#its very old and not very good but why not

[teencopandthesourwolf]

now on a3 HERE

.

“Holy crapsticks, Derek! Some sort of warning of your imminent wolfy arrival wouldn't go amiss you know? You do own a cellphone—I've seen it with mine own two eyes!”

Derek goes to close Stiles's window, turning his head first to hide his almost-smirk.

“Hey, are you laughing at me?” Stiles asks, affronted.

Derek obviously hides it badly. Or maybe Stiles is just better at catching him out than most people.

Stiles whips off one of his socks, balls it up, and launches at Derek's head. Derek catches it easily before fully turning back around. He then sniffs at it, eagerly, just to gross Stiles out.

It smells—nice, honestly.

Stiles gags. “Oh my God, you are such an asshole.”

“Takes one to know one,” Derek shrugs.

He kind of can't help himself. It's fun getting snarky with this shithead kid, and it's been a while since he's known what fun looks like.

Derek's an asshole. And he's selfish. Does selfishness makes you an asshole by association? Whatever. He figures he's allowed to be a selfish asshole after everything. He stopped caring about social niceties a while back. Stiles—even if undeserving of a selfish asshole like Derek messing up his life more than it's already messed up—doesn't seem to give two shits about that sort of thing anyway.

There is also something awfully delicious about watching Stiles get riled up. That little jackrabbit heart of his thumping even faster against his frail, human ribcage; those usually pale as the moon cheeks flushing hard as he blushes beautifully from a baby pink through to a deep, blood red.

Selfish Asshole is a pretty good position to be in from where Derek is currently standing, watching a satisfyingly scarlet-faced Stiles flail his skinny arms about like an inflatable tube man outside a cheap car sales room.

He asks Derek what he wants and Derek thinks, you.

It's not exactly a revelation. He's had thoughts. Thoughts he's acted on when he's horny and has a precious few minutes to himself. He'd thought it was just a physical thing, at first.

Until the pool.

He licks at his lips and tastes both Stiles's irritation and his desire.

It's the same for him. Stiles annoys the living crap out of him, but he makes his dick hard too. Plus his heart a little soft, dammit.

It's fucking annoying.

Even more irritating is how there are rules for this shit, ones he actually finds himself wanting to abide by for once. He doesn't really know why but maybe it's because everyone he's been with since the fire has thought he was human, and he doesn't have to pretend with Stiles. Maybe he just likes Stiles more than he thought he did.

He rolls his eyes (not just at Stiles) and shucks Laura's old record bag off his shoulder before opening it and carefully taking out its contents.

“Here, take this.”

Stiles eyes him suspiciously before reaching out and taking the small-ish bundle from Derek's grasp, looking at it as though it might be poisoned. It could be for all Stiles knows, he supposes. The kid sniffs at it with only a fraction of the enthusiasm Derek had for Stiles's sock.

“Dude, why in the name of all that is sacred have you brought me a nosegay? Like, what the fuck is this shit? Looks like a really old Dolmades and smells like, like, I dunno, like somebody shoved a bunch of dead flowers in my Dan-O's jar of Italian Herb seasoning, man. Dear lord,” Stiles complains, holding the homemade smudge stick in the air between a finger and thumb as if it's a dead rat.

…which Derek very much could have gone with instead of an apotropaic charm. To be fair, if he'd chosen an offering as a token of his affections, it probably would've been something a little larger like a rabbit.

Stiles should think himself lucky.

“It's a smudge stick, you idiot,” Derek informs the kid, rolling his eyes again for good measure, and reason. His sockets perpetually ache around this dumbass.

He tosses his bag onto Stiles's desk chair, and himself onto Stiles's bed. Hiding out here a while back left him fairly comfortable around the place.

“Oh! I've read about these a ton on like, magic sites and shit, just—I never actually saw one IRL before.”

Derek scoffs. “Nobody actually says IRL in real life, genius.”

“Well they clearly do, Douchey Mc Dickbag, because I just said it, right here, right now,” Stiles sasses and pulls his tongue out at Derek.

Derek wants to bite and suck on it.

“You don't count. You're not real; you're just one of my recurring nightmares,” he sasses right back because it's fun to.

Selfish asshole.

“Awww, Der-bear! So you not only bring me what is essentially a bunch of flowers on Valentine's Day, but you dream about me too? Honestly, I didn't know you cared, big guy!” Stiles moons, clutching the smudge stick to his chest like a fool.

There's a record scratch moment where Derek has to go back over what Stiles just said.

Valentine's Day?

Before giving himself a chance to panic at the extra pressure this brings, he hears himself saying, “What if I am? And what if I do?” because maybe, actually, thinking about it, this will make it easier for Stiles.

Stiles's heartbeat stutters as he sucks in a big, staccato breath that Derek doesn't think he necessarily meant to take, and he sounds a little incredulous when he whispers, “What?” on the exhale.

Derek gets up off the bed and lopes over to where Stiles is standing, planting himself directly in front of the kid, their noses practically touching. He watches, rapt, as Stiles' cheeks go from moon rocks to rose petals to pools of blood, in a matter of seconds.

“There's white sage and sweetgrass and cedar. And yarrow. Wild indigo. Marigolds, too. And, uh, chamomile and mugwort and rosemary and bay. It's for protection. For you. Because,” he pauses, then thinks fuck it, before barrelling on. “Because I want to protect you, dip-shit,” Derek tells him and hopes, and hopes, and hopes.

I don't know who's gonna protect you from me though, he thinks as Stiles swallows. It sounds like a rock in a lake.

“Oh,” Stiles breathes, batting those long, pretty lashes up at Derek as if he has no idea what effect it has on his predatory nature.

He's never known Stiles to speak in one word sentences before now, and he thinks he very much likes knocking the sass right out of the brat like this.

Stiles squirms a little. “Um, I feel kinda bad, now,” he lies, looking down at the singular sock he's still wearing. He doesn't feel bad at all. He smells of pride and excitement and arousal. “I don't have anything to give you.”

Derek says, “Yeah you do; you started leaving your window open again, ” because they both know that ever since the pool, Stiles wants to trust Derek.

This is not a good idea, he thinks. But Derek is a selfish asshole—remember?

He licks at a canine, and Stiles whimpers.

Fuck, Derek thinks as he says, “Also, you could let me do this,” and licks Stiles from jaw to hairline, before he's nestling his entire face into Stiles's neck with a satisfied growl.

“Oh my fucking fuck, Derek, I am so nosegay for you,” Stiles literally whines, and Derek grins as he nips at the kids throat. “It's Happy Valentine's to the both of us then, I guess,” Stiles practically hums, flinging the smudge stick onto his desk before pushing Derek backwards to fall gracelessly onto his bed.

And for the first time in his life Derek thinks, thank fuck for Saint Valentine's.

.

completely unedited so pls be kind, and a very HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY 💕 — awoooooooo!

[softbutchthatlovesyou]

I mean its not really ingoring the difference to acknowledge that democrats have historically been plenty guilty of republican crimes from a different angle?

Kamala had a pretty racist past so I was sceptical of her step up.

I voted for her because yeah there's a big difference but pretending that they never cross and can never be dangerous hurts lots of us.

Kamala spoke very confidently that she was going to still help out those who wanted to stop trans teens from transitioning and that's dangeus. The difference is I think we can change Kamilas mind on that stance where we def couldn't a republican.

Exact same? No.

Similar many times giving people good reason to be upset and cautious: Yeah?

Op never even said they were the same, they said almost. Op knows theres a difference but if people cant acknowledge that the deocrat party can also be its own garms we aren't actually better than republicans who preach their side does no harm bc they got good things that helped them.

Edit: Cchabged Hillary to kamala idk why I typed her I wasnt old enough to vote for hillary lol.

People really don’t understand the amount of things that the American government does that is just smoke and mirrors like you have a two party nation where the two parties are almost identical fascists with different ways of going about things and their minor discrepancies are enough to distract from the fact that almost the entire nation is in or nearing poverty and is one health scare away from literally being homeless

[lucimaaie]

valentine ✧.* tlou

summary - you convince your girlfriend to celebrate valentine's day with you.

a/n - first time writing abby so bare with me, so maybe ooc abby, like 600 wc for both, was supposed to be a headcanon but turned into whatever this is, fluffiest fluff, actually edited and proofread this time, lemme know if you want me to write more for abby or headcanon-like stuff, anyway enjoy, happy valentine's!

The concept of holidays were obviously nonexistent in the midst of an apocalypse, especially Valentine’s Day. There were remnants of it in run down convenience and grocery stores—Shitty flowers left for dead and chocolate boxes rummaged in a hope for some sustenance— but nobody cared enough to set aside time to acknowledge the old holiday. They were too busy fighting to survive.

So when you brought it up, you weren’t expecting a completely receptive reaction or even a positive one. It was indeed one of those seemingly meaningless  holidays that even then people forgot about. Yet it wormed its way into your mind after recently learning about it. Imagining a day where you could just appreciate your girlfriend was no doubt sappy, but now was the chance to test out your curiosity, right?

“I just don’t get why it’s important,” Abby would say when you brought it up. Her brows furrowed as she pushed the sticks and uneven longs around in the fireplace. The fire was small but much needed to combat the cold air that seeped through the walls come night. 

Your lips pursed as you thought of a way to put it that didn’t make you sound insane. The idea very much was. There were some days when you were worried the cold would freeze your fingers off and draw away all the game, and now you were concerned with celebrating. “It’s about..love and appreciation, but not like the one with the big dinners..uh, thanksgiving? Yeah, it’s different than that.” 

“I do know what Valentine’s day is.” She commented dryly, sitting back next to you at the foot of your shared bed, wrapping her arm around you. 

“How was I supposed to know?” You poked her cheek. 

Abby swatted your hand away playfully, chuckling as she pulled her head back. “I never said I didn’t know about it. I just don’t get it.” She grabbed your hand from her cheek and intertwined your fingers. Her face soon grew serious as she took in the combined warmth of your body and the fire. How nice it felt to have someone to be so close to. “I appreciate you already.” She said genuinely.

Her words made your brain blank and your heart beat faster. Everything about this moment was making you feel like some kind of sap. 

“I don’t need flowers to show you how I feel.” Quite honestly, she wouldn’t know what to do if you presented her with flowers and a bed of rose petals, if you could even find those in the freezing winter. She wouldn’t hate it..but it sounded like too much.

“What if I just wanna give you flowers or not even flowers— If I just wanna do something special?” Your voice was quiet against the crackling of the fire, like it was a secret for just the two of you. It partly was. Only you got this softer side of Abby. You turned to look up at her, taking in the light blush on her cheeks and dilated eyes. “Just something different from every other day.”

“I..won’t stop you.” She mumbled with a bashful smile, not knowing what to do with the attention. She took in the awe in your eyes, inwardly cursing herself for letting you talk her into yet another pre-outbreak tradition “for the sake of normalcy,” Truth be told, this life with you was the closest she’d ever gotten to normalcy, not having a mission or some type of assignment. She’ll admit it drove her crazy at first: That need to commit every day to something other than surviving. But you helped. 

“Good,” You pressed your lips against hers softly, both hands cupping her jaw, smiling as you took in her satisfied hum. “Cause you couldn’t have anyway.” 

“I—shut up. This better be worth your hassling,” She grabbed your jaw when you pulled away, swiping her thumb against the apple of your cheek. Her hair fell over her shoulder and created some type of curtain around your faces. “Ugh, you did it again.” She groaned, glancing down at your lips. “C’mere.”

Bringing it up to Ellie on the other hand send her into an internal frenzy. You’d have talked about it in a feigned off handed manner, laying on the edge of her bed as you watched her doodle mindlessly. “The stupid holiday with the chocolates and cards?” She mumbled, not thinking much of it. You had probably heard about it from Maria or somebody else who was alive before the outbreak.

You chuckled in response, mentally getting ready for the jokes. “Yeah, that.”

“What about it?” Her brows furrowed as she thought about it some more. Why would you be mentioning it– Oh. “You..wanna celebrate it?” Her hand would stop, hovering over the paper as she was pulled out of her focus. How the hell would she find anything to give you in what was mostly ruins? What would you even want? 

“Do you?” You thought you were being subtle in your line of questioning but she caught the deflection.

“I asked first.” She turned around in her chair to face you, dropping her pencil and leaning forward to grab your hand from under your head. “Do you wanna celebrate Valentine’s Day? The whole love letter and rose’s thing?” She ran her fingertips over your knuckles as she spoke, using you to fidget as she often did hoping you’d just pass it off as affection. She could write you a letter--nah, she’s done that before. Or a song? She already had so many. 

“I mean, it’s not realistic, but—“ You sat and scooted off the bed  to take a seat on the edge of her desk. She immediately took to looking up at you as you tried to explain “It’d be sweet.” You blurted. The words still felt inadequate. “We already do birthdays and Christmas, but it’d just be about us. So..maybe I wanna celebrate it in our own way.”

Ellie waited for you to finish before placing a hand on your thigh, assuring you as if she wasn’t troubleshooting ideas in her head right now. It wasn’t— It was stupid, she had to admit, but it was sweet that you wanted to celebrate being together. It had taken her so long just to realize how much she liked you and then to finally tell you. She couldn’t imagine taking you for granted now. She hummed, thinking about it. “Our own way..how?” 

“Anything. We can..go to that cabin we found a few weeks ago..have alone time..I don’t know.” 

“Mm, abandoned cabin. Sounds romantic.” She said dryly, picking up her pencil to resume doodling, but the inspiration didn’t come. She found herself too distracted by ideas. So instead a messy, unorganized list of ideas made it to the paper. She inwardly rolled her eyes at how quickly she subscribed to the idea.

“You know what I mean,” 

“I’m messing with you. If you want, we can do it.” She insisted with a nonchalant downturn of her lips. The bounce of her leg gave away her true emotions: the weird mix of nervousness and excitement the thought had given her. Her mind being both her gift and curse was already ripping through the possibilities of your reactions based on what she did for you. 

“Really?” You perked up, back straightening almost comically. Ellie had tried not to laugh and the best she could do was a small smile. “You don't think I’m being sappy?”

“I absolutely think you’re being sappy.” She teased, scooting so that she was closer to you. She wrapped her arms around your waist, fidgeting fingers now preoccupied with the stray strings of your hoodie. “But I’ll go along with it because I love doing stupid things with you.” She admitted earnestly, pulling you to be closer. 

“That’s the sappiest thing you’ve ever said to me.” You wrapped your arms around her neck, fingers messing with the baby hairs at the nape of her neck. “And I love it,”

“Nope. It’s all you, you’re rubbing off on me.” 

thank you for reading!

[magicalbats]

Persist and Resist (Sunday x Reader)

Rating: R-18+

Word Count: 7730

Warnings: afab!reader, handjob, cum eating, a pinch of femdom, canon typical Catholic guilt

A/N: Happy Valentine's everyone! I actually started writing this one in response to an ask I got back when I was working on last years kinktober but at some point in shuffling the text around from here to Google docs it seems Tumblr ate the initial message, which is a big bummer. I do, however, recall that the sender wanted to know what I liked about Sunday ... and the answer to that is clearly 7730 words long! lol Please enjoy the fic and if you're still around, anon ... this one is for you. ❤️

⭐

“Just relax,” you murmur, ignoring his startled gasp when you lean in from behind to rest your chin against his shoulder. “You’re always so stiff. That’s not good for your health, y’know.”

He hesitates, seems to think about it. Deciding how he should react. 

Forcing himself to draw a slow, carefully measured breath this time and further betraying his feelings on the matter, Sunday grits out a terse laugh. It’s soft and quiet. A barely there chuckle that carries with it only a very small fraction of the self assured confidence he’d displayed back on Penacony. 

You knew now that the real Sunday was not quite so sure of himself or as comfortable in his own skin as he’d first appeared, although he still tries very hard to hide that insecurity from you despite being far, far away from his old home. Like some sort of defense mechanism meant to protect and shield the delicate fragile parts of him from threat of the outside world, but it doesn’t work. Not when you were sitting so damn close to him as to feel every stuttering beat of his heart.

Pressed right up against his back like this, there’s not much he can keep from you, in fact. You’re keenly aware of even the most imperceptible shift in him, from the steady expansion of his lungs down to the loose flex of his hands where they’re resting across his lap. His body language makes it clear that he’s not accustomed to sharing such close proximity with another person and he’s not quite sure what to do with it. Right down to the molecular level it’s obvious he’s way out of his comfort zone given his subtle fidgeting, as if he just couldn’t help himself.

He was nervous. Maybe even a little scared, too.

“How interesting.” He finally murmurs. “I wasn’t aware you filled the important role of medical expert on board the Express. I’ll have to make note not to end up in need of your services again.”

Turning his head, Sunday pointedly looks elsewhere in your new room on the train, much preferring to focus on anything other than its owner at the moment. 

Situated above the party car and effectively cut off from the more heavily used common areas, the privacy here is absolute and precisely why you’d extended an invitation to him. There was more than enough room for you to share this space with the wayward traveler who, as far as you could tell, had been sleeping on the bench seats in the car below while you worked to get everything set up to your liking. But he never complained about it or tried to demand better accommodations even though you were certain it was a drastic downgrade in the comfortability he was used to. Like some self flagellating martyr, almost. 

The thought that he might be using the Express’ lack of additional rooms to further punish himself, convinced he deserved that or even less, was what ultimately swayed your decision to open your door to him. You wanted to show Sunday that there were still good things in this world that he could have, things he could enjoy and appreciate the same way he had in his previous life even if they weren’t quite as luxurious or posh as he was accustomed to. 

You also wanted to show him that you were willing to forgive him and, in the process, maybe even convince him to forgive himself. 

“Do I make you uncomfortable?”

“No.” He insists, just a bit too tightly for it to be believable. “But I’ve seen you in action before. You’re not exactly what I’d call a gentle hand, and this … bedside manner is beyond me.”

That makes you smile into his shoulder as you wind your arms more securely around him, gently nudging Sunday back against your front. Still, he refuses to relent though. Staying perfectly motionless and straight as a board now, he almost feels like a statue made of solid granite sitting on the edge of the haphazardly made bed with you. Would have, were it not for the slightest hitch in his chest.

You realize in a distant, immaterial sort of way that his subconscious reaction was in response to your breasts pressing into his spine. He must like it then, even if he was loathe to say it. This was admittedly something you found to be charmingly cute in its guileless unassuming but it also made you want to tease him even more for it at the same time.

“That might be for the best,” You softly coo at him, keeping your voice light and barely more than a whisper as you trail a single hand higher up to pull at one of the clasps on his jacket. “I don’t have a medical license, after all.”

