#is voice is super scratchy and weak.

[ceresoktavia]

welp ... my vocal cords just went belly up ...

on the bright side, my hubby is laughing his ass off when I say “quot quot” with that destroyed voice

[dark-moonlust]

Heyyy so im so weak for bear hybrids and i just saw the one you posted, (LOVE IT btw), and i was wondering if you could do a sequal where reader decides to stay and lives a happy cozy life, with like cozy fires and all the bestest fur blankets and coziest bed and BIG FLUFFY BEAR MAN CUDDLES, but also like yk mad crazy sex where he likes to show off his strength and just like tosses her around, like up against walls, that thing where u like hold a girl on ur shoulders to eat her n stuff, if not thats ok i love all ur work sm 🙏🧎‍♀️🤍

Hello anon!!! Thank you for all the lovely words and the smutty idea!! I love bear hybrids, too. I'm sorry I took so long to complete. I have a lot of requests and I've been so busy lately. I'm trying to catch up on them slowly. Anyway, I hope this is to your liking!

Happy reading everyone!

Check out the first part of my bear hybrid oneshot here.

Cozy Life with your Bear Hybrid

Pairing: bear hybrid x fem reader Summary: you live a cozy life with your giant bear of a man. And you love it. Warnings: minors-ageless accounts don't interact, 18+, smut, size kink, overstimulation, oral (fem receiving), huge 🍆, p in v sex, lots of 💦.

The wind screamed outside, rolling through the trees, yet it was only a whisper in the warmth of your cave. The fire crackled in the hearth and you were wrapped up in your mate's thick, muscled arms—the big bear of a beast who smelled like woodsmoke earthy perfume. He was warm and super cuddly, his big frame spooning you from behind.

Thick furs were heaped high on the bed their softness wrapping around you like a cocoon. Your bear hybrid always ensured you were warm and cozy, and took great pleasure in cuddling and loving you for hours on end. That night, he had a fond deep look in his eyes that spoke of his desire to keep you close and shield you from the outer world.

His mate. Forever.

Yes, you loved your life as his other half.

Shifting slightly, he moved, drawing you even closer, burying his face in the crook of your neck, his furred bear face scratchy but exquisite against your skin. His fingers, strong and calloused, trailed carefully down your belly, over your thighs, making sure his sharp nails were sheathed. Humming in satisfaction, you sunk deeper into him.

There was nowhere else you'd rather be, nothing else you'd rather do than spend every day surrounded by the warmth of your giant, soft bear, who was just as possessive and tender toward you.

"Hmmm, I could stay like this forever," he drawled in a low voice that vibrated through your chest. “But I’m also thinking about all the things I want to do to you.”

“Like?” you challenged, hands caressing his furry arm.

“Taste your sweet honey for one,” he murmured, his voice a low, dark rumble that sent goosebumps all over your skin.

“You just love to use this reference!”

He cocked a brow. “Why not?” His voice deepened. “Your cunt leaks the sweetest honey there is. I can vouch for that.”

“You are a horny bear beast.”

Chuckling, his hand moved down your thigh, fingers pressing just hard enough to cause you to open. “Hmm, and as the bear beast I am, I should taste again. Make sure your lovely cunny is as delicious as before. I love honey. Your honey.”

“You are insatiable.” Your face felt warm at the memory of him eating you out just hours ago. Your pussy had no issue whatsoever; it clenched and pooled with your juices.

Damn… You were both insatiable.

He grinned, that familiar, smoldering look blazing in his eyes. “Sleep, cuddle, eat you out, fuck. Then repeat. That’s our schedule. Now come, mate,” he playfully tapped your thighs. “Time to let me taste your pussy.”

His tone was straightforward. As if what you did every day was perfectly normal. You touched each other, rolled around in bed, kissed, made out (a lot), and couldn't keep your hands away from each other.

And you weren't a coward or an idiot to turn away from such joy.

In a playful mood, you smacked his hands playfully and scooted off the bed. You were in the mood to tease him. He growled and you hardly had time to move when he lifted you effortlessly, as if you were weightless in his massive arms, whisking you off the ground. You hugged him firmly and moaned as he hoisted you again, slamming you against the wall.

Strong hands maneuvered you so that your legs were draped over his shoulders, your pussy exposed and dripping in front of his eager mouth. You clutched his head and peered down at him, seeing the passion in his eyes as he licked up your mound, manipulating your folds with his long thick tongue. Your head tipped back, spine arching as he sucked you in, savoring your juices as if he were eating his favorite meal—which he was.

You were his favorite delicacy.

It went on and on, his tongue playing with your tender clit, circling the tender nub. You went wild, buried your fingers in his silky fur, and tugged violently as you shattered, your body coming alive with energy. He kept going, his big hands clutching your ass, his tongue thrusting inside to taste your honey. He growled primitively, his breaths vibrating over your clit.

He could go on for hours if you let him, feasting on your cunt and doing incredible tongue tricks just to see you lose yourself in pleasure.

“Pl—ease…ha~” you trembled, your voice strained from the toe-curling orgasm he’d given you.

With a husky moan, he gently flung you back into bed, onto that sea of fur covers, his large bulk crushing you with this delicious, heavy warmth and scent. You sighed with happiness and stretched your legs wider. He leaned over you, his cock thrusting up from between his broad thighs, already dripping seed.

His hands robed over your body, caressing your legs, belly and your breasts. You arched against him, whining when his leaky cock pressed against your entrance. He toyed with your nipples and leisurely rubbed his cock across your slit, his massive shaft appearing inhumanly large in comparison to your little human hole.

“Want my big bear to fuck me,” you whispered, fingers reaching down to open the outer lips of your pussy. “Pretty please?”

He whined and pushed the blunt cockhead a tiny bit inside. “How can I deny you, love?”

“Yessss,” you moaned, wiggling your waist. You were half-dazed with pleasure and you craved every inch of him inside you.

The spark in his eyes told you he was barely holding back. He was always so gentle despite his raw desire for you.

“Easy. Look at you,” he drawled, eyes on your pretty cunt, spread by his cockhead. “Every inch of you… mine, open and soft for me.”

“Come on, no more looking,” you warned. “Inside. Need you inside. All of you.”

A gentle roll of his hip, a little wiggling from you and he was inside, every inch of him buried in your depths. He was so deep you could feel him throbbing in your bellybutton, his balls crushed against your bum. You clutched his biceps, let out a gentle pants at the thick girth spreading your hole. You felt full, but not uncomfortably so. You’d learned to take him, to accommodate his hybrid cock.

“Good girl,” he drawled, his tongue plunging into your mouth.

Tongue down your throat, he fucked you, pounded into you in deep, unhurried thrusts. He kissed you as if he was starving, as if you were the only precious person he’d spent his entire life searching for. Which was entirely true. His hands cupped and kneaded your tits, his breath warm on your mouth.

Pleasure hit you again, and you sobbed mutely, your fingers tangling in his furred shoulders as he continued to claim you, his magnificent cock pumping in and out of your slick cunt. You heard his feral grunts and the squelching sounds of your bodies colliding. Two more thrusts and he exploded, loads of cum filling you up. He spurted for several minutes, your cunt overflowing with hot seed.

“Pretty, so damn pretty,” he roared. “Good mate, taking my cock and my seed. It drips so beautifully down your thighs.”

“Too much! It always is,“ you whined, feeling the final spurts of his release.

“Oh, that’s nothing.” His eyes had that dark hungry gleam, one that told you he wasn’t done with you. “Let’s see just how much more you can take, mate, ‘cause I’m not stopping anytime soon.”

Did you enjoy?! Like, comment or reblog! It would make me so happy!

[exhaslo]

Corruption Ch17

(Villain!Miguel x F!Hero!Reader)

Ch1, Ch2, Ch3, Ch4, Ch5, Ch6, Ch7, Ch8, Ch9, Ch10, Ch11, Ch12, Ch13, Ch14, Ch15, Ch16

Warning: Minors DNI, mentions of sex, violence, blood, murder, twisted thoughts, experimentation, language, wannabe fluff, established friendship/relationship? SMUT, cockwarming, creampie, breeding kink

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

Everything felt like a daze. You had woken up sore, exhausted, weak and full. Your body felt strange, yet satisfied. Glancing at the time, you weren't even worried that you were late for work. It was Miguel's fault anyway.

"Mhm...Lyla," You whispered, your voice scratchy.

Rubbing your eyes, you whimpered as you needed water. Your voice hurt from all your moaning and crying from last night. Laying back on the bed, you snuggled into the blanket since you couldn't feel your legs.

"Miguel will return soon to tend to you." Lyla spoke, appearing before you.

Tend to you? Oh how sweet that sounded. Recalling the night, you groaned happily. Who would have thought Miguel had that side to him. A side that only you could see. It was almost animalistic. It truly felt like Miguel was trying to breed you.

"Mhm....Miggy."

--------

Miguel returned home early after a night of harassing the city. Taking his mask off, he let out a heavy sigh. This super-villain work was a lot more taxing than he thought. How you ever adapted to being a hero honestly impressed Miguel.

"Lyla, how is (Y/N)?" Miguel asked, making his way to the shower. Lyla appeared with a bright smile,

"She woke up a while ago, but fell back asleep. Her stats are still normal, but she is very low on energy."

"Order her favorite food. I'll wake her,"

Miguel took off his costume and hid it away. A soft chuckle escaping his throat as he thought of your reaction to this. If you ever did find out, then he would have to teach you a good lesson, but that was for another time.

Entering his room with a bottled water, Miguel took a moment to stare at your sleeping state. You looked so peaceful, so tempting. Taking the blanket off you, Miguel scoffed at his work. All of his bite marks and hickeys all over your body.

You truly were his.

Hissing lowly, Miguel felt himself getting hard by just looking at you. Last night was not enough. To think that he would succumb to these instincts so easily. Waking you slowly, Miguel had to give you time to rest before he could breed you again.

"Mhm....Miggy?" You whispered tiredly.

Shit. Miguel stroked your cheek, pulling you into a kiss. That little nickname you gave him sent shivers down his spine. Hearing you cry his name all night was something out of a dream. A twisted and fucked up dream.

"Here. You need to stay hydrated," Miguel grumbled, helping you drink the water.

"Thank you," You said with a soft yawn, slowly waking up. "Were you busy today? Sorry I slept in."

How cute, you were still thinking about helping him at work. Of course, Miguel was still going to have you work with him. You had to be watched every second of the day. That and he might go insane if you weren't there.

"It's fine. I didn't go in either,"

Miguel was too busy making a name for himself last night. The amount of bones he broke, the people he killed. People were going to fear the name Spider-Man overnight. To think, both as Kingpin and Spider-Man, Miguel was a menace to be reckon with.

"Really?" You gasped. Miguel resisted a chuckle, picking you up with ease,

"If you really want to work, I'll put you to it."

---------

You felt so dazed. Leaning against Miguel, you resisted a whine as Miguel kept you firm against his lap. You were exhausted. How did Miguel have so much stamina? Even after last night, Miguel gave you a good fuck in the shower and now he had you sitting on his cock.

"You need your energy, eat." Miguel huffed, taking a bite of his meal. You squirmed slightly,

"I-It's a little hard...w-when I'm like...this." You whimpered.

You had been working with Miguel for years. Never had you suspected Miguel to be so sex active. Reaching for you food, you shivered as you moved ever so slightly. Your body was sensitive from his rough sex in the shower.

"M-Miggy~"

Your body arched against his, whining against his cock. He was so deep inside you, keeping his previous cum inside your womb. You weren't able to think straight. Miguel's hands were holding your waist as his fingers started to rub your clit.

"Hah~ Ah~ M-Miguel...P-Please~" You begged, itching for him to move.

"Hm? Your body is going to weaken if you don't eat." Miguel said with a smirk, "Easier to have your body accept me and be breed."

You gasped lowly, shuddering and moaning from his touch. You bit your lower lip as Miguel pinned you against the couch, his thrusts slow and almost painful. After having you sit on his cock for a few minutes, you wanted to get ravished.

Miguel hand rested on your lower back, his thrusts slowly picking up. His hips slapping into yours, earning loud moans and whines from you. Tears formed from the corner of your eyes, unsure if you could handle this much pleasure.

"Your body has done well to adapt to me already. Your pussy is just welcoming my dick. Won't be long until you have my children. Are you ready for that, my dear?"

"Yesh~ Mhm~ Miggy~" You cried out.

Miguel chuckled as he pressed your head into the couch, pounding you with no remorse. His wicked laughter echoing throughout his house. Your moans and cries just begging for Miguel to keep you as his pet.

"Mhm~ M-Miggy~ I-I....Ah~ l-love you~" You cried out.

Miguel grunted as you confessed. He felt his vision blur for just a second as he felt his high approaching.

"(Y/N)" Miguel groaned, hurrying his pace, "Fuck..."

Releasing a heavy load inside you, Miguel panted heavily. The words almost slipped out of his mouth. Never. Never could he admit something so cheesy. Watching you tiredly catch your breathe, Miguel felt something in him stir.

"(Y/N), you are mine," He whispered, kissing your head before leaving to clean you up.

How could he admit something so weak? Love? Glancing at you as he grabbed a warm clothe, Miguel inhaled deeply. His emotions were strong for you. Love was the correct term for sure, but he did not want to admit something so...human.

"I need to finish my testing."

----------

You sat in Miguel's bed, watching the news as your body recovered. It had been a few days since you apparently now moved in with Miguel, not that you were complaining. Living with him felt like a dream. Not only did you work with Miguel, but you also got to move up in your relationship with him.

If only he wasn't so work obsessed. Lately, Miguel was working overnights too. He didn't want you coming along and made sure he gave you a reason to stay home. Honestly, you felt like you were losing your mind and falling into Miguel's palm.

"But I love him~" You cooed, drinking some tea.

"And now we head to the city where our reporters are talking with concerned citizens about this new Spider-Man character causing havoc in the city."

Your eyes widen as you placed your cup down. There was a Spider-Man? Gasping lowly, you went to reach for your phone. Miguel must have done it. He made himself into a super powered individual, but why didn't he tell you?

Right as you reached for your phone, you gasped as your hand was webbed to the bed frame.

"Thought I blocked all news channels," Miguel sighed, entering the room with his costume.

"Miguel?! When?"

"Shh,"

Miguel leaned down, removing his mask and brought you in for a deep kiss. His lips licked yours, forcing his tongue down your throat. Unable to resist, your body arched into his, moaning softly. You couldn't deny Miguel.

"That's my good girl. Why don't I give you an explanation tomorrow night? We can swing through the city together."

"Mhm," You hummed to the thought, feeling lost in a daze.

"Now, why don't you give me a proper welcome home."

----------

Miguel just chuckled lowly as he watched you. Not even a single argument came out. You were so obedient. It was so easily to turn you into his super hero pet. Rubbing your head as you worked, Miguel leaned back, inhaling sharply.

He could get used to this life.

People fearing him throughout the day, and you waiting for him at home. Smirking at the thought of tomorrow, Miguel was going to officially show the city who's in charge.

That there were no heroes left to save them.

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Next Chapter (Last Chapter)

@tojishugetiddies @miguelsfavwife @foulsharkheart @club-danger-zone @ivkygirly @jollystrawberrycycle @amber-content @weirdothatwritess @smartyren @mangoslushcrush @nyxzoldyck6 @migueloharastruelove @sukioyakio @killjoy-nightshadow @heyohalie @the-pan-liquid @bokutosprettylittlebimbo @kpopscoups17130000 @pochapo @killerwendigo @barbiecrocs @miss-galaxy-turtle @oscarissac2099 @lazy-idate @lauraolar14 @safixiovi @migueloharacumslut @straw-berry-ghoul @daisy-artfield @sukunash0e @undf-stuff @iamperson12280 @nightingale1011 @reader-1290 @mcmiracles @keepghostly @marlyharper @jadeloverxd @daddyfroglegs @shoukanjo @cicithemess @babyprofessorsharkpalace

[imwetforyourmom]

GHOST OF A MEMORY.

CW: Swearing, mention of death, based off that one ep of greys anatomy - izzie and denny, very very sick chris, like hella sick chris—basically in need of a heart sick (because denny needed one)

SUMMARY: Even love cant stop ones fate.

A/N: The way my ass had to take BREAKS writing ts cause I kept crying

A/N: POOKIE GOT FIRST READDD @curi0usm0nkeyy

·˚ ༘

“You’ll always be my favorite.”

The love filling inside their bodies didnt stop the fate Chris would see soon, even the tangling, desperate movements of one another, the pure need underlying the quick, rushed movements to be one with eachother, to be together. Intertwined.

The love that surfaced from the crevices deep inside Chris’ body everytime he saw the girl of his dreams, you. He couldn’t picture a life without you, he couldn’t picture saying goodbye to the kids when dropping them at school if they werent yours, he couldnt picture growing old and wrinkly, the love mingling your bodies keeping your minds young for as long as you kept on with the beautiful, undying love for one another, without you. He didnt want to live a life, if you werent his. He’d rather suffer through the physical pain being on the hospital bed brought him, than ever to live a life where you dont give him forehead kisses everyday, where he wont feel the love radiating off your body.

