#maybe I finally mastered landscapes maybe ?

[ewylana]

I am back with some art ! Both around 30 minutes thank to @mothzarellaman !

I think you can easily see from which screenshot this was inspired even if I merged two !

And I could resist to add a doodle of Miraak being selfie-ed by your characters, the bug sounded too fun to not draw it !

The whole skyrim series all together ! Repost with your screenshort I will draw some in my style !

[some-bunniii]

Lucifer meeting an artist reader

・❥ The King of Hell admires your paintings

| Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 |

x: reader is g/n :) no use of pronouns or y/n

warnings: some raunchy details of your painting & mild swearing

When you arrived in Hell, the first thing you did was scream.

Where were you? Why was it so hot? What happened to your bed?!

“You’re in Hell, kid.” A blue bat-faced man had broke the news, as you stood helpless and confused on the street.

Hell? Like, demons and dark satanic magic kind of Hell?

That couldn’t be right. Were you that bad of a person to deserve such a fate? Did the few times you passed the Salvation Army donation bucket without dropping a coin damn you to this place?

Your death was fuzzy, a trail of shattered memories that could only give you bits and pieces of your final days. Did you go quickly in your sleep? Maybe, you hit your head so hard it caused you some kind of post-death amnesia?

Whatever had happened, you were here now with no way out.

During your first few days scouring for answers, you began to notice that Hell had an eerie similarity to life above ground. There were clubs, casinos, concerts. Heck, even TV! Sure, the things broadcasted were dark and sometimes disgusting.. but at least you had something to watch.

Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all? At least, compared to being thrown into dark, fiery pits for all of eternity like some cruel game of sink or swim.

Minus the people, of course. Most of them were pretty bad. Your first day watching a man get shot in the chest and lines of cocaine across tables in a diner made you decide to stay away from the streets of the city.

Which meant you had to get busy making a life for yourself. It started with working odd jobs as a bartender or a bell-hopper. You’d scrap together enough money to head to the nearest art supply store, and fill your bag with paints and charcoal pencils.

“You an artist or something?” The clerk had asked you as she scanned your items, taking note of your vast amount of diverse tools you were slowly collecting every time you stopped by.

“I usually paint, but yes, I used to do all kinds of mediums professionally when I was.. alive,” You had whispered that last part out with a pang of sadness, the reality of your situation still a fresh wound in your mind.

You had found an ad for an art studio, ran by a demon named Alexandre. You had showed him a few of your pieces, some pretty landscapes, a rendition of the Starry Night Sky which you had replaced the backdrop to be Pentagram city instead of whatever little village it was originally, and a self portrait.

“You got talent, i’ll give you that,” He had hummed, as his eyes scanned your paintings with intrigue, “But the subject? Not really what we’re looking for.”

“What do you mean?” You had asked, confusion evident in your voice.

“We’re in Hell, demons ain’t into pretty ponies and happy, little trees. They want more— eh how do i put this — sinful behavior?”

“Like…?”

“Like tits or anything that can be turned into a kink. They like blood and guts, and dead people splayed around. Dead angels too. Stuff like that.”

Tits? Dead people? You didn’t have much practice with that! At least not enough to make a career out of it.

But you had agreed anyway, this was your only shot. You stayed up late into the night, sometimes even into the early mornings, perfecting your skill when it came to much more risqué visuals. You would buy stacks of pornograohic magazines, flipping through for poses to memorize.

Slowly, you began to master the craft, and your time at the studio increased as you finally settled into life in Hell.

All you had to do was churn out painting after pastel after acrylic in the little cramped room you now called home. Alexandre would then take your pieces and sell them to the highest bidder. You’d get a percentage of the commission, using the money for whatever necessary.

Seeing as you could be mugged at literally any point in time, or anywhere for that matter, you made sure to keep a large sum of cash locked away in a double-bolted safe.

“You know Ozzie’s, that club down in the Lust Ring?” Alexandre had approached you one day, excitement in his eyes.

You shook your head as you sat behind the easel, your brush an inch from the canvas.

“Run by Asmodeus, one of the literal seven deadly sins?”

You shook your head once more.

“Fuck, you still have a lot to learn. Well, he really likes your art. He wants to buy a bunch of paintings for his club, and he’ll drop a shit ton of cash too. Ya think you can handle it?”

Your eyes had widened when he told you the exact price this sin guy was willing to pay. You had jumped from your seat, shaking his hand in profuse thanks, before scurrying off to gather more supplies.

And for a time, that’s how it went. You’d sell your steamiest paintings to Asmodeus, and other private commissions you took one after the other.

Apparently, your painting hung up in Ozzie’s was getting a lot of attention. Especially from a certain spider demon named Angel Dust.

After hearing Charlie’s decision to look for another member of their staff— someone who’d be in charge of decorating the premise with promises of love and tranquility up in Heaven— Angel Dust had taken a few snaps of your work with his phone, before showing it to Vaggie and Charlie. He had complimented your work, claiming it was ‘the best’ oil paintings he’d ever seen.

Although, in his line of work, he probably hadn’t seen many to compare yours so.

“ls this what we want in our hotel?" Vaggie had asked, motioning to a woman on the canvas that was drenched in sweat and white fluid, her private parts exposed to the audience as she posed suggestively on a stripper pole.

To which Charlie has responded, "I think it's... unique! You can definitely see she knows how to, um, really bring the scene to life! l'm sure she'll be open to creating our vision!"

Your phone had rung one night, with a voice on the other end begging you to come to her hotel and at least hear her offer for a new job.

Which lead you to the Hazbin Hotel, a slightly run down building that obviously needed more work. Inside and out.

“Oh my gosh! Hi there! My name is Charlie, and this is my hotel! it’s such a pleasure to meet you!”

“Thanks.. but I don’t see many guests around.” You had told her, your eyes darting around the lobby as you absorbed your surroundings.

“Well, we’re still trying to get our name out there. We’re not just any hotel, we’re a hotel set on redeeming sinners!” She exclaimed with pride.

“Redeem?” You had asked her, an eyebrow raised in disbelief.

She shook her head vigorously, “This hotel.. it’s going to be amazing! We’re going to turn Sinners into well.. non-sinners! They’ll be rehabilitated, and have morals! And honor! Heaven won’t be able to do anything but welcome them as angels!”

This idea had sounded a little far-fetched when you first heard it.

“You’ll be in charge of making art that reflects such views! Something that will make Sinners go, ‘Wow! Now that’s where I want to go!’”

“What’s in it for me?” You had asked.

“Well you’ll have your own room, and your own little studio too! I’m sure it’s much bigger than the one you already have. Plus we have a bar, and good company!”

You turned your head to the small crowd of demons a few feet away. A pornstar, a gambler, a snake guy with weird little walking eggs, and a really creepy man in a red coat that shot you a wide smile with eyes that seemed to stare right through your soul.

This was good company?

You contemplated her words, thinking deeply. Did you really need to leave the studio you were already a part of? You already had a room and place to paint, anyway.

Charlie must have noticed your hesitation to accept before quickly adding,

“Anddd you can sell your pieces here too! Plus, you can keep a hundred percent of the earnings.”

You perked up at that, the money made from your art would be... all yours? And, you’d get a breather from the drawing people having sex? That didn’t sound so bad after all!

“Deal!” You had reached out a hand, shaking hers with delight.

It had taken you a day or two to map out the interior of the hotel and figure out what could go where. You began to slowly brainstorm, what could make a sinner stare at a canvas and want to redeem themselves?

During your time on earth, you studied many artists through history. Most notably however, were those from the Renaissance. You remembered walking through the Sistine Chapel when you were younger,

staring at awe of the paintings of winged angels and heavenly skies.

You perked at that thought. That was it! The inspiration for your paintings, an ethereal perspective on what one would find in heaven. The feelings of bliss and care-free joy.

You spent your first few days in an undisturbed area of the hotel, it was a large room on the farthest side of the lobby. It must’ve been a guest room at one point, but other than a bed and few cushions that the ‘Radio Demon’ had placed for you, it was empty.

It was quiet enough that you could sit there, undisturbed, as you drew upon your memories and vast knowledge of histories in art as you slowly began to bring your ideas to life. Slowly, the room also took form into being yours, personal knick-knacks and stacks upon stacks of blank canvases waiting to bring your visions to life.

At the end of every day, you'd come out with your hands covered in charcoal and paint, your hard work on full display.

You had even grown closer to the other residents in the hotel, beginning to see them as more than their initial appearance. Even Alastor, who still kind of gave you the creeps, you had regarded as someone you could speak to without hesitation.

You’d sit on the couches with Angel Dust, drowning in popcorn as you watched whatever was on TV for the night. Sometimes, you’d sit with Husk at the bar as you listened to his stories from his days at the casino and as an Overlord.

It was there, when Charlie had summoned the courage to call her father, Lucifer, the King of Hell, to come visit the hotel and decide on getting her that meeting with the higher powers in Heaven.

Upon hearing about Lucifer's impending visit, you felta mixture of nerves and excitement. You've heardstories about him-his charisma, his power--but you never expected to meet him, let alone showcase your art to him. Would he even like them? He's no doubt seen much more beautiful sights.

As preparations for Lucifer's visit got more chaotic by the minute, you found yourself back in your Atelier, quickly cleaning up your room and berating yourself for any little mistakes you found in your paintings. Each stroke of the brush carried with it a sense of urgency, a desire to impress not just your friends at the hotel, but also the King of Hell himself.

The current piece you were working on was your most intense one yet. It depicted that of an almost nude man, flying high in the skies. His back was faced towards you, his face hidden from view. He was faced towards the sun, which bathed him in a warm glow. Arms outstretched, knees curled in, it seemed as if the angel was going to give the sun a large bear-hug.

It wasn’t until you heard loud commotion in the lobby did you realize Lucifer had arrived. Quickly dropping the brush you were holding, you sneaked down the stairs and quickly neared the archway of the lobby.

Peaking your head out, you canned the large room. Until your eyes locked in a pale figure. Lucifer.

He was beautiful, definitely held the looks of an angel that fell from heaven. His light blonde hair curled elegantly around his face. The candles from the chandelier above basked him in an ethereal glow, as though he could replace the sun itself. Just like the angel from your painting.

His eyes reminded you mostly of a snake. Calculating and cold, but holding so much wisdom and depth. There was a slight sadness there as well, as though itate at him slowly, consuming his soul. It was masked incredibly well though, and you only caught a glimpse before it disappeared.

His attitude toward his daughter made your heartmelt, it was obvious he cared about her in the way heacted and spoke to Charlie, even if his absence didn't speak so fondly of him.

As Lucifer and Alastor butted heads, you quickly scurried back to your room. You had hoped to finish your work-in-progress by the time he arrived, but the struggle to get those damn angel wings to be anatomically correct was a pain.

You hurriedly continued your work, trying to calm your nerves by busying yourself with the painting in front of you.

Charlie's voice broke you out of your concentration soon after, multiple footsteps closing in on where your room lay. You shot up from your seat, and stood up straight, ready to meet the man of the hour.

You couldn't help but feel a flutter of anticipation mixed with apprehension as they approached your make-shift gallery.

Charlie, Vaggie, and— wow, he looked so much better up close— Lucifer stepped through the doorway.

“Dad, this is the newest addition to our staff! They are in charge of helping to inspire our future guests through the power of art!" Charlie proclaimed with glee, pulling you by the arm towards her father.

“It's a pleasure to meet you, your majesty. I apologize for being so messy, I was just finishing up another painting." You had greeted him softly.

"Don't worry, you look great," He assured, a gleam in his eyes, "and the pleasure is all mine, anyone who is willing to help my little girl is someone worth meeting,"

You stood there for a moment. Unsure of where to go next, before you felt a slight nudge from Charlie that pulled you back to reality, "Why don't we take a look at your paintings? I promise you, Dad, they are amazing!" She squealed softly.

Beckoning Lucifer forward, you took him through each painting. You described your feelings for each piece, and what made you choose them for the hotel.

You rambled on and on, and Lucifer never said anything, he just listened as you spoke.

Which made you nervous, what was he thinking? Did he like them, or was he just waiting for you to stop talking so he could quickly escape to something of more interest to him? The thought made sweat dribble down your forehead.

To your surprise, Lucifer's reaction to your art was not what you expected. Instead of dismissing it as mere frivolity, he studied each piece with genuine interest, his expression thoughtful and contemplative.

He mostly stayed quiet, but once in awhile would throw in a joke here and there if he noticed anything of interest in the paintings.

His goofy nature that you caught onto watching him earlier was barely evident though, unlike when he was trying to impress his daughter.

After finishing the small tour, you turned to him in anticipation. Your hands nervously rubbing together, as you shot a glance to Charlie, and she gave you an uncertain look. You both held the same question in your gaze: What is he thinking?

"These paintings.." Lucifer began, his voice low and melodic, "Are different than most i've seen down here, not just some scandalous display, but with real meaning. They evoke emotions long buried, memories of a time before.. all this."

His words caught you off guard, and you found yourself nodding in agreement, unable to tear your gaze away from his intense eyes.

The one he was staring at in particular was a recreation of The Garden of Eden by Jan Breghal, a painting that depicted the place where humanity was birthed, and where it fell.

“Does it look like.. how you remembered?" You had asked slowly, if anyone could validate the truth in your work, it would be him.

"Actually, this is much prettier. The real deal doesn't do your painting justice," He replied, "It was so boring, just green on green."

Also," He added, "An unfortunate lack of ducks. Humanity should be grateful that I got them out of that forest, so they could see something actually worthwhile.. and with ducks."

You giggled softly at his words, have you ever met someone that seemed to love ducks as much as him?

As Lucifer continued to explore the room, you couldn’t help but notice the way he lingered on certain paintings, his fingers tracing the delicate lines with reverence. It was as if he saw something in your art that no one else did, something profound and personal.

Perhaps your choice of baby-faced angels, and ethereal landscapes brought back memories of his time in Heaven. Hopefully, that wasn't a bad thing.

When Lucifer finally turned to you, his gaze softened, a hint of something unreadable lurking beneath the surface. "You have a rare gift," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "To create beauty in a place like this... it's truly remarkable."

He looked at you for a moment, before a smile crept onto his lips. He was Lucifer, he knew exactly what you meant. It's what drove him to manipulate Eve to eat from the Tree of Life in the first place.

Was he finally getting a glimpse of the good free will brought to humanity? Was there actually meaning in his past actions that sent him to the depths of Hell?

His gaze narrowed in on the canvas behind you, and he slipped past you. "What is this?" He asked with intrigue, pointing towards your unfinished painting.

“My final piece. I've been working on it for days, but I just can't get the wings right.. believe it or not, i've never actually seen angel wings in person." You said that last bit as a joke.

His smile sent butterflies fluttering in your stomach. For the King of Hell, it was surprisingly warm, and kind.

Then an idea struck you, but you tried to desperately to push it down. Except it seemed like the only time you could ask someone with angel wings to let you use them as a reference. How many fallen angels were in Hell, anyway?

"I'm so sorry if this is out of line, but. could I, um, borrow you for a little bit? I've just been having trouble drawing the wings correctly and you, well, have them?”

His eyes widened, and his chest puffed slightly at your question. He shot you a toothy grin, “Paint me? Why didn't you mention that earlier?! I have the perfect figure for such a thing.”

Behind him, Charlie rolled her eyes, a hint of a smile on her lips. You smiled too, you should've known he'd have no problem with it, he was the embodiment of pride after all.

He plopped down on a stool before you, and removed his overcoat. Beneath what seemed to be a red and white gatsby vest that hugged his frame perfectly. Jeez, he was almost too good looking.

He stretched out his large wings, folding the otherfour behind him, only revealing the two much largerones. They were breathtaking, truly. They looked so fluffy too!

You guided him on the exact position you needed them to be in, before making your way to the canvas and getting to work.

Assuring the group you only needed to get a visual on the canvas, the actual work you would do on your own. Slowly, you traced the frame of his wings, etching out the soft lines of his feathers and the curvatures of its form.

You could only imagine how soft those feathers were and what it would be like to curl around them like a pillo-

You shook your head to rid those thoughts. Why were you thinking such things about Lucifer like that? It's not like he would even want to let you go anywhere near him or his wings.

Would he?

You continued your painting, trying not to meet his gaze as you would occasionally peak your head from behind the large canvas to get another good look at his wings.

There was a moment when you two did lock eyes, and he sent a half-lidded smirk in your direction. Thankfully the large object between you two helped hide your growing blush. He was obviously just trying to get you worked up, you assured yourself. Just like he did with Alastor. In a different way, of course.

"This reminds me of when Charlie was younger" Lucifer began, filling the silence, "We sat for a good few hours trying to get a family portrait painted and she would just not sit still!”

“Dad.. please, not right now." Charlie growled out in embarrassment, her cheeks flushed. Vaggie only smiled beside her, listening intently as Lucifer filled everyone in on her younger years.

“lt got to the point where I had to summon her favorite toy to get her to stop squirming, everything was smooth sailing after that.

"And what was her favorite toy?" You inquired softly behind the canvas

“A rubber duck! Like the ones you play with in the bath? She could not get enough of it whenever it squeaked. One time the squeaker broke, and I went to my workshop and crafted her a magical one that meowed instead! Haha!"

Okay, this family really has a thing for ducks!

“She hated it, but that only inspired me to keep making more. Sometimes, we'd sit together on the work bench, and I would just come up with ideas like confetti-spitting, or color changing ducks. She wasn't too good at speaking at that time, so every time she'd laugh that was my clue that she liked it!"

It was sweet, the way he rambled about his daughter. He never spoke of himself or his accomplishments, despite embodying the sin of pride. It was almost like his only pride was his best creation, Charlie.

He continued, the room full of jokes and laughter, even from Vaggie, regarding Charlie's life as a youngling. You listened intently to his stories, his voice dripping with amusement as he recounted story after story.

lt was so sappy and you loved it. Which made you grumble quietly to yourself, why did you have to have a thing for DILFS?! Concentrate on the painting!

After a moment, Lucifer's eyes turned back to the paintings around him, his gaze scanning each painting once more. "I've noticed that you seem to have a repetition in your work.. not that that's a bad thing!" He quickly corrected.

“But in all of your paintings featuring angels, there's always a swan swimming or resting nearby. Do they hold any significance, or are they just a passion for you?"

You looked up from the canvas, and also traced the angelic figures across the room. He was right, with the images of the divine beings also came the appearance of the large, white water fowl. Lying lazily beside the angels, or swimming across pools of water as the care-free beings danced and frolicked.

You contemplated for a moment, before speaking truthfully.

“I just think Swans are elegant and ethereal creatures. They embody the purest of souls, untouched by the taint of sin that consumes the world, just like how their feathers remain untouched from the waters they glide on"

Lucifer's eyes lit up slightly, drinking up your words.

“Plus," You continue, "they mate for life, and allow themselves to just.. decay once their significant other departs from the world. It's very romantic, and love is one of the purest emotions in the world."

Lucifer wasn't looking at you when your eyes met his again, his stare was far off. Past the room entirely, as your words echoed through him. There it was again, the glimpse of sadness that he tried to hide so painfully well.

“Does such love like that exist?," he murmured so softly you had to strain your ears.

There was a few moments of deathly silence before Charlie piped up, asking her father something about heaven. You tried to listen, but your mind was stuck on his words. Lucifer was in heaven once, and he still didn't fully believe in such things?

If there weren't others in the room, perhaps you would’ve asked him.

It took a few more minutes before you were able to wrap up fully, but you had no regrets of asking this man for help, the angel on the canvas actually looked like he had wings, not just stumps of white tuft.

You got up from your seat and walked towards him, noticing that Charlie and her girlfriend were not present anymore. It was just you and Lucifer in theroom now.

“Well, thank you, Your Majesty. You really helped me out here, and it'll go a long way to make the hotel look even better"

“Please, call me Lucifer. The formalities are only for subjects, not friends," he replied, "l did really enjoy getting to see your paintings, you are quite a phenomenal artist. I wasn't lying when I said your work was different from the rest. If only you were around for those family portraits."

You were so taken aback by his praise that you only shrugged it off, like it was no big deal. Even though, coming from the King of Hell, it was.

Glancing behind him, you saw Charlie and Vaggie whispering to each other in the hallway outside of the door. You assumed they probably wanted to finish up so they could get him to agree to the meeting with Heaven.

lgnoring his previous statement of formalities— he was the king, you thought, you weren't going to just pat him on the back and say 'see ya! —you lowered your head and bent down to curtsy, just like you were taught when you were younger, placing your hand slightly in front of you.

Usually, you'd use that hand to shake or grasp the other person's, but it felt wrong to treat this powerful angel like any other man.

Suddenly, you felt the soft touch of fingers gliding across your hand. In confusion, you looked up at those golden eyes and that charming smile. Trying to get a glimpse of what he was thinking.

His hand gripped yours gently, and with a bow of his own, lowered his lips, and pressed a soft kiss your knuckles.

Your breath caught in your throat, and you feared to blink, soaking in his beauty for as long as you could before he had the chance to pull away. You wanted to say something, but your tongue was refusing to work as your mouth opened and closed silently.

When he finally released your hand, he adjusted his hat and turned towards the door. Leaving you standing there, your face burning hot

He cleared his throat, and turned his head slightly, his eye catching yours. A playful smile dancing on his lips.

“l look forward to our next portrait together, hopefully where I am the motivation behind your strokes. Not just these dull wings."

And with his words hanging in the air, you were left alone, with the growing itch to press your face into a pillow and squeal.

——————

awww man, my first fic! I was trying to make this more dating-centric, but i couldn’t stop writing for their first meeting and it got too long haha! If y’all like this one enough, i’ll make a dating version!

let me know what you think 🙏 i reallyyyy appreciate all comments and criticisms!!

wonderful art i commissioned by DawnDrawnS on twitter! <3

[honeybeezgobzzzzz]

𓅨 Sleepy Bitch Syndrome: Chapter One

Sleepy Bitch Syndrome: You've got narcolepsy and have been visiting the Dreaming daily for years. Then its Lord and King finally return and he doesn't know quite what to think of you.

Warnings: None.

To Note: Morpheus/Dream x Narcoleptic!Reader, for you dear @aralezinspace.

Word Count: ~2.6k

Masterlist | Next

You awaken to the familiar yet deteriorating landscape of the Dreaming. For years, your narcolepsy has transported you daily into this realm—a realm that, despite its barrenness and brokenness, has become your sanctuary. The muted grays and browns are beautiful to you, in a special way, but you know that the true majesty of the realm cannot emerge without its master, Dream. A being you've never met and only heard stories of. Yet, despite its decay, you have forged friendships here, finding solace among its inhabitants.

You walk through the desolate meadow, the grass crunching underfoot like dried paper. The sky is a dull, oppressive gray, reflecting the sea of sand and rock that neighbors the palace ruins. Your destination is the Library, a place that has barely managed to retain some semblance of order thanks to Lucienne’s tireless efforts. As you approach the grand, time-worn doors of the library, you feel a pang of sorrow for the state of this once magnificent realm.

“Lucienne?” you call out, your voice echoing through the cavernous hall as you step inside.

From behind a towering stack of books, Lucienne appears, her face lighting up with a weary smile when she sees you. “Ah, there you are. I was wondering when you would pop up. How are you today?”

You sigh, running a hand through your hair. “It’s hard to see the Dreaming like this. It feels like a part of me is withering along with it and it was already withering to begin with.”

Lucienne nods, her expression somber. “We all feel it. The absence of Lord Morpheus has taken a toll on this realm. But we must hold on to hope. Things may yet change.”

"It's been over a century, Luce," You point out, "I've been visiting for at least a decade and we've never seen hide nor hair of him. What— what if he's not coming back?"

Lucienne sighs softly, closing the book and replacing it on the shelf. "Maybe not," she admits. "But we can't give up...we must continue searching."

All of the residents that remain, a precious few, were adamant that Dream would return. You believed them, you truly did, but what being abandoned their people like this?? Something terrible must have happened, it was the only explanation you can think of. You were staying strong and hopeful for them, after all, the Dreaming was there home. It was only a temporary place for you to wander until you rouse from your episode. As you ponder what you would do next in this dream, the palace creaks and shakes, the sounds of more stone breaking off and falling to the ground greets your ears.

"Perhaps it would be best if you get out of the palace and visit the brothers? Maybe play with Gregory?" Lucienne offers to you, hoping to get you out of the crumbling palace before you decided to were going to spend your time assisting Mervyn.

"But what if Mervyn—" The librarian cuts you off with a stern look over her spectacles. You glance at Lucienne, her stern expression brooking no argument. With a resigned sigh, you turn and head out of the library, feeling the cool air of the Dreaming settle against your skin. The path to Cain and Abel’s house winds through the remnants of what once was a lush garden, now overrun with thorny vines and twisted trees. At least that's what Mervyn had told you.

As you approach the brothers’ abode, you hear a faint rustling sound followed by a series of thuds. Rounding the corner, you find Gregory tangled up in a net of brambles, his wings flapping uselessly as he tries to free himself.

“Gregory!” you exclaim, rushing to his side. His large, expressive eyes brighten when he sees you. Like a giant puppy, he chirps at you and wiggles his body. You chuckle softly as you begin to untangle the brambles from around his wings. “What happened this time?”

Gregory chirps again, his eyes wide with a mix of relief and sheepishness. You carefully work your way through the tangle of brambles, pulling each thorny vine away from his stone skin. The gargoyle’s weight shifts as he tries to help by flapping his wings, but it only makes the process more cumbersome.

“Hold still, Gregory. You’re not making this any easier,” you mutter with a half-smile.

He lets out a low rumble, a sound that almost seems like an apology. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, you manage to free him. Gregory stretches his wings wide and gives a joyful hop, sending a cloud of dust into the air.

“Feeling better?” you ask, brushing off your hands.

Gregory nods vigorously, then nuzzles your shoulder with his large head. His granite skin is always surprisingly warm against your own.

You laugh softly and give him a pat. “Come on, let’s find Cain and Abel.”

The two of you make your way toward the brothers’ house, Gregory trailing close behind like an oversized shadow. As you approach, you hear the unmistakable sound of an argument brewing inside. The voices grow louder until you can make out individual words.

“It was mine! You had no right to take it!” Abel’s voice trembles with indignation.

Cain’s reply is sharp and dismissive. “You never appreciate what you have! Someone needs to teach you a lesson!”

You exchange a knowing glance with Gregory and push open the door. Inside, Cain stands over Abel, who is clutching something close to his chest—a small, tattered book by the looks of it. Both brothers freeze when they see you.

“Is everything alright here?” you ask, trying to keep your tone neutral.

Cain straightens up and crosses his arms over his chest. “Just a little brotherly disagreement,” he says coolly.

Abel’s eyes dart between Cain and you before he speaks up in a softer voice. “He took my journal. I was writing in it, and he just—”

“It’s just a book,” Cain interrupts with a wave of his hand. “No need to get all worked up about it.”

You step closer to Abel and gently place a hand on his shoulder. “Abel, would you like to show me what you’ve been writing?”

He hesitates for a moment but then nods slowly, opening the journal to reveal pages filled with neat handwriting and detailed sketches—mostly of Gregory in various playful poses.

“These are wonderful,” you say genuinely, flipping through the pages. “You have real talent and Gregory is a stellar model!”