He sucks in another inhale, sharper this time. “You’re shameless.”

“That may be true, but I don’t see you trying to stop me.”

A strange little sound puffs out of him, something equally torn between indignation and fluster.

He either can’t or he won’t bring himself to reject your advances though, and he just sits there while you make careful work of unfastening his cozy coat. Idly, you wonder if this was the first time he’s ever had someone touching him like this. But he’s either making an attempt to be more polite than he otherwise would have been when someone was invading his personal bubble like this or, more likely, he considered it another facet of his penance. Further punishment for a sin he’s already been punished for twice over in your eyes. 

Sighing a quiet sound against his neck, you tentatively slip your hand into the inner layer of his shirt once you’ve got it nudged up enough to reach inside.

The skin along his stomach is enviously soft and smooth when you brush your fingers against it, and he outright jolts at that first hint of contact. Even then he still does not protest or try to pull away, though. His breathing deepens, coming slightly harder and faster now, but he makes no move to disengage from you, and you finally rouse yourself to tip your face up at him in question.

“I was only joking, Sunday. You can tell me if you don’t want me to keep going.”

“So you can hold it over my head later? I think not, Miss Stellaron. Against all odds, I still have some pride left in me.”

You frown at that. “I wouldn’t do that to you. You’re not a prisoner here and I’m not your jailer, so you’re free to make your own choices. I just want to help you.”

For a drawn out moment it doesn’t look like you’re going to get any kind of response from him, and you’re just a bit disappointed about that. But then, ever so slowly, he turns his head to cautiously glance back at you. The deeply embarrassed flush staining his cheekbones manages to surprise you, making your brows climb up to your hairline before you can suppress the reaction and stop it.

“I fail to see how this could be in any way helpful to me.” He intones, keeping his wing tucked forward across the lower half of his face so he can hide his mouth from your line of sight. Acting as a final barrier in case you were to decide to take that last inch from him. 

“I thought this might help you relax. You are pretty stiff, you know. I wasn’t joking about that.”

That defensively tucked in wing gives a brief flutter to make the soft feathers ruffle slightly, like a helpless bird trying to puff itself up to look bigger. It would have been adorable had his eyes not narrowed at you in warning in the same breath.

“I’ve never heard of such a method for relaxation. This isn’t how the Family does things.”

“But you’re not part of the Family anymore, are you? It’s okay to do things differently now.” Holding the air in your lungs, anticipating the coin drop, you slide the hand inside his shirt a little higher up to rub over a tiny nipple. “Let me show you, Sunday. Please?”

He twitches at the touch of your fingertips and quickly swings his attention back around to avoid having to look at you any longer. You can feel the shudder that runs through him but he still refuses to utter the one word that would make you back off. ‘Stop’. That’s all he needed to say. And you would, if he really wanted that. 

Something told you he didn’t completely hate what you were doing though, and it’s not like he’d ever admit to liking it anyway.

So you take your time softly petting over the petite bud, coaxing it to full stiffness which even then doesn’t leave much for you to play with. Every part of him was so slim and compact that as you feel over his chest you find yourself wondering if he was perhaps malnourished despite the life of relative luxury he’d lived back on Penacony. He shouldn’t have had to go without food, at the very least.

Deciding to find him a slice of cake in the kitchen after this, or at least a cookie, you redirect your hand to the opposite side of his chest to tease that nipple as well. Sunday stiffly arches against you in response, nudging his narrow chest up at the sensation even as he whimpers a quiet noise into the still room. He was slowly getting more and more fidgety, like he wasn’t quite sure how to react to what you were doing. How to process it or how to reconcile any of it in his mind. 

But a simple glance down at the front of him tells you everything you need to know without having to break the static charged silence by asking him how he was feeling. He wouldn’t have been honest with you anyway, of that you were certain, so there would have been no point in it.

The reluctant tent pushing up through his pants speaks for itself though, and this part of him could not lie. No matter how much he tried to fight it or wrestle it back under control, there was simply no subjugating the natural urges of his body. He couldn’t fully control it no matter how much he might want to and you can tell that bothers him a great deal in the way he softly seethes under his breath.

He was supposed to be disciplined and steadfast, not easily swayed by the compunctions of flesh and blood. And after rejecting it for so long, stuffing it down into a sealed box in the back of his mind where he wouldn’t have to look at it or think about it, he was now quickly succumbing to the full brunt of his neglected sensitivity. All you’ve done so far was tease his nipples a little bit and his cock was already needily flexing up into the placket of his slacks as if with a mind of its own. A hungry beast that couldn’t be contained no matter how hard its master might yank on the leash trying to bring it back to heel. 

It’s a little sad, in a way. You can’t help feeling sorry for him and all the simple pleasures he’s denied himself for the sake of exerting some amount of control over his own existence when he otherwise had none, but you also feel a sharp stab of arousal too. There were so many things you could teach him, if given half the chance. So many different avenues of pleasure and satisfaction, and intimacy that the two of you could explore together if he’d just allow himself the freedom to experience them for once in his life.

In truth you’d found Sunday quite interesting from the moment you first set eyes on him in front of the check-in counter of the Penacony Grand Hotel, like there was some sort of magnetic force at work urging you closer into his orbit. You knew now that at least part of that compulsion was a result of the Harmony and the other was his natural charisma as a Halovian. But there’s something else there too, something not so easily explained or written off.

He was not that much unlike you, was he? Someone who was so utterly bereft of a home to call his own in this vast cosmos that the nomadic existence of a star-bound wanderer was the only feasible option left to him. Everything from his identity right down to his own sister had been taken from him and he was alone now, save you and the rest of the Astral Express crew. You could understand that well enough even if you didn’t have any memories of what you’d lost before ending up here, just the same as he eventually had.

But you wanted to show him what having that freedom was really like, even if it was just a tiny glimpse of what awaited him on the other side now that he was free of Penacony’s slumbering birdcage.

“Do you trust me, Sunday?”

He tries to laugh again, fails miserably at it, and all that comes out is an odd little croak instead. “I don’t see that I have much of a choice in the matter, do I?”

“Of course you do.” 

Carefully sliding your hand out of his shirt, you reach down to tug at his belt buckle with deliberate slowness, giving him ample opportunity to protest. He just groans the most threadbare little sound you’ve ever heard though, and finally allows himself to reluctantly ease back into you. Still unfalteringly stiff and halting, but at least you were making progress.

With a brief clink and a rattle, his belt comes loose. You set your sights on his pants next, fumbling with the top button just as slowly so as not to spook or startle him. He really was like a defenseless bird caught in the sights of a much larger predator and unable to fly, to flee or to fight. He remains passive in your arms, luckily, but the building anticipation of what you were doing does make him start to squirm. He quickly forces himself to stop and be still though, merely watching what your hands are doing with his face tipped down towards his lap.

Soon enough you have those neatly pressed slacks open and you slip your fingers inside to feel along the band of his underwear before trailing even lower. You find his straining cock easily when it’s already stiff and rigidly pushing up from his body, giving it a gentle squeeze through the last layer of laughably thin cotton, and he responds with a tortured, half choked gasp.

“M - Miss Stellaron …”

You can hear the hoarse rattle in his voice as much as you feel it where you’re pressed right up against him like you are. At some point your breathing seems to have synced with his and you find yourself quietly panting right along with him as you work to nudge his pants down far enough to free him from them. 

Clearly picking up on your intent, Sunday hesitates to do it and he sways almost unsteadily between your arms before he at last manages to shyly angle his hips off the edge of the mattress to help you in your endeavor. He whimpers softly while he does it, and you consolingly coo at him as you press your face into the crook of his elegant neck to breathe deep the smell of him. Soap and clean linen, and a hint of downy fuzz that makes your head feel light with the impression of warmth. Perfect for cuddling. 

“Shh. Just relax for me. I promise I’ll take good care of you. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Tipping forward, you place a tender kiss to his drooping wing and you’re delighted by the sensitive inhale he sucks in at the sensation of your lips brushing against the feathers. You’d always wondered if they were as delicately receptive as they looked and you were glad to have your answer even as you tug at his underwear to slide the band underneath his straining length.

And it immediately springs up into the air, already flushed and leaking as it weakly twitches in his lap as if in a desperate bid for attention. You’re amazed at not only how beautiful his cock is, average in size at best and yet so perfectly shaped as to look somehow beyond the pale of mere flesh, but also at how satiny soft and smooth it is. The flawless texture almost makes it look like something made of alabaster, and you eagerly reach around to take him in your hand.

“Oh!” His back dramatically arches against you, his hands flying up where they hesitate over yours for a harrowing moment before he allows himself to latch onto your wrists. It’s the first hint of reciprocity on his part, intentionally touching you instead of remaining a bystander as he had up until now, but you still hold your breath as you wait to see what he’ll do next.

If he was going to push you away this would be the time. The situation had clearly escalated beyond what could be excused as simple platonic affection and you brace for his reaction. His rejection. 

To your genuine surprise, however, Sunday just holds onto you by the wrists and weakly rolls his hips up in a shuddering, painfully stiff thrust. The motion sends his cock stuttering across your fingers before pulling back when he eases down to sit fully on the mattress again, wheezing softly at just that brief stimulation. You sorely wished you could see his face again but Sunday’s attention remains down and that fluttering wing stays an ever present screen for him to hide behind as well. 

No matter though. You didn’t really have need for visual cues when you could feel everything in stunning high definition through the point of contact between his body and yours. 

Closing your fist tighter around his cock, you gently begin to pump him, hand dragging from the base where ticklishly coarse hairs tease your knuckles straight up to the tip to make his foreskin bunch over the head. You can hear the sticky wet click of precum but it’s quickly lost under the harsh, frazzled gasp he raggedly pulls in. And it almost manages to surprise you, how sensitive he really is and how vigorously he twitches at your ministrations. There was some part of you that hadn’t been sure if he was even able to put on such an animated display, thinking he’d fight tooth and nail to keep up that implacable facade no matter what manner of duress he was made to endure. 

That is not what happens though. 

Instead he suddenly comes alive, unable to stop himself from full on shuddering and twisting his narrow hips against your hold. Hissing an overwrought sound into the otherwise still and silent room, he clutches at your arms in such a tight deathgrip that the leather of his gloves softly creaks. Not to stop you or to push you away, you dully realize when he groans your name like a plea. But because it felt good and it overwhelmed him, and he needed to hold onto something or risk shattering into a million pieces right then and there. 

Stealing another quick, almost giddy look down at the cock gripped in your fist, you don’t think that’s going to help him or stop the inevitable though. He’s flushed pink and raw from nothing more than just a few brief pumps of your hand, and you can feel the intense throb of him pulsing under your fingers. Not only was he going to cum quick and hard, considering how fiercely he shakes for you, but it was also going to take an embarrassing lack of effort on your part to get him there. 

“Oh, Sunny. Are you enjoying yourself now?” You purr into his shoulder, delighted at how abruptly he’d changed his songbird’s tune. From proud and immovable to a writhing, pathetically whimpering mess in just the blink of an eye. And all it had taken was the firm hold of your hand on him. It was in many ways astounding. “I always knew you had it in you.”

“I told you — nnghn! Not to … not to call me that.” 

Humming a low sound of agreement, you slowly drag your hand back down the length of him to peel away his foreskin in a tortuously stilted motion. Another sticky click hits your ears and he grunts a harried noise of distress when the cool air wafts against his exposed glans unimpeded, making him judder wildly in response. But you keep him held tightly against you even when his back dramatically bows, using your anchoring arm wrapped around his flexing stomach to keep Sunday pressed into you while the opposite hand gives his base a pinched squeeze to stave off his release. It wouldn’t hold it back for long but you were happy with even just those few extra seconds you’re given to admire him. 

And admire him you do. He’s sticky with an excess of eager, dribbling precum that coats the glistening head in a filmy sheen, inviting you to reach out and rub him there. You knew that would undo him in alarmingly short order though, so you hold off for the moment. Rather, you gently smooth your touch down to caress over his balls and wrap your fingers around their delicate weight, cradling them in the palm of your hand. 

Surprising you a great deal, Sunday outright yelps at the sensation and jolts as if you’d just electrocuted him despite how careful you’d been in handling his testes. Slim chest heaving on an uncontrollable, stuttering rhythm, he heavily leans back into you and tips his head to keen up at the ceiling. The sound itself as much as the volume of it makes your heart leap into your throat where it threatens to suffocate you. He was getting much too loud, wasn’t he?  

Your thoughts immediately flash upon the idea that someone might be just downstairs in the party car but you aren’t sure how well sound travels between the two floors, and that makes you nervous. Would they be able to hear him clearly and figure out what was happening just over their heads, or would it only seem like muffled and distant noise? Hell, even if one of your other crewmates wasn’t down there Shush almost certainly was. That damned robot hardly ever moved from behind the polished bar unless it was to pester someone with its awful jokes. What would it even say about the things it could hear going on up in your room? 

Quickly deciding you really didn’t want to test fate like that, you unlock your arm from around his middle and reach up to lightly palm over the graceful line of his throat instead. His Adam’s apple bobs thickly under your hand with the rough inhale he pulls in, swaying between your thighs when he turns his head to blink at you as if he were drunk and seeing double. But at least it looked like you had his attention again. 

“You need to watch your volume. If someone hears us, that's going to make having breakfast together way more awkward than I’d like.” You warn him, keeping your voice gentle and soft. For someone who’d acted with such overwhelming confidence on his home turf he’d quickly proven himself skittish and easy to fluster once you got your hands on him. You didn’t want to scare him off after all the effort you’d had to put in just to get this far. 

“I … I’m sorry.” He mutters with no shortage of Herculean effort. Gone are the impeccable manners and lofty words of the head of the Oak Family, and in their place there was now only a raw vulnerability you hadn’t expected to see in him. “It seems I’ve — forgotten myself. How embarrassing. I - I’ve never …”

“Been touched like this?” You supply, giving his balls a featherlight palpitation for emphasis. 

It’s enough to make Sunday hiss through tightly clenched teeth though, squeezing his eyes shut against the sensation as he turns his head away. “Yes. I mean n - no. This is my … first time.” 

That makes you smile. “I can tell. You’re so sensitive, Sunny. Haven’t you ever thought to touch yourself before?” 

His little wings flutter in response, flapping an irritable rhythm that makes the feathers softly smack against your face as if to bat you away. It’s hard to say if he was offended that you would even think to ask that of him in the first place or if it was because you’d used that insufferable nickname again but either way his reaction makes you laugh. 

Yes, there were a great many avenues of mischief the two of you could get into. It would be fun exploring them together, and this was only the first activity on a very long list of things you wanted to introduce him to. It was a bit out of order but maybe you could try kissing next. 

Your own excitement grows at the thought, and you eagerly swing your attention back around to Sunday’s lap. Giving his balls one last, gentle squeeze, you curl your hand upward so you can wrap it around his shaft and feel that silken skin under your fingers again. The seething noise he makes sounds suspiciously like that of a tea kettle getting close to boiling but he makes a valid attempt to keep his voice in check when you offer that rigid length another slow, savory tug. 

Unfortunately he quickly loses hold of that threadbare control as you reach the glans and the drag of your fist makes his foreskin slide up to bunch over the fleshy slit. The sensation seems to nearly bowl him over and he judders helplessly, squawking an oversensitized sound. Even with the threat of discovery an ever present danger, you still can’t quite stop yourself from grinning at his decidedly innocent, unassuming reaction. 

“Oh, Sunday … what are we going to do if someone comes knocking on the door because they heard you? Something tells me that look on your face would give us away no matter how we tried to explain ourselves.” 

He full on whimpers at that, sounding sad and deeply ashamed in at the implication of guilt. It’s clearly getting harder for him to maintain his usual cool the longer your hands are on him though, and you realize you’re going to have to do something to help him out. He was much too sensitive, too easily overwhelmed to roll the dice in this particular situation when getting caught together could mean the end of everything. 

Licking your lips, you momentarily consider choking him just enough to cut off his air supply and make it impossible for him to cry out. Your fingers idly flex around the bobbing curve of his throat at the thought. Although it’s certainly a tempting idea you ultimately think better of it, sliding your hand higher up to brush over his jaw instead. 

Finding Sunday’s mouth, you slide your palm over it and press down firmly to elicit a startled yet blissfully muffled sound from him. He jolts and lurches in your hold, as if only just now realizing the true scope of the danger he was in, but it’s much too late. 

Readjusting your hold on his cock in the other hand, you firmly drag your fist down and then back up, settling into a steady rhythm that continuously works the foreskin over his receptive glans. Back and forth, back and forth, up and down; rubbing, sliding, sticky slick clicking in your ears. And Sunday outright shrieks behind your fingers, twisting and tossing his head like a wild animal caught in a trap. His belt rattles softly where it’s spread open across his thighs, still twisted up in his pants, and his wings slap a furious beat that has you turning your face into his shoulder to avoid the full brunt of his ratcheting alarm. 

He’s hard to keep ahold of like this, especially when he digs his heels into the floor and tries to wrench himself free, but your physical strength proves greater. Despite being a man and in spite of having a few inches on you in height, he just isn’t equipped to fight you off. Not when you’ve got his cock in one hand, stroking it with the continuous glide of your palm over all of that sinfully smooth flesh, and the halfhearted way he shoves at your arms quickly morphs into desperate grabbing instead. 

Blindly, he latches onto you; your thighs where they bracket his shuddering hips, the bend of your arm, so he can squeeze tight and hold on for dear life. His muffled sounds of pleasure turn dazed and intoxicated as he rigidly slumps against you at last. And when he tips his head back to rest along your shoulder, tiny wings still fluttering helplessly but starting to weaken and droop, you dare to lift your face to look at him. 

Wrecked is the only word that immediately comes to mind. His usually perfectly styled hair is tousled and sweat damp where it sticks to his skin in a few places. Cheeks so hot with color you know he’d be warm to the touch. It’s the far-away glisten in his golden eyes, once so sharp and pointed, now distant and too heavy to keep fully open anymore, that really seals the deal though. Sunday’s higher functioning mind may still have been fighting against it but his body was singing like a deftly plucked chord while the violently crashing waves of pleasure slam into him with every slide of your fist. 

Feeling devious and a little too eager to stop yourself, you take advantage of his draining will to fight it and adjust your hand over his mouth so you can plunge two of the fingers inside. He squawks a decidedly undignified sound at the sudden intrusion but even his attempt to turn his head away is half hearted at best. Only somewhat reluctantly does he allow you to probe at his squirming tongue, feeling the perfect line of his teeth scrape over your knuckles when you reach back just far enough to make him gag. 