Despite the emotional and physical pain it brought Chris to lie on the same, light blue, scratchy hospital bed, Chris would never choose to be healthy, to be able to ride a bicycle, to be able to breathe the fresh air through his lungs, if it meant you werent going to be there for him, side by side with him. Riding the bicycle with him, your laughter filling your ears as you biked down the empty street, riding into the sunset as you do so. He wanted to hold your hand while inhaling the fresh, dew smelling oxygen through his lungs, his head turned to look at your side profile, instead looking at you, rather than the beautiful nature he’d been deprived of seeing for months, years. Because you’re the only thing that could bring him the true joy of being him again. The accomplishing, true nature, of you.

His body began to crumple slowly again, after building up again, slowly mending the shattered pieces together like a child at hard work, spending hours at the same chalky tan desk, super gluing his fallen apart wooden airplane together, after playing with it too much. Until, in the palm of his own tiny fingers, it snaps, falling back to its returned form. Broken, and maybe never be able to fix again. He shed his tears, yet kept the fixing up, his mind destined with not giving up. Chris felt like that child— but not more than you did. You watched as his skin began filling with more color everyday, the bags of his eyes slowly turning lighter to match the rest of the peachy shade of his skin, his voice beginning to lose the usually rasp. Until, it all snapped.

He lost all of his progress, his body failed, couldn’t accept the fact he was healing, too attached to being sick to heal. His lungs returned to the short, quick breathing, his hands lost their heat and calm, returning back to freezing and shaky, his eyes never dimmed the same light they always had, even if the bulbs keeping his body up and running began to dim. The light switch struggling to turn on. He never once failed to look at you differently, to change to the same heartfelt look on his face, the soft, growing weak smile doing its best to cover the pain and exhaustion he felt inside. He didnt want you to go through it with him. You deserved better.

You didnt deserve to feel the ache growing inside his body with him, you deserved the excitement radiating off ‘the one’, filling inside your own body, Chris couldn’t give that to you. He regretted his entire relationship with you, but couldn’t be happier with you.

You deserved to be able to go onto hikes, travel across the world, or go on a simple, late night drive to mcdonalds, Chris’ rap music humming softly in the background. You didnt deserve to just sit beside his sick body, in a blaring white hospital room, the chlorine smell lingering in the air. It wasnt good for your body, to just sit beside him, reminiscing in the memories of when he was happy and healthy, when you could do anything together. “Side by side.” He’d say, but how you wish he could say it again, under different circumstances.

On one certain afternoon, the sky a bright blue, birds chirping, lifeful green grass and people all outside, bright smiles on their faces, everything was okay. At least, to others it was. Yet, for you, you couldn’t dare bring yourself to mirror their emotions, an ugly grin on your face sounded like a sin.

You hurt too much. It wasn’t even hurt. You didnt know what the fuck it was. Your eyes were dry with unshed tears—however that worked—your heart thrummed weakly against your ribs (reminding you of Chris), each thump a reminder of the shaky breathing Chris took that morning. Or, in other words, his last, short breaths.

Fuck. His last breaths.

He wasnt here anymore. He was gone.

You were never gonna hear his voice again, the same gentle rasp to it, the same gentle reminder that you were gonna be okay, as long as you were with him. But he’s not here anymore. He never will be. Now what were you without him?

You were never going to have the familiar feeling of a blanket on your shoulders with even the feeling of his presence. Even when you weren’t speaking, he still held your everything in the palm of his hand. You were never going to feel the same safety around a person that you felt with Chris. He was never going to be able to provide you with the comforting grasp of being safe with him, even in the space of your own home, protected of dangers.

And what hurt most, was the warm smile you could never see live, in person, ever again. It was torn from you, ripped away. Apart of you, maybe even all of you, going with it. You couldnt see his grin for you anymore, the pure flashed teeth churning your stomach with comfort and content, needing nothing more in that moment, than staying with him. Even when it was a weak and broken chapped lipped smile, it still fluttered your heart with joy and and a feeling you couldn’t place your finger onto, but the feeling you so badly wanted to grasp onto and never let go.

Your hands clenched into fists against the warm, fake wooden bench. Your back leant against the back of the bench in a poor attempt to relax, yet the stiffened form of your entire body didn’t weaken. It only served as a purpose that sitting outside, trying to bathe in the light, soak in the warmth, wasn’t what you should be doing right now. You should be sobbing, your shoulders shaking heavily with each loud wail falling from your frowned lips, your hands clenched at your sides. You were supposed to be mourning, crying your heart out, not trying to enjoy the outside, trying to bring your mind off of him.

Your body felt sick to the brim. Your throat hurt with the sobs you were holding back, attempting to avoid causing a scene out in public. Your vision blurred with the pooling tears. You hated feeling this way, your stomach nauseous, your head hurting like hell, and your body sick with the need to talk to Chris. To curl into his side, drinking in his body heat, stealing it greedily.

Maybe it was the lingering words that worsened the way you felt, the words he exhaustedly rasped out, his arms a comforting assure around you. Maybe, just maybe you took that moment for granted. At least a part of you did, it all happened too fast. One point you were trying to hear over your own deafening sobs, trying to hear his desperate confessions of love, the love he’d always give you. And the love he wanted you to go and give someone else.

His lips placed above your ear, his words muffle against your hair, breathing in you for one last time. The weakened smile adorning his lips broke your heart even more, he gave you one last effort to be him. To assure you, he was okay. He was going to be okay. Or, the smile etching his features climbed onto your shoulders, pillowing behind your neck, the rest falling behind your back and front. Warming you for what he physically couldnt do.

Or, perchance, his last attempt to give you him, was the echoes of his murmurs. The echoes of the war he’d had with his body, fighting to live, for you.

“You’ll always be my favorite.” Was all that stuck with you, all that you could comprehend, gather from the overwhelming moment. Too caught up with the fact you’d never get to experience him again, to even try, to even beg on your knees to listen to his last efforts.

1,503 words.

TAGS.

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@elas3

[cowboyjen68]

Hi!!

I just wanted to ask some advice from one butch to another.

I recently got my dream job of being a warden on a nature reserve (and i love it!), while interacting with people there I get called a young man very often (i am 18 lol) and it gives me euphoria to know im masculine enough to even pass as a man. I've also had some volunteers ask if I was a man or not (despite my feminine name).

But recently I got called a "lady" outside while out with my mother. It drove me INSANE I cried alot.

Don't get me wrong I do identify as a woman but I hate being seen as a lady.

I've even thought about using he/him pronouns recently and changing my name but i'm too scared to as most people won't understand bc im still a lesbian.

Is this strange?

ps love u and ur blog lots xx

This is an easy answer because I was 18 once and looked enough like a teenage boy that I got "hey sport" and "hey young man" all the time, especially when in my work clothes. I worked for The Mayor's Youth Corp in Iowa City in the summers of my 15th and 16th year. Mom and Dad let me get a work permit AND bought me a used Datsun Pickup so I could drive myself the 20 miles there and back each day.

I was a volunteer with the Corp of Engineers youth from 14 to 16 and Dad knew I was super excited about this job. Mom was not thrilled that I wanted to cut my hair but my "grand mullet" was really hot under the hard hat in the summer heat of Iowa. (in the 1980's boys and girls had the short in front long and permed in back look) We compromised and I cut the sides really short. (photo of my me at 16 in my uniform for reference)

Using "he" would never have occurred to me because "EWWW Boys". This is not to say, however, that I hated being mistaken for a boy, on the contrary, it felt good. When someone thought I was a young man it meant they treated me as such. They didn't talk down to me, I knew they assumed I was capable and willing to get dirty. I knew unconsiously that along with the mistaken identity came many perks. This was nothing I analyzed but little girls see very early on the difference in treatment they recieve from their brothers, male cousins and neighborhood boys. This difference leads us to become negotiators to control our circumstances and not entittled to treatment based on our skills and actual personalies.

When an adult recognized me as a boy, even for a second at first glance, I knew I didn't have to prove myself. They, for an instant, assigned to me words like "strong, capable, demanding etc". No negotations required.

When someone realized I was a girl they literally had a change in their face. They smiled at me, softened their voice. When I was called "young lady" or "Miss" it always seemed to be backed my the worst assumptions (in my mind anyway). Lady is steeped in all kinds of traits I didnt want assigned to me. "quiet, weak, likes to dress pretty"OR "motherly, submissive, meek" Nothing good in my teen brain, that is for sure. Lady felt so OLD, so married to a man and reliant on him for survival, so polyster pants and ugly flats and scratchy blouses with a flower imprint. NONE of these things are inherent to being a woman or even socially forced on us but that is not how things work sometimes. Words that describe people get stereotypes and myths and traits attached to them all the time. Woman and girl are no different.

I can tell you, the best feeling in the world when I was in that job was when my supervisor, who damn well knew I was a young woman, trusted me with all the same tasks as the boys. Who valued my opinions and abilities equally to the young men. He took time to teach me what I didn't know, just like with them and didn't assume I couldn't or didn't want to learn things on the job. He didn't shame ANYONE for not being strong enough or for getting tired or needing a break.

Don't let the assumptions of others force you into another box of conformity. You don't need a boys name or to use any pronouns you don't feel connected to just to please others. In fact, none of that effort will change perceptions of those around you. I can promise that one day being called Lady will just be another word that you can hear and know it does not change your personality or your interests or control the hope you have for your future. What does waste a lot of time and energy is trying to adjust things in your life to fit incorrect or snap assumptions about you as a person. You can never control the thoughts of those around you but what you can do is stop worrying about it and enjoy YOU.

You have a job you love and are sure to thrive in. You are solid in your sexuality and love of women, you are in a unique position to possibly change the perceptions of others when they think of "young women". Your interactions with the public are sure to effect the assumpions of at least some people when they think of young women and their roles in our society.

Congratulations on your new career and I bet you rock that uniform.

[angled-blade]

Omg Slashers with a super athletic reader? Preferably a runner and fucking outruns them? Perhaps gender neutral??

Slashers with an athletic reader

Slashers; Billy Lenz, Bubba Sawyer, Ghostface (Billy Loomis + Stu Macher), Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers (OG + RZ), Thomas Hewitt Warning(s): Vulgar language, deliberate mention of violence and murder. Type: Ambiguous | Headcanons

It’s safe to say that each of them had varied reactions.

• Billy Lenz

For the many years that Billy had remained to strike at the victims who live in the sorority home, not one of them did he expect to run from him. He also did not expect to encounter someone who was much more faster than he was. Billy initially thought that it was funny at first, recalling how none of the others did it, but it got him much more angrier after a couple of minutes.

— You had shoved the man with all your might, your dominant hand slapping the weapon out of his hands. A loud shatter ensued the moment it hit the ground, leaving the man in a temporary shock at your defiance against death—you could almost pinpoint when he became enraged.

“You pig bitch!” You could hear the man yell, his voice hoarse from having done so a good feet away.

You didn’t expect to get so far away from a killer who had been so careful with all his kills so far. Maybe he wasn’t right in the head, something that led to this disaster surely couldn’t be the work of a murderer who perfected his craft. You slowed down when his voice became softer the further you ran. You leaned against a tree, gulping down your anxiety as you looked around.

In front of you was the sight of a few houses, alongside a street you recognised—You’ve ran that far, so much so, that it had led you home. No wonder you couldn’t hear the angered man’s voice anymore.

“Thank god.” was your only response, quickly entering your home and locking it shut. You made quick work to clear your mind in some way, falling asleep despite your best efforts to remain alert. There you were, unaware of the now silent man’s stare.

The man’s gaze trailed onto your sleeping form from the window, before his attention moves onto the upper storey of your home.

It seemed you had an attic, too. —

Expect Billy right on your tail no matter how far you were from him, as he chases you down with bated breath.

• Bubba Sawyer

Bubba was used to the victims running away in an attempt to escape. Having you was, of course, difficult—you narrowly missed his lunges just by fraction. It had him throw a larger tantrum than before. Having you run about as carelessly as you did had him extremely anxious, the visual reminding him of his first runaway victim. 

— Bubba couldn’t handle the idea of you running away, really. It brings him back to those days in ’74, where that girl had escaped him. This was the third time in a row where you booked it to run, and yet another time for him to react on autopilot and cage you in his arms ever so tightly.

You kept screaming, your voice becoming scratchy and weak as you pleaded with Bubba—or anyone, really. He felt some form of remorse about it, letting you go quietly, which was an opportunity you took advantage of quickly as you dashed down the road.

All could have been well, maybe, until Nubbins dragged you back from your legs. Those screams returned and Bubba couldn’t do anything about it this time around.

Seeing how you returned to the Sawyer home, Bubba realised that he could catch you easily. If Nubbins could, he could do so as well. 

He stares at you, having heard the screams stop, his head tilted curiously. You stare back at him knowingly, seeming calm now that Nubbins and Drayton had left. 

Bubba realised now that he never really knew anything about you, even the life that you had before. You came here with nobody, so he had no idea why you didn’t escape as you did.

He doesn’t understand what reason it was that you returned to their territory, he’s curious, but you pose a threat to the Sawyers—that meant he had to keep you.

Oh, you stress him out. —

Expect him to be rougher when he does catch you, just because Bubba’s exhausted doesn’t mean that he would just let you get away.

• Ghostface

  • Billy Loomis

Sure, it was expected that the majority of Ghostface’s victims were to put up a little bit of a fight. He, however, has never anticipated to encounter someone who would have put up a similar fight as you did. You were on the track team, closely tied to Sidney in all sorts of ways. Though, it seemed as though you had other plans.

— ‘It’s expected. This is what you should expect every once in a while.’ Billy reminded himself, flicking his wrist as he took a moment to catch his breath. He has remained silent for this long, there is no way is he going to use his voice on you, seeing how you could easily escape—a benefit for being on track and field, he supposed—and tell the authorities that it was his voice. 

The more he repeated the thought in his mind, the more he felt angered at the little process that he has made getting everything over with you.

He called off on killing you tonight, deciding on planning how he could get rid of you in a lot more gruesome way. Maybe to taunt your team, he could always take polaroids of your dismembered legs and send them as ‘good luck’ gifts. To fuck around even more, maybe even sneak some pieces of you in their home—incriminating them instead.

He thought of many more ways to ruin you, a grin hidden by his mask as he disappeared into the thick of the forest, retracing his steps back home as he snuck back in by the window. He’s gotta greet Stu tonight about the change in plans. 

Billy honestly wanted to be back at your home, your blood on the floor as the life drained from your eyes as you gasped for air. He should try strangling you, just like Stu did with rope last Christmas.

Yeah, some of the victims picked by the two are bound to be better runners than others, but fuck were you annoying. —

Expect a more sadistic Ghostface hunting you down, the dagger in his hand with every swing to match your pace.

  • Stu Macher

Stu finds it exhilarating, really. Someone is actually smart enough to leave—and even better, is able to outrun him! His victims, to an extent, did escape his clutches once or twice. Though, none of those on his hit-list ever made it out alive by the end of the night—not until you, which has you promoted as his favourite chase out of practically every victim he’s gotten.

— Stu stared at your running figure, feeling giddy once more. There you go, his favourite victim! If he felt the need to put in any effort to really kill you, he would have, but how could he resist tasting the fear that your body exuded in waves? 

Those teary eyes you had when you were cornered? The glint of hope that resolved itself in your eyes when you found a route to escape? Oh, all your miniscule expressions has him excited, seeing how you restrict yourself from showing too much to Ghostface, but plenty to him.

The duality interests him a whole lot. He likes seeing the contortions of every muscle that has you tensing up when he reenacts movement that he had done on one of those very nights—just to taunt you, but to also see how you’d react and if you were smart enough to make connections.

He’s lost interest in killing you, really! Maybe he could show you a few parts of your friends as tokens of appreciation for participating in their game and playing it so well.

Stu honestly wanted to see you shatter before him; be it on these nights he visits you as Ghostface, or you breaking down in school and turning to him for comfort.

Oh, he can’t wait. —

Expect a rather playful Ghostface greeting you, the dagger’s blade lightly nicking you a few times each time he caught up to you.

• Jason Voorhees

Jason had run-aways often, the window of opportunity being possible with him being incapacitated beforehand, though it was always temporary. Nothing of the sort happened, and yet he was still unable to get rid of you. You had the ability to escape him and live to tell the tale, why would you return to him?

— Jason’s good eye trained on you as he walked in large, domineering strides, following you from a much closer distance. Despite that, he remained ever so silent, making you almost unsure of how close you were to escape. 

How the hell were you supposed to tell the police department? A masked killer who looked eerily to the infamous Jason Voorhees killed your friend and was after you? How were you going to explain to them why you were in Camp Crystal Lake? Were you supposed to leave out some details? Leave out the fact that you were in there, maybe, and that you were concerned for a friend?

Fuck, thinking while running was not a good idea. You got sidetracked and lost sight of where you were headed along the way. You were already in the thick of the forest, the sight of a road from afar one that you focused on in an instant. 

You gulped down your fear, not wanting to face the wrath of the killer that you and your friend had unknowingly incurred. 

You saw the road become closer, until you were a few meters away. You felt relief reach your aching muscles, only for them to tense up once more.

A large hand, its skin gray and rough, gripped onto your dominant wrist. You could only let out a wail as he drug you back, his nail digging into your skin as a warning. —

Expect an extremely focused Jason for every time that he catches a glimpse of you, a feeling washing over him with each time that he follows you.

• Michael Myers

  • ’78/OG

OG expected you to do so after you (quickly, he noticed) realised that he was no average Halloween participant. He, however, did not expect you to disappear from his sight as quickly as you did. He will (just barely, that he ignored) catch a glimpse of you in the very distance, a rush of energy flowing through him as if he could not wait to catch you.

