your lips on his.

After a few more pumps of his long fingers, you could feel the knot in your stomach wanting to unravel. Noah could tell, since your walls started to clench around him. The feeling of your warmth and wetness engulfing his fingers were enough to make him spill his release all over his stomach, covering your hand in his cum.

You weren't far behind him, the warm and fuzzy feeling spreading all over your insides, as you shook above him, ultimately gushing all over his fingers and legs. His fingers kept their rhythm until you were too sensitive to take it anymore.

Your head rested over his chest, not caring about the sticky mess between you.

"Fuck, I didn't know you could do that", he observed, admiration all over his voice.

"I didn't know I could do that either", you answered, honestly.

You couldn't see it, but he had a stupid grin on his face. He was the first guy to make you squirt.

4:

The next time Noah slept with you, it was on your bed.

"How do you want it, baby?", he asked you, not giving you much time to recover after he just made you cum on his mouth.

You didn't utter a word, instead, you got on your hands and knees in front of him, lifting your ass up in the air.

Usually, Noah liked to look at your face when he fucked you, but the thought of having you from behind made his head dizzy. Taking your plush ass in his hands, he kneaded the flesh before delivering a harsh slap to your ass cheek, making you jump slightly and whimper in the mattress below you.

"Gonna slip it in, ok?", he muttered above you, leaning down a little so you could hear his words clearly. He always got your reassurance before he started to fuck you, and that turned you on even more.

The feeling of his dick slipping inside of you little by little always made your eyes roll to the back of your head, and mouth hang open in pleasure. There was nothing like that first push.

Once he was shethed inside of you, you wiggled your ass a little just to tease him a little bit. And it worked, as it always does.

"Don't fucking do that", he hissed through his teeth, gripping your flesh harder. You tried to hide your smile from him, but failed.

Every time Noah slipped inside of you, he had to steel himself as to not cum within the first two pumps. He didn't know how it happened, but you had him in a chokehold, and no sex has ever felt like this.

He closed his eyes and looked up, trying to concentrate as he started to move back and forth. Soon, your moans filled the room, and your hands gripped the sheets crumpled beneath you.

Noah grabbed one of your hands and brought them to rest on your back, slipping his fingers in yours and intertwining them. But, soon, the contact wasn't enough for him anymore. His skin felt cold and he needed to feel the blazing heat of you on him.

"C'mere", he muttered, leaning down and hooking his arm on your neck and pulled you up on a kneeling position on the bed, back resting against his chest.

His hand roamed up and took a handful of your breast. You could feel his hot breath on your neck, and the feeling of him slipping in and out multiplied by tenfold.

The feeling of your quickened pulse under his palm, as Noah placed his hand over your neck, made all the filter between his brain and mouth disappear.

"No one feels as good as you do, baby", he whispered in your ear. "Love having you all pliant and fucked out like this"

You whimpered his name, because you too, loved having him pounding you into oblivion.

Your hands reached back to grasp his hair, tugging like your life depended on it. "Make me cum", you told him, looking back to lock your eyes with his.

"You wanna cum?", he asked, a hint of teasing in his voice. "Then tell me who this pussy belongs to, baby", he inquired and gripped your neck harder.

"It belongs to you", you whispered, with no hesitation.

"Say my name", he inquired again.

Your head was spinning, and you were going to cum from his words alone.

"It belongs to you, Noah", you said, and his hands detached from your neck, and started to rub circles on your clit.

Your breath hitched and your eyes closed shut as you came with a cry of his name, shaking and relying on him keep you up, because your body felt like mush all of a sudden.

+1:

Noah replayed the last time in his head over and over again. He felt like he said too much, but then he remembered you never commented on it, and he didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing.

Since then, he's been hesitant to call you, to invite you over or ask if the could come over to your place. And he could tell you noticed it.

His texts have been shorter and fewer than usual, and you had to double text him sometimes to get a response from him. He felt bad, but he didn't know how to approach the feelings blooming in his chest. And he also didn't want to lose what you had.

The thing is, he started to feel like what you had wasn't enough anymore.

By the end of the first week of him being weird with you, you decided to show up at his house to talk to him. You knew Noah, and you knew that if you never approached the subject, he was never gonna talk about it.

Besides, you felt silly for saying what you said the last time you were together. It was clearly only some dirty talk to get you going, but the words falling from his lips felt so true at the time, that you couldn't help but agree with them.

And at the end of the day, they were true. Because you haven't thought about fucking someone else ever since you started this agreement. You didn't even want to.

You pondered over what you were going to say to him as you knocked on his door. You knew he was home, because his car was in the driveway.

He opened the door and greeted you with a hesitant 'hello".

"I think we need to talk", you told him, cutting right to the chase.

Noah felt like a million needles were piercing his heart. He had fucked up. He had fucked up and now you were standing on his doorstep, ready to end it all.

He nooded and stepped aside to let you in. You didn't sit on the couch, you were too anxious to even try and stay still.

You waited until he was right in front of you to start talking.

"Do you wanna end this?", you blurted out, watching as his eyes widened a bit at your inquiry. "Because if you want to, it's totally ok. I just don't want us to get weird with each other, you know? We can still be friends even if you don't want to...", he had to stop your word vomit.

"I don't wanna end this", he stated, quieting the flurry of words coming from your mouth.

"Then why have you been so distant?", you wondered. And watched him go silent for a moment. "Is it something I did? Is it what I said last time?"

"Fuck, no", he turned to look at you. "You did nothing wrong. It was me who shouldn't have said anything to begin with"

"So, you didn't mean it?", you asked, voice quiet this time, as if afraid of his answer. "You didn't mean it when you asked me if I belonged to you?"

"I didn't mean to put you in a uncomfortable situation"

"I meant it", you voiced. "I meant it when I said I belonged to you"

You watched as his expression changed to one of slight shock, and silence fell over the two of you like a weighted blanked.

"Noah, say something, please?", you inquired.

A little laugh fell from his lips, head shaking in incredulity.

"I thought I had fucked up, you know?", he looked at you. "I thought you'd definetely get scared and run away. And here you are, telling me you meant when you said you belonged to me"

"I haven't thought about anyone else ever since we started this", you confessed, and he took a few steps closer to you, taking your face in his hands.

"You've been plaguing my thoughts ever since that first time in my bedroom, baby", he stroked you cheeks lightly with his thumb. "I don't think I want to be with anyone else, and that scared the shit out of me"

"That's good. Because I don't want to be with anyone else either", you mumbled into his lips, smiling and feeling him smiled aling with you.

Maybe you failed at this friends with benefits thing, and maybe you'd have to figure out where to go from here. But the thought of having each other as you navigated this road of newfound feelings, made you feel like you could have everything with him if you wanted.

And Noah was sure he would give you everything if you asked him to.

Tag list: @concreteangel92 @foliosgirl @collisionofyourkissmakesitsohard @stardustsirenmelody @concretejunglefm @fadingangelwisp @dontwantthemoney @tosoundlessdarkistare @babygirlchuuya @follow-me-down-to-wonderland @lacy1986 @romanreigns-supreme @xmads-omensx @missduffsblog @rumoured-whispers @thisbicc @badomensgoodomens @floatingkiwi @collective-heartbreak @dontwantthemoney @dream-machine-love @alwaysfightforwhoyouare @amelia-acero @montgomery-929496 @stardustsirenmelody @triedbimsoblu333 @xxkatsatwatwafflexx @noyaisasimp @w0manof-flesh44 @geminigirlfromfinland @zozaline @deardelirium @turn-your-life-into-folklore @dominuslunae @shelbyrlxoxo @super-btstrash-posts @shayzillaaaa @wordskeeper @enemiestolovershoe @haehihello @anameunmusical @blade-dressed-in-red @jilliemiw86 @vinyardmauro @ohheykayyyxo @chey-h

Tumblr is not letting me tag some blogs, I don't know why. Sorry :(

[windixie]

⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪ out of touch ♱ soccer player! gojo x alt! reader pt.1

summary : gojo is the university's most popular boy and soccer player. he can get any girl he wanted to warm up his bed, so why did he catch feelings for the girl who looks like she just woke up out of a coffin?

warnings ☠︎︎ this will contain smut throughout the story. reader is implied to have a smaller chest! gojo is an asshole :( so angst, profanity, insecurities, p in v, creampie, comfort, fluff, slight breeding kink, light choking, jealousy, ill prob add to the list as the story progresses!

word count : 1.03k

let me know if you want to be added to the tag list !!

you knew gojo. hell, everyone knew gojo. annoying, loud, obnoxious, ah should I go on? that's how you described the so called star player on the soccer team. his ego reached all the way towards the clouds by how much he was admired in the community. you on the other hand, not so much. sure you were known by many but not in such a positive way. you were intelligent sure, but the way you dressed wasn't entirely accepted. you were always getting bothered by other students, one of them being no other than satoru gojo. although, it seems that you two have grown into a friendship lately.

"hey pretty" you heard an awfully familiar voice come up behind you. the white haired boy was still in his blue and white soccer jersey covered in grass stains and some of his sweat from his practice that he just came from. you gave him one of your small sweet smiles."hi gojo" you mumbled back.

he looked down at your figure. the pretty black blouse fit you so perfect as well as those mini grey jean shorts that cupped your ass so deliciously. gojo took notice of you wearing your earbuds which he took one of them and placed it in his ear. "whatcha listening to?" you faced him slightly annoyed as you looked at how his face scrunched up in disgust.

"seriously? how can your ears support all that screaming?" he grimaced as he heard the loud singing.

he let out a chuckle at that before his eyes lit up as he realized something. reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a piece of paper handing it to you. you blamed the shot of arousal that traveled towards you as you took notice of how veiny his arms were. you glanced down to see it was a ticket. a ticket to his upcoming soccer game, to be exact.

your eyebrows picked up as you turned to him. "you want me to go to your game?" the question made the blue eyed boy nod. "want you there on the stands baby, if you can, then I promise to play even better than I usually do." you were shocked to say the least. the satoru gojo inviting you to his game personally even after countless months of relentless bullying was not something you could see coming.

but you couldn't help yourself from nodding. "yeah sure ill be there!" the feeling of your heart beating against your chest brought a scary but not unwelcome feeling. You stared at him for a moment, unsure if you were hearing things correctly. The blue-eyed boy, a walking angel blessed by God himself, smirked down at you with a flicker of something you couldn’t quite place. It wasn't the usual cocky smirk. It was different—something warmer, maybe? Or maybe you were just imagining it.

"I'd like that."

"great, ill see you tomorrow after school then?" he asked in which you let out an mhm in return. "okay pretty, try and get some sleep. you need some just by judging off your eye bags" he teased. "shut up!"

you watched the taller boy walk off. his use of the sweet and loving names made you feel a little awkward, but you shoved it down. You had a feeling that this was just another one of his ways of throwing you off. It wasn’t like he was being sweet. Not Gojo. He never was.

As you walked off to the other side of where the dormitories where taking note on how the night was now awakening due to time change. as you reached for your AirPods case to put back your earbuds your fingers stopped on your left ear. your earbud was missing.

gojo didn't take notice of the music cutting off. he was in a completely different world thinking about none other than you. he didn't understand how he caught feelings. no matter how many times he reminded himself it was you and how he could do some much better that that. he only gave you to ticket to his game only to be nice, is what he told himself. a friendly gesture friends do all the time!

"yo Satoru!" one of his friends called out to him. gojo turned to look at the boy with long black hair and big ass gauges walking up to him along with some other boys from the team. a smile crept up on his face dabbing them all up. "hey you all did well at practice today"

"yeah man that's what we came to say as well but we saw you talking to that emo freak uh whats her name, y/n?" this made gojo slightly embarrassed on how they caught him. "don't tell me you hitting on that emo pussy, it can't be that good" one of the other teammates chuckled making the white haired boy slightly uncomfortable.

"nah man, too busy with uraume" Geto patted his back "good good, lets keep it that way. she's got a better body anyways. let me burrow her sometime yeah?" the blacked hair boy received a nudge at that making him chuckle.

you looked around you trying to find the taller boy to retrieve your airpod. sighing in relief as you saw him. "gojo!" you called out making the boys turn around.

"ah she came back for round two?"

you walked up to him. "hey uhm you still have my AirPods." you said pointing to his ear. "give back your friend her AirPods satoru" his friend teased.

"we're barely friends. acquaintance is a better term" he mumbled out. as you received back your airpod, you stopped. eyes widening as you heard what he said. "acquaintance? thought we were-"

"friends?" he cut you off. "cmon I pay attention to you two or three times and now suddenly we're friends?" he scoffed. why was he acting like this? that's right, because he's satoru gojo. you were nowhere as close as him. you never will be. your face turned serious before you reached into you pocket handing him the ticket he gave you. "here, you dropped this" you mumbled.

gojos eyes fell down to the ticket in his hands. his heart broke a bit. "wait.. y/n-"

"forget it" with that you retrieved back to the direction to your dorm fighting back tears as you left the boy stunned.

"looks like you hurt her feelings, gonna go apologize?"

"nah."

© 2025 windixie. All work belongs to windixie . please do not copy, repost, plagiarize, any of my works as your own.

[hotvintagepoll]

Donald O'Connor (Singin' in the Rain, Francis, Call Me Madam)— LOOK AT HIM. Those giant blue peepers. Those tappy tappy little feet that don't quit. The ears that stick out like little wings, ready to lift him up to goofy heaven. The way his face contorts into the strangest yet most endearing expressions. His ability to sing and dance alongside the hunk that is Gene Kelly and yet pull all attention away with his big-eyed buffoonery. The way his energy is unmatched in songs like "Make 'em laugh" - bouncing off the walls and tumbling through the air straight into my cold cold heart. Who else but a true scrungly lil guy would sit upon the witness stand and defend a talking mule with all the love and affection in the world - staring out into the court room with his bright wide eyes and eternally mouse-like expression, openly admitting that the mule is his best friend?!??! I see him and I want to pull him from the screen into my hand and just squiiiiiiiiiiiiish with all my might. I want to pinch his cheeks and have him bat those eyes at me. He just makes me go "eeehehehehehe" every time I see him and his silly little self. He is pure chaotic, ridiculous, scrungly perfection!

Mantan Moreland (Mr. Washington Goes to Town, Cabin in the Sky)—i love mantan moreland SO. MUCH. and he is the pERFECT scrungly little guy!!!!! like a lot of black actors at the time he was always getting sidelined into small parts, but unusually he also managed to become a star in his own right and was almost one of the three stooges! he was a groundbreaking comedic actor known for his distinctive stare (very good for the horror movies he did), and he always is way more fun to watch on screen than anyone else. he had a famous double-act where he perfected this technique of non-conversations (where both people keep finishing each other's sentences before any actual information is conveyed). a lot of his movies are free on youtube and i really enjoy seeing him do his silly little guy thing in all of them!!! anyways yeah please include mantan he deserves some recognition as peak scrungle

This is round 3 of the contest. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. If you’re confused on what a scrungle is, or any of the rules of the contest, click here.

[additional submitted propaganda + scrungly videos under the cut]

Donald O'Connor:

My silliest little guy. My funnyman. My horsie. I have watched many a bad movie for this man. The scrungliest fact I know about him is that he was supposed to star as Danny Kaye's role in the iconic White Christmas (1954), as he had known Bing Crosby since he was a child, but couldn't because he caught a mule disease while working on those Francis the Talking Mule films Universal endlessly made him do. I wouldn't exactly recommend those movies, but Don's character getting psychologically tormented by a sardonic mule does make for quite a good movie night, if you know what you're getting into. Are You With It? is another one I don't exactly recommend, but it does open with Donald as a math genius actuary who is about to kill himself over a displaced decimal point before getting taken in by a traveling carny instead. His more well-known and beloved roles have plenty of scrungliness too, in my opinion. This man slapsticked so hard he wound up bedridden for his physical exertion! Rather than submitting Make 'Em Laugh, which the electorate has likely already seen (I hope), I'm submitting an underrated dance number of his, where he explains maths through tap dance. That movie is Not good, but god do I love him in that role.