The compulsion is an odd one, you understand that much, but it’s as if your own pounding excitement won’t be satisfied until you’ve thoroughly torn down every one of his mile wide defenses. You needed to leave him debauched and utterly disillusioned from his old role, his previous identity, or this wasn’t going to accomplish what it was supposed to. How else could he be expected to move on and undertake the journey ahead of him if he was still clinging to his old ways and holding himself to the same standards as before? 

Sunday needed to see that despite his once high-minded ideals he was still just human, that his flesh and blood body was not some great sin for him to reject or punish. That he didn’t need to self sacrifice and martyr himself just for his life to have meaning. You wanted him to understand that it’s okay to be a little messy sometimes, and there’s nothing wrong with letting go of his almost fanatically held control. 

So it is with a great deal of pleasure that you keep his jaw wedged open with your fingers, carefully moving them back and forth over his tongue while he whimpers and whines so sweetly for you. It doesn’t take long for the excess of saliva to build up and dribble out at the corners of his lips, his spine dramatically flexing when he feels that first unseemly rivulet run down his jaw. His mouth works futilely around your digits, alternating between trying to spit them out or to somehow swallow around them but it doesn’t work. The drool just keeps coming, slowly bubbling out to track sticky paths down his face. 

You even catch a glimpse of shuddering moisture wetting his lash lines but you politely look away despite the eager jump in your pulse at the sight of those tears. It would have been all too easy for you to tease him for them, really lean into the humiliation he was probably feeling, but that was not your goal here. Not this time, at least. 

Instead you focus your attention back on the hand wrapped around his cock. Your ministrations had slowed to a stop while you were stuffing his mouth full and now you can see the length of him, flushed a pretty pink that almost matches his face, flexing needily against your hold. He was leaking enough precum to smooth the glide of your next upward stroke, watching in fascinated wonder as the fleshy hood of his foreskin comes up with another soft click to make the clear discharge slowly ooze down the sides of his shaft. 

His hips wildly buck and he wails a garbled noise as he needily arches up off the bed, jutting his pelvis out as if in desperate supplication for more. Both of his hands have latched onto your thighs now and he squeezes them tight enough to hurt. But you give him what he wants, what he so clearly needs, pumping your fist up and down the length of him on a steady, energetic rhythm. 

Sunday freezes like that, poised with his back bowed and his body flexed away from the mattress. Distantly, you realize that he seems to have stopped breathing altogether, holding the air in his aching lungs while the rest of him stiffly shudders and twitches steadily closer to the edge of oblivion. He was beautiful like this, like something out of a tawdry, lurid painting of some ethereal being from legend or myth. 

“Oh, Sunday,” You coo at him, so soft and gentle. Coaxing him ever towards his own ruination. “Are you going to cum for me?” 

Wailing a frazzled sound of distress around your spit soaked fingers, he gives his head the barest shake as if to deny the simple reality of what was happening. Unfortunately his own body betrays him almost instantly, and you stare in rapt fascination when his narrow hips stiffly lock up before nudging forward in a reluctant thrust. He’s holding himself far too unrelentingly to execute the full range of motion but it’s enough to have him fucking into your hand in painful, tortuously slow increments. 

He just can’t seem to help himself or smother the urge completely, even when the rolling grind of his pelvis was clearly something foreign to him. But it’s instinctive and hard coded, muscle memory carved into the very atoms of his body more than anything else. And you can see the musculature in his slim thighs trembling fiercely, the flex of his stomach dramatic while he wheezes and gasps his pleasure into the otherwise still air. You knew your fingers weren’t doing as sufficient a job at muffling him as your palm would have, but you can’t quite bring yourself to move or even care very much about that right now. 

Especially not when he gives one final, stuttering thrust into the squeeze of your hand and his cock positively erupts in a sudden spray of white. Creamy and thick, it shoots up into the air on what you would consider an impressive arc before splattering across his front. A second jet quickly follows the first, and then a third, while Sunday all but sobs through his orgasm, wetly choking on it even as he gradually sinks back down to the bed in a drained heap of splayed limbs. 

The eager pulse along his length quickly slows, oozing yet more of that clear discharge to dribble down the length of his shaft in sticky tracks before at last subsiding completely. He’s already a complete mess with various bodily fluids coating his skin but you still give him one final squeeze and drag your hand up to draw the last little bit of his release out of his flagging cock. He seethes a delirious sound in response, head lolling back in doped out bliss while he tries to even out his breathing again to no avail. 

“How was that?” You prod, smiling to yourself as you withdraw your fingers from his mouth. A sticky wad of saliva follows after you, catching on his bottom lip, and you brush your thumb up to helpfully wipe it away, ignoring the mirthless, gasping laugh he rattles out. “It looked like you enjoyed it to me. Was that really your first orgasm?”

Somewhat awkwardly clearing his no doubt dry and scratchy throat, Sunday pointedly turns his head to look elsewhere. Still shy and reticent to openly show any of his emotions, but he certainly felt more relaxed in your arms than he had before. “I wouldn’t have any reason to lie about that, would I? Or do you take me for some kind of shameless masochist?” 

Allowing a brief giggle to slip out, you lean further into him so you can find his neck and deliver a soft peck to the still thrumming pulse under his skin. Sucking in a deeply flustered inhale, he snaps his attention back around to look at you with wide, startled eyes. That makes you laugh too, much to his pouting confusion. 

“What?” He demands at last. 

“Nothing. I was just thinking how cute you really are, that’s all.” 

His brows shoot up almost too fast for you to track the motion. “Cute? M - me? But I don’t —“

“It’s alright, Sunday. Just go with the flow. You feel pretty good right now, don’t you?” Grinning at the uncertainty that flashes across his face, you lower your chin to rest against his shoulder, much like how you’d first started. Realistically only a few minutes had passed but it felt like an entire lifetime had come and gone, and yet you were still right back to this again. 

In the following silence while Sunday chews on that and mulls it over, you rove your attention down to inspect the damage you’d caused. Luckily his coat had been more or less out of the way where you’d spread it open earlier, and it looked like the quickly cooling evidence of this sneaky tryst had mostly landed in harmless flecks across the darker inner shirt underneath. That was a small relief, if you were being honest. You didn’t even want to think about all the fussing he’d do if you stained his white jacket like that. 

“Well,” he says at last, rousing you from your thoughts. “While I still think your methods are unscrupulous and incredibly underhanded … I suppose I still owe you my thanks. I do indeed feel more at ease than I did before. Now if you’ll excuse me —“ 

Quickly looping your arms around his middle when he makes a move to stand up, you yank him back against you with another laugh. “Nuh-uh. We’re not done yet, Sunny. I need to help you clean up that mess first.” 

Choking on a protest, he reaches down to shove at your arms but you don’t budge, pointedly nuzzling into him from behind as if to prove that he wasn’t going anywhere until you decided to let him go. After another brief moment of cursory struggle, he finally gives up and slumps against you with a terse click of his tongue. 

“Really, is this truly necessary?” He grumbles under his breath, lifting a hand to subconsciously wipe the remaining spit off his chin with an air of distaste. “Haven’t you gotten what you wanted out of me already? I'd think you would be satisfied by now, Miss Stellaron.” 

You hum a sly sound at that, coquettishly walking two of your fingers up the front of his shirt to one of the bigger globs of milky white bleeding into the material. He goes still against you, mouth dropping open in what could only be abject shock when you swipe one of the digits through the mess before lifting it up to your face. 

Looking appropriately scandalized now, Sunday tracks the motion with wide, horrified eyes. “Wh - what are you doing? That’s —“ 

Popping your cum coated fingertip into your mouth earns you a strangled gasp and he tries to reel back from you as if in disgust. But you keep your arm locked around his middle, holding him firmly in place while you suck the digit clean. Sunday’s wings flutter an anxious beat and tuck forward to curl defensively over the lower half of his face but it does very little to hide the furious blush staining his cheeks. He looked even more like a ripe cherry ready to be plucked than when you’d been holding his cock in your hand. 

“It’s nothing to be so embarrassed about.” You tell him candidly when you slide your finger out and reach back down to swipe it through the sticky fluid on his shirt again. “You don’t taste bad, if that’s what you’re thinking. I like how you feel in my mouth.” 

His eyes nervously darting from side to side, up and down, anywhere but directly at you, he tries to speak, croaks, and then awkwardly clears his throat again. “But - but that’s … unhygienic, isn’t it? That came out of my … my - -“ 

Softly laughing at how dangerously close he seems to fainting dead away like some sort of swooning maiden in an old movie, you catch a clinging glob of his spend and lift it up towards his face this time. “It’s fine, I promise. You taste good, Sunday. I wouldn’t lie to you. Here, try it for yourself?” 

He makes a face at that, reminding you of a kid that doesn’t want to take his medicine, but at your gentle prodding he slowly lowers his wings. The drooping feathers brush against your curled fingers just so, almost making you tremble at their light touch as you watch him differentially drop his gaze. Submissive and pliable, a clear sign of his bending to your will. 

Your earlier arousal flares back to life with a vengeance, making you feel uncomfortably warm and damp between the legs. Holding the air in your lungs, you nudge your hand closer and he obediently parts his lips for you with a tiny, shuddering whimper. Eyes slipping shut when you slide into his mouth again so you can drag your fingertip across his tongue and smear the salty discharge, making sure he got a good taste of it, he issues a faltering breath that puffs against your knuckles. 

“See? Not so terrible, is it?” You murmur, your voice drawling at a lower octave than usual. Watching him come to terms with his own body was almost as distracting as the need pulsing in your loins, demanding attention and relief in equal measure. You wanted him. More of him. All of him. 

But would he have you? 

Groaning a threadbare little sound, Sunday flutters his lashes and cautiously opens them to peer over at you. For a drawn out moment the two of you just stare at one another, gazes locked and searching. Questioning. Begging. 

And then, ever so sweetly, he closes his mouth and gives your finger an experimental suck, swallowing down the evidence of your illicit activities. A stuttering exhale escapes him as you slowly withdraw your hand, giving him just enough space to breathe for a second. You wanted him to decide for himself how he wanted to proceed, what his next move should be. 

Because what you’d said earlier was the truth. You were not his jailer, nor were you going to willingly facilitate that self flagellating streak of his either. If he wanted to come to you it would be in mutual pleasure and enjoyment, as equals with a vested interest in each other's happiness. Not as punishment or penance for something you’d already decided to forgive him for. 

“M - Miss Stellaron, I …” 

The way his wings start to shyly curl inward again, wanting to hide behind them, brings another smile to your face. He really was too cute like this. “What is it, Sunny?” 

He sucks in a mildly bothered breath at that. “I told you not to — never mind. It doesn’t really matter, I suppose. And you were right. It wasn’t terrible. In all honesty, nothing you’ve done today was … entirely disagreeable in my eyes. So if you’d like to … I mean, if it pleases you we could …”

“Keep going?” You helpfully offer up, making his expression pinch in obvious embarrassment. 

“W - well, should you insist I … I guess I wouldn’t have any complaints about that. But only if you want to. I don’t care either way.” 

“Sure you don’t.” Practically grinning from ear to ear now, you place your hand against his shoulder and push to get him turned around. He still refuses to look directly at you, evidently finding the pattern on your bedspread far more interesting in that moment, but he doesn’t change his mind or try to pull away when you lean into him. 

Tipping your head so you can dip into the space between his nervously fluttering wings, you find Sunday’s mouth and kiss him. Tentatively at first to see how he’ll react, but when all he does is whimper a flustered sound against your lips you press harder, letting your hunger for him dictate your actions. His hands carefully come up to slide around your neck while his wings slowly fall open, letting you in as he holds you against him, and you feel like you just might burst. 

To be wanted by someone like him felt like a blessing and a curse all wrapped up in one. By initiating this had you only sped up his ruination from perfect and holy to mere mortal, or had you just engineered your own downfall in the same breath? 

You’d find out soon enough.

⭐

Cross posted: here

[memingursa]

heh heh……. I guess it is true what they say about liberals….. hand them sources based on solid polling…..

You telll them “Hey, you know you’re supposed to court voters right..? that’s how democracy works…” They call you an idealistic leftist… They say “hey this genocide is wrong…” and they call you an idealistic leftist, most of the country starts to say “hey this genocide is wrong…..” and they still call you an idealistic leftist…/ that you somehow brainwashed millions of voters with your sub 6k tumblr blog account……..

They Say…. “Oh, what do you mean Kamala Harris should have stopped supporting genocide… you one issue voter…. like there isn’t a FUCK TON OF MORE ISSUES THAN THAT……..” Like having your own morals… and empathy for the marginalized in our own country doesn’t matter… Like how there’s so much other polling on how kamala fucked up…. she didn’t even run on medicare for all….

You hand them poll after poll… PEOPLE DO HAVE MORALS….. THEY DON’T WANT GENOCIDE…. THEY WANT RADICAL SOLUTIONS TO THEIR PROBLEMS AND TO HELP PEOPLE……They ignore it… call you an idiot for even using physical evidence….. Most people start adjusting their strategy after an obvious fucking messaging issue. But they didn’t… Biden was doing a Genocide for a year and liberals didn’t care…, Biden increased deportations and gave trump this infrastructure and liberals didn’t care…,,, Only when they realized that that support of genocide might actually affect them with electoral consequences…. they say… “Why not just get in line?

“WHY NOT…? AFTER ALL I BENEFIT FROM THIS SYSTEM… YOU MIGHT EVENTUALLY GET A CEASEFIRE. I DON’T CARE IF TENS OF THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE ARE DEAD. I DON’T CARE ABOUT GENOCIDE. WHY DO YOU WANT TO AFFECT ME?”

LIKE YOUR COMFORT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE HARM THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY CAUSED…: You ASSUME YOUR LIFE MATTERS MORE THAN PALESTINIANS. YOU ARE JUST SOMEBODY BORN ON A COUNTRY BORN IN IMPERIAL SUCCESS. JUSTICE MUST HAPPEN FOR ALL. FOR A HEALTHY WORLD TO CONTINUE THIS SHIT MUST END. THIS SYSTEM CANT EVEN ABIDE BASIC REFORM….. BY YOUR DEMOCRATIC PARTY… WAS IN FULL FUCKING CONTROL OF IT BUT DIDNT WANT TO DO ANYTHING… “ONE ISSUE VOTERS…. Radical climate protestors…..” ALL OF IT WAS SAID. LIKE POLITICS IS JUST ABOUT CONVIENCE. ITS NOT. YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO PEOPLE, YOU HAVE TO EARN THEIR VOTE WITH GOOD POLICIES THAT HELP PROPLE.

EVEN WHEN IT’S INCONVENIENT FOR YOU. YOU HAVE TO SAY “I AGREE WITH THESE GENOCIDE PROTESTORS…. WHICH IS MOST OF THE FUCKING COUNTRY BY THE WAY.” BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE MORALS. EVEN IF THEY ARE “ ONE ISSUE VOTERS” YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO THEM!!!!! THATS BASIC FUCKING POLITICS!!!!!!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU THINKING “ONE ISSUE VOTERS *AGAIN PEOPLE AGAINST GENOCIDE” DONT DESERVE TO SPEAK UP???? THEN THEY WONT WANT TO VOTE FOR YOU.” THIS IS OBVIOUS TO EVERYONE… EXCEPT THIS DUMBASS.:…

Your immoral dumbass won’t even see me in the next life.

Heh… I guess I do need to name this technique… How about…:

SPECIAL BLOCK CANON

…..

Donate if you can

Nader’s fundraiser had to be re-done https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-nader-alanqar-and-his-family-overcome-this-war-in-gaza

“Caring about gaza is unpopular with americans.” Kamala literally lost every swing state because of her genocide. There was fucking polling done. What the fuck do you do with these god damn idealistically racist liberals who refuse to look at political reality. Don’t you fucking dare let these racist motherfuckers rewrite history blaming the left still when Kamala was backing genocide for a fucking year.

You’re the unpopular out of touch people!!!!! What is wrong with democrat defenders. Kamala Harris was in power and refused to court voters by even lying about ending genocide, that’s how fucking elections work!!!!!!

[kawoala]

📧 you have two (2) new messages !

@ aizawashouta ˒ 5h ago

“capital-b Bitch”

contents; word count- 564. profanity. kitty!! this is short, sorry. i blacked out writing this. enemies to lovers. neighbors! au.

If there’s one thing you’ve noticed while living in this building, it’s that your neighbor is a capital-b Bitch. You’ve had exactly one interaction and it went something like this:

“Hi, I’m your new neighbor. It’s nice to meet you.”

“I am darkness incarnate. Don’t talk to me, don’t look at me, don’t even think about me. If I hear loud noises from your apartment, I’m breaking the door down to shut you the hell up.”

Okay, maybe not exactly like that, but pretty damn close! He exudes the energy of a ten-year-old street cat who's been through so much shit, that he refuses to trust anyone or anything. He glares at you every time you get your mail, and from what you’ve picked up, he’s the same for everyone else in the building.

Even now, as you’re crouched down outside of the building, rain pouring down on you, trying to give a stray cat some food, you can see him glaring at you from the doorway.

“Come here, kitty,” you coo softly, reaching forward just a little bit. The cat retreats back into its corner and your brows furrow, frowning slightly. “I just want to give you some food, kitty.” You tear some chicken off of the piece you’re holding and toss it over to the cat. It hesitates, sniffing it suspiciously, but inevitably eats it.

His stare is burning into your skin, your brows furrow further at the thought of it. You glance over at him, hoping he’ll get the hint and go away, but his stare doesn’t waver.

You roll your eyes and stand. “I’m sorry, is there a problem?” You put your hands on your hips and narrow your eyes. “You keep glaring at me like this is your cat and I’m trying to steal it, or something.”

He doesn’t respond. Instead, he walks closer to you, then past you, crouching down right in front of the cat. He makes a clicking sound with his tongue and you peer over his shoulder in confusion.

The cat comes out of its hiding spot, purring and curling around his hand.

Your jaw drops. “What- what the hell? How did you do that?”

He turns slowly, eyes half-lidded, shaded by his hair. “She’s my cat.”

You blink. Once. Twice. Three times. “What?” Your voice is quiet, hands dropping limp at your sides. “Why is she outside then? You must not be a very good cat owner.” You regret it as soon as it comes out of your mouth. You’ve always prided yourself on being nice to people, even when they don’t deserve it, but that was . . . Not your best moment. “I- sorry, that was rude. Why is she outside?”

