#but who knows and even if it does this will be yet another thing that takes the littlest bits of muscle tissue i have on me away once again

[chosok-amo]

+ wc. daddy kink! toji, fingering, degrading, you give him viagra.

toji fushiguro has never felt this way before in his life. he’s always been a sexually charged man— always had a high libido, but this? this is becoming ridiculous. he’s not sure what the cause of it is, but he’s sitting at his desk at work. his fingers mindlessly type away at the keyboard, hand fiddling with the mouse, but his thoughts are only on one thing.

why on earth is he feeling so hot? fuck, and why is his cock so hard? why are beads of sweat beginning to form on his forehead? he glances at the clock feverishly, muttering a curse to himself as he realises he’s only two hours into an eight hour shift. fuck, what does he do? what does he do?

the first thing he can think of is you, grabbing his phone with slightly shaky hands as he opens up your contact and presses on the call button. he glances around, making sure nobody in the office is close enough to hear, and listens to it ring. the moment you pick up, you hardly get a greeting out before he’s hissing into the receiver.

“alright, ya’ fuckin’ brat, what’d ya do?”

your response on the other end is a stifled giggle and a denial of responsibility on your part. he curls his upper lip, knowing immediately that that laugh means you do have something to do with this.

“don’t fuck around with me, girl, i know it’s your doin’. now tell me, what did you do, why is my cock so damn hard right now?”

you let out another small giggle, shaking your head even though he can't see you through the phone. you lean back against your pillows, stretching out comfortably as you reply in a light, teasing tone. “aw, poor baby. having some... trouble down there?” you ask innocently, drawing out the last word for emphasis. you can practically picture the scowl on his face, which only makes you grin wider.

“maybe if you're a good boy and beg nicely, i'll tell youuu..” you trail off suggestively, enjoying the power you seem to have over him in this moment. a thrill runs through you at the thought of reducing such a strong, confident man to pleading for relie— and all from the comfort of your own bed, no less.

he grunts, rolling his eyes at your innocent act. how you think you can fool him, he doesn't know. maybe because you're so fucking young? whatever the reason, it's working. he feels his cock throbbing in agreement with your suggestion, a low growl rumbling in his chest.

“beg, huh? alright then, princess,” his voice drops to a low purr, “on your knees for me, sugar. show me just how much you want to help your big bad toji.” he chuckles, shifting in his seat as he waits for your response. he knows you won't disappoint— not when there's fun to be had.

you smirk to yourself, quite pleased with how easily you've gotten under his skin. you sit up straighter, crossing your legs primly as you respond in a sweet, sing-song voice.

“ohhhh toji, you know i'd love to! but...” you draw out the word dramatically, “...i don't think i will. after all, i'm comfy right where i ammm.”

you giggle again, delighting in the frustrated noise he makes on the other end of the line. you can almost feel the heat of his glare through the phone, and it sends a delicious shiver down your spine.

“besides, didn't anyone ever teach you it's rude to make demands? if you wanna play, you gotta learn some manners first,” you punctuate your words with a wink, even though he can't see it.

his eyes narrow, the annoyance clear in his gaze as he leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “well isn't that just fucking rich? demanding manners from someone who clearly hasn't learned them yet themselves.”

he lets out a huff, running a hand through his dark hair in frustration. but despite himself, he can't help but smile at your antics. “fine then, brat. how ’bout this? how ‘bout i give you a little taste of what you're denying me?”

there's a pause as he takes a moment to adjust himself, the sound of rustling fabric filling the silence between you both. he clears his throat, his voice dropping lower still. “how ‘bout i take matters into my own hands instead?”

you bite your lip, trying to suppress the excited flutter in your stomach at his words. you can practically imagine the sight of those large, capable hands wrapping around his thick length, and it sends a wave of warmth pooling between your thighs.

“that sounds... tempting,” you admit, your voice dropping to match his sultry tone. “but i'm still comfortable here. and besides, i'm not sure how well you handle rejection...”

you let the implication hang in the air, knowing full well how much it would irk him. you can already picture the look of stubborn determination on his face— the same look he gets whenever he sets his mind to something.

he snorts, a hint of amusement lacing his voice despite the growing irritation. “rejection? from you? well, ain't that just a fucking shame. please, kid, you don't know the first thing about turning me down.”

his fingers drum impatiently against his thigh, the tension in his body palpable. “look, i'm giving you a choice here. either you get off that damn bed and come play with me, or i'll just have to find my own release. and trust me, it won't be pretty.”

there's a dangerous edge to his words, a promise of things to come if you continue to deny him. he's not used to being teased like this, and it's starting to grate on his nerves. but goddamn if it's not also turning him on more than he cares to admit.

you shiver at the threat in his voice, a thrill of excitement mixed with a touch of fear. you know exactly what kind of'release' he's referring to—and the thought of it has your core clenching with need.

“ohhh, I'm shaking in my boots,” you tease, trying to keep your voice steady despite the ache building inside you. “but you know what they say, baby... pride comes before a fall.”

you pause, letting the weight of your words sink in. “and honestly? i'm not sure i'd want to be around for the aftermath of your tantrum. seems like it might get messy...” you trail off, leaving the invitation open-ended. you're playing with fire, you know— but the thought of seeing him lose control, of witnessing the raw desire etched across his features, is too enticing to resist.

his patience snaps like a twig underfoot. “fuck it,” he growls, standing abruptly and pacing the room in agitation. “i‘ve had enough of your games, brat.”

he stops in front of the window, gazing out at the cityscape below as he tries to regain his composure. “listen up, kiddo. i’m coming over. and when i do, we’re gonna forget all about these silly little teases and get down to business.”

there's a finality to his tone, an unspoken command that brooks no argument. he's made up his mind, and now it's time for you to comply. “be ready,” he adds, his voice low and warning. “or else.”

your heart pounds in your chest at his declaration, a mix of anxiety and anticipation swirling within you. you quickly scramble off the bed, your feet hitting the floor with a soft thud as you rush to prepare yourself.

“or else what?” you challenge lightly, attempting to mask the tremble in your voice. “you gonna spank me like a naughty child? or maybe you'll just have to punish me some other way...” you let your words hang in the air, suggesting all manner of punishments that send a fresh wave of heat coursing through your veins. you know you're pushing him, testing his limits—but part of you craves the chaos that follows such reckless behavior.

he laughs, but there's no humor in it. “don't tempt me, girl,” he warns, each syllable dripping with barely restrained lust. “because believe me, when i get my hands on you, you won't be sitting down for a week.”

he hangs up without another word, leaving you staring at the phone in disbelief. seconds later, there's a sharp knock at the door, followed by the jangle of keys. he must have kept a spare set, you realize, your heart leaping into your throat as the door swings open and he fills the frame.

he looks pissed. and turned on. and maybe a little bit crazy. “hello, sweetheart,” he drawls, stepping into the apartment and closing the door behind him with a resounding click. “ready to pay for all that attitude?’

he stalks towards you, a predatory glint in his eye.

your breath catches in your throat as he approaches, the air charged with tension and expectation. you stand frozen in place, unable to tear your gaze away from the fierce intensity in his eyes.

“i... i don't know,” you reply coyly, tilting your head to the side as you feign innocence. “attitude's kinda my thing. what makes you think i'd want to change?” you take a step back, retreating until your back presses against the wall. the cool surface provides a stark contrast to the heat radiating off your flushed skin.

he closes the distance between you in two long strides, one hand slamming against the wall beside your head as he looms over you. his free hand finds your hip, gripping it possessively as he leans in close.

“oh, i‘ll make you want to change,” he promises darkly, his breath hot against your ear. “i‘ll make you beg for it, princess. i‘ll make you scream so loud the whole damn neighborhood will hear you.”

he punctuates his words with a rough grind of his hips against yours, the hard bulge of his arousal pressing insistently against your stomach. “sooo, what's it gonna be, sugar? you gonna be a good girl for daddy? or do i need to teach you a lesson?” his hand slides higher, skimming along your ribcage until his thumb brushes the underside of your breast.

a gasp escapes your lips at the contact, your nipples hardening instantly beneath the thin fabric of your top. you squirm against him, feeling the throbbing pulse of his arousal against your belly.

“i... i...“ you stutter, caught between defiance and desire. “daddy? who said anything about daddies.” your protest falls flat, though, lost amidst the haze of arousal clouding your senses. you arch into his touch, seeking more friction against your sensitive flesh.

“teach me then,” you whisper, a daring gleam in your eyes. “show me how a real man handles a naughty girl.”

a low chuckle rumbles in his chest, the sound vibrating through you. “with pleasure,” he purrs, his grip tightening on your hip as he pulls you closer. his other hand moves lower, slipping beneath your skirt to find your panties damp with anticipation. “seems like someone's eager for their lesson,” he taunts, circling his fingertips around your swollen clit.

he pinches the sensitive nub firmly, watching your face for any sign of discomfort. but when none comes, he smirks. “good girl,” he murmurs approvingly, his fingers continuing their torturous dance.

“now why don't you show daddy how much you want this?” he coos, leaning in to capture your bottom lip between his teeth. “bend over and spread those legs nice and wide.” a whimper escapes you as his fingers work their magic, sending shockwaves of pleasure rippling through your body. you're already so wet, so desperate for more of his touch.

“please,” you breathe, the word falling from your lips unbidden. “i need... i need...” you trail off, unable to articulate the overwhelming hunger consuming you. instead, you obey his command, turning and bracing your hands against the wall. you look back at him over your shoulder, your eyes hazy with lust.

“like this, daddy?” you ask feigned innocent, slowly bending at the waist and arching your back. you reach back with one hand to lift your skirt, revealing the soaked patch of fabric clinging to your ass. “is this what you wanted?” you purr, spreading your thighs wider in blatant invitation.

a guttural groan spills from his throat at the sight before him. “fuck yes,” he growls, stalking forward to press himself against your exposed rear.

his large hands cup your ass cheeks, kneading the supple flesh roughly as he grinds his rock-hard erection against your panty-covered cleft. “such a pretty little slut for me,“ he praises, his hot breath fanning across your skin.

without warning, he yanks your panties aside and plunges two thick fingers into your dripping channel. “god, you're so fucking tight,” he grits out, pumping his digits in and out of you at a brutal pace.

he curls them slightly, stroking that spot inside you that makes your knees buckle. “come on, baby,” he urges, his voice low and commanding. “ride my fingers like a good girl.”

a high-pitched moan tears from your throat as he penetrates you, your inner muscles spasming around his invading digits. the combination of pain and pleasure sends you spiraling into a frenzy of desire. “yes, yes, please!” you chant, pushing back against his hand shamelessly.

your pussy clenches greedily around his fingers, soaking them in your juices as he fucks you relentlessly. the sounds of your own arousal fill the room—moans, whimpers, the obscene squelch of his fingers moving in and out of your cunt.

“‘m going to cum,” you warn, your voice strained and breathless. “if you keep doing that, i'm going to cum all over your hand.”

a wicked grin spreads across his face at your confession, his thrusts becoming even more insistent. “then let go, sugar,” he encourages, adding a third finger to stretch and fill you further.

he quickens the pace, driving into you with a relentless rhythm designed to push you over the edge. “let me see how much you love being fucked by daddy,” he taunts, biting down on your shoulder to muffle his own growing arousal.

the sensation of his teeth on your skin only heightens the pleasure coursing through you, making your orgasm that much more imminent. “that's it, just like that, gooddd, ” he coaches, feeling your walls clench and flutter around his fingers.

a keening cry splits the air as your climax crashes over you, waves of intense pleasure ripping through your body. your pussy convulses around his fingers, milking them for every drop of satisfaction they can provide.

“toji!” you scream his name, the single syllable carrying the weight of your surrender. your entire world narrows down to the feeling of his hand inside you, coaxing every last tremor of bliss from your quivering frame.

gradually, the aftershocks subside, leaving you limp and panting against the wall. “fuck,” you curse weakly, trying to catch your breath. “what did you do to me?”

a satisfied smirk plays on his lips as he watches you come undone under his touch. “just warming you up for the main event,” he teases, pulling his slickened fingers free from your spent pussy with a lewd pop.

he brings his glistening digits to his lips, licking them clean with a lascivious grin. “but we're not done yet, brat,” he says, his voice laced with promise. “it's time for daddy to get some attention.”

he steps back momentarily, shrugging off his jacket and tossing it aside. his shirt follows suit, revealing the chiseled expanse of his chest and abdomen. he unbuckles his belt with deliberate slowness, letting you take in the full extent of his arousal. “spread those legs wider,” he commands, kicking off his shoes and stepping out of his pants.

a shiver runs through you at the sight of his bare form, his muscles rippling as he moves. there's something undeniably primal about seeing him like this, stripped bare and ready for you. a shaky laugh bubbles from your lips, still tingling from the aftermath of your orgasm. you glance back at him over your shoulder, taking in the sight of his naked lower half.

“like this?” you ask, parting your thighs even further, exposing yourself fully to his hungry gaze. “is this enough for you, daddy?”

you watch as he discards the rest of his clothes, his muscular physique on full display. the throbbing bulge in his groin draws your attention like a magnet, its size promising pleasures untold.

“are you going to fuck me now?” you ask, tilting your head to the side and giving him a coy smile. “because i really hope so,” you added, your voice dripping with feigned nonchalance. “after all, ‘m just a naughty girl looking to satisfy her daddy.”

a low chuckle rumbles in his chest, his eyes darkening with raw lust. “naughty girl indeed,” he agrees, prowling forward until he's standing directly behind you.

his hands roam over your hips, gripping your flesh possessively as he positions himself at your entrance. “but daddy has other plans for you,” he whispers, pressing the head of his cock against your drenched folds.

he gives a slow, measured thrust, sinking into you inch by delicious inch. “feel that, sugar?” he asks, pausing to allow you to adjust to his size. "that's just the tip."

a gasp tears from your throat as he finally fills you completely, stretching you in ways you never knew possible. the sensation of being so utterly claimed by him leaves you breathless, your mind spinning with pleasure.

“oh god,” you moan, clutching at the wall for support. “you're so big... always so big,” you trail off, lost in the exquisite agony of having him buried inside you. he doesn't move for several long moments, allowing you to acclimate to his presence. the tension coiling within you is almost unbearable, each beat of your heart echoing the throbbing pulse of his cock pulsating inside your clenching walls.

“move,” you beg, finally finding your voice, “please, fuck me already.”

a smirk tugs at his lips at your plea, his hands tightening their grip on your waist. with a fluid motion, he begins to withdraw, only to slam back into you with bruising force.

each thrust hits deeper than the last, driving you further onto the edge of sanity. “like that?” he asks, punctuating his words with another punishing thrust. “does daddy feel good inside you?”

he sets a ruthless pace, fucking you with a precision that borders on cruel. every stroke sends shocks of pleasure radiating through your body, lighting up your nerves like fireworks on the fourth of july.

“you're so tight around me,“ he growls, leaning over your back to whisper in your ear. “so wet, soooo perfect.”

a strangled whimper escapes your lips as he hammers into you, the sheer intensity of his movements threatening to reduce you to a quivering mess. the sound of your bodies colliding echoes throughout the room, a symphony of carnal desires.

“mhm, oh god yes,” you moan, bracing yourself against the wall as he continues to ravage you. “so bigggg, daddy.” you reach back to grab hold of his ass, urging him to pound into you harder, faster. the sensation of his thick length splitting you open is overwhelming, sending jolts of ecstasy shooting through your veins with every brutal thrust.

“i can't...” you pant, struggling to find the words amidst the haze of pleasure clouding your mind. “i can't hold on much longer...“

a surge of possessive pride courses through him at your admission, fueling his desire to claim you entirely. “hold on, sugar,” he grates out, his voice rough with lust. “daddy's not done with you yet.”

he pulls back slightly, only to ram into you with renewed vigor. the angle of his thrusts hits that sweet spot inside you, triggering an avalanche of pleasure that threatens to engulf you whole.

“come for me again,” he demands, biting down on your shoulder to mark you as his once more. “show daddy how much you want it.” he quickens his pace, his hips snapping forward with abandon. the slap of flesh against flesh grows louder, the sound mixing with your cries to create a lewd chorus of carnality.

a keening wail tears from your throat as he strikes that perfect chord within you, sending you spiraling toward obliviation once more. the coil of pleasure inside you tightens, ready to snap at any moment.