I think it's arguably very scrungly to seemingly be a real life cartoon character made out of rubber, as proven by how slapsticky the list of scrunglies is so far. In which case, Donald O'Connor? He scrungles supremely. He even played Buster Keaton in a movie (that apparently can't be recommended, but still).

Mantan Moreland:

here's his double act in action!! [editor's note: Benson Fong cameo too!]

He just had a scrungly look about him and he played big with his roles so any of it became especially scrungly. Plus he was very funny in the way only scrungly people can be.

the FUNNEST GUY TO WATCH ON SCREEN. he was an immensely gifted physical comedian, able to convey loads with his eyes, and while some of his parts are so sad and cringeworthy, I feel like he always brought a humanity and humor that lifted them beyond cheap stereotype.

[skibasyndrome]

Hey :) I’m gonna go for ‘I’m just afraid’ from the prompts list (no pressure though).

Thank you so much for sending in a prompt, Helen 💜 I already wrote something for the phrase, but I decided to just do another version as well, hope that's alright :)

Simon's fingers feel warm and soft where they're clasped around Wille's. It's what he tries to focus on, Simon's touch, steady, gentle, grounding. Simon is here with him, that's all that counts. Wille takes a deep breath. Simon bumps their shoulders together when they step into a dimly lit hallway. "Are you okay?" he asks Wille, tugging on his hand once, bringing the two of them to a halt. Wille knows his nod is unconvincing, especially when Simon unlinks their hands and rubs his upper arm instead. "It's a little stupid," Wille starts. He regrets painting his nails, the urge to bite them is stronger than it's been in a while. He opts for digging his nails into his palm instead. "I'm just... afraid I suppose." Simon's laugh is loud, bright and eternally comforting. He peers up at Wille with raised eyebrows and a teasing glint in his eyes. "Yeah?" Wille hums, trying to hold back a bashful smile. It does sound more than a little stupid said out loud. And less heavy. "You should be, they invited you just so they could have someone to be meant to, you know." Wille groans and buries his face in Simon's shoulder. Simon shakes with laughter. But after another moment, he presses a kiss to Wille's head.

"It's going to be fine," he promises, his voice quieter, gentler. Wille lets out a noise of dissent.

"Are you sure they don't still hate me?" he asks. He's been putting off seeing Simon's friends again. Or maybe they've put off seeing him again. Who knows at this point, but it's been too long and it's weird and it feels like it's not nothing.

Both hands on Wille's cheeks, Simon pulls him up. He makes sure Wille meets his eyes before he kisses him once, short and sweet. And maybe, maybe, that makes it all a little more okay. When Simon pulls away, he reaches for Wille's hand again and pulls him further along.

"Rosh might," he says over his shoulder. "But you've got all night to win her over again."

Send me one of these prompts for a short lil story 💜

[lavender-butterfly-cookie]

I literally made a post on Tumblr about this idea but thought I'd actually share it here but decided to make a more special version:

The y/ns one day going into a throw down to see who is the best y/n...the superior y/n...like the embodiment of the song 'the ultimate showdown'...Or, if you want another version I think is also super fun...'the ultimate smash bros' lol...

And can imagine the cookies standing idly by in shock as they see things like streamer cookie throwing a left hook at alien y/n or entity y/n going John Cena on timid y/n...oooor the cookies, when they notice the y/n show down, start trying to stop it, loving all the y/ns and not wanting them to destroy each other lol!

Decided to write this bonus with the version where cookie are trying to stop the fight...just various scenarios that are happening all at once because of the number of y/ns lol:

Entity, in a tree about to jump from it elbow first onto timid y/n: AND THEIR NAME IS ENTITY Y/N COOKIE!

Regular, seeing entity jump right at them: OH DEAR WITCHES-

pure vanilla, quickly running up to push timid y/n out of the way and then catch entity so they don't take fall damage: BOTH OF YOU, STOP! WE LOVE YOU EQUALLY!!!

Meanwhile:

Streamer, holding a modified keyboard to work both as a keyboard and a blunt weapon in their hands: LET'S FUDGING DO THIS!

Alien, with a blunt alien weapon: COME AT ME, YOU COWARD!

Caramel arrow: OK, BREAK IT UP YOU TWO!

Meanwhile:

Timid y/n and shy y/n...really not wanting to fight but know this is a free for all and both immediately think the other is gonna kick their butt: .....

Both immediately start crying.

Cream ferret rushes up, trying to calm them both down: shh shh it's OK you don't have to fight, let's go for hot chocolate instead...doesn't that sound nicer?

They both go off with cream ferret.

Just pure chaos heh...sorry if this idea sounds stupid just with the y/n tag having so many different kinds of y/n cookies...having a creative mind and listening to these songs all combined really makes ya think XD

Let's- Lemme just list how many Y/N cookies I've made just to be sure what I'm getting into=

Ancient Y/N- virtue of patience

Beast Y/N- Shadow of wrath

Child ancient Y/N- Virtue of innocence

Child beast Y/N- Shadow of grief

Male batman Y/N

Entity Y/N

Alien Y/N- (No stories on them yet)

Robot Y/N

Streamer Y/N

Timid Y/N

Shy Y/N

Ghost Y/N

Merchant Y/N

Isekai'd Y/N

Baker Y/N

Tarzan Y/N

Child of White Lily cookie Y/N

Yeah- I'm gonna figure out how to do all of them T T oh boy-

Y/N cookie showdown!

On a random day of a random week on a random month in a random year, the Y/N cookies found themselves in a predicament. They wanted to be the best Y/N cookie. But what happens when everyone wants to be the best? They argue and fight to claim that title. And unfortunately for the cookies, these 17 cookies were no different.

Ancient Y/N cookie and Beast Y/N cookie are trying to stangle each other

Ancient Y/N: DIE, FOWL BEAST!

Beast Y/N: TASTE MY WRATH, STUPID COPY!!!!

Pure Vanilla cookie and Shadow Milk cookie are tying their hardest to pull the two apart.

The Children aren't exactly any better, even if they aren't fighting physically since Mystic Flour cookie and White Lily cookie are holding them back.

Ancient child Y/N: Crybaby!

Beast child Y/N: Goody two shoes!

Both stop talking for a moment, before crying to the adults.

Both: They were being mean to me!

Mystic Flour cookie: There there,

White Lily cookie: It's ok little one.

Male Batman Y/N: *Holding merchant Y/N in a choke hold* Admit your defeat!

Merchant Y/N: *Wheezing* Over my dead body!

Male Batman Y/N: That can be arranged!

Black Raisin cookie: *Trying to push them apart* No! Stop fighting! I love you both too much to lose any of you! Stop!

Streamer Y/N: *Hitting Alien Y/N with their keyboard* Be gone!

Alien Y/N: *Behind a shield* Like your father?!

Caramel Arrow cookie: No no- no insults! Stop fighting before any of you get hurt!

Robot Y/N: *Trying to shoot entity Y/N* STOP MOVING SO I CAN ELIMINATE YOU!!!

Entity Y/N: *Moving in all kinds of inhumane ways* MAKE ME, METAL HEAD!

Agent Jjajang cookie: No- don't taunt each other! Just behave for witches sake!!!

Baker Y/N: *The only sensible one at the moment* Guys- there isn't a best Y/N, stop fighting-

Ghost Y/N and Isekai'd Y/N: SHUT UP!

Isekai'd Y/N: I'm about to exorcise a stupid ghost!

Ghost Y/N: Not if I hit you with another truck first!

Pumpkin pie cookie: No! Stop fighting! You'll end up hurting yourselves! Please stop!

Tarzan Y/N: *Casually holding child of White Lily cookie (COWL) Y/N by their ankle* Hahahahahaha

COWL Y/N: Put me down you brute! Put me down right now!

Cherry Blossom cookie: Aye! put them down!- put- Hey! Put them down and stop fighting this instant!

Shy Y/N: *Thinking they're done for*

Timid Y/N: *Thinking it's over for them*

Both begin crying and Cream Ferret cookie rushes to them both.

Cream Ferret cookie: Hey hey, it's ok. You don't have to fight. You're safe. Come on, let's get you some ice cream and candy for the other two crying over there.

Both nod as they follow Cream Ferret cookie.

[enanzaz]

ultimate list of which ace attorney characters would listen to vocaloid/cryptonloid and to what extent

my credentials: i have listened to vocaloid many many a times, i play project sekai religiously (DONT COME FOR ME IVE SEEN PROJECT DIVA TOO)

and for my fellow nerds out there: I DONT KNOW THE DIFFERENCE GOOGLE SUCKS OUT HERE SO DM THE DIFFERENCE i dont know the difference between frickin cryptonloids and vocaloids STILL

edit: I KNOW THE DIFFERENCE NOW

spw for aa characters below

ask/dm if you want a pt2 or js my opinion on ur favs

phoenix: brother theres no way. phoenix barely uses a phone. explaining to him vocaloid would cause his head to explode contrary to popular opinion. ON THE SLIGHT OFF CHANCE HE MAY KNOW IT hed only know hatsune miku and refer to her as “oh yeah blue pigtails”

trucy: reason why phoenix knows hatsune miku. i can sense the fact that shes put instrumentals for her show (like the mcu did). not a major major fan, but def knows it

maya: OH FOR SURE. i know the steel samurai to vocaloid pipeline when i see it. started off unintentionally as a joke bc steel samurai had a collab w them. i see maya as the more “likes more popular songs” (bc same no shame) but i can totally see her screaming MIKU MIKU BEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM. her fav is kagamine rin or miku

apollo: mayhaps. i seem him as a very teto or vflower type of guy but i think he would js be a pretty surface level listener. guilty pleasure type stuff i understand. i can totally see him listening to a mix of both teto and vflower tho, like bocca della verita or medicine

simon: ohhh i KNOW a kafu fan when i see one! he screams “yeah imma gatekeep this great artist” and low and behold its kafu. theres no way he didnt listen to vocaloid prejailtime. if NOT a kafu fan easily luka or meiko fan as well, more jazzy i think. i also think he watched the aa version of gossip girl but thats a story for another time. ALSO plays pjsk when he learned it exists post prison, im talking this is like at home grinding hours for him. also his fav unit is

athena: meiko fan. not much more to say. def die hard but listens bc she saw simon listen to her once or twice as a kid. i can totally see her playing “on the rocks” in her downtime. i DO also think shed be a len fan tho, songs like “butterfly on your right shoulder” or “sick of house”

klavier: gakupo next question. i KNOW a venomania fan when i see it.

top three vocaloid listeners/fans:

3. klavier

2. maya

1. tie between simon and athena - its a competition

[iamzer0]

May u do yandere thanos with pregnant reader (same story like 333 and 222 but thanos didn’t know she was pregnant. And reader broke up with him on text because he was so possesive and she moved blocked him on all socials and yeah then in the game they meet again)

Hii ofc!(you know what’s crazy this is like one of my first times writing romantic Yandere i hope I don’t let you down)

Yᴀɴᴅᴇʀᴇ Tʜᴀɴᴏs ᴡɪᴛʜ Pʀᴇɢɴᴀᴛ Rᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

A/n: I really hope u like this one!

Now to provide some background on how you ended up stuck with the worst ex boyfriend you’ve ever had.

You and Thanos were a thing, and honestly the reason he was the worst ex ever was simply because of his possessive behavior.

Any time you went out together he kept you firmly planted by his side.

He wouldn’t let you even breathe the same air as another guy.

Anytime you were on your phone for longer than 20 mins he would snatch it saying “what guy are you texting?”.

He was very insecure and always thought that if he gave you the chance to leave you would immediately get with someone else behind his back.

He was always on something, when he was on ‘stuff’ he would be very bipolar.

Yelling at you then hugging you from behind saying he loved you and asking for a kiss.

It was just toxic so when you found you were pregnant, you knew that your baby couldn’t grow up in such an environment.

You ran away from him, with the little money you had.

You see Thanos convinced you to put all your money into MG coin and long story short you lost everything.

You were on your own, sleeping in your car, begging for food.

Then one of your friends snitched to him about your pregnancy.

He used several fake numbers just to try and contact you, he tried every tactic in the book just to hunt you down.

It was hell.

So when you were given the opportunity to enter this game thing for money you jumped at the chance to give you and your baby a new life.

You woke up in a hard bed in new clothes it was a bit unsettling but in the end would be worth it… you hoped..

Thats when you spotted the one person you vowed to never ever see again.

Thanos.

Your heart was in your stomach, to say you were terrified was an understatement.

You were frozen, unable to move.

Then he spotted you.

He ran over to you pushing people out of the way.

He grabbed your hands, inspecting your face. He then hugged you practically jumping in you.

He had a legit death grip.

You snapped back into reality realizing the gravity of this situation.

“L-let me go… you’re hurting me!” You screamed as a last ditch effort to force him off of you.

He let you go ignoring the puzzled looks from others.

He put his hands on your belly, speed asking you various questions.

Such as “why did you leave?, why didn’t you answer my calls?, where have you been?, how’s 𝗼𝘂𝗿 baby?,” and the list goes on.

You immediately regretted even entering the games.

During red light green light he made you stand right next to him.

When the first person died, he popped a pill and started trying to drag you across the field with him. Laughing at the ones who died.

It was insanity.

You started full of sobbing as you reached the finish line.

Being back with Thanos was more terrible than before, to say he freaked you out was an understatement.

After the first game he was surprisingly very kind to you.

He hugged you close rubbing your belly while muttering an half hearted apology.

You knew that this was another mood swing, a side effect of the drugs.

Now that Thanos was unfortunately back by your side you had to readjust to his controlling ways.

He would obviously try and make you pick O saying that the more money the better.

He would ramble on about y’all’s lives together when y’all were out of the games.

Despite him almost always being in some drug induced haze he was very aggressive to others when they tried to help you.

He would goes as far as to threaten the guys that got to close to you.

For example in the game mingle he had been holding your hand tightly so you would be by him the entire game.

But as the robotic voice called out “3” someone literally snatched you from him.

After that round he started trying to fight the poor fool that took you from him for less than 5 mins.

He was always holding on to you tightly, scared that if he even blinked you would be gone in an instant.

A/n: I hope u all liked this one sorry I haven’t been active for a little bit I promise to try and upload daily. Love you all so so much bye bye╰(*´︶`*)╯♡

[wardingshout]

Hello! I can’t belive i found a danish person in the same fandom im in at the same time im in it. I love your art and art style it all looks great!