— You couldn’t see the man anywhere once you had ran from the building, fear still present in your eyes as you kept looking around. Paranoia still stuck with you as you made a few changes in your path, taking multiple shortcuts and longer routes to throw the killer off your path. 

Surely that would confuse the masked male who, without you realising, had been closely following you. His steps matched yours, though a lot more quieter as your shoes crushed the dead leaves beneath you. 

You were different to him, your appearance one that he took to committing to his memory if you happen to break into a sprint as you did when you realised who he was the first time around.

You were passing these houses now, the candles that were in those carved pumpkins still lit. Their presence illuminated the now dead streets of Haddonfield, shedding light onto the killer who acknowledged the fact that you stopped walking. 

After hearing another set of footsteps, you turned to see the man once again—this time around, you did not choose to hesitate. This was a matter of life and death, after all.

And so, the chase was on. —

Expect a curious OG to be unrelenting as he stalks you down, the idea of killing you a thought he now had abandoned out of intrigue.

  • RZ

Maybe it was the fact that RZ had developed a little more than his original counterpart, patience is not a word that can be associated with this killer. The longer the victim lives, the more aggressive RZ becomes in response. The very fact that you remain to graze past the inevitability of death, the more destruction is caused by him in its wake.

— You heard the woman’s scream as the boogeyman struck her, the sheathing sound of a blade intercepting her chest, tearing through her flesh—it even hit bone, the harrowing echo of cracks sounding throughout the entire room—you felt horror intercept your very being, heartbeat at a state of unease as it pounded against your chest.

He killed her as if he was gutting her like a fish. You felt your breath quicken, catching the attention of the killer. You couldn’t hear his footsteps; they were far too quiet to hear over the rush of thoughts that overtook your mind. 

Only when you heard his heavy breathing, you reacted on autopilot. You ran, and ran. Away from that house, away from the street he was at.

You were only a passerby—not even someone he was targeting, so why was it that he felt more rage toward you running away? 

You were nosy, that’s what. You sat through the woman’s death and did nothing. Did you hear of the woman’s words? How long? The thoughts plagued his mind, more rage flowing through as he stared at your smaller figure from a good distance away, following you now.

At home at last, you relaxed, unaware of the man standing on the porch by your backdoor.

He recognised your face now, you won’t get away from him so soon. —

Expect a more aggravated RZ hunting you down in the nth chase that you two have been caught in. He remains unstoppable, curious to see you break.

• Thomas Hewitt

Thomas supposed that with time—there had to be people that will outrun him and book it from Texas, never to return to taunt the folk there. You kept returning, much to the Hewitt family’s chagrin. Thomas felt on edge whenever you were visible in town—even if you couldn’t see him—preparing to catch you once and for all.

— “Oh, shit.” Thomas stood before you, his eyes trained on you as he remained still. You felt your body tense, though you tried to offer a sheepish grin. You knew how to get out of this alive—plus, he didn’t bring his chainsaw along this time around.

“This is a bad time to–shit, why the fuck are you everywhere? I just wanted to—” You were cut off with a snarl. A warning you knew not to mess with. You backed away, unsure of what that was to imply for you. Was he thinking about butchering you? Hanging you on the hook as he skinned you?

You couldn’t tell, nor could you make a coherent thought as he raises his hands slightly to abdomen level, seemingly in preparation to do something. You turned on your heel and ran, even if the hot Texas heat burned against your back, your lungs burning now with the uncomfortable warmth that dried your throat.

You were running on the road now, the gravel brushing against your beaten down shoes as you kept running. The heat, of course, became one that was your enemy. You weren’t thinking ahead, nor were you able to grasp how far out you were in the state. 

Collapsing, a figure neared your limp body. You gasp as hands hoisted you right up to land against their broad shoulders, the wind having been knocked out from your throat. You began to whimper as you two made the long journey back to that damn house.

A thought settled in your mind and had you teary eyed, as you gave into this situation helplessly.

You were never leaving this place, weren’t you? —

Expect a determined Thomas whenever he sees you, though, no matter how long it will take to catch you; he’d always catch you.

Hey! I hope you enjoyed this piece and that it fulfilled your request!! Thank you to all the many requests that have ended up in my inbox alongside the occasional asks! I am ecstatic at the fact that you all enjoy my work!! (: Again, please reblog this post! I really appreciate it. Thank you again for reading this, have a great day/night!! (:

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x40 - The Four Heavenly Kings of the Mountain of Evil! Dark Masters / Enter the Dark Masters

Previously on Digimon Adventure: The Chosen Children discovered Vamdemon's ultimate weakness: Forceful, repeated nut shots. After wailing on his vulnerable point until he fell over and died, they bid farewell to their loved ones and fucked off via rainbow magic without explaining anything to most of their confused, scared parents.

It's cool, they'll be back in like a minute. Thanks, time dilation!

The Four Heavenly Kings are a quartet of Buddhist devas who preside over the cardinal directions. They're kind of a big deal in Buddhist mythology and they come up a lot in Japanese pop culture. Anime and video games love the Four Heavenly Kings.

They're the Kais and the Supreme Kais in Dragon Ball. They're the Saint Beasts in Yu Yu Hakusho. The Elite Four in Pokemon. The Four Giants that must be rescued in Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. They're all over the place.

Notably, despite being called "kings", they are rarely the top of the hierarchy and typically serve a single master who stands above them all. The Heavenly Kings bend their knees to Taishakuten, supreme ruler over all devas. He governs from the peak of a great mountain at the center of all directions.

So where you find Four Heavenly Kings in media, you will often find a supreme lord of the center who sits above them. (Though not necessarily always; Yu Yu Hakusho, for instance, omitted that part.)

Digimon, too, has its Four Heavenly Kings. In fact, like Dragon Ball, it has multiple sets - with the penultimate villains of Adventure 01 being a corrupt and evil version of the concept, which is also not uncommon with Heavenly King portrayals.

They were not the first to come up with "Four Heavenly Kings BUT EVIL" and they will not be the last. Heavenly King references are a fun and easy way to fill in the top-dog super-elite enforcers for your primary bad guy.

So, without further adieu, we open this episode on the introduction of the titular Dark Masters, who govern four of the five traditional elements: Water, wood, metal, and slapstick comedy.

Spoiling their names a bit but I'm not gonna spend this whole scene calling them Clown Bro and Gatling Puppet. Piemon, pronounced "Pee-eh-mon" and not "Pie-mon", kicks us off. He's secretly monitoring the humans back in Japan, observing the Chosen Children preparing to return.

He's doing this through the truly ingenious method of pointing a giant-ass telescope at the reality tear in the sky and looking at Japan with his eyes.

Piemon: Those fools wear masks of fear, waiting in futility for peace to return. Such a wonderful sight to behold! MetalSeadramon: (bursts from the water) This is stupid! We should attack! Pinochimon: Their flow of time moves differently from ours. We should take our time and pick them off one by one. Like him! Mugendramon: (silent, but for heavy breathing)

The camera slowly pans up Mugendramon's metal body. I'm not 100% certain on what Pinochimon is suggesting here, but I think he wants to use Mugendramon's cannons to, like, shoot up into the sky rifts and snipe humans while they're frozen in the glacially-moving time of the other world.

A horrifying thought. We should probably close those rifts.

The dub understood the assignment with Piedmon.

Piedmon: Hahaha! Those bit players are frozen with stage fright! Hopelessly waiting for the moment they'll be saved! And yet, there's an unseen twist to the plot! MetalSeadramon: I say we cut to the punchline and go straight for the action! Puppetmon: Oh please, that would be boring! I want to play this drama to the hilt! Let's pull out all the stops and give 'em what they paid for.

Piedmon's voice is basically perfect. He's being performed as an overenthusiastic virtuoso. For Puppetmon, they go a different direction; Pinocchimon is voiced like a young boy, while Puppetmon has this scratchy sneering voice like a little weasel man.

Far from the bestial roar of the original, the dub's MetalSeadramon sounds like a twenty-something young man with a southern twang in his voice. Interesting choice. That could get annoying or be hilarious. We'll see where that goes.

Machinedramon does not get to breathe heavily into the mic because they cut the part of Pinocchimon's line that calls him out and puts attention on him. So now the camera pans over him for no apparent reason while Puppetmon is talking.

Depending on whether my understanding is right, I could see them changing his line because holy shit that's violent and dark or because they, like me, weren't exactly sure what he was saying. Might be censorship, might be "Huh?"

Piemon: The Chosen Children will return soon. Our boredom is at its end. Now! Let us leave the dressing room! The stage curtains are rising!

Spotlights shine on each of the Dark Masters to punctuate his words.

Piemon: The title is: The End of the Chosen Children!

In the dub, Piedmon continues off of Puppetmon's changed line.

Piedmon: I'm in complete agreement! A quick victory would be a letdown. The DigiDestined will be on Spiral Mountain soon; We must rehearse before they get here. It will be their FINAL PERFORMANCE!!!

As a silence-breaker, he introduces them each individually to the audience when the spotlights come in.

Piedmon: MetalSeadramon! Puppetmon! And Machinedramon! I present to you the downfall of the DigiDestined!

The dub's front-loading a lot of proper nouns, though they never have a chance to name Piedmon. They even name-drop Spiral Mountain early.

While the Dark Masters make their plans, the children arrive in the Digital World and take stock of their surroundings.

Taichi: Are we back? Mimi: I think so.... Koushiro: We should be. Takeru: Is it night-time? Yamato: Looks like.

Sora looks up and suddenly lets out a shriek.

Sora: EHHHHH!?!? EVERYONE, LOOK!!!

Looking up into the sky above, they can see the island of Hokkaido floating in the sky above, as if the blue sky were the ocean. Hokkaido is one of the biggest parts of Japan, so this is very much like looking up and seeing Texas distantly floating upside-down in the air.

Group: WHUUUUUUH!?!? Taichi: H-HOKKAIDO!?!? Yamato: IS THAT EARTH!?!? Koushiro: We're able to see Earth from here, the same way we could see the DIgimon World from Earth earlier.

Poor Koushiro having to explain the obvious to his shocked colleagues. Sitting there like, "Come on, guys. We already know this is happening."

As a small microaggression towards my kid, Taichi's uncertainty and Mimi's confirmation is flip-flopped in the dub so that Tai's certain and Mimi's confused.

Tai: Well, it looks like we're back. Mimi: Back where? in the Digital World? Izzy: That's affirmative. T.K.: It's dark. Matt: Yeah! It's kind of weird!

The resulting line doesn't make a lot of sense. Where do you think we went back to, Mimi? The McDonalds we bullied Joe at? Not to be outdone, however, Matt promptly forgets how night works to take the pressure off of Mimi's dumb question. XD

I think they all have cosmic jet-lag.

Sora does not shriek when she notices the sky.

Sora: HEY!!! LOOK UP THERE!!! Group: WHUUUUUUH!?!? Tai: Talk about weird! Matt: Could that be Earth!? Izzy: It's merely speculation but it seems to be a reasonable facsimile. We see Earth from here like we saw the Digital World from Earth.

They cut the regional reference to Hokkaido which I actually think was a bad call. Japanese kids could reasonably recognize that island in the sky but Americans have no idea what they're looking at. It just looks like an ink blot.

So when the kids are like, "IS THAT EARTH!?!?"

Like.

Is it? Doesn't look like Earth to me. That is a weird dark shape in the clouds, not a planet. This is a confusing moment in the dub.

This might have been a good time to have, say, Joe chime in with a line like "I recognize that island; It's one of the biggest islands in Japan!" That way, the kids watching would understand what they're supposed to be seeing, because it is not clear at a glance with zero comprehension of Japanese geography.

Suddenly, Jou hears something rustling around in the brush.

Jou: Hm? Gomamon? What are you doing down there, Gomamon?

He walks over to where the sound's coming from, sifting through the grass. Gomamon pops out of Jou's duffel bag nearby.

Gomamon: Jou! I'm over here! Jou: Eh? Then who's this--GYAAAAAGH!!!

Chuumon erupts from the grass, attacking Jou and clawing at his face while screaming in a panic. The ground shifts, opening up a chasm beneath Jou, and Chuumon leaps away to safety.

Gomamon: JOU!!!

Jou grabs onto the newly created cliffside for dear life.

In the dub:

Joe: Hm? Gomamon? Hey, where are you? (Joe follows the sound, but Gomamon pops out of Joe's duffel) Gomamon: Joe, I've been snoozing over here! Joe: Huh? Oh, well we'll just save the world without you then-- (Joe gets attacked, then falls off a cliff) Gomamon: JOE!!! Joe: Wh-whoa! ...I didn't need this.

Again, weird scripting choice here. They replace his last line with a snarky gag, but visually Joe returns his attention to the spot he was investigating (and gets attacked for it) without indicating why he's still poking around that patch of grass.

Joe's understated whine of a silence-breaker is fantastic, though. He's so used to peril at this point that his reaction to falling off a cliff is basically a stone-faced, "Really. Okay." XD

Koromon, Tsunomon, Mochimon, Tokomon, and Pyocomon all take Jou getting attacked as encouragement to evolve into their Child-stages, ending their recovery periods. Plotmon remains Plotmon and Palmon trips, falling on her face in a funny moment in the middle of the dramatic charge.

Agumon, Gabumon, Patamon, and Palmon all move in on the attacker in the grass, but Hikari calls out.

Hikari: STOP!!!

Approaching the grass, Hikari crouches down and gently, softly addresses the terrified Digimon hiding in it.

Hikari: Don't be scared. You don't have to be scared. I'm not going to hurt you. You can come out.

Trembling in fear, Chuumon slowly emerges from the grass, then collapses in front of the kids.

Palmon: It's Chuumon! Mimi: You're right! That's Chuumon from File Island! (Chuumon opens his eyes at the sound of their voices.) Chuumon: Mimi-chan? Palmon?

We briefly flash back on better, or at least less despondent days, when Scumon and Chuumon met Mimi way back when.

Chuumon: I'm glad... you came back....

That's all Chuumon manages to get out before passing out.

In the dub:

Kari: HOLD ON!!! (Kari approaches the grass and crouches down) Kari: Come out! You're among friends. We won't hurt you. Don't be afraid. (Chuumon emerges) Palmon: Oh my goodness! It's Chuumon! Mimi: He looks terrible; What he needs is a complete makeover. (Chuumon opens his eyes at the sound of their voices.) Chuumon: Mimi? Palmon? (Brief flashback of meeting Mimi) Mimi (V.O.): Something bad happened. Sukamon and Chuumon used to be inseparable! (Flashback ends) Chuumon: I'm so glad you came back to save us....

They remove the part where Mimi ID's Chuumon as specifically the one from File Island, which is kind of important because there was a separate Scumon and Chuumon among PicoDevimon's shitty recruits earlier. Then again, the dub might not know those are different Digimon, given the confusion they had about Kuwagamon "following us from File Island" during the Etemon arc.

It's fine, though, because the flashback that follows does the job anyway. Plus she still calls them out in her silence-breaking flashback narration, so nothing is lost by the replacement of this line with a signature Mimi Quip.

It's actually Kari's dialogue that I take issue with. Not for the lines she says but the tone of voice. Rather than the soft, gentle tones that the original uses, she talks to Chuumon in her normal speaking voice. It's a small thing but it dampens the emotional impact of the moment and its demonstration of Hikari's sensitive empathy.

It doesn't ruin the scene, though; It just means the tone of the moment isn't as strong as it would otherwise be.

Suddenly Jou calls out, reminding everyone that he's still dangling off a cliff.

Jou: HEEEEEY SOMEONE HELP!!! Gomamon: Oops, I forgot!

Gomamon bounds over to the edge of the cliff to help Jou, only to be stymied by his biological limitations.

Gomamon: Waugh!? Jou: Gomamon, give me your hand! I can't climb back up on my own! Gomamon: (looks down at his flipper) Now, when you say to give you my 'hand'....

This is a callback to the Unimon episode way back on File Island; Jou's first spotlight episode. There, he'd ribbed Gomamon for offering to lend a "hand".

Taichi and Yamato arrive, looking at the ravine beyond Jou.

Taichi: This is...! Yamato: AH! Taichi: Jou, climb back up!

Jou briefly looks down, seeing that the ravine is deep beneath him, and shrieks. He scrambles to pull himself up, while Taichi and Yamato grab him and help pull him back onto the grass.

Jou: Help me! Yamato: Come on, hurry! Taichi: Grab on!

Once Jou's safely back on the ground, the three boys look into the deepening ravine, watching chunks of the landscape crumble and fall into it.

Yamato: What is happening here...?

In the dub:

Joe: Would somebody mind helping me!? Gomamon: Whoops, I forgot all about ya! (Gomamon runs over to Joe) Joe: You forgot. I'm hanging here by my elbows and you're off in la-la land! Gomamon: (looks down at his flipper) Gee, I wonder what it's like to have elbows? (Tai and Matt arrive) Tai: Joe!? Figures. Matt: Huh!? Tai: Hey, quit fooling around! (Joe looks down and shrieks; The boys pull him up.) Joe: Just help me, will ya!? Matt: Work with us! (Matt looks at the collapsing landscape) Matt: What's happening!? Everything's gone wacko!

The "hand" bit is replaced with Gomamon getting distracted by a non sequitur. Tai's dialogue is rewritten to be mean to Joe.

While everyone's dealing with Jou and Chuumon, Koushiro tries to contact Gennai.

Tentomon: Have you found Gennai-han? Koushiro: No, I haven't been able to get through.