“toji!” you scream his name, your voice cracking with need. “i'm gonna—”

your sentence cuts off abruptly as your orgasm washes over you, tearing through you with the force of a tidal wave. your inner walls clamp down hard on his cock, milking him for everything he's worth.

“fuck! fuck!“ you sob, riding out the waves of your climax, “’m cumming, ’m cumming!”

a guttural groan rips from his throat as your velvety walls spasm around him, the rhythmic squeezing pushing him closer to the brink. “that's it, baby,” he praises, his voice strained with the effort of holding back his own release. “milk daddy's cock.”

he continues to thrust through your orgasm, prolonging your pleasure until it borders on pain. “such a good little slut,” he growls, one hand coming up to tangle in your hair. he yanks your head back, forcing you to arch your spine as he pounds into you mercilessly.

with a final, brutal thrust, he buries himself to the hilt inside you. a hoarse shout tears from his lips as he finds his own completion, his seed spurting forth to paint your insides white.

the sensation of him filling you up, marking you as his, is indescribable. your entire body trembles with the aftershocks of your orgasm, your legs growing weak beneath you.

“oh goddd,” you pant, collapsing against the wall for support. “you're so deep... so full, daddy.”

the warmth of his cum flooding your womb sends another ripple of pleasure coursing through you, extending your high well past its natural end. you can't help but push back against him, desperate for every last drop of his essence.

you lean back against him, feeling his strong arms wrap around your waist. the warmth of his body pressed against yours, coupled with the lingering throbs of pleasure coursing through your veins, is simply heavenly.

a satisfied sigh escapes him as he slowly eases out of you, his cock slipping free with a wet pop. he turns you gently in his arms, pulling you flush against his chest.

“feeling better now, brat?“ he teases, his voice still laced with the remnants of his satisfaction. “or do you need some more of daddy's special attention?” he nuzzles into your neck, planting a series of gentle kisses along your sensitive skin. despite the harshness of their lovemaking, there's a tenderness in his touch that speaks volumes about his affection for you.

“you're amazing when you come undone like that,” he murmurs, his hands roaming over your curves with reverence. “always so responsive.”

a contented hum vibrates in your throat as he holds you close, his warm breath ghosting over your skin. the tender kisses he plants on your neck send pleasant shivers down your spine, a stark contrast to the intense passion of mere moments ago.

“i think i might need a little more,” you admit, tilting your head to grant him better access. “just to make sure all that pent-up energy is drained away properly.”

you thread your fingers through his hair, guiding his lips to the crook of your neck where you know he loves to suck and bite. “and maybe some cuddles afterwards,” you add, a playful glint in your eye. you press yourself even closer to him, savoring the solid warmth of his body against yours. your fingers finding his nipple, pinch the hardened bud in between.

a low chuckle rumbles in his chest at your request, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “cuddles, huh? you're really milking this ‘needy’ thing for all it's worth, aren't you?”

he captures your lips in a searing kiss, swallowing your gasp as his tongue delves into your mouth. the nip of his teeth on your bottom lip has you whimpering into the embrace, your fingers tangling deeper in his hair.

breaking the kiss, he trails his lips down your neck, pausing to suck a dark bruise into your skin before moving lower. “as for that pent-up energy,” he murmurs, his hot breath washing over your collarbone, “daddy's got just the thing.”

he drops to his knees, his hands gripping your thighs as he pushes them apart. “spread those pretty legs again for me, sugar.”

[vigilskeep]

wait, Minerva "canonically" has a baby?? i want to know everything!! when how what - how does motherhood change her, pls elaborate, srry if you talked about this before, i just love them so much

she does!! i talk abt this less bc i think its self-indulgent jghsskks and that people are less interested in this, but it’s super fun to think about for me

the baby was a surprise, minerva was kind of being stupid about it lmao because she was being less careful than she might have been in the circle, especially because she’s a warden now so she’s less likely to get pregnant at all, without really thinking through what might happen. (i’m sure our local kinloch hold spirit healer companions both had their field days telling her off for this at some point.) but as soon as it does happen she wants the baby so badly. as a circle mage and then a warden she had never really seriously considered it a possibility for herself, but she loves children, and it’s been so long since she had a real family

it’s zevran’s and zevran is in antiva most of the time. i think she has a weird crisis about whether he’ll want anything to do with a baby, and she would despise for him to come back just out of obligation but also what if he doesn’t come back, and she ends up procrastinating telling him for, like, months. just a stupid amount of time. bc she was born to stress her man out and to give her wardens unnecessary grudges against him because they thought he had obviously chosen not to be here because obviously she would have told him. truly when will his suffering end. anyway he’s thrilled when somebody eventually does him the courtesy of letting him know

the baby’s a boy, she names him duncan, it sparks a whole other argument with alistair that we won’t get into here. he gets nicknamed junior a lot, partly bc he’s duncan jr, partly bc of the ongoing joke that he’s the resident Junior Warden. he was very much raised in warden blue since the cradle. because minerva is so busy and zevran is often away, he’s pretty much collectively raised in vigil’s keep by the awakening squad and whoever else gets added to that trusted inner circle. which works out bc wardens don’t often have kids of their own so they all just kind of... share this one lmao. (and possibly sometimes also oghren and felsi’s kid if they stick around?) it’s velanna who instigates this bc that’s what the dalish do and she’s also literally the only one here who knows what to do with a baby so thank the maker she’s here (minerva’s practised with kids but by nature they don’t have babies in the circle)

i’m so thrilled that spellblade is a crow-themed rogue-like mage subclass bc that’s exactly what i always pictured for duncan jr eventually. he’s a mage, his magic manifests very young, but minerva is very strict abt his studies and it has the unfortunate reverse effect of making getting his dad or nathaniel or sigrun to teach him combat much more fun. it works out really bc his magic having manifested is a tightly kept secret so it’s good for him not to have to rely on it

being a mother kind of changes/crystallises a lot of minerva’s priorities. it’s one thing to say, like, i would like to improve the situation for my fellow mages at some point, or, it sure would be nice to live past a warden’s usual limits. it’s another thing entirely to have a mage child and need to make a world that’s safe for him and live long enough to see it done. it ends up being a key issue of her conflict with the chantry between origins and inquisition because nobody’s quite certain what the rules are. obviously if she were still a circle mage any child of hers would be taken away. but she’s not a circle mage and arguably the chantry has no right to a child born outside of the circle, with no sign yet (as far as anyone outside vigil’s keep knows) of magic. (like i say it manifested younger than normal so this is believable even to those who think he will eventually show.) it definitely exacerbates tensions, shall we say, because obviously they can pry him out of her cold dead hands

he’s probably still only quite young in inquisition. six or seven? somewhere around there, i hate timelines. not sure where he is while minerva and her squad are on their quest, but given the very short list of people she trusts that much, i have to say that the most insane answer is likely: he’s in denerim as a temporary ward of the king. probably the first elven kid to be such

[imustbenuts]

nuts reading trigun in japanese 5 - vash is. super good with kids

disclaimer: more triangulation purposes etc etc

so i mentioned before in my part 3 that the japanese language has an inbuilt hierarchy quirk to it. and i kind of noticed this nuance getting somewhat lost in the english translation, either because again i have skill issues with english, or that EN inherently doesnt come with the same quirk.

elaborating a bit more: this hierarchy of position/standing can be determined by age, profession, occupation, and experience. in terms of hard priority, age and profession tends to take precedence over everything else.

this means effectively, vash being over 150 should be top dog and given respect in JP/Asian context (respect your elders! or else!!), but because he 1) looks 24, 2) uses very immature speech with strangers, 3) uses boku, hes effectively keeping his head down and posing as a dumbass schmuck.

ヴァッシュの兄貴　行っちまうのか！？ Big bro Vash, you're leaving?! (兄貴 = aniki = big bro but informal and can be used for no blood relations)

so schmucky that he has no problems handling children. in fact, in the JP version during his departure on the sand steamer, the kids call him Big Bro Vash. twice! so he's earned their adoration in no time flat.

ヴァッシュの兄貴—ッ Big Bro Vash!!

leaving the translation like that ^ wouldnt flow well in english, so rip. also. cute scene.

and yet his meeting with Kaite is chaotically bad to say the least. i mean, he even gets drugged and knocked out. Kaite does not respect the guy who gave him food at all and plans to seemingly feed him 3 meals a day for the entire trip. so how? well.

once Brilliant Dynamites Neon comes in and turns things serious, Vash's starts doing a few interesting things.

skipping forward this and that. after getting almost blown off the sand steamer, vash holds onto kaite and they both cling on for dear life:

もうちょっと登れば通風口があるよ mou chotto noboreba tsuufucou ga aru yo If we can climb a little higher there's a ventilation duct そーか　そーか　今行こうすぐ行こう souka souka ima ikou sugu ikou Okay, okay, let's get going right now!

added romanji and color to highlight how vash is repeating phrases in his line. the そーか　そーか souka souka and 行こう 行こう ikou ikou repeats are there as if to 1) make himself sound immature, and 2) to reassure kaite that things are under control.

only touching on the bottom right panel. another possible reading of that line:

助けて頂いてありがとうございましただろう Situations like these are where you should say "thank you very much for saving my life" instead!

はいそーでした!!!

Now say it!!!

he's chiding kaite and doing the very asian adult thing of teaching the youngin manners in terms of tone. but in a stern funny way no offense taken way bc, as you might have noticed...

vash is deliberately putting himself on the same level as a kid. in tone in standing in speech. hes not being condescending. hes not lording his status as an adult over a child. (something something christ like but in the context of jp... hehe.)

this is ultimately what gets tough nut kaite to trust vash to get down to business to defeat The Neon. even without the words hes visually getting himself to be on the same (eye) level with kaite. i think its so good alsdjfdsa

kaite starts crying after thinking of his dad and regretting what he's done, gets caught in a regret reflection loop, but vash brings him back to reality. like this:

な に を 感 傷に ひ た って る か な こい つ は

another reading of this "What the hell are getting all sentimental for now ya brat?!" line might be "What. Good. Is. It. To. Lose. Your. Grip. On. Yourself. Now. You. Dummy?!"

with this he puts kaite's head back into reality and readjusts both their priority.

so again. vash just. is good with kids. his emotional intelligence is through the fucking roof as proven by all the other moments throughout tristamp and trimax*

idk its warms me bc. the asian confucius hierarchy is so... yuck. im technically of chinese descent so i know how fucked it is. so. vash is really cool with this slightly extra japanese asian hierarchy context.

i think this aspect of vash is something i dont see in english fanworks a lot, and not in the same tone. on the other hand, i do see this a lot in the jp fanworks. so idk exactly what factors or if im looking in the wrong places, but yeah. vash is good with kids. just like wolfwood.

again, studio orange understood the assignment and gave some of that dynamic here to Tonnis.

are they called studio orange bc im meant to squeeze stampede for all its worth or what. stampede is actually incredible to me im in awe.

bonus:

the jp version of the left text says roughly:

"I'm cursed!! I must be! By either the reaper or a god of misfortune and or more!!"

yeah he specifically says Shinigami and Binbougami. i dont think that would translate well in en bc this kinda throws the catholicsm theme into a bit of a tailspin LMAO. (also. the Ore here. note the context.)

[breached-containment-script]

Some arguments KA shippers make are valid and true. But that they don't necessarily do anything nearly enough to be valid anti-zutara arguments!

Stuff like, that quick burns probably wouldn't scar (Katara's hands) or that if she had gotten scarred, that Toph's feet should have gotten scarred too. This is valid.

That it's true that when Aang's negative aspects get developed to their final extreme forms in theories and fanfiction, it can feel weird and offputting to people who naturally gravitate towards staying approximately around canon vibes; that some descriptions of behaviour sound too strong to some people which results in pushing them away from zutara as a negative reaction to associated criticisms of Aang. But that also personal headcanon developments (even those with strong foundation in canon) are individual preferences and people are able to choose which headcanons to like, without using disliked ones to paint an entire show interpretation negative.

It'a true that most of Aang's bad behaviour in the show can be attributed to him being just a kid and not being self-aware enough yet. He's not intentionally malicious in most cases. His negative reaction towards Water Tribe culture and food is a depiction of a kid not knowing how to respect something that makes him uncomfortable, even if this kinda clashes with him having already had friends from all over the world. Unfortunatey, canon progression doesn't depict him learning as many lessons as he should nor does it show him outgrowing negative traits even though it should have. THIS is the source of headcanons which appreciate intentionally exploring main character developing in a negative light. His negative traits constantly repeat and have a common stay in his canon character. This is a fact, especially with his claim that he'd be in the Avatar state had it not been blocked, out of frustration that actors on a stage implied Katara doesn't feel the same way about him. This is a very bad thing, we've seen both him and others being afraid of it, it causing massive destruction and Katara having the burden of calming him down. How would she theoretically calm him down in the case he did enter the Avatar state because of this reason? Assuming she didn't have romantic feelings for him (which should always exist as a valid option for any character, to test if they have a healthy interaction) - she could pray he'd accept it and calm down on his own, or be under extreme pressure to lie that she likes him back. Even if she did like him back, having to admit under the threat of a destructive force being unleashed, IS NOT GOOD. Especially as the characters never addressed this later.

Yes, Zuko did a lot of bad things but not only are they overblown by KA-fans and Zuko-antis, they constantly purposefully ignore that he got punished repeatedly, suffered in canon for his actions and kept doing very risky and selfless things to make up for his past, they also forget that time flows FORWARD and that WHEN events happened on a timeline MATTERS. It's not an argument that Zuko burned Suki's village in book 1 when he helped rescue her and others by risking his life in book 3 and she forgave him. One thing is collateral damage in a cartoon filled with cartoon violence, and another when for example Long Feng kills Jet. Viewers should be able to discern the tone difference, because shows (or any creative work) especially with multiple writers, aren't homogenous, and aren't tonally or message-wise completely unified. Don't start your deduction argument from the idea that a show is fully consistent and is absolutely sending a singular message, start an inductive analysis from ideas about what a show's context is, what its goals are, what the tone feels like in each section, did it accomplish what it was aiming for, etc. Likewise Zuko could have been written even better in some areas and with more context!

However him hunting down heroes, knocking out Katara etc. isn't a gotcha argument some people think it is, because Katara knocked him out as well, twice even so badly he didn't wake up for quite some time; and he was struck, rejected, ignored, mocked and criticised by both Iroh, the gaang and Katara especially after he sided with Azula under Ba Sing Se, but then they forgave him as he actively worked to atone, and Katara herself forgave him for what he did. She then risked her life to save him back. The writing is very logical and consistent in this.

[max1461]

I don't really intuitively give a shit about fairness. I think this is one of those "maximally allistic" traits of mine. Like, abstractly I recognize that fairness often matters, I'm not mounting an argument against fairness here. But I think frankly that my life is way easier for the fact that I don't get bothered by being "treated unfairly", like, I get bothered if I'm treated in a way that fails to meet my standards, and I feel good if I'm treated in a way that does meet my standards. But if you treat me like, ok enough, and another person really really great, 99% of the time I'm just gonna be like "ok cool you like that person more than me". Uh I really even when I type that it sounds dissatisfied. No like. Unless I have the sort of relationship with you were favoritism towards me is part of the deal (e.g. a romantic partner), if you show favoritism towards someone else it doesn't phase me at all. Like. I care about getting my desired share, not my fair share. You see?

I try to be fair towards others, because that is important to them. I don't like upsetting people. But when I was a kid I hadn't figured all this out yet, and sometimes it made people really mad. I remember often getting into arguments with adults where like, I would drop something, and they would tell me to pick it up, and I would be like "oh no I don't mind it being on the floor". And they would be like "well I mind it being on the floor" and I would be like "well then you should pick it up". I really wasn't trying to be passive aggressive this just seemed completely reasonable to me. Like... if I had some inscrutable preference to move something from one place to another, I wouldn't ask someone else to move it up for me, I would just do it myself. But if I drop it, and you want it moved off the floor, I should be the one to do that for you because I dropped it? It didn't make much sense to me. But people got mad, and they said "that's not fair!", and so I conceded.

To be honest I still have the reverse version of this mentality. Like whenever I've lived with people who have different cleanliness standards from me, I haven't really expected that they like, increase their cleanliness to match mine, or meet mine in the middle or whatever. I've just cleaned more, because I'm the one who wants things more clean. That makes sense to me. I don't know why I would expect them to live differently in order to meet my standards, that seems rather presumptuous.