He stands to his full height and you take a step back, almost intimidated by his aura. “I work long hours. It’s not good to be kept up in that apartment all day.” He walks by you again, brushing your shoulder as he does so. “She didn’t come to you because she doesn’t really like chicken. She only ate it because she’s gluttonous. Try fish next time; all cats like fish.”

“Oh,” you breath out, shoulders slouching in defeat. The cat follows him as he walks inside, swaying its tail in an almost mocking manner. “Bye, kitty,” you whisper, frowning.

Okay, so maybe he’s a Bitch, but he’s a Bitch with a cute cat.

[nereidprinc3ss]

you’re my best friend

in which spencer reid has to teach your young son how to make friends nicely after a day at the park gone awry

fluff!! warnings/tags: fem!reader, husband!spencer yum, boy dad spencer enters the nereidprinc3ss cinematic universe!!!! yayyy!! but you still have a baby daughter as well, Spencer would 100% give his children old people names I'm sorry, gentle parenting Spencer my beloved a/n: I really miss spring its my favorite season so I found this draft that feels very springy and it makes me very happy also.. the name... like queen... also this is old so its probably not winning a pulitzer

The sun beats down just shy of hot on the sheath of fresh grass where you and Spencer are comforting your crying son—the ground beneath your blanket is a lush, verdant carpet, still cool with springtime rain but not wet. 

All of this pleasantry is lost on your son Oliver. He’s too focused on the scraped knee he sustained when he got pushed over on the wood chips. Marianne, your baby girl, is gurgling happily in her little bassinet next to you. Whoever said raising girls was harder had obviously never met the Reid siblings. Oliver is a drama queen—something you suspect he inherited from his father. 

“See? All better,” your husband is saying, wedding band glinting as gold as the curls that fall to his eyes as he smooths a bandaid over Oli’s wound. Seeing him like this never gets old.

Oli’s crying chokes to a confused halt. 

“It still hurts,” he complains. 

“I’m sorry, buddy. But you shouldn’t’ve pushed.”

“I wanted to be her f-friend,” Oli says, his sweet little bow lips (all Spencer) beginning to pout again. 

Your husband wipes Oliver’s already teary cheeks gently. “I know, but she didn’t know that. Not everybody likes to be pushed, even when you’re playing, because it’s kinda mean, isn’t it?”

“I was not being mean.”

“Do you push all your friends?”

“Sometimes,” Oliver says stormily. Spencer gives him a knowing look. 

“Are you sure you didn’t push her just because she’s a girl?”

Little shoulders raise and drop heavily. Guilty. 

“I know it’s sometimes hard to make friends with girls, but they generally don’t like being pushed. Not anymore than boys do. Maybe even less.”

“Then how do I make friends with them?”

Spencer considers this. 

“Well… how do you usually make friends?”

“I ask if they wanna play.”

“Sounds like you already know how to make friends with girls, then. That’s all you have to do.”

“How did you be friends with mommy?” Oli asks, bunching the blanket in his little hand. You smile to yourself.  

Spencer’s eyes flash up to you for only a second, his lips parted in what only you would recognize to be amusement. 

“I was super nice to her. Me and mommy are really good friends, right?”

Oliver nods dutifully. 

“Do you know why?”

A shake of his little curly head, this time.

“Because when you’re nice to someone, it usually makes them want to be your friend. Not always. But you have a much better chance that way. If I pushed mommy the first time we met, I don’t think we’d be here today.”

Your lips flatten to zip in a laugh. To Oliver, this is a very serious matter. To you, too. It’s important that he grows up to treat people well. 

“Why not?”

Spencer dodges the question smoothly. 

“Why don’t you try going to apologize to her? She might not want to talk to you, and that’s okay. But if you say you’re sorry, maybe you guys can play nicely together.”

This determines the already willful Oliver, who pushes up clumsily before running down the knoll on his short legs and approaching the swing set where his earlier assailant now plays alone. He stops far enough away that he can make a break for it if she gets a fixing to push him again. Smart boy. 

You and Spencer observe the interaction carefully, and while you can’t hear what’s being said, things seem to go well. Soon they’re making their way to the little kid’s playground in tandem. 

“Super nice, huh?”

“I really wanted to be your friend,” Spencer counters, scooting closer to Marianne’s bassinet. “Hi, angel,” he coos, demeanor instantly softening as he strokes her soft cheek. You can’t help smiling. The look in his eyes is truly something to behold. “God, I’m never gonna get over how much she looks like you.”

You preen and try to hide it. “You can’t possibly know that yet. Her skeletal structure is far from fully developed.” 

“Uh oh,” Spencer says to Marianne, offering her a quarter of a strawberry from a Tupperware. “Mommy is starting to sound like me. Is that scary, or what?”

Marianne cackles and burbles and takes the fruit with her little clutching fingers, only missing her mouth the first time she tries to eat it. 

“You’re so good at this,” you murmur thoughtlessly. The moment Oliver was born he’d been a natural. Earlier, even. You saw it in his eyes the second you tearfully told him you were pregnant. He’s a man of many gifts—and that extends to the way he parents. 

His gaze turns to you, still just as soft, but more knowing, on you. It’s comforting, to be known and seen and loved like that. 

“Couldn’t do it without you.”

“Corny,” you tease.

He shuffles on his knees to be closer to you. “Biologically factual.”

Your eyes flutter shut as he pulls you into him with an arm and presses a firm kiss to your head. 

“Have I told you how much I appreciate you recently?” He murmurs into the quiet dark against your temple, shielded from the spring sun. 

You’re melting in his hold, the way you always do. “Mhm.”

“Good. There’s nobody I’d rather be super nice to.”

You breathe him in—feel the rush of happy chemicals flood your brain.

“What if I pushed you?”

“You wouldn’t do that,” he asserts, pulling back and framing your face between his hands. 

“But if I did.”

He regards you with narrowed eyes. 

“Why? Am I in trouble?”

“Maybe.” But you say it too coyly. The corner of his mouth twitches. 

“I’d forgive you,” Spencer murmurs, leaning in to press a kiss to your lips. “But if you want to be my friend, you can just ask, lovely.”

One more quick peck, and he’s situating himself to lay his head in your lap once more. You slide his sunglasses on for him once he’s settled, and he catches your hand, kissing your knuckles. Your lips twist. 

“You make it so hard to want to push you. I need you to be mean.”

He laughs. 

“Too bad. I like being nice to you.”

[hesbuckcompton-baby]

forgive me for this very last-minute entry to the @blind-dates-fest! allow me to introduce lucy 'luca' torrio to you all - my favourite partisan and jock mcdiarmid's deeply unhinged future wife

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

communion

Music filled the midnight air as someone thumped out a tune on the piano the SAS had commandeered in Augusta. The clumsy playing almost entirely drowned out by the din of voices, the partisans belting out an old Italian song, its lyrics as familiar to her as the pages of a childhood book.

Luca liked to drink - she liked to sing - and neither activity was in short supply tonight. Yet there she was, sitting on the church steps and watching on in motionless silence.

In the hours since news of Mussolini's arrest had made its way over the radio waves, her comrades' celebration had been impossible to avoid. The alcohol stores had been swiftly depleted - much to the eventual chagrin of those not involved - and she didn't doubt that the Irishman would have some choice words about it come morning. But for now, things were good; many of the SAS men joined with the music where they could, emptying their cups just as swiftly as the Italians. McDiarmid's deep, Scottish tone rang clear as it cut through the song, warbling along off-key and without any knowledge of the words in a reckless merriment that made an involuntary smile tug at her lip.

Her glass had been empty for a while. Too long.

Her boot scuffed against the stone steps as Luca hauled herself to her feet, glass balanced between her fingertips, scraping a few stray strands of red hair away from her face. The night breeze was cool against alcohol-flushed cheeks as she turned towards the church door, the din from outside muffled the moment she stepped inside. Each footstep echoed against the arched ceiling, throwing each inch of her intrusion back at her, amplified. It had been a long time since Luca had felt God had any place in her life - a long time since she hadn't felt betrayed.

The communion wine perched high upon the altar, a glimmer of moonlight catching against the glass as it streamed in through one of the narrow windows, glittering silver in the dark. It looked good. Perhaps more importantly, it looked easy to take.

Luca ran a hand across her face, tugging slightly at the skin, fighting against exhaustion with what may have also been a subconscious effort at snapping herself out of what she was about to do. The wine sloshed slightly as it was decanted into the chalice, the red pool almost black in the dark. She stared at it; a moment's hesitation. She could hear her father's voice from the long-ago days of her childhood, chiding her for any tiny misbehaviour in such a holy place. How his face would run pale to see her now. And yet, the wine slid down her throat as smoothly as any other.

"What would God say?" A Scottish accent rang out from the far end of the aisle, Jock's voice growing steadily familiar to her as their days of proximity ticked by.

His arrival had startled her. She didn't let it reach her expression. "Well are you gonna tell him?" Luca glanced back over her shoulder, offering a smirk.

He chuckled, a slight grin parting his lips. "Not if you share." Letting out a snort, she held out the bottle to him, using her free hand to lift the chalice to her lips again.

A yawn escaped Luca between sips, raising a hand to cover her mouth as her eyes screwed tightly shut. Jock shot her a smile as he stepped up to the altar beside her, accepting the drink.

"Not celebrating?" He asked after a long swig.

"Not 'til he's dead."

"Atta girl," Jock grunted with a nod of approval as Luca rolled her eyes, unable to stop the hint of a smile breaking out across her expression.

She wouldn't tell him why the fire that burnt inside her was different - why it couldn't be dimmed by something as fragile as progress, why the inferno would never lose its heat until the object of her hate was dead and buried. She wouldn't be known by him. Not like that. Not even when he gave her that look and she felt her resolve weaken for a moment. Even when she wasn't looking, her gaze wandering across the dimly lit pews and the glint of moonlight through stained glass, she knew he was staring. He often was - Luca wasn't quite sure if he couldn't tell or if he just didn't care, heedlessness and over-confidence both equally characteristic.

"Yunno," He said. "Your friends don't like me, I reckon."

"Really?" Luca gasped sarcastically, leaning back on her elbows against the altar. He snorted at her tone, a bubble of honest laughter popping in her throat, the sound echoing against the arched ceiling above.

"They don't think you're serious," She shrugged.

"They might be onto somethin' there."

Luca dug a tooth into the inside of her lip. "You wanna know what I think of you?"

Jock's brow arched, beginning to grin. "Oh, aye - now I do."

"I think I could put any woman within a hundred-mile radius in front of you right now and you'd flirt with her. Because you don't care about who's attached to a nice pair of legs."

"Okay, that's…" He paused to think for a moment, taking a sip of wine. "That's not entirely untrue," Luca snorted at the confession, his grin widening. "-But! I resent the accusation that I only flirt with you for your legs. Haven't even seen 'em - your trousers are too baggy."

She laughed again. "So you admit you've been flirting with me."

"I think we're past denying that, love."

Sucking in a long, deep breath, Luca nodded slowly. Eyes fluttering shut, she tilted the chalice, the remainder of her wine sliding down her throat in a single gulp, metal cold against her bottom lip. When she reopened her eyes, Jock was staring. Again. More blatantly than ever.

"You have a real staring problem."

He shrugged. "Not a problem. I can stop."

Luca's brow arched in challenge. "You sure about that?"

"Aye," Jock nodded, smirking as he lifted the bottle to refill her cup. "Just don't wanna."

[urautismdiagnosis]

Dashi Design (and her lore for my au)

DASHIIIIIII she has my life eeee

Dashi is my go getter queen, also the headshot of her is her correct hair texture its just that the total body art is a bit older but yeh :>

Dashi lore for my au under the cut

ONTO THE LORE FOR DASHI IN MY AU 🎉🎉🎉

First of all, let's take a little look at her interests- surfing, photography, going out to cave dive for those photos-

And she does all of this stuff, that alot of people might only do as hobbies, to the max!

Whenever she has any interest she always goes as high as she possibly can-

Her family is kinda rich, like "we have rich person hobbies and have expensive vacations every year 💅" kind of rich. Hence why she was able to get so much support for all her interests at a young age, whether it be surfing or photography competitions and so on.

Anyways she's also got an older brother, (I've named him Dan btw) and he's the eldest

See the thing about him and dashi is that they used to be super close as kids yk? He was the oldest sibgling and big brother and both he and dashi were both similar in alot of ways! They were both super competitive and determined to reach their goals, he also was the one who got her into surfing and taught her a ton of stuff!

They were close kinda like how dashi and koshi are...

The thing is though a big part of his identity was being the golden child and amazing big brother and perfect high achiever son, so when dashi started getting older and developing her like.. whole seperate interests and identity that her brother...

Well they started clashing alot, because well she couldn't play the "little sister" that he could teach so everyone could admire how amazing he was, instead she was having her own achievements that he couldn't have any credit in.

He was the kind of older brother who... well choose to be kinda patronizing to make themselves more masculine and popular... and at a certain point it went from "aw big brother helping teach his lil sister!" To " ur actually talking down on me and I hate that, and whenever i try to bring it up you act like I'm a 5 year old when I'm not. Also I dont need ur bad advice on this, I know what I'm doing and ur just acting like a pro in something u don't know anything about"

Alot of his identity and self worth comes from bragging about *his* achievements

The undermining of her own achievements didn't even just come from him either, alot of her passions and skills were just seen as hobbies for fun and not real jobs. Its why she ended up as primarily a computer specialist, she worked as a meteorologist actually! She would use those advanced machines and systems to track and decipher weather, and even was a co-pilot for the weather researchers... but her parents just kinda saw it as her just "being a weather girl"

Her parents are genuinely very kind and caring, nuturing her interests and always trying to be there for her emotional needs but, but they're very out of touch. The type of people to just... not understand why saying a certain phrase *actually is kinda specist* or *why photography actually matters to helping climate change* or *hey actually you can't just try to feed wild animals food even if they act cute cuz it'll hurt them and no it actually IS really bad for a variety of reasons and-*

That sorta thing...

They do genuinely love and try to support her tho, they just... wanted her to get a real job so she could have a good life :/ they're genuie ly nice folks who love to help people out tho

Regardless though,dashi still wanted to fulfill her passions and dreams and needs,and then she learned about the octonauts

at the time thr octonauts were a VERY experimental and risky organization, but she did research and genuinely believed and wanted to be part of what could possibly be a revolutionary organization for rescue, research, exploration, and conservation-

So she applied in secret.

The thing is though, Dan had found out. Their relationship at the time was strained at best but they were still siblings. But then he snitched.

her parents. Freaked. Out

To say they were concerned about their daughter going out to just- possibly- "die in the middle of the ocean!" Or "be stuck and trapped with strangers in the middle of the ocean!" Or "struggle to ever settle down because you're in the middle of the ocean!" Or "get stranded on an island in the middle of the ocean!" Or "get eaten by a whale and cry because u weren't ever able to get back with ur ex u sarcastically said ud get back with because we kept talking about how amazing he was and how we thought ud get married and how sad that made us and then you'd die in a whale in the middle of the ocean!" Or whatever 🙄

Like girl did get swallowed by a whale but it was chill yall need to calm down 💅 like so what if siphonphores tried to eat her once or if the octopods crashed or nearly crashed several times? Like she handled it yall need to have some faith in ur daughter smh

Anyways needless to say they made the process SO HARD esp since Dan STOLE HER LAPTOP WITH HER FILES because he was "woRriEd foR hIs baby SiStEr trYiNg tO ruuN AwAy🥺🥺🥺" She is a grown woman btw and a highly renowned professional in her career.

anyways she managed to join thr octonauts anyways and her parents did chill at least half a year later once they realized she wasn't gonna die in the ocean and that she was fine not "settling down" for a while, they still DONT understand it but like they were just worried their daughter was going crazy and running away (THANKS FOR ADDING A BUNCH OF DRAMATIC LIES TO CHANGE THE STORY DAN)

Anyways she and Dan don't talk anymore, if u ask either of them about it "they just drifted apart", koshi doesn't really know what all the drama that happened was tbh :/ she just remembered them fighting over a laptop and figures they never really got along 😐👍

Anyways dashi makes it a point to never make koshi feel the way dan made her feel

Also dan ended up becoming a lawyer for businesses if u were interested :/

Dashis parents sound pretty bad here and they def aren't perfect, but they're usually just uninformed and they genuinely do have a "we should help everyone in our community ^v^ " mindset and taught dashi alot about self confidence and etc

If u made it this far then congrats!

Btw she didn't start out as a scientist when she joined the octonauts,its actually something that she added to her skillsets and shellington supported her thru it

I'll have to make a dashington post soon lol and also tall about her relationships with the rest of the octonauts crew

She and peso were the last two octonauts to join

[yannaryartside]

its not about cheating

idk if it's the lack of sleep, but I keep returning to the metaphors that can come to the sydcarmy ship because they are a partnership: "they are married," "the restaurant is their baby." By that logic, you could see S2 as Sydney being the pregnant wife while her husband cheats.

The analogies are valid; sydcarmy is definitely being used as a meta-representation of having a partner with addiction/mental health issues. The desire to help each other while not being able to let go of old thinking patterns. In S3, both Carmy and Syd are frozen, Carmy's frozen looks like chaos, and Sydney's frozen looks like inaction/frustration. Neither of them knows what to do to get out of it.

But in all of this, Claire is not the "affair" in the sense that we are supposed to see the wound that Sydney has as someone who has been cheated on; Carmy and Syd are not together. He is not actively choosing to harm her. He does ignore his responsibilities and excuses his actions with the hope of compensating for them later; he believes his chaos will not matter to Syd anymore when he gets the star for her, he wants to prove he can be the best for her, while not discarding all the toxic shit he learned from his former ex-chef. He is afraid of acknowledging his faults because he fears not being worthy of love.

There is something to be said of Sydney falling in love with someone who's not emotionally available, but I think it depends on when you think she fell in love with him.

This is not about cheating because Claire is supposed to represent Carmy's desire to never grow and heal from his trauma, to stay in his comfort zone, and to be able to please a partner who (subconsciously) reminds him of his mother. Claire is the activation of the freeze response because she is literally the equivalent of being frozen in space. Right before their first kiss, Carmy points out they're standing where the frozen product is supposed to be stored. after two seasons of romance on screen, you can see these two people don't know each other, if they love each other, its definitely trauma bonding. Because they don't know each other/care to do it, you feel they mostly love that each other's company makes them feel good/complete.

So this is not about comparing Carmys desire/love to either girl, is about comparing the relationships, is about showing that even the relationships that look like love may be grounded in codependence and trauma bonding, and why they are so difficult to set apart from the real thing. In other words, if Sydney and Carmy met only after his story with Claire ended, the message could still be the same, the fact that they are happening at the same time is to show that Carmy could not recognize or feel capable of entering a healthy relationship in his current state of being, even if it was right in front of him and being very obvious.