Meanwhile, Mimi cradles Chuumon in her lap while the group gathers around him.

Palmon: He looks a lot less scared after seeing your face, Mimi. Piyomon: He must have been running on pure adrenaline. Sora: The poor thing.

Chuumon wakes up in Mimi's lap.

Mimi: Chuumon? Chuumon: Mimi-chan? You're really Mimi-chan! Mimi: That's right. What happened to you? Chuumon: (silently flinches away from the question) Palmon: Where's your pal Scumon? Chuumon: He's... He's dead!

Making that admission, Chuumon starts bawling. We cut to a flashback of Scumon and Chuumon living carefree lives on File Island.

Chuumon (V.O.): After Mimi-chan and the others left File Island, we spent our days peacefully like usual. Then, one day out of nowhere....

A huge earthquake rips through the island. Scumon and Chuumon run for their lives, but Scumon falls into a massive chasm that opens up. Chuumon calls after him, but a wave of darkness ushers up from the chasm, blowing him away.

Chuumon (V.O.): The powers of darkness enveloped the world. Then, to make it easier for darkness to rule, they reshaped the entire world....

In media, it's generally agreed that if you don't see a body, the character's going to come back. Digimon don't leave bodies behind, however, so just take my assurance that there's no trick here.

Scumon is actually dead. We will not see him again until 02, after he's had a chance to reincarnate at Primary Village. He was one of probably many casualties unluckily caught up in the Dark Masters' upheaval of the landscape.

In the dub:

Tentomon: Are you trying to get a hold of Gennai? Izzy: Well, I'm not playing Solitaire! (Cut to the kids gathered around Chuumon in Mimi's lap) Palmon: Chuumon's a mess! I wonder what happened to him. Biyomon: Well, whatever it was, it wasn't very pretty! Sora: Poor thing! (Chuumon wakes up) Mimi: Ah! Chuumon! Chuumon: Mimi.... I wasn't dreaming; It's really you after all! Mimi: Poor thing. Why don't you tell Mimi all about it?

I had issues earlier with Kari's voice but Mimi's tone here is perfect. I love the way she uses her own name as an emotional prybar to get Chuumon to open up, having recognized the unique influence she has in this moment.

Palmon: What happened to your friend Sukamon? Chuumon: I-I... I'm afraid I lost him.... (Chuumon starts bawling and goes into flashback) Chuumon (V.O.): After you guys left File Island, Sukamon and I went on with life as usual. You know, eating, eating, and more eating! When suddenly.... (The chasm rips apart File Island and Sukamon falls into the darkness below) Chuumon: I never saw him again! A powerful evil force took over the land, causing all kinds of bad things to happen! Then it rebuilt the Digital World so it would be easier to conquer! I've been hiding ever since.

The dub doesn't directly state that Sukamon's dead, but they don't unwrite his death either. They leave Sukamon's fate up in the air.

The kids have some questions about that last thing Chuumon mentioned.

Taichi: They reshaped the world? Koushiro: Into what?

Cut to an ambiguous length of time later; The sun's risen, so they must have been traveling a while to get here. Still carried in Mimi's arms, Chuumon shows the kids to the base of a colossal, twisting landmass composed of various biomes streaked up from the earth below.

Chuumon: Some places here or there are ruins of what they used to be, but most of it has been twisted up into that mountain. It's called Spiral Mountain.

Like many proper nouns in the Digital World, the name "Spiral Mountain" is in English.

Yamato: Spiral Mountain? Joe: I can't believe the Digimon World has changed so much....

Yeah, the Dark Masters reshaped the world into their own literally twisted version of the compass center Shumisen; The great mountain at the center of the universe upon which sits the heaven of the devas.

In the dub:

Tai: You mean the Digital World is completely changed from what it was? Izzy: How is it different? (Chuumon shows them to Spiral Mountain) Chuumon: Everything's been discombobulated and taken apart! The Digital World has been relocated way up there! It's called Spiral Mountain! There's nothing left here of the old world except some ruins! Matt: So you're saying it's all up there. Huh. Joe: Color me cynical but nothing surprises me about this place.

"The Digital World has been relocated way up there" is an awkward way to explain this. The Digital World hasn't been relocated; It's been reshaped, with most of its geographic mass twisted up into Spiral Mountain.

We are, right now, standing in the Digital World. We're just in the scant non-mountain bits that were left over.

As an aside, I like Joe's parting quip at the end of this exchange. XD

Taichi has more questions for the traumatized Chuumon.

Taichi: What happened to the other Digimon? Like Leomon? Chuumon: I don't know. But I've heard that everyone who's gone against them has been destroyed.... Sora: Against who? Chuumon: (hushed whisper) ...the Dark Masters....

The phrase "Dark Masters" is also in English.

Taichi: So then we have to fight these Dark Masters. Chuumon: FIGHT!?!? YOU'LL NEVER WIN!!! NEVER EVER!!! Taichi: Hey, we brought down Vamdemon! Mimi: It will be okay! As long as all eight of the Chosen Children are together, we can save the world!

Mimi's trying so hard to reassure Chuumon, but the very thought of these kids trying to resist the Dark Masters chills him to his bones.

In the dub:

Tai: Where did all the other Digimon go? Are they up there too? Where's Leomon? Chuumon: I don't know. But from what I've been told, they'll destroy anything that tries to get in their way! Sora: Who will? Chuumon: Who? The Dark Masters! Tai: Well, they couldn't be too much tougher than anybody else we've wrestled with before. Chuumon: No way! They'll beat the pants right off of you! Tai: We got rid of Myotismon, so we can get rid of them too! Mimi: Don't worry about it. As long as the eight of us are together, we'll keep those big bullies away from you!

This whole exchange is semantically very different, particularly when Chuumon gets in a pissing contest with Tai about how tough the Dark Masters are rather than panicking and screaming. But it's all lateral changes, I think. Same ideas expressed differently, nothing objectionable or especially noteworthy.

Suddenly, a deep, bestial laugh fills the air around the kids.

MetalSeadramon: HUHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! CHOSEN CHILDREN!!! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU!!!

The ground in front of them explodes into smoke and debris, then MetalSeadramon's titanic body erupts upwards from the smoke.

Chuumon: IT'S METALSEADRAMON!!!

Alright! Go ahead, Taichi. Go fight him. We'll wait here. :P

(In seriousness, Taichi's assessment was fair. The Dark Masters are each on the same level as VenomVamdemon. Chuumon has a different frame of reference because Ultimate-stage Digimon are so rare and mythical as to basically be unheard of.)

In any case, it's time for MetalSeadramon's rundown. He's an Ultimate-stage Data-type Cyborg Digimon; The Data Ultimate for the Deep Savers evolution tree, evolved from MegaSeadramon.

Narrator: MetalSeadramon. An Ultimate-stage Digimon whose entire body is covered in Chrome Digizoid, the strongest metal. He boasts colossal power and tremendous speed.

"Chrome Digizoid" is English. Well, Digizoid is a made-up word, but "Chrome" is English and Digizoid is English-like.

The kids run for it. MetalSeadramon moves quickly, swooping through the woods and smashing through the group. Though he fails to get a solid hit on anyone, he sends the kids tumbling to the ground in his wake.

Yamato: (trying to get up; pained) How can he move so fast with a body that huge!?

Over in the dub:

MetalSeadramon: HEEEHEHEHAHAHA!!! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU, DIGIDESTINED!!! (MetalSeadramon erupts from the ground) Chuumon: OH NO, IT'S METALSEADRAMON!!! Chuumon: (rundown) This guy is one real hard nose! And I mean hard nose! Take my advice: This is one train that you would rather miss. (MetalSeadramon attacks, knocking the kids down) Matt: (trying to get up; pained) Okay, if that's the way you want it, we can play rough too!

Another instance of the dub swapping out dialogue to make the kids look stronger and more battle-hungry.

Chuumon's diegetic rundown sucks. The original rundown gives salient explanations for why MetalSeadramon is a force to be reckoned with. Dub Chuumon just says "He's really tough, trust me."

Getting up, the kids and their Partner Digimon prepare to fight back.

Taichi: Let's go, Agumon! Agumon: Got it! Yamato: Gabumon! Sora: I'm counting on you, Piyomon!

All eight Partner Digimon evolve to their Adult forms to throw down with MetalSeadramon.

It does not go well.

In fact, it goes tremendously unwell. Fighting him at -2 stages was a terrible idea.

Tailmon does manage to jerk aside before he can fucking eat her but they're still losing this fight badly. And embarrassing themselves in front of Chuumon who was already convinced the kids were screwed.

In the dub:

Tai: Let's go, Agumon! Agumon: Gotcha! Matt: Now it's our turn!

Sora's line gets snubbed. Rude.

Love the confidence on Matt, though. "Now it's OUR turn!" exclaimed while basically whipping out a switchblade to face down a gatling gun.

The dub makes minor edits to MetalSeadramon's brutal beatdown. The shot where his tail slams into Togemon is cut down; We see her go flying but we don't see the hit that threw her.

Dub Angemon inexplicably calls his Hand of Fate attack while getting bodied like the rest. They got to do their stock animation attacks and then get bodied, but he didn't get to do a stock animation attack first so I guess he got jealous.

Similarly, when Gatomon lunges at MetalSeadramon's face and immediately has regrets, she calls Lightning Paw in the dub. The original Tailmon was just... trying to tackle him in the face. Which is a terrible idea, so having her at least call an attack there makes sense.

Flying overhead, MegaSeadramon makes victory loopies in the sky.

Takeru: ANGEMON!!! Hikari: Tailmon.... MetalSeadramon: HUHAHAHAHA!!! As if you could win against me! Mimi: Why is this happening!? It's eight against one! (Koushiro suddenly looks up from his laptop with alarm) Koushiro: MetalSeadramon is an Ultimate-stage Digimon! Adult-stages can't win against him no matter how many there are! Taichi: He's Ultimate-stage!? Jou: Why does our first opponent have to be such a powerful one!? MetalSeadramon: You're finished. ULTIMATE STREAM!!!

MetalSeadramon's Ultimate Stream fires from the cannon on his nose, annihilating the landscape around the Chosen Children in a massive energy explosion. The eight Partner Digimon all wrap themselves around their partnered children to shield them from the blast.

Seriously, though, I said it for dub Matt earlier but I'll say it again here. You gotta love the sheer cockiness. Riding high on their victory against Vamdemon, they thought they could stroll in here, throw a few Meteor Wings and Mega Flames around, and the Dark Masters would roll over and die for them.

They thought VenomVamdemon was as bad as it gets. They were not prepared for more Ultimate Digimon.

In the dub:

T.K.: Angemon! Kari: Oh no! MetalSeadramon: (loopies) YOU SHOULD KNOW YOUR POWERS AREN'T STRONG ENOUGH!!! Mimi: How come he's beating us so badly!? (Izzy suddenly looks up from his laptop with alarm) Izzy: Ah! It's because he's a Mega Digimon, and even eight Champions can't overtake one Mega! He's stronger than all of us combined! Tai: Then we're lost without more power! Joe: Ever notice we're always in the wrong place at just the wrong time? MetalSeadramon: Now it's time to take one nasty ride!

Dub MetalSeadramon does not call his attack.

We go to commercial following MetalSeadramon's attack and come back to the kids recovering in a dark place.

Angemon: (cradling Takeru) Takeru, are you hurt? Takeru: I'm okay. Thank you, Angemon.

Angemon nods, but then they hear a low, bestial growling. Angemon whips his head around. There's something out there in the mists that he can't make out. He sets down Takeru and picks up his Holy Rod.

Takeru: What is it? Angemon: There's something here. I'll go take a look.

In the dub:

Angemon: (cradling T.K.) T.K., are you alright? T.K.: I thought I was broken, but I guess I must be okay!

The dub frequently misses sound cues for plot points that are strictly auditory, but they do capture the bestial growling that sets off Angemon here. Points for that.

T.K.: What's the matter? Angemon: Wait. I'll be back.

Angemon takes to the air, trying to scout ahead. In the distance, a metallic whirring sound revs up, and two bolts of light begin to glow in the mist.

Then they fire.

Before he knows what hit him, Angemon's pummeled by twin cannon shots.

Takeru: ANGEMON!!!

Regressing into Patamon, he flops helplessly across the grass, landing in front of Takeru.

Takeru: Patamon! Patamon, hang in there!

Mugendramon wheels forward out of the mist. And I do mean wheels; He doesn't actually walk, but rolls forward motionlessly like his feet have roller skates under them or something.

He roars aggressively, saying nothing. Koushiro checks his laptop, bringing us into our second Dark Master rundown.

Mugendramon is an Ultimate-stage Virus-type Machine Digimon. The Virus Ultimate from Metal Empire, completing the set with WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon. His name is derived from the Japanese word mugen, meaning infinite, and of course dramon/dragon. Mugendramon is the Infinite Dragon.

Koushiro: (laptop) Ah! That's another Ultimate-stage Digimon! Narrator: Mugendramon. An Ultimate-stage Digimon who wields unbelievable power. His special attack is Mugen Cannon.

Angemon took two shots from the Infinite Dragon's Infinite Cannon. It's a wonder he's even alive.

Over in the dub:

T.K.: ANGEMON!!! (Angemon reverts to Patamon and flops on the ground) T.K.: Oh no! Poor Patamon! (Machinedramon emerges) Izzy: (laptop) Ah! Be prepared for another Mega Digimon! Izzy: (rundown) He's called Machinedramon. This metallic mutant can blow out a Digimon just like a birthday candle!

The original rundown for this wasn't exactly super explanatory. It just said "Fucker strong." Izzy says the same but in the weirdest way possible. He's trying to make a quip out of it but, sorry Izzy, they can't all be winners.

Everybody Super-Evolves to face Mugendramon, except Angemon who is still slacking. Once in their Perfect stages, they have a plan. The plan is "Get him".

Not a great plan. Taichi endorses it because of course he does.

Taichi: Get him! Beat him up! Hikari: But we can't win.... Taichi: Eh?

Rushing Mugendramon in a mob, the Digimon try in vain to close distance. Mugendramon kicks back, enjoys his firing position, and mows them all down in a barrage of Mugen Cannon fire. This was a terrible plan of attack.

In the dub:

Tai: Come on, guys! Show him what you're made of! Kari: Hope they're made of something strong enough! Tai: Huh!?

Kari seems more onboard with this plan than Hikari was, though still more realistic than Tai about their chances.

Mugendramon keeps up the assault. One of his shots hits Angewomon, knocking her out of the sky. Hikari tries to catch her but her tiny child body gets crushed under Angewomon's larger bulk.

Good effort, Hikari. Eyes were a little bigger than your arms, though.

Mugendramon's assault destroys the landscape beneath the kids, and they fall deeper into the dark place. Then they gradually drift to a stop, still floating in the air.

Koushiro: We stopped. Mimi: Where are we? What's going on?

Mimi's question goes unanswered as more pressing priorities emerge. WereGarurumon suddenly, out of nowhere, throws a punch at Garudamon and clocks her across the face. Garudamon recovers and comes back with a right hook.

Yamato: What are you doing, WereGarurumon!? Sora: Stop it, Garudamon! You're on the same side!

Garudamon and WereGarurumon continue fistfighting.

Garudamon: I'm not doing it on purpose! WereGarurumon: My body... It's moving by itself! Sora: (confused) Your body's moving by itself?

An unseen force suddenly jerks Sora's arms up into an odd pose. Cut to Jou, hanging from Zudomon's horn, who's jogging in place.

Jou: W-What's going on!?

In the dub, Mimi makes a salient point about their odd predicament.

Izzy: We stopped! Mimi: I can't complain. It's sure a lot better than falling on our heads. (Digimon start fighting) Matt: Hey, can't you two take a break for one minute!? Sora: Yeah, come on! We're all supposed to be on the same side! Garudamon: I can't control it! WereGarurumon: That's right! Our bodies are doing this all by themselves! Sora: (skeptically) All by themselves, huh? OH! (arm pose) Joe: (forced to jog in place) I've always hated any form of exercise; What's happening to me!?

Dub Sora straight-up doesn't believe them when they explain they're being controlled. XD

It's Koushiro who finally notices the thin strings connected to each of them.

Koushiro: Ah! There are strings attached to us! We're being controlled! Pinochimon: Hehehehe... You finally figured it out. Koushiro: Who are you!? Pinochimon: Why don't you use your special little computer to find out? Here.

Using Koushiro's strings, Pinochimon manipulates him into typing at his computer to pull up Pinochimon's profile. Pinochimon is an Ultimate-stage Virus-type Puppet Digimon. He's the Virus Ultimate from the Wind Guardians line, sharing space with Piyomon and Palmon's evolutionary paths. His name and design are obviously based on Pinocchio.

Koushiro: Ah! He's Ultimate-stage! Narrator: Pinochimon. An Ultimate Digimon who places Number One in awful personalities! His special attack is Bullet Hammer.

Number One with a bullet, you say? A loaded god complex, cock it and pull it?

Gotta love the gradual decline in the these rundowns.

MetalSeadramon - He's ultra fast and powerful not to mention gigantic! Plus his armor is made from the strongest metal in the Digital World! Mugendramon - He's unbelievably powerful. So powerful, you guys. Pinochimon - ...he's very mean.

At this point, Piemon's rundown will just be "Piemon. (long silence) What a dick!"

The dub changes Pinochimon's name to Puppetmon.