Anyway, fairness is kind of a foreign concept to me. But non-imposition is a native concept, I don't like to bother people, so I generally try to act fair so as not to bother people. But it's fake, I don't really believe in it.

[oh-no-its-bird]

hi listen i just had a divine intervention or smth lmk if you don't like it but

what if your team Ro time travel au + my time travel Tobirama

Team Ro would have memories of the canon and they got to this different timeline and there's Tobirama actively trying to seduce Uchiha fucking Madara. They didn't teach THAT in the Academy

They got in the time when Tobirama still orchestrated meetings, but Butsuma is already dead so if everything goes well, Tobirama would get Madara and peace soon.

And then there suddenly spawn a Hatake with a sharingan with 2 Uchiha kids and a Mokuton user. Political nightmare.

Later Tobirama recognises Kakashi and was like "The fuck? It's that Hatake from the war. What is he doing there, he should not have been born yet!!"

OHHH THATS SO GOOD THO???

I'm gonna be real I love the concept of "team ro time travel au but they time travel into someone else's time travel au," that's so good

If we go with your au, there's a really interesting immediate aspect of like: hey ! Tobirama might recognize Kakashi or maybe even Tenzo from the war, but these guys are way fucking younger than when they met !!!

Idk what exactly can be done with that but it's interesting to consider. Also Tobirama talked ab Itachi and his crimes before I'm p sure? So like he knows what happens to the Uchiha and that it was Itachi who did it for the village. I wanna see him faced w the kid who he once praised for slaughtering his own clan to prove his loyalty.

I wanna see him feel the consequences of the stress Itachi is under when he (and possibly Shisui) attempt to kill Madara.

Stop interfering with his fix it fic you brats!! He's already got it covered!! You're just causing a mess!!!!

They get zapped in, like, in the middle of Tobirama's happy ending epilogue too. Tobirama is peacefully eating dinner in his house w his new husband Madara thinking "well. Alls well that ends well." Then BOOM Kakashi Shisui Itachi and Tenzo crash out of fucking nowhere directly onto their table, getting covered in food and breaking the table in half

Immediatley arrested !! I feel like Tobirama would instantly understand what happened by recognizing their uniforms + potentially Kakashi + he's already a time traveler himself so it's really no stretch for him to go "oh fuck I didn't think we'd get a double jepordy in this bitch but I guess not"

But like it's not like he can just SAY that ? Or he could but it would bring a lot of questions he probably does not want to answer.

Now another problem arises in like. I don't think Tobirama is especially attached to any of these guys. I can see him maybe having a lingering "pay it forward ig" feeling just bc they're "loyal konoha soldiers" and it'd be a waste to let that resource just burn. But also like. Under no circumstances can Tobirama have these guys share certain aspects of future knowledge.

Tobirama worked so hard to get here !!!! Literal years of planning !!!! He got his happy ending and it very much rests on Madara staying safe and sane and NO ONE IMPLYING HE WILL BETRAY KONOHA EVER !!!!! Tobirama does not even wanna RISK that becoming a rumor, he will take no chances.

Anyways I think his best course of action would be to reveal himself as a time traveler specifically to team ro, then position himself as their hokage who they should remain loyal to, say that it is for Konoha's best interests that they do not reveal certain things, and play it by ear from there.

Tobirama deciding he can't risk team ro going forward in time again and potentially fucking up the time stream or smthn. They need to stay here. He can not risk losing this shit. Sorry guys it looks like your trapped here <3

Anyways team ro being scary loyal to him bc he is the closest approximation to their (current?) Hokage and only person w the knowledge to enforce that power over them (at this time)

In my original post, like, all of team ro are already established to be kind of at their worst and most loyal to the village at that point to. They are at THE age(s) to be manipulated like that tbh, rip

It's not too bad tho. I think Itachi would feel relieved but also very guilty. Shisui too. Tenzo is violently neutral bc hes still in his "learning to be a real boy" phase from root, but it's all positive for him tbh. Kakashi is tricky bc his mental state is the equivalent of someone rapidly bouncing a ball on a thin pane of glass trying to prove it's bullet proof (it's not) and has like MOUNTAINS of complexes around the words "konoha authority figure" and what he's leaving behind. He's probably the most determined to go back

Anyways uhh. Izuna gets Itachi to help him be skeptical of Tobirama and spy on him. Itachi only agrees bc he violently reminds him of Sasuke (this will develop into a complex if not stopped. Shisui is working on it.)

[evanescencelovrr]

Part 6 of college!simon x reader 🤍✉️ god the way he does anything and breathes—okay pls comment and reblog to share love 🥺

Masterlist here ✉️

He couldn’t sleep. The memories of your kind gesture played over and over in his mind. The way your scent lingered for just a second when you leaned in to put to next to his leg—and then how you walked off, earmuffs sitting snug.

What kinda’ sorcery was this?

Simon had to ask himself, brows furrowed. An arm was flexed, hand under his head, as he lay in bed staring at the ceiling uselessly. His box fan spun loudly, sounding smooth in the dark of the night. When his eyes shifted from the ceiling, to his window, revealing the campus walkways, then his desk, there was your cup, lipstick marks slightly faded and empty.

He did drink it all.

Was it his fault the damned thing tasted so good? He didn’t even know those things tasted heavenly. Packed fulla’ sugar too. But it was fine. He trained hard and long—the sugar would be outta his system in less than a second.

When he checked his cracked phone, it was 3am. He had classes at 9am, and groaned softly. Blonde eyelashes brushed his cheek as he attempted to close his eyes, nestling in his bed. His hunky form had a hard time sleeping on it, the bed too small. Sometimes his leg would slip off in the night, or arm, hanging lazily. Blankets would fall to the floor and pillows.

Simon was a picky sleeper.

Back at base, Johnny always had been taking pictures of Simons sleeping form. He’d cackle in the morning as Simon arose, mask on, wearing all black for the briefing meeting. Making a pot of coffee—hearing Johnny’s bickering, along with Price.

“Lieutenant—this a nice sight fa’ sore eyes, aye?” Johnnys thick accent rung out like alarm bells behind Simon who remained flat faced. He sipped his black coffee.

“That one needs a swaddle—aye?”

“Shut it, not another word.” Simon said roughly at Price and Johnny who grinned silently.

Simon eventually fell asleep to the memory.

——

When he made his way out for class—somethin’ about enlightenment and Kant versus Hume—he saw your door. He shoved the key in his lock, hearing a click. His head was craned to yours—were you up?

His lip tilted in a grin for the morning as he remembered your gesture. He wasn’t sure what to make of you yet. Was he trying to make something of you? The thought shook him.

Was he attempting to get to know you?

Part of Simon wanted to reel and flee, at the idea. All he ever knew was base and team 141. It was his comfort zone. A tight knit ship at that. And you—you were like the moon beckoning the ship at night. Full of secrets.

“Huh. Best leave er’ be.” He’d mutter and walk off.

Later on, grabbing food at one of the many dining halls, Simon managed to find a seat upstairs. Not ideal, as it wasn’t close to the exit but instead by a window. He did sit angled to see the exit—as usual. He was going to lift his mask to eat the salad when a girl spoke up.

“Do you always leave that on? The mask?” When he looked up, he saw a short blondie. Cherub cheeks and big eyes.

Roughly, he set his fork down on the plate—CLANK—and sent a glare her way, muttering, “Wots’ it to ya?”

She scampered off, leaving Simon to stew for a second. Damn bloody hounds. It’s a damn mask, ensuring his privacy. What was so hard to respect about that?

And then he thought back to you. You hadn’t pressed on about the mask nor asked of his scars. It was as if you’d seen him as a person beyond it. He chewed at his salad with a glare of focus, turning his head out the window. He felt slightly guilty scaring off the poor lass, she seemed much younger than him after all.

Kids. He had to remind himself. He was much older and all age ranges existed. He forgot not everyone was a war criminal at the age of 33 and 50, scarred.

Not everyone was a war princess.

When he turned his head over, he saw a fluff of hair sticking out. Then ear muffs, trailing down to a red soft leather jacket. It was worn and faded, giving it that vintage look. There you were. Sitting back facing him, eating just a salad and off to the side—pasta.

He didn’t say anything, but just watched for a minute. He then turned back to his plate, finishing off the scraps as students poured in. As usual at this hour. His eyes shifted to glance particularly at a rugged boy, holding his backpack strap with a sleazy walk in your direction. His grip tightened on his fork.

He then heard a plate clank behind him, and a voice rang through the air, “You got that work done I asked for?”

When his eyes glanced to his rear flank, he saw the rugged boy leaned over the table, fingers splayed on the table over you.

You cut into your chicken, not sparring him a glance. “I said I’d have it done, didn’t I?”

Clearly the rugged puppet didn’t enjoy that response—because he leaned closer and his shaggy hair blew slightly, revealing narrowing eyes. You glared.

Simon knew something was wrong. He already sniffed the bullshit a mile away. He got up, smoothly, resting his fork and stood behind you, hand resting on the edge of your chair. He felt you stiffen up in confusion—turning to look at him. But he never removed his eyes from the skimpy lad.

“Simon—“ You said.

“You got a problem, boy?” Simons guarded voice rang out, and the students watched on. Some went quiet, and all he could head were subtle forks clanking—slurping. It was like tunnel vision—everyone focused on you.

The boy leaned up, swallowing and shaking. His eyes were narrowed and Simon didn’t like that one bit—so he leaned forward, hands bracing on the back of your chair, looming over you just to get a closer look to him. Almost like a silent threat.

The entire time your heart was pounding a million miles, face heating up. Attention was drawn to you and you didn’t want it. You had half a mind to run—but Simon held your chair there.

“She said she’ll ave’ the work done, yea? So off wit’ it.” Simon said, not leaving room for argument.

The boy ran off, not even bothering to pick up his plate which made Simon scoff. He then sat next to you, plate landing beside yours. He shoved away the boys plate, quite roughly at that—he wasn’t going to leave you to the wolves. Everyone went back to their food, muttering.

When you found your breath you spoke, “I had that handled, you know.”

“Did ya’?” Simon said gruffly, hunched and picking at his chicken to bite. He didn’t sound rude, just slightly amused and still ruffled from the situation.

Your brow cocked and you looked at him. You looked confused—not sure of what to think when it came to him, and his intentions.

“He looked like he was gonna bite ya.” Simon added, although he knew the boy was skin and bone. He just wanted you to understand. His head lifted to pierce his gaze into yours.

You caressed your fork for a moment, thumb stroking.

“I would’ve bit back. I got some spunk in me after all.” You scoffed and shook your head, although grinning slightly. You bit into your pasta, which was mediocre for university food.

“I’d like to see ya put em’ in its place.”

“It?”

“It. Not even a man, balls avent’ dropped yet. Damned dog just breathin’ down on women.” Simon muttered, cup raising to brush his lips.

You had to bite back a laugh at his roasts. He was right though. Damned boy clearly didn’t know his place. You ears warmed slightly under the muffs and you could’ve sworn it was from the muffs itself.

Simon finished his food and then looked at you, leaning back in his chair. Arms crossed round’ his broader chest, blue eyes not leaving you. He then remembered how the boy demanded for work to be done—not that he gave the boy his mind—“What kinda’ trouble found ya?”

“I—“ You began. You chewed before speaking., eyes shifting away, “I just get payed to do…people’s assignments.”

Simon tutted and shook his head slowly, then leaned forward, bracing his elbows on the table to gaze closely at you. You could make out his pupil, blonde thick lashes curling out, the eye bags from under the mask—and wrinkles. “Out here doin’ gods work, aye?”

“Damn right. But if I’m caught that’ll end badly for me.” You scoffed, rubbing your wrist in a self soothing manner.

“You’re desperate aren’t ya?”

“I need the money—“

“Then come work with me.”

You froze. You jerked your head up at his smooth request, tongue poking at your cheek, pondering.

“Work…with you?” You then repeated.

“It ain’t a request—I’m telling ya.”

[yanderes-galore]

Sir Pentious from Hazbin Hotel concept, please? I love snake boi so much and I know you do too lmao

Yeah... and I still do, lol. May not be as into Hazbin as I used to, but I still enjoy the snake.

Yandere! Sir Pentious Concept

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Stalking, Clingy behavior, Manipulation, Jealousy, Possessive behavior, Kidnapping, Violence, Murder/Accidental death mentioned, Dubious/Forced relationship.

I'm going to say it now, Pentious is a pathetic yandere.

He'd try so hard to follow through with his yandere schemes, only for something to go wrong.

The only way he'd succeed is most likely by accident.

He's often loud and easy to excite.

He's persistent yet also seems shy when it comes to romance or anything intimate.

We can see this in the show with Cherri.

He'd definitely want to be the center of his obsession's attention.

He'd do anything for you to acknowledge him.

An example is him making inventions to impress you.

He follows you around eagerly but sometimes would be too anxious to talk to you properly.

He wants his obsession to think he's cool and probably gets emotionally attached to them easily.

It's also canon Sir Pentious watches people sleep, apparently.

So... He's definitely going to slither beside your bed when you're asleep and just stare.

I can just see Sir Pentious planning things but... his plans never go the way he wants them to.

Like, I can see Pentious killing another sinner by accident... but failing anything purposeful.

Who knows, maybe that accident actually works in his favor.

Same thing with kidnapping.

He'd set up this elaborate plan to lure you into a trap.

Only for it to fail.

For the most part he's just clingy with you.

He respects you, looks up to you, finds you pretty to look at...

Yet can't approach you for the life of him.

When he does converse with you... He's so awkward.

He really is trying to connect but he gets so flustered.

If Pentious succeeded in making you his, it's probably out of pity or complete accident.

In fact, there's a chance he could win you over without you even seeing his yandere behavior.

He's adorable in a way... even if he's failing being bad.

He's a good inventor and has a weak form of hypnosis, but it's nowhere close to someone like Vox.

The most you're affected by it is being stunned like Angel was.

Pentious' biggest issue is being clingy.

I imagine he's a fan of physical affection from his obsession.

Considering he's a snake... Hugs are quite literally constricting.

So I think even if you were good friends or close, if he didn't want you to leave, he'd probably constrict you then not move.

Again, considering he's a snake, you could probably incorporate his bite into his behavior.

Sir Pentious has the tools to be a dangerous yandere towards his obsession...

But not the mindset.

Pentious could, if he really tried, kidnap you properly.

He could constrict you, maybe bite you, then probably keep you in his ship.

However... He usually stays away from such an idea.

He wants to try "wooing" you properly first.

What a gentleman....

Sir Pentious most likely experiences jealousy, but he's really petty.

He knows he hates not being the center of your attention and he acts a bit childish about it.

It's like a competition to him... Even if you're simply chatting with someone else.

Sir Pentious would quickly want to grab your attention, even if he's usually admiring you from afar.

"H-Hey! Hey, wait! I-I made this cool invention I want to show you! Also, Charlie showed me this new exercise! Can we hang out...?"

He's so shy and awkward when it comes to relationships, it's hard to see his true nature towards you.

He acts cute and his plans mostly don't work...

However, there's most likely always the threat he may succeed at some point if pushed.

Sure, his failed attempts at courtship are cute now...

Until he succeeds.

While I still can't see him as killing someone on purpose due to jealousy (Without getting completely ruined by the other person)...

Kidnapping is plausible.

You trust Sir Pentious, so he could probably lure you away and bite you if he wanted.

Normally he just wants to try flirting or attempts at affection.

You don't suspect a thing until his fangs slip into your neck.

Even then he's mumbling out quick apologies as he scoops you up.

He definitely keeps you in his ship and tries to play things off.

Oh! This was all just a little... surprise he put together, yeah!

Said surprise is a room full of things dedicated to you and a bed in the middle of it for you to sit on.

He really didn't want to kidnap you the more he got to know you...

Yet he was so tired of being ignored.

Sir Pentious only wanted you to look his way.

However... It appears the only way he can have you is through restraints.

He just wishes you could be only his.

While Sir Pentious can also be a yandere you can have a (mostly) normal relationship with...

With a bit of motivation, like an obsession choosing to ignore his feelings or is with someone else, may make him snap enough to become dangerous despite his submissive nature.

He can try manipulating you away and trying to grasp your attention...

Yet sometimes it isn't enough...

Leading to you being locked away for his own eyes only.