I wanted to ask since i think you talked about playing a link to the past yourself do you think its worth it to play it? Or is it one of those games you just watch as a playthrough? Im currently trying to make my way through the various zelda games myself and trying to figure out which to play next on the list. Hope you have a nice day/night!

omg me neither, hell yeah! I literally just had a conversation with another dane about how rarely we run into each other online! :D

I think I'm pretty biased in this but I think I'd definitely at least give playing it a shot! I personally had a really rough time with it but it somehow added to the feeling the world gave me? it's entirely about my own lack of gaming skills but I enjoyed experiencing it and all the mean little things it throws at you a lot... I must admit though, that I enjoyed it way more after letting myself use the Switch's rewind function esp for bosses, because I might have given up otherwise. I'm also no good at watching playthroughs personally so there's that too...

but yeah if you have Switch online you can always try through the first dungeon and skip to something else if it doesn't without losing too much time :D

I hope you have a good day/night too! here's a Zelda I drew last year that I dug up the other day

[island-ofthelost]

omg idk if uve posted an explanation for transmasc chase but if u havent id LOVE to hear?!?!?! im trans and i love house so :3:3

I've never made an explanation, but here's my list of headcanons:

as for my explanation, I believe he struggles with his masculinity in a uniquely transmasc way. People that headcanon him as transfemme will notably say that he's "performing gender", overcompensating to portray a sense of masculinity that he doesn't feel internally. But I disagree (for one, he's not hypermasculine in any sense that could be construed as a performance). This is because he has to actively work to be perceived in a masculine manner, and be treated as a man within the structure of the society he lives in, which would almost always come automatically if he were cis (again, he's white, "straight", well off in the beginning of the series, and able bodied. these aspects should put him at an advantage he clearly doesn't have). While there aren't any particular examples, you can clearly tell that characters like House, Wilson, and Foreman really aren't being perceived in whatever way Chase is. He's almost treated like a woman in the context of the series, particularly by House. He's always being described as "pretty" (by everyone) and a lot of House's jabs come from this perception. And this is clearly something he's uncomfortable with. I believe if he were to be a closeted transfemme this would either ease into comfort or become more uncomfortable around season 6 when he does become much more visually masculine (buzz cut, stubble, etc). While he was in no means comfortable at this point (Cause, you know), it clearly isn't discomfort in his identity, it's the natural discomfort of being freshly divorced from a whirlwind marriage. His relationship with Cameron also highlights his transmasculinity. Obviously, Cameron has her dead ex husband. Chase struggles with the fact that Cameron will never view him in the same way as she did her ex husband, like he'll never be the same to her or even enough to her. Especially enough as a man. I think the choice to show Cameron's attachment to her ex through his sperm specifically is a very interesting choice. There's the easy route of going "haha get it he doesn't have his own sperm", which is valid, but sperm and using it to produce children was something that at the time was largely unique to men and traditional masculine gender roles. Showing Cameron keeping her ex's sperm not only conveys that she wouldn't view him as a good and adequate husband, but more specifically as a good and adequate man, which puts a serious strain on their relationship. The show could have just as easily used something else, like a ring, and would be just as cinematic. The choice of sperm specifcally is interesting to me. And killing Dibala, which leads Cameron to end their relationship, was another example of Chase's relationship with masculinity. Dibala tells Chase, who is clearly uncomfortable around him, that "real men stand up for their values", which leads to Chase killing him. And this still isn't enough for Cameron. His relationship with his father is another signifier of his gender. Clearly, his father doesn't view him as a son, going so far as to cut him out of the will. And his religious trauma again gives him a uniquely transmasc vibe, but I can't put my finger on it.

And I hate to bring this into it because I believe you don't need to look a certain way to be a gender, but yeah, he does have some pretty feminine traits physically (soft hair, baby face). But these traits do slowly disappear throughout the show, signifying him going further into his transition (although in reality Jesse Spencer is a cis man and this is just the natural aging process, however Chase is meant to be a few years older than Spencer). Also, Jesse Spencer is transphobic and headcanoning him as transmasc is, to me at least, a great way to reclaim the character, and I view it as fitting much better into the storyline and his character than him being transfemme (I do believe that only a small portion of the fandom actually does view him as a cis man). So yeah. I didn't mean to go on a total yapathon, nor did I mean to invalidate or be malicious to anyone with a different opinion. These are just my thoughts on the subject.

[lulublack90]

Prompt 8 - Physical

Wolfstar, January 8, word count 722

Previous part First part

Everything was delicious. Remus had three platefuls to Sirius’s amusement. 

“Where is it all going?” He asked, prodding a finger into Remus’s flat stomach. Remus shrugged as he swallowed another roast potato.

“No idea. Mum used to say I had hollow legs. She used to joke that she’d never managed to fill me, I just kept eating.” He hadn’t talked about his mum for a long time. It usually came with pain as he remembered her, but with Sirius, talking about her filled him with warmth.

Once they were finished, Remus dutifully took their plates to the kitchen and began washing up. Sirius slid in beside him and began drying what Remus had washed. They worked in comfortable silence, but Remus could tell Sirius was building up to ask him something. His eyes kept darting towards Remus and his mouth kept opening and shutting without any words coming out. 

“So, erm, this Sunday my parents are hosting an event for MS and I wondered if you might want to go with me? You don’t have to,” He added quickly, seeing Remus wince. 

“It’s not that I don’t want to go with you because I do. I just agreed to work Sunday night, and if I cancel, I might not get asked again.”  That was the problem with his other job. If you turned down the work, then the next time you’ll be the last person on the list they ask and right now he couldn’t afford that. 

“Oh, alright,” Sirius said sadly, reaching up to put the plates back in the cupboard. Remus opened his mouth to explain further, but right at that second, his phone went off. Olivia Newton-John singing ‘Let’s Get Physical!’ On repeat. It was James. 

“Sorry,” Remus apologised as he answered the call. “Hey James, what’s up?”

“Hey, babe,” Remus could hear the smile in James’s voice and found a smile of his own creeping across his mouth. “You still up for Saturday then? Lily wanted me to check,” Shit, he’d forgotten about Saturday. It was Lily’s birthday, and they were all getting together for a party at theirs. Remus suddenly had an idea. He turned to Sirius and, holding the phone against his shoulder, asked. “Do you fancy coming to a friend's party with me on Saturday?” Sirius’s face lit up and he nodded yes. Remus put the phone back to his ear and found James rabbiting on about all the decorations he’d bought and how it was going to take him forever to blow up all the balloons. “Hey, James, would it be alright for me to bring somebody?” The line went silent. “James?” Remus asked, pulling the phone away and checking the screen to make sure they were still connected. 

“What, like a date?” James asked curiously. Remus looked at Sirius. He had no idea what their relationship was. Sirius held out his hand and Remus passed him his phone. 

“Hi, James, is it? This is Sirius. Remus doesn’t know it yet, but I’m his boyfriend… Yes, that’s right, the one that keeps inviting himself over for sleepovers… Oh my god, yes, Sweeny Kebab, right?… He totally is… I did, it was the worst thing I’ve ever put in my mouth… No seriously… Did you get one of those hand pumps? One of those would make it so much easier… We could come around early and help you set up… Yes, of course, I can’t wait to meet you. I’ve only met Remus’s father… Oh, yeah… He left pretty quickly once he found out who I was… Oh, erm, Sirius Black… Yeah, yeah, that’s them… Really?… Damn, James, that's, that's so sweet… Yeah, see you on Saturday… Bye.” Sirius handed Remus his phone back. 

“I love him, Remus, I demand that you keep him,” James told him as soon as he put the phone back to his ear. 

“Yeah, I think you’re right,” He answered, watching Sirius move about his flat with easy familiarity. The little weirdo had completely enamoured Remus. His boyfriend. It felt right somehow, even if they’d only known each other for days, it felt like so much more. “See you Saturday,” He said to James, before hanging up and going to sit with Sirius on the sofa. Sirius immediately cuddled up to him and Remus pressed play on his DVD player. 

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is:  @gayjinkies! gayjinkies has 7 fics posted on AO3 in the Stranger Things fandom and all of them are in the Steddie tag!

Our anonymous nominator recommends the following works by @Gayjinkies:

I’m a lover, boy

lover, you can’t be wrong

heartbeat (increasing heartbeat)

any solitary pleasure

Are You Sending Out Your Love Signs?

"Their writing is absolutely masterpiece. I LOVE their characterisation of Steddie!" -- Anonymous

Below the cut, @gayjinkies answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

I started reading Steddie during a really weird and stressful time in my life. I’d be reading literally the entire night through for months on end. Reading about these dumbass boys was one of the only ways to escape for a while. When my day-to-day chilled out a bit, I figured I may as well give writing a go, since I’d read, I swear to god, hundreds of fics by that point. I immediately fell in love with thinking up the most idiotic, goofy situations to plop Steve and Eddie into. I’m also a sucker for enemies-to-lovers dialogue and the possibilities are endless with these two. There’s so much potential chemistry and tension and canonically unexplored backstories which makes it so much fun to write!

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

I don’t think I have an all-time favourite! One of my favourites is friends-to-enemies-to-lovers because ohhh the layers…the betrayal…the yearning… I also love reading hidden identity fics, I eat them up so damn quick. And then the usual suspects: forced proximity, miscommunication, requited-unrequited, fake dating, only one bed. Honestly I could list so many that I love with my entire heart.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

I’m not sure if Crack counts as a trope?? If so, then that for sure. The more absurd the better, in my book. I love taking the most ridiculous situation I can think of and trying to write it believably enough that readers could think, “huh, yeah, I can see this happening. This makes sense for these two.” Apart from that, I love writing miscommunication. It’s so much FUN, and as I’m typing it I’ll be shaking my head, clicking my tongue, muttering, “if only you guys just talked…” and then not allowing them to properly talk for another 10k words.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

This is such an impossible question, there’s no way I could pick just one out of so many absolute bangers 🤚 blipblot’s A Lick and a Promise is phenomenal and I’ll shout it from the rooftops (I’ll shout about literally all of their fics from the rooftops, they’re just so spectacular) I’m reading Big Talk by occasional_loverboy which is SO FUCKING GOOD. let’s exchange the experience by jamiethegardener is an absolute favourite. Vulture by GriefAbyss is currently and very actively consuming my thoughts. throw me one by Adure is one of the first Steddie fics I fell in love with right at the start and it’s one of my all-time favourites.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

Ohhhhh so many. I would love to write a secret identity fic and a fake dating fic, and I’ve got ideas bouncing around my head for both of those. They’ll get written eventually!! I also haven’t really written slow burn yet because I love instant gratification with ensuing angst and drama, but I would love to try my hand at it!

What is your writing process like?

Controversial, maybe! I can’t write any scene without having written the scene before, everything is written sequentially. I don’t plan or draft at all, so scenes just develop as I’m writing, which makes it impossible to jump ahead in the plot and write because the story changes every time I sit down to write more. It also means that if I get stuck on one particular scene, the entire fic grinds to a screeching halt until I figure a single line of dialogue out 🫠 So it’s slow going a lot of the time! I also don’t really edit apart from checking my spelling and grammar, so not much is left on the cutting room floor! Also, I only write while blasting pink noise through my headphones. I sometimes have music playing in the same room but the pink noise stays on the entire time. 

Do you have any writing quirks?

I’m not sure!!! Probably using way too many em dashes, which I say hesitantly for fear of people reading my shit and noticing my overuse 😬 I also recycle specific phrases all the time, which are usually ones that I use in my day-to-day as well. They just seem to snake their way into each and every fic.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

I’ve discovered that I really do need to have finished writing before starting to post, otherwise there’s a chance it won’t be updated for months as my focus jumps to other projects.

Which fic are you most proud of?

I’m really proud of set my wings on fire. It was my quickest turnaround time from idea conception to finished product, and it’s also the only fic I’ve written that’s just one scene. I also experimented more with structure and writing style with that one. It’s the most love I’ve ever put into a fic and the most fun I’ve had writing so it’s very special to me.

How did you get the idea for any solitary pleasure?

Ahhh, my stink kink fic. Not to put my friend on blast, but they were chatting with me about a guy they’d hooked up with who had a cologne collection totalling over $10,000. When I asked my friend if the guy smelled good, they replied that they didn’t really know, they prefer natural musk and sweat over fancy colognes. I heard that, immediately thought, “sounds like a certain someone…” and knew I had to thrust a scent kink upon Eddie.

When writing heartbeat (increasing heartbeat), what was something you didn’t expect?

I didn’t expect how difficult it would be to orchestrate a phone sex scene! I think dirty talk is one of my weaker areas in writing, so not being able to fall back on action descriptions when it came to Steve and Eddie’s interactions was hard. I’m a big fan of non-verbal communication and not having that as an option was definitely challenging.

What inspired I’m a lover, boy?

I don’t think there was any particular inspiration! The plot for I’m a lover, boy literally popped into my head fully formed one day, and I spent a bit of time just kicking it around before writing it all down.

What was your favorite part to write from lover, you can’t be wrong?

I love writing Steve & Robin scenes, and lover, you can’t be wrong is riddled with them. I’d never written anything from Steve’s POV before and exploring their friendship has been so lovely. Their conversations flow and I love that for both them and me.

How do/did you feel writing Are You Sending Out Your Love Signs??

Are You Sending Out Your Love Signs was the first Steddie fic I wrote, after having not written creatively for years. It was written after a solid few months of sleep-deprivation and stress and I don’t really remember much about how I felt while writing it! I think for a while I was very sure I was never going to post it, so I didn’t care about whether it was actually quality writing or not, which was freeing!! It was a good stepping stone to getting back into writing because it was a zero-pressure experience.

What was the most difficult part of writing Are You Sending Out Your Love Signs??

Probably literally just starting it!! I hadn’t written creatively since high school, and I hadn’t really been good at it then, so I was 100% convinced I wouldn’t be able to do it. Most of my experience is in writing research studies, so it was hard to push past that and embrace flowery, fun fiction writing.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

In my most recent fic, call my bluff when I roll the dice, there’s a scene where Eddie accidentally humiliates Steve regarding the size of his dick, and I had SO much fun writing it. The entire fic was built around that scene that I’d had in my head for ages. I love writing emotionally-driven dialogue and also Very Silly dialogue, so that was such a fun one to write.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

I have a bunch of WIPs and even more ideas that haven’t been put on paper yet! I’ve got a long-form fic half written that I’m very excited about which I refuse to start posting until I’ve finished it, but it’s in the works! I’ve also got a third of a gloryhole fic written which I’m also keen to finish and post. Apart from them, I’ve got a bunch of crack ideas that I’m very sure will be posted in the near future!

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

I wanted to thank steddieunderdogfics for everything that you do 💖 big love to you guys!!!

Thank you to our author, @gayjinkies, and our nominator! See more of gayjinkies' works featured on our page throughout the day!

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[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 02x07 - Memories of Hikari / Guardian Angel

Previously on Digimon Adventure: Mimi went on a picnic with the new kids where she drank way too many sodas, ate a rice ball so good it filled her with national pride, and got harassed by Digimon again.

We open on a montage of righteous devastation. The Chosen Children are beating the Digimon Kaiser's ass at playing Risk. The new team's Digimon converge fire on a Dark Tower, toppling it.

Narrator: The Chosen Children continued their advance, liberating areas controlled by the Digimon Kaiser one after another.

On the map of territories, several black squares blink over to white. Then several more. Bit by bit, the Kaiser's forces are being driven back. Koushiro, sitting at the Gate computer in Computer Club, calls out the group's movements.

Koushiro: Send Birdramon to this area. Next, move Greymon to that area. And Garurumon to this area.

More and more towers come down, toppled by the Digimon he named.

Finally, we cut back to everyone reconvening in Computer Club. All the elementary kids plus Taichi, Sora, Yamato, and Koushiro. With Takeru's hand in shippy places.

Koushiro: I won't be able to come in tomorrow. Yamato: Yeah, I have band practice too. Taichi: Well, we'll be fine with just Hikari, Daisuke, and the others. Daisuke: Yeah, we can handle it!

This will be the elementary kids' first time having to handle things without an experienced veteran to guide them. Except it won't because Takeru and Hikari are experienced veterans, so they'll probably be fine.

In the dub:

(The elementary kids bring down a Control Spire) Cody: Yeah! Izzy: Alright! That's twelve more Control Spires destroyed! (Birdramon brings down a Spire) Sora: Yeah! Izzy: According to the map, Greymon is finished in this area and is moving on to the next. Garurumon's doing the same thing!

Izzy is not calling any shots in the dub, and is instead passively narrating what the teams are independently doing to nobody in particular.

Izzy: There's still one more Control Spire to destroy today. Matt: Maybe Greymon could get that one too. Tai: I don't think he can. It looks like he's too far from that area. Izzy: Tai's right. Davis: In that case, we'll do it ourselves!

They give Tai this line as he turns away from Izzy and is visibly addressing Davis and the others. Also, the computer screen has the Gate on it, not the map, so I don't know how Tai's reading Greymon's location.

In fact, the map can't even be used to read Digimon locations. It just shows controlled and uncontrolled territories. I don't know what part of Davis's face is giving Tai geographic coordinates for Greymon relative to the Control Spire in question.

This isn't a huge deal but if this was the direction they wanted to go with this scene, it might have worked better to have Tai simply say that he left Greymon too far away. The way the line's written makes it sound like he's drawing conclusions based on data he's analyzing but his animation doesn't give him anything to be drawing it off of.

In any case, we see here a stark change from the original. In the original, the impending mission is going to be tomorrow's activities, which the older kids won't be able to chaperone. The dub has the younger kids going back in to finish up today's workload due to poor strategic planning leaving the older kids' Digimon too far away.