Abel blushes slightly under the praise while Cain rolls his eyes but doesn't comment further on the topic. Cain then suggests you stay for tea, his tone surprisingly warm. "Why don't you join us for some tea? Abel's been perfecting his recipe."

You nod, sensing the tension ebbing away. "I'd love to."

Abel beams and scurries off to prepare the tea. Gregory settles down near the hearth, his tail curling around his feet like a giant cat. You take a seat at the table, watching as Cain busies himself with setting out cups and saucers.

"So," Cain begins, filling the kettle with water. "What brings you here today?"

"Lucienne thought I needed a break," you say, leaning back in your chair. "She suggested visiting you and Abel."

Cain chuckles. "Smart woman. This place can be a bit... intense."

Abel returns with a tray of biscuits just as Cain sets the kettle on the stove. He places the tray in the center of the table and sits down across from you, his expression shy but hopeful.

"I hope you like them," Abel says quietly. "They're Gregory's new favorite."

You smile and reach for a biscuit, breaking it in half and offering a piece to Gregory. The gargoyle's eyes light up as he delicately takes the treat from your hand, chewing with surprising grace.

"These are delicious, Abel," you say after taking a bite of your own half. The biscuit is buttery and sweet, with just the right amount of crunch.

Abel's face lights up with pride. "Thank you! I've been experimenting with different ingredients."

The kettle whistles, and Cain pours steaming tea into each cup before passing them around. You take a sip, savoring the warm, fragrant brew.

"So," Cain says after a moment of silence, "how have things been with managing your narcolepsy Have your doctors come up with any new treatments?"

You take another sip of tea, letting the warmth spread through you. "It's been challenging," you admit. "They've tried a few new medications, but nothing seems to make a significant difference. I'm still visiting the Dreaming just as often."

Cain nods, his expression thoughtful. "It must be difficult, living between two worlds like that."

"It is," you agree, "but the Dreaming feels like a second home now. Even with its current state, there's something comforting about it."

Abel looks up from his tea, curiosity in his eyes. "Do you ever meet anyone else in your dreams? Other than us, I mean."

You think back to the fleeting faces and shadowy figures you've encountered over the years. "Occasionally. Most of them are just passing through, I think. But there are a few regulars."

Cain raises an eyebrow. "Regulars?"

You nod. "People who seem to visit the Dreaming as often as I do. We don't always interact, but there's a sense of familiarity. Like we’re all taking the same bus to work.”

Gregory nuzzles your arm again, reminding you of his presence. You smile and give him another biscuit piece.

"Maybe they’re like us," Abel muses, stirring his tea absently.

"Maybe," you say, watching Gregory's eyes follow the crumbs that fall from your hand.

Cain leans back in his chair, stretching his arms above his head. "Well, if you ever need a break from your other world, you're always welcome here."

"Thank you," you say sincerely.

The room falls into a comfortable silence as you all enjoy your tea and biscuits. The tension that had filled the air earlier has dissipated, replaced by a sense of camaraderie.

After a while, Abel stands up and starts clearing the table. Gregory helps by nudging dishes towards him with his nose.

"You know," Cain says thoughtfully, "I've been working on something in the garden. Would you like to see it?"

Your curiosity piqued, you nod eagerly. "I'd love to."

He leads you outside to a small patch of land behind their house where he’s cultivated a modest garden despite the Dreaming’s decay. It's filled with strange and beautiful plants that seem to shimmer in the dim light.

"It's not much," Cain says modestly, "but it's something to focus on."

"It's wonderful," you say sincerely, admiring the vibrant colors and unusual shapes.

Gregory chirps happily beside you while Abel joins Cain's side with a proud smile on his face.

You find yourself at the crumbling gate, alongside Lucienne, helping her clear away some of the rubble that has fallen from the deteriorating structure. The two of you work in  silence, the only sounds being the crunch of debris underfoot and the occasional groan of the ancient walls. Where was Mervyn? He usually helped out with clean up since he was the custodian and grounds keeper.

As you lift a particularly large piece of stone, a sudden gust of wind blows its way past where you stand, carrying with it an eerie, almost tangible sense of presence. You glance at Lucienne, who has frozen in place, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and hope.

“Lucienne?” you begin to ask, but she’s already moving, dropping the rubble she was holding and rushing towards the source of the disturbance. You follow her gaze and see him—Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams—lying amidst a swirl of sand. His dark form contrasts starkly against the desolation around him. Lucienne reaches him first, her voice trembling with a blend of reverence and concern.

“Lord Morpheus!” she exclaims, kneeling beside him. “Sir! Sir!”

You make it to where Lucienne crouches and Morpheus lays. His form is gaunt, his skin pale as moonlight, but his presence is undeniable. Lucienne's hands hover over him, uncertain whether to touch him or not.

“Is he...?” you start to ask, but Lucienne shakes her head.

“He’s alive,” she says, her voice trembling with a mix of relief and disbelief. “He’s come back.”

You watch as Morpheus’s chest rises and falls with shallow breaths. His eyes remain closed, and his expression is one of exhaustion. You kneel beside Lucienne, feeling the weight of the moment pressing down on you.

“What do we do?” you ask, your voice barely above a whisper. But before Lucienne replies, Morpheus stirs slightly, his eyes fluttering open.

Lucienne gasps softly and leans closer. “Lord Morpheus? Sir?” His eyes focus on her slowly as if waking from a deep sleep. When he finally speaks, his voice is weak but unmistakably his own.

“Lucienne,” he whispers. Tears fill her eyes as she takes his hand gently in hers.

“Welcome back,” she says softly.

Morpheus’s gaze shifts to you briefly, a darkness flickering within his eyes before it disappears. You rise to your feet and step a few steps back, unsure of what to do or say. Morpheus slowly rises to his feet, his eyes scanning his surroundings with a distant look. He finally focuses on Lucienne, then shifts his gaze to you. His expression is unreadable, a mix of curiosity and confusion.

“Who is this?” he asks, his voice carrying an otherworldly echo.

Lucienne glances back at you before answering. “This is one of our regular visitors. They’ve been coming here for the past decade.”

Morpheus studies you intently, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Why do you visit so often?”

You swallow hard, feeling the weight of his scrutiny. “I think we have more pressing concerns at the moment, Lord Morpheus. The Dreaming, she's suffering." Morpheus's eyes bore into you, searching for something unspoken. You hold his gaze, standing your ground even as the weight of his presence presses against you.

"You're right," Morpheus finally concedes, his voice a shadow of its former strength. He had more pressing matters to attend to. He turns to Lucienne. "What has happened here?"

Lucienne hesitates, glancing at you before she begins. "After your disappearance, the Dreaming started to decay. Parts of it have crumbled away entirely."

You nod in agreement, stepping forward. "We’ve been doing our best to maintain it, but without your presence, it’s been difficult."

Morpheus looks around, his expression hardening as he takes in the desolation. He reaches out a hand and brushes his fingers against a nearby fragment of stone, and you see a flicker of energy pulse through him. The stone vibrates slightly, as if responding to his touch.

"It will require time to mend," he mutters, mostly to himself. Then he faces you and Lucienne. "But we will reconstruct." Although he directs his words to Lucienne, his eyes focus on you, filled with hostility. You feel unwelcome.

Date Published: 7/10/24

Last Edit: 7/10/24

Masterlist | Next

[death---dealer]

Okay wait because I just thought of a lil fic for our soft boy Noa: maybe him having a bad day with maybe a lot of stress from the responsibility of rebuilding his clan but he sees reader playing with some of the baby apes? Like she’s letting them climb all over her and she’s chasing them and playing one of their games and Noa’s heart absolutely melts at the sight because she’s so caring with the babies and it makes him think of HIS future babies? 🥹

Paige you are my muse and I could kiss you if I lived closer to you ( Platonically mwah. )

Title: Chimp Gossip. Fandom: ( Kingdom of the ) Planet of the Apes. Pairing: Heavily Implied! Noa x Human!Reader. Rating: K. ( FLUFFY BABY. ) Words: 2.5K+ Summary: Prompt above.

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Noa felt tired. Beyond that, it felt like the usually taut muscles in his entire body were all turning in on themselves, desperate for rest as even his calves faltered a bit as he made his way down from the work in progress that was the Eagle Enclosure. So many large thatches of wood had been used today, so many propped up with the help of other Apes, Noa feeling the responsibility of brutally bearing it all metaphorically onto his shoulders as he thought dimly of his Father and the ultimate legacy that he had left behind.

Noa paused them, feeling the splay of his elongated and spaced out toes pressing into the wood below him that heralded his body in suspended animation in the air, a spiraling walk way that on most days, would not pose a problem, but today with the trenches he was pulling himself through to make sure that Enclosure was perfect, Noa wanted nothing more than to lay his body down and just roll the rest of the way until his fur was coated with dirt and even then he’d fall asleep on the ground, not even able to will himself to the communal nest to sleep. 

Green eyes that would rival even the most flushed and beautiful landscapes that surrounded the village were dropped and silken with lazed appointment to get just himself somewhere that he could unwind, somewhere where there were no responsibilities and where he wasn’t a Leader, he wasn’t the Master of the Birds. A place he could just be… Noa. Another Ape in their vast numbers, not important and just as insignificant in the scape of the world as any other. Maybe, the Ape thought and felt the fur rise against his spine at the mere idea that brilliantly popped into his mind, maybe he’d go and find you just to talk it through. 

Maybe… This burden he felt could be explained in Echo logic, maybe you could give him insight that no one else was able to give, given you came from the outside and had a vastly different view on the inner workings of the Clan. You tried, Noa knew that, but the ignorance and your soft words always put him at ease and he found himself tugged towards that as he finally began moving once again, this time with a more lively tug towards actually doing something beneficial instead of giving up and falling on his face to sleep.

There were two places you could be, he thought and scanned the scape of the village itself with induced interest. With the Eagle Enclosure nearly complete, now there were sprawling natures of half built huts that hit the flattened land that made the Clan a part of the Earth.

He could hear the hustle of a group of Apes playing Monkey Ball to his left in the adjacent field that housed the horse paddock as well. You were definitely not there, Noa chuckled to himself, and bi-pedal even though it tore into the muscles of his tired thighs, he began in the opposite direction towards the stream that cut through the east perimeter of the sprawling and homely bungalows that catapulted into the air. 

Monkey ball, Noa had noticed, was not your thing. There were logistics of it that made no sense, your eyes not able to keep track and you only cheered with what Noa cheered on to help the cause that you were only there to spend time with him. Not that he minded, he like the rise of your body against his as you yelped, your arms in the air and even going as far as showing him a congratulatory high-five, the interest there for the Ape only to see the scape of your stomach as your shirt rose with the action.

There was more chattering to the right of Noa, recognizing his Mother with the young Apes who gave him a spotted glance, Noa giving his best impression of adoration towards her that was always felt as she threw a fish for one of them to catch. Then--- Slowly, his feet backed up and he looked back at his Mother when the tear of your voice rocketed through him. 

You… Noa focused his eyes at the motion behind Dar, curiosity sinking their teeth into him and he trailed that way, hap-hazardly giving her a pressing of the forehead as he went by, a silent hello and always a quiet thanks for being so proud of him despite his shortcomings. Much like you were, Noa mused and stopped a few feet behind Dar to stare at the scene in front of him.

He’d--- It took him a moment to recognize the fact that you were even there, pinned to the ground on your back by four or so young Apes, no older than three years of age, your mouth formed into a grin as they trailed themselves against your appendages. Noa felt slack-jawed, not even tearing himself back to reality at the sound you emitted. A laugh, snorting around the edges as you felt a baby Chimpanzee seat themselves on your chest in victory. “Alright! Looks like Gul won Pin the Echo down.” His brow hardened at that. Was this… A game you were playing with them? Something you… Made up? The objective being to get you pinned down. Surely not. Surely you were fighting back at least a little--- But, then again that would take away the fun as he crouched himself down into a small hunch to observe, admiring the way that your hair flushed back on the ground as you reached to grasp the Chimp who was on your chest into the air and then back onto the ground below.

There was sudden abundance of noise as they chittered as the others, three Bonobos praised their Chimpanzee friend who had just won this new game, Noa tilting his head as you rolled, laughing to himself at the amount of dirt and twigs that were now tangled on your body as you rose, knowing that if you were in any other situation rather than tendering to the young, you’d complain about being dirty. 

You bent your body for him, at least that’s what he wanted, his eyes getting a tasteful amount of skin through the thinned t-shirt you had on, loose in the front and Noa was able to look down it before looking away in innocence and puffing his cheeks in mild defeat that the Ape had that desire, telling himself to remain calm and to not let the hackles of his fur shoulders rise in anticipation.

Curiosity truly was an end all be all as he drew his gaze back towards you slowly from the tree he had chosen to fixate on, admiring the stance of your legs into a position where they were spread, your feet digging into the ground, knees bent and you sat your hands on said knees to urge yourself down to speak to the young group.

“You need to give me a head start this time, you guys are a lot faster than I am.” Gul looked at you, absolutely determined as did Noa to understand the clear objective of this game. Noa figured he’d win again. He seemed competitive, his small frame ready to pounce forward at the moment you began running. The other three he recognized. Bek, Corel, and Stem. Not as competitive but they seemed to be baited in eagerness just like Noa was as you rocked back and forth on your feet. They followed your movement - back and forth on their hands and feet as they were all resting on all fours.

“You ready?” “Yeah!!!” All four in unison and before Noa could blink, you were running away from them, their much smaller frames all chasing after you as you threw your head back in a wild cackle, Noa widening his eyes at the animalistic tear that came from you.

“I’m gonna do it!” You yelled at the Apes who now bounced through the taller grass of the meadow you chose to dart in. “I’m gonna make it to the tree!”

Ah, so that was the objective. Get yourself to the tree safely before you were pinned down by the young. As you went to turn your head back forward so you could see where you were going, you disappeared into the tall grass with a loud grunt, Noa raising his body in a frenzy at the lack of visual on you as the young Apes called out your name, ringing to Noa as he himself fell onto all fours and traced his way there.

“Noa!! Noa!!!” Bek yearned for him, grasping his banded forearm as he came forward. “She fell!!!”

“Right on… Face!” Gul laughed as Corel came to rest by your head, her tiny face near the crown of your skull and sniffed experimentally and Stem was bringing his small body near the other side so they were essentially flanking you before you brashedly moved your shoulders rapidly, up and down.

Momentarily, panic ran through the older Ape that you had been hurt, that you were crying and begging for some help but that… Was not the case as he told himself to calm the beating of his heart at the sound of your muffled laughter that seeped into the Earth below your face. “You can’t cheat and get Noa to come help you!” 

“Not cheating!” Stem was fast to defend himself and bounced on his feet. “Noa like Echo! Had to come make sure okay after falling on face!”

The other three cooed and looked towards the Master of the Birds himself at this gossip and he found himself staring into three sets of small eyes that were alight at the gossip that their friend knew. Before Noa could say anything to you in defense, seeing the blush radiating across your cheeks at the confession from the young, Noa was hounded, his legs being pushed and pulled on by all four of them. “You like the Echo!”

“Echo likes you too, kept talking about you all day!!!” Corel tattled with a barking laugh, Noa’s eyes ample as he looked over at your apologetically. It appeared difficult to keep even the smallest secrets away from the smallest ears.

“Does… she like Noa!?” Gul inquired, “Maybe…” They all gasped in unison as if they knew what he was thinking, “She will be like Mother Dar!!!”

They all four ‘ooo’ed at that curiously at that and moved towards you and climbed onto your back, their small hands and feet tickling at you. “Would… like that! To be Noa’s mate! He need… to ask!!!”

Noa’s mouth opened in protest as you rolled onto your back, all four scattering before they returned to jump on your chest and stomach, a small grunt rising from you as you laughed, your eyes shut as they began pestering their tiny grasps on your face, admiring the plushness of your lips, the fullness of your cheeks and the smooth nature of your skin. “Make… different looking Apes! Echo looking!” Stem offered to Noa with a gleam.

“Maybe… ugly.” Gul said, brashedly and Noa felt a pang of offense to that but refused to take it personally. They were just young Apes, they had yet to set into their social skills and he was more than used to that from Anaya at times.

“Hey!” You said with a guff and looked over at the Chimpanzee child. “They would not be ugly!” Staring up at Noa, you spotted him with a small smile that told him you were okay and that there was no reason for him to be apologetic about the entire situation as you could see the wheels turning in his head at the prospect that these young Apes had just presented to him.

The obvious nature of his feelings were able to be detected abundantly as you lifted yourself onto your forearms and told Gul with flushed cheeks at the prospect that Noa even wanted that with you, “You lose a point in the game for that comment.”

“Sorry!” He said and jumped off you to trail himself to Noa, faux swagger in his stance as he looked up at him and said, “Make Beautiful Echo Ape baby.”

Noa gazed down at him and felt his mouth fall open at the statement before there was a call from behind him and all four of the young jumped at the voice, chattering a quickened goodbye to the two of you and made their way back to head home before communal dinner rolled around.

Noa turned his attention back towards you, his stance wide as his arms were open, his feet spread out to accommodate the attack of the small Apes against them and he began fumbling over his words, hopeful to defend himself against it as he tore through the idea of having… Anything beyond a friendship with you. His hands moved frantically, trying to come up with a sign, an excuse. Something that would garner him favor with you as you chuckled softly. At first and then it turned into a boisterous laugh, your head tilting back and you laid in the grass below, arms and legs spread out like a star-fish as you looked up at the sky. 

“Crazy Apes.” Noa chuckled nervously, drawing himself down into a hunch and looked at the side of your face. You were embarrassed, it was obvious from the reddening of your face, the way that you tugged your bottom lip and chewed on it as your glances were giving favor to the fluffy clouds above that were turning a soft orange as the sun was getting ready to depart. “Crazy.” Noa agreed quietly, his hands resting between his bent knees as he played with some grass between his fingertips. “They--- Don’t know what… They talk ab---” “Noa,” You had turned your face towards him, Noa’s heart jumping straight into his chest at the softening of the look, your lips tugging from a hardened laugh into a gentle and eased smile as you assured him, “Don’t worry about it. They’re just… Kids.” “Yeah...” Noa chortled nervously, letting his eyes fall over to the trees to his left as he was unable to shake the idea of what it would be like to bear a child with you. To… Have you give him what he wanted, not known until minutes ago when he had seen how you were with them. How carefree you were, how easy it came to you. Would it be the same if he asked you to do that for him?

To ask you to brute the pain and agony of at least trying with the knowledge that maybe it was indeed possible. Noa pierced his eyes into the deep forest and shuffled on his feet to keep himself from standing awkwardly like a statue before he looked back at you, captivating your gaze with such ease as you smiled at him, tenderly… Softly… A… Affectionately like you would accept the challenge that ran through his mind. 

 “They.. are Just… Kids.”

[sen-ya]

Life After Info Post

[Click here to access the Life After Digital Comic Book]

Summary: Two years ago, a viral outbreak rose the dead. Considering how his life had gone up to this point, surgeon Trafalgar Law figured this might as well happen too. When a supply run into the nearby city gets intercepted by a seemingly reckless and impulsive former patient, the dependable routine Law had settled into in this new life shatters. He finds himself exposed — his body out in the infected landscape, his conscious clawing to define what he believes is right, his heart begrudgingly deciding to find a new home on his sleeve. Maybe there’s more than a virus roaming the new world that can bring a dead man back to life.

Content Warnings: Canon typical violence, zombies/body horror (but lbr I am not good at making scary things look scary)

Relationships: Luffy x Law

Update Schedule: New page every Monday/Wednesday/Friday

Page Count: [37 posted | 55 drawn]

Latest Update: [7/21/24] WOWEE did I get myself carried away this morning. I just spent 5 hours organizing my comics and creating the digital comic book pages. I could have spent that time drawing or idk not doing what I do for my job, but I cannot be stopped. Anyway I blocked out 30 pages of this comic last week and they include the most intense action sequence I've ever done in my gotdang life. Wish me luck because I am nervous about tying down all my drawings lmao.

OLD UPDATES:

[6/29/24] HULLO! I'm doing so bad at keeping my masterposts updated lately I am sorry. All pages of life after are tagged life after if you're ever looking between masterpost updates! Also exciting update, I finally have figured out all the different plot points i'm gonna be hitting (yay!). I got hung up on something for awhile that made me not wanna work on this project, but I'm back at it. I think we'll end up with 6-7 parts! I have probably another 80-100 pages to draw lol. Also i got the app Magic Poser and it's AWESOME and I immediately used it to block out sets cuz MAN I hate backgrounds.

[6/10/24] HELLO. I'm sorry I've been shit at updating my masterposts lately. It's easiest to do from my computer, which I rarely use, and life has been happening. I also can't believe I bungled the queue and posted pg19 before pg18 i am very sorry 🤦 Eventually I'll have to turn this into an airtable base I'm sure, but until that day comes where I have like 100 pages of this comic we're stickin to the regular post lmao

[5/26/23] I got real caught up in doing summer of lawlu comics this week and this is the first week since the first week of April I haven't drawn new Life After pages and it feels weird 🙊

[5/19/24] More Luffy backstory comin' this week! :^)

[5/12/24] Updating now so get myself on schedule to update on Sundays like I had been with my other comic master post!

[5/8/24] Thank you to everyone who's liked/reblogged/comment on the first few pages!! It means the world to me that anyone's reading my silly little comics.

[4/28/24] HULLO. It’s happeninnng. I’ve spent the last few weeks working on this comic, and I gotta make this post so I can start queuing pages & link this in them! This is the most like….legit? Comic endeavor I’ve undertaken perhaps….ever. I’m very nervous about committing to how long it will need to be lol. This story is dear to my heart — zombie content is kind of my very favorite. I’ve always found it to be a great backdrop for exploring themes like grief, coping with change, community, and learning to live again. It’ll be a long haul but I hope you’ll ride it out with me!! Tomorrow I’ll be posting the first two pages. After that a page will post every Monday/Wednesday/Friday. As of this post I’ve completed over 20 pages so that I have a good lead on what’s posting and continuing to write, so I’m hopeful that’s a cadence I’ll be able to maintain. I’ll update this post weekly to include the most recent pages the way I do with my main comics master post. All pages will be tagged 'Life After' and I'll tag any pages with zombies in them with 'zombie' for blacklisting etc.

[a-court-of-fics-and-errors]

Keep Moving Forwards, Part 37

Azriel x Reader Fic

Summary: After finally deciding to leave your abusive and manipulative mate for good, you find unexpected companionship with Azriel, the Shadowsinger of the Night Court. As you navigate the aftermath of your traumatic relationship, you struggle to understand where the mating bond went wrong and contemplate your path forward, vowing never to return to the past.

Find other parts here: Master List

To follow this fic, follow tag "Keep Moving Forwards Fic" or comment to be tagged in future parts.

Content Warning: This story contains depictions of extreme emotional manipulation and abuse, detailed descriptions of direct physical abuse, and scenes of men hunting women with implied sexual assault. Please read at your own risk.

Word Count: 4.3K

Author's Note: This is a multi-part series. Unlike my previous works, this fanfiction delves deeper than just fluff, exploring complex emotional landscapes. As I navigate this new writing journey, I kindly ask for gentle feedback. The topics addressed are profoundly impactful, touching many lives with diverse experiences. Please be gentle with yourselves and others. Healing is a journey, and everyone processes it differently. Be kind to yourself. Take what resonates, and leave what doesn’t.

Please continue reading, being aware of the above content warnings, ensuring you are in a healthy headspace. Give yourself time to process and be gentle with yourself.

Your eyes snapped open, startled by the sudden noise that jolted you awake. The soft sunlight peeked through the curtains, casting a warm glow across the room. You could feel Azriel's strong arms wrapped tightly around you, providing a sense of safety and comfort. As you allowed yourself to relax back into his chest, he murmured softly and pressed a gentle kiss on the top of your head. Your skin tingled from the sensation of his nude body pressing against yours as you arched into him.

He grumbled playfully, "Didn't we do this three times already?" A small smile played on your lips as you looked up at him. Your hands reached up to grasp his arms, tracing the curves and lines of his muscles. This moment, wrapped in each other's embrace, felt like pure perfection.

But just as quickly as there was peace and tranquility, it was shattered by Cassian's booming voice down the hall. "Azriel! Get your lazy ass up and give me a hug!"

Azriel grumbled once again, burying his face in your hair. "Maybe if I ignore him, he'll go away," he muttered.

You couldn't help but laugh at his response. "Or he'll barge in here and see us lying naked in bed." You joked, giving him a light nudge to get up and get dressed before Cassian barged in on you both.

“It’s nothing he hasn’t seen before.” Azriel replied, trying to pull you back. But you freed yourself from his grasp, frantically grabbing clothing from the floor and throwing it on.

“Thanks,” you replied flatly, “Glad to know that before last night I was the only one who hadn’t seen you naked.”

The soft fabric of Azriel's shirt descended onto your thighs, providing just enough coverage but leaving much to be desired. As you dressed, Azriel propped himself up on his elbows, a sly smirk playing on his lips as he watched you slip into his clothes. “You know,” he started, “If you only ever wanted to wear that from now on I think I would be happy.”

Just then, a loud banging on the door interrupted your moment. Cassian impatiently yelled for the two of you to hurry up. “Put your dick away and get out here!” He hollered.

Azriel fell back on the bed in response, refusing to move despite your attempts to urge him up. Instead, he rolled onto his stomach and buried his face in the pillow. You quickly scurried into the bathing room, just as the doorknob clicked and swung open.

Through the door, you heard Cassian barge into the room with all the energy of a child on Solstice morning. “Get up you lazy ass!” His voice was full of joy.

Azriel grumbled something incoherent in reply.

And then, with a loud laugh from Cassian, you heard the sound of blankets falling to the floor as Azriel hissed at him. “I didn’t actually think you’d be naked!” Cassian cried through his laughter.

“No one invited you in here!” Azriel hissed back.

“Well,” Cassian began, “I’m going to have to start acting like a father sooner or later, and I guess getting kids up from bed is part of that.” He replied with a chuckle.

You couldn't help but smile lightly as you pressed your ear against the door, listening. Nesta must have finally told him, you thought to yourself with a sense of relief. Azriel's congratulations and a hug could be heard through the door, and you only hoped that Azriel had put pants on before.

—

Winter descended upon Velaris with a cold fury, sending swirling gusts of snow through the streets and forcing the fae to retreat into their warm homes. And as the chill crept into your bones, you knew it was time to move into the Town House with Azriel. You had been spending more and more time there, his duties as the spy master often interrupted by your alluring presence. With a bare leg propped on his thigh, you would entice him with soft whispers and promises of what could happen if he took a break from his work. In those moments, you were feral for each other, unable to resist the urge to steal kisses and touches whenever you could. Although you weren't one for public displays of affection, in private you were consumed by your desire for each other. His hands tracing patterns on your skin or your feet resting on his lap were just small glimpses of the intense passion that burned between you two. Alone, you were wild and untamed, completely lost in each other's embrace.

Despite his busy schedule, he always made an effort to involve you in his work – or at least the parts that could be shared with you. However, your interests lay elsewhere; specifically, in improving the community of the city. Spending more time in the Town House gave you greater access to Titania, and you used this to focus on helping the less fortunate fae living within its borders.