Even in captivity, Sir Pentious tries to make your "relationship" seem normal.

He showers you in gifts he made, he smothers you in affection...

The snake really enjoys cuddles.

Sir Pentious loves to slither beside you as you sleep, nuzzling into your neck.

He's a pathetic yandere, one someone may consider charming...

But he's still a cunning snake...

He's still a potential danger to you, and all it takes is one bite to make him switch.

[lookingfts]

I feel like... Rockstar Anthony has definitely said Kate's name when he was having sex with someone else. More than once.

Oh, 1000%. Angsty snippet:

To be fair, he's drunk off his arse. The sex probably isn't even that good, all things considered, but she's there and willing and it's easy not to think when he's buried in the soft, hot grip of a woman.

He catches a flash of curly dark hair and it breaks something in his brain, fucks him up more than he's already fucked up, and he comes unexpectedly. Burying his face in her neck and groaning as it wipes his mind clean. "God, Kate."

She freezes beneath him, looking up at him with large, confused eyes. It's not her. It's a woman who looks like her, a little, not enough. A woman who came backstage and flirted with him and doesn't even know he picked her because she's almost someone else.

"It's Sylvie," she says, annoyed and disappointed. Anthony doesn't think she's come yet, and he doesn't like to leave a woman hanging, but she's already sliding out from under him and putting on her clothes and he doesn't stop her. His head hurts and he's exhausted from six shows in a row. "Thanks for the story, I guess."

Sylvie lets herself out, and Anthony flops back on the bed, rubbing a hand over his face. He doesn't even know what city he's in, what day it is. It's a blur, and he likes it that way, until the ride stops and he's left feeling like his guts have been scooped out of his body.

Anthony grabs his phone off the side table and stares at the home screen. Kate would hate him like this. She does hate him. Every time he sees her, there's this mixture of pity and disgust in her eyes. Like he was the biggest mistake of her life.

He should leave her alone. He can't explain why he still follows her around, begs for any scrap of her attention, even knowing that she'll tell him to fuck off.

Wonders what she would say, if she knew that wasn't the first time he's moaned her name during sex.

Wonders if she's ever thought about him when another man is fucking her.

Call me I need you

Anthony types the message, aided in no small part by autocorrect, but passes out before he can send it.

And in the morning, he realizes it's just as well. It would have hurt worse when she didn't answer.

[sleepymaven]

The Bsd "Fyodor is Atsushi's Father" Theory:

My Not-so-Deep, Not-so-Serious Explanation on Why This Could Totally be Canon

Signed: A Sleep-Deprived Idiot

(Spoilers for the Entirety of Bungou Stray Dogs)

So... with Chapter 118 in bsd releasing, I have noticed a lot of Fyodor as Atsushi's father related things popping up and... I'm not mad about.

If anything, I'm happy the theory is getting more attention. People even seem to be taking it as canon fact, even if just jokingly.

Really, I believed the theory was plausible since it first was brought up in the fandom, but I never actually thought it would be canon because that just seemed too crazy. But those were the thoughts of a sweet summer child since the manga has gotten to the point where that might be the least crazy thing possible.

So, here I am at my keyboard yet again, ready to ramble about how, if this does somehow turn out to be canon, this might be actually rather predictable even to those who don't dive deep into the nitty-gritty lore.

Now, I won't ramble on and on endlessly about the book and Atsushi's ambiguous past and how he may be the book or a page from the book and yaddy-yadda. Instead, I'll focus on some key aspects of Atsushi's character design. First off...

His hair.

As I said, this is not all that serious or deep, so take my words with a grain of salt before you start bashing me or something for being ridiculous. You signed up for ridiculous when you started reading past the title.

Anyway, back to Atsushi's hair.

As we almost all know, Atsushi used to have a black streak in his hair that was later removed for unknown reasons, but he also has white hair.

Now, I could jokingly proclaim, "Hehe, biologically impossible Fyodor x Nikolai lovechild," and be done with it, but I am no clown, unlike Nikolai. No, I have a better, probably completely wrong, idea.

Most of us know that Fyodor has a thing for white-haired men.

Exhibit A: Every fucking member of the Decay of Angels

I rest my case.

Also, I feel the need to mention that 3 out of 6 of them have red-ish eyes while the other two have purple-ish/blue eyes. Just pointing out that little tidbit I noticed while finding pics for them.

So, it would make sense for Fyodor to pick and choose which attributes to give to his quote-on-quote "son" when he made him from the book, picking out certain traits he found appealing and pleasing to the eye.

(Also, yes, this could mean that Fyodor could have chose specific attributes that were similar to Nikolai. Boom, lovechild route.)

This could explain certain similarities between the characters who seemingly have no biological connection between one another. Their only connection then only being through Fyodor by just knowing him.

Got all that? Alright, next up...

His eyes.

Now, Atsushi's eyes are rather unique, even for the world of Bungou Stray Dogs. What also sticks out about them is the fact that they are pointed out and focused in from time to time.

Example:

(Fucking gorgeous eyes he has, btw)

To break down the colors of his eyes... While in normal lighting in the anime, they appear to be normally purple and yellow with just a hint of green in it, but under the full moon (as seen here) we can see that his eyes are a light green-yellow at the bottom and purple on the top that fades into blue.

(There are also a few times where his eyes also change while using his ability. Like when they turn almost fully yellow.)

I want to point out the colors of his eyes and the fact that they change due to certain circumstances (i.e: using his ability, being under the full moon), which is clearly not normal in their world seeing as how other ability users don't seem to do that at all.

(Edit here: I actually would like to mention that, in the manga, Nikolai's eyes also change color. The green one sometimes will change to match his normal eye whenever he uncovers it. I saw a theory talking about how it might change depending on whether or not he is lying at the time, which is pretty neat. More Atsushi and Nikolai parallels.)

Now, this might seem like a bit of a stretch just like the rest of this post, but the colors used for his eyes are similar to the eye colors of people Fyodor knows, though they are different shades.

Purple like Fukuchi. Green and blue from Nikolai.

Fyodor's eyes are also a shade of purple, kind of, so... Yeah, that works too, but Fukuchi's shade of eyes are closer to Atsushi's.

Yeah, that's all I can think of now and this is already way too long (if I start talking about Atsushi's mysterious past, I'm going to make this a mile long. Maybe later tho), so I'm ending it here for now.

Alright, bye ya'll.

[multifandomgoofygoober]

JJK first years (+ Gojo) with a reader who’s like Teen Geto

gn!reader

warnings: YAYYY NO WARNINGS!!

A/N: yes, this is ANOTHER writing that I wanted to find but I just CANT find anything like this☹️

Gojo Satoru

———

Once he saw you, he immediately knew that he’d like you.

And it only got better once he saw your mannerisms, morals, and just overall other stuff that instantly made him think of Geto.

You were always his favorite student ofc he’d NEVER admit that

You were basically the glue of the first year group so he usually teased you for that, saying stuff like “Wow! Seems like you know how to keep everyone in order, Y/n!”

Of course, it was never an insult but it wasn’t a direct compliment either.

He REALLY doesn’t want you to fall down the same path Geto did so he makes sure to keep an extra good eye on you.

Once Yuji died by Sukuna’s hands, you were impacted by it the worst.

Speeding through missions almost carelessly,

Avoiding your classmates on the regular,

And even almost stopped eating all together.

Luckily, Yuji bounced right back and that would’ve meant no need to confront you about your behavior!! :D

And even if you did get your morals cracked or humanity, Gojo would definitely make sure that he’d stop you before you did anything drastic.

He already made a mistake with his best friend— he won’t make another with his student.

Megumi Fushiguro

———

Megumi honestly found you to be a breath of fresh air.

You were always corporative during missions.

Just someone he found comfort in.

You could have your own moments but it all came down to your relationship.

Of course, he never knew Geto but if he had known that someone like this could’ve been Gojo’s best friend.. he’d might’ve taken interest in him.

You both usually work best together on missions, considering the teamwork you 2 had built up over time.

He likes how easy it is for you to keep calm in tough situations, as well as the ability to keep Yuji and Nobara in line. most of the time

Though, he just a tiny bit skeptical about your idea of “saving everyone” and “strong must protect the weak” thing.

If he ever heard that you defected from Jujutsu High, he’d be shocked at first but determined to get you back, just like the rest of his peers.

Overall, you both are good friends and definitely have eachother’s back.

Yuji Itadori

———

He absolutely LOVES your way of thinking and really looks up to you, even if you guys are the same age

You 2 get along well but you usually have to keep him from doing something stupid or reckless.

Once he found out that his death hit you hard, he immediately apologized once he got the chance.

you guys instantly connected, just like most people would when they met Yuji.

You two are basically a pair made by fate! <3

Though, once he got the news about you defecting, he got confused

(poor Yuji doesn’t know what that means☹️)

When Megumi explains, he’s shell shocked.

He immediately asks so many questions about you, wanting to know where you are so that he could confront you about your decision.

Either way, I say the both of you are similar in so many ways, yet so different in various aspects.

Nobara Kugisaki

———

In a way.. she thinks you're TOO calm at times.

Nobara thinks its a good thing to let loose and get wild at times and she is ALL FOR IT when she gets the idea to try and make you snap.. or give you reasons to snap.

You two are often talking and having petty disagreements that you have to even out

But once its all apart of combat, you don’t really work well together.

Nobara is mostly about going in with a VERY small and kinda risky plan that she made up within 30 seconds..

And you? You’re a bit frustrated by it and end up talking some sense into her.

But, of course, she doesn’t listen to your scoldings and brushes you off rather rudely.

Both of you are like older and younger siblings, always disagreeing, not liking someone else does this or that.. just normal bickering at this point!

Once she figures out that you left, SHE. IS. LIVID.

Absolutely PISSED.

She makes sure to find you and smack some sense into you just like you always did with her!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading!! I had some fun writing that for you all!😋

(i struggled with Yuji😡)

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x45 - Clash of the Ultimate Levels! WarGreymon vs. MetalGarurumon / The Ultimate Clash

Previously on Digimon Adventure: In a fit of insecurity, Yamato stormed off to go talk to manosphere bros who filled his brain with the most toxic rhetoric you could imagine. Meanwhile, Pinocchimon stamped his foot and started a shit-slinging contest because Takeru wouldn't play with him and ended up getting shit on his face.

Now, the Ultimate Clash of Ultimate Levels begins... Ultimately!

Hoping the kids at home forgot where we left off, we open in a very different position for MetalGarurumon. When last we saw them, Yamato was with the kids while MetalGarurumon was quite a ways away, challenging Agumon to fight.

Apparently what he meant by "I won't miss the next shot" was that there wasn't gonna be a next shot, 'cause he was gonna turn and walk over to Yamato's side as soon as the camera was off him.

Takeru: Onii-chan.... Jou: Q-Quit joking around, Yamato! We're nakama, aren't we!? Yamato: Nakama? Jou: That's right, nakama! The nakama of Chosen Children! Yamato: Hmph. Then here's a question. Who was it that chose us? Jou: It was.... Yamato: If you can't answer that, then how can you call us nakama? Jou: (sheepish) Okay, sure, but....

Jou tries so hard to Senpai this away but Yamato, armed with new Debate Bro artillery, DESTROYS SENPAI in the arena of logic.

In seriousness, Yamato does raise a good point here. The nakama in question are a bunch of children forced together, drafted to fight a war by a mysterious someone that to date has not revealed themselves.

Nakama, the tight-knit bond of a group of people pursuing a mutual activity or goal, is their principle bond with one another. They weren't friends before this. Some individual relationships existed between them; mainly the two sets of siblings and the soccer club kids. But their principle relationship is that of being survivors and siblings-in-arms in this conflict that none of them volunteered for.

You can see the subtitles struggling with the hard-to-translate nature of nakama here. "We're Chosen Children so that makes us friends" doesn't really compute as a line of logic; What he's saying is that being Chosen Children is the mutual activity that our nakama is formed around.

Probably should have gone with "team" for nakama's translation here rather than "friends". This dialogue would have been way easier to translate that way. "Team" doesn't apply to all forms of nakama; The martial arts nakama of Dragon Ball are only occasionally a team. But for shonen protag crews, it's often a good choice.

So Yamato here makes a painfully solid argument: If the foundation of their nakama is shaky than what really are they to one another? "We have to get along because we're Chosen Children" explain to me what that means. Jou can't, because their superiors have been withholding information every step along the way. They've been handled like grunts, given intel purely on a need-to-know basis.

The dub can't resist giving Tai the first word in this conversation he's not yet a part of.

Tai: Calm down, Matt! Don't get so bent out of shape! The last thing we need right now is a hothead with attitude! You've got more important things to think about! T.K.: Everyone's upset. Joe: Look, all I know is that this stupid bickering is giving me a gigantic headache! Matt: Chill out. Joe: Matt, have you forgotten that we have been chosen to be the DigiDestined? Matt: Hmph! And would you mind telling me who exactly chose us for this dumb job anyway!? Joe: I... Uh.... Matt: Come on! I want some answers and you can't seem to give 'em to me! Joe: You have a point there....

As with the end of the previous episode, the vibe is totally changed. In the original, the other kids are shocked and stunned that Yamato is turning on them, and were struggling to even form sentences, but in the dub they fully comprehended what was happening and were outraged by it.

We see that here too. Tai's extra line to kick us off is a full-scale browbeating of Matt for his audacity, with Takeru's stunned "Onii-chan...." changed to back up Tai.

The problem of nakama rears its head here too; They don't even try to make "We're the nakama of Chosen Children" work. They leave any possible interpretation of nakama out completely.

But the dub's version also struggles with the original decision to change Chosen Children to DigiDestined. Destiny doesn't necessarily imply an active individual making choices on their behalf; It can, but it can just as easily be something mystical and unknowable.

Matt would sound goofy trying to say "Yeah, and WHO DESTINED US HUH!?!?"

So Joe's forced to say "We were chosen to be DigiDestined" to allow Matt to pivot to Yamato's armor-piercing "Who chose us?" question. But with the change in vibe, he just sounds whiny. It lacks the power of the original, especially when he follows up and yells at Joe about wanting answers to something that... Like. Didn't have anything to do with his beef until this exact moment.

With Jou soundly defeated, it's Taichi's turn to step in.

Taichi: Jou. There's no point trying to resolve this. Yamato is this kind of guy. Yamato: "This kind of guy"...? You don't know anything about me! Taichi: I do know you! You're just throwing a tantrum because things aren't going the way you want them to. Yamato: (sarcastic) Well, aren't you incredible? Even I don't really understand the kind of person I am, but you know me perfectly!

Of course, Taichi's involvement only serves to escalate matters because Taichi isn't really the "talking things down" kind of guy. His brand of bold recklessness isn't well-suited to de-escalating a tense situation.

Sora steps in to try and be the peacemaker as usual.

Sora: That's enough of that, you two. Taichi: You don't have to tell me that! Yamato's the one picking a fight with me!

Taichi reacts defensively to Sora's scolding, childishly throwing down the "He started it!" line. (In his defense, he is a child. They all are.) He's not wrong but he was escalating it, which is why Sora angled that remark at the both of them.

In the dub:

Tai: Don't waste your time, Joe. Matt's just being a big, spoiled brat! Matt: You're the brat! Why don't you go mind your own business!? Tai: The problem with you is pretty easy to figure out! You're upset because you want to be the boss! Matt: Yeah, like I want to be the boss of THIS sorry group. If any of you brainiacs want to take charge, be my guest. I say we should just take care of ourselves! Sora: Stop fighting, you two! We've got to stick together! Tai: Don't look at me! Matt's the one who started it! He's got a bug up his nose!

The bug goes up his butt but I guess they couldn't get that past the censors.

Matt's still off-script, now advocating directly for dissolving the team entirely and having everyone go their separate ways. This is rooted in the individualist rhetoric that Jureimon fed Yamato; It's what the "Okay but are we even really a nakama?" bit was about.

It's not so far off from the opinions he claimed to have when he was talking to Takeru back at the breaking of the fellowship in the PicoDevimon arc, though his actions towards Jou betrayed his professed opinions then. As Yamato said, he doesn't even understand himself.

"Why don't you go mind your own business?" Matt. My dude. I know new episode who dis but this argument is about you wanting to fight Tai. This is, without question, Tai's business. What is this line?