[dangermousie]

Sorry, still thinking about The White Olive Tree which is living in my head - I fully accept that the ending could be nothing but what it was but in my head I want to either write a 40k slow healing fic or, since I know I don’t write, rewatch Hidden Love to see Chen Zheyuan as a good guy who gets fluff and happiness.

But aside from that, I am thinking I haven’t seen a drama outside (pun) the old Taiwanese drama The Outsiders (sheltered rich girl rebellious poor boy fall in love, her fam disowns her he becomes a killer for the Triads as the only way to eat, they end up utterly destroyed by the darkness) which went so hard on the “their love was pure and true and it would have been better for both of them if they never met.” Maybe A Love to Kill kdrama?

All I know they don’t really make them much like this any more - fluff yes and overcoming adversity yes and yes gritty “we are cool and world sucks” stuff commissioned by Netflix and co. But not something that is delicate and tender and following two gentle people and yet such an utter slow thorough breakdown.

It’s old school in the best way which might explain why I love it. I am thinking of Taiwanese Silence and Japanese Taiyou No Uta and Korean Snow Queen - being good not really resulting in a happy ending. (The ending of Silence with Vic Chou’s character speaking into the camera about how terrified he is still stays with me - ooof.) I genuinely think this is one of the reasons this wasn’t a big hit - this sort of vibe is not one current audience see much of and not sure want much of. (Compare it to CZY’s own mega hit Hidden Love which I adore but which is very much on the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of just world paradigm. His character has some tragedies in his background but they never take over the narrative and he ends up loved and happy. It is a much more comforting narrative.)

I think the sort of narrative Olive gives us - trauma stays and heroism sometimes is not enough - isn’t even that common in costume dramas any more (Eternal Brotherhood and Heroes 2024 gave it to us and both were small dramas for a reason - I cannot think of a big budget costume production with that theme in the last five years. LYF got close but ultimately chickened out.) And it is hugely uncommon in moderns. I don’t have any issue with that because everyone has different tastes and I am not one to mandate to others - but for someone who loves the Olive type narrative, it was like water in the desert. (And of course even old dramas or shows from most anywhere rarely dwell on trauma the way Olive did - not inspirational, not dark/cynical. And to give it to one’s male lead, and one in such a macho profession and one who is a bona fide hero, is freaking wild in how unusual it is.)

I mean, Olive stands out in its themes even from my other favorite modern cdramas. If we take a look at Lighter and Princess (another modern love story with a driven damaged ML and a ride or die FL who has been hurt herself but takes on his demons repeatedly) or Will Love In Spring (two differently damaged people discovering love with each other) or Go Ahead (damaged quasi adopted boys healing with help of found fam) - they all have happy endings with the mains so much better off than they started. Because the degree of damage is different and less, because the world is kinder and the environment less extreme. The FL of L&P would follow ML into hell if she had to but she didn’t have to, maybe just a little bit of the purgatory. He’s quite damaged (especially after jail) but it’s the kind of damage that can be slowly healed with love and support, it doesn’t need diagnosis and meds. Olive could have perhaps gone that way before Zan went back for the last time but as is…

Anyway, I am not sure I even have a point other than I love this drama so so so so much. I never thought anything would displace the perfection that is Lighter and Princess from my first place as a modern cdrama but here we are…

PS still shocked how hard Olive went. I was so sure they’d never go as hard as the novel. And then they chopped off his fingers.

[blissfulbluee]

457 theory

gi-hun and in-ho have very different views of each other. gi-hun simply sees in-ho as an alliance, and a potential friend, if he isn’t one already.

with in-ho, things are way more complex. i’ll point out the obvious first; he’s obsessed with gi-hun. this obsession is mainly rooted in jealousy, confusion, and hurt. “why does he still have hope for society, and faith in humanity?” is a question he’s ruminated more than once. it’s painful to see someone endure the same trauma and become a better person because of it when you can’t do the same.

in-ho is drawn to gi-hun out of a desire to put an internal conflict to rest. he knows gi-hun’s mere existence represents the fact truly good people exist, and always have, and always will. he’s been aware of this since before gi-hun was a player. in his eyes, however, those people are either weak and taken advantage of, or there aren’t enough of them to make real change. he felt this was confirmed when the strategy he used in the games led him to victory- one i imagine was similar to sang-woo’s.

seeing someone with a different approach win made him wonder if his callousness was in vain. he justified his actions by telling himself gi-hun got lucky, and hoped he’d build a future around that luck. now, years later, he’s back to play the hero? he feels bad that his attempt is in vain, but at least he’ll learn his lesson; the system and those who play by its rules prevail.

a part of him hopes gi-hun will prove him wrong. he sees his past self in him; a man without his current philosophy. anyway, it’s definitely possible that there’s a homoerotic element to this fixation, as many people fall in love with people who remind them of themselves, but it will never be reciprocated after what he’s done. sad because in another universe they’d be a cute couple 😔

Hi! Thanks for the ask. Sorry for the delayed response. I think this is a good way to look at the ship, and is closer to canon than other things I have seen about them.

Yes, I agree that Gi-hun sees in-ho as a friend when he is Young-il.

I like how you bring up the jealousy and everything being the cause of the obsession (which is undeniable to me. he is absolutely obsessed with him in canon just not in the shipping way) I haven't thought a lot about how envious it would be for him to see how different they turned out.

I do also agree that In ho sees Gi-hun as weak for his morals. I think he wants to essentially teach him his ways, to maybe get him to be like him so that all of that envy goes away. he just has some very cruel and very homosexual methods. LMAO

I SO wish we could somehow get a universe where Gi-hun and past In-ho interact. That way we can have old man yaoi without the toxic nature for a change, even though that is what makes them so interesting.

People clown on shippers for shipping such a toxic ship that is essentially one sided as you mention, but thats the beauty of it. We don't necessarily find it pretty if they end up together. Sometimes we enjoy the one sided things because that's different from a typical romance. AND you can still enjoy it without getting as toxic/dark as possible.

You're right about everything anon. I wish I could say more but I am currently being hit with random exhaustion and you're really saying everything I am thinking lol.

[eoniiian]

𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮♡♥♡

Kageyama Tobio X Reader SMAU fic

✎ ..0.5 ROSE

↳ where feelings blossom (again)

m.list. previous. next.

Kageyama's heart threatened to beat right out of his chest.

Not only had he just suffered the worst loss to date, a match against Aoba Johsai he swore to himself he'd win, but y/n was there to witness the whole thing.

She had watched his past self rise and fall, she was here, he wanted so badly to show her and his old teammates how far he's come. He wanted to show everyone that he wasn't "the king of the court" anymore, he was so much more than that now. He wanted to win.

This loss meant everything, his world felt as though it crumbled when the ball hit the floor for the last time on his side of the court. When the whistle blew and his old teammates cheered.

Minutes ago his loss consumed him, now there he stood peering down at his hands, in them he held a singular rose.

The rose was a deep red color, it had blossomed beautifully. To him this rose meant much more than his loss. This rose was a symbol of being seen by the one he wanted to be seen by all those years ago.

Her words lingered in his mind, "I can tell how far you've come, Tobio." his chest tightened.

The smile she presented to him when she held the rose out to him wasn't one of pity, instead it was sunny. and true. It was something that made his own self pity wash away like rain down a drain after a storm.

Y/n was Kageyama's crush in middle school although he doesn't like to think of it that way its very much true. He admired her ability to get along, her kindness and reassurance it was like her own talent.

Kageyama Tobio is aware of what an asshole he was in middle school, he knows how he'd lash out at others and push them away, yet it was like y/n found a way to be there no matter what.

She'd wash his towels and fill his bottles even when he yelled, she'd leave notes saying good luck in his bag the night before a game even when he refused to take advice from anyone.

Those notes were what kept him going aside from his burning passion.

When they both graduated from middle school he accepted that nothing would happen especially because everyone hated him. Why would she want anything to do with him?

He tried not to think of it and for a while it worked. He forgot about her and again his world was consumed by volleyball.

Until he saw her face in the crowd again.

Now there he was fighting back the blush that crept to his cheeks. Y/n had given him a rose.

"KAGEYAMAAA!! WERE GETTING ON THE BUS! HURRY UP!!"

taglist: @loveyislost @frootloopscos @state-of-grac3

[sebadztian]

So, I saw a couple of posts about a topic that's so common in Kuro, it's starting to get old: How antis despise Sbcl (and its shippers) and what's wrong with this pairing (and Yana too somehow??).

Those who've been following me for a while know that I kind of ship Sebaciel. I might even have written a fanfic or two about them.

In most of my works, they're often decipted as this lovey-dovey romantic couple who are so attached to each other. They're this 'perfect' couple that everyone envied because they're just so sweet. A lovely story about a boy and his domesticated demon butler-slash-boyfriend.

But here's the thing...

If they started to hug and kiss and says 'I love you's in the manga, I'm probably going to drop it real quick. Why? Because that's not what Kuro is about.

Kuro is a dark story about a boy who has lost everything, who has had his world taken away from him and the length that he's willing to go to achieve his goals.

It's a story about humanity and its ugliness, about what being human is like, about how manipulative, greedy, deceiving, revolting, and ignorant humans could be. But at the same time, it also talks about humanity's strength, resilience, empathy, and forgiving nature.

Even the way 'love' is decipted in the story is not the kind of 'love' that would make you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

In the Kuroverse, the word 'love' has different meanings for different characters.

For Lizzy, love means being Ciel's 'perfect' wife, even if she has to sacrifice a part of herself.

For Madam Red, she had loved - and lost - two of the most important people in her life and her conflicted feelings were what led her down that path.

For Sieglinde's mother, her love for her country and her husband has pushed her to sacrifice her own daughter.

For Agni, his love and devotion to Soma has led him to a path of redemption and in the end, it has cost him his own life.

For Joker and the rest of the circus troupe, they love each other so much, they chose to turn a blind eye towards the error of their way, choosing to sacrifice their own humanity for each other's sake.

And for our Ciel, he loved his brother so much that he chose to 'kill' himself to keep his brother 'alive'. (Of course there's also the whole thing about the low self-esteem stuff, but we're not going to talk about that here).

And for Sebastian, well, love means cats. He's simple like that.

So, if you're here screamig at us Sebaciel shippers about a pedo demon, about how Ciel & Sebas hate each other, about how wrong it is to ship them, and how Yana has never meant for them to be a couple...

My friend, you're wasting your time, breath, and energy because WE KNOW.

We know Kuro is not about some romantic couple who lived in a nice neighbourhood and they're friends with their neighbours whom they say 'Good morning' to whenever they leave the house in the morning.

We know that Kuro is not a story about love and romance and all things awesome. In fact, Kuro is very, very ugly. And yet, it's exactly why it's also so fascinating and beautiful.

This is a story where the protagonist is a demon who sees humans as grasshoppers. But at the same time, he also finds them fascinating. It's like this whole Kuroverse is Sebastian's own personal research lab and the other characters are his lab rats, with Ciel being his favourite hamster.

If you're looking for sweet romance, you're not going to find it in Kuro. That's what fanfics and AUs and all those headcanons are for.

And if you still don't get it... Well, then you probably should read something more lighthearted...

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 02x13 - The Call of Dagomon / His Master's Voice

Previously on Digimon Adventure: The Chosen Children entered a Wild West movie where a shootout may or may not have occurred, depending on whether you have to answer to the FOX network. They strip-searched a handgun, hung a sheriff's star from the gallows, then decided this genre's overrated and headed out on the old dusty trail.

This is another one I've been looking forward to.

This episode opens unusually. Skipping the previous episode recap that typically goes before the title card, we open on an ominous establishing scene of a dark ocean somewhere dark and eerie. A lighthouse in the distance is putting off black light as its spotlight rotates.

Slowly, a colossal figure emerges from the ocean, letting out a low, beastly grumble. But then someone drives a boat straight into its forehead and it disintegrates into pixel dust. Whew! Solved that nonsense!

Once the title card's come and gone, we open on Odaiba Elementary in the morning. Miyako and Iori are on their head in for school while the narrator muses about the situation in the Digital World.

Narrator: What kind of violence will the Digimon Kaiser, Ichijouji Ken, inflict on the Digital World? While the Chosen Children return to their daily lives, each of their minds is occupied with thoughts of the Digital World and of their own destinies.

Hikari trails along the sidewalk a ways behind Miyako and Iori. Takeru comes up behind her, reaching to put a hand on her shoulder, but his footsteps startle her. Hikari turns around suddenly.

Hikari: Onii-chan!

But it's not a happy Onii-chan. Hikari looks freaked out. Haunted. But she quickly realizes her mistake.

Hikari: ...Takeru-kun? (blushes) Good morning!

The morning bell rings while Hikari's saying good morning. Daisuke, unsurprisingly late, runs up and catches the two of them standing on the sidewalk like that.

Daisuke: Ah, good morning! Hurry up or we're going to be late!

Then he bolts for the door, with Hikari and Takeru following after. You two can have your awkward but shippy moment later; There is school to be had!

The dub has a normal recap sequence for the previous episode and then goes straight to Odaiba Elementary, cutting the eerie scene of a Cthulhu-like entity rising from a dark ocean. In place of the narrator, the episode opens to the sound of the school P.A. system.

Announcement: Students late for first period will be responsible for cleaning the bubble gum from under the desks after school. Come on, kids! CHOP CHOP!!! (Yolei and Cody enter school grounds) Yolei: Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Cody: No kidding! (Kari approaches the front gate) Kari: (thinking) Keep yourself together! It was just a dream! T.K.: (thinking) There's Kari! I wonder what she got on Question 3? (T.K. approaches and reaches up) Kari: (gasp) STAY AWAY!!! (Kari realizes) Kari: Oh! T.K.! (blushes) Sorry.... T.K.: Uh....

The school bell rings here when Davis runs up, instead of when Kari's talking. But there is a school bell and it's pretty close to where it was in the original.

Davis: Come on, guys! You heard the principal! You don't want to scrape gum, do you!? Kari: (gasp) (The three of them run for the door) Davis: Last one in has to eat the old gum! Ahaha!

EW. DAVIS WHY.

I'm not sure how Davis heard the principal from where he was on his way in from. That is a very loud P.A. system. I don't know how things are in Japan but I'm pretty sure the American Localized principal's about to get an earful about the volume of his school's speakers next PTA meeting.

In any case, the dub tells us outright that Kari's haunted by a bad dream she just had... but it doesn't show us the Cthulhu entity. So we know what's going on with her but don't know the extent of it, where in the original we don't know what's going on with her but it probably has something to do with that thing we just saw, right?

While the children run for the door, we pan over to Tailmon and Patamon lurking in a tree, watching them go.

Patamon: Hikari has so much energy! Tailmon: We never change, but the children are growing up.

Tailmon looks down, saddened by something, but she doesn't elaborate any further.

Patamon: ...is something wrong? Tailmon: No, just... It seemed like Hikari felt something a moment ago. Patamon: Something? Tailmon: I don't know. I probably imagined it. ...bye.

Tailmon descends from the tree, offering nothing further to Patamon than that.

Patamon: Ah! Wait, I'm coming too!

Patamon frantically follows after her.

Hikari was feeling something, eh? Ehhhhh? This is kind of a double meaning here. What Tailmon is saying is that Hikari's haunted by some kind of feeling. 感じ Kanji refers to sensory perception. She's seeing something. Hearing something. Feeling something. Something is dancing on the edge of her perception and it's loud enough that Tailmon's taken notice.

...but it can also mean that she thinks Takeru is cute. 感じ Kanji can be used to describe, for lack of a better term, a vibe. If you're having good vibes, it's いい感じ ii kanji. If you're having bad vibes, it's 悪い感じ kanji warui. And if she was blushing like that, then she was feeling pretty いい感じ ii kanji, right?

No. She was not. Tailmon is talking about something else. But it's easy to take it the other way.

In the dub:

Patamon: School! Wow! Looks like fun!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I'm sorry but wow. They had no idea how to start this scene. This is such a terrible establishing line, especially this deep into the status quo. Hahahahahahaha.

Sorry. Sorry.

Patamon: School! Wow! Looks like fun! Gatomon: I don't think Kari's having fun inside of school or out. She hasn't been sleeping well 'cause of her bad dreams. (Gatomon looks down, saddened) Patamon: Bad dreams? Gatomon: Yeah. She won't tell me what they're about but she wakes up every morning dripping in a cold sweat. Patamon: Does she sense something? Gatomon: I don't know. Maybe I'm just imagining it. Let's go raid the cafeteria! (Gatomon descends the tree) Patamon: Hey, wait for me!

Gatomon indicates that this has been going on with Kari for some time now. She has a firsthand account of Kari's symptoms over multiple days, whereas Tailmon is trying to piece it together from the behavior we just saw from Hikari.

In fact, Tailmon's so uncertain about what she's seeing that she cuts off the conversation almost immediately after starting to open up about it. Gatomon shares everything she knows with Patamon, then shrugs and gives up on it.

Gatomon suggests raiding the cafeteria; Tailmon keeps what she's going off to do to herself. We never find out, though; She really did just end the topic and then leave abruptly. She wasn't going anywhere with that. So raiding the cafeteria is as good an explanation as any.

In class, Takeru notices that Hikari isn't paying attention to the lesson. She's staring blankly into space. Her hands down on her knees. Vacant.

In Hikari's eyes, she is indeed feeling something. The trickling sound of water. The image of the ocean waves. Around her, a fog fills the classroom and her classmates slowly vanish into its murky mists.

Hikari: (terrified) ...what... is... this....

When she looks down, Hikari sees the bottoms of her legs submerged in black water. She isn't in class anymore. Her desk is in the dark ocean now.

In the dub:

Teacher: (monotone) Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see: X = Y, Y = 14, and lickety-split, Q = 46 36. Now. Isn't that. Exciting. T.K.: (thinking) What's more boring: Paint drying or math? (T.K. looks at Kari) T.K.: (thinking) I wonder why Kari's being so distant today? Kari: (thinking) What is wrong with me? Am I just overtired from not sleeping? I can't get these dreams out of my head. (Fog sets in around class) Kari: (gasp) (thinking) What's happening!? I know my math scores have been a little foggy lately but this is ridiculous! (Classroom vanishes) Kari: (gasp) This is... bizarre! (Kari notices her feet in the water) Kari: (gasp) (thinking) Hey, did someone flood the boys' bathroom again!? Wait. Where am I!? T.K.!? Gatomon!? YOLEI!?!? TAIIIIIIIIIII!!!