Through negotiations with Rhys, you established a community aid program that provided childcare for pleasure house mothers, helped them find proper housing and early education opportunities for their children, and ensured consistent access to food and shelter. By mid-January, your efforts had resulted in the transformation of an old factory in a lower income area of the city into a space for classrooms and educational programs. Azriel and Lucien eagerly lent their assistance whenever possible, while Cassian practically leapt at the chance to help demolish walls and prepare the building for its new purpose. He even proclaimed his newfound love for using a sledgehammer as his preferred method of battle.

As soon as Azriel took you under his wing, you were thrust into the bustling world of court life. He would join you at meetings, parties, and dinners without hesitation, and no one questioned your presence. Feyre, Elain, and Nesta easily welcomed you into their circle, linking arms with you as you strolled through grand manors and palaces filled with High Fae from across Prythian. Your heart would often race in your chest as you were introduced to powerful figures, always being referred to as the Night Court's Principle Guardian of Welfare - a title Rhysand had cleverly coined during a meeting with the Summer Court's High Lord. With Azriel's reassuring hand on your lower back, his fingers finding their way between the open back straps of your gown to lightly trace over exposed skin, you were never just his second-in-command. You held your own importance and were recognized for your own accomplishments and interests.

In fact, your frequent attendance at court events and successful projects had caught the attention of other High Lords who were eager to introduce you to their city planners for potential welfare projects in their own domains. Even courtiers who couldn't attend events specifically requested for your presence, creating a following of admirers solely for your skills and talents. You were carving out a name for yourself in court - not just as Azriel's companion, but as a strong and capable individual in your own right.

—

You stood up from the hard, cold concrete floor, your knees aching from crouching for so long. Your hair fell into your face as you yanked on a stubborn nail that seemed determined to stay in place. With one last burst of effort, the hammer finally gave way and the ancient nail sprang forth, causing you to fall backwards in surprise. As you sputtered and dusted yourself off, you sneered at the nail still clutched tightly in your fingers.

Behind you, you heard the light footsteps of Azriel approaching. You turned over your shoulder, still holding onto the nail as you smiled at him. He stood in the open doorway of the room you were working in, his figure outlined by the soft light streaming through the dusty factory windows. The rafters above were lined with crumbling insulation, and the dirty concrete floor was scattered with rocks and debris as you ripped out old boards to replace them with new, treated wood. This was the third building you had remodeled together, and as you looked around at the cobweb-covered windows and fading light outside, you realized how late it had gotten.

Azriel's smile widened as he gazed at you. "Are you coming home soon?" he asked.

"Shit, I'm sorry," you whispered, standing up and brushing off your pants. "I didn't realize how late it was."

Azriel simply smiled again as he walked towards you, his boots crunching on the dirt and rocks. He reached up to wipe a smear of sweat and dust off your brow before planting a gentle kiss there. "No worries. I just wanted to make sure the building hadn't collapsed on you."

Rolling your eyes playfully at his teasing, you wrapped your arms around his waist and rested your chin on his chest. "Hi," you murmured, puckering your lips for a kiss.

He laughed softly before leaning down to meet your lips in a sweet, lingering kiss. "Hello," he replied, his arms wrapping around your shoulders as he looked down at you with adoration.

A contented sigh escaped your lips as Azriel pulled away from the embrace, his warm breath tickling your ear. "Did you also forget we have Helion's End of Winter Ball tonight?" he whispered. Your eyes flew open, panic rushing through your body. "Yes, gods I'm so sorry!" You scrambled to get up, Azriel following behind with a soft chuckle. "We have time," he reassured you.

The large factory doors swung open and a gust of cool night air hit your cheeks as you stepped outside. The moon shone brightly above, casting shadows on the ground below. "I haven't even picked out something to wear," you exclaimed in a frantic tone.

Azriel's hand remained tightly clasped in yours as he led you back into the Town Houses foyer. In the blink of an eye, you were suddenly standing inside the entrance hall once again. You turned to Azriel in confusion, but he simply retrieved a dress bag from the coat rack and handed it to you. "I figured you had, so I had Nesta send something down from the House for you," he explained with a small smile.

Feeling grateful and relieved, you took a deep breath and released the tension in your body. Running your fingers over the fabric of the bag, you smiled at Azriel. "Thank you," you said sincerely.

Azriel's smile grew wider at your words. "You do need to shower though," he pointed out, gesturing towards your disheveled appearance. "You look like you rolled around in the dirt."

You scoffed playfully at him and clicked your tongue. "And here I was going to invite you to join me," you teased with a half-smile.

Azriel's eyes widened at your words before he quickly crossed the foyer and effortlessly lifted you over his shoulder. You laughed and squealed as he bounded up the stairs to your room, the dress bag swaying with each step.

—

After indulging in a particularly steamy shower, you carefully unpacked the gown and slipped into it, marveling at its sheer beauty. As you hurried down the hallway, attempting to quickly style your hair into a low bun, you caught a glimpse of yourself in the mirror. The gown was a delicate blend of icy blues and pastel shades, exquisitely crafted with small crystals adorning the hem and straight neckline. The sleeves cascaded down in billowing layers of sheer fabric, gathering into elegant cuffs at your wrists. The length of the gown stopped just above your ankles, perfectly paired with white flats adorned with matching crystal details, courtesy of the House.

Azriel emerged from his office at the end of the hall, fastening his own cufflinks in his signature siphon blue. He looked up and smiled to himself as he saw you in the mirror. You tucked a few loose strands of hair behind your ears as he approached, standing next to him as he adjusted his suit jacket. His wings draped gracefully behind you both, adding to the striking image you made together. You couldn't help but notice that the house had also provided a simple pocket square in the same shade of blue as your gown.

"Well don't you look nice," you teased, raising an eyebrow at him in the mirror.

Azriel smoothed down his jacket one last time before meeting your gaze in the reflection. "The same could be said about you."

You flashed him a mischievous half-smile as he offered his hand to you. "Shall we?"

You slipped your hand into his as the world blurred and then shifted back into focus. When everything came back into focus, you found yourselves standing on the lush lawn in front of Helion's grand manor. It was situated deep within a forest clearing and exuded nothing but luxury. The front lawn was a masterpiece of intricate stone pathways, adorned with gold accents that snaked between each one. These paths led to small reflecting pools where dormant lilypads rested in the late winter chill. The manor itself was a sight to behold. The massive oak doors stood at least 15 feet tall, intricately carved with images of sunrises and blooming flowers. The lower half of the building was lined with white rock, each window adorned with golden metalwork that swooped and spiraled around it. Balconies dripped with the same elegance, and the roof boasted a light turquoise hue. The entire manor seemed to stretch on for miles, cascading down the hill where it perched above a large lake dotted with various boats gently swaying in the slight current.

You and Azriel strolled hand-in-hand down the winding pathway, surrounded by other fae who were joyously chatting and laughing on the vibrant green lawn. The ethereal glow of fae lights illuminated each pool, casting a magical aura over the scene. Through the large windows of the grand house, you caught glimpses of lively activity - music spilling out from open doors and fae dancing and mingling inside. As Azriel guided you up the elegant steps and through the front door, his sharp eyes scanned the area for any signs of trouble.

The sound of raucous noise hit you like a wave as you stepped into the bustling party. Azriel leaned down close to your ear, almost shouting to be heard over the din. You strained to make out his words but eventually understood that. Nodding in acknowledgement, you everyone was out on the back balcony. You felt Azriel's warm hand rest on your lower back as he led the way through the sea of fae. This was not a party for those with delicate sensibilities - it was a wild mass of bodies, writhing together without reserve or inhibition. It lacked the refinement and grace of Nesta's gatherings, instead focused on pure entertainment and revelry. Your eyes widened at the sight of fae couples passionately kissing against walls, wandering hands sneaking up dresses or down trousers. Trying not to stare, you averted your gaze from one couple who seemed to be actively engaging in sexual activities against a wall.

Pushing through the ornate french doors at the back of the grand estate, you and Azriel stumbled onto the expansive patio, pushed forward by a few rowdy fae males who were clearly enjoying one too many drinks. The warm glow of firelight greeted you as you both tripped forward, barely managing to stay on your feet. Ahead, the lively members of the Night Court lounged comfortably on various pieces of plush outdoor furniture. Feyre sprawled across Rhys's lap on a cushioned chaise lounge in front of a roaring fire pit, her hair cascading over his chest. Nesta reclined next to Cassian on a large outdoor couch, her long legs stretched out and propped up on pillows. Opposite them sat Elain and Lucien, with Elain perched delicately on Lucien's lap, his mechanical eye whirring as it adjusted to the firelight.

"You made it!" Feyre exclaimed, raising her glass in a salute.

You chuckled at her slightly slurred speech, noticing that she was already a little tipsy and Rhys had to steady her hand as she nearly spilled her drink on him. You joined the group as Nesta scooted over for you to sit next to her, while Azriel took a seat in a chair across from you. "Sorry I'm late," you said, plopping down next to Nesta who immediately put her feet in your lap.

"You're always busy," Nesta replied, wiggling her toes for you to rub her swollen ankles.

"Just during daylight hours," you quipped back, earning a chuckle from Cassian as he rubbed Nesta's growing bump.

"Well," Rhys interjected, setting his own drink down on the stone ground as another piece of wood cracked in the fire, "You arrived just in time because Lucien was about to tell us all about his rather unusual adventures in the Winter Court last month." Rhys raised an eyebrow gesturing over to him.

Lucien buried his face in Elain's shoulder, muttering something unintelligible.

Rhys laughed and leaned in closer, the fire casting shadows on his face. "As High Lord, I demand more information!"

Lucien looked like he was about to give in when suddenly music blared from inside and several nude males streaked past them towards the glistening lake, shouting and whooping as they jumped into the water.

Elain winced sympathetically. "Ouch, that's gonna be cold." Her concern quickly turned to amusement as she watched the fae males splash around in the frigid water.

Cassian, looking over his shoulder at them while trying to cover Nesta's eyes with his large hand, replied with a grin, "You know Elain, I really don't think they care much about that right now."

Nesta squirmed and attempted to peel Cassian's fingers open, huffing and growling in frustration.

Suddenly, Helion appeared from the doors of the castle, strutting out with a loud guffaw. The three males in the lake hollered at him, demanding an insane amount of coin that even the most imaginative mind couldn't comprehend.

Rhysand called out to him, his voice echoing across the still waters, "Helion!" The amber-eyed male turned towards him, still trying to catch his breath from laughing. "Was that your idea?"

With a wide smile and confident stride, Helion sauntered over to the group. His golden belt glinted in the firelight as he pointed towards the lake and proudly declared, "I will take full responsibility for that."

Helion flopped down in a plush armchair next to Azriel, surveying the scene before him. The fire crackled and danced in front of them, casting shadows on the faces of their companions. He leaned over to Azriel, his voice low, "Azriel, Cassian, care to join them?" Azriel responded with a quick shake of his head, "Not a chance," while Cassian chimed in with a playful tone, "How much are we talking?" Nesta playfully swatted Cassian's arm as her eyes met Azriel's across the fire. A coy smile played on his lips as he met your gaze.

The lord of Day Court seemed to pick up on the unspoken exchange between you and Azriel, his eyes flicking back and forth between the two of you. With a laugh and a hint of pride in his voice, Helion spoke up, "Well look at you, Spymaster. Finally finding a female who can tolerate all that..." He gestured towards Azriel with a smirk, "Brooding masculine energy." Helion winked at Azriel as he stood and walked around the fire to stand behind you. His strong arms wrapped around your upper chest as he rested his chin on your shoulder.

Turning to face Azriel, Helion directed his next words towards you, "You know, Y/N, I always thought I would be the one to win him over." His gaze shifted to Azriel once again as he added with a chuckle, "But I guess you beat me to it." You responded with a sarcastic smile, "I'm more than happy to share." As if on cue, Azriel pushed himself off of you and scoffed playfully before you reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him back towards you. He returned to leaning against you, pressing a soft kiss onto the top of your head.

Helion then turned his attention towards Lucien and Elain, his smile wide and his teeth shining in the firelight. "Elain, my light, my love, my flower," he exclaimed as he rose to his feet and made his way over to the couple. He gently gripped Elain's face with his large hands and pressed a kiss onto each cheek. Elain giggled in response, "Hello Helion." It was clear that the lord of Day Court was slightly intoxicated as he playfully slapped a hand on Lucien's shoulder, causing him to wince. Despite being Lucien's biological father, Helion towered over him with his sheer size and strength. "How is my request coming along?" he asked with a hint of impatience.

Lucien rolled his eyes, the mechanical one buzzing as he did so. Elain looked between the two men with a straight face and chimed in, "Yeah Lucien, how is Helion's request going?" Lucien let out a loose laugh before responding, "It's not my fault I've been away for a month."

Helion groaned in frustration, "Have you never heard of conjugal visits?" A few steps brought him closer to Rhysand, who was currently talking to Feyre nearby, whispering into her ear. Helion directed his question towards the High Lord, who looked up with confusion in his eyes. "You're the reason I have no grandchildren," Helion accused, pointing a finger at Rhysand.

Rhysand chuckled, leaning back against a tree trunk. "My Court members' personal affairs are not my concern. Besides, Helion, I'm sure you have other illegitimate children who have already had their own children."

Helion feigned disgust at the accusation, placing a hand dramatically on his chest. "How dare you accuse me of having relations outside of an official partnership?"

Rhysand scoffed, the sound echoing against the elegant walls of the grand hall. "Last I checked Helion, monogamy wasn't exactly a practice you used."

Cassian muttered under his breath, "Given this is basically a court-ordered orgy, I would say so."

Helion's gaze shifted to Cassian, and then trailed down to Nesta's midsection. His eyes widened in surprise as he stumbled his way over to the couch where she sat. "My gods, Nesta, look at you!"

Nesta calmly ran a long finger down her stomach. "Have you not heard yet?"

Helion slurred out, "No one here tells me anything!"

He gestured excitedly towards her stomach and she agreed to let him feel it. As Helion dropped rather hard to his knees, placing one hand on her growing bump, Cassian held back a light growl at her being touched by another man. Even Azriel arguing with her was enough right now to make Cassian want to rip off his wings and beat him with them. "Cassian," Nesta warned with a slight edge to her voice, "I swear on all that is sacred that if you don't stop being an overprotective bear of a mate, I will shoot you with your own crossbow."

And with that threat hanging in the air, Cassian released his white-knuckle grip on the back of the chair, causing it to creak back into place.

Helion ran his hand over the slight bump on Nesta's stomach, a look of pure joy on his face. "I just love babes," he whispered before looking up at Nesta who smiled down at him.

Amidst the chatter and laughter in the room, Rhysand took a sip of his drink and muttered in response, "You certainly had a few."

Without turning, Helion shot back, "I'm going to choose to ignore that, Rhysand." He then turned his attention back to Nesta and

Cassian. "Congratulations to both of you!" he exclaimed.

Nesta merely rolled her eyes. "No need to congratulate Cassian," she countered, a hint of amusement in her voice, "He's not the one growing a hand right now."

Helion chuckled and rose back to his feet. "Of course, Cassian, how dare you make her uncomfortable. Nesta, my dear, congratulations."

Cassian threw up his arms in defeat as Helion's attention shifted towards the nearby lake. "It appears that I have a debt to pay," he noted with a mischievous glint in his eye, "and possibly some frozen fae to thaw." With that, he took a few steps towards the lake. "Do enjoy yourselves," he called over his shoulder before disappearing from sight.

As you whispered to Azriel, his warm breath tickled your skin and sent shivers down your spine. He buried his face in your neck, his lips grazing against the delicate skin as he responded, "Are all of his parties like this?"

Azriel grumbled back, his deep voice rumbling through your body, "I would argue this is slightly tamer than the rest."

Nesta wiggled her feet again for you to continue massaging her uncomfortable swollen ankles, a small smile on her lips as she relaxed into the plush cushions of the couch.

Azriel leaned in closer once more, his warm breath fanning across your ear as he whispered, "But he does have a rather large hedge maze for party goers to get lost in." Your breath caught in your throat at the thought of hidden corners and secret paths. “Lots of dark places to hide, you could get lost for hours.” He whispered again, his voice drawling. Azriel was hungry and only for you.

"I want to see the hedge maze," you announced suddenly, unable to contain your excitement any longer. Azriel chuckled lightly under his breath as he turned away, trying to hide his amusement from Feyre and Rhysand who were lounging nearby.

Feyre shifted slightly, her words slurring together as she spoke up, "I wanna come!" But Rhysand held her back with a knowing smile to Azriel.

"Feyre Darling," he began with a hint of laughter in his voice, "I think given your current condition... if we took you in there, I wouldn't find you again." Feyre groaned in response but made no move to get up from her comfortable spot.

You felt Azriel's hand slide into yours as he pulled you towards the stairs and out into the cold night air, but given how quickly he was tugging, you knew you wouldn’t be cold for long.

Readers tee-hee: @thatacotargirl @mcuamerica @lilah-asteria @florebelll @fightmedraco @marvelbros-oneshots @mariahoedt @quinzzelx @romantasyreader28 @minnieoo @mysteriouslydeafeningwerewolf @annabethgranger123 @caroline-books @sevikas-whore @sidthedollface2 @sleepylunarwolf @acourtofbatboydreams @quiettuba @julesofvolterra @skylarkalchemist @darling006 @loglady00 @caninnes @weepingwerewolf

[lex-the-flex]

Crash Landing

A/N: I thought I'd give some ESB Luke some love! Feedback is appreciated and enjoy!

“Hmm, I’m not picking up any cities or technology. There’s massive lifeform reading though. Something’s alive down there.” Luke deciphers.

“I wonder what it could be? The planet could just be a giant ocean.” You reply, checking on R2.

“Then we’d be screwed.” Luke bluntly states. 

Descending through the unknown planet’s atmosphere, the double X-Wing is swallowed by a thick layer of fog. Jolting the ship to stay in a straight line, Luke does his best to avoid any collisions. 

In a flash, R2D2 beeps and whirls loudly and frantically does his best to send messages to both of your monitors. Keeping the ship’s Hyperdrive and thrusters in check, Luke begins flipping switches. 

“I know, R2! All the scopes are dead, I can’t see anything! Hang on, Y/N. I’m gonna start the landing cycle.” Luke emphasizes in between shouts. 

Falling further and faster towards the unknown planet, the X-Wing’s nose crashes down into a large river of sludge. Water splashes against the windshield just as Luke realizes the situation he’s put all three of you in. Raising the windshield to fully survey the terrain, the humidity nearly clogs the young man’s lungs as he tosses his gloves down in a minuscule fit of anger. 

Climbing out of his seat, Luke stands on the ship’s exterior hoping to spot where the water’s edge might be. Removing your helmet, you crane your neck to get a better view of Luke, making yourself physically uncomfortable. 

“Luke? What do you see?” You ask. 

Tossing his helmet into his seat, Luke glances over the swampy landscape before walking down the front of the X-Wing, only stopping when the ends of his boots touch the water. Raising himself from his spot, R2 prepares to join his Master, but Luke turns back toward you both. 

“No, R2. Stay with Y/N. I’ll be back.” He orders. 

Climbing out of your seat, you carefully stand on one of the ship’s wings, hoping to get a better vantage point than by being close to the water. Jumping into the murky water, Luke breaks the barrier of mist, and safely swims to shore. Ready to follow him, something bumps into the ship, causing R2 to fall into the water with a big splash. 

“R2? Where are you?” Luke asks. 

“He fell in! Something hit the bottom of the ship.” You exclaim, pointing to where R2 is. 

Slowly making your way down to Luke’s seat, you briefly lose your balance but regain it fairly quickly. Just then, R2’s scanner breaks the surface of the water, beeping happily. 

“You be more careful.” Luke sternly orders. 

Sighing at annoyance of the current situation, you briefly meet Luke’s gaze. His bright blue eyes fixate on your peaceful e/c orbs, succumbing to the look on your face with a silent nod. Sitting into the pilot seat, you look around the small cockpit quietly taking inventory when suddenly R2 is pulled down through the water by an eel twice his size. 

“R2!” Luke shouts, aiming his blaster at the water. 

Watching the foggy water go still, you can’t help but ignore the lump in your throat. Lowering his blaster, Luke doesn’t give up. Running to the other side of the water’s edge, the eel spits out R2, causing him to collide with multiple vines and trees far away from the X-Wing. 

Motioning to move, Luke immediately stops you in your tracks, wanting you to stay put. Comforting the droid, you can hear Luke admit to R2. 

“…it’s like, something out of a dream, or… I don’t know. Maybe I’m just going crazy.” He says through saddened eyes that you cannot see. 

“Was the dream real? How is that possible?” You mumble to yourself. 

Having had enough of waiting, you finally jump into the water to meet with Luke, noticing that the eel is nowhere to be seen. Swimming the shore’s edge, you slowly grip some strong vines to pull yourself up, when your left foot is grabbed by the eel. Kicking the eel with your free foot, you quickly try to stomp it. 

“Luke, help!” You call out, trying to pull yourself up. 

Rushing toward you, Luke makes it to the shore’s edge. 

“Help you!” You shout, reaching for Luke with your free hand. 

Taking your hand, Luke tries his best to pull you out, but the eel tightens its grip around your boot. Removing his blaster from his belt, Luke is able to expose your left foot, and he shoots the eel’s slimy skin. Releasing its hold on you, Luke pulls you into him breaking your fall, and lands on his back. 

Listening to the water return to normal, the feeling of Luke’s gentle hold on you makes a series of butterflies rise in your stomach. Facing him, his eyes are filled with anxiety. 

“You okay?” He asks. 

“Yeah.” You reply. 

Motioning to pull away, Luke doesn’t let you. You can tell that he wants to keep you here, at this moment, just for a little while longer. Supporting your body on his, Luke pulls you closer, and you bend down to press your lips on his. 

Gently kissing Luke, he feels serenity in the air, finally fulfilling this desire to kiss you for a long time. Breaking your lips from his, a large smile fills Luke’s face, and the happy whirls and boops from R2 fills the air along with your shared laughter.

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@maybe-if-youd-listen

@shions-new-blog-of-stuff

[soracities]

"Maybe in Another Life", Tiana Clark

I think of the kids I may or may not have. I think about their hair, the possible dark-brown curls. Baby fingers tapping on my face. I haven’t made up my mind yet, but my body is making decisions before I am ready

to make them. I can’t seem to say what it is I want out loud. I can almost see all my different lives, almost taste them, like trying to catch the tail end of a cinematic dream before it evaporates. I want to capture it, a glimpse,

sneak a peek at each distant future before the View-Master reel clicks. I want to follow the perfume of each life I could live and linger in it: the vanillas. Milk leaking from my breasts. Cereal. The piquant odor of parenthood.

The one where I am a mother negotiating happiness. The one where I am not a mother and still negotiating happiness, beauty, and rest. Almost 39, and I’ve never loved myself more, yet nostalgia wavers all around me

like a montage of mirages muddling memories, complicating hope, making me miss things I’ve already mourned. The bargaining—ain’t it a bitch? The bargaining aspect of grief, to constantly release that which I’ve already

let go of, but how the water in my mind brings it all back like the flood current each day, and each morning, in the ebb I see the seafloor for what it is, another landscape of loss and renewal, another augur deciphering the tea leaves

in the tide pool revealing the children I might never name, have, or hold. There is a finite number of eggs and books inside me. I am trying to release them. I am trying to mourn the possible futures bursting before me in a fantastic finale

of fireworks, bursting in my mouth like red caviar as I try to find the right words to say goodbye to little faces I can only imagine. I’m not sure what I want. Each decision seems to dissolve at the edge of the beach softened by the watercolor

cream of winter floating above the same shore where Eliot wrote “The Waste Land” after a mental breakdown a hundred and one years before me, writing “On Margate Sands. / I can connect / Nothing with nothing.” I keep looking at the gentle waves

for answers without trying to make another metaphor. What if the image of what I’m feeling is too heavy to be carried over into language? Maybe in another life you get to live out all the lives you’ve imagined. Maybe in this life

I become who I am by not knowing—

[that-basic-simp]

Love A Heart Like Mine

Mizu X Fem!Reader CW: Slight angst WC: 1.4k+

"I don't know why you're still with me," Mizu said, sipping her tea.

"Probably because I followed you out here," I said.

"You didn't have to follow me."

"I didn't, but I did."

"Why? That was something I never understood. More like something you never told me."

"Think of it like a reason similar to Ringo's."

"To be a samurai?"

"Maybe," I said, sipping my tea a little too loudly. I knew it would irritate Mizu and irritate Mizu it did.

"Just tell me already," she said, setting the cup down a little too harshly, grabbing the attention of everyone that was in the noodle shop.

"Maybe when you ask nicer."

Mizu scoffed and stood up, placing some coins on the table.

"Everything is paid for. Anything else you buy or drink, it's on you," she walked out of the noodle shop.

I sighed, rolling my eyes as Ringo finally joined us after struggling in the bathroom.

"Where did master go?"

"Outside," I said.

"Did you two get in a quarrel again?" he sat down.

"It's just Mizu being Mizu."

"How so?"

"Cold and harsh."

"He was like that when I first joined him. Why did you join him?"

"He reminds me of myself in a way."

"How?"

"He's cold, harsh, and in need of some love."

"Love? You think you can love the master?"

"I want to try. There was something about him the day I met him."

The first day I met Mizu was in Kyoto at the dojo. Well, it was more of I watched him as my mother and I were tending to some of the samurai there who were training. I was fascinated with how easily he took down each of the students with only a wooden sword. I knew if he had an actual blade, it was going to be deadly and with more blood. The duel with Taigen was one I wasn't expecting, especially since it seemed like Taigen won. Afterwards, I snuck out and followed Mizu out of Kyoto and found him bathing. That was when I learned about Mizu being a woman and referred to her as 'he' in public. But when it's just us, I don't need to worry about it.

"Maybe it was the fact that I saw his eyes, saw him for what he was," I said to Ringo.

"When you said you see yourself in him, the cold and harsh parts, what do you mean?"

"My father raised me more so than my mother. While I worked at the dojo for about the majority of my life, it was my father who taught me most things and caused me to be the way that I am. Beaten here and there if I didn't do anything right. Scolded if I served the wrong kind of tea. All of that fun trauma bullshit."

"Why don't you talk to master?" Ringo suggested. "I think you need to soften him up a bit before you actually tell him how you feel."

"Do you think Mizu will return the same feelings?"

"I don't know. That's up for you to find out."

I nodded, standing up.

"Mizu paid for everything, but if you want anything else," I reached into my pocket and pulled out a bag that contained some coins. "Here," I put them on the table. "Take as long as you need, Ringo. Mizu and I will be talking to one another."

Ringo nodded and I walked out of the noodle shop, finding Mizu was waiting by the alley across the way. Walking, I stood in front of her as she looked down at me.

"Where's Ringo?"

"Still in there."

"Is he that hungry?"

"Yeah. You know him."

She slowly nodded her head.

"Mizu," I said.

"What?"

"Can we take a walk and talk?"

"Fine," she breathed out, a puff of air escaping her mouth in the cold breeze.

Walking around the village we were in, it was pretty spacious, but it would seem weird to the locals if two people were taking laps. So we walked towards the edge of the village where the mountain side was. Sitting down, we overlooked the landscape below.

"I followed you from Kyoto because I saw something in you that I see in myself."

"Being?"

"You're cold and harsh, and in need of some love."