The argument also (sigh) makes this about who gets to be Team Leader again. A topic that has nothing to do with anything Taichi and Yamato have ever locked horns about.

In any case, something about Yamato attacking him is making Taichi feel attacked so he tries to storm off.

Taichi: I don't have to listen to this! (storms off) Agumon: You've grown up, Taichi!

I'm not 100% sure what Agumon means by that but I think he's complimenting Taichi for "being the bigger person" so to speak and walking away from this. Unfortunately, MetalGarurumon isn't going to let Taichi opt out.

MetalGarurumon: That's not happening!

MetalGarurumon leaps over Taichi and Agumon's heads, landing on the opposite side to block their exit.

Taichi: This is going too far, Yamato! Yamato: Fight me! Taichi: I told you no! Don't you understand that!? MetalGarurumon: (angry) YOU'RE THE ONES WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND!!! Taichi: (startled) A-Are you serious!? Agumon: (steps in front of Taichi) Taichi, stay back!

When MetalGarurumon snaps, he doesn't just yell at Taichi; He directs that at omae-tachi, using the plural suffix -tachi to direct that statement at everyone.

In the dub, Agumon doesn't give Tai credit for his maturity because he's stuck on Tai's misused phrase.

Tai: Hmph! I don't have to listen to this! Agumon: Bug up the nose? That's a bad thing? (Tai and Agumon exit) MetalGarurumon: One moment! (MetalGarurumon jumps in front of them) Tai: WAUGH!!! Don't push me too far! Matt: Oh, I'm scaaaaaared. Tai: You had better be scared! I'm getting really mad! MetalGarurumon: Excuuuuuse me, but what are you gonna do about it?

Taichi here reiterates his refusal to fight Yamato, while Tai starts pushing back and threatening to throw down as an intimidation tactic. But you can't intimidate someone who's already made up his mind to fight you. Tai's threatening Matt with a good time.

The dub here inserts the cut shot of Pinocchimon back up on his tree perch that they carved out of the ending of last episode.

Puppetmon: So! Those little twerps are about to self-destruct! I'll just sit back and enjoy the show!

This is their segue for breaking up the conversation and cutting to commercial. When we come back to commercial, we rejoin MetalGarurumon in the shot from the last line he delivered.

MetalGarurumon: STAY RIGHT THERE!!! Tai: Get real, dude! Agumon: (steps in front of Tai) Watch it! Stand back!

From here, MetalGarurumon lunges at Taichi and Agumon. This is enough to finally push Agumon into Warp-Evolving to WarGreymon. Show Me Your Brave Heart does not play over this evolution sequence; There is nothing to get amped up about in this.

WarGreymon deflects MetalGarurumon's pounce.

WarGreymon: Stop it! There's no reason to fight! MetalGarurumon: You may not have one, but I do!

MetalGarurumon tackles WarGreymon, shoving him back. WarGreymon takes to the sky above, with MetalGarurumon following him up. There, in the sky, the fight begins.

WarGreymon opens with a sweeping kick, though the metallic sound his attack makes on impact leaves it ambiguous as to whether he did any damage. MetalGarurumon retaliates by biting him in the elbow, sinking his fangs into WarGreymon's exposed flesh and prompting him to roar in pain.

In the dub:

WarGreymon: There is no need for us to fight. MetalGarurumon: I must.

This time it's the dub's turn to have MetalGarurumon resigned and matter-of-fact while the original is aggressive and pushy. A funny reversal from the start of their conflict last episode.

Yamato watches the fighting above them. Suddenly, Taichi marches up to him.

Yamato: Finally ready to fight me?

Taichi answers Yamato's question with a punch to the face.

Taichi: Do you understand why I hit you? Yamato: Yeah! It's because you want to fight me too. Taichi: YOU STUPID BASTARD!!!

Today in Japanese vulgarities: bakayarou. As I've mentioned before, Japanese language tends to attack people's actions or words rather than the person themselves. Even using a second-person pronoun can be considered rude in a variety of contexts.

Which brings us to bakayarou. Baka, of course, is the classic "stupid" insult seen all over anime. Adding the yarou modifier to a word is a vulgar way of saying, in a language that looks down on directly targeting words at individuals, "YOU are the thing I am describing." Often times, it gets translated as "bastard".

Like all language, there's a lot of flexibility in how it's used. But there is little ambiguity in screaming bakayarou at someone in the middle of a fistfight.

Taichi punctuates his outburst with a right hook. Yamato recoils from the hit.

Yamato: Sorry for being such an idiot, then!

Yamato punches Taichi, sending him stumbling back towards a tree. He follows up with a left punch, hitting Taichi dead in the face. Taichi recovers quickly, darting to the side to avoid Yamato's third punch and then nailing Yamato with one of his own.

(I'm sorry, Yamato, but I don't actually think you're going to outfight Reckless Bold Action Guy.)

Up in the air, MetalGarurumon swoops around WarGreymon, tackling him from the back and pushing him back down towards the forest.

In the dub:

Matt: What's the matter, you chicken!?

In a hilarious fit of censorship, they cut the impact from Tai's punch and the entire "Do you know why I hit you" to "BAKAYAROU!!!" exchange. They replace it with a shot from later in the episode of Takeru calling out to them.

T.K.: MAAAAAAATT!!! I'm gonna tell Mom that you were fighting! Matt: Sorry, T.K., but I have to do this!

Matt uses his lip flaps from "Sorry for being such an idiot!", then comes back in and swings at Tai for what is, in this version, the second punch. And the last for this part of the scene; We see Tai stumbling back from it, and then Yamato's follow-up swings are also cut. We go straight from there to MetalGarurumon bringing down WarGreymon.

Taichi and Yamato fight offscreen, with the sounds of punching in the background as the others yell at them.

Jou: Both of you, stop it now! Koushiro: Please stop this! Sora: Taichi! Calm down! Taichi: You don't understand what this is about! This punch isn't coming from me. This is FROM PICCOLOMON!!! (Taichi punches Yamato) Taichi: THIS ONE IS CHUUMON'S!!! (Taichi scores a second punch) Taichi: AND THIS IS WHAMON'S!!!

With a third and final punch (Wizarmon doesn't get one, I guess) Taichi knocks Yamato flat on his back. While Yamato tries to get b ack to his feet, Taichi kneels down and grabs him by his shirt.

Taichi: Yamato! Do you really think the Digimon who died for us... (voice breaks) ...would want us having this pointless fight!?

This is a strong moment for Taichi because it connects back to what he was trying (and failing) to say to Mimi and the others back at the graves. Taichi's words were thoughtless, he's bad at empathizing with other people's feelings, but they weren't malicious.

Taichi is grieving. He is as traumatized by all this as the others. But his trauma response is different. Grief has made him vengeful. All that stuff about "We need to take the fight to them and avenge our fallen!" is his way of processing the pain in his heart.

Taichi doesn't want to mourn; He wants violent, decisive closure.

Closeups on Taichi and Yamato's faces show that they're both crying. Taichi's eyes are misting, preparing to water, while Yamato has tears fully streaming down his face. Like Mimi, they're trying to process their own uncertainty, trauma, and grief, in their own ways.

Taichi: Do you understand now? Yamato: NO, I DON'T!!!

Yamato sucker punches Taichi suddenly, forcing him off.

Yamato: I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT AT ALL!!!

Losing himself to his feelings, Yamato starts pummeling Taichi, screaming "Kuso!", the Japanese curse word for "Shit!", over and over with each hit.

In the dub:

Joe: Both of you stop it right now! Izzy: It's ridiculous! Sora: You two are just making things worse! Tai: He's gotta be taught a lesson, and fast! Here, take this!

They pick Chuumon's punch to be the one and only punch he throws, then cut to the shot of Yamato falling on the grass; Skipping over the entire emotional breakdown of their dead friends - Though Tai still brings them up.

Tai: (grabbing Matt's shirt) I'm only doing this to honor the memory of all the great Digimon that have helped us. T_T They trusted us and believed in our commitment! Matt: T_T Tai: We can't let them down!

Matt punching himself free of Tai is then cut, and Matt simply stands up without much fuss.

Matt: (voice breaking) What if we made a mistake!? Ragh!

Too full of emotion to put much force behind that grunt, Matt swings his next punch and we skip the part where he punches his feelings out against Tai's flesh.

While Yamato is indulging in unhealthy coping mechanisms, the Digimon continue fighting above.

Palmon: What do we do? Piyomon: We have to stop them....

MetalGarurumon fires a volley of missiles from both shoulder launchers. WarGreymon is able to dodge one set, but his evasion path takes him directly into the others. MetalGarurumon scores a direct hit on his armored chest.

Tentomon: We aren't strong enough to do anything against their Ultimate forms. Tailmon: Let them tire themselves out. Gomamon: HEY!!! Don't you care about what happens to our nakama? Tailmon: Would we be able to stop them if I did? Gomamon: Well.... Tailmon: Then we have no choice but to sit back and watch. Gomamon: Damn it! You're just a newcomer so-- Tentomon: Stop that! We don't need you to start fighting too!

Hit her with your Marching Fishes, Gomamon. She's probably hungry.

In the dub:

Palmon: This is awful! Biyomon: We have to stop them! (WarGreymon hit by missiles) Tentomon: Unfortunately, they're Mega Digimon and there's nothing any of us can do about it! Gatomon: Best thing is for them to duke it out. Gomamon: I just hate fighting, and we can't let our friends destroy themselves. Gatomon: It's a dog eat dog world, isn't it? Gomamon: (confused) They're not dogs.... Gatomon: The deal is this. You just sit and watch them take care of business. Gomamon: Oh, yeah!? I don't have to like it! Tentomon: Gomamon, get a grip! The last thing we need is any more fighting around here!

Tailmon accepts the futility of intervention because they're too powerful; There's nothing the rest of us can do to stop this. Gatomon cynically tries to normalize their behavior, waxing poetic about life being cruel. That's the kind of sentiment I'd expect from her before meeting Kari.

No longer on the tree top we saw him at last episode, Pinocchimon watches the action from a lower branch.

Pinocchimon: Ehehehehe! Hahahahaha! What children, fighting over nothing!

WarGreymon lands a Brave Tornado into MetalGarurumon's face. Pinocchimon hops up and down on the branch with excitement.

Pinocchimon: Again! Again! Do it again! Keep it up until you both die!

Yamato tackles Taichi to the ground. Taichi's able to roll Yamato over, seizing control of the fight and scoring two solid face punches. Yamato grabs Taichi by his shirt suddenly and rolls backwards, flipping and throwing Taichi to escape the pin.

Takeru: STOP IT, ONII-CHAN!!! Fighting like this is bad!

Yamato answers Takeru by replaying footage of his tree punch from earlier. Finally, Mimi breaks.

Takeru: Onii-chan.... Mimi: (crying) NO MORE!!! Sora: Mimi-chan....

Mimi turns and runs away from Taichi and Yamato, making it a short distance before she crouches down beside a tree.

Mimi: (crying) Fighting and fighting... What do we get out of it!? I can't take it anymore! Sora: (approaching slowly) Mimi-chan...

This time it's Yamato's turn to be thrown off a cliff for making my kid cry.

Technically, it's Yamato and Taichi fighting that's doing this, but let's be real; Yamato is unambiguously the aggressor here, and Taichi tried repeatedly to refuse this fight. Taichi could have stood to be more tactful, but there was no talking Yamato down from this.

In the dub, Puppetmon takes credit for Cherrymon's work. What a dick!

Puppetmon: Hahahahahaha! Hehehe... Aww, I'm a genius! They're all gonna hate each other! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

WarGreymon calls Brave Tornado as Terra Force again despite that being a different attack.

Puppetmon: EEEEE!!! Go get him! Oh boy, I love a good fight!

They keep Yamato tackling Taichi to the ground and Taichi reversing the pin on him, then cut away to Mimi's departure. Even T.K.'s line gets cut; I guess because they already moved to to earlier in the episode?

But they cut it sloppily so you can catch T.K.'s mouth closing from delivering the line he no longer has before Mimi turns and runs away. Mimi, meanwhile, starts talking before turning despite not having lip flaps, so the result makes it look briefly like her voice is coming out of T.K.'s mouth.

Mimi: Ugh! I've had it! Sora: Mimi! (Mimi runs and crouches by the tree) Mimi: (crying) I'm gonna sit here and stare at the flowers until everybody starts getting along! Sora: (approaching slowly, sarcastic) Oh, like that's going to help.

They (heavy sigh) make this moment into a laugh line about how ridiculous and overdramatic Mimi is, then have Sora go ridicule her for it. Thanks, I hate it.

While Pinocchimon watches the spectacle up in the sky, Hikari sneaks off to go talk to strangers.

Hikari: Are you guys our enemies? Or allies?

Koushiro - who, I guess, is just bored with the two separate horrible fights taking place - walks over to see what's up with Hikari. He chats with Tailmon.

Koushiro: Who is Hikari-san talking to? Tailmon: I don't know. Hikari: Okay, so you're not an enemy.

Suddenly, a bright rainbow light shines down - The light is faint, filtering through the trees, but it's not unlike the aurora that delivered the children's Digivices on that fateful day in camp. Hikari's body glows brightly, and she momentarily curls into herself as if in pain.

Tailmon: HIKARI!!!

Tailmon and Koushiro hurry to her side, but Hikari continues. She takes off her Crest of Light and holds it up to the rainbow glow.

In the dub, Kari confronts the light a little more aggressively.

Kari: I'm not afraid! Well, maybe a little. (gazes at it in awe) Ahhh... My name's Kari! Please tell me who you are. Do you want to be friends with us? Gatomon: What in the Digi-World is she doing? Izzy: She appears to be conversing with herself. Gatomon: (dismissive singsong) She's losing it~! Kari: You seem to be nice enough! (Kari begins glowing and curls into herself) Gatomon: KARI!!!

Izzy and Gatomon trade roles here, and Gatomon dismissively badmouths Kari which is certainly a choice. >.> Whoever wrote the dub script for this episode decided to make Gatomon surprisingly catty. Uh. You know, in the bad way.

Once Hikari presents her Crest, the glowing gets brighter. It expands, consuming Koushiro and Tailmon before continuing outward.

Tentomon: KOUSHIRO-HAN!!! Taichi: W-What the--

The light takes Tentomon. It takes Taichi and Yamato. It takes Sora, Mimi, Jou, and Takeru. It gives Pinocchimon a tumble because he is not invited. It revokes WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon's evolutions, reverting them to Koromon and Tsunomon before taking them too.

Everyone finds themselves in a great white void, while something begins to speak through Hikari's mouth. It uses Hikari's voice and if you're paying attention to the group shot you can see her lips move but it's super subtle.

Taichi: This is...? Yamato: What sort of place even is this? Not Hikari: Wherever there is light, there will also be darkness. Darkness and light are like the two sides of the same coin. However, if the power of darkness grows larger....

A great blackness suddenly grows and takes over their void. Not Hikari is, of course, talking about your typical "balance of yin and yang" sort of deal. The problem is not that darkness exists but that it has grown to overshadow the light.

In the dub:

Tentomon: IZZY!!! Tai: What's happening!? (Everyone gets taken by the light into the void except Puppetmon) Tai: Where are we!? Matt: No idea.... Not Hikari: In this world, there is a balance of darkness and light. The light represents all that's good in the world and the darkness is the evil. When the darkness becomes larger than the light, it upsets the balance.

Not Hikari here specifies that light means good and dark means evil. A specification that wasn't stated outright in the original... but looking at the behaviors of most Vaccine and Virus type Digimon we've met, it's pretty implied. The powers of darkness have been unambiguously super-evil child-murderers, and not in the morally complex Undertale way.

There is certainly a space for NOT ALL DEVIMONS as a narrative point, but that is not an argument that this show has presented.

The black void overtakes the white, and the kids are left in darkness.

Mimi: It's turned to night! Jou: What is this place!? Did we get pulled into another dimension!?

Valid concern. That has happened to them before.

Sora: Wait! I see something! Taichi: This is... Hikarigaoka!

Floating in the sky above the city, they see Greymon and Parrotmon drifting up into a portal back to the Digital World and making me eat crow from when I said Hikari's Greymon died. I have been remembering this wrong.

You win this round, dub team who hadn't even seen the OVA when they had to adapt the episodes describing it.

Koushiro: That's the bird from four years ago!

He types away at his laptop, pulling up the Digimon Analyzer to finally get a read on that creature that started this all.