We're cutting straight from this scene to the kids' mission, which creates a bit of a plot hole as to why Izzy isn't hanging out to do mission control for this one last Control Spire. He's offered no explanation for bailing.

Cut to a domed city inside the Digital World. An alarm blares throughout the city. Guardromon units roll out with Evil Rings around the valves on their chests.

Guardromon: INTRUDER. INTRUDER.

A squad of Guardromon flood into the city, opening fire on an unseen trespasser.

Guardromon is an Adult-stage Virus-attribute Machine Digimon, though the first anime listed them as Data-attribute. It's unclear if they still are Data-attribute because 02 removed Attributes from the Digimon Analyzer entirely. No idea why.

(Maybe they just didn't want to have to explain Free-attribute after making a point to have Gennai teach Koushiro about Virus, Vaccine, and Data in the first series. So they quietly buried attributes and hoped no one would notice?)

In any case, we know Guardromon from Mugendramon's Metal Empire on Spiral Mountain. Alongside Mekanorimon, Guardromon were Mugendramon's foot soldiers.

Narrator: Guardromon! An Adult Digimon that boasts ironclad defenses. Their special attack is Destruction Grenade!

This is almost word-for-word Guardromon's rundown from the first show. The only difference is that they tell us Guardromon's level instead of their Machine typing.

Once the rundown's over, we see what they're shooting at.

Digmon: GOLD RUSH!!! Pegasmon: SHOOTING STAR!!! Fladramon: KNUCKLE FIRE!!!

The Armor team has gotten good at this. Each of their shots is precisely aimed to break the Evil Rings off their targets' valves. Digmon frees four Guardromon, Pegasmon frees another four, and then Fladramon gets two.

But despite their best efforts, more Guardromon emerge to replace the liberated ones, which simply stop moving and go to standby on the spot where they were freed.

Guardromon: INTRUDER. INTRUDER.

The dub misses the part about the blaring alarm, of course, but still captures the vibe.

Guardromon: INTRUDER. INTRUDER. Guardromon: (rundown) I am Guardromon. Whoever tries to enter the premises shall become victims of my Grenade Destroyer attack. Digmon: GOLD RUSH!!! Pegasusmon: STAR SHOWER!!! Flamedramon: FIRE ROCKET!!! (Their attacks release ten Guardromon but more swarm in) Guardromon: INTRUDER. INTRUDER.

Why would you rename Destruction Grenade to Grenade Destroyer? It's one of those small changes that are so minor that it raises the question of why you even bothered. Is it because the little bullet guy doesn't look at all like a grenade? Or are the censors just happier if we imply the little bullet guy is neutralizing enemy grenades?

Reinforcement Guardromon roll out and the team is beginning to tire.

Daisuke: What the hell is with these guys!? Miyako: They just keep coming, over and over! There's no end to it! Iori: It would be unwise for us to continue this battle of attrition. We should withdraw immediately. Miyako: I think so too! We're outnumbered. We should retreat. Daisuke: Retreat!? Why are you acting like cowards!? The Dark Tower is right there!

First junior mission is not going well. Daisuke disagrees with withdrawing, but the decision is quickly made for him.

Fladramon: G...Getting hungry.... Digmon: ...me too....

As the endless wave of Guardromon continues to advance, Fladramon and Digmon can't sustain their Armor forms any longer and degenerate into their Child stages. Like it or not, we have to leave.

Takeru: Daisuke-kun, we need to go back. We can reconsider our plan of attack with Koushiro-san. Hikari: Tentomon might be able to provide us with new intel. Daisuke: ...we don't have a choice. Retreat!

Reluctantly, Daisuke agrees with the withdrawal and the Chosen Children flee from the advancing Guardromon army.

In the dub:

Davis: There must be a hundred of 'em! Yolei: Wow, you counted that high without even taking off your shoes and socks! T.K.: I think now is a good time to go back to our world. We can come up with a new plan. Yolei: T.K.'s right. We can talk to Izzy! Guardromon: INTRUDER. INTRUDER. Davis: Are you guys out of your minds!? Quit now!? I've never been a quitter! Flamedramon: I agree. Davis, let's regroup! (Digmon and Flamedramon degenerate to Rookie forms) T.K.: Davis, don't be so stubborn! There are far too many of them! We have to get out of here while we can! Kari: I agree! We have to hurry! Davis: Urggggh... Alright, head for the Gate!

Cody doesn't get to offer any input in this version. He silently goes along with whatever the group decides.

This dialogue covers the broad strokes: There's too many enemies, so we have to run for it. But we lose some of the tactical considerations.

That the team's been steadily fighting this onslaught for some time and is exhausted beyond the point of being able to keep going gets skipped over. No mention is made of this as a "battle of attrition" or that "they just keep coming", and Flamedramon deliberately degenerates because he wants to retreat.

T.K. does suggest regrouping with Izzy. But Kari makes no mention of Tentomon possibly having more intel for them; She passively agrees with T.K.

And Yolei manages to slip in a barb at Davis for no reason.

The team withdraws to the Gate television. Miyako opens it up, and one by one, they escape across realities.

Well, four of them do, anyway.

Miyako: What the--!? Did something just explode!? Patamon: I saw it! A Guardromon attacked! Daisuke: Huh? Where's Hikari-chan? Iori: Oh no. Is she still in the Digital World?

She is indeed. Hikari and Tailmon take cover around a corner while Hikari emails the others on her D-Terminal.

Hikari: And sent. Tailmon: Hikari, if anything happens, I'll Armor Evolve. I can still fight. Hikari: Mhm! Thank you, Tailmon.

In the dub, Yolei remembers to say the thing while they're approaching the Gate.

Yolei: DIGI-PORT OPEN!!! (Everyone but Kari makes it through) Guardromon: GRENADE DESTROYER!!! Kari: Wait for me! (TV explodes and everyone but Kari escapes) Yolei: Ouch! Say, shouldn't we put pillows here if we're going to keep doing this? Patamon: Guys! I saw that the TV was blown up as we came through so we can't go back. Davis: Wait a second! Where did Kari go? Cody: She's trapped! In the Digital World!

Yolei makes a valid point.

Somehow Patamon managed to see the TV explode? In the original, they heard the explosion while they were transiting between worlds and Patamon saw the Guardromon fire just before he and Takeru went in, but here Patamon somehow managed to witness the entire thing.

The dub takes its first commercial break here, on the proclamation that Kari's trapped in the other world. We come straight back to Kari on the other side.

Kari: I'll send the others a message saying that we're okay. (typing noises) ...I don't think this has spell check. Gatomon: Kari, if we find ourselves in any kind of jam, I can always Armor Digivolve. Kari: Well, let's save that for a special occasion.

The key points are covered. She's sending a message and Gatomon can Armor Digivolve if they run into trouble.

That said, I don't know why they had Kari disagree with the plan. Next time we see Gatomon, she'll be in her Armor form. They aren't saving it for anything.

Back in the human world, Miyako tries but the Gate simply won't open to that region anymore. Because it's gone.

Miyako: No good. It looks like the Gate we used can't open anymore. Daisuke: Takeru, wasn't HIkari-chan right behind you!? Takeru: Mhm. Daisuke: What were you doing!? Why didn't you make sure she came through with you!? Iori: Daisuke-san, this wasn't Takeru-san's fault. Daisuke: Keep out of it, you noisy brat! Iori: (sternly) Please do not speak to me like that. Daisuke: (gently) S-Sorry, I was out of line. Takeru: No. Daisuke's right. It was my fault. I should have been paying more attention. Daisuke: No, when you put it like that... None of us even noticed. Not even me.

Iori successfully defuses this situation by accidentally provoking Daisuke into crossing a line that Daisuke immediately realizes he shouldn't have crossed, causing his rage to break.

Despite his general hostility to Takeru, Daisuke ultimately agrees that it's not Takeru's fault that Hikari got left behind. They didn't carry out on orderly retreat; They routed, with every child for themselves. The fault is on everyone.

In the dub:

Yolei: The Gate to that area is closed! We can't get to her! Davis: T.K., wasn't Kari right behind you when you went into the Gate from the Digital World!? T.K.: Mhm. Davis: Then it's all your fault! Why didn't you let her go first!? Cody: Stop! It was no one's fault! It just happened! Davis: What do you know!? You're a little kid! Cody: Yeah, but I still know when someone's being a jerk! Davis: (gently) Ugh... I guess that's me.... T.K.: The truth is, Davis is right. Davis & Cody: Huh!? T.K.: It really was my fault. I should have been watching out for her all along. Davis: Well... I guess I could have too. Cody: So could I. That's what I mean! There's no one to blame.

Pretty solid.

A sudden indicator from the computer alerts Miyako to a new email.

Miyako: Huh? Ah! An e-mail from Hikari-chan! "I'm safe. Don't worry. Takeru: Miyako-san, switch with me for a second.

Takeru suddenly gets an idea and takes over the computer. He scans through the map of the Digital World until he finds what he's looking for.

Takeru: Even if we can't go back to that area, we can enter the area next to it and cross over.

Takeru finds what he's looking for somehow, and I cannot make heads or tails of the map. He settles on a black square surrounded by gray squares which... I kinda thought gray squares were, like, the ocean or something and white squares were free territory, so I am lost.

But apparently this makes sense, so I'll go with it. Takeru finds his destination and holds his Digivice up to the screen.

Takeru: I'm going! Patamon: Wait, Takeru!

He's in such a hurry, he almost leaves Patamon behind. Fortunately, Patamon's able to flap over to him quickly enough to be caught up in the transition.

Miyako: Takeru-kun! Daisuke: Tch! I'm just supposed to let him take care of it!? Let's go, Chibimon! Chibimon: Yeah!

Daisuke, too, crosses over with Chibimon.

Miyako: Ah! Poromon, we should-- Iori: Please wait! It's almost dinner time. If Hikari-san and the others don't make it home, their families will worry and make a fuss about it. We should notify Taichi-san and the others first. Miyako: You're right... I'm the oldest here, so I should try to think more clearly. Upamon: If that's what we're doing, then hurry up! Poromon: Let's go! (Upamon and Poromon flee the room) Iori: AH!!! Don't go out on your own!

Iori and Miyako chase their excitable Partners from Computer Club, leaving Daisuke and Takeru to carry out this rescue mission by themselves.

In the dub, there is no email alert noise. There is, however, this ongoing AOL dial-up noise that starts playing and continues through the scene. Which is kind of like an email alert, I guess.

Yolei: Huh!? Hey, guys! It's an email from Kari! Davis: Huh!?

In addition to Yolei reading it out, the text onscreen is rewritten in English.

Yolei: It says, "Don't worry, I'm alright. And I'm sorry if any words are misspelled. Sincerely, Kari."

No words are misspelled so I didn't really get that joke.

T.K.: Yolei, I've got an idea! If I can find an area close to the one she's in, then I can reach her! (T.K. finds his destination) T.K.: Got it! I'll be back soon. Patamon: I'm going too! (T.K. and Patamon cross over) Yolei: What should we do? Davis: If he thinks I'm gonna stand by and let him be the hero, he can forget it! (Davis crosses over) Yolei: Haha what!? Then I'm going-- Cody: Yolei, wait a minute! Listen, it's almost dinner time right now. Somewhere between the green salad and the green gelatin, their families are going to wonder where they are! We have to tell Tai and the others! I think that's the best thing you and I can do to help Davis and T.K. right now. Yolei: Cody, I know you're just a kid but sometimes you have the wisdom of an old man of twenty! Upamon: Alright! What are we waiting for! Poromon: Let's go! (Upamon and Poromon go on their own) Cody: But wait! You can't just go out in public!

They had way too many lip flaps for what they needed Cody to say. XD

T.K. is a lot more reserved and in control of himself in this version. Takeru is clearly rushing off recklessly on an emotional impulse. He is, ironically, being the Courage boy right now.

The other side of the Gate opens into a vast stretch of desert. The boys make their way back to the machine city where they left Hikari.

Daisuke: (calmly) Hey, Takeru. Takeru: Yes? Daisuke: The sun's going down. You should head home. Takeru: I'm fine. My mom will be out late today. But won't your parents worry if you don't make it home, Daisuke-kun? Daisuke: It doesn't matter.

That's an ambiguous statement. It's not clear if Daisuke means his parents won't care that he's gone, or that he himself doesn't care if they worry. Given the earlier "Jun always badmouths me" incident, either Daisuke's family kinda sucks or Daisuke's a little shit. Either is honestly plausible.

Daisuke fishes a coin out of his pocket.

Daisuke: So, who's going to go rescue Hikari-chan. We'll decide with a coin toss.

Daisuke tosses the coin and claps his hand over it.

Daisuke: Tails, you go home. Heads, I go home. (Daisuke reveals Tails) Daisuke: Tails! (gloating) Looks like I'll be the one to save Hikari-chan--

With a shit-eating grin, Takeru snatches the coin from Daisuke's hand and inspects it himself. He clearly knows exactly what he's going to find.

Takeru: Both sides of this coin are Tails, right? They sell these at Kadoetsu. Daisuke: (embarrassed) Y-You knew...? Takeru: (smiling) Let's go together. Daisuke: ...okay.

Takeru once outsmarted literal bullets. You're gonna have to get up a lot earlier in the morning to pull a fast one on him.

As the boys make their way into the city, their Partners briefly unpack what just happened.

Patamon: Why not do that from the start? This was stupid. V-mon: Don't say that. He was just trying to look cool....

Daisuke still feels like he has a lot to prove.

In the dub:

Davis: (bickering) This was a great idea! Crossing the desert without any water! T.K.: (bickering) Look, I didn't ask for your help! Davis: There's the city! T.K.: Looks like one of those things you shake and it starts snowing! Davis: I'll go get Kari! You wait here. T.K.: No, I'll get Kari. You wait here. (Davis fishes a coin out of his pocket) Davis: Alright, I'll tell you what. We'll flip for it. Winner goes, loser stays here. Since it's my coin, I get to call it. Tails! (Davis flips) Davis: Okay, if it's Tails, I rescue Kari. If it's Heads, you get to go. (Davis reveals Tails) Davis: Tails! (gloating) I'll tell her that you were worried about her and that you-- (T.K. snatches the coin and inspects it) Davis: WAUGH!!! T.K.: Huh. A coin that has Tails on both sides. That's how I used to beat Matt. Davis: H-How about that.... T.K.: Let's both go. Davis: ...okay, T.M. Did you really use one of those coins on Matt? T.K.: Yeah, that's how I got all my baseball cards and his old guitar. Patamon: T.K. and Davis sure argue a lot. How come? Veemon: Something about Kari. Human girls make human boys act sorta weird.

Let's start with the good. Takeru recognizes the trick coin from seeing it in a store, but T.K. has a more personal anecdote about it that adds a bit of depth to his relationship with his brother. This is good, especially with the way Davis and T.K. use added dialogue to bond over it.

Now for what I don't like. I don't like that they're playing Daisuke's one-sided rivalry with Takeru as a more traditional Love Triangle, with both boys aggressively locking horns with each other. The first anime dub papered over a lot of Takeru's growth, strength, and developing maturity and this scene continues that trend.

This is a strong moment for Takeru. It's the first time he's been alone with Daisuke. He wastes little time cutting through Daisuke's childish obstinance and jealousy, and bringing him around on-task. Takeru takes Daisuke by the shoulder and lifts him up to Takeru's level, while the dub drags T.K. down to Davis's level.

Meanwhile, in the city, things are already going south for Hikari.

Guardromon: INTRUDER. INTRUDER.

Hikari flies through the sky on Nefertimon's back, fleeing enemy Guardromon. One Guardromon pops out ahead of her, firing Destruction Grenades her way.

Nefertimon: NILE JEWELRY!!!

Nefertimon returns fire, blasting the enemy projectiles out of the air and giving her cover to sweep past.

Nefertimon: Where the hell is that TV!? Hikari: There really aren't any left in this area. We have to find a way out of here!