Izzy: We've become string puppets! And someone's operating us! Puppetmon: (mocking) Hah hahaha hah! Well, aren't we a little smarty pants!? Izzy: Who are you!? Puppetmon: Wanna know? How about if I help you look up my profile on your special computer? Watch! (Puppetmon manipulates Izzy into typing) Izzy: (gasp) He's also a Mega Digimon! Izzy: (rundown) Puppetmon has a controlling personality and a rotten temper! Get him mad and he'll bop you with his hammer!

He'll probably shoot you with his hammer, actually, but the dub may be trying to avoid saying "Bullet Hammer". Though you can still clearly see that the head of his hammer is the cylinder of a revolver.

Snerk. Good, uh... good luck with that, dub team. I cannot wait 'til we get to his episode.

Upon meeting Pinochimon, Mimi wants to file a complaint.

Mimi: (furious) Again!? Why do these Ultimate-stage Digimon keep appearing one after another!? Lilimon: Mimi.... Pinochimon: Now, fly to the Last Stage!

Pinochimon yanks the kids' strings, sending them flying through the void. Then he addresses the Digimon left behind.

Pinochimon: You guys should hurry after them. BULLET HAMMER!!!

The revolver cylinder on his hammer fires off like a minigun, spraying the Partner Digimon and knocking them all out of their Perfect forms. Most regress to their baby forms, save for Agumon, Gabumon, and Tailmon as usual.

In the dub, Mimi's complaint to the management turns into her firing off a fantastic Mimi Quip.

Mimi: If you have to hit something, you should bop yourself for how you look in that stupid helmet! Lillymon: MIMI!?!?

Savage. Even Lillymon's shocked by Mimi's ferocity.

Puppetmon: I'm gonna have to let you go for now! (Puppetmon sends the kids away) Puppetmon: But I promise to destroy you! PUPPET PUMMEL!!!

Though they censor out the name of Pinochimon's Bullet Hammer, the footage of it firing remains unedited.

The children wake up at a Greco-Roman coliseum, groaning in pain. Based on the surrounding area, we seem to be in the desert from the Etemon arc, or what it's become in the reconfigured world.

A jovial clown balancing on a ball rolls out onto the stage.

Clown: Hello, good children! I'm here today to tell you all a funny story!

The clown holds up crudely-drawn crayon pictures to illustrate his story.

Clown: A long, long time ago, there were eight Chosen Children and their Digimon. The Eight Children and their Digimon were foolish enough to climb Spiral Mountain, where they all met a tragic fate at the hands of the Dark Masters. The end. Takeru: (angry) What was that!? That wasn't funny at all! Clown: I just told you what sort of destiny awaits you. You should be grateful. ^_^

Poor Takeru totally fumbled his Sense Motive check when the random clown arrived. XD He was actually expecting to be entertained. Did not catch the vibe of this conversation at all.

In the dub:

Clown: Well, hello there, boys and girls! And welcome! Today, I'm going to tell you an amazing story! (The clown holds out his crayon sketches) Clown: Once upon a time, there was eight DigiDestined. They went with their Digimon companions to try to save the world. The children and their Digimon discovered that in order for them to do it, they had to climb up to the top of Spiral Mountain. But to their dismay, the Dark Masters defeated them. So sad! T.K.: Hey, Clowny! Nobody's laughing at your story! Clown: Oh dear, I'm so sorry. Did I happen to mention the story is true? I wanted to give you a preview of the plot!

Pretty faithful, I'd say.

Suddenly, the clown's guise fades away and reveals him to be Piemon.

Piemon leaps to the top of a nearby column, laughing as he goes. From here, we go into our final rundown for the Dark Masters.

Piemon is an Ultimate-stage Virus-type Demon Person Digimon. Fittingly, he's the Virus Ultimate of the Nightmare Soldiers and the original Ultimate evolution for Vamdemon, as well as Phantomon.

Yes, over the course of this show the kids have had to fight their way through the entire Nightmare Soldiers evolution branch of Devimon -> Vamdemon -> Piemon while also taking a break to punch it out with Monkey Elvis.

As I mentioned before, Piemon's name is not "Pie-mon". It's pronounced Pee-eh-mon, because it's a reference to the comedic character Pierrot from traditional European pantomime performances.

His dub name Piedmon, however, is "Pied-mon", a reference to clowns being hit with pies. This is because the dub didn't trust American nine-year-olds to be familiar with Victorian-Era European Mime Lore. XD

Mimi: Wha--!? Chuumon: WAAAAAUGH!!! IT'S PIEMON!!! Narrator: Piemon. A phantasmal Ultimate-stage Digimon who comes and goes unexpectedly. His true nature is shrouded in mystery.

What a dick!

No, like MetalSeadramon, that is a pretty solid infodump. It tells us to expect Piemon to be a walking WTF.

To summarize what we've learned here: MetalSeadramon is huge, fast, and invulnerable. Mugendramon is unbelievably powerful. Pinochimon is unpleasant at parties. And Piemon has bizarre and esoteric abilities.

This all serves to set up the conflicts to come. Yes, even Pinochimon.

Over in the dub:

Piedmon: Hahahahahaha! Fools! Mimi: (gasp) Chuumon: AHHHHHHHHHH!!! IT'S PIEDMON!!! Chuumon: (rundown) He's a Mega Phantom Digimon of the worst kind! You never know what he's going to look like next!

This is the closest a Dark Master rundown gets to relaying the original information. Good job, Chuumon.

Just once, can we run into a Phantom Digimon of the best kind? Where's Ghost of Christmas Presentmon? That guy seems like he'd be fun to hang out with.

Finally, Taichi and Yamato are at their wit's end with all these Ultimate Digimon and decide to match power with power.

Taichi: We won't lose to you guys! Agumon! Yamato: Gabumon, I'm counting on you!

Agumon and Gabumon Warp-Evolve to face Piemon Ultimate to Ultimate.

Taichi: Go, WarGreymon! Show him what we're made of! Yamato: MetalGarurumon! Take him down and save the world!

WarGreymon leads with Gaia Force. Piemon sidesteps the attack. MetalGarurumon follows up with Cocytus Breath, but Piemon breaks out one of his swords and slices through the slushie onslaught.

In the dub, Tai kicks us off with a retort to Piedmon's story earlier.

Tai: Well, I think your plot needs a few rewrites! Agumon! Matt: Gabumon, you can do it! (Warp evolutions) Tai: Yeah! Let him know we mean business, WarGreymon! Matt: MetalGarurumon! Teach that joker a lesson he'll never forget!

Pretty snappy comeback for Tai there, especially to a thespian like Pie(d)mon. It's one thing to call him a dick but shit-talking his craft is really throwing down the gauntlet.

Too bad about those whiffed attacks, though.

After maneuvering through the pair's offense, Piemon comes back with his own signature move: Trump Sword.

It's sword-throwing. He throws swords.

Direct hits on WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon score instant KOs, reverting them back to Agumon and Gabumon.

Jou: I-It can't be! Sora: We can't win even with two Ultimates on our side? Mimi: He's just an Ultimate too, right? Piemon: Even though we are on the same level, you have only recently acquired your new power. You're mistaken if you think that is all it takes to win. Agumon: (pained) I'm sorry, Taichi....

Piemon was able to outfight WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon simultaneously, not because he's stronger than them but because he has much more experience in the Ultimate state. As a natural Ultimate who achieved this level the hard way, by rising through the ranks of Perfect and Ultimate evolution, he simply has them outmatched in skill and experience.

From there, Piemon goes on to give his team their formal introductions, despite Koushiro having already identified each of them. He's a showman; Let him have this moment.

Piemon: Permit me now to introduce the members that make up the Dark Masters. MetalSeadramon! (MetalSeadramon explodes from the ground, roaring) Piemon: Mugendramon! (Mugendramon smashes through columns to enter the coliseum, also roaring) Piemon: Pinochimon! (Pinochimon just sort of appears) Pinochimon: Personally, I wish I could have had some more fun with you. Piemon: And myself, Piemon. (Piemon remains a dick.) Piemon: Time flies in the blink of an eye when you're having fun. Now then. Who should die first?

In the dub:

Joe: This is bad news. Sora: Even two Mega Digimon couldn't put him down! That's really bad news! Mimi: Not to mention he's a fashion disaster! Piedmon: Your two Megas are newly Digivolved. How can you expect them to compete against an experienced and, might I boast, superior Digimon? Agumon: (pained) Tai... Sorry....

Mimi's question is replaced with a Mimi Quip. Fortunately, Piedmon still delivers the important information anyway and we get a Mimi Quip out of it so it's cool.

Piedmon: Please permit me to present my fellow actors in this captivating and charming comedy of errors! MetalSeadramon! (MetalSeadramon explodes from the ground, roaring) Piedmon: Machinedramon! (Machinedramon smashes through columns to enter the coliseum, also roaring) Piedmon: Puppetmon! (Puppetmon just sort of appears) Puppetmon: You thought you were through with me, but I wanted to have some more fun! Piedmon: And myself, Piedmon. (Such a dick.) Piedmon: We'd like to begin by asking for audience volunteers. Who would like to be the first to be destroyed? Oh come now, don't tell me you have stage fright!

No lie, I am loving the dub performance for Piedmon. They understood the assignment.

Piemon's eyes scan the group before falling on Mimi.

The moment she realizes he's looking at her, Mimi bursts out into tears, screaming and crying at the top of her lungs.

Mimi: No... NO!!! I'M JUST AN ORDINARY GRADE SCHOOL STUDENT!!! WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO DIE HERE!?!? Sora: (gently) Mimi-chan.... Mimi: I WANTED TO DRESS UP IN FASHIONABLE CLOTHES AND EAT MORE YUMMY THINGS AND GO ON A TRIP ABROAD AND-- Piedmon: Your whining is starting to hurt my ears! I'm going to start with you.

Just like that, Piemon gets target lock.

Mimi melts down in both versions, but the dub's meltdown is a bit different.

Mimi: I didn't even want to go to camp in the first place! I just wanted to go to the mall! Can't somebody else save this silly world besides me!? Sora: (surprised) Mimi!? Mimi: I want to be a normal kid and not have any big responsibilities! I mean, come on, is that too much to ask!? It's not fair! Piedmon: Ack! Your incessant whining is getting on my nerves! You will be the first one to go!

Original Mimi's meltdown is about the unfairness of having to die at such a young age with so much of her life still ahead of her. Dub Mimi's meltdown is about how much she doesn't want to be a child soldier which is valid but contextually off.

It feels like the dub team is trying to fill in a Mimi meltdown from scratch to avoid going as dark as the original subject matter. They do a fair job; It doesn't feel like it came out of nowhere. But lines like "Can't someone else save the world?" and "I don't want responsibilities!" still seem divorced from the specific grim predicament she's actually in right now.

Having made up his mind Piemon swiftly draws a hidden dagger from his sleeve and tosses it at Mimi.

Without hesitation, Chuumon leaps out of Mimi's arms, taking Piemon's knife to his chest. Chuumon falls prone on the ground, the knife disintegrating as quickly as it appeared. Weeping, Mimi scoops him back up in her arms.

Mimi: Chuumon! You have to hold on! Chuumon: Mimi-chan... When I reincarnate... Go on a date with me.... Mimi: CHUUMON!!!

With that utterly inappropriate yet entirely in-character bit of emotional blackmail, Chuumon disintegrates into pixels and joins his friend Scumon in death.

(So far as we know, she does not honor his last request, nor should she.)

The dub cuts the shot where the knife plunges into Chuumon, but keeps the shot of Chuumon falling to the ground with the knife stabbed into him.

Mimi: Chuumon! Speak to me, you poor thing! Chuumon: Mimi... It's time for me... to be deleted.... Mimi: CHUUMON!!!

His last request doesn't make it in; No surprise there. But they pull no punches about the fact that Chuumon definitely and without question died violently.

Someone, however, is not impressed by Chuumon's sacrifice.

Piemon: What a stupid Digimon. There's no reason to protect each other when you're all going to die here anyway. Taichi: We won't let you get away with this! Dark Masters: (all laugh together) Piemon: So, who's next?

Before he can pick his next target, another old friend suddenly cuts in.

Piccolomon's Pit Bomb does no damage whatsoever but flashbangs the Dark Masters, allowing him to make off with the Chosen Children. He carries them to safety within a cloaked invisibility sphere.

Takeru: Piccolomon! We were hoping to see you again! Piccolomon: So was I pi! Koushiro: You were able to reach us by creating a barrier that the enemy couldn't see? Piccolomon: That's right pi! Taichi: Piccolomon, we made it this way believing that as long as the eight of us were together, we could save both worlds. But-- Piccolomon: It's true that the eight of you are together pi but that alone isn't enough to win pi. Sora: What are we missing? Jou: Tell us! Piccolomon: (somberly) Unfortunately, we don't have time for that pi.

A wave of energy suddenly hits the barrier. What little time Piccolomon's trick bought them has run its course.

In the dub:

Piedmon: Chuumon was a fool!

The dub inserts a commercial break after Chuumon's death, then we return and watch him die again.

Mimi: T_T Oh, Chuumon! Piedmon: So, now that he's out of the way, who would like to be the next one to make their grand exit? Tai: Piedmon, you're gonna be washed up when we're through with you! Dark Masters: (all laugh together) Piedmon: Be my guest. Piximon: PIT BOMB!!! (Piximon takes the kids and bails) T.K.: Hey, Piximon! Perfect timing! Piximon: I missed ya! Izzy: Prodigious! You cleverly used a barrier to avoid detection. Piximon: I sure did! Tai: But you said it was possible to save the planet if the eight of us were all together! How come it's not happening, huh? What's up, Piximon!? Piximon: The truth is, being together is not enough. There's something else that you need to do to beat 'em. Sora: How are we going to find out if you won't help? Joe: Yeah, enough riddles! Piximon: This is something you will discover on your own.

The dub's gotten its wires crossed about the plot again. Piximon never said anything about the eight of them; His episode was well behind us when the Eighth Child plot point was introduced. Tai's beef should, as always, be with Gennai.

In the original, Piccolomon's like "Look you need more than just being physically present but I don't have time to explain because we are seconds away from getting murdered."

Piximon, on the other hand, is being cryptic for funsies.

Pursuing Piccolomon's invisibility shimmer, the Dark Masters gain ground. There is no escape.

MetalSeadramon: Found you. Piccolomon: I'm going to stop them pi! Make your way to Spiral Mountain while I hold them off pi! Yamato: You're going to stop them!? They're all Ultimate-stage! Piccolomon: I know that pi! Even if I can't win, I can still put up a fight pi! Taichi: I'll fight with you! Piccolomon: ARE YOU STUPID!? You're the last hope for the world pi!

MetalSeadramon hits Piccolomon's barrier with a direct shot from his Ultimate Stream. Piccolomon waits and lets the barrier absorb MetalSeadramon's shot, then emerges to fight the Dark Masters.

Piccolomon: I'm sure you can find pi what you're missing! When you do, you'll be unstoppable pi! Now go, Chosen Children!

Piccolomon smacks the barrier with his spear, sending it flying off much faster than before.

In the dub:

MetalSeadramon: Aha! Here you are! Eheheheheheha! Piximon: I'll try to stop them. Meanwhile, make a run for it and climb to the top of Spiral Mountain. But you better move it! Matt: You can't stop them! They're all Mega Digimon! Piximon: I know I can't win, but I should be able to distract them long enough for you to get away! Tai: I'll stay with you! Piximon: No way! Besides, we need you on Spiral Mountain; We're counting on you to beat 'em!

Though MetalSeadramon's nose beam went unnamed last time he used it, this time he calls the attack.

MetalSeadramon: RIVER OF POWER!!! (MetalSeadramon blasts the barrier bubble) Piximon: (emerges) Please go now. You have a very important task ahead of you. Once you succeed, no one will ever be able to stop you again. I know you will make me proud of you!

Strong parting words for what will be their final meeting.

As an aside, I love the name "River of Power". That is a fantastic "not-touching-you" name-like to Ultimate Stream. Well punned.

Sad that we lose Piccolomon calling Taichi a moron to his face. "I'm gonna sacrifice myself for you." "And I'll help you do--" "NO."

No sooner has Piccolomon sent the Children away than he hears Piemon call out to him.

Piemon: Piccolomon, is it? Do you honestly believe that you, a Perfect-stage, could win against us? Piccolomon: Say whatever you want pi!

From the barrier bubble, the children see a bright flash of light illuminate the coliseum once more.

Hikari: Piccolomon is dead. Narrator: After paying a heavy sacrifice, the children finally arrive at Spiral Mountain. But their fight with the Dark Masters has only just begun.

Boy, what a fun and joyous final adventure we've embarked on!

The dub changes things up here. They add some silence breakers as the bubble flies away.

Matt: He's stronger than he looks! Gabumon: He'll have to be!

Then they cut straight to the final shot of everyone watching from the barrier.

Kari: Do you think it's possible he can do it? Gabumon: I don't know, Kari! I hope so!

From there, we cut back to Piximon confronting the Dark Masters.

Piximon: Rrrgh! Piedmon: How can such a powerless Digimon even think about defeating us, hmm!? Piximon: Just call me a crazy little Digimon! Narrator: Will Piximon hold off the Dark Masters long enough for the DigiDestined to reach Spiral Mountain? Watch the next Digimon: Digital Monsters.

The explosion that indicated Piximon's death has been cut, as has the shot of the kids' bubble arriving at Spiral Mountain. But don't worry, they're planning to remix the shit out of this last scene at the start of the next episode. We'll see what became of Piximon; You just got to wait a week with hope and anticipation in your heart before coming back to watch him brutally die.