Parrotmon is a Perfect-stage Vaccine-type Giant Bird Digimon. Part of the reason that their identity was such a mystery is because they were created for the OVA; Not appearing in the V-Pet, video games, or even TCG until 2000.

At the time of this episode's airing, Parrotmon had never been seen again in any other Digimon media, and wouldn't be until the release of the D-Terminal to tie in with Adventure 02.

Narrator: Parrotmon. A mysterious Digimon who appeared in front of Taichi's group long ago in Hikarigaoka. Their special attack is Sonic Destroyer. Koushiro: They were Perfect-stage....

In the dub, Tai swipes Mimi's line and he and Joe quip about the darkness overtaking the light.

Tai: Whoa! The balance seems to be really out of whack! Joe: So? Somebody find a switch and put the lights back on. Sora: There's something over there! (Hikarigaoka comes into view) Tai: I know this sounds incredible, but could we be home again? (Closeup on Greymon and Parrotmon disappearing into the sky portal) Izzy: I've seen that Digimon before! (type) Izzy: (rundown) Why, of course. That's Parrotmon. He was the mysterious Digimon that appeared in Highton View Terrace approximately four years ago. Now he's completely Digivolved.

Izzy remains terrible at exposition. "Now he's completely Digivolved," he says, as if the Parrotmon up there has achieved a higher form than when they fought Greymon.

Also, "completely Digivolved" raises an eyebrow. Uh. What? Either Izzy is using "completely Digivolved" to refer to Ultimate level even though he knows better now, or he's saying that Parrotmon has become a Mega Digimon.

There are two ways to take this line and they're both wrong, on top of Izzy being wrong for asserting that Parrotmon "being fully Digivolved" is a recent occurrence.

Not Hikari steps forward to offer further explanation.

Not Hikari: Four years ago in your world, a Digitama passed through a tear in reality by mistake. Taichi: What are you talking about, Hikari? Tailmon: That's not Hikari talking to us. Koushiro: Someone is using Hikari's body to speak to us. Not Hikari: My wish is to restore balance to the Digimon World. Sora: Are you the God of the Digimon World? Not Hikari: No, I am not. Just like the Digimon, I am made up of internet data. Unlike the Digimon, we are unable to take a physical form. In other words, I don't have a physical body. That is why I'm borrowing this person's body to speak with you. Taichi: Why Hikari? Not Hikari: She was the only one who could hear me.

There's an interesting switch that happens in Not Hikari's language here. Well, for one, it's interesting that Not Hikari uses the standard gender-neutral first-person pronoun watashi instead of the more girly atashi that Hikari uses.

But, more interesting than that, is the way Not Hikari switches between the singular watashi and the plural watashi-tachi. For most of this explanation, they use watashi. However, when they say "We are unable to take physical form", that's a watashi-tachi.

Implying that whatever the sparkle sparkle entity possessing Hikari is, they are of a kind; There are others like them.

In the dub:

Not Kari: He passed through the dimensional divide. Some time ago, a Digiegg fell through a hole from our world to yours. Tai: Kari, what are you talking about? Gatomon: I think Kari's had too much catnip! Izzy: My theory is that someone else is using Kari's body to speak for them. Not Kari: My wish is that there be peace and happiness for everyone. Sora: I don't understand. Are you some kind of super being or something? Not Kari: No, nothing like that. I am similar to the Digimon. I was produced by data bytes taken from the internet. But there's a difference: Unlike the Digimon, we're unable to take a shape in the form of a physical body. In order for me to communicate with you, I had to temporarily borrow Kari. Tai: Couldn't you have taken Joe instead!? Joe: Hey! Not Kari: I had to take Kari. She's the only one that I'm able to communicate with.

The word Kami crossed the dub team's desk and the best they could come up with to avoid saying God was "some kind of super being". XD

Gatomon is still being shitty and dismissive towards Kari and I hate it.

Tai abruptly slaps Joe in the face for lulz because he's one of the two designated punching bags.

On the plus side, they nailed that interesting pluralization implying that there are more of whatever this being is.

(Officially, this is Homeostasis, but the lore around Homeostasis is vague and confusing, and Homeostasis is never named within the show itself. At least not this series; other entries in the Adventure franchise do identify Homeostasis by name.)

Not Hikari continues to explain things.

Not Hikari: Truthfully, I've been wanting to talk to you ever since you arrived on File Island.

Too fucking bad we accidentally left behind the only kid who could hear them.

That makes two separate attempts to prevent the Lord of the Flies experience from happening to them and give them a more traditional Isekai experience, ruined by present circumstances of their arrival.

Imagine spending like a thousand years preparing for the arrival of the chosen one and then going to take a shit and when you come back the Chosen One is not only here but has gone Feral BOTW Link for lack of guidance.

The children suddenly levitate into the air. Not Hikari levitates slowly over Hikarigaoka with the other kids in tow, as bright spotlights shine down on each of their younger counterparts frozen in time.

Taichi: Ah! That's Hikari and me from four years ago! Jou: Ah! The one on the phone is me! Mimi: That's me! Sora: And there's me! Takeru: There's me with Onii-chan! Koushiro: I'm there too. But these lights.... Not Hikari: They're scanning everyone's data. Yamato: But what for? Not Hikari: Allow me to explain everything from the beginning.

Greymon and Parrotmon disappear into the sky portal. Not Hikari follows them in, with the children levitating up after.

In the dub:

Not Kari: To be honest, I wanted to contact you when you arrived at File Island, but it was completely impossible under the circumstances. (Not Kari levitates everyone over Highton View Terrace) Tai: Wow, it's a blast from the past! That's us four years ago! Joe: Hey, that's me! How typical; I'm on the telephone. Mimi: I was so cute! Sora: Hard to believe we were that little! T.K.: There's my brother and me! Izzy: That's definitely me, but what's with the light? Not Kari: Its purpose is to process all of your vital information. Matt: That's kind of freaky; Why's it doing that? Not Kari: Just follow me; I'll explain it to you.

Solid dub writing. They do a good job spicing up the bit where everyone says "That's me!" over and over. I also appreciate Matt pointing out that Not Kari quietly stealing their metadata while they're watching the fight is fucking skeevy.

Digimon Adventure was ahead of its time. If this was made today, Homeostasis would definitely be selling that shit to advertisers.

Speaking of which, both versions put a commercial break here. Talk about your commercial break cliffhangers! "Yes, I will finally, after 44 episodes, explain crucial details of the plot to you... RIGHT AFTER THESE MESSAGES!!!" Well played, Homeostasis. Well played.

Once Homeostasis has finished pocketing that lucrative McDonalds ad revenue, we find ourselves in a strange yet familiar locale.

Sora: Where... are we? Koushiro: Does this place look familiar to you?

The kids start to look around, but then Takeru spots something.

Takeru: What's that over there?

Shortly followed by the others, Takeru runs over to a glass case containing eight Digitama.

Takeru: They're Digitama! Group: (awestruck) Ahhhh! Koromon: The Digivices and Crests are here too!

Sure enough, each Digitama has a Digivice and a Crest mysteriously plugged into it.

In the dub:

Sora: Where are we now, whoever you are? Izzy: Rather bizarre place, indeed. (The kids look around) T.K.: Check this out! (Everyone goes to the Digiegg case) T.K.: They look like Digieggs! Group: (awestruck) Ahhhh! Koromon: Look! Crests and Digivices! Matt: (annoyed) Okay, this is getting weird! Joe: Oh, and floating in the sky is normal?

Koushiro immediately cottons on to the fact that they've been here before (which they have!). Izzy misses that entirely and just thinks the place is weird.

Matt and Joe get extra lines where, in a rare upset, Joe gets to dunk on someone else for a change.

Suddenly, phantoms of humanoids in cloaks pass by. Jou is the first to see them. He panics, raising his arms with alarm and accidentally shoving Mimi into the glass, eliciting a surprised shriek.

Jou: WAAAAAAUGH!!! Mimi: AGGGGH!!! Jou: W-WE'RE SORRY FOR INTRUDING!!!

The cloaked figures pass by, ignoring them entirely

Gomamon: Hey, what the hell!? You could at least address us! Not Hikari: These people are a video recording. These are images of the past that are being projected into your minds.

Gomamon gets offended that we're not being yelled at for trespassing. XD

In the dub, Mimi doesn't react. She silently accepts being scooted aside by Joe's panic.

Joe: WAAAAAAUGH!!! Okay, it's official; This is definitely giving me the creeps. (The cloaked figures ignore them) Gomamon: What's the matter, fellas? Can't you say hello? Not Kari: These men are just computer images. They are figments from the past who have been digitally transmitted to your present.

Once Not Kari's set the stage for what we're seeing, Koushiro suddenly notices a significant clue as to where we are.

Koushiro: Ah! This is the stone slate that was beneath Vamdemon's castle. Piyomon: The Gate is here too! It's the same room!

The kids hurry over to gaze up at the Gate; Sure enough, it's the very same one they passed through to return to the human world.

Which, of course, explains why Gennai was not only familiar with the Gate but had the keycards to open it in his possession, rather than in Vamdemon's. At some point, like an otaku running away to live in Japan, Vamdemon decided to go straight to the source of his fandom and moved in.

Jou: But what are those people doing? Not Hikari: They're preparing for the time when our world will be overrun by darkness. First, we created the Crests and Digivices out of the data we scanned from you. Sora: "Created"? Taichi: Then that means... You guys are the ones who chose us? Not Hikari: That's right.

Finally getting some real answers, and none of Gennai's runarounds.

In the dub:

Izzy: I don't believe it! This is from Myotismon's castle! Biyomon: Here's Myotismon's secret passage! Joe: Let me guess, those are the elves that make the shoes at night? Not Kari: They're monitoring the positive and negative forces to preserve harmony in the world. We took the information that we scanned from all of you, then we created your Digivices and Crests. Sora: You did that? Tai: That must mean that you're the ones who chose us. Is that true? Not Kari: Yes, it is.

The dub's explanation for what the hooded figures are doing doesn't quite capture the urgency of their work.

In the original, Not Hikari indicates that they knew the balance was destabilizing, and they were doing all of this for the purpose of countering it. They saw things getting bad, and bringing in the humans' data and going through this whole rigamarole was their best idea for how to fix it.

The dub has the cloaked figures simply monitoring harmony as a day-to-day, and also they're making the Crests and Digivices too. Just in case things do get bad, I guess.

Taichi has some follow-up questions regarding their selection.

Taichi: But why were we chosen? Not Hikari: You and Hikari-san made the Digitama that passed into the real world evolve into Greymon. Taichi: That was katteni shinka. Not Hikari: There is no such thing as katteni shinka.

Okay, this is a hard one to translate to English.

If you caught my post about Dragon Ball's Ultra Instinct I mentioned the word migatte as part of the technique's Japanese name. Katte is a root word of migatte, and katteni is similar in meaning. Katteni is autonomous; doing something of one's own accord, without permission or influence from others.

Taichi is saying that Koromon evolving to Agumon and then to Greymon happened arbitrarily; The Digimon evolved all by himself, while Taichi and Hikari were merely passive bystanders. Nothing that happened between them influenced Koromon's evolution in any way.

Homeostasis retorts that. No. That's stupid. Katteni shinka is not a thing. What Taichi is saying is not how evolution works. At all. Either for Digimon or otherwise.

Not Hikari: That evolution did not happen by chance. It was because of your presence that he evolved into Greymon. (Flashback to Greymon v. Parrotmon) Taichi: But... We didn't do anything! We didn't even have a Digivice! Not Hikari: If you think the Digivice is merely a tool for evolution, you are mistaken. (Back to present) Not Hikari: The Digivice matches your personal qualities to your Digimon and enables them to evolve properly.

The dub is going to have a hard time with this section, since katteni shinka is difficult to translate and they have limited space to explain it in.

Tai: Then tell me this: What makes us so special? Not Kari: You made it possible for Greymon to survive and Digivolve, and it couldn't have been accomplished without help from you and Kari. Tai: But he Digivolved without me.... Not Kari: A Digimon can't Digivolve without you. It doesn't work that way.

That is a hard miss. Digimon absolutely can evolve without a person. If they couldn't, the Digital World would be nothing but Babies for miles around.

What they can't do is evolve arbitrarily, without influence from environmental factors. The point of this line isn't that humans are necessary to make evolution possible. It's that Homeostasis witnessed the effect that Taichi and Hikari's influence had on the wayward Digitama and had a Holy Shit Light Bulb moment.

They caused Botamon to evolve into Koromon, Agumon, and then Greymon. But not because evolution wouldn't be possible without them.

Not Kari: The very fact that you were both there made him Digivolve to protect you. Tai: But how? We were just goofy little kids and we didn't even have a Digivice. Not Kari: A Digivice is just a tool that was designed to help in the Digivolving process. It assists you by making you aware of your powers, but it's the special qualities in each of you that really makes it work.

This part is rock-solid. No notes. It's just the other part that had a high bar to clear that they messed up on.

Next, Homeostasis goes on to talk about the Crests.

Not Hikari: The same is true of your Crests. Is everyone aware of what their Crests represent? Taichi: Mine's Courage. Sora: Mine is Love. Mimi: Purity! Koushiro: Knowledge. Jou: Sincerity. Takeru: Mine is the Crest of Hope. Yamato: (quiet, distant) Mine is.... Jou: Friendship, wasn't it?

Jou gives Yamato a friendly pat on the shoulder, but that only makes Yamato withdraw into himself.

Not Hikari: Those are the strongest qualities that each of you had four years ago. But what happens if you lose those qualities? You may end up misusing your Digimon. And if you use those special qualities of yours for the wrong reasons.... Taichi: (gasp) Could it be.... (Flashback to SkullGreymon's evolution) Taichi: Back then, I jumped in front of the enemy so that I could force Greymon to Super-Evolve. But he became SkullGreymon instead. (Flashback ends) Taichi: (with certainty) That was the wrong kind of Courage. Not Hikari: That's right. You've finally realized.

Wait, he only figured out what he did wrong just now?

Well, no, that makes sense, actually. He knew he'd fucked up back then, but they didn't learn the meanings of their Crests until much later. He hasn't had a reason to stop and think about how the virtue of Courage applies to the SkullGreymon incident.

Sometimes you have all the information you need to put the pieces together but it's already behind you and there's more important stuff to think about.

In the dub:

Not Kari: The same thing with the Crests. Can you tell me what your personal Crests really represent? Tai: Well, mine's Courage. Sora: And this one means Love. Mimi: Sincerity! Izzy: Mine's Knowledge! Joe: Reliability. T.K.: I know what this Crest means; It's Hope! Matt: (quiet, distant) Well, mine is.... Joe: Wasn't it called Friendship? (pat) Not Kari: All of that's true, but there's more to it than that. Every one of you has strengths and weaknesses. We took each of your strongest qualities that you possessed four years ago, then we made a Crest for that. Tentomon: Oh! I get it! Not Kari: If that trait is lost, then Digimon might become corrupted. Tai: Ah! That happened! (Flashback to SkullGreymon's evolution) Tai: When I tried to make Agumon Digivolve by throwing myself in front of his enemy! But then something weird happened; He Digivolved into SkullGreymon! (Flashback ends) Tai: (with certainty) And now I realize that was pretty foolish. Not Kari: But the important thing is that you learned from it.

Yep, that's another miss.

Dub Homeostasis claims that SkullGreymon happened because Tai lost his Courage. That's. Not. What happened there. Tai losing his Courage is what happened at Datamon's pyramid. Completely different event, and one that did not result in SkullGreymon.

SkullGreymon was the result of Taichi's Courage becoming corrupt.

Meanwhile, Tai's big revelation here is that jumping in front of the enemy was a stupid thing to do. That's. No. That's not his revelation; He already realized it was stupid way back when. It's the connection between that event and the virtue of Courage being corrupted that Taichi suddenly made here.

Jou steps forward to assess what they've learned.

Jou: So all of this work was to amplify the qualities we already had in the first place.

Yamato, still haunted by his inability to connect with his Crest virtue, wanders away to look at his Digitama, Crest, and Digivice in the case.

Tsunomon: Yamato...?

Not Hikari joins him, followed soon by the others.

Koushiro: I understand why Taichi-san and Hikari-san were chosen, but the rest of us didn't make a Digimon evolve. Not Hikari: After examining everyone's data, we determined that you shared commonalities with Taichi-san and Hikari-san. The meaning behind it is still a mystery to us.