Dub takes its first commercial break here.

No ominous trickling sound of water in Kari's head here. It's replaced by a lot of inner monologue and some quips.

Yolei ranks higher than T.K. and Gatomon on Kari's list of panicked callouts. That's interesting.

So. Yeah. Hikari is freaking the fuck out. She's having some sort of terrifying hallucination that's--

Takeru: (startled gasp)

In class, Takeru notices Hikari fizzling in and out of existence like a staticky old TV set. So. That's horrifying. Correction: Not a hallucination. Something really fucked up is happening to Hikari right now.

Takeru: (jumping to his feet) HIKARI-CHAN!!!

All eyes turn to Takeru, then slowly over to Hikari. She's alert now. Responsive. Grounded in physical reality once more.

Daisuke: Huh? (concerned) ...what's going on?

Hikari doesn't answer. She puts her hand up to her forehead in pain, then passes out and falls to her left. The girl in the desk behind her is quick on her feet, bursting out from her desk to catch Hikari before she can fall too far.

As Hikari opens her eyes again, she sits up out of her classmate's arms. Though the girl keeps a hand on her back to steady her in case she passes out again.

Teacher: Are you okay? Go rest in the nurse's office. Hikari: Yes, sir.

The other girl backs up and Hikari gives her a grateful nod. Then she stands up from her desk and leaves class.

...alone. Which. Uh. I don't know about you. But if I had a girl passing out involuntarily in my classroom, I'd send that other girl to escort her. She's going to faint in the hall, get a concussion when her skull smacks into the floor, and it's going to be the teacher's fault. She is visibly not in good shape to take herself to the nurse's office.

Since the dub interrupted this scene for an ominous commercial cliffhanger, it needs to re-establish what's happening with some editing. We come back first to Kari glitching out at her desk, then T.K. noticing.

T.K.: Huh!?

Then they replay the footage of Kari's desk in the dark ocean.

Kari: (gasp) (thinking) SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!

From there, footage plays as normal.

T.K.: (jumping to his feet) KARI!!! (Everyone looks at T.K., then at Kari) Davis: Huh? (concerned) What's going on? Kari: Ugggggggh.... (Kari falls over) Other Girl: KARI!!! (Other Girl gets up and catches Kari) Teacher: Are you okay, Kari? Do you want to go to the nurse's office? Kari: ...yes, sir. (Kari gets up and leaves) T.K.: (thinking) Something's definitely wrong with her!

T.K. spells out the vibe of the scene for us and the teacher actually gives Kari a choice rather than ordering her to the nurse's office. But apart from the editing to fit in the commercial break, this is mostly the same.

As Hikari wanders the halls alone due to neglectful educational standards, her mind drifts.

Hikari: It's been a long time since I last felt like this....

She stops in the hall and watches a memory play out. Herself, three years ago, with Taichi.

Younger Hikari: I'm sorry, Onii-chan.

No further context is offered on what she's apologizing for. Hikari looks away, her resolve hardened... Only for a splash of water in the hall behind her to rattle her once more.

She freezes. A ripple in reality flows across the hall from behind her. A distortion moving through the air, as if remaking space around her.

Then she hears another droplet. And another. Another.

Voices. Not speaking, not saying words... but humming. Chanting. A chorus of droning voices behind her. Water drops in the hall behind her. Getting louder. Coming closer.

Hikari slowly turns around and then she sees it. At the end of the hall, coming up the stairwell. Something's there. With glowing red eyes watching her.

It growls.

Hikari: (terrified gasp)

Absolutely chilling in a way no words can do justice to. There's also an interesting implication from Hikari that this isn't the first time hallucinations like these have visited her.

That checks out; She was the only one who could see and interact with Homeostasis. She's always had a certain otherworldly specialness about her. But that memory she revisits is something else.

Now let's make jokes over it.

Kari: (thinking) Oh, it's no big deal. Blame it on the algebra. It was so boring, you fell asleep and dreamed you were in the ocean. That's it. I'm not going crazy. (Kari stops and watches the memory play out) Younger Kari: I'm sorry I let you down, Tai. Kari: (resolved, thinking) Get a hold of yourself, Kari! (Water drop, reality ripple) Kari: (gasp) Hello!? Is anybody there!? Davis, is that you? You win, Davis; I'm scared now. (More water drops) Kari: (shallow breathing, getting more frightened) (Kari slowly turns around and sees the thing at the end of the hall) Kari: (gasp) AhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Actually, this is pretty solid. It's wordier like the rest of the episode's scenes so far but I do like the part where she hopes Davis is just pranking her. The extra dialogue fits the scene's tone pretty well.

I also appreciate that she screams when she sees the monster. I was watching the original like, "I feel like she should scream now." I guess the dub agreed.

We do, however, lose the interesting line where Hikari implies that hallucinations (or "hallucinations") like this have been something she's wrestled with in the past. So that's unfortunate.

End of the school day. As soon as the bell chimes, Takeru throws open the classroom door and sprints down the hall. Daisuke remains in class, confused by Takeru's abrupt departure.

Takeru goes straight for the nurse's office, popping in the doorway.

Takeru: Excuse me! Is Yagami-san here? Nurse: Eh? No one's here. Takeru: Huh!?

He looks over to the bed in the nurse's office, seeing it empty and still-made as if nobody's touched it. Then fear grips his heart and he leaves.

Running through the school, he searches the bathroom, the library, the stairwell. All empty.

Takeru: Wh... Where did she go!? ...she couldn't have....

He makes a stop at Computer Club and pulls up the Digital Gate. It's still closed. Nobody has opened it.

Takeru: Whew. But she can't have just disappeared.

With that idea also a bust, Takeru gets going and resumes his search.

In the dub, rather than the school bell, we have a P.A. announcement to set off this scene.

Announcement: May I have your attention. Will the student who put the jelly donuts in the swimming pool please report to the office. (T.K. emerges from class and goes running down the hall) T.K.: KARI!?!? Davis: Whu--!? (T.K. reaches the nurse's office) T.K.: Excuse me, Nurse. May I see Kari? Nurse: I'm so sorry but Kari's not here, sweetie. How about a lollipop? T.K.: Huh? (T.K. looks at the empty bed) Nurse: Do you want to lie down, T.K.? (T.K. grimaces with fear, then begins his search) T.K.: Maybe she's in the girls' bathroom! I'll check! (Bathroom) T.K.: Kari!? Girl: AHHHHH!!! T.K.: (sheepish) Sorry. (Library) T.K.: She's not in the library! (Stairwell) T.K.: (echoing) KARI, ARE YOU DOWN THERE!?!? (Computer lab) T.K.: (throws open the door) Kari! (T.K. checks the Digital Gate) T.K.: (defeated) It's like she just disappeared!

Having a girl shriek when T.K. inspects the girls' bathroom is an obvious bit and I'm glad that they made it because I was thinking that too.

We lose the beat where Takeru thinks Hikari might have gone into the Digital World. He still checks the Digital Gate because that's what the animation has him doing, but it isn't dwelt on.

Finally, Takeru gets a lucky break. He spots Hikari out a window, sitting on a bench by herself, and rushes downstairs.

A trio of kids in casual clothes playing soccer come out from around the corner, making noise and laughing before kicking the ball back the other way. Hikari doesn't even notice them. But when Takeru approaches, she responds to his presence.

Hikari: I... was at the ocean.... Takeru: The ocean? Hikari: I... might be going away. Takeru: ... Hikari: I can feel someone... calling out to me.... Takeru: Who do you mean by "someone"? Hikari: ... Takeru: ... Hikari: (quietly) I don't know. But the next time they call... I feel like I'm going to go there. Takeru: Who could do something so selfish!? Hikari: Onii-chan always protected me in times like this. Takeru: Taichi-san. It's always "Taichi-san! Taichi-san!" You're always saying things like that! Like Hikari-chan is worthless!

Hooooo....

It makes sense that Takeru would feel this way. He fought so hard to get out of the Baby Sibling space that Yamato carved out for him. I can understand why he's myopically resentful that Hikari so comfortably sits and occupies the one Taichi carved out for her.

But to say it to her face like that is a line crossed. I get what he's trying to say. He's freaking out because she's about to be taken by some thing and he wants her to resist it herself rather than hold out for Taichi to solve it for her. She might be the only one who can.

But it comes out so harsh. Hikari looks up at him, hurt by his words, and Takeru suddenly seems to realize what he said. He freezes a moment, horrified. Then he takes a step back. And then he turns and walks away in silence.

Once he's gone, Hikari looks down again. And in her mind, she hears the crashing of the waves.

In the dub:

T.K.: (thinking) She might be in trouble! She might be in danger! She might be-- Huh? (T.K. spots Kari out the window) T.K.: --right there!? Kari: (thinking) Boy, do I have a headache! (T.K. goes downstairs to meet Kari. Soccer boys briefly emerge) Soccer Boy: And then I threw the jelly donuts in the pool! Other Boys: Ahahahahaha! (Soccer Boys leave. T.K. arrives) T.K.: Kari! I've been looking all over for you! Are you okay? Kari: It was weird. I was at the beach? T.K.: You ditched school? Kari: Hehe, no, silly! The beach in another dimension. You saw me in class; I was just sitting there and then the next thing I knew, I was in the ocean. T.K.: Now you've totally lost me. Kari: Then, on my way to the nurse's office, it happened again. I was surrounded by water and then... I saw one of them! T.K.: What do you mean, "one of them"? Kari: Digimon. They keep trying to take me to their world. I don't know if I can resist anymore. T.K.: You've got to! Where are they, Kari!? We'll fight them! Kari: I can't, T.K. I'm sorry. I'm just not strong like my brother Tai. T.K.: You're gonna quit!? Give up just like that!? Look, Kari, I care too much about you to let anyone take you without a fight! Kari: (gasp) T.K.: Uhhhh.... Uh, sorry! I'd better go now. I'll talk to you later?

Kari seems much more psychologically stable than her Japanese counterpart, who is barely able to form sentences. She spends a lot of this scene directly recapping what's happened. She also says the thing she saw was a Digimon which... is a fair assumption to make but not necessarily something to state with so much certainty.

Kari's killing a lot of the intrigue and mystique here. "Digimon keep appearing and trying to drag me to their world" is a very different conversation from "Something is calling me to the ocean and I feel like I'm going to go away." I imagine that's by design; This is a very scary episode and I wouldn't be surprised if FOX Kids is downplaying the horror on purpose.

They also change the nature of what T.K. said that was so wrong. Takeru yells at Hikari that she needs to stand up for herself and stop leaning on Taichi so much.

There is a hint of possible jealousy here. The passing of the torch from a dependable male role model to a romantic suitor is a pretty common romance trope.

The interpretation of romance as a woman being passed like a ball from father to husband goes back millennia. It's literally the reason fathers walk their daughter down the aisle at a wedding. It signifies the father handing her over to the husband. And it's not always without conflict; Sometimes husbands have to pry their womanball out of the father's cold, dead hands.

So when Takeru suddenly goes after Hikari's male role model, it's another moment that is about one thing but feels like it could be about another. He says, "It's always Taichi; Why not Hikari!?" but it's not super hard to hear "It's always Taichi; Why not me!?"

T.K.'s outburst is a lot simpler. He just says outright that he likes Kari, then backpedals and runs away out of embarrassment.

The dub ends this scene by cutting out a shot of the dark ocean. The original gradually transitioned to this shot after Hikari started hearing its waves again; The dub has no sound of waves and removes the shot, further demonstrating how much more stable Kari is right now.

Hikari exits the school grounds alone. A small breeze picks up for just a moment.

Hikari: The ocean....

She steps out onto the crosswalk ahead of her. Pan up to that tree again, where Tailmon is comfortably napping. She wakes up and sees Hikari down below.

Tailmon: Hikari?

Tailmon hops down to street level to pursue, but then she sees it.

Tailmon: Huh!?

Standing atop a staircase leading down to the beach, Hikari looks out across Tokyo Bay. There, she glitches again. Her body begins to fizzle with static, except for her backpack for some reason.

Tailmon tries to cross and catch up to her, but a truck cuts her off, honking. Tailmon loses sight of Hikari behind the truck. Once it's passed, she's gone. She leaves behind only her backpack floating in the air, until gravity reasserts itself and the pack falls to the ground.

Tailmon: Hikari!?

Nope. She's not coming back from this one. Just like she said she would, Hikari has gone. She's at the ocean now.

In the dub:

Announcer: Will Mary Robinson please report to the office? Your locker is missing.

XD HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I'm sorry. I just. I've always loved that one. That's my favorite goofy PA announcement. Twenty years later and I can still recite its exact cadence. The principal must be so fucking baffled right now.

(Kari emerges from front gate) Kari: ...the beach....

After Kari goes to cross and we pan up the tree, the dub adds a bunch of horns honking. We only see one car pass by though, right after Gatomon wakes up.

Gatomon: Kari! (Blue car goes by behind Kari after she finishes crossing) Passenger: You're speeding, Harold! (Gatomon descends the tree) Gatomon: Kari! (Kari fizzles with static) Gatomon: Kari, are you okay? What's happening to you!? (Gatomon tries to cross but is interrupted by a truck. Kari vanishes) Gatomon: Where'd she go!?

Up in Computer Club, the other Digimon are gathered with Daisuke and Iori watching Miyako work. The room fills with the sound of typing while she talks with them.

Miyako: I thought I could expand the D-Terminal's protocols. Daisuke: ...what does that mean?

Before Miyako can answer, a dejected Takeru enters the room.

Miyako: I want to be able to communicate with the Digital World in real time, instead of just by email. Iori: I'm sure the Digimon Kaiser is already doing that. Daisuke: Gotcha. If only we knew where he is now. Chibimon: I love it! That way, we can stop our nakama from having to undergo Dark Evolution!

...huh. Yeah, Chibimon raises a good point. The SkullGreymon/MetalGreymon (Blue) incident happened because the Kaiser was able to get the Children over in the one place while attacking Agumon in the other. Better communication would have been a huge help.

While everyone else is focused on Miyako's programming, Patamon is more concerned with his Partner.

Patamon: What's wrong, Takeru? You don't look so good. Takeru: (defeated) It's nothing....

As if on cue, Tailmon suddenly throws the door open. Out of breath and gasping, she stammers out:

Tailmon: IT'S HIKARI!!! Takeru & Daisuke: Eh!?

So much for nothing!

In the dub, there is no keyboard clacking. Instead, for some reason, there are mouseclicks. Mouseclick. ...mouseclick. ... ... Mouseclick mouseclick.

Yolei: By increasing the system memory, I'm expanding the D-Terminal's capabilities. Davis: (sarcastic) Boy, do you know how to party. (T.K. enters sullenly) Yolei: I thought it would be better if we can communicate in the Digital World not just through email but in real time too. Cody: Great idea! It could be helpful for keeping tabs on the Digimon Emperor. Davis: Boring! I think I'd rather go outside and play some soccer. DemiVeemon: No kidding! Let's go outside and get some fresh air! This place smells like a pile of stale sweatsocks! Patamon: T.K., what's the matter? You look awful. T.K.: It's nothing, really. (Gatomon throws the door open suddenly) Gatomon: Kari's disappeared! T.K. & Davis: Huh!?

Yolei's mouseclicking the same changes to the D-Terminal that Miyako's programming, but Davis and DemiVeemon are just being shitty and contrarian. Daisuke and Chibimon need the technical jargon explained to them but once they understand, they're into it. It's a good idea and they're excited to be a part of it.

There's a great transition here where Takeru and Daisuke going "Eh!?" suddenly cuts to black, only for the scene to slowly fill in like eyes adjusting to the dark, revealing it's actually the black light of the lighthouse shining directly on the camera.

HIkari slowly comes to, opening her eyes in this new place.

Hikari: ...ah?

There are no words. No sound but the breeze. Just the dawning horror of finally being in this place, looking out at the dark ocean that's calling to her.

Annnnnnd break for commercial. HEY KIDS WANNA BUY A SUPER SENTAI RANGER!?!?

The dub, I wanna note, sometimes likes to do their own scene transitions. But they preserve that awesome lighthouse transition perfectly.

Kari: (surprised gasp) It happened again! I'm back at the beach! But something's not right. What kind of lighthouse shines dark light!?

Valid question. Top ten on the list of high school pranks sure to cause a major disaster.

The dub also takes its second commercial break here.

Back in computer club, the team unpacks Hikari's vanishing.

Daisuke: She vanished? Are you nuts? We can't go to the Digital World unless we open the Gate here! Takeru: That... might not be the case for Hikari-chan. Daisuke: What are you talking about!? Iori: Um-- Miyako: It's useless! The system I have now can't pick up Hikari-chan's location! Daisuke: Then she must be in the Digital World! Open the Gate! Iori: (concerned) Daisuke-san.... Daisuke: We'll go in and bring her back! As soon as-- Iori: PLEASE LISTEN TO ME!!!

The typically polite Iori suddenly yelling at the top of his lungs grinds everything to a halt. The room falls silent and all eyes turn to him.

Iori: We don't know exactly where Hikari-chan went. If we just open a Gate at random, we'll be lost in the vastness of the Digital World.

Nobody has a response to that. He's right, of course. The room is silent for a moment before Takeru realizes the problem they're having.

Takeru: She's not in the Digital World. Group: O_O Takeru: The ocean... Yeah, it's gotta be the ocean!

After making that startling remark and offering no clarification, Takeru bolts from the room to pursue his next lead. Patamon flies after him while everyone else remains in stunned silence.

Personally, "Our missing person is in the ocean" is not a revelation I would find comforting. I don't think Takeru's sudden outburst did anything to relieve the fear and tension in that room.

In the dub:

Davis: There's no way that she could just vanish into thin air! She's gotta be in the Digital World and she probably needs us! We'd better hurry! She might be in a lot of danger! T.K.: It's not that easy. She might not be in the Digi-World. Davis: Did you hit your head!? Cody: Uhhh-- Yolei: It's no use! Right now, the system can't even pinpoint Kari's location! Davis: We can't afford to waste any more time! Let's just go and find her on our own! Cody: Davis, I don't think-- Davis: Now is the time for action! Yolei, open the Gate-- Cody: WOULD YOU ALL STOP TALKING!?!? Group: Huh!? Cody: It makes no sense to open the Gate until we can target Kari's exact location! The Digital World is gigantic and if we go in there without any direction, we're bound to get lost too! T.K.: She's not in the Digi-World Group: Huh!? T.K.: The beach. That's where she is! (T.K. runs from the room) Patamon: T.K.! (Patamon flies after him)

It's rare that I say this but I would actually call this an improvement on the original.