"I don't need anything other than the satisfaction of revenge."

"But you are cold and harsh."

"Kind of have to be in this world. Because if you were me, you'd want to be cold to everyone who treated you unfairly."

"And how do you think I remained out here with you, hm?"

"Disguising yourself like me."

"Exactly."

"But when I saw you, saw your eyes," I said. "Do you remember what I said?"

"'They're beautiful.' The only person to compliment my eyes like that."

"And they are beautiful," I said. "They remind me of water. A calm before the storm that can change in an instant."

"Is that why you followed me?"

"Aside from there was this ache in my heart, no, not an ache. A yearning. I-I wanted to know more about you. Know what makes you tick, what drives you, what your goals are. Everything that makes you who you are, Mizu."

"You don't want to know a thing about me. About the people I've killed, the things I've seen, I've experienced, you want nothing to do with me."

"Maybe so, but I want to know everything."

Mizu turned towards me, finding my words and my expressions were true and genuine. Sighing, she turned away, her gaze fixated on what lied ahead of us. What lied ahead of her.

"I'm seeking revenge, Y/N. I don't think you want to get your hands dirty with the blood you're about to spill."

"As long as I am beside you, I don't care how many people I have to kill to make sure you're safe."

"I can handle myself."

"I know you can, but who will when you're injured? When you're exhausted that you can't move?"

"I can take care of myself."

"For how long?"

"Why do you care?"

"I care about you, Mizu."

"You're caring for the wrong person," she turned to face me, some anger rising in her voice. Or maybe it was more annoyance. "You're caring for a monster."

She removed her Kasa and her glasses, revealing her eyes.

"A monster is who you're caring for, Y/N. An onyro. You're going to be associated now because you're with me."

"I don't care!"

"Why do you care about me so much?"

"Because," I stopped short, trying to figure out these feelings I've had ever since I started traveling with her. It's only been a few short months, but they were strong feelings.

"Because why?"

"B-Because I-I like you."

"Like me?"

"Yes."

"How can you like me?"

"What's not to like about you?"

"Literally everything."

"Maybe you don't like yourself, but I do."

"Is it a strong feeling of like?" Mizu asked after a while of silence, her voice soft and lingering.

"I wouldn't call it the 'l' word yet."

"But it is strong like it, is it not?"

"Yes," I said.

She shook her head, "How could you love a heart like mine?"

"What is your heart like?"

"As you said, cold, harsh. In need of love. How could you love it?"

"Because I want to care for it. Show you love because you are deserving of it."

"You can't heal the past."

"No, I can't. But I can protect the future. Tend to the present. Help you move forward and make you feel stronger."

"Love will only get in the way."

"Love can make you strong, Mizu."

"I'm already strong."

"But you can be stronger," I said.

"And you think love will make me stronger?"

I nodded, "In more ways than one."

She let out a sigh, shaking her head.

"Mizu, please, let me in."

"What if I do and something bad happens? To me. To you. T-To us?" she lifted her head, finding my gaze.

"We'll find a way around it," I scooted closer to her, placing my hand against her cheek.

A soft smile formed on her lips as she leaned into my touch, nuzzling into it. Reaching up, she grabbed onto my hand, caressing the back with her thumb. Leaning towards her, I lightly placed my lips against hers. A small surprised sound came from her, causing me to pull away. Her eyes were wide and blush was all over her face.

"I-I'm so sorry," I chuckled nervously, pulling away entirely.

When I removed my hand, she reached out, grabbing my wrist. She pulled me back towards her, her lips meeting mine once more. This kiss was firm, solidifying, confirming what was already established when I kissed her for the first time. Pulling away, our gazes met, smiles forming on our faces.

"Maybe you can make me stronger in ways I didn't think I can get."

I smiled, "As long as you'll let me."

Pulling me into her embrace, she nuzzled her face in my shoulder, "I'll let you do anything. As long as you stay beside me."

"Of course, Mizu."

[vintagestarlight]

Couple's Trip

Summary: you and John take a trip for your anniversary and John has a very special question to ask

Pairing: John Price x gf!reader

Words:~ 2.0k

Warnings: fluff, tiny bit of angst(?), smut, p in v sex, unprotected sex(wrap it before you tap it folks :3), MDNI!!

A/N: so this has been sitting in my drafts for months and I finally finished it! Probably the longest fic I’ve written and I’m not sure how I feel about it(I feel like I’m better at writing fluff pieces rather than spicy ones maybe?)but let me know what yall think! I’m working on another Price fic and a Soap fic so stay tuned! :)

A/N: As always likes, reblogs, comments, and feedback of all types are welcome and my inbox is always open! Hope you guys enjoy!!

***beware of typos lol

Your mind wandered as you zipped your suitcase shut. John announced you were taking a trip for your anniversary and refused to tell you where. "You'll find out when we get there love," he said with a laugh after you pestered him to tell you. You walked downstairs and set your suitcase by the front door.

Through no fault of his own John wasn't always around for your anniversary. He always tried his best to to have his leave coincide but it didn't always happen. Usually you just had a nice dinner at home or John would surprise you with flowers; both of which you enjoyed. Needless to say you were shocked but excited when John told you he had a few weeks leave and had something big planned.

"Hey hon, remember to pack your toothbrush this time," you said, doublechecking to make sure you had everything. "You forget it every time," you mused. "I'm not going to forget my toothbrush dove. And I don't forget it every time," Price argued; he checked his suitcase and realized he forgot. He went to the bathroom and grabbed his toothbrush to pack it away without telling you.

"Are you ready love?" Price asked. "I want to get going," You noticed your boyfriend seemed to be acting weird. He was very fidgety and it wasn't like him at all.

"You okay?" You asked. "You seem anxious to get going,"

"Yeah I'm fine love I just want to get there before dark," Price replied, taking the luggage outside. He loaded the suitcases into the back of the car and slipped his hand in his pocket. His fingers brushed against the velvet box resting in his pocket. "Well if we want to get there before dark we should get going," you called out and shut the door behind you, locking up the house.

You noticed the scenery started to change from hilly landscapes to dense woods. You started to get excited about what was at the end of your little road trip. The car turned on to a cobblestone stone driveway that led to a beautiful cabin overlooking a private lake surrounded by trees. "Oh John this is beautiful!" You said, looking out the window. "How did you know about this?" You asked. "An old mate of mine offered to let us use it for the week," he smiled watching you try and take it all in.

"This whole place is for us?" You asked, wondering if you could possibly see everything in just a few days. Price squeezed your thigh. "Just us," he said, parking the car. "Here love," Price stated. He fished in his pocket pulling out a set of keys. "Here's the keys to the cabin. Why don't you go take a look around, while I unload the car" he suggested.

You smiled and took the keys from him walking up to the front steps. You unlocked the front door and stepped inside. The living room was decorated in a way you would expect a cabin to be decorated. A large sofa facing a tv mounted on the wall, a large red rug in the middle of the floor, an end table with a lamp beside the couch, a tv stand, large fireplace, and a chandelier made from antlers adorned the living room. There was also a full kitchen to your right when you walked in.

You made your way to the stairs and found the master bedroom. A king size bed was the centerpiece of the room with a wool blanket draped over the end. The curtains were drawn and a soft light emanated from a lamp sitting on a bedside table.

Your footsteps were hushed by the soft carpet as you walked to the bathroom. The master bathroom was beautifully decorated in finished wood and white accents with a big claw foot tub; definitely big enough for both you and John. A window that faced the lake and woods let in a nice breeze and you couldn't help smiling, the fact it was yours for a few days finally setting in.

You came down the stairs just as John set down the last of your luggage. "So? What do you think?" Price asked, smiling as you wrapped your arms around him. "It's perfect John!” you smiled. "It's so beautiful," you planted a kiss on his lips.

Over the next few days the ring Price carried around burned a hole in his pocket. He tried finding the right time to ask you but everytime he tried he got nervous. He was the Captain of the most elite special forces team in the world and he couldn't even ask you to marry him. He sat at the edge of the dock, his fishing pole in his hands. He looked at the water waiting for a fish to bite and thinking about how much he wanted to spend the rest of his life with you. If only I could just ask her. With a frustrated sigh, he got up to stretch his legs still holding the fishing pole.

These few days seemed like a dream to you. Getting to spend this time with John was something you didn't always get to have. You noticed your boyfriend's behavior was somewhat off. He was anxious and fidgety when he's normally the calm and self-assured one in the relationship. You saw him sitting at the dock fishing and you smiled to yourself. His behavior may have changed but him fishing certainly hadn't.

You opened the front door and started walking down the cobblestone path the sweet air warming your skin. You saw little firefly's glowing in the garden flying around. "Have you caught anything yet?" You asked, siting down in a lawn chair with him standing holding his fishing pole. John glanced over and saw you wearing one of his army green t shirts and a pair of sleep shorts; he felt his heart skip a beat and his cock swell embarassingly hard despite the spirited romp in the sheets a mere few hours prior. For some strange reason, it made his thoughts drift back to the little box still tucked away in his pocket; he carried it with him everywhere since they got here. He still couldn’t believe he had trouble asking you a simple four-worded question. It was almost laughable that something so simple had the Captain racked with anxiety. The man who was feared just as much as he was respected in the field. What if you said no? What if you didn’t actually love him and this was the push you needed to leave him? He grimaced as his thoughts got more and more out of control.

“No I think I missed most of them,” he muttered and turned his attention back to the water. You furrowed your eyebrows; something was up with your boyfriend. Not much fazed the 6’2” Brit so to see him so lost in thought worried you. You got to your feet and wrapped your arms around your lover; your hands dipped underneath the shirt he was wearing and felt the dusting of wiry chest hair. You ran your fingers down the strong expanse of his chest and abdomen following the happy trail that disappears into his waistband. “What’s wrong hon?” You asked. “Nothing is wrong I’m fine love,” He grumbled. “You’ve been acting strange for the past few days and that isn’t like you,” You persisted. "I want to know what’s bothering you. You know you can tell me anything right?” You reassured him. John shifted his attention from the still water to you and tried to think of what to say.

“Do you…still love me?” He asked with uncertainty. “Would I have let you put me in those positions if I didn���t?” You teased, referencing the previous bedroom escapades. Seeing his face didn’t change, you realized he was serious. “Of course I do. Why would you think I don’t?” You asked. “Well…sometimes I can’t help but think you’ll wake up one day and come to your senses and leave me for someone who actually deserves you,” He sighed. It felt foreign to him to talk about his feelings but you made him feel safe enough that he could. You always brought out the best of him and it was one of the many reasons he wanted to marry you. “John Price, I am never going to leave you,” You told him, placing your hands on his muttonchops, framing his face. You hated it when he talked so badly about himself. “I love you so much and you deserve everything,” You said, gazing up at him. “Even if I am a grumpy old man?” He asked. “Yes even though you’re a grumpy old man,” you teased. “Hey! Easy now,” He said in mock annoyance. You placed your lips on his, capturing him in a heated kiss. You felt him kiss you back and the tension from his shoulders melted away. He groaned and pressed your bodies together, reaching down to grab a handful of your ass. He chuckled quietly when you whined as he pulled away. “In that case, there’s something I need to ask you,” He slipped his hand into his pocket while dropping down onto one knee. It’s now or never Price. He told himself. Your eyes went wide and filled with tears as you realized what was happening. “Y/N, will you marry me?” He asked, hoping, no silently begging, for you to say yes. “Yes! Yes I’ll marry you John Price,” you cried.

******

“FUCK!” You screamed. The headboard practically hit the wall with each harsh thrust from John. The room was filled with obscene yet erotic sound of panting and skin slapping against skin. “Fuck you’re taking me so well love,” John panted out, taking a glance down to where your cunt practically swallowed his cock. The sight drove him mad and he let out sounds he didn’t know he had in him. Those sounds he was making, the breathy groans and whimpers almost made you come then and there. “Fuck John!” You panted, feeling yourself get closer with every snap of John’s hips that hit perfectly inside you. John could feel you squeezing him like a vice and he knew you were close to coming. He grabbed the head board and pushed your legs to your chest to better plow into you and get as deep as he could into your pulsing cunt. “That’s it love,” He breathed out, his pace unrelenting. “Come for me love, come for me,”. John’s voice sounded strained as he focused on making you come before he did. You keened as you felt yourself go over the edge, coming on John’s cock. You squeezed him so tightly he swore he saw stars and came deep inside you, thick ropes of white staining the inside of your cunt. John rested his forehead against yours, strands of his hair sticking to the sweaty skin. You felt the sheer sheen of perspiration that had covered your own body begin to dry and cool off the longer the two of you stayed in each other’s embrace. "You okay love?” He asked, still out of breath as you both waited for your heart rates to slow. “More than okay,” you smiled lazily. Price gingerly pulled out his softened cock and walked to the bathroom, you admiring his bare ass as he walked away. John used a warm wash cloth to gently clean you up before grabbing a celebratory cigar and lighting it. You watched and admired his naked body as he poured himself a glass of scotch from the decanter sitting on the small table in the room before sliding back into bed with you.

You and John lay slightly tangled in the sheets with your head resting on his chest and his arm around you, relishing in that wonderful, hazy post sex daze. You couldn’t help but stare at the ring on your finger and smile; John was your fiancée and you could hardly believe it. “Careful now or I’ll think you love the ring more than me,” John’s deep baritone voice reverberating in his chest. “Well the ring is pretty great. And all I have is an old man,” you teased, looking up at him knowing he just proved himself to be anything but an old man. Your remark earned you a playful pinch on your ass. You squealed and laughed, swatting his chest playfully.

“Don’t worry Mr. Price I only have eyes for you my love,” You said, planting a kiss on his lips. "I love you,"

“I love you too soon-to-be Mrs. Price,”

[xxspringmelodyxx]

𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝐿𝑒𝑔𝑒𝓃𝒹

𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒆 𝒙 𝑭𝒆𝒎!𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒙 𝑨𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 (𝑷𝒕 𝑰𝑽)

⊱ 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔! 𝑰'𝒎 𝒔𝒐 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕, 𝑰'𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒇𝒖𝒏 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝑴𝑨𝑼𝑺…𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒖𝒑 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒕. 𝑰𝒎 𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒂 𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒑𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒔𝒐 𝒇𝒖𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆! 𝑨𝒏𝒚𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔, 𝑰 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒏𝒋𝒐𝒚 <33 ⊰ | ℙ𝕥 𝕀 | ℙ𝕥 𝕀𝕀 | ℙ𝕥 𝕀𝕀𝕀 |

✩⁺₊✩☽⋆Warnings: Swearing⋆☾✩⁺₊✩

𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕

✿⋆·˚❀˚·⋆✿ ✿⋆·˚❀˚·⋆✿ ✿⋆·˚❀˚·⋆✿ ✿⋆·˚❀˚·⋆✿ ✿⋆·˚❀˚·⋆✿ ✿⋆·˚❀˚·⋆✿ ✿⋆·˚❀˚·⋆✿ ˚❀˚·⋆✿

Several weeks had passed as you all journeyed to Sumeru, and everything seemed to be progressing well…well kind of. You had come close to mastering all the elements, but Electro continued to elude your grasp.

It was frustrating for you as it seemed that no matter what you did, nothing was working. Every day, you practiced relentlessly, trying different techniques and meditations, but nothing brought you closer to mastering the element, meaning you wouldn’t be obtaining the light element anytime soon. The frustration and disappointment grew, weighing heavily on your shoulders.

Aether, ever supportive, never wavered in his encouragement. “Don’t lose hope, Yn. We’ll figure this out together,” he would say, but even his words of comfort couldn’t fully erase the gnawing feeling of failure.

One evening, after another unsuccessful attempt, you sat by the campfire with Aether and Paimon. The flames crackled, casting flickering shadows on your faces.

“I don’t get it,” you muttered, staring into the fire. “I’ve come so far with the other elements. Why can’t I harness Electro?”

Paimon hovered closer, her eyes filled with concern. “Maybe you’re trying too hard? Sometimes, the answer comes when you least expect it.”

Aether nodded in agreement. “Paimon’s right. Maybe there’s something we’re missing. Some piece of the puzzle that we haven’t considered yet.”

You sighed, running a hand through your hair. “I just don’t know what it could be. I’ve tried everything.”

Aether placed a reassuring hand on your shoulder. “We’ll find a way. We’ve come this far, haven’t we?” 

You couldn’t help but feel a warm flush rise to your cheeks. Despite the frustration, moments like these made your heart flutter. Aether’s presence was comforting, and the way he looked at you with such determination made you feel like you could overcome any obstacle.

It was needless to say that your relationship with Aether and Paimon had flourished. The three of you were like peas in a pod, inseparable and deeply connected. It became increasingly obvious, at least to Paimon, how much you and Aether had fallen for each other. She never missed an opportunity to tease you both, singing that wretched song, “Yn and Aether sitting in a tree, K.I.S.S.I.N.G.” You and Aether would exchange embarrassed glances, protesting her teasing, but deep down, you both knew there was truth to her words. The bond between you had grown stronger, and unspoken feelings simmered just beneath the surface, adding a layer of complexity to your companionship.

—

One bright morning, after weeks of arduous travel, you finally approached the borders of Sumeru. The lush, vibrant forests greeted you, their greenery a stark contrast to the urban landscapes you had left behind. The towering trees and dense foliage hinted at the rich culture and vibrant life within the city. However, as you neared the city itself, an eerie silence replaced the expected sounds of bustling life, causing a sense of unease to settle in the pit of your stomach. Paimon hovered closer, her eyes scanning the horizon with growing concern.

“Something’s not right,” she said, her voice tinged with worry. The usual sparkle in her eyes was dulled by the tension in the air. Aether nodded, his expression grim and resolute. “Stay alert. We don’t know what we’re walking into.” His hand gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, ready to draw it at a moment’s notice. The three of you exchanged uneasy glances, steeling yourselves for whatever lay ahead.

As you moved closer, the sight before you confirmed your worst fears. Sumeru was under attack. Plumes of smoke rose from various parts of the city, and the sound of clashing weapons filled the air. Chaos reigned as defenders fought valiantly against an onslaught of Abysmal Knights.

The air was thick with the acrid scent of burning wood and the metallic tang of blood, painting a grim picture of the devastation. “We have to help them!” you exclaimed, your determination unwavering despite the fear gnawing at your insides. You felt a surge of adrenaline, sharpening your senses and steeling your resolve. Aether unsheathed his sword, his eyes steely with resolve. “Let’s go. We can’t let them fight alone.” His voice carried a sense of urgency and command, galvanizing you and Paimon into action.

The three of you rushed into the fray, your skills and teamwork honed from weeks of training. You fought side by side, each of you taking on multiple opponents with practiced ease. Aether’s sword danced through the air, a blur of silver as he cut down enemies with precision and grace. Paimon provided support with her quick thinking and strategic interventions, darting around the battlefield to offer assistance where needed. You unleashed your elemental prowess, channeling the powers you had trained so hard to master, even as you struggled with Electro. You summoned water from the nearby river, using your Hydro vision to create powerful waves that swept away clusters of enemies. With a flick of your wrist, water turned to ice, trapping several knights in place. Switching to Pyro, you unleashed torrents of flame, incinerating those that drew too close.

Despite your best efforts, the creatures kept coming. You were fighting with all your might, but it felt as though a dark and powerful force was helping them regenerate, making them even harder to defeat. As Aether swung his sword into one of the creatures, you noticed that their wounds healed almost instantly. “These things just keep coming back!” you shouted in frustration.

The battle intensified, and the defenders of Sumeru were struggling to hold their ground. In the midst of the chaos, you and Aether were suddenly flung back by a powerful blast, crashing into a large tree. “We need to regroup!” Aether yelled, helping you to your feet after a particularly strong blast knocked you back.

The scene was chaotic. People were running everywhere, screaming and crying as they were being taken away. The Abysmal Knights—the group you last fought off—were in much larger numbers. They were ruthless, stabbing and killing many people around you and taking others while they were at it.

You saw others trying to fight them off but they were failing. Your heart sank at the sight of them struggling. You turned and saw Aether helping to save a woman from being taken away, but he too was having a hard time. Your breathing became heavy as you watched the horror unfold. “Yn!” Aether called out to you, making you look at him. “Now’s your chance! You know what you need to do!” he yelled before going back to fighting off the enemies.

You looked towards the sound of a child crying, seeing him being torn away from his mother. “Leave my son alone! Give him back!” the woman screamed, her voice filled with desperation. You lifted your hand and pushed it out, trying to blow a large gust of wind towards the man taking the woman's baby, but instead, flowers shot out from your hands.

Your eyes filled with terror as you realized your abilities weren’t working properly. You looked at your hands in confusion. “Come on. Out of all the times you decide not to work, now is the time??” you mumbled quietly. You tried to calm your mind, but the sight of people dying or being taken away was too much. The constant yelling and sounds of people dying replayed over and over in your head. “Yn! What are you waiting for? Do it!” Paimon yelled with worry.

You felt so useless. You were so confident when you left home to join Aether and Paimon, but now you couldn’t control your powers. Suddenly, you felt a large hand grab your arm and pull you towards it.

You looked up and saw a large, dark blue creature. It screamed in your face, making your eyes widen. You couldn’t move; your body locked up. As the creature was about to hurt you, a sword sliced through its body. The creature whimpered as it released you, purple lines running across its body towards the wound where it was stabbed.

You watched it fall to the ground, screeching in pain as the purple lines bubbled up. Your eyes widened as it let out one last, loud cry before combusting in front of you. “Yn! Pay attention!” Aether shouted. “I-I’m sorry! But I can’t control—” you started, but your voice was drowned out by the sounds of the creature coming back to life.

“Watch out!” a voice yelled, snapping you back to reality. An imposing figure with a shock of white hair and an ornate spear blocked a sword from piercing Aether. The newcomer fought alongside Aether, both of them struggling to fend off the relentless attackers.

“Who are you?” Aether asked, his voice strained from exertion. “I’m Cyno, the General Mahamatra. We’ve been tracking these creatures. It seems our paths have crossed at a crucial moment,” Cyno replied, his voice calm despite the chaos. Before you could process this, another voice joined the fray.

“Need a hand?” A figure with fox-like ears and a bow leaped into the battle, shooting arrows with deadly precision. It was Tighnari, a forest ranger of Avidya Forest, known for his sharp senses and even sharper arrows. He held his hand out to you, helping you up. “Are you alright?” he asked, but you didn’t respond. You were unsure of what to do. These innocent people were dying, and you couldn’t help them. Their cries and pleas filled your head, the constant noise becoming too much to bear.

You then saw a graceful dancer, Nilou, using her Hydro vision to create water barriers, trying to protect the civilians. Her movements were fluid and beautiful, yet filled with a sense of urgency and desperation. Next to her, a stern-looking man with striking red hair and a large claymore fought off several attackers at once. “Focus on the task at hand, Nilou. We can’t afford to lose any more ground,” he commanded, his voice carrying authority.

It was Alhaitham, a scholar and warrior with immense strength and tactical knowledge. They all helped around, but struggled themselves as they realized they were fighting with a force not to be reckoned with. Aether kept trying to get you to focus, but you couldn’t. Everyone else then joined in as well, trying to get you to do something.

“Yn, come on!” Aether yelled

“Please, Yn!” Paimon shouted

“You need to do something! We all can’t just stay here and protect you!” Cyno said

“Help them!” Nilou cried out.

All of it was just too much! Them yelling, the people dying, their blood curdling screams, the children crying and weeping. Suddenly, you began to hear voices in your head. They were whispering such horrible things to you as the screams continued. Eventually, you couldn’t handle it anymore and broke down.

“STOP IT!” you screamed. In a flash, your knees hit the ground, and a burst of lightning was released from your body, striking through everyone there. Creatures of all types flew back into trees and hard walls, some of them going through items that pierced right through them. A loud, bassy noise quickly followed the burst of light that escaped your body, creating a web-like pattern in the ground. Your body felt numb as the power that just went through you was too much. You collapsed on the ground, your vision getting blurry as your body went limp. “Yn!” Aether yelled as he ran towards you. He kneeled down to you and rolled you over, holding you in his arms.

As your vision began to clear slightly, you saw the battlefield around you, littered with the bodies of fallen knights and civilians alike. The air was thick with smoke and the cries of the wounded. But amidst the chaos, a figure caught your eye—a familiar figure standing at the edge of the battlefield. Jean. Her eyes glowed with a dark, malevolent power, her presence a stark contrast to the kind and brave leader you once knew. “Jean?” you whispered in disbelief, your voice barely audible. The shock of seeing her in this state made your heart ache. It was as if a part of you refused to accept what your eyes were seeing.

Jean's cold gaze swept over the battlefield, landing on you with an expression devoid of any warmth or recognition. “Capture them,” she commanded, her voice echoing with an unnatural authority. The creatures, empowered by her dark influence, swarmed towards you with renewed vigor. Aether tightened his grip on you, his face set in grim determination.

“We have to move, now!” he said, looking around frantically for a way out. But before he could act, more figures appeared, joining the fray. The others tried to help as well, but none of them could keep up. There were too many opponents. And within minutes, everyone was knocked out or killed. Aether and you were the only ones awake, with you slowly losing consciousness.

Though, before he could help you, a hard blow struck his head, making him fall over. “Take him and the others. Leave her to me. If I am correct, this must be the one who endangers our master,” Jean said. Aether tried to get up.

“Leave her alone! Don’t touch her!” he yelled, ready to fight for you, but he was hit again, knocking him out cold. “J…Jean…what are you doing?” You asked, your vision going dark. She didn’t say a word. All she did was kick you in the head once more, making sure you go out cold. As your vision dimmed, you caught one last glimpse of Jean. Her cold, unfeeling eyes met yours, and for a moment, you thought you saw a flicker of something—regret? Pain? But then, everything went black.

________________________

!!Taglist!!

@esthelily

@moloteco-real

@dilucragnvindr-my-beloved

[rainbow-flavoured-skittles]

what if it's you, and what if it's me, and what if that's all that we need it to be

bruiseshipping exchange fic for @fancypersonaskeletonturtle! I hope you enjoy it, I managed to get all the prompts combined into this <3

@ninjago-drabbles

cross posted to ao3

~

Cole’s thoughts were all jumbled up as he and Jay hiked up the mountain. They’d finally gotten him back after so long, but Jay was amnesiac. He couldn’t remember anything from before the Merge. Nothing about his parents, or his time as a ninja, or their relationship together. That last one hurt the most. But that was why they were going up this mountain right now — maybe if Cole brought Jay to places they’d gone before, he would remember.

“It’s not much further,” Cole told Jay. They were about three-quarters of the way up, only half an hour or so before they reached the top. 

“O- okay,” Jay stumbled over his words. 

Cole should probably talk. He had been silent for most of the trip, not usually a problem when someone else was doing the talking, but Jay wasn’t as talkative anymore. It was like being in the Administration had stripped him of all his personality. “Um, the view up there is very nice,” he said awkwardly. “You can practically see all of the realms from there.” The view hadn’t always been like that — before the Merge it showed a lush forest. Now it showed a nonsensical mix of landscape that ranged from tundra all the way to desert. Cole had spent days trying to track down the mountain now that the world was so different.

“Even Imperium?” Jay cracked a dry smile. 

“Well, maybe not Imperium, but pretty much everywhere else,” Cole said sheepishly. He twisted the bracelet on his wrist, a habit he’d picked up while in the Land of Lost Things. 