I take it back; Even Homeostasis seems to struggle with comprehending the plot. This answer is basically a shrug. "What made us choose the rest of you? There was something about your data. I don't know what."

In the dub:

Joe: All this time, we've been wracking our brains trying to figure out stuff about ourselves that we already knew! Ha! That's a fine how-do-ya-do. (Matt walks away) Joe: Huh? (Matt stares at the glass case.) Tsunomon: Who knew? (Everyone joins him.) Izzy: Prodigious! I see why you chose Tai and Kari, but the rest of us never made contact with the Digiegg so why us? Not Kari: When we examined all of your data, we came to the conclusion that you had something in common with Tai and Kari. But we're not quite sure what it means. All we know is that you've proven yourselves to be very capable.

Joe managed to mangle his line so hard that I have no idea what he's even saying.

But the exposition is pretty much 1:1.

Takeru steps forward to examine the Digitama in the case.

Takeru: What are these Digitama? Not Hikari: You can't tell? Patamon: Is it us? Not Hikari: Yes. Palmon: Which one is me? Tsunomon: We can tell by looking at the marks on the Crests! (Piyomon and Gomamon find theirs) Piyomon: That one? Gomamon: This one's mine!

Piyomon's Digitama is covered in hearts because of course it is.

In the dub:

T.K.: Who do these belong to? Not Kari: Isn't it obvious? Patamon: I have a feeling it's us! Not Kari: Yes. Palmon: Wow, which one's me? Tsunomon: I think the answer's in the Crests! (Biyomon and Gomamon find theirs) Biyomon: Look! This is me! Gomamon: And that's mine!

Very faithful translation; Near word for word.

Unfortunately, things did not go well for the Chosen Children project.

Not Hikari: However, the Dark Masters learned about our plan and they came here to find us.

The doors open and Metal Empire forces spill into the room. Despite having been told that these are phantoms of past events and are not really happening, the kids still panic and scatter. Takeru trips and falls, prompting Patamon to let off an Air Shot at the Metal Empire soldiers to try and cover him.

Not Hikari: These are also video recordings.

The way Homeostasis has to say that again in their completely neutral matter-of-fact voice 'cause children be slow is sending me. XD Maybe you should have drafted some adults for your war.

The Metal Empire forces open fire on the hooded figures, blowing them up with rockets.

Taichi: Shit! So because they're video recordings, we can't do anything but stand here and watch!?

Taichi's blood is expectedly boiling at all this carnage. Koushiro, on the other hand, already has his laptop out because NEW DIGIMON JUST DROPPED. He starts with the brown one.

Guardromon is an Adult-stage Virus-type Machine Digimon, though the Analyzer makes an error and lists them as Data. This may have to do with the fact that they debuted in the Digimon World video game, where they were in fact Data Vaccine actually what the fuck.

I guess the anime just. Split the difference between Digimon World Vaccine and Metal Empire V-Pet Virus. XD

In any case, Guardromon is one of the two Metal Empire Adult Viruses.

Izzy: That one is Guardromon. Narrator: Guardromon. A Machine type Digimon with iron-clad defenses. Their special attack is Destruction Grenade.

Also it's super easy to miss when they're in motion but can I just say that the Destruction Grenades are hilarious? XD Someone was like "This is my Vaccine Digimon, he shoots little cops that explode," and another person went, "Nah bro that goes into the Virus bin."

The silver Digimon, meanwhile, is Mekanorimon. Like Bakemon and bakemono, this is a play on an existing word: norimono, which means "vehicle". Mecha Norimono.

Mekanorimon is the other Adult-stage Virus-type Digimon from Metal Empire, and this one the Analyzer gets right. If your poorly cared for Hagurumon is well-trained, you get Guardromon; If not, Mekanorimon.

Yamato: Here comes another one! Narrator: Mekanorimon. A powered suit Digimon that can be piloted like a vehicle. It uses its Linear Lens to fire its special attack Twinkle Beam.

Under the assault of explosion cops and Twinkle Beams, the cloaked figures are quickly overwhelmed.

In the dub:

Not Kari: Yes, but I'm afraid I have bad news. The Dark Masters got wind of our plan and have worked very hard to defeat us. (Metal Empire forces enter; Kids scatter and flee) Not Kari: Save your breath; They're computer images! (Metal Empire starts killing everyone) Tai: What!? Just because those guys are computer images, we have to sit back and do nothing!? Izzy: (on the brown one) His name is Guardromon. Izzy: (rundown) He's a Machine Digimon and his armor is constructed of solid iron. Absolutely nothing can penetrate that can of beans! Matt: HERE COMES SOME MORE OF THEM!!! Tentomon: (rundown) This is no space-age vacuum cleaner! Meet Mekanorimon. His Twin Beam will annihilate anything! Which makes housework a breeze.

Homeostasis's second line here is delivered as a scolding, rather than a comically matter-of-fact reassertion of information already provided. So it lacks the funny.

Guardromon's diegetic rundown claims that he's invulnerable... because he's made of iron. I mean, iron's great, don't get me wrong, but it's kind of basic? Especially this soon after the fantasy metal "INVULNERABLE CHROME DIGIZOID" was such a big thing.

The reason this happened is because the word in question, 鉄壁 teppeki, has multiple meanings. It literally translates to "iron wall", as in a literal iron wall used in a military fortification, and it means an impenetrable defense.

So they had word which could be saying Guardromon is made of iron or could be saying Guardromon's defenses are impenetrable, and they hedged their bets and went with both.

Meanwhile, Tentomon is too busy quipping to mention that Mekanorimon is a pilotable vehicle. Which. Is. Kind of. Important. Information. For events that will follow.

Also Mekanorimon's attack is "Twin Beam" despite there only being a single beam because I guess the dub team didn't like the twinkle.

While all this devastation is unfolding, Jou suddenly lets out a shriek.

Jou: AHH!!! IT'S PIEMON!!! Stay back! Stay back! Ahhhh go away! Gomamon: We're okay. Sora: It's just a video recording.

Piemon approaches the case with the Digitama. Letting out a wicked laugh, he shatters the case and collects all of the Crests.

Taichi: He's stealing the Crests! Mimi: Can't we do something!?

Suddenly, one of the cloaked figures charges at him with a sword.

Cloaked Man: PIEMON!!! THOSE AREN'T YOURS TO TAKE!!! Piemon: Gennai.... Takeru: THAT'S GENNAI-SAN!?!?

Gennai slashes at Piemon, but he's too slow. Piemon easily darts around Gennai's swing, then presses a strange black orb into Gennai's back. Gennai grits his teeth and grunts in agony as the ball enters his body.

He takes another swing at Piemon, who backs off. A Mekanorimon comes up behind him; Gennai dodges its Twinkle Beam and leaps up on top. Prying open Mekanorimon's cockpit, he yanks a Bakemon out of it and tosses the useless ghost aside.

Gennai: Out of the way!

Gennai slips inside the Mekanorimon himself, then scoops up all of the Digitama and Digivices.

Piemon: DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY WITH THE CRESTS!!!

...apparently he also has the Crests. To be honest, I'm not sure how he would have grabbed those. They were last seen in Piemon's hand, and Piemon thoroughly outfought Gennai.

In the dub:

Joe: AHHHH!!! PIEDMON IS HERE!!! DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!!! SHOO!!! GO AWAY!!! Gomamon: Relax, he's just an image. Sora: (snarky) Yeah, save your screaming for the real thing. (Piedmon goes for the Crests) Tai: He's going to steal the Crests! Mimi: Oh no! (Piedmon takes the Crests) Cloaked Man: Piedmon! Hands off those Crests! Piedmon: Gennai! T.K.: That man's Gennai!? (Gennai attacks, gets black balled, then hijacks Mekanorimon and escapes with the loot) Piedmon: Follow him! Don't let Gennai out of your sight!

Sora dunks on Joe but to be fair, they've been told twice now. This was legitimately an embarrassing moment for him, even if Original Sora was too kind to say anything.

Gennai takes to the skies with the Digitama, Digivices, and I guess the Crests somehow. The other Mekanorimon and Guardromon pursue him, trying to shoot him down.

Not Hikari: Let's follow them.

A near-miss causes him to lose a single Digitama and Digivice, which plummet to the continent below.

Tailmon: Ah! That's me! (Tailmon's Digitama falls, and is not recovered) Tailmon: So that's why I grew up alone.

Piyomon flies up behind Tailmon and gives her unexpected headpats.

Piyomon: But we're together now! Tailmon: (smile) You're right.

Awww.... ^_^

In the dub:

Not Kari: Let's follow and see what happened in the past. (Enemy rockets cause Gennai to drop the Digiegg) Gatomon: That's my Digiegg! (Gatomon's Digiegg falls, and is not recovered) Gatomon: So that's why I was brought up all alone... That explains it.... (Surprise headpats) Biyomon: Cheer up! We're together now! Gatomon: (smiles, giggles)

Pretty much 1:1 faithful translation.

From there, Gennai escapes to File Island.

Taichi: it's File Island! Not Hikari: After that, many, many years passed until....

Which... is a 100% barren, frozen hellscape. Must be winter, I guess, 'cause it's sunny and grassy by the time the Partner Digitama hatch.

We see Botamon's egg hatch first.

Koromon: I hatched!

From there, the Babies go outside with their Digivices and bounce them playfully.

Koromon: I remember! We were waiting all that time. For Taichi! Tsunomon: Yamato! Piyomon: Sora! Gomamon: Jou! Palmon: Mimi! Patamon: Takeru! Tentomon: Koushiro-han! Koromon: Day after day, we'd wait patiently for their arrival! Until one day....

The babies bounce the Digivices high into the air, but instead it's the children who come plummeting down.

This is probably not literal, but a metaphorical representation of what they were doing. We cut from that to literal flashbacks of the Partners meeting the children in the woods, way back in episode 1.

In the dub:

Tai: It's File Island! Not Kari: After Gennai rescued the Digieggs and Crests, many years passed by until finally.... (Botamon hatches) Koromon: I was born! (The Babies go outside and bounce their Digivices) Koromon: Oh wow, I remember that! It seemed like I waited forever for Tai! Tsunomon: For Matt! Biyomon: For Sora! Gomamon: For Joe! Palmon: For Mimi! Patamon: For T.K.! Tentomon: For Izzy! Koromon: We didn't think they would ever come! Then suddenly, out of the blue, they arrived with a bang!

Again, 1:1 faithful. Though most of this is just yelling character names.

With that, we're caught up to where the children began their involuntary excursion into the Digital World.

Taichi: So that's what happened. Not Hikari: What is the Dark Masters' ultimate goal? How do we save the world? All we can do now is look after the peace of the Digimon World and try to build a system that can repair the damage before it takes place. Taichi: What do you think we should do from here? Not Hikari: I don't know. But I believe that, by relying on yourselves, you will find the answer.

Helpful. Thanks for the history lesson; Wish you had more practical advice for us.

In several years' human time when we're arguing over how to handle Meicoomon, try to remember how you were like "Uhhhh I have no idea how to solve things YOU GOT THIS RIGHT?"

Homeostasis gives off mad "It's my first day but also everyone else quit so please be patient while I figure out how to job" energy. They know the backstory better because they were there for it but they are as helplessly drowning in uncertain waters as the kids themselves.

The Forces of Darkness are rising. They don't know why the Forces of Darkness are rising. They don't know how to make the Forces of Darkness stop rising. And one day they saw two toddlers get along well with a Digimon and went "UM UM UM UM MAYBE CHILD SOLDIERS!?!?!?"

The reactor is melting down and the only person we have on-site is an intern. Well, that and exactly one survivor from the massacre who unfortunately has an unidentified Milk Dud of Doom turning him into a decrepit pervert or whatever it did to thim.

In the dub:

Not Kari: The question is, what exactly are the Dark Masters planning? We are working day and night trying to find out. For now, all we can do is guess and try to outwit them before something terrible happens. Tai: Whoa! Well, if that's true, what should we do now? Not Kari: It's hard to say, but I believe you'll all find an answer on your own.

The dub omits mention of Homeostasis's long-term goal to "build a system that can repair the damage before it takes place". Though they don't go into detail, they apparently have ideas in place to prevent something like the Dark Masters from happening again... if we can figure out how to make the Dark Masters stop happening in the the meanwhile.

Homeostasis is trying to create a vaccine against future instability, while using the Chosen Children as panic-button antidote against current instability.

(This, of course, ends up being Huckmon in Adventure Tri.)

But this doesn't make it across into the dub, which simply says that Homeostasis doesn't know what the Dark Masters are up to but is trying their best.

Returning to the woods where they started, Hikari wakes up in Taichi's arms.

Taichi: Hikari...? Tailmon: Are you okay, Hikari? HIkari: Onii-chan... Tailmon.... Taichi: You're okay! Tailmon: Thank goodness.... Sora: Are you hurting anywhere? Hikari: No... Is something wrong, all of you? Taichi: I-It's nothing. Hikari, about what just happened... Hikari: What just happened? Taichi: Oh! If you don't remember, then never mind.

Smooth, Taichi. Rolling that 12 Charisma score for all it's worth. XD

The dub places its final commercial break here, at the end of Homeostasis's trip into the past. Solid choice.

Tai: Hey.... Gatomon: Are you gonna be alright? Kari: ...oh, hi there. What's wrong? Tai: You've come back! Gatomon: We missed you! Sora: Did it hurt? Kari: No... What do you mean? Tai: Don't you remember? Well, that's alright. Kari: Remember what, Tai? Tai: Never mind. Don't you worry about it.

I like how casual Kari is here. Like, so far as she understands, she just fell asleep suddenly and then woke up to everyone crowding around her for some reason.

Now, on to unfinished business. Taichi stands up and turns to face Yamato.

Taichi: Yamato. Now we know why we became the Chosen Children. Yamato: Yeah. Taichi: Like I thought, we're the only ones who can straighten out this world's distortions.

Taichi approaches Yamato, holding out his hand for Yamato's.

Taichi: Yamato. Let's join back up together. Yamato: I can't. Takeru: Onii-chan? Taichi: I... I made a mistake. Yamato: No. This was all my fault.

Yamato turns and walks away, but Taichi calls after him.

Taichi: That's not what I meant! I mean the way I've been behaving up to this point.... (Yamato stops walking) Yamato: It's not my place to say this after how I've behaved recently, but I don't think there's ever a right or wrong way to do things. It's simply that you have your path and I have mine. I have no idea what sort of path is waiting for me. I thought that if I fought you, I'd understand what it is. An apology may not be enough for you to forgive me, but... I'm sorry.

Taichi and Yamato both recognize their faults and how they've contributed to their recent drama, and offer verbal concessions.

In the dub:

Tai: Well, Matt? There's no doubt about how we became the DigiDestined. We saw it happen! Matt: We sure did. Tai: So now the entire world is depending on us! And we all have to save it together! (Tai steps forward to shake Matt's hand) Tai: How 'bout it, Matt? Are we still a team? Matt: ... T.K.: What's wrong? Tai: Hey, let's put the past behind us. Matt: I know, but you wouldn't understand. Tai: Sure, I would! I say that you and I should let bygones be bygones! Matt: That's not the problem, Tai. This thing is bigger than either of us. It's not about right or wrong; I have my path and you have yours! And I'm not even sure where this path is going to lead me but I know I have to find it for myself. But I still believe in all of us; I mean, without any of you, where would I be? This is all just so confusing, and I let it get to me. That's why we fought.

Tai offers no concession for his own involvement in this whole mess.

Matt's supporting arguments are on much shakier ground than Yamato's. "This is bigger than us" and "I still believes in all of us" are arguments for staying with the group when he's supposed to be explaining why he has to leave.

Yamato says that they fought because he was convinced he would better understand himself and find his way to self-improvement through the act of fighting Taichi. Which is precisely what his conversation with Jureimon claimed.

Matt says they fought because he was confused about how much he wants to both leave and stay at the same time. It's a confusing response.

Now, with conviction, Yamato turns to face the others once more.