In the dub:

Guardromon: INTRUDER. INTRUDER. (Guardromon up ahead fires) Nefertimon: ROSETTA STONE!!! (Nefertimon parries the attack and sweeps past) Nefertimon: Kari, there aren't any TVs left in this area. Kari: We'll have to go to another area to find one. Nefertimon: But we don't even know which direction to travel.

I mean. If the destination is "somewhere else" then any direction is good, really.

As with Takeru's more neutral decision to return, the words are the same but the emotion is lost. Kari and Nefertimon don't sound pressured as heavily by their situation; Instead, they calmly explain their predicament to each other for the audience's benefit.

Unfortunately, it quickly becomes clear why Hikari can't lose her tail: From his control room, the Digimon Kaiser has eyes on her. In fact, he has a frankly ludicrous number of monitors dedicated to differently angled closeups of her face. That's weird. You're weird, Digimon Kaiser.

Kaiser: Huhuhu.... Wormmon: Ken-chan, shouldn't you be getting home?

More and more, Wormmon's starting to get a response from the Kaiser. He turns his head away from the screens to glare at Wormmon for a second before responding.

Kaiser: HAVEN'T I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT!?!? Wormmon: (cowers) ACK!!! I'M SORRY!!!

Wormmon tenses up as if bracing to be struck. But when no strike comes, he opens his eyes and looks back up at the Kaiser. The Kaiser's focus is back on the screen, and he summons his holographic control panel.

Kaiser: Here's a fun idea. Let's test out this one.

He presses a key, causing Digital World coding to appear on the monitor.

Wormmon: (gasp) That code is... Perfect stage!? Kaiser: Huhuhuhuhuhu....

We've never seen the Kaiser control a Perfect Digimon before. We don't know if he can do it. He might not know either, given that he describes this as a test.

In the dub:

Emperor: Hahahahahahaha! Wormmon: It's almost your dinner time. Shouldn't you be going home soon, Ken? Emperor: .... (beat) Emperor: NEVER CALL ME ANYTHING BUT MASTER!!! Wormmon: (wordlessly cowers) Nrrrrrrgh.... Emperor: Since she's ~all alone~, she deserves someone ~special.

The Emperor manages to make that sound even creepier than the many closeup monitors already were. On purpose, I'm sure. He knows what he's doing.

(Kaiser activates the new minion) Wormmon: Oh no, you can't! Anyone but him! Emperor: Huhuhuhuhu....

Wormmon addressing the Emperor as Ken seems out-of-place here. Depending on how you look at it, this can either be better or worse for the dub.

On the one hand, we lose the consistent character trait of Wormmon calling him Ken-chan since day one, which the Kaiser finally reacts to. It's never come up before because Wormmon, until recently, has been beneath the Kaiser's notice.

Dub Wormmon accidentally slipping up here and provoking this reaction retroactively justifies the decision to avoid using Ken-chan for the past six episodes. For him, the Emperor has been "Ken" to him all this time. However, as a learned behavior, he knew better than to say it out loud.

Both of these interpretations of his character work really well for Wormmon's relationship to the Kaiser/Emperor and to Ken.

What we lose here is the specific threat that, for the first time, a Perfect-stage Digimon is about to go Hikari Hunting. We don't know how the Armor Digimon will measure up to that! This could be really bad!

Instead we just get... "him". Not "him"! How will Kari ever be able to defend herself against "him"!

Back in the human world, Iori uses a pay phone outside of the Inoue family convenience store. Giving us a good shot of the store's name, too.

The store is called アイマート Aimaato or "I-Mart", presumably for the family name Inoue. The banner underneath reads 愛と純真のお店 Ai to Junshin no Omise or "The Shop of Love and Purity".

Well, now we know how Miyako's Digimentals were assigned. Somebody was shopping around Odaiba for new Chosen Children, saw that banner, and. Like. Who could possibly pass up the chance to do something really funny with that?

Iori: Ah, is this Yagami-san? Good evening, this is Hida Iori.

Inside, Miyako's loading up a grocery bag while her unnamed father works the counter.

Dad: Miyako, when one of your siblings gets back, can you ask them to watch the counter? Miyako: Okay, got it.

Cut to the Yagami home. Iori's explaining everything to Taichi over the phone.

Iori: So that's what's happening. Taichi: I see... Hikari is.... No, you don't have to apologize, Iori. I got it. Bye.

As he hangs up, his mother Yuuko turns around from the kitchen to find out what that was about.

Taichi: (big fake smile) Apparently Hikari's hanging out a friend's house. I'll go pick her up.

I'm a bit more forgiving of Taichi lying to his mom here than I was in Our War Game. That unnecessary lie concerned a global catastrophe that nearly resulted in Odaiba getting nuked, so there was a clear and obvious reason why Taichi and Koushiro needed to be doing Digimon Shit. They were the only people who could stop Diablomon from eating the entire global infrastructure.

She might be less understanding of "Yeah, Hikari went back to the Digital World to get shot at with robot bullets because some guy's causing trouble to some people far away, in a way that doesn't affect us at all." This is not an end-of-the-world crisis and so I think for most parents, it would easily set off their "Okay but not my children" reflex.

To a concerned parent, Digimon Kaiser sure does sound like the Digimon's problem. You have school in the morning, young lady, and I don't want you attending that school with your face exploded.

In the dub:

Cody: Hello? Can I speak to Tai, please? ...no, I'm not selling anything!

Yeah, that's about right. The only reason this American stock gag has aged poorly is that in the modern day, Tai's mom wouldn't have answered for an unknown caller at all.

Yolei's Dad: (sternly) You know, Yolei. With all the snacks and drinks you take to give your friends, it's a wonder this store shows any profit at all! Yolei: Put it on my tab, Daddy!

Yolei's dad nags at her about the financial impact she's having on their business. This seems unreasonable since it was previously established that she works off everything she takes.

It's Miyako who's the primary cause of the store's shrinkage. Yolei's family is just... aggressively capitalist. They employ a 12-year-old child laborer and pay her in merchandise, then complain that she takes too much compensation.

They better not cut her pay. Yolei's learning about the power of collective action against fascism in her extracurriculars at school right now. She might transfer some of that and unionize her siblings.

Cody: So that's where Kari is now, Tai. Tai: Okay, Cody. Thanks for letting me know. Don't worry about it. I'll take care of everything. (Tai hangs up) Tai: Kari's at a friend's house doing a science project on gravity and they need to see how long I can stand on my head. See ya!

Tai opts for the "excuse so bewildering that he'll be out the door before his mom's finished processing how little sense that makes" approach. XD

Once out the door, Taichi and Yamato meet up outside.

Yamato: Taichi, did you hear from Iori? Taichi: Yeah. We need to get down there fast. But first, we should tell Daisuke's parents something. Yamato: Got it. Let me take care of that. You hurry up and go find Hikari-chan. Taichi: Got it! I'll leave this to you, then!

Taichi turns and sprints off for Odaiba Elementary, leaving Yamato to figure out what he's going to--

Yamato: (startled) I was supposed to make dinner for Dad today! (casually) Eh, oh well.

Fuck Hiroaki, I guess. XD He can starve.

Back at I-Mart, Miyako takes her grocery bag of loot and meets back up with Iori outside.

Iori: I called home and said I'd be a little late. What about you, Miyako-san? Miyako: Well, I think my dad asked me to do something but who cares. Let's go!

So much parental respect happening tonight. XD Kids.

In the dub:

Matt: (casually) Hey Tai, I heard what happened. So, are you going to go? Tai: Yeah, in a few minutes. But first, I have to make a stop by Davis's apartment. I have to make up a story to tell his family that he's going to be a little late tonight. Matt: Ehhhh, don't worry about that. I can take care of it! You go on and get to Kari. Tai: Right! Thanks, Matt! (Tai runs off) Matt: (startled) Oh, I forgot! I left Mimi on hold when she called from New York! HER PHONE BILL!!!

...Matt broaches this subject like the rumor mill's been talking about Kari, and clearly indicates that he's not coming and is just wasting Tai's time for small talk.

The only reason Yamato isn't coming too is because they needed to split tasks and it makes more sense for Taichi to go rescue his little sister.

Matt further indicates that he had no intention of coming and was just stepping out to talk to Tai by indicating that he's actually in the middle of a phone call with Mimi right now. Fortunately, Dub Mimi is fabulously wealthy so I think her phone bill will be fine.

Cody: I told my mom we were working on a rescue project. She said she's glad we're helping stray cats in the neighborhood. Yolei: Yeah, my dad was just glad that I left without filling up another bag!

And the censors are probably glad that Matt and Yolei aren't encouraging children to talk back to their parents. I bet that's what's going on here.

Back in the Digital World, Takeru and Daisuke take cover atop a dune to scout the front entrance to the machine city.

Takeru: That seems like the entrance, but....

A single Guardromon is keeping watch outside the door.

Daisuke: We'll have to defeat that one if we want to break in. Takeru: We need to finish it in the first shot; This will get a lot harder if they call for backup. V-mon: Alright, Daisuke! Daisuke: Yeah! Patamon: Wait! Takeru, this area doesn't have a Dark Tower, right? Takeru: Yeah, there's just the one inside that dome. Patamon: Then that means.... Takeru: You're right! We don't need Armor Evolution! Daisuke & V-mon: Huh? Takeru: Let's try it! Patamon: Yeah!

Daisuke has no idea what Takeru means but he's about to see some shit.

In the dub:

Davis: There's just one guard at the door! T.K.: We're gonna have to take him out in the first attack. Otherwise, he'll call for reinforcements. Davis: Not a problem. Veemon and I can handle that metalhead. Veemon, are you ready? Veemon: Yeah, let's do it! Davis: DIGI-ARMOR-- Patamon: Wait a minute! I'll do it. There aren't any Control Spires in this area, right? T.K.: Well, just the one inside the dome. Patamon: But we're outside. T.K.: Yeah! That's right! That means you can Digivolve! Davis & Veemon: Huh? T.K.: Then go for it. Patamon: Alright!

Solid. I like that they have Davis get partway through the Armor incantation when Patamon interrupts him. That's neat.

Foregoing his Digimentals, Takeru and Patamon do this old-school. Patamon SHINKAAAAAA!!!

To the sound of Show Me Your Brave Heart, Angemon appears in a humongous pillar of holy light that definitely should have given their position away and put the machine city on alert. But I guess the Kaiser is too busy ogling Hikari from many angles.

Takeru: YES!!! You can use your normal evolution!

Daisuke's jaw practically hits the sand at the sight of Takeru's Adult Partner.

Daisuke: Eh... Angemon...!?

Takeru and Angemon reply only with mirrored satisfied smiles.

In the dub:

T.K.: Angemon! I haven't seen you in a while! Davis: Ehhhh!? An... Angemon...!? Veemon: ...hi there, big guy....

They have T.K. call out Angemon by name so it flows better when Davis says it. Daisuke probably just heard Angemon say his name during the transformation sequence but it's never really clear how diegetic those are supposed to be.

It's go time. Angemon takes off across the sand, sailing for the Guardromon.

Guardromon: Suspicious person approaching--

Angemon tosses his Holy Rod, nailing Guardromon right in the Evil Ring around their valve and breaking it off.

Angemon: Now! Hurry!

Daisuke, Takeru, and V-mon sprint across the sand to join Angemon at the front door. Angemon punches through the latch, opening the door and letting them inside. However, once they enter, the power of the Dark Tower regresses Angemon back into Patamon.

Patamon: Takeru, it doesn't work after all. I'm back to normal. Takeru: It was worth a try.

I'm honestly not sure why it doesn't work. It's been well-established that the Dark Towers suppress evolving but evolved Digimon retain their form when they enter the Tower's domain. We saw Birdramon, Greymon, and Garurumon taking down Dark Towers as recently as the opening minutes of this episode.

Between this and Jou's episode, the mechanics of the Dark Towers seem wildly inconsistent.

In the dub:

(Angemon flies towards Guardromon) Guardromon: INTRUDER. Angemon: ANGEL ROD!!! Guardromon: INTRU-- (struck) --DERRRRRRrrrrrrrr... (shuts down) Angemon: I nailed it. (The team breaks in, but Patamon regresses) Patamon: You know, those Control Spires really ruin my day. T.K.: You did great, Patamon.

Angemon calls his rod throw as an attack.

Again, this is really good. I love the effect on the Guardromon getting hit halfway through speaking and verbally breaking down.

Once inside, Daisuke has questions. Serious questions.

Daisuke: Just now, Angemon... Patamon can also evolve like Agumon? Takeru: Of course, as long as there isn't a Dark Tower around. Daisuke: Then that means... Hikari-chan's Tailmon also.... Patamon: She becomes Angewomon! Daisuke: Eh!? Angemon and Angewomon!? Patamon: Yeah! We're a perfect match, right, Takeru? Takeru: (noncommittal) Ehehehe....

Predictably, that remark from Patamon triggers Daisuke, who whirls around on V-mon.

Daisuke: V-MON!!! V-mon: Wha!? Daisuke: Then you need to become UltraAngemon! V-mon: Ehhhhhhhh!?

Daisuke picks up V-mon and shakes him.

Daisuke: Do it! You have to do it! DO IT WITH ALL OF YOUR WILL!!! V-mon: Y-You're out of your mind!

Watching Daisuke melt down like this, Takeru admonishes Patamon for what he said.

Takeru: (to Patamon) Don't tease him like that! Patamon: (shit-eating grin) Ehehehehehe!

Patamon regrets nothing. Poor Takeru. This is not productive.

Though it's certainly clear by this moment that it isn't just Hikari; Takeru and Patamon have also picked up on the source of Daisuke's hostility towards Takeru. Daisuke is extremely obvious about his unrequited crush and everybody knows.

In the dub:

Davis: So, besides Armor Digivolving, Patamon can Digivolve to Angemon? What about Gatomon? T.K.: Well, she can Digivolve to Angewomon. Davis: You're kidding me! Angemon and Angewomon!? Patamon: That's right! We make a great team. Davis: One question: Is there an AngeBabymon too? Patamon: (to T.K.) Sometimes he says the weirdest things. T.K.: Ahahahaha. Davis: RRRRRRRGH!!! VEEMON!!! Veemon: Huh? Davis: Tell me right now if you can Digivolve into AngeSomething too! Veemon: Uhhhhhhhh... (Davis picks up Veemon and shakes him) Davis: AngeDinosaurmon! AngeSoccerPlayermon! Veemon: I just don't have it in me! T.K.: (to Patamon) He's still got a lot to learn. Patamon: Ahaha!

So here we have the opposite problem from the desert scene earlier, when T.K. was being dragged through Davis's muck. They speed through the Gatomon part early so they can skip right to having fun at Davis's expense. In the process, they also remove the part where Patamon deliberately provokes him and sets him off.

Davis loses it of his own accord while T.K. and Patamon privately chitchat about how weird and childish he is.

At the Motomiya home, Jun answers the door for Yamato.

Yamato: So you see, Daisuke-kun is still playing over at my little brother's place. Jun: ^_^ Ehehehehe.... Yamato: What? Jun: You're lying, huh? Yamato: O_O Jun: Your lies are painted on your face, Yamato-kun. Yamato: O_O (frozen) Jun: It's fine, I'll relay your message. And in exchange, you'll take me on a date, okay? (Jun goes back inside) Yamato: D...date...!?

Dub's over there dunking on Davis but I need to point out that this is way worse than anything Daisuke's ever done. Jun is extorting Yamato into going out.

We made a terrible mistake. Should have sent Taichi. He bullshits seamlessly and he's undesirable so this would have gone much smoother.

In the dub:

Matt: So anyway, Davis is over at my brother's house and so he probably won't be home until a little later on. Jun: ^_^ Ehehehehe.... Matt: What? Jun: You're lying. Matt: O_O Jun: I can tell when people are lying 'cause they usually start blinking a lot. Matt: O_O Wha--but--ahaha-- Jun: I promise not to tell my parents you were lying if you promise to go out on a date with me. Okay? See you Friday at eight. (Jun goes back inside) Matt: ...how did that happen!?