“Must be nice.”

“It is.”

Reaching the top of the mountain, they really could see all the merged realms. Cole looked over at Jay, searching for any hint of recognition. He didn’t find any. 

Jay sniffled. “I… I don’t remember this,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

Cole pushed down the pang of hurt he felt. It wasn’t completely unexpected for Jay not to remember this, and not fair of him to be upset about it when it wasn’t anyone’s fault. Nobody could have predicted Jay’s amnesia. “That’s alright. This place is pretty different from what it was before the Merge.”

“We can still stay for a while though, right?”

“Yeah, of course.”

~

Getting back to the Monastery took another three hours. The trek to the mountain had taken quite a while, and climbing up took even longer. By the time they arrived home, Jay was ready to collapse on his bed and sleep. Of course, he used the term ‘home’ loosely. The Monastery was more home than the Administration, but he couldn’t remember any of it. Couldn’t remember any late movie nights that must have taken place, or training sessions, or even just goofing around with his friends. 

Jay knew that it must hurt everyone for him not to remember. Going to the mountain with Cole had been an incredible experience. He only wished he could remember the first time they went together.

Cole knocked on the open door, a nonverbal request to be let in. “Door’s open,” Jay said. 

“I brought a photo album,” Cole said quietly. He held up a bright blue monstrosity of a folder, decorated with stickers and glitter. “I thought maybe this could jog your memory?”

“Yeah, sure,” Jay patted the space next to him on the bed. Cole sat down and opened the folder. 

“I didn’t realise people still used those,” Jay joked. Anything to get rid of the awful mood that hung in the room.

Cole shrugged. “Probably not a lot, but Master Wu is — was old fashioned. And I think it’s more sentimental than a phone.”

“I guess,” Jay turned to look at the photos.

The first page of the book showed two handwritten notes. The first was obviously written by Cole. To Jay, it said. I love you more than words can express. Meeting you is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You mean the world to me and I love you more than what can be written on this paper.

The second seemed to be from Jay. He had no memory of writing it, of course he didn’t, but it seemed very heartfelt. I love you, Cole. You’re my best friend, my love, my soulmate, my ride-or-die. Cheers to a new beginning <3

Jay could feel Cole staring at him, begging wishing hoping for him to remember. Jay turned the page and looked at the photos pasted on it. There were several on this one: a selfie of them at some sort of cafe, holding up pastries and smiling; a picture someone else had taken of them curled up on the couch asleep; them covered in mud and dripping wet, with the caption ‘went fishing and failed.’ All sorts of memories that Jay desperately wanted to remember but couldn’t. Looking at these photos made him feel like a stranger peering into someone else’s life.

Jay’s gaze drifted to the next page. It showed similar pictures, of them making flower crowns and having lunch together and smiling and laughing and being happy. He stroked the one of them dancing a duet. The photo was dimly lit, and the resolution wasn’t great, but Jay could tell it was one of the best memories just from how happy they looked in it.

~

Cole looked at Jay and tried not to cry. He was showing no recognition of anything so far, but they weren’t even halfway through the book yet. Maybe something would click later on. He watched as Jay flipped through the pages. His heart stuttered when Jay touched the photo of them dancing a duet. Did he remember that one? To Cole, it was one of the most important moments in their relationship.

“So, first date?” Jay looked at Cole hopefully. He put on an award winning smile and held out his hand. “I have plans, if you want to.”

Cole laughed. “Haven’t we already gone on a date?” He teased. 

“Fighting evil together does not count!” Jay swatted Cole’s arm. “I was thinking more of a night out. Not for fighting the forces of darkness or anything, just us going to the club and having fun.”

“A club? You’ve found one that will let in two underage teenagers?”

“I have my ways,” Jay smirked. “Soo, do you want to, or no?”

“You already know the answer to that, Sparky.”

“Stop and let me live out the teenage romance movie, please?”

“Of course, my good sir.”

Jay smiled and tugged on Cole’s arm. “Our chariot awaits!” He pointed at the lightning jet — it had been given a makeover for the occasion, with fairy lights and fake candles scattered about. Even the windows were decorated with little heart stickers. 

“You did all this?” Cole looked at Jay in surprise. 

“Of course! It’s our first date and you expected no romantic lighting? The horror!” Jay faked fainting, draping an arm on his head and the other around his stomach.

“You’re such a dork.”

“It’s one of my best traits,” Jay said. “Get dressed and we’ll meet here in ten?”

“Sure.”

Getting to the club took only a few minutes. Jay had chosen a good place, and going by air meant the commute was even shorter. 

“Good sir,” Jay bowed and opened the door for Cole. He was especially striking that night, dressed in a navy blue suit. His hair had been gelled to the side, obviously with Kai’s hair products. 

Cole smiled. “Thank you,” he said as he stepped out. The entrance to the building was lit up in neon lights, blue and pink and red and green. 

Jay walked over and hooked his arm around Cole’s. “We’re gonna be the best dressed couple at the dance,” he joked. “Absolute ten-out-of-ten.”

“Oh?”

“Well, yeah! Or at least, you will. I mean, you’re stunning! Not that you’re not always stunning, but—“ 

Cole put a finger to Jay’s lips. “You look amazing as well, so shut up.”

“Tickets?” A gruff voice interrupted the moment. Cole looked up at the security guard. 

“Oh, yeah. Here,” Jay pulled out his phone and showed it to the guard. 

Whatever he had shown must have been satisfactory, because the guard grunted and let them in.

“Wow,” Cole breathed. The club was incredible and kind of overwhelming — bright disco lights bathing the room in colour, a snack bar with people crowded around, music blaring loudly.

“Yeah, that was my reaction too,” Jay grinned. 

A loud crashing sound from outside stopped Cole from answering. “— no, we’re here on official ninja business,” Kai’s voice said. Of course the others had followed them. 

Jay rolled his eyes fondly and grabbed Cole. “C’mon, let’s outrun them.”

“They’re such stalkers,” Cole agreed.

 They pushed through the crowd to the dance floor, where the chances of being found were slim. “A dance?” Jay held out his arm. “I’ve been practicing for weeks.”

Cole took his hand. “Good thing I can dance too, then,” he said. 

They slow danced like that for what felt like an eternity in the best way possible.

~

Cole snapped out of his memories to the sound of Jay turning the page. “This is all us?” Jay asked. His expression was strange — not exactly wistful, but it was something close. As if he didn’t quite understand the photos, but wished he could.

Cole cleared his throat. “Yeah, that album is just the two of us, but there are more that have the others.”

“There’s a lot in here,” Jay said softly. He gestured to the dozens of pages, all of which  held at least three photos each. 

“We knew each other for a long time,” Cole shrugged. “That’s like five years of photos.”

“Five years,” Jay said, like they were foreign words. 

“Five years,” Cole agreed. 

~

The next day, Cole brought Jay to the old coffee shop they used to frequent. The place hadn’t changed despite everything — even after the Merge, it was still painted the same shade of grey and the floor was still suspiciously sticky. The menu hadn’t gotten anything new added. The same display case showed the exact same pastries as five years ago. Even the cat looked the same, unkept orange fur and a confused expression. Everything about this place made it perfect for jogging Jay’s memory — the mountain was pretty different now, but old Mr. Chan’s coffee shop was exactly the same.

“This is Mr. Chan’s,” Cole said to Jay. “We used to come here all the time. It hasn’t changed a bit,” he chuckled. 

Jay still had that mildly confused, sorrowful expression on. “And we got… coffee? Here?”

“Yep,” Cole nodded. “Is anything familiar?”

Jay paused for a moment, seemingly considering it, and then shook his head. Any hope Cole had felt shattered.

“That’s alright,” Cole smiled. He hoped that Jay couldn’t still tell the difference between which of his smiles were genuine and which were forced. “You wanna order?”

“Sure.”

~

Jay stared down at his coffee. It was delicious — perfect amount of sugar and cream, and the coffee itself was amazing too. Cole sat across from him, drinking an abomination of sugar and caramel. How he could stand to drink that, Jay would never know.

Cole must have noticed him staring, because he looked up. “You enjoying it?” He asked. 

“Yeah,” Jay said.

“You really don’t remember anything?”

Jay shook his head and pretended not to notice Cole deflating at his response. He really wished that he could remember, could be the person that Cole clearly needed, but his brain was empty. Trying to think of anything from his past drew up a blank. He hadn’t even known the ninja’s names before they introduced themselves.

“It’s okay not to remember,” Cole said. “We’ve dealt with amnesia before.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, Zane‘s gotten it a bunch of times. Nya too, and one time all of you collectively forgot me,” Cole laughed like he had told a funny joke.

“But has it ever taken this long to remember?”Jay clutched his takeout cup a little tighter. It had been five years since the Merge, which meant five years of no memory. At this point, was it even possible for Jay to remember? He still couldn’t recall his parents. Two people who must have raised and taken care of Jay, and he didn’t know their names.

“Zane was amnesiac for like sixty years.”

“Zane is a nindroid. I’m not,” Jay frowned. “Tell me, Cole. Is it possible for a human to remember after so long?”

Cole looked immensely uncomfortable with this conversation. “I’m not sure,” he finally said, “and I’m also not sure if we’re even human at this point. So…”

Jay sighed and got up. He couldn’t stay here anymore, not when he wasn’t the person Cole remembered. Cole needed support and care, not whatever Jay could provide. He was probably better off with Zane or Kai or literally anyone who wasn’t an imposter pretending to be his loved one. “I’m going back to the Monastery now,” he said.

Cole stood up as well and followed Jay out the door. “You can’t get back without driving,” he reminded him. “And I have the keys.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“C’mon, let’s go back,” Cole opened the car door and got in. It was a very awkward drive back to the Monastery.

~

Cole lay on his bed face down. He’d locked the door and closed all the windows, effectively shutting himself in darkness. The blackout curtains really were his best investment. 

Coffee had been a disaster. Not only had Jay been unable to remember, Cole had also succeeded in making him feel uncomfortable. It wasn’t Jay’s fault that he had amnesia, and Cole’s prying had made everything worse.

Ugh. Cole was probably the merged realms’ worst boyfriend. Did he and Jay still count as boyfriends? Probably not. Why did everything have to be so complicated?

“I’m an awful person,” Cole groaned into his pillow. Zane would chastise him for moping like this, but Zane didn’t get to judge Cole’s relationship issues, not with how much sulking he’d been doing in Pixal’s absence.

He stayed buried in his blankets for only a few more minutes before he got bored. Cole forced himself out of bed and looked at the photo album instead — he hadn’t bothered putting it back in its rightful place yesterday. He flipped through, stopping at the photo of him and Jay curled up on the couch asleep. Nya had taken that picture; she’d found them asleep in the living room and took the opportunity. Jay had printed it out when they were putting the album together. “I like it,” he’d said, “you look so peaceful in it.”

“Peaceful? I tackled you and sent us both crashing to the floor,” Cole raised an eyebrow.

“It was a bonding moment.”

Cole smiled at the memory. It was another moment he thought of fondly, though that didn’t really mean anything when he thought of all their time together like that.

~

Jay was gaming, entirely focused on the screen in front of him. He wasn’t paying attention to Cole, who sat next to him boredly.

“Ha! Take that, ya stupid turtle!” Jay cackled at the screen.

Cole jolted upright at Jay’s sudden burst of laughter. His boyfriend wouldn’t be done with the game for a while, likely not until he was forcibly dragged away. Problem was, Cole wanted Jay to be focusing on him. But it would also be a tough challenge to get him away from his beloved video games. Nothing short of physically tackling him would get his attention.

Hmmm.  That wasn’t a bad idea, actually. Cole positioned himself so that he could jump onto Jay with minimal injury. Jay was so absorbed in the game that he didn’t notice until Cole had slammed into him and they’d both ended up on the floor.

“Cole! What was that for?” Jay took a second to process before he spoke.

Cole tried not to smile. That would give him away. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said. 

“You— you liar!” Jay screamed hysterically. “You definitely know what I’m talking about!”

“Nope!” Cole grinned.

“You’re so clingy.”

“Don’t know what you mean by that, blabbermouth.”

Jay sighed and accepted his fate. “Fine, we’ll stay here tonight. But any sore muscles are your fault, okay?”

“More than okay.”

~

I should go talk to him, Cole thought.  He needed to talk to Jay, clear the air a bit. It had been even more awkward than usual since yesterday.

It hurt that Jay couldn’t remember anything, of course, but it wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. Just the universe screwing them over, like always. Their lives truly were one disaster after another.

Cole sighed and got up, making his way to the door. He rehearsed what he’d say to Jay over and over. Then he knocked on the door and waited for Jay to respond. 

~

A knock at the door had Jay crawling out of bed and coming face to face with Cole, both of them standing there awkwardly until Jay spoke.

“Um, come in?” He squeaked.

“We need to talk,” Cole said. He gave no indication that he’d heard Jay speak, instead sitting down on the bed and looking at Jay. His eyes made Jay think of those creepy porcelain dolls in antique shops — they stared right into your soul, pulling out all your secrets.

“Talk about what, exactly?”

Cole got a guilty look on his face. “That sounded a bit ominous, didn’t it,” he mumbled. “Sorry. I just wanted to say that. I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable, lately. It’s just that you’re my best friend. And I’m trying to make you remember, because of course I want you to, and I’m pretty sure you do too, but it isn’t fair of me to keep pushing to make you remember when you can’t, and it’s not your fault, and—“ Cole was crying now, streams of water coming from his eyes. “I just wanted to say that you mean so much to me, and that it’s not your fault that all this happened. I’m being unfair, pressuring you to remember like this. It’s not fair to either of us.”

“I want to remember,” Jay said softly. “I want to know all the inside jokes that we had, and all the memories of our first date or birthdays and all the other stuff. You mean a lot to me too, I swear. It’s just that I can’t remember anything, and that means I can’t be the person you need. I can’t support you when I don’t even know your favourite colour, much less how to help with all the other stuff.”

“It’s orange,” Cole said suddenly, turning to look at Jay. “My favourite colour is orange.”

“And you’re the black ninja?”

“It’s ironic, I know,” Cole laughed. “But in all seriousness, it’s okay for you not to remember. Just be yourself, I guess. You’re still the same person. And I’m not letting go of hope that you’ll get your memories back with time.”

Cole took Jay’s hand. “We should spend a day together, get to know each other again. Go for a walk in the Crossroads or something. It would be fun.”

“Yeah, it would be,” Jay smiled.

“Maybe tomorrow? You know, before the next world shattering crisis arrives?”

“I’d like that.”

[thoscheienjoyer]

So the master has always been a little suicidal let's be real, and 90% of the time he tries to drag the doctor with him: spy telling 13 to blow them both up, ainley telling 7 to fight him on a collapsing planet, ainley snapping and trying to blow up the universe on purpose, Delgado trying to go back and time and risking fucking up him and 3's current life, Missy and Saxon unleashing Cybermen despite themselves etc.

So I wrote a story about koschei also having those thoughts and asking theta to join out of devotion, I assume most of the examples of the master are out of bitterness but with koschei is out of wanting an end to the constant drumming

Theta and Koschei sat on the edge of a cliff overlooking Gallifrey, the twin suns were low, coating the landscape in a golden glow of colors. The Academy loomed in the distance, but here they were free from the pressures and expectations they had. They often escaped to this spot to take in the beauty of their home planet, however, the usual tranquility was gone. Koschei had been unusually restless, his eyes were distant, like he was focused on something else. Theta noticed but didn't want to press his friend too soon, he knew about the drums, the relentless pounding that haunted Koschei’s mind, and had done everything he could to help, but they never fully went away so he assumed maybe this behavior was related.

As the sun dipped lower, casting long shadows over the cliff, Koschei finally spoke, his voice showing no sign of how he felt, it was matter of fact. "You know, if we jumped off this cliff together it would prove what great friends we are, wouldn't it?"

Theta's hearts skipped a beat and he turned to look at Koschei, trying to read the expression on his face. Was this just a morbid joke, or something more? He chose the first for some peace of mind. "Would we hold hands?" he joked uncomfortable, trying to keep his tone light but his concern was evident.

Koschei met his gaze, his eyes filled with a seriousness that sent a chill down Theta's spine. "Yes," he replied softly. "We would."

Theta swallowed hard, "Koschei, why would you ever think about something like that?"

Koschei crumbled and began to shake like a leaf from trying to hold back the emotions spilling all at once, "The drums, Theta, the drums! They're unbearable! But what's more unbearable is the thought of leaving you all alone. I can't bear the thought of a life without you so you must feel the same about me, if we die together, maybe... maybe my next regeneration won't hear them anymore?"

Theta felt a wave of sorrow and fear wash over him. He reached out, taking Koschei's hand in his own, holding it tightly, his other held his face. "Koschei, listen to me. I know it's hard but this isn't the answer. I promise you, one day, I will find a way to fix it. I will help you, but you have to hold on. Please, don't ever think about doing something like that again?"

Koschei's composure broke, and he began to cry, his body trembling more with the force of his sobs. "I just want it to stop, Theta! I want it to stop so badly!"

Theta pulled him into a tight embrace as he cried. "I know, Koschei. I know. But you have to stay with me. We’ll get through this together. I won’t leave you alone with this, I'm right here. "

They sat there for a long time, long enough for the suns to set. Theta continued to hold Koschei, whispering words of comfort and reassurance. As the stars appeared in the Gallifreyan sky, Koschei's sobs gradually subsided. He remained in Theta's arms, exhausted from all his emotions . For now, that was enough.

In the quiet of the night the only sound was their breathing, it was soothing to them both, to Theta because it was a reminder his friend would stay alive, and to Koschei because it was a reminder his friend wouldn't leave him to deal with this alone.

Oh the angst of knowing his friend WILL indeed leave him to deal with this alone

[heartmaddie]

charm | t.oikawa - epilogue

by heartmaddie

tooru and yn’s fingers were intertwined as his leant his head on her shoulder, the couple mindlessly watching the scenery quickly passed by them. his soft breaths hit her nape, and yn couldn’t help but let out a soft smile as she leant her head on his.

“is your older sister gonna be there?” he asked curiously, rough fingers tracing the skin of her palm as he sighed deeply, rubbing his nose against her neck.

“miwa? maybe, i don’t know if she wants to see them.” yn shrugs in response, leaning down to press a kiss onto the soft brown strands of tooru’s head. 

tobio was sitting across from them, eyes shut as he slept through the whole train ride. it was oddly serene. tooru soon let go of her hand and brought his fingers to gently stroke the skin of her cheek.

“you look tired, you should sleep too. i can watch over the luggage” he murmured, voice soft as she hummed in response.

“maybe a bit later, i like how we are right now.” she curled her fingers around his own, gently squeezing them before letting go and changing the song which played through the earbuds shared between them.

tooru nodded, letting the couple stay in comfortable silence as the train sliced through the air quickly. as he would gaze up at her, he wondered what she was thinking of. her eyes were focused on the passing greenery, seemingly admiring the vast expanse of the mountainous landscape, but from the way her eyebrows were slightly knit together, he knew it was a lot more than that. tooru knew that going back to miyagi to see her parents wasn’t the joyous occasion like it was for him. he knew that there were things that she still kept hidden from him, words exchanged between siblings which wouldn’t reach his ears for a long time. but in his wake, all he could do is pull her close and gently kiss each and every worry off her skin. 

yn had almost forgotten how clean the air was in miyagi, it smelt so pure compared to the city air she was accustomed to. she was still stretching her limbs as tobio and tooru unloaded all the bags from the cab. then, there’s another ten minutes in the cold weather with yn’s mother gushing over her two children (tooru found this quite adorable actually) before the trio is situated inside on the family couch. 

it’s pleasant. he’s a natural when it comes to long conversations with her parents, his fingers snaked between yn’s as he’d squeeze them over so often. regardless of only just having met, and the short while that the two have been dating, it was clear that her parents had taken quite a liking to the boy. 

“ah, so you’re studying commerce? do you have an idea of what you’ll specialise in during your masters?” her father asks curiously, brown whiskey swirled around in his glass as he looks at tooru curiously.

“oh well, i was actually considering pursuing volleyball as a career option,” he replies coolly, internally delighted by her father’s nod in response, “but if i were to do my masters, then i’d pursue accounting or economics.”

her father hums, passing a sidelong glance to yn’s mother as she nods back,

“oh well, if you ever need some connections into a corporate position, then you know who to contact.” she offers a smile over the table, “we’re glad to finally meet you, tooru.”

a couple hours later he’s settling against the plush bed in the centre of yn’s bedroom as he looks around curiously. she’s busy taking a shower and he’s left to his own devices, so he’s spending his time admiring her bookshelf and all the little figurines which were left behind in her now sparsely decorated room. but his attention eventually wavers towards her as she steps into the room, towel wrapped around her head and satin pajamas falling from her skin. he gestures for her to sit with him, taking the towel and rubbing each strand of her head dry.

“do you think your parents like me?” he asks, kissing the wet skin of her neck.

“is it not obvious?” she teases, leaning back on his chest as his arms move to snake around her waist.

“it’s nice to hear you say it.” his lips attack the side of her face, “your parents are so articulate..” he mutters, “it’s intimidating.”

his fingers squeeze the skin of her waist as he brushes her hair with care, the two staying in comfortable silence as the moment continues, with tooru occasionally pressing his lips onto hers. they settle in the small bed together, tooru’s arms wrapped tightly against her waist as their chests are pressed together.

this type of intimacy was unfamiliar between the two of them. even though they’ve been dating for more than a month now, and nights slept together would total to more than three quarters of that time, yn still wasn’t used to the gentle touch his fingers would ministrate. sometimes she couldn’t help but be scared, in the late hours of the night, she’d worry that opening her heart up again would conclude in the same way it did those many years ago. but then her body would shift to face tooru once again and she’d be immediately calmed by the sight of his sleeping body.

his breaths were consistent and soft, and she couldn’t help but rake her fingers through the soft strands of his hair. he was so conventionally beautiful, with long brown eyelashes fluttered closed, and his porcelain skin, yn could never get bored looking at him. she spent what felt like seconds admiring him, but it was already late into the night before his eyes sleepily peel open and he’s looking up at her confused.

“why’re you awake?” he murmurs, voice deep and scratchy and yn couldn’t help but melt.

“can’t sleep.” tooru groans and pulls her into his chest,

“jus’ shut your eyes n let me hold you, hm?” he lets out a deep, tired sigh as he nuzzles his head on hers, mindlessly patting his hand on her skin. she curls against his chest, listening to the steady pulse of his heart.

as yn felt herself being lulled to sleep, she noticed the contentment which would wash over her body in these soft, intimate moments with tooru. with the moonlight shining through the window, she took a final deep breath, inhaling his sweet, spicy fragrance before falling into tranquil sleep.

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please make sure to like , reblog or follow if you enjoyed!

with this being the final chapter of charm , i just can't believe that i actually finished this lol. i'm so eternally grateful for everybody who read and interacted with this - it means a lot more than you can imagine. this was such a lovely way for me to become accustomed to writing, and i hope that i can use all the things i learnt into writing my next piece, i've back read some of the older chapters and i personally feel like i've developed a lot more as a writer. thank you again for everybody who stuck around to the end , i love you all so, so much.

i'm starting a new fic... it's about sakusa.... if u wanna be in the taglist....... just send an ask.......... or comment on that masterlist......... i love you sososoos much...........

taglist :

@matchagirliris , @phoenix-eclipses , @luvvmae , @meosq , @jtaimeurmom

@cupidsblonde , @strawbeariesei , @meeeepsworld

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x43 - A Dangerous Game! Pinocchimon / Playing Games

Previously on Digimon Adventure: After an arduous battle, WarGreymon finally defeated MetalSeadramon. Whamon only scored an Assist despite doing a ridiculous amount of work to make that happen, which really goes to show how unfairly competitive PVP games incentivize toxic play over support and teamwork.

Due to the staggering of episode breaks, the original picks up fresh where we left off while the dub keeps on going 'cause we're two minutes into the new one. The children watch the ocean ribbon around Spiral Mountain withdraw back into the world below.

Takeru: Spiral Mountain's ocean is returning to normal! Hikari: Why? Gomamon: It must be because we defeated its ruler MetalSeadramon! Koushiro: So the dark powers controlling it disappeared! Taichi: Our win cleaned out some of the darkness in this world! Jou: Let's keep this pace up and defeat the rest of the Dark Masters! Tailmon: And then peace will return to Earth! Taichi: YES!!! LET'S GO!!! Jou, Tailmon, & Piyomon: YEAH!!!

MetalSeadramon ate shit and now we're 1/4 of the way to purifying the two worlds. The kids share a moment of excitement and jubilation.

...I mean, Yamato seems to be much more interested in whatever Mimi's doing than in this conversation but you can barely notice them; I'm sure it's not important.

The reversion of MetalSeadramon's domain is a fascinating plot point because it speaks to how corrupt and artificial Spiral Mountain truly is. They didn't just change the landscape, like building an artificial island out of dirt in a bay; The powers of darkness are actively forcing reality to be like this, against its nature. The Digital World is straining to return to its natural state, and will do so as soon as the obstruction is removed.

Like two north ends of a magnet being forced to touch each other by a Dark Master holding them together.

In the dub:

T.K.: Spiral Mountain's ocean is almost completely gone! Kari: But why? Gomamon: Maybe because we kicked its Dark Master's butt! Izzy: Quite interesting, but does this affect us? Tai: Absolutely! It changes everything; If we're going to get any surfing in, we'd better hurry! Joe: Those wimpy Dark Masters are no threat to Super Joe! Gatomon: That's the digi-tude I like to hear from you humans! Tai: ALRIGHT, LET'S GO!!! Joe, Gatomon, & Biyomon: YEAH!!!

The dub follows the script up through Gomamon's line, then decides that's all the exposition we really need to understand what the rules are and what our plan needs to be from here.

To be fair, they're not wrong. The original dialogue is a bit dry and over-explains things. "We defeated the Dark Master so his domain was purified," doesn't actually need three lines to comprehend.

Though it's amazing how erroneously unimpressed Izzy is. "Okay but does this really affect us?" asks the dub's pseudo-intellectual version of the character who routinely uses big words to explain the lore incorrectly, about a cornerstone victory in our mission.

Rallied up and ready to go fight the other Dark Masters, the kids--

Mimi: Wait!

Taichi: What are you doing? Yamato: Can't you tell? They're making graves. Taichi: Huh? Graves? Mimi: (points to far right grave) That's Whamon's grave. (Next to it) That one's Piccolomon's. (far left) That one's Chuumon's. (lays hands on the one she's building) And this one is for Wizarmon. Sora: (solemnly) All of them were destroyed while trying to help us. Tailmon: They all died. You could say they were sacrifices to our cause. Taichi: Then we need to ganbaru for their sakes too!

Taichi tries to use ganbaru, the Japanese cultural value of perseverance through great hardship via hard work and diligence, to revive the gung-ho atmosphere he'd had going a moment ago. But his eagerness to rally the troops causes Mimi's boiling emotions to escalate.

Taichi: We must completely and utterly destroy our enemy! Mimi: I won't. Taichi: (surprised) What did you say? Mimi: I WON'T DO THIS ANYMORE!!! WHY DO WE HAVE TO KEEP FIGHTING!?!? Taichi: What are you talking about!? We have to avenge their deaths! Mimi: STOP IT!!!