Daisuke does this weird thing where he's initially skeptical and points out that Hikari would have to open the Gate, but then suddenly he flips positions and starts arguing hard that they need to go to the Digital World. Davis doesn't bring up that contradiction of facts. Instead, he takes a consistent position from the start of the argument: Kari must be in the Digital World so we need to go get her.

Similarly, we see T.K. trying to explain that Kari might not be in the Digital World from the get-go. He already knows she's not in the Digital World. He checked the Gate personally, and he had that talk with her.

So it's odd that Takeru takes the length of the conversation to suddenly realize that the place Hikari went to is the place she said she was going to go. By contrast, T.K. is trying to get them to understand this right from the start; He just gets shouted down by Davis the first time and has to capitalize on the silence that Cody's outburst brings to reassert it.

Takeru arrives at the beach overlooking Tokyo Bay. Standing at teh top of the steps, the place where Hikari disappeared, Takeru puts his hands up to project his voice and yells as loud as he can.

Takeru: HIKARI-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!

In the dark place, Hikari finds herself exploring an alleyway at the beach, made up of wooden fences gating off certain homes. She passes a sign that reads, in DigiCode, "Innsmouth".

...I can't read DigiCode, I'm just very familiar with that one through osmosis.

Well, it's good to know where she is, finally. She's in Innsmouth. I'm sure that's fine.

Takeru's voice seems to cross the boundary between realities. It carries to Innsmouth, but Hikari doesn't seem to notice. Pausing by the sign, she ponders the same question everyone else is asking.

Hikari: Where... am I...? Is this not the Digital World?

Only silence is there to answer her question, and so Hikari continues to look around.

In the dub:

T.K.: KARIIIIIIIIII!!!

T.K.'s voice does not carry over. There's a clean cut from T.K. yelling her name at Tokyo Bay to the ominous quiet of Innsmouth, without the important implication that the fabric between places may be somewhat thin.

Kari: This place is creepy but at least the beach is nice. And... deserted. It must not be the tourist season.

Kari (sigh) walks around Innsmouth quipping to herself. This episode is scary and they are trying so hard not to get angry parent phone calls.

Back in the human world, Takeru scours Odaiba Beach by foot. Patamon and Tailmon hurry to catch up to him.

Patamon: Is this where Hikari is? Tailmon: I watched Hikari get digitized. Are you sure she's not in the Digital World? Takeru: She's not. At least, not the Digital World that we always go to. I saw it too. Hikari-chan... she was starting to disappear. Patamon: But... where did she go? Takeru: I don't know. I don't know! But I have to find her!

Takeru takes his D-3 out of his pocket, squeezing it furiously.

Takeru: This thing isn't any use at all!

Takeru is quite reasonably losing it. Hikari is lost in another world that we don't even know how to get to. It's an impossible problem to solve.

Interesting to note that Tailmon expressly describes what happened to Hikari as being digitized in a way that compares it to the kids coming and going from the Digital World. She's not confused by what she saw; Only by the context it happened in.

So that staticky effect wasn't a new metaphysic; It's what the digitization process looks like when it's not being drowned out by the blinding light of the Gate activating.

In the dub:

Patamon: T.K., wait for us! Gatomon: Yeah, T.K.! Let us be your advancemon! You're a lover, not a fighter! T.K.: (distraught) This is all my fault! I knew there was something wrong with her. She needed my help and I let her down! If I didn't leave her by herself, none of this would have happened. Patamon: Come on, T.K.! Let's go to the Digital World! T.K.: She's not there! I saw her disappearing in class. She's in a different dimension! (T.K. takes out his D-3) T.K.: And this stupid piece of junk is useless!

In contrast to Hikari and Kari, Takeru is the one who's keeping it together better than T.K. is. T.K. covers the key points but also takes some time to wallow in despair over abandoning Kari earlier.

Takeru is still visibly upset, but he's trying to hold it together. Emphasis on trying.

The detail that Hikari was being digitized as her method of transit between worlds doesn't make it into the dub.

In the dark place, Hikari emerges from Innsmouth and out onto the beach. There, she spots a tunnel in the distance and makes her way towards it.

Absolutely looks like a place you would want to go inside of.

Back in the human world, a helicopter passes by overhead while Takeru is searching. Stopping, her does what T.K. was already doing and opens up.

Takeru: I said some awful things to Hikari-chan. Patamon: Eh? What? Takeru: I was supposed to protect Hikari-chan and I.... Tailmon: (firmly) Hikari isn't a weak girl.

Tailmon's assertion takes Takeru by surprise. He slowly turns to look at her.

Takeru: ... Tailmon: Hikari's a strong girl. But that's because she has her nakama to help her. Takeru: But... (distraught) But what can I possibly do right now!?

Yep, now Takeru's breaking down too.

It might seem like Tailmon just doubled right back to Hikari needing help, but it's a difference of mindset. Takeru said he's supposed to protect Hikari. It's the same thing he accused her of always looking to Taichi for, and the fact that he thinks that lends a lot of credibility to that unspoken alternate interpretation from before.

But Tailmon says no. You were wrong before to say she should just do it on her own and you're wrong now to say she needs to be protected. Hikari is a strong person who, yes, relies on the support of her teammates so that she can work together to accomplish things. She's neither a rockstar superhero nor a helpless burden; She is a valuable participant in a team.

She doesn't need Takeru to come save her. She needs Takeru to participate with her.

In the dub, Kari's still complaining about how much Innsmouth sucks. Which. I mean. She's not wrong?

Kari: There's not even a hot dog stand on this beach! (gasp) (Kari notices the tunnel) Kari: It's a doorway! Maybe that's the way out of this stupid world.

She's about to file a complaint with Cthulhu's manager.

As Kari approaches the tunnel, various voices from within start calling out "Kari", giving her even more reason than Hikari has to not go in there.

(In the human world, a helicopter passes by) Patamon: Look! The news copter! Maybe another high-speed chase? T.K.: Agh... I really wish we had more of a clue as to where she went! Patamon: Well, what did she say? T.K.: The beach. She kept saying something about the beach. Now we'll never find her! Gatomon: T.K., don't be such a scaredy-cat. (T.K. slowly turns around) T.K.: Huh!? Gatomon: Kari's one tough kid. We have to believe she can take care of herself until we find her. T.K.: You're right, Gatomon! Thanks. Come on, let's keep looking for her!

Here we go the opposite direction. Takeru's the one being vulnerable and opening up while T.K.'s focused on the task... though still panicking about it.

They still touch on the "Hikari's strong" point, but they cut out Takeru's accusation earlier so all Gatomon can do with it is offer hope.

T.K. ends this scene in a much more positive place than Takeru does. T.K. is reinvigorated and ready to go find Kari, while Takeru's struggling to understand how he can apply what Tailmon's saying about Hikari to this situation. Cool, she needs help, not protection. So. How do I do that?

Against all reason, Hikari enters the scary tunnel.

Hikari: (thinking) This place... this terrifying place... I don't need to do this... Why am I...?

Even Hikari can't understand what's compelling her to go deeper and deeper into the scary tunnel.

Suddenly, she hears a groaning sound ahead of her. She sees red eyes glowing in the dark. Two pairs of them.

Hikari: Who are you!? Voices: (groan) Hikari: Who's there!? Voices: (groan)

Suddenly, one of the creatures lets out a louder, almost angry-sounding noised and stands up.

Hikari: WHO ARE YOU!?!?

Should not have gone in the scary tunnel.

In the dub:

Kari: HELLO!!! IS ANYBODY IN HERE!?!? ECHO!!! ...coming in here has got to be the worst idea I have ever had. I must be out of my mind. Voices: ...Kari.... Kari: (gasp) Voices: Help us! Help us! Kari: Get back! I play a lot of soccer! So I know how to kick! (Creature stands up) Creature: Help us.... Kari: What do you want from me!?

The dub creatures speak English and call out for Kari by name.

The original implies that Hikari is being compelled or controlled in some way. She's not fully in control of what she's doing, and is drawn into the scary tunnel for reasons she doesn't understand. Dub Kari seems fully in control of her own faculties and snarks at herself for the awful decision of entering the scary tunnel.

Also of note: Kari isn't one of the soccer kids. Tai, Davis, Sora, and Izzy are the four soccer players, though Sora transitioned to tennis after entering middle school.

But there's nothing stopping her from playing recreationally with Tai. Well, nothing except childhood trauma but that's his problem, not hers. :P

Back in the clubrooom, Daisuke's made up his mind. He holds his D-3 up to the computer.

Daisuke: I don't care what that jerk Takeru says! Hikari-chan is definitely in the Digital World! And nothing will stop me from finding her! Chibimon: Daisuke.... Daisuke: DIGITAL GATE, OPEN!!!

Against all established precedent, the Gate remains firmly closed. It will not allow Daisuke to pass.

Daisuke: Huh? Why won't it open? DIGITAL GATE, OPEN!!!

Nothing. Still, the Gate remains firmly shut.

Daisuke: FUCK!!!

Daisuke furiously pounds his fist on the desk. This does not open the Gate either.

Returning to the scary tunnel, Hikari hasn't fled from the creatures within. They don't seem to be chasing or attacking her, and so she takes a closer look. The creatures seem to have trouble even standing, with the one that stood up previously now back on the ground again.

And on its right arm, she spots the familiar sight of an Evil Spiral.

Hikari: Are you... Digimon? Creature: ...Digi...mon....

Hangyomon is a Perfect-stage Data-attribute Aquatic Beastman Digimon. We saw them before on Spiral Mountain, serving as soldiers in MetalSeadramon's Deep Savers forces.

Narrator: Hangyomon! Aquatic Beastman Digimon. Perfect-stage.

Yeah, the narrator cuts in with a rundown here like "Aha! I know the answer to this!" before either Hikari or the creature she's talking to has confirmed their identity. And then doesn't even tell us, like, anything at all.

Some real Um Actually energy coming off the narrator right now. This is the worst rundown in the history of Digimon Analyzer rundowns.

The Hangyomon in front reaches out helplessly. Weakly, they explain their situation to Hikari.

Hangyomon: We don't know... who we are... or how long we've been here.... Hikari: (quietly) Oh no... Hangyomon: ...only that we serve our god in the depths.... Hikari: God...?

Nobody told these Hangyomon that we already killed him three years ago so they don't have to do that anymore.

Hikari's demonstrating amazing strength of character by even being willing to stand here and have this conversation, but it's strength of character that's been well-established. This isn't any different from when she set out to free the Numemon. Hikari doesn't judge people by how scary or gross they are.

In the dub:

Davis: I don't care what T.K. says! I know Kari's in the Digital World and I'm gonna save her instead of digging up clams on that stupid sandy beach! Here I come, Kari! DIGI-PORT OPEN!!! (Gate remains shut) Davis: I just changed the stupid batteries! DIGI-POOOOORT OPEEEEEEEN!!! (Gate remains shut) Davis: RRRAGH! (Cut to Kari in the scary tunnel) Kari: You guys don't look so well. Creatures: (miscellaneous groaning) Kari: So what are you? Are you Digimon? Creature: ...Digi...mon...? Creature: (rundown) I don't know if we're Digimon but I know we're Scubamon! We have big flippers for swimming deep in the ocean. Scubamon: We have no idea how we got down here or how long we've been in this awful tunnel! Kari: You poor things! What happened to you? Scubamon: We don't remember. One day, we were serving our undersea master, and the next minute we were here! And we feel terrible. Kari: This is awful. Who would do something like this?

Kari remains entirely nonchalant and unaffected by the spooky atmosphere, but the compassion is there.

Unsurprisingly, their "god" is now their "master".

Note that in the original, the Hangyomon never self-identify as such. The narrator tells us that's what they are, but they can't even answer the question of if they're Digimon. In fact, they don't even recognize the word.

But, due to how the dub handles rundowns, somebody has to give a diegetic rundown for the Scubamon. So the Scubamon have to self-identify as such.

Note also that Scubamon is the wrong name. The dub calls this species Divermon. Is that an error? Well... we'll talk about that in a bit.

Hikari: But... but why are you...?

The Hangyomon in front holds out their right arm, showing Hikari the Evil Spiral.

Hangyomon: One day, this suddenly showed up and drained away our strength. Its voice tells us to worship a god who is not our god. Hikari: Digimon Kaiser.... Hangyomon: Yes, we thought you'd know something about this. Hikari: (gasp) Hangyomon: We could see you no matter where you were. You... Surely you, the Chosen Entity, would be able to take these off! Hikari: So that's why you called me?

Absolutely creepy that the Hangyomon could see Hikari across realities but she doesn't interrogate that any further.

Also note that the Hangyomon does not call Kari 選ばれし子 Erabareshi Ko, a "Chosen Child". They call her 選ばれた存在 Erebareta Sonzai. 存在 Sonzai simply means... existence. A thing that is.

An English equivalent would be if they called Kari something like, "Destined One". It's close, sure. But. That. Is not the phrase. They aren't using her title. They mean something else.

In the dub:

Kari: Why not... go back to the ocean? Scubamon: I wish that we could. A dark man came into our Master's kingdom and put these Dark Spirals on our arms that stole our strength and made us all his slaves. Kari: The Digimon Emperor! Scubamon: That's why we summoned you. You are our only hope. Kari: Huh? Scubamon: You have to help us. You are very powerful! Enough to free us from the Dark Spirals! We've used the last of our strength to get you here. Please help us return to the ocean where we can serve our Master! Kari: I don't know what I could possibly do to help.

We lose the eerie details of the Hangyomon "seeing you no matter where you are" and calling her the wrong thing.

Hikari walks deeper into the scary tunnel, approaching the Hangyomon. She reaches out for the Evil Spiral on their arm.

Hikari: I don't have that power. Hikari: (thinking) Why am I telling myself I can't? I can do this!

Gripping the Hangyomon's wrist, Hikari's holy pink light shines brightly and--

A sudden crash shakes the scary tunnel, causing some of the ceiling bricks to dislodge and fall. The entire tunnel continues shaking from the quake.

Hikari: AHH!!! EVERYONE GET OUT!!! QUICKLY!!!

Hikari ushers the Hangyomon from the tunnel, only leaving herself once the last of them is out.

In the dub:

Scubamon: (group) Help! / Help us! / Help! (Kari approaches and reaches for the front Scubamon's arm) Kari: Alright. I'll do my best but I don't know if I'm strong enough. Kari: (thinking) Come on, Kari. Stop doubting yourself! You are not a quitter! (Kari's light begins to affect the Scubamon's arm, but then the tunnel shakes) Kari: Come on, everybody! We've gotta run! Let's go! The tunnel is collapsing! (Kari ushers the Scubamon out) Scubamon: (fleeing with the others) Get out of my way!

Solid.

Exiting the scary tunnel, Hikari stops and coughs from all the smoke.

Hikari: What was that--

A massive, beastly roar cuts her off, pulling her attention skyward. A lone Airdramon soars into view overhead.

Hangyomon: That is the messenger of the new god who seeks to control us! Hikari: Digimon Kaiser!

Airdramon turns around in the air and comes in for an attack run. Sailing overhead, they breathe a plume of black fire along the beach. The Hangyomon scatter, but three Hangyomon are caught up in the attack and incinerated.

Hikari: (shocked) How could... How could he be so cruel!?

I imagine the fact that his vaunted Evil Spirals are inexplicably not working on these Hangyomon probably has something to do with it.

In the dub, Hikari has no questions. She just keeps coughing until Airdramon reveals themself.

Scubamon: That creature is a servant of the Dark One who put these rings on us. Kari: The Digimon Emperor! (Airdramon comes in for attack run) Airdramon: GYAAAAAAGH SPINNING NEEDLE!!!

They cut the shot of the three Hangyomon being incinerated. Replacing it is a brief and simple explosion that does not explicitly claim any lives.

(Scubamon flee the blast) Kari: WE'RE SITTING DUCKS HERE!!! And I can't fight without my friends....

Further censoring the three deaths, Kari reacts with fear about her tactical disadvantage instead of horror over what just happened.

I don't know why they called Airdramon's breath attack Spinning Needle. It involves neither spinning nor needles.

In the human world, Takeru is back at it. He cups his hands over his mouth and calls out to Tokyo Bay.

Takeru: HIKARI-CHAAAAAAN!!! Tailmon: Just calling out to her from here....

Tailmon's skeptical that this would work, but Patamon joins in to help.

Patamon/Takeru: HIKARIIIIII!!! / HIKARI-CHAAAAAAN!!!

Suddenly, something hits Tailmon.

Tailmon: Feelings....

No time to dwell on that, though. Back at the dark ocean, two more Hangyomon burn up and die. They even disintegrate into pixel dust, an effect we haven't seen much of in this series yet.

Hikari sits with the Hangyomon, defeated and helpless. Her mind drifts to the people who support her.

Hikari: What can I even do? Help me, Onii-chan... Tailmon... Takeru-kun...

Out in the human world, Tailmon has joined Takeru and Patamon in calling out for Hikari.

Tailmon/Takeru: HIKARIIIIII!!! / HIKARI-CHAAAAAAN!!!

Suddenly, Hikari's pink light appears as a distortion in the air in front of them. It glows more brightly, revealing Hikari herself reaching out for them.

Takeru: Hikari-chan!?

Takeru takes a moment to process what he's seeing, then leaps from edge of the landmass.

Patamon: TAKERU!!! Tailmon: Feelings are what connect the worlds!

Tailmon and Patamon jump for Hikari as well, and the three of them flicker out of reality in midair.

In the dub:

T.K.: KARI!!! KARI!!! Gatomon: I think he just went crazy. (Patamon joins T.K.) Patamon & T.K.: KARI!!! KARI!!! (Gatomon suddenly realizes) Gatomon: Ah! They've both flipped!

Gatomon realizes nothing which makes it peculiar that she's suddenly going to be calling out alongside T.K. and Patamon next time we see her.

Again, the shot of two Hangyomon burning up and dying is cut. Kari's losing hope and coming apart just from the flame blasts being laid on the beach.

Kari: I feel so helpless! My brother would know what to do. I need you Tai... Gatomon... the National Guard!

...

Really.

Gatomon, Patamon, & T.K.: KARI!!! KARI!!! (Kari suddenly appears in a glowing distortion of light) Kari: T.K.! T.K.: It's her! (T.K. jumps) Patamon: T.K., wait! Gatomon: Ah, what the heck. I've got nine lives. (Gatomon and Patamon jump too)

Altogether, Gatomon is shockingly flippant about finding Kari in this scene. She does not seem invested at all.