Dub Jun's more proactive than her Japanese counterpart and sets an exact time for Matt to pick her up, while the original leaves it up to him to figure out the details.

Over at the school, Miyako's holding down the fort with Upamon and Poromon. She and the Digimon are munching on the snacks she brought from I-Mart.

Poromon's sucking down some ChuChu Jelly, but he's still unhappy about last episode.

Poromon: This is not kanpyoumaki! Miyako: Don't be picky.

Poor Poromon.

Iori returns, having gone to meet Taichi outside and smuggle him in.

Iori: Yagami-san is here. Taichi: Sorry to keep you waiting.

Cut to the Digimon Kaiser's Control Room, where an awfully familiar silhouette appears onscreen. The Perfect Digimon he's taking for a test drive.

Andromon: Did you call for me, Digimon Kaiser-sama?

And that is an ominous spot to take a commercial break!

In the dub:

Poromon: How come he gets more candy than I do!? Yolei: Stop complaining; There's plenty more. (Cody arrives with Tai) Cody: I brought some reinforcements! Tai: Let's get to work! (Meanwhile, in the Emperor's command center) Andromon: You summoned me, Your Highness? Wormmon: Please hold for the Digimon Emperor. Line 1 for you, sir.

I'm not sure why they didn't let Poromon still be upset about his sushi. That did happen last episode. Maybe they figured kids wouldn't remember well enough to get the reference.

The dub also takes its second commercial break here. It's a good spot for it.

We come straight back from commercial to a dual Armor Evolution sequence.

Daisuke & Takeru: DIGIMENTAL UP!!!

Fladramon: KNUCKLE FIRE!!!

While Takeru and Pegasmon soar above the Guardromon units with ease, Fladramon is forced to blaze open a path for Daisuke on foot. His Fire Knuckle neutralizes the Evil Rings on two Guardromon units, who he clears with a leap.

Fladramon: DAISUKE, HURRY!!! Daisuke: (panting) Easy for you to say!

Come on, Daisuke! Put those soccer legs to work! You know how much long-distance sprinting we had to do back on Server Continent? BACK IN MAH DAY--

For his part, Takeru uses his Digivice to track Hikari's.

Takeru: She's close!

In the dub:

Flamedramon: FIRE ROCKET!!! (Flamedramon takes out two Guardromon and hurdles them) Flamedramon: DAVIS, OVER HERE!!! Davis: I can't jump as high as you can! (T.K. follows his Digivice) T.K.: I'm getting Kari's signal! We're close!

Solid.

This whole city sprint thing isn't workout out for Daisuke and Fladramon, so they decide to try something new.

Fladramon picks up Daisuke with his left arm.

Fladramon: Hang on tight. Daisuke: Yeah!

With Daisuke very loosely secured, Fladramon bounds to the roof of a building, then hops through the city.

Daisuke: (quietly) Ahhhhhhhh! ...huh?

At the height of Fladramon's jump, Daisuke briefly spots Nefertimon flying through a nearby street.

Daisuke: There! It's Hikari-chan!

And not a moment too soon. A glancing shot from a Destruction Grenade knocks Nefertimon out of the air, sending her and Hikari tumbling into the street below. They land hard, throwing Hikari from the force of impact before Tailmon's stamina well bottoms out and she loses her form.

In the dub:

Flamedramon: You ready to jump a little higher? Davis: (reluctant) Well.... (Flamedramon jumps) Davis: --WAUGH!!! (Flamedramon bounds above the city) Davis: AHHHHHHHHHHH--huh? (Davis spots Nefertimon) Kari: Boy, am I glad to see you! Guardromon: GRENADE DESTROYER!!! (Guardromon shoot Kari down. Gatomon loses form) Guardromon: INTRUDER. DESTROY. Gatomon: (hiss)

XD Davis having second thoughts got me.

For some reason, they have Kari notice Davis too, despite facing the opposite direction far below him. This doesn't affect anything, though. It's a harmless change. Just odd.

Despite their crash landing, Hikari and Tailmon still manage to pick themselves up as best they can with what little strength they have. They grit their teeth and face down the enemy's advance.

Pegasmon: SILVER BLAZE!!! Fladramon: KNUCKLE FIRE!!!

That's a new one from Pegasmon. Silver Blaze is a triangular beam he fires from a triangle mark on his helmet. Fladramon's using an oldie but a goodie, but he goes far enough to punch his Knuckle Fire directly into Guardromon's Evil Ring himself.

Hikari: Daisuke-kun! Takeru-kun! You came back for me! Daisuke: Hehe, did you hear that, Takeru? She said 'Daisuke-kun' first! Takeru: ^_^;; Good for you.

Takeru's line here is a little ambiguous. His face is all smiles but his delivery is strained and quiet. Is Takeru a little exasperated by Daisuke's Daisuke-ness that's been on full display all episode, or is he actually jealous about that? You decide.

While Daisuke hurries on ahead, Takeru spots a flanking Guardromon coming down a side alley. He peels off to take care of that.

Pegasmon: NEEDLE RAIN!!!

While Takeru and Pegasmon are dealing with that, Daisuke and Fladramon get Hikari on her feet.

Daisuke: Come on, Hikari-chan! Hurry!

In the dub:

Pegasusmon: EQUUS BEAM!!! Flamedramon: FIRE ROCKET!!! (Pegasusmon and Flamedramon neutralize the enemy) Kari: Hey, Davis! T.K.! You guys are my heroes! Davis: Actually, it was mostly my idea but I decided to bring T.K. along for the ride! T.K.: Whatever! ...huh!? (T.K. peels off to deal with that flanking Guardromon) Pegasusmon: STAR SHOWER!!! (Pegasusmon takes out the enemy while Davis gets Kari on her feet) Davis: Come on, Kari, we'd better get going!

I don't think we're meant to take Davis's line here as him literally trying to take all the credit. Since the animation has him looking up at T.K. as he says it, it comes off more as a playful ribbing to T.K., conveying that they may be getting along better.

Ironically, as the lyrics to Break Up end on "It's time to go!", Daisuke and Hikari find their path blocked. Andromon steps out into the road ahead of them. An Evil Ring is fixed around his neck, though it blends in pretty well with his color palette.

Daisuke: It's a different one this time! Hikari: (excited) Andromon!

For his third rundown in two series, Andromon is a Perfect-stage Vaccine-attribute Cyborg Digimon. The Chosen Children minus Hikari first met him on File Island, in ironically similar situations to where they are now. Then, he was in charge of a machine factory but he was under the control of Devimon's Black Gear.

They met him again, with Hikari, on Spiral Mountain. Andromon was leading a solo resistance against the Metal Empire. He ended up signing on with Taichi's team to see things through to the end.

And now here he is, fixed with an Evil Ring around his neck. It seems that it's Andromon's curse to always be wherever evil seeks to dominate the machines of the Digital World.

Narrator: Andromon! An experimental Perfect-stage cyborg Digimon. They use their arms to fire their special attack, Spiral Sword!

Pretty sparse rundown. I guess the narrator's getting bored of having to go back and talk about this guy again.

As the rundown ends, Hikari's excitement evaporates. She sees the Evil Ring around Andromon's neck.

Hikari: (gasp) ...Andromon.... Andromon: On order of the Kaiser-sama: The Chosen Children must be eliminated. Hikari: STOP IT, ANDROMON!!! Don't you recognize us!? Daisuke: What are you talking about, Hikari-chan!? Fladramon, clear the path! Fladramon: On it. FIRE ROCKET!!!

We don't know how Armor Digimon measure up to Perfect but we are about to find out. Fladramon takes to the air, using the actual Fire Rocket that the dub's been misusing the name of. Wreathing his body in flames, he shoots down towards Andromon.

Andromon: SPIRAL SWORD!!!

Fladramon goes down in one shot. Spiral Sword breaks through Fire Rocket and slams into Fladramon's face with so much force that it breaks his Armor form. The Digimental of Courage returns to Daisuke while V-mon plummets helplessly into the street below, landing on the back of his head.

Daisuke: V-MON!!! (Daisuke runs to V-mon) Daisuke: Hey, hang in there! V-mon: (pained) I've never seen such a powerful attack before....

Indeed, he has not.

In the dub:

Davis: Why can't these guys ever be small!? Kari: (excited gasp) ANDROMON!!! Andromon: (rundown) I am Andromon! I have one mission: Seek out my enemy and destroy him with my Lightning Blade. Kari: Huh!? He's got a Dark Ring! Andromon...? Andromon: I am programmed to destroy the enemy. You are the enemy. I will destroy you. Kari: Andromon, don't you remember us? We're your friends! Davis: Kari, you're hanging around with the wrong people. Flamedramon, you'll have to use all your power! Flamedramon: You got it! FLAMING FIST!!! Andromon: LIGHTNING BLADE!!! (Andromon knocks Veemon out of form) Davis: Whah!? (Davis runs to Veemon) Davis: Veemon, speak to me! Veemon: (pained) You're kneeling on my tail....

Knuckle Fire is Fire Rocket while Fire Rocket is Flaming Fist. That makes sense.

I like that Kari's transition from exuberance to dismay seems to have been prompted by Andromon's diegetic rundown. Like hearing him say that was her first clue that something's wrong. Since characters are explaining the rundowns in-universe, it's fun when other characters react to them.

I think "You'll have to use all your power" is supposed to explain why Veemon lost his Armor form after being his attack was deflected. In the original, Andromon just hit him that hard. Fladramon ran face-first into the brick wall of Evolutionary Power Levels.

This is the File Island factory all over again, with Andromon manhandling Greymon and Garurumon simultaneously while the Children watch with WTF printed on their faces.

Like before, when they were dialed back the exhaustion factor, the dub uses that line to tone down how hard Veemon was hit here. They also scrub Veemon's line explaining how powerful Andromon's attack was, swapping it for a laugh line with alternative explanation for why Veemon is in physical pain.

Startled by what just happened, Pegasmon drops off Takeru. Takeru breaks for Daisuke and V-mon while Pegasmon engages the enemy.

Pegasmon: SHOOTING STAR!!!

Pegasmon's wings open to unveil the cosmos, and he launches a set of star-shaped projectiles from them. Very cool, but also kind of a spray-and-pray. Only one star actually reaches Andromon, who effortlessly blocks it with one arm.

Andromon: SPIRAL SWORD!!!

Pegasmon won't be defeated so easily as Fladramon. He flits down and to the side, evading Andromon's attack and--

Pegasmon: GACK!!!

The arcing blade curves around in midair and strikes him in the back. Pegasmon is defeated as easily as Fladramon. We don't see the moment of impact, but the Digimental of Hope returns to Takeru's pocket while Patamon falls helplessly into Takeru's arms.

Patamon: (defeated) I knew Perfect-stage would be too strong.... Daisuke: Perfect-stage!? The hell is that!?

Daisuke doesn't get an answer because Hikari chooses now to roll a Charisma check instead.

Hikari: Andromon, have you forgotten that we fought together? Takeru: Hikari-chan, we don't even know if this is the same Andromon from back then! Hikari: I know they are. Takeru: Even so, they're being controlled by that Ring. Your voice won't reach them. Hikari: You're wrong!

Hikari's pinning a lot of trust on an avenue that has, up to this point, shown no sign that it could work and every sign that it would not. But she wouldn't be queen of the Numemon or have found her Tailmon partner if she made cynical choices.

In the dub:

Pegasusmon: STAR SHOWER!!! (Andromon blocks) Andromon: LIGHTNING BLADE!!! (Lightning Blade KOs Pegasmon) Patamon: (delirious) I'll have two cheeseburgers and a large order of fries.... Davis: That didn't work, so what now!? Kari: Andromon, don't you remember how we fought together? Side by side? T.K.: Kari, we have to get out of here! We don't even know if it's the same Andromon! Kari: I'm sure that it's him! T.K.: Yeah, but even if it is, he's under the control of the Digimon Emperor. He can't even hear your voice! Kari: You don't know that!

Patamon gets the opposite treatment as Veemon, being knocked loopy in cartoon fashion. If they could edit little flying pigs circling his head, they probably would.

This, for the third time, serves to scrub out all mention of "HIM" being in a different weight class from all the Digimon we've seen so far in 02. The dub seems determined to avoid that topic, leaving it unclear why he's tearing through our boys so effortlessly.

Before Takeru and Hikari can argue any further, Daisuke gets in the middle of it.

Daisuke: What are you doing!? We have to run!

As he approaches, Andromon's scanner notices the goggles on Daisuke's head. His database pulls up an image of Taichi to compare. It concludes "SAME ITEM". Andromon suddenly stops, hesitating to go any further.

Tailmon: NOW!!!

Patamon, Veemon, and Tailmon lunge for Andromon together. He makes no attempt to defend himself. The moment before they reach him, a red beam from the sky strikes him in the chest, knocking him off his feet. The other Digimon pile on top of him, helping gravity to bring him down.

Veemon & Patamon: WE GOT HIM!!! Tailmon: That beam just now....

Only Tailmon was paying attention. She looks to the sky to find the source of that shot: Horusmon flying in to the rescue.

Horusmon: FLAPPING LOVE, HORUSMON!!! Digmon: TADAAAAAAA!!!

Digmon erupts from the earth nearby.

Digmon: With full belly and full power, it's Digmon-sama dagyaa! Here we go! GOLD RUSH!!!

Full of arrogance, Digmon fires off all drills. While Andromon stands up, Digmon's drills bounce so harmlessly off Andromon's metal hide that he doesn't even flinch.

Digmon: Gyehhhh... No effect at all!

Andromon's power ruined Digmon's cool entrance. XD This is karma for the kanpyoumaki.

In the dub:

Davis: As much as I like you two arguing, he's heading right for us! (Andromon notices Davis's goggles and hesitates) Gatomon: LET'S GO!!! (Halsemon's shot and the Digimon's tackle knocks Andromon off his feet) Veemon & Patamon: Yeah! Gatomon: Here comes help now! Halsemon: (soaring in) I'm glad we're not too late. Digmon: Hi, guys! I thought since I was here, I'd build this city a subway system! Hold still, you pile of scrap metal! GOLD RUSH!!! (No effect) Digmon: Hey, that comment about scrap metal was just a joke!

Digmon is too busy quipping for the tragic showmanship of his Japanese counterpart.

Taichi and Iori come running up the street.

Taichi: HIKARI!!! ARE YOU OKAY!?!? Hikari: Onii-chan, it's Andromon!

On Taichi's approach, Andromon begins scanning him too.

Taichi: Andromon, it's me! It's Taichi! Andromon: (hesitant) ...Taichi....

His scanner pulls Taichi's image out of his databank once more and compares, before concluding "SAME HUMAN".

Suddenly, the Evil Ring around Andromon's neck activate blips. The sigils carved in it pulse red for a second, with an audible beeping sound, and the Ring crackles with electricity. Andromon cries out in pain and marches forward, swinging his arms.

Taichi scurries away from the attacking Andromon but Hikari stands her ground. He stops when he reaches her, staring her down, and Hikari stares him down right back.

Hikari: ... Andromon: ...

For the next ten seconds, Hikari and Andromon remain in a silent deadlock.

In the dub:

Tai: Kari! Are you okay! Kari: Yeah! But Tai, it's Andromon! (Andromon scans Tai) Tai: Andromon! Slow down! It's me, Tai! Andromon: Tai who? (Scanner matches Tai) Andromon: Oh, Tai! (Dark Ring activates and makes Andromon attack) Davis: KARI, LOOK OUT!!!

Thanks, Davis. Tai/chi rolled a 1 on his Onii-chan Save when he scurried away and left Hi/Kari right in the path of violence. But at least his kouhai Davis was watching out for her. From a safe distance.

The Crest of Courage!

(In seriousness, it's kind of amazing how we have three separate people ready and willing to throw themselves recklessly into danger to protect Hikari on-hand right at this moment. And yet, not one of them even tries to physically move her away from Andromon for this entire scene, with Taichi even leaving her behind when he flees Andromon's attack.

Hikari's putting off an impenetrable aura of "MY GODDAMN SCENE, ASSHOLES" that even Courage must yield to.)