Mimi has never wanted to be part of this. She's never been comfortable with the lengths they've had to go to for survival, and she's never liked all the violence. From the beginning of them being "chosen", all she's ever wanted was to go home.

Now, in the middle of grieving for their dead, Taichi starts talking about how we need to kick in the door and go shoot up our enemies, damn the consequences, and Mimi breaks completely.

The dub can't exactly disguise what Mimi's doing. It's pretty obvious what she's making. There's no talking around that.

Mimi: Wait! We're not through here yet. Tai: Mimi? What are you doing? Matt: In case you haven't noticed, some of our friends are gone. Tai: Oh. ...sorry. Mimi: (points to far right grave) That one is to remember Wizardmon. (Next to it) The one next to it is for Piximon. (far left) That one's Chuumon. (lays hands on the one she's building) And this one here is for Whamon. Sora: Mimi, they're not dead. It's more like they've been downloaded to a different computer. Gatomon: That's right. We're digital. Our information just gets reconfigured.

They can, however, deny that the character deaths are in any way meaningful and browbeat Mimi for overreacting. Thanks, I hate it.

Interesting choice to swap Whamon and WIzardmon's graves, though. They probably wanted Whamon's to be the one closest to Mimi, that she rests her hands on and later cries over, given how fresh that wound is. I agree with that change.

Tai: What better reason do we need to get the Dark Masters? Payback for making our friends leave! Mimi: I'm not going! Tai: Huh!? What did you say!? Mimi: I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!!! EVERY TIME WE FIGHT, WE WIND UP LOSING ANOTHER FRIEND!!! Tai: This is war, Mimi, and sometimes people we like get hurt, so DEAL WITH IT!!! Mimi: STOP IT, TAI!!!

:-O

Gonna be honest, based on how previous episodes have handled Taichi's flaws, I fully expected them to dial back Tai's unhelpful aggressiveness here. Nope! He legit tells Mimi "People die in war; Fucking deal with it!" Holy shit. Holy shit.

While Mimi's breaking down, Yamato cuts in on her behalf.

Yamato: TAICHI!!! Try to consider other people's feelings for a change! Taichi: Huh? What do you mean? Yamato: What you said is right, I'll give you that. Taichi: ... (confused) Yamato: But just because it's right, that doesn't mean we can all shove our feelings down and just do it! Taichi: (small gasp) ... Takeru: Onii-chan! Yamato: We all know that we need to keep moving forward! (Voice breaks, getting emotional) But there are times when you have to stop and remember what we've lost, aren't there?

We cut to a wide shot of the group, with Mimi both visibly and audibly crying for the entire rest of this conversation.

Mimi: (crying) Taichi: If we're always stopping to do that then we won't have time to save the world! Yamato: WE KNOW THAT!!! But... Sora: Hey, can we stop this? Everybody's upset. Palmon: (hugs Mimi) Don't cry, Mimi. Jou: We're too exposed out here. Let's move somewhere safer.

Sora steps in to be the peacemaker as usual, and bottle back up the boiling tensions that have been growing between Taichi and Yamato for months. Then Jou steps up to be the senpai and get everyone moving out of the open, and all of this hostility and intense emotion is pushed aside.

For now.

In the dub:

Matt: Enough! Why don't you stop and think about other people's feelings for a change! Tai: Huh!? What are you talking about!? Matt: We all know you're right, Tai, but just give us a little space! Tai: Huh? Matt: We miss our friends who fought alongside of us! Not everyone has ice running through their veins like you do! Tai: Wha--? T.K.: Calm down! Matt: You're so busy looking forward that you never take time to look back! We've lost some good friends here, Tai, and it's nice to remember them once in a while! Tai: If we always stop to do that, we'll never have enough time to save the world! Matt: You still don't get it! I know you hear me, but you're not listening! Mimi: (starts crying) Sora: STOP IT!!! You're making everyone upset! You two are supposed to be friends! Palmon: Don't cry, Mimi! Joe: We're sitting ducks out here. Let's find someplace a little less out in the open.

A while back, I talked about how Japanese aggressive language tends to attack someone's actions or words while English prefers to attack the person directly. We see a good example of that here.

Yamato: "Your words are correct but are spoken without consideration for others' feelings!" Matt: "You have ice in your veins!"

These are the same sentiment but expressed differently. Yamato attacks the thoughtless words that Taichi's been speaking while Matt attacks Tai personally.

In any case, I do think Yamato's in the right here. Taichi is correct in the big picture that defeating the remaining Dark Masters must be the goal. However, the kids are not mindless soldier drones; They're real people, children even, with real feelings that they need time to process. They have to be able to stop for a moment to breathe, and to mourn their fallen.

Also, Taichi made my kid cry so off the cliff he goes. Koushiro can relate.

The dub's take on this argument is... complicated. On the one hand, they made a point that nobody died and Mimi's overreacting, which weakens Matt's position. But the subtext is nonetheless clear, and Tai yelled at Mimi to suck it up and deal with wartime casualties so his thoughtlessness is still on full display.

The kids make their way into what is clearly Vamdemon's woods, or was once upon a time before Spiral Mountain.

They walk in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

Taichi: (thinking) Could I have been wrong? Yamato: (thinking) Do we really have no choice but to keep moving like this? Without ever stopping to rest? Takeru: (thinking) Onii-chan, why are you acting like this? Koushiro: (thinking) If this keeps up, our loyalty to each other will break down. I have to do something. Jou: (thinking) I need to find a place where we can stop and take a break. Sora: (thinking) Everybody's tired. Hikari: Onii-chan? Taichi: ...

Even when Hikari speaks up, calling out to Taichi, he walks on in silence and ignores her. This team is at its breaking point.

Mimi doesn't share any thoughts, but group shots show her walking with a hand over her eye. We can't hear her anymore, but she still seems to be crying.

In the dub:

Tai: (thinking) I'm not as cold as Matt thinks, am I? Matt: (thinking) Maybe I was a little too rough on Tai, but he's gotta respect our feelings! T.K.: (thinking) I've never seen Matt so upset before. Izzy: (thinking) This is terrible. We should be concentrating on fighting our enemies, not each other. Joe: (thinking) I just know they're all thinking about me! That's why no one's talking! Sora: (thinking) Everyone's so tired and cranky. Hikari: You okay? Tai: ....

Matt softens up a bit in the dub, though he still doubles down on his position like Yamato does all the same.

Jou, meanwhile, has another senpai moment turn into a laugh line about what a tool Joe is. Joe, what possible reason could you have for thinking that any of this is about you? You had one line in the argument and it was "We should get moving."

Suddenly, Hikari notices something. She stops walking, looking around the twisted woods around them.

Hikari: ... (Hikari hangs back) Tailmon: What's wrong, Hikari? Hikari: Did you hear something just now? Tailmon: Like what? Hikari: You didn't hear something like a voice? Tailmon: Like a voice? No, I didn't. Hikari: Oh.... Tailmon: We should catch up before we lose sight of the others! Hikari: Okay!

We're given no audio cues of any kind to indicate what Hikari heard. There is a sound, but it's a sharp SUSPENSE tone that plays when something startling or unexpected occurs.

We hear nothing in the dub either, though she has a bigger reaction to it. They replace the suspense tone with Kari herself making startled mouth noises.

Kari: Whuh!? (Kari hangs back) Gatomon: Why'd you stop, Kari? Kari: Did you hear a noise just now? Gatomon: What kind of noise? Kari: You mean you didn't hear someone speaking just a second ago? Gatomon: You mean a voice? No, I didn't hear anything at all. Kari: Weird. Gatomon: Come on, let's get back to the others. There's safety in numbers. Kari: (affirmative) Hm.

All in all, a pretty faithful translation.

Hikari hurries to catch up but, unbeknownst to the group, they're being monitored.

Taichi: (angry) Where did you go!? Hikari: I thought I heard something, but it was just my imagination. Taichi: It's dangerous, so don't wander off on your own! Hikari: Mm, okay.

While Taichi's scolding Hikari, we pan out to see that they're being monitored on a security screen.

Pinocchimon: They need to hurry up and get here! I'm getting tired of waiting for them.... Kiwimon: Well, they are human children. Pinocchimon: Ugh, honestly, they're so slow!

Pinocchimon presses a button on a remote in his hand, causing a conveyor belt beneath the children's feet to activate. It rushes them on ahead, startling everyone.

Taichi: Huh? What the...? Hikari: The scenery's rushing past us. Kids: EHHHHH!?!? Jou: WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!?!? Koushiro: The ground we're standing on is moving forward! Pinochimon: (in his room) There! I'm such a good host!

Nothing suspicious or dangerous about this whatsoever!

...maybe we could have stood to take our rest back at the graves.

In the dub:

Tai: (angry) Where were you two!? Kari: I thought I heard something but it was just my imagination. Tai: It's dangerous out here, so stay with the group. Kari: Okay, I'm sorry. (Pan out through security monitor into Puppetmon's place) Puppetmon: If these kids take any longer to get here, I will develop wood rot! Kiwimon: Have patience; Rome wasn't built in a day. Puppetmon: Yeah, but I was, and I'm tired of waiting! (Remote beep; Ground starts moving for the kids) Tai: Huh!? What's this!? Kari: Why are the trees running so fast!? Kids: AHHHHHHHHH!!! Joe: WHAT IS GOING ONE!?!? Izzy: THINGS AREN'T MOVING FASTER; WE ARE!!! THE GROUND WE'RE STANDING ON IS ACCELERATING!!! Puppetmon: This is more fun than the time I was fumigated for termites!

The dub's having a lot of fun making wood jokes with Puppetmon. Though the second one doesn't really make sense in context; Puppetmon was not built in a day. He's a Mega Digimon; It took a long time and a lot of hard work to become a Puppetmon.

Kiwimon's original voice performance is young and boyish, similar to Pinocchimon's. Dub Kiwimon is a stuffy old English butler, like Puppetmon's very own Alfred.

Now that the Chosen Children are on their way at turbo speed, it's time to figure out what sort of games Pinocchimon's going to play with them.

Pinocchimon: When those kids get here, what should we play with? Let's see....

Pinocchimon digs through his toy box before pulling out a revolver.

Pinocchimon: Aha! Check this out! A .44 Magnum. It's really destructive! (holds up a bullet) And this is a dumdum bullet! (loads it) When you shoot someone with this, you can see right through their stomach!

Demonstrating zero muzzle discipline whatsoever, Pinocchimon levels the gun straight at Kiwimon with his finger on the trigger.

"Dumdum bullet" is a way of saying it's an expanding bullet; One that's designed to expand on impact and create a much larger wound than a normal bullet would. Hollow points are a well-known type of dumdum bullet.

In the dub:

Puppetmon: (digging through toy box) Now, where did I put those dolls? I haven't seen some of these toys since I was a sapling!

That's it. That's all you're getting. He makes another wood joke and then we cut the fuck out of there before he finds what he's looking for. You can feel the censors screaming "ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!"

I have no doubts that this episode made at least a couple people on the dub team cry.

Incidentally, as a Wind Guardian, Puppetmon's "In-Training" form would have been a Yokomon. So he was, indeed, a sapling at one point. That joke checks out.

Meanwhile, the children try jumping off the track they're on to avoid whatever's waiting up ahead.

Taichi: Jump off to the side!

They jump off into the grass to their side, but then that grass starts moving instead of the conveyor. There's no getting out of this.

Koushiro: NOW THIS ONE'S MOVING!!! Sora: Hey, where do you think this is taking us? Yamato: Where else? The enemy must be waiting up ahead! Takeru: Oh no! Jou: We can't just let ourselves fall into the enemy's hands! Taichi: You're right....

Meanwhile, Pinocchimon's still digging through his toy chest. He takes out a long-range grabbing toy.

Pinocchimon: They still aren't here yet!?

Pinocchimon extends the toy, grabbing Kiwimon's head. Kiwimon pays it no mind.

Kiwimon: Pinocchimon-sama, there's no sign of the children anywhere. Pinocchimon: WHAT DID YOU SAY!?!?

Pinocchimon yanks Kiwimon offscreen, with comical crashing sound effect, then rushes over to see the monitor himself. Sure enough, the children are gone.

Pinocchimon: HUH!?!? W-WHY!?!?

Panicking Pinocchimon pulls out his remote and flips frantically through surveillance feeds, but can't find the children on any of them. We don't see for ourselves but, from audio, it seems that at some point he starts swapping through actual Japanese television channels rather than his security feeds.

Cutting back to the Children, we see they're actually still where we left them, right next to the edge where the currently moving grass chunk connects to the conveyor walkway. But they've climbed the trees and gotten out of sight.

Sora: I wonder if one of the Dark Masters is here. Koushiro: That seems likely. Jou: We were walking straight towards the enemy this whole time! Taichi: But we have to face them at some point anyway. It's the same result either way! Yamato: (angry) We all know that! You didn't have to say it, you know! Takeru: Onii-chan! Don't start fighting! Yamato: (softens) Takeru....

We may have had a momentary ceasefire, but things still aren't settled between Taichi and Yamato.

In the dub:

Tai: We've gotta jump off! (The kids jump, only for that chunk to start moving) Izzy: Now this part's moving! Sora: Obviously, someone's trying to get us somewhere and in a big hurry. Matt: I bet you're right. Why do I get the feeling that someone's not too friendly? T.K.: Oh no! Joe: This is the first time I've ever been carsick without a car! Tai: I've got a plan!

Joe's participation in this conversation is reduced to him whining about his poor constitution again, and the dub credits Tai for single-handedly coming up with the tree-climb escape.

Puppetmon: This one's always good for a few laughs. (Puppetmon long-range grabs Kiwimon) Kiwimon: Master!? Yes, that's very entertaining, Lord Puppetmon, but there's no sign of the children. (Puppetmon yanks Kiwimon offscreen and replaces him) Puppetmon: WHAT!?!? They were here a second ago! Where are they!? (beep) Not here... (beep) Not here! I need a new cable company!

Despite "I need a new cable company" being a perfect setup for the TV channel gag, it doesn't happen in this version. All we hear is the beeps from his remote while he flicks through the feeds.

Sora: I have a hunch that one of the Dark Masters is behind all this. Izzy: I bet you're right. Joe: We have to do something! I say we either keep going or we build a nest! Tai: Well, I say we have to fight whoever it is sooner or later, so let's get to it! Matt: Oh, come on! Again with the fighting? Why don't you just go to a neutral corner or something! T.K.: Come on, Matt; Please stop fighting. Matt: You keep out of this!

Yamato's problem is that Taichi's vocal eagerness to fight is insensitive to everybody else's feelings. He doesn't disagree that we do have to fight them but he doesn't like the blunt way Taichi expresses it; He doesn't like that Taichi seems almost excited to be walking into a trap, seeing it not as any kind of danger but as an opportunity to throw hands with the next Dark Master.

Taichi's position right now is basically Guardians 3 Star-Lord. "It's not a trap if you know the trapper's trying to trap you; Then it's a face off!"

Matt in this scene seems to be disagreeing with even fighting the Dark Masters at all? That's a sentiment Mimi expressed when she was breaking down, but that's not Yamato's position. Also, he snaps at T.K. to shut up, which is a pretty significant dialogue change to make him look even worse than his altered argument does.

Yamato backs off at Takeru's behest, but Taichi keeps pushing.

Taichi: If we stay in hiding, we'll end up getting slaughtered. We should go straight to where the enemy is! Yamato: Hold on a second! Takeru: Onii-chan!

Suddenly, Taichi flickers out of existence, as if teleported.

Yamato: Taichi disappeared! Hikari: Onii-chan! Koromon: TAICHI!!! Jou: Where did he go!? (vanishing sound effect; pan over to the others) Sora: Mimi-chan disappeared too! Palmon: Mimi, where are you!? (Sora and Koushiro disappear) Piyomon: Sora!? Tentomon: Ah, Koushiro-han is gone too! (Jou and Hikari vanish) Gomamon: Jou!? Tailmon: Hikari! Takeru: Everyone disappeared!

Suddenly and without warning, Takeru and Yamato are the only ones left in the tree. Well, them and all of the Digimon.

In the dub:

Tai: Alright, Matt, let's try it your way. We'll stay up here and wait for the enemy to get us! Matt: That's not what I meant! T.K.: Stop it, Matt! (Tai vanishes) Matt: Where'd Tai go!? He disappeared! Kari: Did he fall!? Koromon: Oh no! Joe: He vanished into thin air! (vanishing sound effect; pan over to the others) Sora: Look! Now Mimi's gone! Palmon: Mimi, come back! (Sora and Izzy disappear) Piyomon: Sora!? Tentomon: Maybe their screensavers are on sleep! (Joe and Kari vanish) Gomamon: Joe! Tailmon: Kari! T.K.: Everybody's disappeared but us!

Not sure what Tentomon's joke here is supposed to mean, but otherwise pretty faithful.

The kids re-emerge in pairs throughout the forest, in the order they disappeared.

Taichi and Mimi appear together.

Taichi: What the--!? Mimi: EHHH!?!?

Sora and Koushiro appear together, with Koushiro standing on a log.

Sora: W-What just happened? Koushiro: The enemy must be behind this.

Jou and Hikari appear together, with Jou appearing in a pool of mud which splashes all over him. Because fate is unkind to our poor put-upon senpai.

Jou: WAAAUGH!!! It's cold.... Hikari: ...Tailmon?

While Yamato and Takeru remain in the tree, untransported.

Yamato: They're gone! Takeru: Why? How did this happen? Yamato: I don't know. The enemy must have done something to them.

In the dub:

(Tai and Mimi appear) Tai: Ah! What's going on!? Mimi: OH!?!? (Sora and Izzy appear) Sora: Huh!? How'd we get over here!? Izzy: We've been transported! (Joe and Kari appear) Joe: WAAAUGH!!! I hate mud. Kari: GATOMON!!! (Matt and T.K. remain) Matt: I think it's over! T.K.: But now we're separated from everyone else! Matt: Don't worry; We'll be alright without the others. Especially Tai!

Two separate characters speculating that the Dark Masters are doing this have their lines changed. This hits Matt the hardest, as his replacement line is incredibly spiteful.

Unsure of what's going on, Yamato turns his attention to what matters most to him.

Yamato: Takeru. Takeru: What? Yamato: I'll do whatever it takes to protect you, so stay close to me. Takeru: Onii-chan, we only made it this far by working as a team. So why do you keep giving me special treatment? Yamato: ...Takeru...? Takeru: (hurt) I've been fighting right there beside the rest of you this whole time! Haven't I? Am I just a burden to you? Onii-chan, are you saying you'll protect me because you see me as unreliable? Yamato: Takeru, that's not what I meant... I... What I wanted to say was.... Takeru: What? Yamato: (thinking) I... I....

This has been a long-time coming, since all the way back on File Island. It has its roots all the way back in the Seadramon episode, when Yamato wanted to remove the bones from Takeru's fish but Taichi taught Takeru to do it himself. Takeru feels infantilized by Yamato's treatment, and is finally confronting Yamato about it.

In the dub, this comes on the heels of Matt saying they're better off on their own and to screw the others, so the vibe is different.

Matt: T.K.? T.K.: Yeah? Matt: Just stick close to me and I'll protect you no matter what happens! T.K.: Listen, Matt. The only reason we got this far is because we worked as a team. Each one of us has played a part along the way in keeping us together, including Tai! Matt: But I...! T.K.: (angry) And I don't need you to protect me all the time, neither! If you haven't noticed, I've grown up a lot! I've fought alongside you guys since the beginning and I've always held my own! Matt: T.K., that's not what I meant. What I... What I wanted to say was.... T.K.: What? Matt: (thinking) I'm pushing everyone away!

This is meant to be a close, personal moment about the long-running wedge that's been growing between the brothers. The dub makes it about Matt failing to appreciate the contributions of Tai and the rest of their group, including T.K.'s.

It still makes time for T.K. to bring up Matt's behavior, but that's not the focus of the scene. And T.K. furiously yells at Matt about it, rather than the more sensitive and wounded tone he takes during the original confrontation.

Cut to Pinocchimon in his room. He's laid out a crudely drawn forest map, using dolls of the kids for the teleportation trick. Those are the dolls he was looking for in the dub, before they cut the parts with the gun.

Pinocchimon: (singing) One, two, and three have disappeared~! Pinocchimon: Hey, Kiwimon! This is taking too long. I should just kill them all. Kiwimon: Then you won't have anyone left to play with. Pinocchimon: I guess you're right.

Taking aim with his slingshot, Pinocchimon shoots Jou's doll in the stomach, knocking it over. The real Jou grabs his stomach and screams in agony, falling into the mud from the force of Pinocchimon's shot.

Hikari: JOU-SAN!!! Pinocchimon: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Watching through the monitor, Pinocchimon cracks up laughing at Jou's agony.

Hikari: Jou-san, are you okay? Jou: My stomach suddenly.... Hikari: Does your stomach hurt? Jou: I've been shot in the stomach! Hikari: EHHH!?!?

The dub changes up Puppetmon's sing-song to something that will better rhyme in English.

Puppetmon: (singing) One, two, three, you're still in the tree~! Puppetmon: ...y'know, Kiwimon, this isn't as much fun as I thought it would be. I should just destroy them all. Kiwimon: Then you won't have anyone left to play with. Puppetmon: Good point! (Puppetmon shoots Joe, who falls down screaming) Kari: JOE!!! Puppetmon: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Kari: Joe, are you alright!? Joe: My stomach...! Kari: What's wrong? Does it hurt? Joe: No! I'm just doing this 'cause it's fun! Kari: JOE!!!

Even with a slingshot, they seem reluctant to let Joe state he's been shot. Joe sarcastically quips instead. Solid sarcastic quip, though. Perfectly suits the tone.

Pinocchimon has some more ideas to play around with the children.

Pinocchimon: I think I'll try this next... Take this... And this... And do this!

Pinocchimon swaps Taichi and Jou's dolls, causing them to teleport into each other's places.

Hikari: (Taichi appears) Onii-chan! Mimi: (Jou appears) What's going on!? Pinocchimon: Then I do this.... (Pinocchimon swaps Hikari for Sora) Taichi: Hikari! Again!? Koushiro: (sees Hikari appear) Hikari-san! Hikari: Koushiro-san! Where am I? Pinocchimon: And when I do this....

Pinocchimon turns Taichi's doll upside-down and bops his head on the ground. The same happens to Taichi.

Sora: T-Taichi!? Taichi: AUGH!!!

He swaps Yamato in the tree for Koushiro, then swaps Takeru for Mimi.

Koushiro: Mimi-san!

Then he picks up Takeru's doll and tickles him in the belly.

Pinocchimon: TICKLE TICKLE TICKLE TICKLE TICKLE!!! Takeru: (laughing hysterically and flailing in midair) (Takeru's set back down on the ground) Jou: Are you okay, Takeru-ku--WAUGH!!! (Jou vanishes, replaced by Yamato) Takeru: Onii-chan! Yamato: Takeru! (hug)

In the dub:

Puppetmon: I've got a new game I want to play! Come here! You too! (Puppetmon swaps Tai and Joe) Kari: (Tai appears; sarcastic) Oh, brother. Mimi: (Joe appears) AHH!!! STOP MOVING!!! Puppetmon: This is like playing chess with the DigiDestined! Tai: Kari! Kari: HELP!!! (vanishes, replaced by Sora) Izzy: (Kari appears) Fascinating! Kari: Maybe for you! Where are we? Puppetmon: We've reached the turning point! (turns Tai upside-down and bops him) Sora: Impossible! Tai: Ugh! (Matt and T.K. exchanged for Izzy and Mimi) Izzy: (Mimi appears) Welcome back! Puppetmon: (tickles T.K.) Coochie-coochie-coo! T.K.: (laughing hysterically and flailing in midair) (T.K.'s set back down on the ground) Joe: I don't know what's so funny but this is no laughing ma-- (Joe vanishes, replaced by Matt) T.K.: Matt, you're back! Matt: T.K.! (hug)

Most of this scene is the kids flailing and yelling each other's names so it'd be hard to get wrong. The dub has some good bits in it. I like Izzy's "Fascinating...." when he sees Kari pop up, and having Joe cut off mid-complaint was also pretty fun.

While the children are being teleported around left and right, the Digimon remain up in the tree.

Piyomon: Where did everybody go? Tailmon: We're no help up here. Let's go search for them! Patamon: Got it! I'll go find Takeru! Mimi: (quietly) ...I'm going to wait here.... Koromon: Koushiro! You stay here with Mimi! Koushiro: Understood. Please find everyone else. Digimon: ON IT!!!

The Digimon leap down from the tree, heading into the forest to find their Partners.

Meanwhile, in Pinocchimon's room, he's making choices. On the surveillance monitor, he's zoomed in on Takeru.

Pinocchimon: I think I'll play with this one first. He looks fun to pick on! Kiwimon: Shall I retrieve him? Pinocchimon: Nah. I'll go get him myself.

Pinocchimon slides down the fireman's pole in his room to the ground floor, then sprints out the front door, eager to acquire his new toy.

In the dub:

Biyomon: You know, I'm getting tired of doing nothing. Gatomon: I won't be some cat stuck in a tree! Let's go look for them. Patamon: Good idea. I'll start by looking for T.K.! Mimi: Oh, this is awful! Koromon: You said it! How could it get any worse? (Cracking sound) Izzy: I'll tell you how! The branches are starting to crack! Digimon: AHHHHH!!! (leap down from the tree) Patamon: They should learn to fly.

A small change: Tailmon takes charge of the Digimon in this scene, demonstrating her maturity and headstrong confidence. The dub lets Biyomon be the one to broach the topic of taking action, though Gatomon's still the one who cements it into a plan.

The more glaring change is Mimi and Koushiro. Mimi refuses to leave the tree, finally delivering the first significant line she's had since she broke down crying at the graves of Whamon and the others. It's a reminder that she is, at this point, utterly traumatized into inaction.

Which the Digimon accept without question, charging Koushiro to watch over her while they go into the fray.

The dub swaps that out for a more generic "This is awful", offering no reason why Mimi and Izzy would remain in the tree - especially after adding in that the branches are all about to break? Weird-ass choice.

Puppetmon: I think I found a new toy to play with. He looks very easy to scare. Kiwimon: You want me to get him for you? Puppetmon: No! I'll get this one myself!

That part's pretty faithful.

We go to a commercial break from here and come back to Yamato checking on Takeru.

Yamato: Takeru, are you okay? Takeru: Uh, I think so, but I suddenly felt something tickling me and I couldn't stop laughing. Maybe something's wrong with me. Yamato: Are you sure you're not hurt? Takeru: Hey, stop worrying about me so much! I can take care of myself now! Yamato: Takeru.... Pinocchimon: (singing in the distance) Let's play~!

Yamato stands up quickly. He and Takeru frantically scan the woods around them.

Takeru: Who's that? Pinocchimon: (slightly closer) Let's play~! Yamato: Takeru, be careful! Pinocchimon: (very close) Let's play~! Takeru: (thinking) The voice is getting closer....

Suddenly, Pinocchimon claps his hands over Takeru's eyes from behind. Takeru reacts quickly, grabbing the hands and shoving them away, then sprinting forward and whipping around as soon as he's free from Pinocchimon's grasp.

Pinocchimon backflips away from Takeru, landing a short distance away and raising his hands.

Pinocchimon: Let's play! Takeru: You're....