Weird choice but okay.

Assessment: I remembered this arc being dark but I forgot how quickly it gets dark. Remember the "goofy" harassers from File Island THEY FUCKING DIED. But don't worry, the virtuous trainer who helped Taichi figure his shit out is here and he ALSO FUCKING DIED.

To set the tone, this episode is a bloodbath right out of the starting gate. They want you to know that nobody outside our core eight is safe anymore. This is war and people are going to die.

The dub keeps up and handles itself pretty well. It even manages to keep up with the darkening tone using euphemistic language but refraining from talking around the deaths happening onscreen. Yes, that includes Piximon's, even if they did kick it out to next episode.

Even down to the execution scene, there's none of that "Capture them, put them in a cage!" stuff that previous arcs would have employed. "Who would like to make their grand exit?" is flowery but unambiguous in its meaning, especially after explicitly killing someone onscreen.

We're in for a fucking ride.

[baby-xemnas]

hehehehehe teened agers lawbepo..

weheheheh they shared a room... i know its POSSIBLE that penshachi slept there too but there was no mention of them in the nightmare scene so i choose to think they had their own

:))))))))))))))

what are you gonna kiss for the first time in YOUR room

i kinda love there was zero garchu mention implying bepo was super solid on respecting human boundaries..meaning law would be the one to get in his personal space

eehheheee ohhhh law would probably want to pet bepo super badly...imagine seeing someone so fluffy EVERY DAY and not touching him??? crazy he is gonna go crazy

imagining that penguin and shachi broke that boundary first cuz they are so boys will be boys so they ruffle bepos head and he picks them up (in a bear hug hehe hoho) when hes (light heartedly ofc) irritated by them

law being a weird nerd would take weeks to prepare for it mentally steeling himself to then put a hand on bepo's fur and let it linger there (bepo freezing up) making a lil scratchy motion and bepo would make a small noise

law taking his hand away: ah. sorry. your fur is very nice

bepo in a weak and whiny voice despite himself but he wants law's hand back on him immediately. he's dying: t-thanks

law is gonna spend several more days mulling over how much he enjoyed seeing bepo's cute reaction

TOTALLY NORMAL TO FIND YOUR HOMIE CUTE RIGHT. RIGHT????? HE HAS AN APPEARANCE OF A POLAR BEAR BEARS ARE CUTE /imagines a bear and feels nothing/ No. ITS NORMAL. HES BEING NORMAL ABOUT HIS BEST FRIEND.

i said earlier that i like that garchuing wasnt mentioned but imagining now bepo starting the conversation because uh...you know in my culture..ah sorry nevermind its nothing

law: go on (SPILL IT OUT NOW I HAVE TO KNOW WHAT GOT YOU SO NERVOUS IT SOUNDED VERY IMPORTANT)

bepo explaining what garchu is - its very embarassing to ask this of law san! but law san being so important to him is WHY he wants to ask for it so badly....but he is being so demanding! bepo voice: nvm sorry i will go kms.

law surprising himself how natural the answer that it'd be fine came out. he opens his arms and bepo's reaction is so worth it. he looks overwhelmed with happiness as he embraces law (mindful of his weight not to crush him hes still trying to hold back. he would want to leap at him!!! he is so happy!! law san is so special!!!

law hugging him back, processing how he feels about it (its great but he is so not used to it. last person that hugged him was his mother so many years ago he almost forgot what it feels like. this is SO NOT LIKE HIS MOTHER THOUGH. law feeling that comparison is very inappropriate and dirty. WHY IS HE FEELING THAT?? maybe because bepo's whispers of his name as he nuzzles his shoulder is...something. something very different.

some time later at night law asking if bepo is asleep and hes groggy but says no...is garchu something you do with your family or- bepo: family and friends yes! law san to me is different law san is very special! law: huh... bepo: what do humans do with people special to them? law (LIE 100% SUCCESS): i dont..really know...but we hug its similar to garchu bepo: OH NICE :D GOODNIGHT LAW SAN law: goodnight /wide awake now thinking about if he wants to kiss bepo or not. yes he does/

[proofheavenexsists]

Chapter 1: Not in Kansas

 “She doesn’t appear to be an anomaly. Any chance you know how she got here?" A voice grumbles above me. My eyes refuse to cooperate and refuse to open. I focus on my breathing and try to control my body. I've never felt so weighed down. "No idea, bossman. Check out this new filter. Wait, smile this time." I freeze as I hear a woman respond. There's no telling how many people are here. There seems to be a pause in the conversation until the man's voice seems to address me. 

"I know you're awake." I shrink into myself as I've been caught. "Who are you?" I take deep breaths as I turn my head to the voice. My body is slowly waking up as my hands push with all their strength to sit up and assess my surroundings. Spots cloud the edge of my vision as I take in my surroundings. I seem to be in an apartment, a luxurious one at that. The interior is sleek but clinical. It appears as though someone bought the furniture just to occupy the space. The view is gorgeous. We seem to be very high up, according to the eyeline. The city is bustling, despite it being evening. I don't recognize where I am. 

"Did you hear me?" My head turns sharply to the man's cold voice. I gasp at the sheer size of him. He had to have been over 6'5 and nothing but pure muscle. His bodysuit hides nothing as it wraps tightly around his hulking figure. My eyes drift higher and meet his. His glare pins me to the floor as his eyes hold an evil, red glint. His face and body seemed to have been sculpted by the gods, but they didn't seem forgiving. My eyes search for the woman's voice, hoping to find a friendlier face. I've never felt so weak. My body is still waking up and my brain is spinning. The bite on my arm burns, but it seems to be subdued as time passes. He scoffs, but his face remains hardened. He kneels down to my height and assesses my shaking frame. 

"You alright?" I don't know how to respond to such a simple question. 'Pretty good. My arm is on fire while my body is numb. Any chance of telling me where I am and who you are?' I keep my thoughts quiet, afraid of what this man could do to me. I slowly nod my head at him. My voice comes out short and choppy as I introduce myself and ask a question in turn. 

"Where am I?" I cringe at my scratchy voice. He stands and offers me a hand. I hesitated before taking it. His hand swallows mine as he helps me stand on shaky legs. "I remember walking home, getting bit by this...bug, and falling until I woke up. Here. With you." I take a step back as I start realizing the danger I'm in. I'm with a strange man, injured. 

He sighs at my step back but remains composed."You're in my penthouse." He says it with an even tone, stepping closer. His size intimidates me, but I can't show weakness, or back down. "Did you find me? Take me here? I'll let you know that I'm just a broke college student. I have no money, and you'll be getting nothing from me." He rolls his eyes at my words and looks to the side. “Kid-I didn’t ‘take you here’.” He made air quotes as if he’s the one being inconvenienced. “I don’t even know you. You just kinda appeared in my house.”  

I look away from his gaze as I take his words at face value. "Not a kid. Like I said, college student. Nice house you got here." I'm trying to dissolve the air as he continues to look at me like I'm the dangerous one.

"How old are you?" His eyes scanned my form. I fidget with my overalls, not helping the kiddo accusation. "Twenty... I like the view, super nice." I walk towards the window and look out. "Are you like rich? What do you do for a living? Depending on your answer, I might change my major." Smiling politely to say, 'Please don't kill me.'

He frowns down at me and contemplates for a moment before hesitantly replying. "I... you... could say I'm rich. It's complicated, but I have a job, sorta." He mumbles off as I look at him with a raised eyebrow. I can't help but scoff at his words. "Fuckin rich people. Of course he can afford to have this kinda place without a job." I mumble under my breath with an eye roll. I'm surprised to see him glaring at me with his arms around his chest. "You damn kids don't know how to respect elders these days. First Hobie, then Miles, now this kid?" "Look Mister... whatever your name is. I don't need to give respect just cause you're older. How old are you?" He proceeded to ROLL his eyes at my words as if I wasn't giving him the same attitude he gave me. I see a vein getting angry on his forehead as he mutters, "I'm 30, brat."

Keeping a straight face at his words was harder than I thought. "So you're ten years older, and calling yourself my elder?" He has to be very pleased that my laughter is held in. I compose myself and wipe an imaginary tear, "Okie dokie, if you could just tell me how to get home. Hopefully, we'll never see each other again. A map can be useful; strange city you live in." He stares at me before slowly replying. "I don't know how to get you home." I look at him with an incredulous face. "What do you mean, you don't know how to get me home? Call a taxi or I can just call up my aunt's place." My tone comes across as bored at his words. He pinches the bridge of his name and takes a long exhale. "Kid-if I call you a taxi or your aunt, how am I going to know you won't stay gone? That you're going to stay wherever you came from?" My eyebrows scrunch up in confusion and frustration. "First of all, not a kid. Second, where are we? Like I said if you just get me a map, I can figure it out from there. Scout's honor I'd never see you again."

 "Nueva York." His eyes lock with mine and I feel a shiver run down my spine. "Nueva York? I've never heard of that. Do you mean New York? I lived there, but it looks nothing like this." I say gesturing out to the window. Granted the only memories I have of New York is from spending time on campus, but still. He drags a hand down his face like this conversation is beneath him. As he goes to respond I feel a jolt of pain. It feels like my body is being set on fire and spasms wildly. I can only react and fall forward. As I was about to hit the floor, Miguel caught me. I can only wait it out as he looks at my face with concern. His voice is softer as he regards my twitching form. "Hey, hey. Can you see me? Breath." I use his voice as an anchor and I can only pant and wait for the pain to subside. "I'm okay, I think. It was like my body was shot by electricity. Like I glitched?" His eyes bore into mine as he gazed into my eyes. "This... glitch. Has it happened before?" I look him in the eyes and nod softly. "All girls go through this, it’s part of puberty." I say sickly sweet at the idiotic question. His face flushes a deep red with embarrassment and anger at my words. He clears his throat and tries to go for an intimidating approach. "Shut up, smartass. You know what I meant."

I sigh and only feel mildly bad about my reaction. I gently get out of his arms and stabilize my body. "No, I've never felt anything like that before. Hurt like a bitch, but I should be fine." His eyes are alert on my body in case I kneel over again. He thinks for a moment before nodding his head and muttering. "Okay. Let's make sure it doesn't happen again." I raise my hand in salute and tell him, "aye, aye captain." I see a flash of a grin on his face, but he masked it well. I try going back to the conversation at hand. "Soooooooo, about that map." He nods his head and leads me further into his house without another word. I follow behind him, until we enter a study like room. He hits a button on his desk and a map of the city is projected in the air. I gasp at the sight and try to find the illusion. "Bye golly, never seen anything like this before."

He gave a small chuckle at my reaction. Not every day you see this type of technology. Rich asshole. He informs me it's something called a 'hologram'. I think I've seen one of those in a film before.

"Where are you from?" I tell him my town and he mutters, 'explains the accent.' My cheeks flush at his words. I never notice my accent until someone points it out. He pauses for a moment as he types in my location. "Is something wrong?" I ask after his brief pause turns into a stare. "Nothing, just thinking." He pulls up my location from here, and my brain turns. The map he's showing me has a date at the bottom…

"Can you answer something for me? What year is it?" I ask with anxiety creeping into my brain. He gives me a hard stare before saying, "June 13, 2099." I feel dread begin to settle at his words. “Don’t you mean 1999?”

We are gonna pretend like I didn't upload the wrong chapter 😃

[polizwrites]

Digging Into the Past

This is a fill for today’s  @flufftober   Day 12: “This is spooky.” - “Really?”  and today’s  @fictober-eventr  Day 12 prompt: “Did you hear that?”  along with my @buckybarnesbingo  B3 - “Anyone out there?” square.

Fandom: MCU/Marvel Rating: General Pairing:  Steve Rogers & Bucky Barnes Tags:  Pre-war,  Exploration,  Ghosts,  Haunting Summary: Steve and Bucky find more than they bargained for when they try to retrieve a piece of the past.   Word Count: 577

“This is spooky.” Bucky murmured, staring at the rickety, steep wooden stairs leading down into darkness.    

“Really?”  Steve hadn’t even realized their apartment building had a cellar until his Ma said she had a few things stored down there that she’d like to see again. 

“Yeah.  Gimme the light.”   

Steve handed him the flashlight the super had let them borrow. “The  cellar ain’t never been wired for electricity,” he’d told them with a shrug, “but there’s  a coupla lanterns down there that should still have some gas in ‘em.” 

The flashlight’s batteries must’ve been about dead, as it only shone a weak, yellowish light wide enough to illuminate the first couple of steps.  “Lemme go down first and get one of the lanterns lit.” 

“Okay.” Steve wrinkled his nose at the damp, musty smell wafting up from the stairwell; his chest tightening as much in anticipation of an asthma attack as the ominous creaking sounds coming from the treads as Bucky descended. 

Steve had planned to take care of his Ma’s request himself - after all, Bucky had already put in a full week plus some overtime at the docks - but he’d caught Steve talking to the super and insisted on helping out.   

A minute or so later, a faint glow appeared, almost reaching the bottom of the stairs.  Bucky came about two-thirds of the way back up to hand Steve the flashlight.  “Take it slow - I’m not sure how many more trips this stairway can handle.” 

Steve rolled his eyes; he was considerably lighter than his friend, but even so, it shook slightly under his weight.  Thankfully the items his Ma wanted brought up weren’t too heavy.

“What are we looking for, anyways?” Bucky asked, grimacing at the cobwebs hanging from the low ceiling. 

“My father’s footlocker. Ma said she thought it was under the stairs.”   They found it easily enough,  but  just as they knelt down in front of it,  Bucky stopped and cocked his head. 

“Did you hear that? I think it came from over there.”  He pointed into the darkness on the other side of the cellar.  “Sounded like … I dunno, like a thud, then kinda scratchy?”  

Steve shone the flashlight in that direction, catching a shadowy glimpse of  crates stacked along the wall.  “I don’t see anything.” 

Bucky shook himself.  “Probably just a rat or something.”   Steve set the flashlight aside to unlatch the footlocker. Just as they opened the lid, the lantern dimmed, then went out.   

Bucky cursed under his breath, then stopped mid-word. “There it is again!”  This time Steve heard it as well: a dull thud, then a scraping, metallic sound,  repeated several times  and followed by a murmur of voices.     

“Hello?”  Bucky called out.  “Anyone out there?”  

The voices grew more distinct and a tiny glow appeared briefly in the gloom.   “Three on a match,” a voice with a familiar accent commented,  “that’s bad luck.” 

“Shut your trap and keep working, Rogers,” a different, harsher voice replied. “The Huns are on their way and we need to get these trenches done.”  An eerie chill ran up Steve’s spine as the sound of digging faded away. 

“What the…. ” Bucky’s voice trailed off as he grabbed for the flashlight; his face pale and eyes wide.  He shone it towards where they’d spotted the glow, but there was nothing and noone there.  

“Let’s grab what we came for,” Steve replied in a shaky voice,  “and get the hell out of here.”    

[pinkrelish]

Hey there 👋 I hope you are okay! Is there any chance we can get a sneak peek at TYP. Maybe a line or a little snippet. The anticipation is killing me 🫣 I can’t wait to read the next chapter!!

i'm not doing super stellar the moment, but here's a snippet to tide everyone over.

Sunday morning, Adrie threw him for a loop.

“I want Miss Mouse to come to my play,” she said, spearing the scrambled eggs on her plate with the tines of her plastic Little Mermaid themed fork. “Can you invite her for me?”

Eddie went rigid. The triangle shaped extras from her pancakes being cut into stars flopped off his fork, paused mid-air on the way to his already stuffed mouth. He chewed slowly. Methodically. Swallowing the syrupy sweetness coating his tongue, biding his time as he hunched deeper over his plate, and stared her down while his uncle took special interest in her request.

Wayne wasn’t able to make it this year, and Adrie was quick to think of a suitable replacement.

With a voice scratchy from cigarettes, he directed his question at his nephew, “Miss Mouse?”

Eddie shut him down with a diplomatic answer without breaking eye contact with his daughter. “Adrie’s nickname for the receptionist at work.”

“Oh! The one who did the costume, and went trick-or-treating with you.”

He sounded much too happy, much too chipper for Eddie’s liking, and when he withdrew his gaze from Adrie to pin it on Wayne, the sharp rush of annoyance at the twinkle in his uncle’s eye manifested in a low, tempered correction for him to drop it. “My coworker from the auto shop, where I’m lucky to have the job that I do.”

Wayne wasn’t having it. He leaned in, and matched his intensity, loading his words with a much deeper meaning than the type of conversation they could have in front of Adrie. He spoke to him man-to-man. “The receptionist who is nice to you and Adrie, and, understandably, is being asked to go to a small event at her school.”

“I know what she’s asking,” Eddie replied from behind his hand. “Stop acting like you don’t.”

“Daddy, please,” Adrie begged, kicking his shin under the table. Eddie inhaled sharply and scooted away.

Wayne looked at him.

Adrie looked at him.

His rules, convictions, and morals of the workplace looked at him, rising as a tense pressure in his chest. Eddie sighed them out.

He was weak.

[mrprettywhenhecries]

Sick Day

Billy Hargrove ✘ Win Lewis (OC)

⇾ w.c. 487 words

⇾ warning(s). canon x oc pairing, f!oc, win’s sick and billy takes care of her

⇾ a/n. i’m sick myself atm and wanted something cute and fluffy to take my mind off how awful i feel

—

“Hey, what’re you doing up?” Billy exclaimed when he heard Win shuffle into the cramped kitchen.