Though they give Davis that one extra line, the dub lets those tense ten seconds of silence pass uninterrupted.

Andromon finally breaks the stalemate, grabbing Hikari by her shoulders and lifting her up.

Taichi: HIKARI!!! Tailmon: WAIT!!!

The second Hikari's feet leave the ground, everyone tries to jump in. Taichi, Daisuke, Takeru, and even Iori all move at once, surging towards Andromon. But Tailmon's warning cuts them off. She wants to let this play out.

With the gentle tones of the original OVA theme playing out, Hikari keeps staring into Andromon's eyes.

Hikari: Andromon? Andromon: ...Hikari...?

Andromon's scanner finds her image too.

Hikari: (teary-eyed) We took a picture together, didn't we?

A tear falls from Hikari's eye, landing on Andromon's face. In that moment, the rest of the image he's been drawing up appears around Taichi and Hikari. Though blurry and pixelized, it's unmistakably the vague impression of that photo they took on the Children's last day in the Digital World.

Andromon: A picture....

In the dub:

Boys: Huh!? Gatomon: Hey, you put her down now! Kari: Do you remember me? Andromon: I am... trying.... (Scanner matches Kari) Andromon: Yes! Kari: (teary-eyed) We all took a picture together Andromon: ...a picture....

The dub has Gatomon yell at Andromon instead of stopping the boys. This change disrupts the action of the scene. We see them rush for Andromon and then... nothing comes of it and we move right along to Kari's emotional moment.

What happened to the boys? Why aren't they trying to intervene, when we saw them doing that a second ago?

Andromon's close to breaking free, but he needs one more push. Hikari's Digivice falls from her pocket. Glowing with holy light, it hits his shoulder as it falls and breaks the dam.

Andromon: That's right... We all... took a commemorative photo....

Piece by piece, the photo in his memory fills in. Despite the Evil Ring, Andromon remembers.

Andromon: ...I've been under the control of this thing.

Now fully in control of his faculties again, Andromon reaches up and breaks off his own Evil Ring.

Hikari: (happy) Andromon! Andromon: (nods)

In the dub:

Andromon: Faces... long ago... DigiDestined... I love jigsaw puzzles... Now I see the complete picture! (Andromon returns to normal) Andromon: Kari! I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused. (Andromon breaks off his own Dark Ring) Kari: (happy) Andromon! Andromon: (nods) Mhm!

Every time I feel like there isn't enough dialogue for a section, we get a line like "I love jigsaw puzzles". Abridged Parody-ass line awkwardly undercutting the emotional moment with quipping.

Andromon is free, but the city isn't. He turns his fury on the Kaiser's obelisk.

Andromon: Dark Tower... How dare you do this to us!? GATLING MISSILE!!!

Once more demonstrating the difference between Perfect strength and our own, Andromon's Gatling Missile rips the Tower apart in a single shot. His missiles impact the center, not only snapping off the upper portion but knocking over the lower section from the force of impact. The Tower crumbles beneath Andromon's power as easily as Fladramon and Pegasmon did.

With the signal to their Evil Rings lost, all Guardromon units in the city shut down.

Hikari: Hey... Are the Guardromon going to stay broken like this? Isn't there a way to return them to normal? Andromon: They're fine. We just need to restore the programming that the Evil Ring altered. Then they'll revert to normal.

Andromon demonstrates, first punching off the now useless Evil Ring from a Guardromon, then reaching his cables inside to reconfigure the unit.

Andromon: And then we will never allow the Kaiser to have his way here again. We will protect this city.

Andromon finishes with this unit. The Guardromon springs back to consciousness, raising their fists in jubilation at being free.

In the dub:

Andromon: That Control Spire is responsible for all this. Well, no more! GATLING ATTACK!!! (Andromon easily annihilates the Dark Tower) Kari: Andromon, are all of these Guardromon going to stay broken forever? Andromon: No. Their programs were rewritten by the Digimon Emperor. They just need to be reprogrammed. Watch. (Andromon punches off a Dark Ring and reprograms a Guardromon) Andromon: Actually, once I reprogram the Guardromon, I'll stay here to protect them in case the Digimon Emperor returns. (Andromon finishes) Guardromon: I feel fresh as a daisy!

The dub takes its third commercial break here, with that proclamation.

Dub Andromon doesn't seem quite as outraged as his counterpart, but this is nonetheless pretty close to original.

The Chosen Children return to Computer Club, only to find an angry Koushiro waiting for them.

Miyako: Izumi-senpai!? What are you doing here!? Koushiro: Shh! be quiet!

Koushiro and Taichi escort the junior team out of the building. When they reach the gate, Taichi checks to make sure it's clear before they all emerge into the night.

Koushiro: (increasingly angry) Yamato-san told me what was happening. I checked the Gate Sensor on my computer, where I saw that the Gate was, in fact, still open! And if a teacher came in and shut off the power, WHAT WOULD ANY OF YOU HAVE DONE THEN!?!?

Been screwed. They would have been screwed. None of them have an answer, and they all look sheepish as they follow. Except Hikari, who is offscreen during this scolding because she didn't make the reckless choice send the full team in and hold no one back.

Taichi: Heeeeey, I think that's enough. Really, you just wanted to go too, huh? Koushiro: TAICHI-SAN!!!

That isn't technically a no, but no, I think Taichi missed the mark. I think Koushiro is mad for exactly the reason he's explaining here. This poor neurodivergent boy had to trespass in a dark computer room after-hours and babysit the computer for what might have been up to an hour or two. I'd be furious too.

In the dub:

Davis: Come on, guys! Let's go home! (Reality-crossing stock animation) Tai: Izzy, were you waiting this whole time!? (long pause) Izzy: Shh. Let's go.

There's an awkward silence where Miyako's supposed to speak, but one that makes sense. They forgot to animate lip flaps for Miyako during her line. I guess the dub decided not to have anyone speak when everyone's mouths are onscreen and nobody's lips are moving so that it doesn't look like an obvious mistake.

Instead, they move the line and have it spoken during the preceding shot, which is a closeup of Koushiro's angry face, freeing up other characters for dialogue.

This leaves a couple seconds of dead air where Miyako's line is supposed to go, in which nobody moves or says anything at all. Which is awkward but entirely the fault of the original scene for not animating Miyako's lip flaps.

Why they gave her line to Tai, however, I have no answer for.

Izzy: Matt just called and told me what had happened with Kari. And I'm really upset that you guys have left me out of the loop! Cody called Tai for help and Tai called Matt, but no one ever calls me until the adventure is all over with! Tai: Come on, Izzy. Don't be like that. There was just no time to call you. You know you're a big part of the team. Izzy: THAT'S RIGHT!!!

The dub takes Taichi's alternate explanation and runs with it. Izzy is furiously jealous to such an irrational extreme that he self-defeats his own argument.

Like. We have to briefly mention the fact that Tai did not call Matt. It's not clear how Matt found out but his conversation with Tai established two things: That Matt just sorta heard about this through the grapevine somehow but was under no expectation of participating, and that he did not hear it from Tai.

But setting that aside, Izzy makes three statements here:

1 - Matt called and told me. 2 - I've been excluded from the group. 3 - Because Cody called Tai and Tai called Matt but no one called me.

Um. Izzy, what the fuck are you on about? Sounds like you were the next person in the chain. If anyone's derelict in their communication duty, it's you for not passing it along to... Sora or Joe, I guess.

Incidentally, this alternate version of Izzy's anger makes the shot of the junior team looking embarrassed and ashamed super confusing. What are they ashamed of? They did nothing wrong here. Tai and Izzy are just... having a spat, I guess.

Suddenly, Koushiro remembers he had something else to talk to the team about.

[Pic]

Koushiro: Right. Earlier, I got an email from a friend of mine in America. I'd asked them to analyze the data from Miyako-kun's Digivice. The results are in. Taichi: A friend in America? Koushiro: They've helped me a lot in the past. Taichi: Ahh, I remember!

IT'S WILLIS

This feels like it's supposed to be a callback to Our War Game but, ironically, the only time an American friend was pivotal to the plot was in the dub. So far as I know, this American friend that Taichi also knows is never extrapolated on.

It can probably be assumed that they're part of Koushiro's hacking nakama from that OVA.

Koushiro: So, about Miyako-kun and the others' Digivices. (Each of them takes out their Digivices to look at them) Koushiro: It said, "Digital", "Detect", and "Discover". These words were found inscribed within the data. Because all three of them begin with the letter "D", we'll refer to them as D-3 going forward. We've also found some other interesting things, such as-- Chibimon: (stomach gurgle) I'm hungry, Daisuke! Daisuke: (stomach gurgle) Ah! (sheepish) Me too.... Taichi: Koushiro, we can talk about this tomorrow. We all desperately need to get home soon. It's way past dinner time! Group: AHHHHHHH!!!

The group disperses and runs for it. Every child for themselves!

In the dub, Izzy's still ranting about being excluded.

Izzy: And as a team member, I expect to be treated with the same respect I give to all of you! I may not be as strong as you or Matt, but I've gotten us out of just as many jams with my particular skills! Tai: (resigned) I'm sorry I didn't call you. Izzy: Now that's what I call respect. Okay, I forgive you. Tai: Wow, that was easy!

This fills the space where the discussion of Koushiro's mysterious American friend goes. Kind of a shame because we're about a month out from the release of Digimon: The Movie so this would have been a golden opportunity to shill Willis and whet the audience's appetite. XD

Izzy: Oh, I almost forgot the reason I came here. I examined the new Digivices-- (Everyone takes out their Digivice) Izzy: --and determined that they have three different settings: Digital, Detect, and Discover. Maybe we should call them D-3s from now on. Prodigious little devices, aren't they? I had a lot of help with the research from my friend Willis in America. Maybe you guys will meet him some day.

NEVER MIND, THERE IT IS

Good job, Dub Team. No marketer worth their salt would ever let a golden opportunity like this pass them up.

Izzy: Anyway, I think the D-3s might have sent a message to Andromon's memory banks which then made him--AUGH!!! DemiVeemon: Please finish talking after we eat! Davis: HUH!? Ugh, we forgot about dinner! Tai: That's right! Our parents are waiting for us! The food's probably cold and soggy by now. Of course, for my mom, that's an improvement. Let's go!

The curse of the missing sound effects strikes again. Nobody's stomachs rumble, which leaves Izzy suddenly reacting to nothing in particular. DemiVeemon's line at least flows into Davis's without the gurgle. There is a sound for him, but it's a wacky spring sound to signal his distressing realization.

Fortunately, they still managed to make Izzy shut up about whatever he's wrong about now. XD No, Izzy, the D-3s did not "send a message to Andromon's memory banks".

Meanwhile, poor Yamato is already home and desperately trying to finish that dinner he promised.

Hiroaki: You're awfully late today, Yamato. If I'd known, I could have gotten something while I was out. Yamato: It's fine. I'll get it made.

The nagging won't get it cooked any faster, Hiroaki. I'm starting to understand why you're divorced.

Hiroaki: Oh, did something happen? Yamato: (fuming, thinking) I have to go on a date! Daisuke, you owe me big for this one. (Smoke begins to rise from the pan while Yamato's not paying attention) Hiroaki: Hey, Yamato! Something's burning.... Yamato: (snaps out of it) Huh!? Oh, crap!

Never mind, Hiroaki. Nag away. You lose the high ground when you set the apartment on fire.

Across town, Ken's mother wheels Ken's dinner to his room on a fucking cart.

Mother: Ken-chan? I'm leaving your dinner here.

As if this is simply routine, she leaves the cart outside Ken's door and leaves.

Inside Ken's room, he's already returned from the Digital World. He sits in the dark, illuminated only by the glow of his monitor, and stews.

Ken: So then, to control them at Perfect-stage... Does this mean the Evil Ring is insufficient?

We leave the episode here, with Ken pondering the results of this recent trial run. I'm sure good things will come of this.

In the dub:

Hiroaki: Some girl named Jun called today, Matt, and she said you had a date with her on Friday. She wanted me to tell you that she made dinner reservations for you two at Morealis (???). Matt: Morealis? What's that? Hiroaki: The most expensive restaurant in town. Matt: (fuming, thinking) This is all Davis's fault. I can't believe I have to take his sister out on a date! Hiroaki: Hey Matt, something smells great! I'm getting hungry? Matt: (snaps out of it) Huh!? Uagh... dinner's ready!?

Dub Jun is incredibly proactive. Holy shit, she is milking this for all it's worth.

The dub leaves the audience to infer the state of dinner, based both on the massive amounts of smoke and Matt's horrified reaction. XD

Ken's Mother: Supper time! Ken, dear! You're busy. I'll leave it outside your door! (Ken's mom leaves the cart; Cut to interior) Ken: Blast, those Digivices are becoming a nuisance to me! I've gotta get them away from those kids! Narrator: What is the Digimon Emperor's plot against the DigiDestined? Find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

And we close the dub with one last scrubbing of all mention of Perfect-stage Digimon.

Implicitly agreeing with Izzy that the D-3 was responsible for the Andromon incident, Dub Ken schemes to strip the DigiDestined of their Digivices. That's not what's driving the plot forward though so we'll see if that gets followed up on or not.

Also, his mom is much more upbeat and positive about the cart thing. In contrast to Japanese Mama, she makes it sound like she's actually expecting Ken to come out at first.

Assessment: Okay. So. I need to go off about this.

The fun thing about the triangle dynamic between Daisuke, Takeru, and Hikari is that Takeru and Hikari have a close friendship but not one that is necessarily romantic. Though one that absolutely could be romantic, and the creators are not shy about teasing them as a ship. See above, re: Takeru's hand in shippy places in the back of that one shot.

But while certain other pairings absolutely do close off into canon coupling, Takeru and Hikari remain ambiguous, and that makes the dynamic with Daisuke so much more interesting. Daisuke is jealous of the close bond Takeru and Hikari have right from the start, but misdiagnoses it as Takeru and Hikari coupling up.

While we, the audience, know exactly what it is. Whether or not there are romantic feelings involved is irrelevant. What Daisuke's jealous of is Takeru and Hikari's bond of shared experiences that no one their age could possibly understand or relate to. They went to war together. They dangled from that rope over Piemon's observatory together.

Hikari is not interested in Daisuke romantically. But that disinterest is unrelated to whatever feelings she may or may not have for Takeru. Whether she does or doesn't, she doesn't need to have feelings for Takeru to not want to go out with Daisuke.

Daisuke declared Takeru to be his love rival on day 1, to Takeru's eternal confusion. Daisuke thinks this is a love triangle. But what's really going on here is that Daisuke is shadow-boxing Hikari and Takeru's fire-forged bond of mutual trauma. And losing.

This episode really emphasizes how much of a rookie Daisuke is. Both in terms of his understanding of Digimon metaphysics and also with the core dynamics of the Chosen Children nakama. He is very much The New Guy, a position he chafes at.

Nonetheless, despite spending a decent chunk of it on Takeru and Daisuke, this episode is about neither of them. It's about Hikari and, specifically, how much she means to the people in her life due to her strength of will and force of personality.

It's a combination of factors that make the Evil Ring break down.

Perfect-stage Digimon are too powerful to reliably be controlled.

Hikari weaponizing her relationship with Andromon to compel him to resist.

Hikari's intrinsic holy light, channeled through her Digivice, doing what it used to do to Black Gears.

All three of these factors together resulted in Andromon's unprecedented moment of willfully breaking free from the Kaiser's control device.

This was only possible because Andromon is Perfect, but this was Hikari's victory.

[storiesfromafan]

When He's Gone

A/N: first night of house sitting and doggo watching, which means I could finish part two to this. But I am going to make this a 3 parter, as it just felt right to end it where i did 😅

I will also have a poll at the end of this part, feel free to vote.

Warning/s: angst, sadness, maybe you'll cry, possible spelling/grammer mistakes, briefly revised

Tag list: @charmingballoon @strayrockette

Word got back to you, a few days after that night, that Benny had taken off that night. Betty had told you over coffee how Benny had stormed back into the bar, dark mood hanging over him. She said how Johnny had been the one to approach him at the bar – chugging down a beer as Johnny reached his side.