Before Takeru can finish that thought, Yamato steps between them.

Yamato: Just try and lay a finger on Takeru again! I'll make you regret it!

In the dub:

Matt: T.K., are you alright? T.K.: I guess so! But I felt like something was tickling me and I couldn't stop laughing! I wonder if there's something wrong with me? Matt: Are you sure you're not hurt? T.K.: Hey! Stop being so worried about me! I told you before that I know how to take care of myself! Matt: (startled) Okay! Puppetmon: (singing in the distance) Hey T.K.! (slightly closer) Whaddya sa~ay! Matt: T.K., stay close. Puppetmon: (Very close) Time to pla~ay? T.K.: (thinking) Sounds like the voice is getting closer! (Puppetmon puts his hands over T.K.'s eyes; T.K. forces him off) Puppetmon: TIME TO PLAY!!! T.K.: It's you! Matt: (steps between) Keep your hands off my brother, Puppetmon, or I'll chop you into firewood!

I like Puppetmon's sing-song here. Good creepy rhyming scheme. Pinocchimon's steady repetition of the same singsong notes getting closer and closer also works for creepiness factor. They both handled that well.

Matt's "chop you into firewood" crack is my favorite of the wood jokes thus far.

Despite Yamato's attempt to intervene, Pinocchimon isn't interested in him. He continues to address Takeru directly.

Pinocchimon: So your name is Takeru. Hey, join me in a game of war. Takeru: A game? Like... just pretend? Pinocchimon: That's right. Here, I'll let you use this.

Pinocchimon holds up an uzi, then tosses it over to Takeru. Takeru catches it with both hands.

Takeru: I-It's heavy....

He drops the gun causing it to misfire and let off a few rounds. Takeru screams, flailing to stay out of its firing line until it stops.

Takeru: TH-THIS IS A REAL GUN!!! I'D DIE IF I PLAYED WITH THIS THING!!! Pinocchimon: OF COURSE!!! Dying for real is what makes the game fun! But don't worry, I won't let you die that easily. It'd be pretty boring if you died right away.

Natsuko has educated her son well about the dangers of being reckless around firearms.

Fucking viruses, y'all.

In the dub, Puppetmon talks to Matt instead of ignoring him and addressing T.K. directly.

Puppetmon: Aww, come on. All I wanted to do was play a little game of War with T.K.! T.K.: Oh? Play? You mean, like, pretend?

Then they cut the entire bit with the uzi and skip to Pinocchimon's response to Takeru's outrage.

Puppetmon: BUT OF COURSE!!! At least, in the beginning, it will be make-believe anyway! But then it's BYE-BYE!!! And it will be time to destroy you for real. If I got rid of you now, I'd have no fun!

So, obviously, the key difference between versions here is that Takeru did not accidentally misfire a machine gun.

As a small characterization note, Puppetmon doesn't quite grasp the idea that playing and killing are the same; He draws a clear line between the two.

Obviously, Yamato has some concerns about all of this.

Yamato: Takeru! Don't listen to him! Pinocchimon: YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!!!

Pinocchimon throws a red ball at Yamato, which explodes into ribbons to bind him.

Yamato: This...! Takeru: ONII-CHAN!!!

He tries to remain on his feet, but topples over after a second and falls forward into the dirt.

Takeru: ONII-CHAAAAN!!! Pinocchimon: Now, let's get going! Takeru: NO!!! Pinocchimon: You refuse? Hmm... It won't be any fun if you won't come, so... (points at Yamato) Maybe I'll just kill him instead. Takeru: Ah! Pinocchimon: Well...? Takeru: You can't! Pinocchimon: Then you're coming? Yamato: TAKERU!!! DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!!! Pinocchimon: Shut up!!!

Pinocchimon summons some extra ribbons to bind Yamato's mouth, so he can no longer participate in this conversation he wasn't invited to.

Pinocchimon: So, what do you say?

Takeru kneels down and picks up the discarded uzi from the ground.

Takeru: I'll go. I just have to come with you, right? Pinocchimon: That's what I wanted to hear!

Pinocchimon leads the way, while Yamato strains against his bonds and tries to talk through the muffling ribbons.

In the dub:

Matt: T.K., he's just trying to scare you! Don't listen to him! Puppetmon: DON'T LIE TO HIM OR YOUR NOSE WILL GROW!!! (Puppetmon ties Matt up in ribbons) Matt: I CAN'T MOVE NOW!!! T.K.: Are you okay!? (Matt falls down) T.K.: MATT!!! Puppetmon: Now, shall we get going? T.K.: Forget it! Puppetmon: You don't want to? Hmm... Well, if you don't come with me, it's no fun! (points at Matt) Maybe instead I'll destroooooy... your brother! Whaddya say? T.K.: Okay, I'll come! Puppetmon: That's a good boy! Matt: T.K., it's a trap! Run away now while you still can! Puppetmon: Shut up! (Puppetmon gags Matt) Puppetmon: So, is it a deal?

Unsurprisingly, they cut the shot of Takeru picking up the uzi and have Puppetmon keep speaking.

Puppetmon: We'll have lots of fun! Hehehehehe.... (walks off)

"Don't lie or your nose will grow" is a solid reference to Puppetmon's inspiration. I like that line.

Though the original "Stay out of this!" bit speaks to the core of this scene; Emphasizing that this is strictly between Takeru and Pinocchimon, and that Yamato's participation is unwelcome. This plays to the conflict between Yamato and Takeru.

Super weird delivery on "I'll destroy your brother," as sometimes happens when English lines have to shore up to lip flaps that were originally delivering Japanese dialogue.

Matt yelling "It's a trap" is hilarious. OH REALLY? Evil Pinocchio saying "Come play a game with me and I'll kill you when it's done" is a trap? You think so? I dunno. I like the cut of his jib.

Matt is yelling the blindingly obvious, but that works for me because it conveys his lack of trust in T.K. Pinocchimon's standing there with a neon sign that says "COME ENJOY MY TRAP" and Matt doesn't think T.K. can tell that the trap is, in fact, a trap.

Takeru follows Pinocchimon to his mansion, and playtime begins.

In a clear reference to the James Bond franchise, we look down the barrel of Pinocchimon's revolver while he sweeps it around the room, passing Takeru first but then going back for him. Takeru sets the uzi down helplessly on the ground when he realizes he's been made.

Pinocchimon: There you are! BANG!!!

Takeru flinches as if he'd been shot.

Pinocchimon: Hurry up and run; This is getting boring. Takeru: O-Okay!

Leaving the uzi behind, Takeru runs off deeper into the house.

Most of this does not make it into the dub. We hear Puppetmon's voice overlaid against an exterior shot of his house.

Puppetmon: Now you hide and I'll seek and destroy!

Followed by T.K. running for his life down the hallway. They also cut a shot from later of T.K. running up the stairs back in the foyer, with some direct editing done to paint over the revolver in Puppetmon's hand.

Puppetmon: That's good! Keep running! You make the game interesting!

Sprinting down the hall of Pinocchimon's mansion, Takeru looks for a place to hide.

Inside the room down the hall, Mushroomon and Blossomon can hear Takeru's footsteps.

Blossomon: Someone's coming. Mushroomon: Wonder who it is? Blossomon: Must be Pinocchimon-sama's new toy.

Takeru throws open the door and hides inside the room with them. Seeing the two Digimon inside, he doesn't really know what to say.

Takeru: U-Um....

He ignores them and then races around behind a shelf before peeking out.

Takeru: H-Hey, don't tell anyone I'm hiding here, okay?

Before the pair can even say anything, the door opens again. Pinocchimon enters the room.

Pinocchimon: Hey, did Takeru come in here? Blossomon: Takeru? Oh, if you mean that human boy, he's hiding behind the shelves. Pinocchimon: Really? Great!

Pinocchimon runs around to the shelves, then levels his gun at the gap, but Takeru is nowhere to be found.

Pinocchimon: Hands up! ...huh? He's not here? Mushroomon: WHAT!? THAT CAN'T BE!!! WE JUST SAW HIM!!!

Mushroomon and Blossomon run forward to see for themselves. Behind them, in the background, Takeru can be seen creeping around the wall to take cover behind the door.

Pinocchimon: LIARS!!!

Pinocchimon furiously lets out two shots, executing them both. Mushroomon and Blossomon disintegrate into pixels.

(Blossomon was a Perfect so, y'know, holy shit. Hollow-point ammunition is no joke.)

Pinocchimon: They make me so mad! (Takeru suddenly sprints out the door) Pinocchimon: Ah! There you are!

Then we get the shot the dub already used, of Takeru running up the stairs from the foyer.

Pinocchimon: (pursuing) Heading upstairs?

Takeru demonstrating how capable he is in this scene. Not only evading Pinocchimon in this closed room, but even outwitting two henchmon that would have spoiled his escape.

In the dub:

Blossomon: Hey, someone's coming! Mushroomon: Who could it be? Blossomon: Sounds to me like Lord Puppetmon has found a new play toy! (T.K. enters the room) T.K.: Oh, hi there! ...bye! (T.K. hides behind the shelf) T.K.: By the way, I'm hiding back here so don't say anything, 'kay? Mushroomon: No problem. (Puppetmon enters with his gun painted over) Puppetmon: Hey, you guys; You didn't happen to see a little kid run back here, did ya? He's got a green hat and a backpack. Blossomon: No, we didn't see anything like that, boss. Mushroomon: All we saw was a kid wearing a backpack and a green hat. He's hiding over there. Puppetmon: LOSERS!!!

They cut up the footage on Mushroomon and Blossomon's lines, so they can show as little of Puppetmon holding gun-shaped air as possible. They splice in close-ups of Mushroomon and Blossomon's faces for their lines.

Then, on "LOSERS", a super close-up of Puppetmon running through the hall edited to only show him from shoulders up replaces the actual footage of him jogging across the room and trying to ambush Takeru.

We rejoin the real footage at the shot of the empty space behind the shelves, since Pinocchimon's facing away for that and the gun is out-of-frame.

Puppetmon: Come out, come out wherever you are! Especially if you're behind the door. (Takeru runs out the door) Puppetmon: Aha!

Once he finds the space behind the shelf empty, the rest of this scene is cut. Blossomon and Mushroomon simply cease existing between shots and we go straight to Takeru running out the door.

Out in the woods, Patamon discovers Pinocchimon's mansion.

Patamon: What's a building doing out here? Maybe Takeru is in there!

Patamon goes in to investigate.

Inside the house, Takeru slips into Pinocchimon's playroom, looking for a place to hide. He unknowingly steps on Pinocchimon's remote, turning on the moving walkways and bringing all the children outside to a centralized location; Even the tree Mimi and Koushiro are in.

Jou: What's going on here!?

The Digimon cheerfully run up, joining the group.

Digimon/Piyomon: (miscellaneous vocalizing of cheers) / Sora! Gabumon: (alarmed) Yamato!

Gabumon slashes open Yamato's bindings with his claws.

Yamato: Takeru! Pinocchimon got Takeru! Taichi: What!? Hikari: That's terrible! Sora: We have to save him! Taichi: Where did Pinocchimon take Takeru? Yamato: (voice breaks, grabs his head despondently) I don't know.... Taichi: PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER, YAMATO!!! Koushiro: I'm sure the moving walkway we were on before must lead to Pinocchimon. Jou: Yeah, that's right! Koromon: LET'S GO LOOK FOR THAT WALKWAY!!! Taichi: Yes! Let's go, everyone!

Back at the graves was not the time for Taichi. But now is the time for Taichi. Bold and immediate action is demanded of this situation.

In the dub:

Patamon: Hey, look! A house in the middle of the forest! I wonder if anyone inside has seen T.K.? (T.K. accidentally brings everyone together outside) Joe: What's going on around here!? Digimon: (run up) YAY!!! Gabumon: (alarmed) Matt! (Gabumon cuts Matt loose) Matt: T.K.! T.K. was taken prisoner by Puppetmon! Tai: Puppetmon!? Kari: Oh no! Sora: We have to help him! Tai: Where'd that creepy little toothpick take T.K.!? Matt: (voice breaks, grabs his head despondently) I don't know...! Tai: GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF, MATT!!! Izzy: It shouldn't be that difficult to find them. I'm sure that first road we were on leads directly to Puppetmon. Joe: Then we'll all be trapped! Koromon: It's worth it to save T.K.! Tai: I agree! Let's go get 'em!

Joe's last line is changed to make him look cowardly and reluctant, when he was agreeing with this plan in the original.

"Creepy little toothpick". They are not letting up with the wood jokes but, again, that's a good one. Nicely personalized insult for Evil Pinocchio.

I like it when writers come up with inhuman insults for inhuman characters.

With a plan made, Taichi and Koromon rally the team. But before they can set out, they're interrupted by a new contestant.

Taichi: What the--? Kiwimon: Pinocchimon-sama is enjoying his playtime. Please do not interfere.

Kiwimon is an Adult-stage Data-type Ancient Bird Digimon from the Wind Guardians lineup, evolved from a Floramon that's been well-cared for but poorly trained.

I. Um. I need us all to try and be very mature (snerk) about their special attack name. Okay? Can we be grown-ups about this? (haha)

Narrator: Kiwimon. An ancient Digimon who was once believed to be extinct. Despite being a bird-type Digimon, their wings have degenerated so they cannot fly. Their special attack is Little Pecker. Kiwimon: LITTLE PECKER!!!

Look, when they were giving the move its fancy exotic English Words name, they probably didn't know. It makes sense in context. But holy shit, that is not making it across the pond intact. XD

Little Pecker is one of those attacks that spawn mini-me's, like Dokugumon's itty-bitty mini-Dokugumon drones. Kiwimon spits a gatling gun of chibi Kiwimon bullets.

In the dub:

Tai: Who are you!? Kiwimon: No one may interfere with Master Puppetmon's playtime. You're all staying right here. Tentomon: (rundown) OH NO, IT'S KIWIMON!!! An ancient Digimon that was said to be extinct! Although he's a bird-type Digimon, his wings have degenerated so he can't fly! Kiwimon: PUMMEL PECK!!!

Between Bullet Hammer/Puppet Pummel and Little Pecker/Pummel Peck, "pummel" is becoming the go-to word for sweeping uncomfortable attack names under the rug.

Tentomon does a fantastic job with the diegetic rundown. Covers everything.

Koromon evolves to Agumon and the Digimon take turns firing off their attacks; Each shot destroying one of Kiwimon's Little Peckers. Meanwhile, Patamon enters Pinocchimon's estate through the window, entering his playroom.

Patamon: What's this? (picks up Pinocchimon's remote) What are these dolls for?

Patamon prods Jou's doll, causing it to fall over. Then he hears a loud yelp from the monitor displaying the Chosen Children.

Jou: WAUGH-OW!!! Gomamon: What's wrong, Jou? Jou: Someone pushed me out of nowhere! Hikari: (gasp) Are you okay, Jou-san!? Patamon: This is... Then this would be....

Patamon starts pushing buttons on Pinocchimon's remote, watching the walkways move on the screen.

Patamon: Ah! I have to tell Takeru about this!

In the dub, Patamon says nothing when he picks up the remote; His lip flaps simply move in silence. Then he moves on to the dolls.

Patamon: I wonder what these dolls are for? (Patamon pokes Joe) Patamon: This one looks like Joe.

Joe's offscreen reaction when Patamon pokes the doll is weirdly reserved and quiet.

Joe: Agh. Oof. Gomamon: Joe, what happened!? Joe: Why does this stuff always happen to me? Gomamon: What!? Kari: Weird. I didn't see anyone push you. Patamon: Joe's on TV!? Let's see what else is one. (pokes buttons) (The walkways start moving in response to Patamon) Patamon: Ohhh! Hm... Now that's what I call a remote control!

An invisible force suddenly shoves Joe to the ground and his in-the-moment kneejerk reaction is "Yeah, I guess this might as well happen." Poor Joe. What have we done to this boy's self-confidence?

Elsewhere in the mansion, Hide and Go Shoot is not going well for Takeru.

Takeru runs for a staircase to take him downstairs, but Pinocchimon cuts him off, coming up those same stairs.

Pinocchimon: Found you!

Pinocchimon starts shooting, each bullet striking the floor by Takeru's feet and forcing him to jump until finally he loses his balance and falls on his butt.

Pinocchimon: Hehe! I think I'll start with your legs. Revolver: Click. Pinocchimon: ...h-huh? Revolver: Click. Click. Pinocchimon: I'm out of bullets. Got to put in some new ones.

Calling a timeout on Takeru's impending torturous execution, Pinocchimon rifles through his pockets. Then, one by one, he slowly pulls each bullet out individually and loads it into the revolver's chamber.

Pinocchimon's glacially slow reloading buys Takeru an opportunity to think things through and try to figure out a game plan.

Takeru: (thinking) At this rate, he's going to kill me. I have to do something. Something....

The dub edits the gun out of Puppetmon's hand as he comes up the stairs, but they missed a frame. For one single frame you can see the gun flicker in and out of existence. It's super subtle and flashes by quick, though, so it can easily be mistaken for one of Puppetmon's miscellaneous doodads moving around as he's running.

Pretty much all of this scene is cut after he reaches the top. They splice in footage from the next scene, where Puppetmon and Takeru are standing and talking with his gun safely hanging by his side off-camera.

The only part they keep is Pinocchimon rifling through his pocket for bullets, which gets recontextualized.

Puppetmon: There you are! I found you! The game's over! T.K.: Ohhh. Puppetmon: (rifling) I'm gonna destroy you in a minute, but first I have to scratch my legs! T.K.: Hmm. Puppetmon: I guess that's what I get for having a leg made of poison oak! T.K.: (thinking) I can outsmart him!

They stand there and chat, and then T.K. realizes, "Oh, he's dumb. Neat." Moving along.

Thinking about everything he's learned about Pinocchimon, Takeru executes his master plan before Pinocchimon can finish reloading.

Takeru: (whining) Awww... This isn't any fun at all.

Pinocchimon stops reloading, letting out a surprised and self-conscious gasp. Rook takes bishop.

Pinocchimon: What was that!? Takeru: I'm sick of doing the same thing over and over. I wasn't expecting you to be such a boring person. Pinocchimon: No one's ever said that to me before! Takeru: Really? That's probably because you don't have any friends, huh?

Direct hit. Pinocchimon flinches as if struck, then sheepishly looks off to the side.

Pinocchimon: ...I-I have friends.... Takeru: Then why haven't I met any of them? Pinocchimon: ...I'll introduce you at some point-- Takeru: (jogs over to Pinocchimon) Not "at some point". Do it now! Pinocchimon: Now... isn't a good time.... Takeru: Ehh? (leans in) Sounds like you don't have any real friends at all! Pinocchimon: I do too! I'll go get one right now, so wait here!

Desperate to prove himself, Pinocchimon completely forgets that he was about to execute Takeru and sprints downstairs to find a friend he can show off.

As soon as he's gone, Patamon flies up with the remote in hand.

Patamon: Takeru! Takeru: Patamon!

Someone's not going to have to look far to find a friend.

The dub picks up from T.K. casually deciding he can outsmart Puppetmon. They have to do a lot of painting over in this scene to erase the gun from wide shots as well as the bullet holes in the floor. Though they also try to minimize how many shots they use that require that.

T.K.: How boring! I'm not having any fun at all! Puppetmon: Whaaaat!? I'm the life of the party! I put the fun in fungus! T.K.: Ha! You just play the same game over and over again! Boring! Puppetmon: (flinches, sheepish) ...I'm not boring.... T.K.: Well, if that's true, how come you don't have any real friends?

They play that shot of a skeptical bean-mouthed Takeru pressing the advantage twice, so they can use the second one to replace a wide shot of him crossing the hall and closing distance with Puppetmon.

So he bean-mouths a second time, then offscreen teleports to lean in close to Puppetmon.

Puppetmon: I-I've got friends.... Takeru: (leans in) Yeah? Then how come I haven't met these so-called friends of yours? Puppetmon: Alright! Then I'll get them and introduce you right now! (Puppetmon runs off; Patamon approaches) Patamon: T.K.! T.K.: Patamon!

Honestly, the game has been pretty boring in the dub. Because the majority of what they're actually doing had to be cut, Puppetmon and T.K. run around the house playing an ordinary game of hide and go seek.

And since they're still needing to cut footage to hurry us along past the gun as fast as possible, Puppetmon caves to less pressure than it took to get Pinocchimon to fuck off too. Takeru had to work harder to walk Pinocchimon into that emotional mousetrap than T.K. did.

SuckerPinocchimon goes downstairs to a storage closet, picking out parts. He selects a football.

Pinocchimon: This will work....

Unbeknownst to him, Patamon and Takeru are in his playroom going to work.

Takeru rips up the map Pinocchimon was using for his teleport shenanigans. Then he takes a hammer and smashes Pinocchimon's remote to pieces.

Meanwhile, out in the woods, the children are still dealing with Kiwimon. With their numeric advantage, they easily shoot Kiwimon's Little Peckers out of the air.

Yamato: Hey! Where's Takeru? Kiwimon: Hnhnhnhnnn.... Yamato: ANSWER ME!!! Taichi: Yamato! Let's just focus on destroying them. Yamato: (angry) Like you understand how I feel! Taichi: If we don't destroy them, we won't be able to go rescue Takeru! Yamato: No! We should find out where Takeru is before we destroy them! GABUMON!!! Gabumon: Got it. Gabumon, WARP-SHINKAAAAAA!!!

Gabumon says the words, but nothing occurs. Yamato's Digivice and Crest are still and silent.

Yamato: (lightly shaking, shocked) ...It won't glow.... Gabumon: What's wrong, Yamato? I can't evolve. Kiwimon: LITTLE PECKER!!!

YOU and your inappropriately named attack stay out of this! We are having a moment here!

They're both kinda right here. Kiwimon can't tell us anything when they're pixel dust. We do need to go through Kiwimon to get to where we think Takeru is but we're only assuming we know where Pinocchimon took him.

Taichi wants to blow through Kiwimon and go straight for where we think Pinocchimon's lair is, while Yamato wants to stop and interrogate Kiwimon which takes time we might not have. Both of these positions have their pros and cons.

But Yamato is also so emotionally compromised by Takeru being in peril that he tried to burn an Ultimate evolution against an Adult-stage Digimon. That's overkill of the highest order. He is not thinking straight.

He straight up says to Taichi's face that Taichi can't understand what he's going through. We just had an entire arc about Taichi's little sister being hunted for assassination, so that's an unfair accusation to make.

Yamato is doing what he correctly accused Taichi of before. Neither Taichi nor Yamato is wrong, but they are both being unfair and refusing to take other people's feelings into account.

In the dub:

Puppetmon: I like to make friends! (T.K. destroys Puppetmon's stuff and we cut to the woods) Matt: Hey! Where are you keeping T.K.!? Kiwimon: Ohohohohohohohoho.... Matt: ANSWER ME!!! Tai: I know how you feel, Matt, but first we have to destroy Kiwimon! Matt: How can you understand how I feel!? Tai: I understand that if we don't beat him first, we won't be able to find T.K.! Matt: NO!!! FIRST, WE'LL FIND T.K., THEN WE'LL FIGHT YOUR WAR!!! Gabumon: Right, Matt! Gabumon, Warp-Digivolve to.... Huh? (Digivice and Crest make weird out-of-service beeping noises) Matt: (lightly shaking, shocked) It won't glow! Gabumon: What's going on here, Matt!? How come I can't Digivolve? Kiwimon: PUMMEL PECK!!!

"First we'll find T.K., then we'll fight your war" goes hard and I love it. They're still treating Matt's position as if he's against fighting the Dark Masters at all, but as a single verbal slap in the face, it still works as an assessment of Taichi's attitude towards fighting.

I don't like that they have the Digivice start beeping like haywire. Beeping like haywire is what it does when it's working; The point here is that it's not doing anything. The silence of the original is far more effective at conveying the idea that the Digivice won't activate.

Back at the mansion, Pinocchimon finishes construction on his new bestie.

Pinocchimon: All done! No matter how you look at this thing, it's a friend!

Takeru finishes destroying everything in the playroom and sprints downstairs from the top floor, as Pinocchimon comes up the opposite staircase.

Pinocchimon: I brought my friend! Look! Nobody: ... Pinocchimon: (kinda hurt) ...huh?

Takeru doesn't stop running. With Patamon flying beside him, He sprints out the front door and races off into the woods, leaving this wretched mansion behind. He doesn't notice Floramon and Delumon as he passes.

Floramon: It's Pinocchimon-sama's new toy.... Delumon: We shouldn't get involved in this. Floramon: Let's pretend we didn't see him. Delumon: Good idea.

The pair turn around and go back to... being hedges, I guess?

(Probably a good idea not to get involved. Look what happened to Blossomon and Mushroomon.)

In the dub:

Puppetmon: There! Done! I said I like to make friends, and I made one! (T.K. leaves the top floor right as Puppetmon arrives) Puppetmon: I brought my friend! Look! Huh? Nobody: ... Puppetmon: (kinda hurt) T.K....? (T.K. escapes out the front door) Floramon: It's Lord Puppetmon's new toy! Deramon: Where's he goin'? We're going to play charades. Floramon: Maybe he doesn't know how to play. Deramon: Yeah, that's it.

The dub does the "make friends" pun again. In case you didn't catch it the first time, I guess.

Floramon and Deramon don't seem as passively afraid of Puppetmon as their Japanese counterparts.

Puppetmon, however, still has that edge of bewildered sadness in his voice when he realizes he's been played. Good job there.

Back in the woods, while the kids are still discussing what to do with Kiwimon, Kiwimon's Little Peckers go for Sora.

Terrible mistake. Kiwimon was harmless enough that we could tolerate standing around and talking about this. But as soon as they go for Sora, Birdramon evolves and shuts that shit right down.

Blocking the Little Peckers with her wing, Birdramon counters with a Meteor Wing that vaporizes Kiwimon. Kiwimon lets out a high-pitched death cry, then they're gone.

Sora: Thank you, Birdramon! Piyomon: (evolves back) Sora! Sora: Piyomon!

In the dub, Kiwimon lets out this posh upper-class noble giggle when he's killed. His chortle then takes on an echoing ghostly quality and fades as the smoke clears to reveal he's gone. An odd choice for a death cry.

(Might be trying to imply that he ran off in the smoke or something? I don't know. It's weird.)

Sora: Birdramon! Thanks a lot! Biyomon: (evolves back) You're welcome. Sora: Biyomon!

Unfortunately, one person is not very happy with Sora's win.

Yamato: Takeru... What about Takeru!? (Yamato gets up in Sora's face) Yamato: You destroyed them!? NOW WE CAN'T FIND OUT WHERE TAKERU IS!!!

Taichi runs over, grabbing Yamato's arm and pulling him back from Sora.

Taichi: Hey! Watch it, Yamato! Takeru: (distant) HEY!!! Sora: (gasp) Takeru-kun!

The whole group turns to see Takeru running across the grass to rejoin them.

Takeru: HEY GUYS!!! Yamato: (relieved) Takeru!

I've made enough "Sora will remember this" cracks about Taichi being shitty to her and Yamato being more mature that I'd be remiss not to point out what a dick Yamato's being right now. Understandably so, he's having an emotional breakdown about Takeru, but still.