“I was gunna make some tea—“ she began, pointing to the kettle on the stove, her voice hoarse and scratchy.

Billy gave her a level look. “What’d I tell you? If you need something, tell me and I’ll get it for you,” he said, twisting the knob for the burner beneath the kettle before rounding the counter to haul Win back to the bedroom.

“You gotta stay under the blankets til your fever breaks,” he huffed, lifting her easily despite her weak protests and gently laying her down, plying her with blankets before lowering himself to the edge of the bed.

“I know, but—“

“Quit being stubborn, Winnie,” Billy snapped, cutting her off before letting out a sigh and softening. “Look, I know you can take care of yourself, but you don’t have to,” he murmured, pushing her damp bangs from her forehead to feel her temperature. “That’s what I’m here for,” he said gently, leaning in to press his lips to the top of her head.

“I know, but I don’t want to inconvenience you…” Win whispered, her eyes not quite meeting his and Billy clicked his tongue.

“Stop that,” he said firmly. “You’re not an inconvenience. I want to take care of you,” he insisted, his blue eyes watching her gently.

Win made a sound in her throat, her lips pouting slightly. “But I look so gross right now,” she muttered, her words making Billy snort softly.

“You’re just as beautiful as always.”

“Yeah, okay,” she huffed doubtfully, rolling her eyes and quickly covering her mouth to cough. “My hair’s a mess, I’m sweaty and clammy, and my nose is all red,” she argued, her voice nasally.

Despite all that, Billy grinned. “Yeah, so? Doesn’t make me any less attracted to you,” he pointed out, caressing her cheek.

“Ugh, why are you so sweet?” she sighed, her eyelids fluttering weakly.

Before Billy could answer, the kettle began to whistle and he stood, going to take it off the heat. When he returned with her mug of steaming hot tea, she pushed herself up to accept it, letting out a cracked moan as she took a sip.

“Thank you,” she murmured, her gaze flicking up to his. “And thank you for taking care of me. I’ve… forgotten what that feels like,” she admitted, clearing her throat, letting the warmth from the mug seep into her hands.

“I’ll always take care of you, baby,” Billy breathed, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Whether you want me to or not,” he added, his lips twitching slightly.

“Good,” she said, tugging him back down to the bed. “Cause I think I could use some extra warmth,” she teased.

“Oh, you do, do you?” Billy laughed, carefully laying next to her, wrapping her up in his arms.

“Mhmm, and you’re better than any blanket.”

⇾ taglist. @heartbreak-sandwich @super-unpredictable98 @b1tchygh0sts @alwaysstuckinsecondgear @elliethesuperfruitlover @vampyreddiemunson

[aller-geez]

Geez.. when I posted Part One (the preface) of 29: Another Year Sicker, I said Part Two would be out in a few days and boy was I wrong!!

I actually wrote 3/4ths of the entire fic, then decided I hated it and didn’t touch it for a few weeks (^: (sorry guys, I have self esteem issues 🥸)

So change of plans, cause this fic is going to be upwards of 30k-40k words, I have broken it down further into parts! Each part will still have the illustrations I promised also! (:

Part Two includes: sick, super sneezy, so absolutely miserable that he’s emotional Remi on his 29th birthday, sweet Levi fluff taking care of him at home, stifles, full snz, some contagion? and slight mention of mess (nothing crazy)

Please enjoy! 🖤 Part Three will be posted soon, I hope!

Part One can be found here!!

29: Another Year Sicker Part Two

“Hey baby?” Levi’s soft voice broke through his boyfriend’s subconscious, the wolf letting out a soft groan from between his chapped lips, his face buried deeply into the pillow under him. “I know you’re going to hate me for this, but you can’t sleep all day on your birthday..” The leopard continued, one hand tenderly petting the large man across his raven hair which was matted with sweat and stuck out wildly in all directions.

“Nnnngh..” Remi’s eyes very slowly peeled open, revealing a dull green hue to the normally bright irises. He felt like he had been run over by a train and still laid in a puddle on the tracks. “W-What?” The wolf struggled to remain conscious, his eyelids heavy with sleep. As he swallowed a few times, the rawness in his throat was undeniable now, making him wince into the fabric of his pillow. “What time is it?” Remi’s deep voice was harsh, and missing all of the octaves it usually hit, sounding as if it scrapped his throat as he spoke. The quick exchange of air seemed to irritate the raw feeling that extended deep into his chest, and suddenly he was forced into a full sitting position, his large frame shaking from the force of the deep coughs that wracked through him. 

Levi offered his mate a gentle frown, his thin hand coming up to trace small circles against Remi’s sweat soaked back until the harsh coughs subsided, leaving the wolf with a hollow, dry feeling within his lungs. 

“It’s almost five, baby..” Levi purred sympathetically, the deep blue pools of the cat’s eyes displaying nothing but love and concern for his ill mate.

“Are you serious? Of course it is..” Remi hissed in frustration, his hands mindlessly rubbing at his eyes before giving a quick swipe to his bright pink nose. As he did so, the crust from his nose running over night, as well as the drool that still stuck to his face from having to sleep with his mouth open was removed, sending a gentle stinging sensation through the tip of his nose, and settling itself into the back of his sinuses. “God, i feel like shit..” he grumbled, slumping back into the bed beneath him.

Levi couldn't help but smile softly at the wolf's grumpy demeanor, his heart swelling with love for the sickly man beside him. He knew that Remi wasn't feeling his best, but seeing him so vulnerable and weak made the leopard want to care for him even more. "I know, love. But we can't let you spend your entire birthday in bed. I still have plans for us here, even if we aren’t going to have a party~," he whispered, pressing a chaste kiss to Remi's forehead.

Remi groaned, the sound deep and guttural, as he buried himself further into the bed. His head throbbed painfully, and he wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and drift back to sleep. However, the mention of plans piqued his curiosity. "What kind of plans?" he asked after a second, his voice rough and scratchy.

Levi grinned mischievously, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Oh, you’ll see!” The cat chimed happily, clapping his hands together in front of him with pride that he managed to catch the wolf’s attention, especially under these conditions.

Remi raised an eyebrow. Despite feeling like death warmed over, he couldn't help but feel a spark of excitement at the prospect of spending time with the leopard. He knew that his boyfriend always had something up his sleeve, some grand adventure or surprise waiting just around the corner. "Alright, you've got me intrigued," the wolf said, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he tried to lean himself up on his elbows. However, his body felt heavy and weak, like all of his strength had simply been leeched away as he slept. Levi immediately took notice and reached out to help him, his hand supporting the other's back as he settled against the headboard.

"Thanks," Remi muttered, still feeling embarrassed by his weakness. He was used to being strong and capable, but now he felt like a burden to his mate. With a small snort, he ran one of his wrists up his nostrils to wipe away the already incessant running of his nose, looking away from the leopard in embarrassment.

Levi sensed his discomfort and leaned in to place a soft kiss on the wolf’s lips. "Don't worry about it, love. I'm happy to take care of you, especially on your birthday," he grinned with reassurance towards his sick boyfriend, his voice filled with sincerity.

Remi couldn't help but smile at Levi's words, feeling grateful for his boyfriend's unwavering support. "I love you, kitten." he croaked, flashing the younger man a gentle, gracious smile.

Just like his body knew it was the reason for the wolf’s misery, the same familiar tickle that he knew so well suddenly stung at his sensitive nose, the congestion in his full sinuses adjusting itself as he sat up. The intensity even took Remi off guard as he could do nothing but gasp desperately in preparation, his arched brows knitting tightly together on his forehead as his nostrils flared, his stubborn dampened nose begging for a release, one way or another.

“-hd’ISCHhh!! -h’dtTISHh! hhh’ISCHih! hh'IETTSSSH’UE!” Remi sneezed harshly to the side away from the leopard, which was instantly followed by a frustrated groan and a few unproductive snuffles. Wiping his already reddened nostrils against his sleeve, the wolf roughly cleared his throat, before sighing openly.

He could already tell; it was going to be a very long night..

“Bless you, and I love you too, baby~” The cat chirped happily, running his fingers through the large man’s damp hair, hoping a little positivity would help bring his mate’s mood up. “Whenever you feel okay enough to get up, I can show you—“

Cutting Levi off mid sentence, Remi's phone began to ring, the sound reverberating throughout the otherwise quiet room. The wolf frowned, not expecting anyone to call as everyone tended to avoid him like the plague on his birthday, simply because of the bad mood he was always in every year. Glancing down at the screen that lay face up against the bed, he saw the smiling face of his younger sister, Meeko, on the caller ID and his scowl instantly dissolved into a relieved smile. He tried to clear his throat a few times before answering to try and disguise his telling hoarse and congested voice but to no avail. By time it had already rung a few times, he still just stared at his phone instead of picking it up with a distant, slightly confused expression.

“You should probably take that," the cat nodded towards Remi’s phone with a smile, before handing it to the wolf, who took it slowly, still fighting the overwhelming buzzing in his full sinuses.

The moment he answered and put the call on speaker, his thoughts of love and gratitude quickly dissipated as an onslaught of sneezes erupted from deep within him.

“Ih’GXXNT’iiew! Huh'GDTS'ue! H'ihhSHHhh’iew!! hhh’ISCHih!!” Each one seemed louder than the last, and Remi felt helpless as he tried to stifle them with little success.

Meeko's high pitched voice on the other end of the line was filled with worry as she was greeted with the sudden fit. “Rem! I thought you said they were allergies! You sound horrible!” She cried with concern.

All the wolf could do was mumble something inaudible in response before another two sneezes came bursting out of him. “H'utsschhiew! hh'IETSH’UE” It seemed like it would never end...

Remi smashed his palm into his itchy nose, desperate to stop the breathtaking fit that took over every part of his weakened body, rubbing back and forth so quickly he could almost start a fire on his chapped skin. Before he could be interrupted again, he brought the phone closer to his face, his green eyes filled with tears as he fought against the burning that only grew more intense the longer he tried to smother it.

Levi quickly snatched another handful of tissues from the dwindling box that sat on their nightstand, and tried thrusting them into Remi’s free hand, but they were quickly waved off, the large man too concentrated on fighting his ticklish nose to do anything else.

“I’b really— sorry about the—… p-party.. HihhHh—!” The wolf’s breath hitched, and his broad chest swelled quickly as air began to fill his lungs, signaling that he was about to lose the battle he had been desperately trying to win.

“Ah, Rem, just get some rest and feel better, okay? We’ll be over as soon as you’re feeling up to it. Promise!” Meeko reassured him, a clear cringe in her voice as even a simple phone call had her feeling like she needed to duck and hide from her ill brother.

“IH’TTSCHH! HT’TTTSZCH!! IHT’TSSCHIIEWW!” His body shook with each powerful sneeze and he could feel snot dripping down his upper lip; it was impossible for him to keep his eyes open without them stinging with tears. Levi tried his best to help out, quickly swiping Remi’s phone from his trembling hand and taking it off speaker to put it up to his own face as his mate continued to snap forward with seemingly endless forceful sneezes.

“Thanks Meeks, I’ll make sure he rests and gets better soon so we can all celebrate for real. And I’ll tell him about the jenga as soon as he’s cognizant enough to listen!” Levi couldn’t help but chuckle lightly into the phone. “I’ll call you back later with an update!”

“You’re the best, Lee.. Good luck over there! Please don’t get sick!” Meeko was quick to get off of the call, thankful to have Levi there to dote on the wolf. She definitely wouldn’t want the job, no matter how much she loved her brother, as everyone who was ever around Remi when he was sick knew.. If you caught your cold/flu from him, it would be the worst illness of your life; like the man somehow made his own super viruses within his large body.

Tossing Remi’s phone beside him onto the bed, Levi leaned down to kiss the top of the older man’s head, the tissues he had tried to hand the wolf earlier once again slid gently into his grasp. With a soft groan, Remi graciously accepted this time and blew his nose into them thickly, even making himself cringe as he drenched the tissues in his hands instantly. Once the wolf was finally able to catch his breath from his fit, Remi looked at Levi with an apologetic expression on his face.

If the leopard had to be honest, he looked rather pathetic compared to his usual stoic facade. The wolf sat with his legs crossed in front of him, both hands held up to clutch a handful of tissues to his nose, not even considering taking the chance and removing them in case he was ambushed again. His sinuses were clearly swollen, leaving his face looking puffier than usual, and his eyes and nose were both rimmed with red, dry skin, his mouth constantly hanging open enough to breathe.

Levi could feel his heart breaking for his mate. The man deserved a good birthday for once, not feeling like absolute garbage.. He did everything for Levi, and was always more than attentive to the cats needs and feelings.. Stretching out a freckled hand, he rubbed Remi’s knee tenderly with a small frown.

“I’m sorry you feel so awful, baby..”

Letting out a slow, full exhale, Remi finally felt safe enough to be able to move the wall of tissues away from his face again. “Thadks, kidden.. sndff!” He swiped at his nose once more with the sodden ball of tissues before tossing them into the trash can by the bed. “What did I hear about Jedga?”

“Meeko’s present to you this year..” Levi’s worried expression was replaced with one of excitement as he glanced back at Remi. “I promised her we’d play it tonight, even if it’s just once.. you’ll get it when you see it. But you’ll have to go through the decorations, first~” The leopards features were taken over by a bright grin, thankful to have already spoken to his sister in law when she dropped off the game earlier in the day. He was constantly blown away by the love that Meeko had for Remi; this time though, it might be just what his mate needed.

A small smile tugged at the corners of the wolf’s mouth, and a little light returned to his unusually dull green eyes. At this point, anything was better than being the sole reason there was a worldwide tissue shortage while never leaving their shared bed that was currently soaked in his sweat. He snuffled softly, not willing to even tempt his sensitive nostrils to go off again, although the few harsh coughs that escaped couldn’t be helped.

“Oh? You didd’t put too buch effort id to it just to have to cagcel, though, right?” His dim, emerald eyes slid up to Levi’s with a sheepish expression, praying to whatever higher power that he was about to walk out of their room to a bunch of 3 balloons, and a little cupcake with a single candle lit on their table. But he knew his mate better than that.

With a carefree laugh, Levi ran his fingers through Remi’s hair starting from his forehead. “Do you even know me?” The cat stuck his tongue out playfully, giving his mates shoulder a light shove.

“No, you’re right.. that was a questiod I defiditely already dew the adswer to.” The wolf couldn’t help but chuckle weakly, although he was more embarrassed than he’d like to admit that Levi still did everything for his birthday party, something that the cat was so excited for, all for his stupid body to give out the one day he needed to not be sick. Figures.

As Levi’s attentive blue eyes traced his mates figure, he could see the man’s sickly body trembling forcefully under the blankets despite the constant stream of sweat that kept his hair matted to his neck and forehead. The cat’s eyebrows knitted together on his face, worry for his mate filling his blue orbs. “You doin okay, baby? Here,” he quickly turned on his heels to begin digging in their shared closet, a few clothes here and there being tossed out to the side haphazardly as the younger man searched. When he finally found what he was looking for, Levi chirped with happiness before pulling them off of the hangers they had been clipped to.

Once the cat emerged from the small space again, he laid the three articles of clothing down on the bed next to the wolf with a tender smile. One of Remi’s favorite hoodies, black with the words “SewerPerson” scrawled across the front in a death metal font, a clean pair of boxers, and a pair of thick grey sweatpants that fit him perfectly.

“C’mon, I’ll help you.” Levi smiled, before he offered an outstretched hand to reassure him. Remi started to open his mouth to argue, but the sudden sternness in his boyfriends usually relaxed features quickly caused him to abandon the idea all together, shutting his mouth forcefully with a ‘click’ from his teeth. A raspy, defeated sigh left the wolf, before he reluctantly took the cat’s thin hand and coaxed himself to stand, very slowly.

Helping the wolf get out of the bed and into the clothes he had laid out for him, Levi tried to remain positive despite the worry he had for his beloved. He and Remi had been together for a long time now, and he hadn’t seen his mate this sick in years.. The cat gulped silently, hoping with everything in him that this was just an ill timed head cold from hell, and not something more sinister like what had landed him in the hospital a few years back. But he didn’t have time to sit and worry. It was Remi’s birthday and damn it, they were going to have fun, even if it meant killing themselves to achieve it.

When Remi was finally dressed, Levi couldn't help but admire him, thinking how handsome he looked even in times like this. His poor nose was bright red and chapped, his cheeks and the tips of his ears flushed with fever, even visible against the darkness of both his own hair, and the black hoodie he currently had on. His mouth hung open just slightly as he breathed, and a noticeable wheeze echoed in his lungs accompanying each exhale, the constant mouth breathing causing his lips to split painfully in a few places. Yet even so, he was beautiful to Levi.

“Okay, are you ready to see your party now?” Levi bounced up and down with excitement to show the wolf how much thought and effort he had put into his birthday, even if there was no one else to see it but Remi.

The wolf was almost dazed as he stood next to Levi, taking a full few seconds before he was able to even register that he was being spoken to. He had a far off, distracted look glazed over his dull green eyes, but the stoic wolf simply scrubbed at his now runny nostrils with his knuckles, giving an alarmingly liquidy snort that did nothing but increase the pressure behind his eyes, however he returned Levi’s smile weakly. “Okay, I thigk I’b ready.”