Yamato: But I want to find my own path. No, I have to! That's why I've decided to leave you all and go alone from here. Just me and Tsunomon. Koushiro: Please reconsider. After all, Yamato-san, your Crest... I mean, your best quality is.... Yamato: Friendship. I know. But friendship is such a meaningless word, don't you think? No, maybe I just don't know what true friendship is. Sora: H-Hey, how about this? We can break into two groups and go from there. Yamato: Sorry, but I need to do this alone. Sora: Oh... Well, I'm sure you'll be okay, Yamato. I believe in you. Takeru: Onii-chan, what will I do without you? Yamato: You're able to take care of yourself now. Takeru: But.... Sora: You're with us, Takeru-kun. Yamato has something he needs to figure out by himself. We should let him go. Takeru: (nod) Mm. Yamato: Thank you. Bye.

With that surprisingly curt farewell, Yamato turns and walks away into the woods. Metaphorically still lost in the mayoi no mori but better equipped to some day find his way out.

I love the reversal here from "I don't need you to look after me Onii-chan" to "But who will look after me Onii-chan?" Where Yamato has been haunted since episode 3 by the threat of Takeru growing up, the perspective of his decision allows him to finally appreciate how strong his brother is becoming.

Sora, ever the peacemaker, tries to smooth this over as best she can.

In the dub:

Matt: It's important that you guys can count on me, but I'm going to do this because I have to! Tsunomon will be with me so I'll be alright. Don't worry, it will be a lot better this way. Izzy: Matt, if you approach this logically, I'm sure you'll reconsider your decision. Your Crest, it's theme is to promote.... Matt: Friendship, I know. But I haven't been too much of a friend, in case you haven't noticed! Maybe it's because I don't know the true meaning of the word, or maybe I've just forgotten. Sora: Here's a good idea. Let's break up into two groups instead of one big one. Matt: I'm sorry, but I really need to do this alone! Sora: Oh... Well, I believe in you and I'm not going to stand in your way! T.K.: What am I supposed to do without you, Matt? Matt: You're a big kid now. You can take care of yourself, T.K. Sora: Yeah, don't worry! We'll be here for you. Besides, you know how big brothers are; They need their own space! Everything will be fine. T.K.: (nod) Mm. Matt: We'll see ya. Goodbye, everyone.

Matt comes off a lot more reluctant to do this. Between "I still believe in all of us", "Where would I be without you?" and now "It's important that you can count on me", he is not doing a good job of selling the reason for why he needs to leave. Which is that he, Matt, is convinced that he needs to, and no other reason.

Dub Sora patronizingly downplays this whole thing to T.K. "Big brothers need their space", she says as if we're discussing Tai no longer sleeping in the bunk bed with Kari.

Original Sora plays this straight with Takeru; Yamato has something he needs to go do, and we should support him.

Once Yamato's gone, it's time to get moving again. Except Yamato's departure is giving someone else ideas.

Taichi: Well, we should get moving. Ganbatte! Let's fix those distortions in the Digital World!

To get the nakama marching, Taichi gives everyone the good ol' ganbaru, the Japanese social construct of perseverance through great hardships via hard work and dedication.

But one person isn't interested in ganbaru anymore. Mimi hangs back, following slowly before she stops walking entirely. Realizing she isn't with them, Sora turns back, prompting the rest of the group to halt.

Sora: Mimi-chan? Mimi: I'm sorry, Sora-san. I can't. Sora: You can't? You want to stay here? Mimi: Mhm. Others may get hurt and die. I don't want to see that again.

Mimi's voice is quiet and vulnerable. She knows she's letting the others down with this decision, but she can't do this anymore.

Without missing a beat, Senpai steps up to do his job.

Jou: Then I'll stay too. Koushiro: Jou-san! Jou: It's dangerous for Mimi-chan to be here by herself. I'll do what I can to convince her to return, then we'll meet up with the rest of you. Is that okay? Taichi: Yeah. We're counting on you, Jou. Jou: YES!!!

Jou is so excited that Taichi signed off on his plan, he shouts and runs for where Mimi is.

Gomamon: JOU WAIT FOR ME!!! (chases)

Eager to get the fuck out of this party, are we, Jou? XD

The dub, as usual, can't lean on ganbaru. But they've got something just as good for American cultural values: military lingo, which this arc's been leaning in heavily on.

Tai: We'd better move it, troops. We've got the world to save! So we're down one DigiDestined; That's no problem. We can do it, right? (Mimi hangs back) Sora: Hmm? Mimi? Mimi: I'm sorry, Sora. I'm not going. Sora: Huh? Why not? Come on, what? Mimi: Well, I just don't want to see anybody else fight or hurt themselves. I hope you understand. Joe: Then I'm staying too. Izzy: But why? Joe: It's not safe for Mimi to be here all alone. I'll make sure she's okay and then, hopefully later, we can rejoin you guys. Okay? Tai: Okay. Good luck, Joe. Joe: Thanks. (runs off) Gomamon: Wait for me! (chases)

Despite having far more reasons to be excited about leaving these fuckers behind, Dub Joe does not scream exuberance at the top of his lungs as he quits the party.

To avoid the 'D' word, Mimi's "I don't want to see anyone get hurt or killed again" becomes "I don't want to see anyone fight or hurt themselves". She can't even say she's afraid of them being hurt by others?

As the group further fractures, Patamon shares his concerns.

Patamon: Everyone is separating again. Piyomon: And just when all eight of us were finally together. Tailmon: You guys don't get it, do you? Piyomon: Huh? Tailmon: The roads we take are different, but our destination will be the same. We'll all get there, no matter how thorny our paths may be.

Tailmon's final words lead us out. With one last glance at Jou and Mimi staying behind, the remaining five soldiers in our nakama stride onward.

Man, escaping from her abuser and reuniting with the crew she was meant to be with has done wonders for Tailmon's outlook. Amazing how that works.

This line has so much pathos coming from her. In the woods that Vamdemon found her in, no less.

In the dub:

Patamon: Gee, now we're all gonna be split up again! Biyomon: Just when we were finally all together! Gatomon: You may think we're separated but we're really not. Biyomon: Huh!? Gatomon: The roads might be different but the place we end up in is the same. I mean, think about it. If they truly are the DigiDestined, they're destined to be together once again. At least, that's the way I hope it works out. Narrator: Is Gatomon right? Or is this the end of the DigiDestined!? Tune in to the next Digimon: Digital Monsters.

Fucking-ass killjoy narrator! XD I like how he asks that question then just says "Tune in" without promising any answers, because the Breaking of the Fellowship is not something that will be resolved any time soon.

Also love how Tailmon drops some hopeful philosophy while Gatomon's just like, "Look, it says 'destiny' right there in the name... that we made up for the dub." But then admits that she, like Tailmon, is just running on hope at this point.

There is no sound reason in either version to believe that Yamato, Mimi, and Jou will come back, but a kitty-cat can hope.

Assessment: Man, I hope you did not come into WarGreymon vs MetalGarurumon hoping for a Versus bout because that is the least important thing that happens in this episode.

The titular fight provides a backdrop for the much more interesting fistfight between Taichi and Yamato, giving them both plentiful opportunities to project what's going on with each of them.

This was a great episode for Taichi. Not just for the characterization he got to express verbally, but also for the choices he made in the end. Remember that when this started, he was yelling in Mimi's face and freaking out about Yamato wandering off because "The eight of us must be together to defeat the Dark Masters!"

By the end of this episode, after having it out with Yamato and talking with Homeostasis, Taichi owns up to his own problem behavior just as Yamato does. Then he stands back and lets three people leave. In fact, when Mimi says she wants out because she can't stand to see anyone else die, he doesn't say a word to her. He accepts her decision without question.

I think it was the SkullGreymon thing that did it, personally. Learning that there's a wrong kind of Courage made Taichi reflect on his behavior and gain a sense of perspective towards how he treats his crew and what he expects from them. That's my interpretation.

Whatever the case, Taichi demonstrates remarkable growth not just for what he said to Yamato but for what he didn't say to any of them.

Yamato, of course, still has a long ways to go. Which he knows, and is the reason that he left.

And this officially kicks off the Jou and Mimi side-quest. Which was the last part of the show that I've been super anticipating.

The dub, expectedly, struggled with this one. They have a hard time with lore-heavy episodes and half of this episode was just Homeostasis explaining the plot. There's a lot of good information there that builds out the backstory of how they got here (and one irritating shrug), but it is a lot of narrative exposition, which is the dub's biggest weak point.

Still, they did better than expected. They had their missteps here and there but there were also multiple expository scenes that came through solid. Like Taichi, the dub showed improvement.

[witchthewriter]

@thecurrator.

𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄

𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐍𝐢𝐤𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐢 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬𝐨𝐯. The King. Cunning, ambitious yet charming and heartfelt. The moment he laid eyes on you, he knew you were different. There was an air around you that drew him to you - and he didn't understand.

But the two of you would work out because you remind him of all the goodness in the world. You encourage him, while also having the ability to protect him.

And he loves you for it. Your mind, your ideas, your strength. Yes, he sees so much in you that you do not see yourself.

𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔:

In all honesty, I didn't think your personality 'fit' into what was offered. You could be a healer or a tailor - but I think there's something so magical about you that you would change the whole course of the story if you were in it.

I name you, 🇹​🇭​🇪​ 🇲​🇦​🇬​🇮​🇨​ 🇸​🇺​🇲​🇲​🇴​🇳​🇪​🇷​.

When you were a child, and it came time to be tested - your results were overwhelmingly Grisha. No one could fully understand what your abilities were, and for a while at that.

𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓/𝑨𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚

The basis of Grisha is that it all comes from 'science'. But that is not entirely true. It's all about perspective, and your power was unheard of. It was uniquely suited to you.

But how do you use it? How do you protect and attack with such abilities? It is easy.

You can take from another person - summon their abilities and use it as your own. That was the first step, the second was finding out that you could transmute energy into whatever you wish.

This changed the complete meaning of the word Grisha.

𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒔

The way he holds your face in his hands is like Nikolai holding a priceless jewel. The amount of love that he has for cannot be described. He often thinks that fate must have had a hand in this. Because soulmates must be true. He found you.

Whenever he has a high profile meeting, he makes sure to leave many surprises around your shared chambers - it's like a treasure hunt.

If you fall asleep against him, he will not move for ages. He wants nothing more than to feel close to you. Sometimes you let out little noises; a whimper or a word here and there. Sometimes even a snore. But it's so endearing to Nikolai.

He absolutely loves bringing you new books; obviously ones he knows you'll like. Romance, adventure, fantasy. You have your own library in your shared chambers. (And when I say shared chambers, you both stay in there. Because Nikolai married you 3 weeks after knowing you.)

On your wedding day, he bought this for you to wear: a beautiful necklace. One that a paid a pretty penny for.

Many disagreed with your marriage but you reminded them that you may not have come from a royal background, but you were more than capable of handling not only yourself, the court and the other grisha.

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒈

Gwen & Arthur by Bob Lane

Flying by James Newton Howard

As Long As We Both Shall Live by Bear McCreary

𝑹𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔

"You wear the pants in this relationship" (You) x "oh I wish, I cannot control you at all" (Nikolai)

Sweetest Person On Earth (You) x Their Protector (Nikolai)

Always Honest, Never Lies (You) x Quiet Who Constantly Shakes Their Head At Other’s Honesty (Nikolai)

𝑷𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆

Soulmates/Bonded Pair

Mutual Growth and Empowerment

Shared Vision and Purpose

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖

That even though you have tremendous abilities, it does not stop you from helping others and getting into the little things in life. Of course your grisha abilities astound him, intrigure him, but it's truly your personality that keeps him guessing about you. You always surprise him.

𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅

Oh how he makes you laugh; his charming nature always puts you at ease and once you knew of his own grisha abilities, you became very very close. Your relationship is like that of family - found family. You never want to leave his side and are constantly trying to stop him from doing stupid things... it never works...

𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆

I think you are a mix of Alina, Inej and Wylan. Your personality is so obviously INFP! You are a dreamer, someone who is authentic and thinks outside the box. You are much more loyal to your personal values which sets you apart from many others. It's a good thing.

𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒕

A beautiful pure white cat that loves to follow you everywhere. Whenever there's lessons, you have to lock him in your room as he has followed you to your literal class and sat on your lap.

He's a very smart, yet cuddly boy who you found as a kitten. His mother must have left him and something inside of you couldn't abandon him as she did.

And now whenever you feel as if the world is too heavy, your knight is shining white fur is there to help.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Good morning, Sleepyhead.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[claitea]

i've had these scenarios written down since volo's debut in pokemon masters and i just really wanted to scribble them down and finally release them

[mishy-mashy]

Do you think Banjo is the type of person who hides his problems behind a clown mask?

The guy acts like a bit of comedy relief, but I think he's the kind of person to face his problems head-on. I don't think he uses humor as a coping mechanism. We never see him do that for himself. He's just a loud guy

Look at how he first appears to Midoriya

He's loud, and it steals Midoriya's attention. But he's calling him out on why he's messing up

But as a character's debut, the first things he does are:

Call out Midoriya for trying to do things alone, when Yoichi's first message to him was that he wasn't

Tell him that if he can compose himself, things typically work out

Understands Midoriya's side of things, and tells him he knows (like lacking a mouth)

And once he says those two previous things, he exhales, and his eyes show their pupils properly

The parting advice he gives Midoriya is a reiteration of the second point: It's okay to be mad. What's important is controlling your heart.

Blackwhip is a Quirk that responds to the holder's emotions. Like other Quirks, but Blackwhip goes out of control when the user isn't able to get a grip on themselves

Banjo used his Quirk effectively. He'd have to live that advice to pass it on to Midoriya, back when Abilities were starting to become normal, but Japan was still wrecked. And we know that Quirks are influenced by, and influence, the holder's personality.

Banjo would have to be able to be honest with himself, understand his emotions, and has the maturity to say it's okay to be mad. Just control it.

When he said that for the first time, it actually surprised me. Everyone in fiction or reality says "Don't be mad", but a character on his debut and says it's okay to be that. I never heard anyone say that controlling your emotions and outputting them in a healthy manner is what matters. People just say not to he negative or annoying, because it's inconvenient; but Banjo went past that.

And when he fades, he tells Midoriya he's got this. He reminds him that they're all behind him.

Whenever he speaks, he doesn't make the receiver feel bad, or speak down to them. He understands them, and gives the next step in a familiar, friendly way.

On his debut, he told Midoriya to control his heart, and to remember he wasn't alone. Here, he tells him he should try understanding their Quirks better.

He's actually got a mature way of seeing things. He's an adult, and being the holder between Shinomori and En, he wouldn't be able to deal with either of them if he wasn't mature about himself. Shinomori probably wouldn't choose someone who can't be honest with himself upfront, after spending almost half his life for OFA. And En is young, prone to panic, and a guy who acts like his problems aren't there or funny wouldn't help that.

I can visualize Banjo sitting at a small fire with Shinomori, having an honest, calm talk about life (until Shinomori says the wrong thing and Banjo yells something about it). But not Banjo trying to push his problems down with a hearty laugh, and Shinomori being okay with that.

When Midoriya used his Quirk for the first time, Banjo did get loud at the start, but he did lecture him in a way that was kinda teacher-mentor-ish.

I actually like the way Banjo talks about his observances. He's got the demeanor of a good teacher, he's clear, and direct. He's light-hearted about serious things, but doesn't diminish them. He just approaches it in a way that you aren't feeling the pressure, and can feel like it's possible.

He seems to have this habit of being loud to get people's attention, and simmers down once he has it. He's never indirect or leaving the addressed to figure out the answer on their own, he gives it outright.

When Midoriya used Blackwhip for the first time, Banjo was all "You got it all wrong!" and then explained things. Since he felt himself fading, he could've been talking louder to compensate himself past the daze he felt. To make sure he was talking, heard, and to keep himself awake

When the first Three made the void silent because Kudo and Bruce didn't want to help, Banjo broke it with what Midoriya should do next

When Shinomori got yoinked, the first thing Banjo did was report it in a panic to Midoriya. This just tells Midoriya he really has to be careful now, because OFA can really be stolen. Even if Banjo just panics and doesn't say that aloud

Every time Banjo is facing some kind of problem, he doesn't let others panic too hard. He's not pressuring about problems, and steps back to let Midoriya figure things out.

When Midoriya was running himself into the ground, Banjo was one of the vestiges that didn't show up to tell him to rest. He already understood how Midoriya saw things, and was doing them his own way

Rather than trying to be a clown, I think Banjo is just a friendly person. He's honest with others and with himself, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to utilize Blackwhip right, or be the holder between a sagey hermit and young, scared adult.