The effect that plays as Takeru, Patamon, and Tailmon cross realities is distinctly different from the typical digitizing effect for entering the Digital World. It doesn't take them too long to drift between worlds and arrive at the dark ocean.

The trio land on a high cliff overlooking the beach.

Tailmon: This is not the usual Digital World.

Hikari comes running down the beach.

Hikari: TAKERU-KUN!!! TAILMON!!! Takeru: Hikari-chan! Hikari: You came to help me!? Takeru: That's right!

Hikari's not the only one who's noticed them, however. From a distance, Airdramon approaches to investigate the new arrivals.

Takeru: Let's go, Patamon! Patamon: Yeah! Takeru: DIGIMENTAL UP!!!

The evolution sequence is a little different. The early parts of the stock animation, with the Digimental activating and Patamon crying out "ARMOR SHINKAAAAAA" are replaced by dynamic animation of Takeru's energy pouring out of the D-3 and into Patamon. This allows us to see the bright green of Takeru's holy light cleaving through the muted color scheme of the dark ocean world.

In the dub:

Gatomon: T.K., promise me we'll never do that ever again. Kari: T.K.!!! GATOMON!!! T.K.: There she is! Kari: HEY GUYS, I'M RIGHT DOWN HERE!!! T.K.: STAY THERE!!! (Airdramon approaches) T.K.: Time to rock, Patamon! Patamon: Right! T.K.: DIGI-ARMOR ENERGIZE!!!

Gatomon remains entirely flippant about all this.

Once Patamon's evolved, Takeru takes to the air on Pegasmon.

Airdramon moves straight in for a bite. Pegasmon quickly flits to the left, darting out of the way of Airdramon's teeth to avoid a sudden and anticlimactic end.

Airdramon circles in the air and fires off two bolts of black firebreath. Pegasmon keeps mobile, dodging each one in sequence.

One of the two bolts, however, hits the nearby village of Innsmouth. The four surviving Hangyomon wail despondently as they watch their village explode in flames.

Takeru: DAMN IT!!! PEGASMON!!! Pegasmon: NEEDLE RAIN!!!

As Pegasmon closes distance to Airdramon, he sprays his needles straight into the top of Airdramon's head. He keeps shooting until they pass each other, then rises upwards.

In the dub:

Airdramon: SPINNING NEEDLE!!! (Airdramon fires two shots; One destroys Innsmouth) T.K.: PEGASUSMOOOOOON!!! That was too close! Pegasusmon: WIND MANE!!! (Pegasusmon sprays needles into Airdramon's head)

Fuck Innsmouth, I guess.

...I mean, yes. Fuck Innsmouth. But still.

The Scubamon make no noise when the village explodes and T.K.'s only concern is that the shots nearly hit him. We watch the village explode but nobody engages with the destruction that the show went out of its way to show us.

Tailmon runs over to Hikari, eager to join the fight.

Tailmon: Hikari! I need to Armor Evolve too! Hikari: M-My D-3 is... in my backpack....

A flashback shows us Hikari's backpack dropping onto the sidewalk after she crossed over, having not been taken with her.

(I sure hope Tailmon grabbed that and stuffed it someplace safe.)

Tailmon: Oh no....

Nefertimon will not be joining this battle, which is taking a turn for the worse. Airdramon is on Pegasmon's tail and lining up their shot. Pegasmon evades the next burst of black flame by suddenly ascending rapidly, but this is the worst position to be in during aerial combat.

Rising high and circling in front of the lighthouse, Pegasmon arcs around to try and attack. Airdramon follows him and remains firmly on his tail. However, watching this, Tailmon suddenly realizes something.

Tailmon: (gasp of inspiration) Takeru: Shit! I refuse to let you win!

Takeru, meanwhile, is in dire need of backup.

In the dub:

Gatomon: Quick, Kari! I have to Armor Digivolve right now! Kari: But... I don't have my D-Terminal.... (Quick Flashback) Gatomon: We're toast... Oh, I don't know how much longer they can last! (Pegasusmon circles in front of the lighthouse) Gatomon: (terrified gasp) T.K.: He's on our tail!

The dub's gasp is one of fear and worry for T.K., rather than the lightbulb moment of the original.

Note that Kari says D-Terminal here instead of D-3 but honestly either works. She needs both to Armor Digivolve. She does not mention that it's in her backpack, but with the sudden flashback, I think it's clear from context.

Tailmon has a plan now. She takes off at full sprint on all fours, racing along the edge of the cliff.

Tailmon: (commanding) PEGASMON!!!

When Pegasmon flies close enough to the cliff, Tailmon leaps from the edge and lands on his back. Takeru grabs onto her as she lands to stabilize on her on the flying steed and they rise into the air, avoiding another shot from the pursuing Airdramon.

Once she's with the boys, Tailmon points out her target.

Tailmon: Pegasmon! Destroy that lighthouse! That's what's draining our power! Pegasmon: Got it!

Pegasmon circles around for an attack run on the lighthouse and lets off his shot.

Takeru: Do it, Pegasmon! Pegasmon: SILVER BLAZE!!!

His attack hits the lighthouse dead on, destroying the exterior and revealing a Dark Tower within. The Tower topples over into the dark ocean.

In the dub:

Gatomon: (worried) PEGASUSMON!!! (Gatomon jumps onto Pegasusmon) Gatomon: Pegasusmon! The Control Spire! You've got to take it out! Then I can Digivolve! Pegasusmon: Here goes nothing! (Pegasusmon charges the lighthouse) T.K.: FULL BLAST, PEGASUSMON!!! Pegasusmon: EQUUS BEAM!!! (Pegasusmon destroys the Control Spire) T.K.: Nice shootin', Pegasusmon!

Gatomon's been script-reading. She's a few steps ahead of the plot, calling out the lighthouse as a Control Spire before that's been revealed.

With the Control Spire destroyed, a beam of Hikari's pink light shines down and breaches the clouds. Tailmon leaps into it. Tailmon CHO-SHINKAAAAAA!!!

Hikari: ANGEWOMON!!!

Kari: ANGEWOMON!!!

It's a single proper noun. There's not a lot to say.

Airdramon surges through the air towards Angewomon.

Pegasmon: SILVER BLAZE!!!

Pegasmon lets off a shot of his own, nailing Airdramon right in the throat on their approach. The shot momentarily knocks Airdramon off course but they twirl in the air and continue their advance.

Angewomon: HEAVEN'S CHARM!!!

There's one we haven't seen in a while. Putting her palms together, Angewomon generates a vertical line of holy light, like a gigantic energy bow. Then she spreads her arms wide to create a wave of energy and fires it into Airdramon.

The shot hits Airdramon dead on for an instant kill.

...no, I did not mean that it broke their Evil Ring. Airdramon clearly and unambiguously disintegrates into pixel dust. Angewomon hits them with everything she's got and just kills that guy.

Takeru: We did it! We defeated Airdramon!

We sure did, Takeru. We sure did. ...the veterans are scary.

In the dub:

(Airdramon advances) Pegasusmon.: EQUUS BEAM!!! (Pegasusmon hits Airdramon) Angewomon: HEAVEN'S CHARM!!! (Angewomon kills Airdramon) T.K.: Nice job! This battle is just a day at the beach!

Contrary to the censoring of the Hangyomon deaths earlier, Airdramon's clear and unmistakable death is shown in full.

The dub takes its third commercial break here, following T.K.'s post-mortem one-liner.

Following Airdramon's death, there's one last order of business to attend to. Angewomon descends over the beach. There are now five surviving Hangyomon even though there were four earlier.

With a ray of her holy light, Angewomon releases the Hangyomon. The Evil Spirals unwind from around their arms and fall uselessly into the sand. The four five surviving Hangyomon are all free.

Since the dub's returning from commercial, they can't use the momentum from the previous battle. To reset this part as a new scene, they splice in that full-body shot of Angewomon from when she first evolved, and then she descends.

Kari also gets a line in this version, further re-establishing the scene.

Kari: Angewomon! You've got to help them!

It works.

The five Hangyomon are released from bondage. Hikari-- Wait, what's happening?

Free from the Evil Spirals, their bodies begin to morph and shift. The five creatures abandon the forms of the Hangyomon and revert to things like the monster in the stairwell that had been watching Hikari earlier.

Hikari: (frightened) Is this... what you really are?

Hikari tries to back off, but one of the creatures grabs her by the arm. They have no intention of letting her leave.

Hikari: W-What are you doing!?

Takeru and Patamon come running down the beach.

Takeru: LET GO OF HIKARI-CHAN!!!

But that's all they have to contribute. They landed like way on the opposite end of the beach for some reason and will not get here in time to participate in this scene. Weird choice, my guys.

Creature: The reason we called you is because you would make a suitable bride for us. We must produce many more offspring to resist the new god. Hikari: (distraught) B-But I helped you!

GROSS. GROSS. GROSS GROSS GROSS. GROSS GROSS GROSS GROSS GROSS GROSS GROSS!

This is worse than every single harassment Mimi suffered in the Digital World combined. Fuck all of these things. I wish more of them burned up in Airdramon's fire.

Also... uh... yeah. Welcome to Innsmouth. It's not a great place to be.

This is what they meant when they called Hikari the Chosen Entity. When they meant something else. This is the something else. This, and not the Evil Spirals, is why they've been watching her.

It's also why they had the worst rundown in the history of rundowns. Because they aren't actually Digimon at all. That was a fake-ass rundown by a fake-ass Narrator for these fake-ass Hangyomon.

And it's why it's... unclear whether "Scubamon" is a mistake or not. It's entirely plausible that the dub just fucked up and forgot it called them Divermon. There've been errors with names in the past. Isn't that right, Shogunmon/Gekomon/ShogunGekomon?

But it could also be deliberate. The Scubamon provided that name themselves. The fact that they provided the wrong name for the species they were alleging to be could be a subtle hint at the falseness of their identities.

In the dub:

(Creatures revert to their true forms) Creature 1: Much better! Creature 2: Now that's what I call a red-eye reduction! Kari: (terrified) Wait a second... You guys asked for my help and I gave it to you! Now what do you want! (Kari backs off but a creature grabs her) Kari: (gasp) Don't hurt me! (T.K. comes running down the side of the beach) T.K.: LET HER GO, YOU CREEPS!!! (That's enough of T.K.) Creature 3: Come with us, child. You'd be our new queen! We need you! Kari: (distraught) I trusted you guys and you lied to me!

To nobody's surprise, the dub dances around both the topics of "bride" and "producing offspring", settling on simply making Kari queen of the eerie sea creatures.

Anyways, this whole disgusting fish bride thing has gone on long enough. Angewomon lets off a warning shot, firing it into the ground at the creatures' feet.

The creatures may need to be told twice but they don't need to be shot twice. They back the fuck off.

Creature: Chosen One, we believed you'd be grateful to be our bride. Very well. We'll return to our former god in the depths... and wait....

With that, they retreat into the ocean and disappear.

In the dub:

Creature: But we thought you would love to be our queen! With your power, you could lead us in the battle against our undersea master! But I guess we were wrong. Beware, child! Our master can sense your power too! And he will come for you!

The dub is so grossed out at this point and desperate not to talk about that that it invents a whole new cliffhanger.

They also seem to have misunderstood what the creatures meant when they said they wanted to "oppose the new god". The new god is Ken. The Digimon Kaiser. They wanted to breed new offspring to fight the Digimon Kaiser.

The dub has them wanting Kari to lead them in battle against that Cthulhu-looking thing in the depths below... for some reason, even though all their conflict in this episode has been against the Emperor.

With the creatures gone, Takeru finally reaches Hikari. She has only one thing to say.

Hikari: I want to go home.

Takeru puts a hand on her shoulder.

Takeru: (gently) Let's go home. That's why we came.

Hikari gives Takeru a warm smile. Then they leave. Takeru rides Pegasmon while Angewomon carries Hikari. Together, they ascend into the pink light still glowing through the clouds.

Rising through the light, the dark ocean below vanishes from view, and they appear in a brightly colored but vaguely defined animation backdrop. I think it's supposed to be a field of flowers?

Narrator: What the children saw may have been a different world from the Digital World they'd known up until now.

Thank you chiming in and clarifying that. I hadn't gotten the message until now.

Takeru and Hikari exchange smiles in the light. Which would be a great place to close, but no.

We cut back to the dark ocean for one last scene, witnessing the Cthulhu-like entity rising from the black and murky depths once more. They let out an eerie and eldritch sound, and then we close.

In the dub:

Kari: ...I'm ready to go home now. (T.K. puts his hand on Kari's shoulder) T.K.: It could be worse. We could be scraping gum at school.

XD Goddammit. That's a pretty good tension-relieving brick joke. They got me.

(Pegasusmon and Angewomon take their Partners up towards the light) T.K.: Last one home is a rotten Digi-Egg! Pegasusmon/Angewomon: Whoa ho ho! / Ahahaha! Kari: Thanks for coming after me, T.K.! I really appreciate it. T.K.: It's okay, Kari. I know you'd do the same for me. Kari: Hey, T.K.? Remember this morning when you said you really cared for me? What did you mean by that? T.K.: Huh!? Oh, well, you know. It was just... stuff. Kari: Mm... Well, you know what? I care for you too. (Cthulhu-like creature rises from the dark ocean) Narrator: Who is this evil, dark undersea master? Don't miss the upcoming Digimon: Digital Monsters!

The Narrator only implies that the next episode will have anything to do with this creature at all but doesn't outright say it so I can't technically call him a liar. Those two sentences are disconnected from one another and only seem contextually linked because they're stated side-by-side. It's a clever trick you also find in manipulative journalism.

This episode was shippy as fuck for Kari and T.K. so it doesn't come out of nowhere. But the dub has them whole-ass confess their feelings to each other at the end. I hope you're not expecting that to go anywhere 'cause that love confession is basically fanfiction. They will remain Ambiguously Shippy moving forward.

Assessment: So, let's get this out of the way first and foremost. The silhouetted creature is Dagomon. That's not ambiguous; The Japanese episode title calls them out by name. They're one of the two Virus Perfects from the Deep Savers line and are expressly based on Cthulhu.

But also, given the reveal surrounding the "Hangyomon", it's probably not actually Dagomon. It just seems like Dagomon in silhouette. In keeping with the eldritch and unknowable vibe of Lovecraftian dark ocean, the true nature of the Cthulhu-like entity that the sea creatures worship remains unexplained to this day.

(It's probably just Cthulhu.)

Something that's sticking in my craw is that Hikari mentions and even flashes back on a time something like this happened to her three years ago. But it wasn't the sea creatures back then; They only recently started stalking Hikari as a super gross measure to counter the Digimon Kaiser. And it wasn't the Digimon back then 'cause that didn't line up with any of Hikari's Digimon experiences that we've seen.

So. Like. What's the other other time Hikari's been haunted by otherworldly experiences? It's probably not as simple as just "She's schizophrenic" because she suggests that she hasn't had hallucinations like this for three years. Mental illness usually isn't considerate enough to leave you alone for years at a time.

The three-year timespan suggests that whatever she was remembering has to do with the Digital World. But that flashback doesn't line up with anything we ever saw in the first anime. So. IDK.

...they also didn't explain why Daisuke couldn't get the Digital Gate to open, come to think of it. Not sure what was stopping him there.

Hikari's sudden beam of holy light piercing the clouds, both Super-Evolving Tailmon and allowing passage between worlds? That would probably be kinda deus ex machina-ey but this is Hikari. We've seen her do shit like that before. Remember that time she Warp-Evolved Taichi's Digimon herself? Hikari's always been crazy powerful, just in ways she doesn't fully control.

In fact, the point that her D-3 is still in the other world makes it really interesting, because this is something only one of the veteran kids could have done. It connects with the endgame Apocalymon revelations that the children's power comes from within, and they don't actually need Digivices or Crests to manifest it.

This is what Tailmon meant when she said Hikari is a strong kid; She needs support, just like anyone else, but she's not weak for needing it. Once Takeru took down the Dark Tower, Hikari could manifest her power and solve everything.

[glitterfairy-21225]

As THRILLED as I am about Shaunahat, I do think it’s very possible that Melissa may be a red herring for Hillary Swank’s character. I mean, they're certainly implying it, but my thought process is why not just say it outright???

Like, comparing it to the other two survivor reveals, we have "Who the fuck is Lottie Matthews?" Jaw-dropping, earth-shattering, lives were changed. On the end of the spectrum, I saw on Twitter that Van's adult actress was announced on an official account's social media, and she literally appears in the title sequence in the episodes before she showed up in that timeline.

So, when it's supposed to shocking, the show makes sure IT'S SHOCKING, and when it's not, they don't bother hiding it. So why not just say Hillary Swank is Melissa? It's no longer shocking after episode 2 heavily implied it.

This is what makes me suspect that Melissa is a decoy for her sister r something. The line "What did she like?" felt like meta commentary on how dedicated the show is to matching counterparts, and the creators know that the audience knows that.

Now, I do think context is important. Lottie's reveal what meant to set her up as a major driving force in season two. Van's was meant to introduce her back into Tai's story, and she wasn't really do much to the adult timeline outside of that. Also, there was a lot less mystery to her teen version than there was for Teen Lottie at the end of s2, so meeting her is like meeting an old friend. I'm sure plenty of people already expected her to be alive just from s1.

We don't know shit about Melissa and we know Hillary Swank's character is stalking Shauna. It makes sense that there's an air of mystery. But also, she's not as big a character as Lottie. And don't get me wrong, kissing Shauna is a fucking amazing feat on its own, but the writers probably expected more hype for the psychic lesbian. So Melissa being revealed as alive can't have that same mic drop effect bc Melissa as a character doesn't warrant a mic drop. But that doesn't mean her survival can't be justified.

She's the replacement goldfish, the one Shauna kissed when she didn't Jackie, the one who stayed alive. I think the set up for her survival is good, which I was worried about, because Melissa??? How are you gonna basically introduce Melissa and justify keeping her alive in season 3?

But I think that Melissa being Shauna's ex-girlfriend showing up to cause trouble for her might be enough to justify her survival. Because now she's more of an accessory to Shauna, like Jeff, and she was never meant to be the familiar face that Van was or the total game-changer that Lottie was. My current theory is that Hillary Swank will introduce the killer mentioned, might be helping them, but won't be the season's big bad.

And it sucks that a character who literally didn't exist in season one gets to be the eighth survivor, but at this point, the teen timeline isn't really drawing tension from who's going to die, but what the characters who survive are going to do. Melissa surviving poses the question of what shit Shaunahat is going to get up to.

Either way, I still won lol.