Gently taking Remi's hand in his own, Levi guided him towards the kitchen of the RV, but when they fully stepped in, what Remi saw completely took his breath away. The small kitchen was filled with decorations that were obviously meant for his birthday party, all set up by his mate, despite how sick he was feeling the night before.

‘He must have stayed up all night putting these up..’ Remi thought to himself as he looked around the once familiar space now blanketed in various birthday decorations.

The warm yellow and green lights glittered along the walls, illuminating colorful streamers and balloons that gave off a cheery atmosphere. There were two recently delivered boxes of pizza that still radiated heat on the counter, and drinks chilling in a mini-fridge nearby. A big banner hung from wall to wall reading: "Happy Birthday Remi!" Even though no one else could be there due to how sick he was, Levi had clearly gone out of his way to make sure this day was special just for him.

Feeling incredibly touched by the gesture, but also, overwhelmingly guilty that the love of his life could have spent the time resting last night instead of running around everywhere, Remi's throat tightened as tears started welling up in his eyes. He wanted to say something—anything—but words failed him and instead he just looked at Levi, his expression caught somewhere between amazement, and sadness. The cat looked back, clearly understanding what was transpiring within the complex man’s head without a single word being said. As Remi took a step back to admire everything, he stumbled slightly, losing his footing and ungracefully hitting his back loudly into the wall behind him. He sighed in frustration, before sliding down the wall slowly, and resting his head in his hands that were propped up against his knees.

Levi had been standing in front of the wolf, and the loud thump of his mate’s back against the wall nearly made him jump out of his skin, but he quickly recovered, gently crouching so he could be at Remi’s level. Carefully brushing the few stray tears away with the pad of his thumb, Levi tucked a couple of loose strands of jet black hair behind Remi’s ears before pressing their foreheads together gently, his bright blue pools displaying the genuine grin on his freckled cheeks.

“Remington… I’ve lived with you for years now.. You didn’t think I knew you were coming down with something yesterday?” The leopards tone was gentle and sweet as always, but there was definitely a hint of playful sarcasm in there as well as a small smirk that now tugged at his mouth. Snagging the corner of the small cow print blanket that hung neatly over the back of the chair next to them, Levi threw it over the wolf’s shoulders, rolling it in on itself up by his fevered cheeks and tucking it in the top of his hoodie.

“Baby, you don’t do a very good job at hiding it, if I’m being totally honest with you..” Levi couldn’t help but laugh gently at his own statement, although when he glanced back at Remi after a few moments with the same uplifting grin, the wolf’s expression remained troubled, tears still steadily filling his eyelids until they spilled down his cheeks. Unable to hold back his emotions any longer, Remi finally allowed himself to cry softly into Levi’s shoulder, which on its own was troubling for the smaller feline.

Remington took his strength and his ego very seriously, and Levi could count on one hand how many times he had seen his mate cry. So the fact that tears were pouring down his face now over something so small and trivial was indicative of how truly awful the wolf must have felt.

“Thagk you for doigg this for be.. do ode has ever dode adythigg special for be od by birthday..” Remi croaked between the small sobs that threatened to choke him. “I’b sorry I got sick agaid add you had to cagcel the party that you worked so hard od..” His voice was hoarse from all the crying and his sinuses began to swell, making it impossible to breathe through his nose whatsoever, yet pathetically his reddened nostrils ran like a faucet as if they were taunting him. He tried to open his mouth to speak again, but the breath caught in his raw throat, sending him into a deep, wet coughing fit that forced him to double over with his face buried in his elbow, that same ‘sick’ dry feeling in his lungs catching with each forceful exhale.

Levi tenderly wrapped his arms around Remi, holding him as he coughed and wiped his eyes once he was able to finally catch his breath again. “Hey, it's okay, don't apologize. I should apologize to you for not being able to throw you the birthday party that you deserve. I know it didn't turn out like we wanted but I still wanted to make sure you felt loved today so I did what I could." He ran his fingers through Remi's hair and kissed the top of his head before continuing in a soothing whisper, "Although this isn't how we planned on spending your birthday, there's still plenty of surprises in store for tonight - if you're feeling up for it. And if not...we can just lay here all night and cuddle under the stars with some hot tea." The leopard smiled warmly at him and brushed away a few fallen tears with his thumb.

As much as curling up with his warm mate sounded like heaven to Remi’s weakened body by now, even the thought of snuffing out any more of his thoughtful mate’s plans made him sick to his stomach. He shook his head quickly, maybe even too quickly, the room around him spinning to life and causing his stomach to flip and twist uncomfortably.

“N-no..” the wolf nearly pleaded with the other, his usual deep, threatening voice reduced to nothing but some occasional hisses and squeaks after his recent coughing fit.

How was anyone supposed to pretend he wasn’t the cutest thing in the world in his current state?

Chuckling breathlessly, the leopard was beyond grateful to be one of the only people in the world that his mate trusted enough to be this open and vulnerable with. “Okay, okay, Rem, it’s your birthday, okay? I’m just the chaperone.” The leopard giggled gently with a wink, thankful to finally see some of the color returning to his mates dim green eyes again.

. . . .

Thank you so much for reading Part Two of 29: Another Year Sicker!! Hopefully Part Three will be completed and posted before 2 months pass! 😭

Pls stay tuned 🖤

[selfproclaimedunicorn]

⭐star⭐ for a director's cut ask for a section of your choosing in Sins of the Father!

Not necessarily a section, but I'm gonna talk about Ella's self-insert history OC who keeps rearing her head in this story & eventually becomes the namesake of one of Ella's kids

“It is from stories I made up. The Shadow Cats are the loyal warband of the brave and talented and very prolific Lady Adrienne the Silver. There are so very few women noted in the histories that do anything, so I decided that I would just come up with something myself.” [...] "What is Lady Adrienne like?" Rhaenyra asked as she took one of the swords, swinging it to get accustomed to the feel. "Lady Adrienne is a fearless leader, the most accurate archer in all of Westeros, an invaluable member of King Gurnar Royce's council, and she is a generous and loyal friend! She fights for the weak, protects The Vale, and adventures across Westeros and Essos!" Ella grabbed one of the swords as well, dramatically pointing it to the sky as she sang the praises of Lady Adrienne. - The Dragon Has Three Heads, Rhaella 4

First of all, because I don't think anyone noticed since I didn't really make it super obvious: Rhaenyra was fully prepared to play the part of Lady Adrienne in the scene where all the kids are playing in Runestone's godswood. Girlypop 100% believed it was not as deep as it is & was under the assumption that "because I'm a princess & guest I get to be the main character in our game" & was completely taken aback when Ella asked her who (not Lady Adrienne the Silver) she wanted to be in the game. She recovers & gets over it, but she was not prepared to be asked to play a side character, lol.

I know that I allude to it in a few places in more recent chapters, particularly in chapter 15, but I don't think I've ever outright said that "Lady Adrienne And The Shadowcats" were a direct response to their grandfather, Lord Yorbert Royce, telling Ella & Yorick stories from The Age Of Heroes when they were kids.

She told him stories about the First Men who ruled The Vale long before the Andals came, and ghost stories about the long night. Ella said those were stories their Grandfather Yorbert had told her and Yorick when they would visit him in The Eyrie while he was regent for Cousin-Lady-Jeyne, and when he came home to rest for two years after he got too sick to keep living. She said he would have loved Aemon, and that Aemon would have loved him too. When she got through all of her stories about the First Men, she pulled a thick stack of papers tied together with crimson string out from a chest under the table and told him about how she had added to the histories. Aemon didn’t think that’s how history worked, but he liked the stories she told him anyway. He liked the dragons and the sword fights and Ser Brendyn the Bloody Hammer. Ella had nearly made it to the end of the story, voice scratchy and deeper than usual because of it, when Alyssa came to get her. - We Remember, Aemon 1b

So, as per the lore, Lord Yorbert served as one of Jeyne Arryn's regents when she was young (with the other being the brother of Lord Redfort). Because Yorbert was at The Eyrie with his first cousin twice removed, he didn't get to spend a lot of time with his grandkids. They'd come visit grandpa sometimes, & he'd spend a lot of those visits telling them stories. This left an impression on both of them, but particularly Ella--like, Yorick definitely liked the stories of the First Men & he maybe imprinted on The Winged Knight a little bit, but he never wrote self-insert history fanfic 😅

Yorbert returned to Runestone permanently in 103 when the twins were 5 because he got cancer & wanted to be at home instead of ruling for Lady Jeyne while he was slowly dying. Because Grandpa Yorbert was sick, Ella took it upon herself to tell him stories this time because he didn't feel well enough to tell them to her & she was 5 so she thought this would help him feel better. Obviously, this did not cure him, but they both had fun & it was honestly really cute. Now, Ella was 5, and the only stories she knew were the ones he had told her (which, sorely lacking Bad Bitch Boss Babes), so she just decided to make some up: enter Lady Adrienne. Obviously, she did not stop this venture after Yorbert died, because the stories are still going by the time we pick up the story a year after his death. Ella keeps yes-anding the stories well into her teen years because not only is Lady Adrienne her over-powered self-insert OC for The Age Of Heroes, she's a way to be closer to Grandpa Yorbert/the grandpa she remembers best (because she was 3 when Baelon died, bbg was barely sentient)--granted, she's not thinking about why she started writing these stories very often & her memories of Lord Yorbert aren't super sharp or clear, but they're there & precious to her.

She did eventually come to a point where she had to conclude the story, because she was growing up & her history fanfic couldn't continue forever, but as the second generation of kids start getting a little older she's going to pick the stories up & continue them with Lady Adrienne's kids because hers & Yorick's kids imprinted on her OC & wanted the stories to keep going lol

[apocalypsewriters]

12 days of writer self love day 4: blood

This is an angsty piece I wrote 3 years ago, and was the first thing I thought of with the prompt. When I wrote it I was super proud of it, so now is its chance to see the light of day.

Bella was making breakfast in the kitchen when it happened. It came out of the blue since she hadn’t had a blood surge in a while - the last one happened a few days ago before she met Zach. As unexpected as it was, she’d had some warning; a slight dizzy spell which prompted her to set down the pot she’d been preparing on the paraffin stove which she’d found in a junkyard and miraculously managed to salvage.

She let out her breath in a huff as her joints and muscles tightened. She tried to keep herself upright, but the pain surged and she collapsed with a dull thump, which alerted Freddie, who was reading on the couch waiting for breakfast.

“Bella?” he called out, concerned. Through the fog of pain, Bella heard the creak of the couch as he got up and the padding of his feet on the metal floor. With what little concentration she had left, Bella tried to reach for the chair near her to prop herself up before Freddie saw her helpless form sprawled out on the floor. She didn’t want to worry him, he had enough problems; even if he didn’t share them she could see the melancholy in his eyes. Unfortunately, another wave of pain washed over her and her outstretched arm hit the floor, creating even more agony. She groaned quietly. A gasp moments later told her that Freddie finally found her.

“Oh my goodness,” Bella heard the panic build in his voice. His book fell to the floor with a thud, not helping her throbbing head. “Zach? Uh, Zauch?! Can you come please? Now!”

Zach tottered out from his section of the bunker. Grumbling and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “Freddie, what is it? I just woke up. Can’t this wait?” Zach’s footsteps stopped abruptly, before growing louder and faster, banging across the floor, slightly increasing Bella’s pain.

“Shoot! What happened, Freddie?” he sounded more awake now.

“I have no idea,” Freddie replied. “I heard a thump and come over, and she was just lying on the floor.”

The next surge brought the pain level close to the blood surge, which had made her black out. Her ears started ringing, and the boys’ voices grew muffled. She caught the words “move” and “couch”, before feeling pressure by her ankles, a light touch behind her head and a sudden weightlessness. Mere moments after leaving the cold, hard ground she barely felt the embrace of the couch while her pain level peaked. Lights and voices swam about in her mind, memory and present mixing together, imagination and reality becoming an indistinguishable blur as she flitted in and out of consciousness.

Slowly, the pain reduced and Bella regained some control of her muscles. She opened her eyes gradually, not realising she’d shut them under her body’s stress. She sat up gingerly, propping herself against the back of the couch, swinging her legs onto the floor, and twisted her neck slightly, hearing the joints pop. Bringing her attention in front of her, she saw Freddie and Zach sitting cross-legged on either side of her feet, looking expectantly up at her. Freddie looked lost and a little traumatised, his world shaken up by Bella’s weakness, while Zach seemed concerned and somewhat angry.

“What the heck was that?” Zach demanded hotly.

“Uh, to be honest, I’m not really sure,” Bella answered honestly and vaguely, grimacing at the scratchiness of her voice, which sounded like she’d been gargling nails and only amplified Freddie’s uneasiness.

“Well, tell us what you do know,” Zach’s tone took on what Bella could only describe as an air similar to an official interrogation, which was a skill she attested to being learned from his police officer father.

“Give me a second,” Bella stalled as she got up, wincing at the lingering ache in her muscles. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, taking a swig as she sat down with a hiss, her body protesting at the movement. She waved Freddie away, who’d gotten up to help her, before continuing.

“I call them blood surges. It’s the most accurate description I could come up with - it feels like my blood is boiling in my veins, and there are random surges of pain during it.” Zach frowned at Bella’s words. She kept speaking, disregarding the older boy’s darkening expression, before continuing her explanation.

“I lose most sometimes all control over my body, which is why I collapsed before.”

Zach cut her off before she could continue, “So this isn’t new. It’s happened before.”

Bella nodded, “The first time was right after the green gas was released and I had a few more after that, sometimes while running from the infected.” After grimacing at the memory of the panic she’d felt in those situations, she gave Freddie a weak smile, hoping to cheer him up by using his terminology. However, his expression remained shell-shocked.

“So this happens regularly?” Zach tried to specify.

Bella shook her head no, “This is the first time it’s happened since you’ve arrived. So it’s pretty irregular, and I generally have little to no warning beforehand.”

“Why didn’t I notice?” Freddie spoke up for the first time since the incident started.

Bella shrugged, “You were out scavenging I think.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” hurt and heat built up in his voice.

“It was unimportant.”

“But I could’ve helped. Saved you some pain. Something!” Freddie’s voice cracked.

Trying to remain calm, but struggling slightly Bella replied, “I had it under control. It didn’t endanger us. Besides, we’re all entitled to some secrets. Don’t pretend that you’ve told us everything about you, I’ve seen it. You’re not the only genius around here!”

“Yeah, well-”

“ENOUGH!!” Zach interrupted, sensing the situation escalating. Freddie took a calming breath, he seemed to be tense, a little jarred after losing his cool. Bella saw the wheels start turning in his mind, thinking over solutions for a problem he was yet to share, and she smiled slightly, comforted by the return to order.

“What do you think this is linked to?” asked Freddie. “The gases perhaps? Seeing as that’s when you said it first occurred.”

Bella’s curiosity was kindled. She tilted her head back to rest on the back of the couch and started to ponder the seemingly endless possibilities for her “affliction”.

Zach awkwardly cleared his throat, intimidated and isolated by knowledge he didn’t understand, and interrupted Bella’s train of thought. “Is something burning?”

“Oh no!” she cried. “Breakfast!” She started to stand up, but Zach pushed her down gently.

“I’ll get it. Don’t strain yourself after what just happened.”

“No, don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine,” Bella reassured both boys, brush Zach’s hands off and standing up fully. She staggered, what she hoped was the last of the pain hitting her like a wall. Zach shot up and grabbed her shoulder, stabilizing her. He seemed skeptical of her proclamation.

“Really,” she insisted. “It’ll be okay. You don’t know how to do breakfast anyway.” With that she strode off to the kitchen leaving behind a frowning Zach and Freddie reading on the couch once more.

[mirage-ocs]

「 ✦ River ✦ 」

“Did you really think you knew me?”

ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

⩇⩇:⩇⩇ Codename; The Void

⩇⩇:⩇⩇ Has a fascination with pain

⩇⩇:⩇⩇ His voice has a deep rasp to it, always sounding scratchy

He/it ⩇⩇:⩇⩇ Demisexual ⩇⩇:⩇⩇ 27 [human body age] 13,508 [actual age] ⩇⩇:⩇⩇ 08/23 ⩇⩇:⩇⩇ 5’11

⩇⩇:⩇⩇ There’s a timer on his wrist that represents when he’ll destroy the current universe he’s in

⩇⩇:⩇⩇ Knows of the other realities

ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

“Chaos has come again.”

ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

⩇⩇:⩇⩇ He is:

⩇ manipulative

⩇ CIPA (Congenital insensitivity to pain and anhydrosis)

⩇ dangerous

⩇ calm

⩇ always a step ahead

⩇ sadistic

⩇ competitive

⩇ killer

ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

“Divine move. Divine move?! You think you have any moves at all?! I’m a thousand years old! YOU CAN’T KILL ME!”

ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

⩇⩇:⩇⩇ jumper

⩇⩇:⩇⩇ Loves to mess with the Emissaries

⩇⩇:⩇⩇ He feeds off of other’s pain

⩇⩇:⩇⩇ Abilities:

⩇ pain inducement

⩇ reality breaking

⩇ super strength

⩇ super speed/agility

⩇ accelerating healing

⩇ pain absorption

⩇ illusion casting

⩇ teleportation

⩇⩇:⩇⩇ weak only to Letharia Vulpina, a plant

ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

Friends: ⩇⩇:⩇⩇ Dextrose [weak thing] ⩇⩇:⩇⩇ Leon [respect bitch]

ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

Face claim; Dylan O’Brien

ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ ﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