In the dub:

Matt: Biyomon, what did you do!? (Matt gets up in Sora's face) Matt: Look what your Digimon did! Without Kiwimon, we'll never find T.K.! (Tai grabs Matt's arm and pulls him back) Tai: Calm down, Matt! T.K.: (distant) HEY!!! Sora: It's T.K.! (T.K. approaches) T.K.: Hey everybody! Hi! I'm back! Matt: (relieved) T.K.!!!

The team meets Takeru, eager to hear what happened.

Takeru: I was able to protect myself all on my own this time! Hikari: That's incredible! Taichi: That's awesome, Takeru! Congrats! Yamato: (face falls) Mimi: We were so worried about you! Jou: You sure have grown up, without any of us realizing.

Though initially relieved, Yamato's face darkens the more they praise Takeru. Jou's line is his breaking point. He turns and walks away from the group.

Takeru: Hehehehe, stop it! You're embarrasing me! Gabumon: Yamato! (follows) Jou: (turns) Oh?

Gabumon follows Yamato. Jou notices them go, but doesn't say anything.

In the dub:

T.K.: See, everybody! I told you I could do it! I can take care of myself just fine! Kari: You're the man! Tai: Nice going, T.K.! Great job, buddy! Matt: (face falls) Mimi: We were worried about you! Joe: Boy, for a little kid, that was a pretty big escape. (Matt turns and leaves) T.K.: Ahahaha, stop it, guys! You're embarrassing me! Gabumon: What's wrong, Matt? (follows) Joe: (turns) Huh?

Mostly faithful but I have issues with Joe's line. Jou's remark that Takeru grew up without anyone noticing is a significant point for Yamato and Takeru's arc.

Again, this goes all the way back to Yamato wanting to debone Takeru's fish for him and Taichi teaching Takeru to do it himself. Being chased down by a mad puppet with a revolver is a pretty extreme situation for it, but the point nonetheless is that Takeru doesn't need to rely on Yamato to do everything for him.

The fantasy elements are fantasy elements but the point is that Takeru is getting older and becoming more self-sufficient. He's not dependent on Yamato anymore. Yamato isn't ready to confront a reality where his little brother doesn't need him to debone his fish.

The new line for Joe congratulates T.K. for the win, but still keeps him firmly within the boundaries of "little kid". Joe calls this out as an exceptional outlier and not a product of T.K.'s growth and maturity, which is a problem when that's the thing Matt's supposed to be upset about.

Oblivious to Yamato's departure, Takeru continues.

Takeru: I smashed up the weird gadgets that were making the ground move too! Jou: Really? That's amazing! Takeru: Everything's going to be okay. Pinocchimon was manipulating us with these dolls.

He sets down his backpack, showing off the dolls he looted while he was wrecking the playroom.

The kids all pick up their dolls out of the bag, checking them out.

Taichi: (cheerful) This is supposed to be me? I don't look anything like it! Sora: Mimi-chan's looks pretty cute. Mimi: Liar! I am not this ugly! ...but I'll keep it as a souvenir anyway. Sora: Ha! (The girls giggle cheerfully) Piyomon & Palmon: (grabby hands) Show me! Show me! Takeru: Hey, where's Onii-chan? Jou: I just saw Yamato head off over... There.... Huh?

Jou points in the direction Yamato went, but there's only dark and twisted woods over there. No sign of Yamato or Gabumon.

That's not a question that will be answered this episode. For our final scene, we cut back to Pinocchimon briefly, looking around his destroyed playroom. He sadly picks up the smashed remote and stares at it for a few seconds.

Pinocchimon: So he doesn't like playing with me, huh? Alright. I get it.

We leave off there, with that ambiguous yet ominous sentiment.

In the dub:

T.K.: I also smashed the remote control that was making the ground move underneath us! Joe: That's terrific, T.K.! Izzy: Prodigious! T.K.: Everything's gonna be alright now! Puppetmon was using these dolls to control us! That's why all those weird things were happening! (T.K. sets down his backpack and everyone grabs their doll) Tai: (cheerful) Is this me!? I don't look anything like this! Ha! Sora: Wow, Mimi, your doll is really pretty! Mimi: What? No way! I would never wear rags like this! ...oh! I could take her to the mall for some new clothes! (The girls giggle cheerfully) Biyomon & Palmon: (grabby hands) Alright! You go!

In one last bit of slicing and dicing footage, the dub moves Pinocchimon's lament here, interrupting the kids.

Puppetmon: So he didn't want to play with me, huh? T.K.... You'll pay for this....

While the original leaves what Pinocchimon's feeling ambiguous and ominous, Puppetmon directly swears revenge.

Then we cut back to the woods to finish up the other scene.

T.K.: Anybody see where Matt went? Joe: He's right over there. T.K.: Huh? (Joe points to the dark and twisted woods) Kids: HUH!?!? Joe: I don't get it! He and Gabumon were there a second ago! They vanished! Here we go again! Narrator: Will Puppetmon take revenge on T.K.? Is he behind Matt's disappearance? Find out on the next Digimon: Digital Monsters.

They moved the scenes so they could imply that Puppetmon kidnapped Matt for that spicy cliffhanger. Find out the answer to these questions... RIGHT NOW.

Uh. No. That's not anywhere close to what happened here. Pinocchimon is distraught in his playroom and has no time or emotional space to go gallivanting around the woods right now.

...

DUN DUNNNNNN.

Assessment: Holy shit, can you imagine what it must have been like to be working on the dub and have this episode cross your desk? Guns! Actual guns! Guns everywhere! Children playing with guns! Evil Pinocchio kills Digimon with guns!

Pokemon had an episode where Suddenly Guns too but that was a one-off episodic adventure where Ash goes to Safari Zone and gets to see a Dratini. He did catch a herd of Tauros there that goes without explanation in the American version, but nonetheless, it's not super important. They were able to deal with the guns there by carving the episode out of the lineup and simply never broadcasting it.

But you can't do that here because Digimon is a serialized adventure. This episode is kind of fucking important, like most episodes are, and can't simply be deleted from the lineup. So we. Just. Have to deal with the guns. Somehow.

We were tooling along with a cartoon adventure about fighting monsters and then suddenly there were guns and Little Peckers all over the place.

This is the episode that made the censors cry, and it shows in the absolute butchery they had to make of it in order to get it onto television.

(But they also managed to screw up important characterization scenes too while they were at it.)

[a-court-of-fics-and-errors]

Keep Moving Forwards, Part 46

Azriel x Reader Fic

Warning: The following section contains explicit content. There is a warning before the description begins, so I strongly encourage anyone under the age of 18 to stop reading at that point. We will continue with the next part afterwards!

Summary: After finally deciding to leave your abusive and manipulative mate for good, you find unexpected companionship with Azriel, the Shadowsinger of the Night Court. As you navigate the aftermath of your traumatic relationship, you struggle to understand where the mating bond went wrong and contemplate your path forward, vowing never to return to the past.

Find other parts here: Master List

To follow this fic, follow tag "Keep Moving Forwards Fic" or comment to be tagged in future parts.

Content Warning: This story contains depictions of extreme emotional manipulation and abuse, detailed descriptions of direct physical abuse, and scenes of men hunting women with implied sexual assault. Please read at your own risk.

Word Count: 4.8K

Author's Note: This is a multi-part series. Unlike my previous works, this fanfiction delves deeper than just fluff, exploring complex emotional landscapes. As I navigate this new writing journey, I kindly ask for gentle feedback. The topics addressed are profoundly impactful, touching many lives with diverse experiences. Please be gentle with yourselves and others. Healing is a journey, and everyone processes it differently. Be kind to yourself. Take what resonates, and leave what doesn’t.

Please continue reading, being aware of the above content warnings, ensuring you are in a healthy headspace. Give yourself time to process and be gentle with yourself.

After weeks of not winnowing, the familiar sensation made you sick as a dog - just like old times. Azriel reached out to steady you as you stumbled, and you could already hear Nesta's voice echoing through the halls. "Cassian, if you dare come in here covered in mud and mess up my carpets, I will personally flay you alive." She emerged from a room, her signature scowl slowly melting into awe as she saw you standing there. With the pregnancy weight and newfound curves, she looked radiant - motherhood clearly suiting her. With tears in her eyes, she rushed towards you and enveloped you in a tight embrace.

Azriel stepped back with a knowing smile, allowing the two of you to have your moment. Nesta finally released you from her hug, only to hold your face in her hands and give you an intense once-over. "You know," she said with a slight quiver in her lip, "I tried so hard not to cry when I knew you were coming, but I should have known better."

You let out a sniffle mixed with laughter as you replied, "At least you have a legit reason to cry - I can't blame my emotions on being pregnant."

Nesta laughed again, her tears now streaming down her face. "I missed you so much," she whispered before pulling you into another hug. And in that moment, all was right with the world.

"I missed you too," you murmured into her ear.

As she pulled away, she added somewhat seriously, “Everyone in this whole city is insane and has no sense of color coordination or taste.”

You both burst out laughing at that, feeling at home with each other once again. "And Cassian," Nesta added, "I swear, I want to kill him every day."

You raised an eyebrow, "I don't think that's just the pregnancy talking."

Azriel chimed in from behind you two, "Nesta, do you dream about murdering people every night?"

Nesta shot him a dirty look over your shoulder that could curdle milk. "Maybe if any of you were actually helpful, I wouldn't have these homicidal thoughts." She then turned to you with an appraising gaze. "Why are you drenched?"

You chuckled, glancing down at the puddle forming around your feet. "Just got caught in a little drizzle."

Nesta raised an eyebrow skeptically. "It's been pouring for hours and you just now got 'caught'?"

You shrugged sheepishly. "Well, it’s a long story"

She rolled her eyes at the water on the floor and waved you off. "Showers. Both of you. If you stand here any longer you’re going to soak through the floorboards." Azriel raised his hands in surrender as he headed down the hall, with you trailing behind. "And when you're done, meet me in the library," Nesta called after you.

You laughed, catching up to Azriel. "So she's been like this since I left?"

Azriel looked like he was trying not to laugh as he answered, "This is actually a good day."

"Poor Cassian," you joked.

But Azriel just smirked and said, "After all the trouble he's caused throughout the centuries, this is a fitting punishment." He shrugged lightly, “Plus he gets a babe at the end of it. And he did also cause Nesta to feel like this.”

SPICE WARNING - DO NOT INTERACT IF UNDER 18

Azriel swung open the doors to your old room, and you couldn't help but smile at the sight of the familiar dark blue accents and perfectly made bed. But as you stepped inside, a pang of bittersweet memories hit you. It seemed that Azriel didn't share the same sentiments as he walked past you and into the bathroom. You followed behind him and watched as he turned on the shower, steam immediately filling the room. As he turned back towards you, his shirt clung to his body from the rain outside, and with a wet slap it landed on the tiled floor. The House, disapproving of the wet mess, quickly made the shirt disappear before it even touched the ground. He smiled at you as he stood there, water droplets glistening on his bare chest in front of the now steamed-up mirror.

Your eyes greedily drank in the sight of Azriel's chiseled chest as he leaned over to adjust the water temperature. You couldn't resist sliding closer to him, your hands pushing his away as you slowly undid his belt with deliberate slowness. The growl that rumbled from his throat only fueled your desire as you peppered kisses across his chest while he breathed heavily under your lips. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, you removed his belt with a satisfying clang and looked up at him through your lashes. His gaze was dark with longing as you worked to unbutton his pants, teasing and straining until finally they fell to the ground with a wet thud.

Your fingers traced over the elastic band of his underwear, causing a deep purr to rumble from Azriel's lips. You couldn't help but smirk at his eagerness, but you weren't ready to give in just yet. Stepping back, you released his bulging cock and began to remove your own clothing, each piece falling away with agonizing slowness until you stood before him completely naked. Azriel's eyes devoured every inch of you and you reveled in the power you held over him.

But this wasn't going to be a quick release, not when it had been weeks since you last saw each other. So instead of giving in to the primal urge that pulsed between you two, you took a step back, watching as Azriel let out a desperate moan at the loss of contact. Slowly, tantalizingly slow, you peeled off your wet sweater before struggling to remove your soaked pants. The moment was broken when you almost tripped in your haste to strip down for him, your clumsiness causing both of you to laugh breathlessly.

As you stumbled back to standing, your fingers fumbling with the waistband of your underwear, Azriel's velvety moan stopped you in your tracks. "Leave them on," he groaned, his voice rough and full of desire. You stood across from each other, both almost fully exposed save for the thin layer of fabric covering each of you. The warm steam of the shower enveloped your chilled skin, sending shivers down your spine as Azriel's eyes roamed over your body. His gaze traced up from your toes to the goosebumps that prickled along your skin, lingering on every curve and dip until it finally met yours. With a bite to your lip, you closed the distance between you, rising onto your tiptoes to meet him in a kiss.

As your bodies pressed together, Azriel's hands hungrily explored every inch of you, his grip strong and possessive. Tongues danced and lips fought for dominance as you lost yourselves in each other's touch. Pushing against his chest, you forced him to pause and catch his breath. He struggled to pull in air as you kissed a trail down from his lips, following the contours of his muscled jaw and down his tattooed neck. Your hand found its way back to his throbbing length, eliciting a deep moan from Azriel as he leaned his head back against the mirror.

Without breaking eye contact, you continued your slow descent down his muscled chest, teasingly dragging your teeth against his hip bones and making him buck uncontrollably. His grip returned to the counter for support as you let your fingers wrap around the band of his underwear and pull it down. His hardened length sprung forth, causing excitement to flutter in your heart and a throb between your legs. You ran your hands up and down the length of his toned thighs, admiring every inch of his sculpted body.

With your mouth watering, you couldn't resist any longer. Falling to your knees, you rested your hands on your thighs and closed your eyes, sticking out your tongue to lick up the full length of Azriel's cock. Slowly, you felt him harden on your tongue as you reached the tip, swirling it around and savoring the taste of him. Azriel's grip on the counter tightened as he moaned and hissed in pleasure.

Opening your eyes, you glanced up at Azriel with a mischievous grin before taking him into your mouth, barely getting to your thumb as your hand wrapped around the base of him, feeling yourself gag slightly at his length. You coordinated the pace of your mouth with the strokes of your hand, feeling Azriel shudder and mutter "Fuck..." breathlessly as you worked at him.

Your cheeks hollowed as you took him in your mouth, feeling the weight and girth of his cock pressing against the sides. You could sense Azriel's struggle to keep control, his hips lightly thrusting from the counter as he fought back the urge to fuck your face without restraint. Wet sounds filled the air as you tasted every inch of him, your tongue tracing up the throbbing veins along his shaft. With a steadying hand, you pushed him deeper into your mouth, taking him to the back of your throat and fighting off the gag reflex. His pelvis hit your lips with a satisfying moan, his hands leaving the counter to grip onto your head and hold you there, filling your mouth completely. “Such a good girl.” He praised through a breathless moan. Your nails dug into his hips, eliciting shudders from him as he looked down at you. Meeting his gaze from beneath your lashes, you struggled to maintain your position at the base of his cock, tears forming in your eyes “Just one more second baby, just give me one more minute of this. Come on baby,” he urged. You felt a tear slip down your face as his grip on your hair loosened. As you pulled back, a string of saliva connecting your lips to his tip before finally being emptied. Wiping your lips clean of his pre-cum and saliva, his hand came down to trace your full bottom lip, now glossy with wetness. Hunger burned in Azriel's eyes as you took his thumb into your mouth and sucked on it erotically while keeping your gaze locked on him. He seemed entranced by the sight before pulling his thumb away with a pop. "Such a little tease," he moaned out. A smile played on your lips before turning back to his throbbing cock. With an expert opening of your lips, you slid down again until reaching the middle and then pulled back with a strong suction that made it difficult for even Azriel to reach his tip. Rolling his head back in pleasure, he braced himself against the counter and repeated praises of your name over and over again.

With each slow stroke, Azriel's body contorted in a battle between pleasure and restraint. Your nails dug into his hips as he struggled against your hold.

"Be a good girl," he commanded, his voice thick with desire. "Take it all."

You hummed in satisfaction, the vibrations in your throat causing Azriel to moan uncontrollably. As you descended to his full length, you swallowed him down eagerly, savoring the taste of him on your tongue. He let out a breathless moan, overcome by the pleasure you were giving him.

"Keep your head still, my love," he instructed, and you obediently complied. "Just let me fuck you for a little while, then I'll stop. Okay?"

You hummed again in agreement, lost in the act of pleasing him.

Azriel seemed to let out a satisfied sigh as his hands tangled in your hair. "If you need me to stop, just tap my hips," he reminded you. But you were determined to take all of him, no matter how much it made you choke or struggle for air. The pleasure was worth any discomfort.

Starting with slow and deliberate thrusts, Azriel tested your limits before quickly increasing his speed. His hands held onto you tightly as he fucked you with unrelenting passion. You could hear his moans and groans of praise above your own slurping and sucking sounds.

At one point, you felt yourself choke but allowed him to continue, reveling in the way his cock twitched and stuttered as he pushed deeper into your throat. He kept going, his pace faltering slightly as he tightened with impending release. Then suddenly, he pulled out completely.

When you looked up at him, Azriel's eyes were hooded and dazed with ecstasy. "Fuck..." he whispered hoarsely, tracing your face with his fingers. "You're perfect."

You couldn't help but lick your lips, still tasting him on your tongue. In a desperate whisper, he beckoned you closer. "Come here," he moaned. "Let me taste myself on your lips."

With a groan, you pushed yourself up from the floor, your knees protesting at the rough surface. But any discomfort was quickly forgotten as you met Azriel's hungry kiss. His hands cupped your cheeks, holding you close as he ravished your lips. The sound of the shower pounding against the tile matched the ferocity of his touch. As he pressed you back against the wall, his fingers digging into your skin, you could feel his desire and need radiating from every inch of his body as he ripped your underwear from you.

With a strong arm around your waist, Azriel lifted you up and carried you across the bathing room. When he reached the other side of the room, he pinned you to the wall with his body, pressing against you in all the right places. His kisses were relentless and passionate, his fingers leaving trails of heat wherever they roamed.

As he positioned himself underneath you, he whispered in your ear, "I have missed you every second that we haven't been together like this." And with that, he slid into you fully, filling you with every inch of himself. It had been too long since you felt him inside of you, and your body eagerly welcomed him back home.

Azriel started with slow thrusts, savoring every moment of being buried deep inside of you. You clung to him desperately, your legs wrapped tight around his hips as he lifted and lowered you onto him. Each time he hit that special spot deep inside of you, a surge of pleasure shot through your body and set it on fire. You couldn't help but bite down on his shoulder to stifle your moans.

But there was no stopping the primal sounds escaping from Azriel's own lips as he picked up speed. Your bodies moved in perfect harmony, his hand squeezing and kneading at your ass as he drove into you with all his pent-up desire. You couldn't resist glancing at your reflection in the fogged up mirror, watching as Azriel's glorious wings spread out behind him, his muscles rippling with effort and ecstasy.

Your nails scraped lightly over the soft flesh of his wings, eliciting a primal growl from Azriel. "Don't do that," he warned, his rhythm faltering slightly.

Unable to resist teasing him, you ran your fingers through the softness once more before obeying his order.

But even without that added sensation, Azriel's thrusts were enough to bring you both closer to the edge. "You're going to make me cum right now if you keep doing that," he gritted out, his eyes rolling back in pleasure. “And I’m not stopping until you’re screaming for me.”

Breathless, you leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "You being inside of me is like being in heaven."

Azriel's own breath caught at your words as he continued to move inside of you. "It's like I've left this world and gone to the next," he murmured.

Wrapping your arms around his neck, you reveled in the sensations coursing through your body as you met each of his thrusts with equal fervor. "Every part of me is complete with you, Azriel," you whispered back.

His hips stuttered at your words, and he lifted his head to look into your eyes. "Say my name again," he commanded.

"Fuck, Azriel," you moaned out, unable to deny him anything in this moment.

With a triumphant smile on his lips, Azriel picked up speed once more, both of you lost in the overwhelming pleasure building between you. He groaned at the sound of his name on your lips and continued his movements with renewed vigor.

His voice was low and commanding as he looked at you, your back pushed up against the wall. He turned to catch your eye in the mirror, a small smirk playing on his lips. "Do you like it when I take you like this? When I make you mine?"

Desire burned within you as you nodded eagerly, whimpering in anticipation. With a slow pull, he withdrew from your heat completely, leaving you aching for him. But before you could protest, his skilled fingers slipped inside of you, filling the void left by his cock. Your head hit the wall as he expertly explored every inch of your inner walls.

A deep rumble of pleasure escaped him as he spoke, "You want me so badly. Your body can't get enough of me." He dragged his fingers out slowly, making you moan in need. "Can you feel how tightly your pussy clenches around my fingers, begging for me?"

Breathless and desperate, you whispered back, "Yes."

Azriel ran his thumb over your sensitive clit while keeping a steady rhythm with his fingers inside of you. "Open your eyes, baby," he commanded. "Watch yourself being fucked by me."

You submitted to his control, feeling your body willingly surrender as Azriel let you sink onto the ground back onto your unsteady feet. His hands wandered over your skin with possessive hunger, igniting every nerve with unadulterated desire as he moved behind you. As he kissed and caressed you, you watched in the reflection on the wall, seeing yourself consumed by pleasure under his skilled touch. His hand cupped your breast, teasing and squeezing until your nipple hardened with pleasure, while his other hand wrought sweet torment between your legs.

Your wetness coated his fingers as he thrust into you over and over again, making you moan uncontrollably. In the reflection, Azriel's gaze locked with yours and you felt a jolt of electricity surge through you. "Look at yourself," he growled, claiming you as his own. "A picture of pure ecstasy. This is what I can do to you." He trailed kisses down your neck, “My little pleasure-fucked girl, you’re all mine”. And just as he spoke those words, he thrust his fingers deeply inside you, filling you completely and sending you spiraling closely into a mind-blowing orgasm. "Come for me, baby," he urged, spurring on your release. The waves of orgasm crashed over you incessantly, leaving you breathless and completely at his mercy. "Watch yourself cum for me, my good girl," he purred seductively. And as you watched yourself unravel in the reflection, all you could think was how utterly satisfied you were in his hold.

You watched with hazy eyes as your mouth opened in choked, sobbing moans while Azriel growled into your ear. He brought you down from your high, your chest heaving with anticipation. "Good girl," he praised, kissing your shoulder as you felt your legs give out under you.

Lost in the euphoria of release, you lifted your head and met Azriel's intense gaze in the mirror. His smug smile only fueled your desire as he asked, "Had enough?"

Shaking your head, you feel his hard cock pressing against your back as he leaned closer. With a seductive tone, he whispers, "You want more, don't you?"

Nodding eagerly, you swallow hard as Azriel pulls your hair away from your shoulders and trails loving kisses up your neck. He breathed into your ear, "Bend over for me, my little wildflower."

Your legs trembled as you made your way to the counter, knowing exactly what he wanted. In the mirror, you saw his reflection fixated on your glistening pussy with hunger in his eyes and his tongue darting out to lick his lips hungrily.

He sucked in his breath and let out a low growl as he stalked towards you, one hand possessively gripping your hip while the other aggressively stroked his throbbing erection. His heated gaze met yours through the mirror, a smirk playing on his lips as he playfully smacked your ass with his cock. Your body shuddered with anticipation as he leaned in close and whispered in your ear, "Listen carefully..." His cock teased your entrance, causing you to moan and arch your back in pleasure. But he stopped you from losing yourself by yanking your hair back and forcing you to meet his intense gaze in the mirror. His voice turned commanding and forceful, just like how he led his armies. “Look at me when I speak to you." He snarled.

"I'm sorry," you whimpered, barely able to form coherent thoughts.

Azriel chuckled darkly as he slowly pushed into you, relishing in the way your body tensed up and stretched around him. With each thrust, he watched himself take you in the mirror, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "As I was saying," he breathed heavily, setting a slow and sensual pace while firmly grasping your ass, kneading and squeezing it roughly. "Those filthy desires that you sent me through the shadows... They revealed just how unapologetically dirty and naughty you truly are. And how much you crave me." The thought of all the explicit scenes you had described to him through the shadows, including this one where he had you bent over the counter and ravishing you, made his heart race with excitement. Azriel wanted nothing more than for you to lose yourself in ecstasy, but you kept your eyes locked on his reflection in the mirror, unable to look away from the dominating and irresistible male before you.

Azriel started to pick up his pace, causing you to shift harder against the counter. "You were such a tease with those," he rasped out. His focus wavered for a moment before picking back up again as he continued, "But no matter how hard I stroked my cock, how much I tried to remember the look on your face when you cum on me..." He hissed in pleasure as he quickened his pace, "It's never the same as being buried deep inside your hot, wet pussy." Your head fell forward, unable to keep yourself upright as he fucked you with increasing intensity. His hand slipped between your bodies, finding your throbbing clit and sending you spiraling towards another orgasm. Glancing in the mirror, you saw Azriel's eyes fixed on you as he nodded and whispered, "I can see it.” He smiled at you with a deep hunger, “Cum for me, baby."

With a loud moan, your body tightened around him and you let yourself go over the edge once again. You felt your toes curl and back arch as waves of pleasure coursed through you. It seemed that watching your face was enough to push Azriel over the edge too; his mouth dropped open and his hips stuttered before releasing ropes of cum inside of you.

As he breathed heavily, whispering "I love you so much," Azriel's hand tenderly caressed your back, soothing the aches in your body. His words were like a healing balm to your soul as he repeated them over and over until his breathing calmed. He leaned in, leaving gentle kisses on your skin still glistening with sweat. With a soft moan, he pulled away, reluctantly breaking the physical connection between your bodies.

But his arms remained wrapped around you, holding you close as both of you exchanged those three precious words again and again. Lost in the warm afterglow, you allowed yourself to be led to the shower, Azriel's strong arms enveloping you protectively as he guided you under the warm water. As you stood together under the cascading water, Azriel's skilled hands massaged your scalp, his touch both comforting and arousing. You couldn't help but let out a contented sigh as he continued to wash away any remnants of your passionate encounter on the counter.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked, stepping back to take in your relaxed form.

"Better than I have in days," you admitted, leaning into him. You closed your eyes and let the water wash over your face, feeling a sense of peace wash over you.

Azriel's fingers traced the lines of your face, his touch gentle and affectionate. "Was everything okay for you?"

You chuckled against his chest, "More than okay."

Azriel laughed softly, "I should have asked if it was alright for me to talk to you like that beforehand. I just thought after what we shared in those shadows, maybe you would be open to exploring something more intense."

Your lashes fluttered open and you smiled at him, "I love intensity."

Azriel wrapped his arms tighter around you, "And I love you." He said, resting his chin on top of your head.

"I love you too," you replied, kissing his skin softly. "And I missed you. So much."

"You were worth the wait," he murmured, his voice filled with love and emotion.

As you gazed into the foggy mirror, Azriel's features softened for a brief moment before a single tear slipped down his cheek. He hastily wiped it away, but the sight left an unsettling feeling in your gut. You tried to ignore it, focusing instead on the warmth of his embrace and the temporary bliss it provided from the chaos outside. But deep down, you couldn't shake off the impending sense of dread about what plans Azriel had already laid out for your next encounter, and what sacrifices he may have already made in the looming battle ahead.

To my readers: To those who enjoy smut, this is my apology for not posting for a few days prior. Kisses!

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