“Ya alright kid?” Johnny asked, concern written on his face.

Finally removing the bottle from his lips, and practically slamming it on the bar, Benny looked at the wall across from him. His face set in a hard scowl. “She ended it...and I gave it to her".

Johnny – looking to Cal, who’d stepped up to Benny's other side – had a confused yet worried look upon his face. Not sure what Benny meant. “Ah, ya gave it to her?” He questioned wanting clarification.

The man at focus nodded his head. “Yeah. She wanted it to be over, so I gave it to her...told her we were over then...”

Both Johnny and Cal sighed, though they knew Benny would never lay a hand on a woman. But his current mood, and words, gave a different opinion. Placing his hand on his shoulder, Johnny stared at Benny's face. Waiting for the man to look to him. And after downing the last of his beer he finally looked to the older Vandal.

“What happened?” Johnny asked calmly, needing the whole story.

So Benny told him what happened. How you took off out of the bar, how he followed you and called out what was wrong. You declaring you were done. Standing in the middle of the road airing out your issues at the hand of the women hanging around the bar, and him. He told you everything you’d said or done wrong, yet never mentioned or admitted to his involvement. How he shut down or let that voice in his head win. Benny would never voice how he was half to blame, never taking ownership of his part that played in your breakup.

“Sounds like she had a good reason to be mad" stated Johnny, gaze hard and righteous.

Benny turned to look at the empty beer bottle, knowing the man was right, that you were right. Yet Benny couldn’t admit it. If he did, he would have to agree with a lot you said. Such as how he put the club and his bike over you. Even though he tried to keep it all balanced.

“What do you love more; her or ya bike?” The older Vandal asked.

Benny kept his gaze on the bottle, mind thinking over the question. And yet he couldn’t answer it. How could he pick which one he loved more? Both were different in their own way, but both brought him such joy and happiness. Sure, his bike couldn’t mouth off to him but would play up. While you, you were full of opinions and ideas, but also cared for him like no one else ever had.

When Cal spoke up, along with a few others, saying how stupid it was to flip out and breakup because you’d said it. How walking away from that fine ass – which was meant to be a light hearted jest – was the biggest mistake. Or how you’d find another man quick smart. It all triggered something in Benny, anger and hurt.

Without a word, he shrugged off Johnny's hand before heading for the front door. He could hear Johnny going off at the men that spoke. But Benny didn’t care. He’d gotten some harsh criticism and truths. He was done. He needed to get away, clear his head and hopefully his heart. Which was aching. Getting on his bike, Benny didn’t waste time starting up the engine and  pulling away from the curb, riding through town and off into the night, and wherever the road would take him.

You sat back in your seat at the small kitchen table, lit cigarette in hand which was resting on the table top. Betty sat across from you, watching you closely to gauge your reaction to the story she just told you. Lifting your hand you took the last drag of the cigarette, holding it for as long as you could before releasing the smoke. You then stubbed it out in the ashtray.

“I see...” was all you could say.

You weren’t surprised he’d taken off. It’s what he did best. Running from his problems rather than working through them. It’s like putting a band aid on a broken arm. Him running away just showed how immature, or scared, Benny was. Eventually he’ll blow back into town and act like nothing happened. And that’s fine. He could do that. You don’t care, you won’t be sitting around waiting for him. If he will even come crawling back to you.

“Well it’s going to be quiet around Grand and Division for a while then" you stated, like it was fact.

Betty looked concerned, “you ain’t worried about him?”

You sighed. “Sure, I’ll always worry about him...but he made his choice. He gave up. And sure, I instigated the breakup...but he put the final nail in the coffin, so to say".

She nodded, moving to take another sip of her coffee.

“Once he’s mind is made up, that’s it...” you muttered. “So I won’t mope around. It’s not worth it...”

You left it at that. No more to say on the matter that is Benny Cross. That chapter of your life had come to an end. The next, new chapter was all about you and whatever you do with yourself. Time to pick yourself up and dust yourself off. But there were times you would find yourself crying, mainly at night, over him. Even though you didn’t want to, nor did he deserve your tears. During the day and around people, you put on a strong front, that you almost believed.

The first month of Benny’s absence was hard. You noted it as the withdrawal stage. Missing and wanting him because he wasn’t there. Various Vandal's came to check in on you, though you felt more like they were sniffing around. Trying to find out if Benny had reached out to you, but mainly testing the waters for themselves. See if you were desperate that you’d give them the time of day. And they were mistaken, you’d never go for another Vandal.

At the end of the first month Johnny paid you a visit. He was checking in on you, making sure you were doing alright and if you needed anything. You were nice – even if you shouldn’t be – Johnny wasn’t the one to do all this, it was Benny. You got him a beer, while you had tea, and sat at your kitchen table, which reminded you of when Betty had been there. Both of them were a like, and it warmed your broken heart.

Eventually he dropped the bomb he’d had word on Benny, he was fine and just moving around. It was a relief for you, hearing your ex was alive. The older man told you Benny would be back in time, and it would all work out. But would it? Did you want that?

“I don’t think I want it to work out...I can’t keep doing this, Johnny" you admitted looking him in the eyes. “I can’t be the back-up...”

Johnny tried to reason with you, but you’d made your mind up. Once he had finished his beer, and this conversation wasn’t going his way, he said he had to get going. Politely you walked him to the front door, even watching and waving as he rode off on his bike. That was that. You’d finally put your foot down. And Johnny knew that.

The second month since Benny left, you finally felt more yourself, freer even. You had been focusing on work at the diner. Still getting those passing through town that would flirt with you, and you’d continue to turn them down. Only this time not adding you had a boyfriend. One particular truck driver – a man a few years older than you and easy on the eyes – tried his luck, and when you just said thank you, but not interested, he noted your lack of words.

“No sorry, I got a boyfriend?” He asked, rather surprised.

You flinched, which didn’t go unnoticed. “Nope, no boyfriend...” you muttered moving around the counter.

“Huh. That’s surprisin” he stated playing with his coffee cup. “What happened? If ya don’t mind me askin'?”

Without going into detail, you gave him the summed-up version. Giving the short version hurt less, as it didn’t bring up every issue you and Benny had. And the man was nice, understanding and ended it by saying Benny hadn’t deserved you. That you would find someone to love you completely. Against your better judgement, you believed his words. Even if part of you didn’t want someone else to love you, or for yourself to love another.

Your love with Benny was one of a kind. It was good, yet bad and messy. With its ups and downs. It was wild. It was passion. It was unlike anything you’d experienced. As was Benny. You had admired him from a far, not wanting to get close or involved with him. But that man wouldn’t have that, chasing you until you gave in. And you had been so happy to. Let go and go with the flow.

Yet, it was that love that hurt when you both would fight. Or when he’d take off for weeks. Left to cry and hurt, heart aching because of how you loved that man. But was it like that for him? Hurting from how you’d both fired up and left it? Did he over think it all, and try to pinpoint where it went wrong? Probably not, that wasn’t Benny's style.

A few weeks into month three of no Benny, a few friends of yours – ones that don’t run in the Vandal circle – finally talked you into going with them to the movies. You weren’t in the mood for their girl time, as it was more superficial and of no substance, or really going out. But somehow, they talked you into it.

So Friday night, after your shift, you got home and had a shower. From there you did your hair and light make up, you had to put some effort into your appearance with these women. They were all about looks. You went with a simple (colour) swing dress, that had a rounded collar, sleeveless and a matching belt to accentuate the waist.

Sitting at your vanity you put in some earrings and then your necklace. Which you only noticed, as it lay against the fabric of your dress, was the locket that Benny had gotten you. Staring at the locket, you allowed your finger tips to graze the metal. Part of you told you to take it off, put it away and leave it in the past. Yet, you couldn’t. The locket was something special, something Benny had given you on your birthday, after you had seen it when window shopping one time. That man might have only glanced it, but remembered it completely. And you told yourself, you felt better having a part of him with you.

Not thinking about it again, you got up, put on some shoes and grabbed your bag. Once outside the door, you drove to the movie theatre. Only then were you privy to the fact this three girls movie night was actually a triple date, a blind one for you. Being left out of the loop ticked you off, and eventually you voiced that before going into the movie, when the men went to get drinks and snacks.

“Calm down (Y/N), will you!” Fussed Sally.

You huffed. “All I’m saying is that I would have liked to have known this was a triple date!”

“Honestly, if she had told you the truth, would you have came?” Questioned Ann.

You stood there for a moment silent, knowing you wouldn’t have agreed to it. “No...”

Both women shared a look. “Exactly. That’s why I didn’t tell you" Sally stated softly. “You need to go out, date even. It’s over with him, he’s gone".

You detested how they didn’t say Benny's name, never had as they didn’t like him or think him good enough for you. But also, you were glad they didn’t say it now, or else you might have gotten upset. You knew they had a point. You had to go out and live your life. You had just wanted to do it with the Vandal by your side.

The conversation died then as the men returned. Both your friends linked arms with their dates, while you chose to walk awkwardly beside the guy you were paired with. He was nice, not pushy or a jerk. He was quiet sweet. Making small talk and just being friendly in a genuine way. The movie was alright, but not something you would have seen if it wasn’t for Sally and Ann. After the movie both women and their dates left, leaving you with Andrew. He was kind enough to walk you to your car.

“I hope your night wasn’t a waste" he started, “I mean – you had a good time, even if it’s not what you expected!” He sighed flustered. “I-it’s just, I know you didn’t know about me...when I thought you did. I’m sorry you got roped into this date. But I hope it wasn’t too bad...”

For the first time in months you softly smiled, a small chuckle coming from your chest. Sure, he tripped over his words but he was sincere. Andrew was a nice, good guy. Sweet to being chatty, like friends hanging out, while your friends and their dates got cosy and kissed. He respected you, were another men wouldn’t have been.

“Thank you” you thanked softly. “Though I was blind sided, I had a good time" – Andrew visually relaxed and beamed a relieved smile – “you are a sweet man. I’m just not ready to date...I hope you understand".

He nodded slowly, a sad look shining in his eyes. “It’s alright. I do understand, though am a little sad. But I can take away that you had a good evening, at least".

You reach over and held his hand. “I did, you are a wonderful man".

Fate is a cruel mistress, always ruining your life at the worst time. And this was another one. That was the moment a roar of an approaching engine bounced along the street. And with its ever increasing volume, the familiar bike and rider came into view. Benny rode by, not seeming to notice your car or you at first. But those stormy blues finally zeroed in on you both. You could imagine what would be going through that pretty head of his. Not to mention the possible anger.

You’re not his girl anymore... came that little voice in the back of your head, you broke up...

Once Benny rode on, not even looking back or turning around, that told you everything. He was done, actually done. It was all over between you both, possibly never to get back together. That ache in your chest returned, and with it the want to cry. Quickly you said your goodbyes before getting into your car, and heading home. Not giving Andrew much room to speak before you were gone.

You felt the familiar warmth and sting to your eyes, but held them back for now. Driving towards your house you had hoped to see Benny and his bike out the front of your house, or in your drive way. But turning into the drive way there was nothing. Parking the car and turning it off, the first couple of tears escaped. Sitting in the driver seat you were frozen, sad to not see him here.

After a few minutes you managed to get out of the car, not very gracefully, and headed towards your front door. With every step a tear fell from your eyes, rolling down your cheeks. When you were finally inside, door closed and locked, you slide to a sitting position, back against the door as you freely cried. Ugly crying and barely able to breath properly. Even with the anger and the fight being justified, but you loved and missed Benny. And the hole in your chest confirmed that.

A/N: thought I'd give you all a say in how part three goes 😊

[kariachi]

Damn this fandom is split on this one. Apparently the only thing fuckers can agree on is that this is not a case of Servantis implanting false memories. Which is a shame because I do think that's the funniest option in the poll.

But I digress, we move on to the breakdown.

Only one person thinks that it didn't actually happen until Ben fucked things up, which i suppose would be a fitting punishment for Argit's part in the whole destruction of the universe thing. But that's only half the people who think that it used to have happened, but Ben- presumably accidentally- absolved him of the crime when he remade everything.

Two people think Argit sold his mom for reasons that either aren't listed in the poll or are just very complicated.

Two people think he didn't sell his mom and instead lied about it for reasons that aren't in the poll or are just very complicated.

And another two believe that either something entirely different happened that isn't in the poll (I tried to be thorough but there's only so much I can do) or the whole thing is a complicated mess that doesn't fall into one category!

And all those three make sense. Selling your mom, or in the case of the latter just Argit's backstory in general, is probably a very complicated situation. There's probably a lot going on.

Meanwhile, three people voted for Argit having lied about selling his mom due to trauma. Which, yeah, we've seen the guy, would not be surprising to learn that there's some shit going that deep. I've seen at least one person elsewhere mention the idea that he lied about it as a way of dealing with being sold by her, which... Would be an option.

Then four people voted for Argit having sold his mom because he's an asshole which, yeah, we've seen the guy. He's an asshole. And it's probably what was intended by canon.

And another four voted that he sold his mom out of desperation, which would make a hell of a fucking story. You don't see too many things with kids getting desperate and selling their parents, normally it's the other way around.

And then, a fucking tie for first place, because of course it is I've seen this fandom with polls.

In Corner A, five people stand for the idea that Argit sold his mom out of a desire for vengeance. They looked at this guy, who lets be real has a lot of shit going on so I don't think any of us would be surprised if he had a crap upbringing, and went 'I bet his mom was so shit he sold her out of a sense of 'fuck you and the horse you rode in on''. Which, valid.

In Corner B, five people hold that it didn't happen, and instead that Argit lied vehemently about it to bolster his ego and standing. Which again, valid, we've all met him. I mean come on, he went into politics of all things, what can we put passed a corrupt politician? Nothing. Again, completely valid take.

So our opinions are spread out, but what does that mean for the baseline concept? Where does the fandom fall on whether or not this guy sold his mom?

If we include the 'Ben changed shit' options, working with the original state of things, and leaving out the 'it's complicated'- 56.7% believe Argit sold his mom, while 36.7% believe he didn't.

If we leave out the 'Ben changed shit' options alongside the 'it's complicated'- 50% believe Argit sold his mom, while 33.3% believe he didn't.

Out of those who think Argit sold his mom and gave specific reasons-

33.3% believe he did so out of some sort of vengeance

26.6% believe he did so because he's an asshole

Another 26.6% believe he did so out of desperation

13.3% believe he did so for some other or more complicated reasons

Out of those who think Argit didn't sell his mom and gave specific reasons-

50% believe he claimed to to bolster his ego and/or standing

30% believe he claimed to as a way of dealing with trauma

20% believe he claimed to for some other or more complicated reason

Overall, when it comes to reasons for Argit's action, whatever they are-

36-56% believe his reasons were likely tied to poor morals (depending on how one classes 'act of vengeance')

48% believe his reasons were likely tied to a tragic backstory (including 'act of vengeance' because, well, you gotta have something to be vengeful about)

16% believe his reasons weren't listed in the poll or were likely complicated

So, there you have it folks. The numbers for our fandom, such as they are. A small majority of us seem to think he sold his mom, and roundabouts half believe that whether he did or not there's probably tragedy behind it. But even then, it's all rather close.

That's fandom for you.

Said I'd do this eventually, get some opinions from the fandom...

[demaparbat-hp]

Character design for Katara in Soundless.

[triglycercule]

oh yeah before i forget cute mttpoly headcanon because i said so: when killer finds out (through SOME way of means. he has his ways) that dust and horror like something then at every chance he can he goes and finds that thing for them :3 because I SAID SO AND IT'S CUTE ‼️‼️ (something something killer has no idea how to properly show affection and appreciation after believing his whole life was meant to cause pain and suffering to those close to him and now that he's trying he does silly goofy stuff like this hehe,,,,,,, dust is DROWNING in piles of fluffy blankets and books. horror cannot keep up with eating the amount of snacks killer keeps stealing for him 😞😞😞)