#to the point it was one of the reasons i broke up with them. oops (alongside the aro thing + long distance being Not Fun)

[daz4i]

finding the blogs of old mutuals is very fun sometimes but i think i just found one of my ex and they are like. straight up lying on main

[kitten4sannie]

ᴄʀᴀᴢʏ ꜰᴏʀᴍ | ᴘᴀʀᴛ ᴏɴᴇ

pairing: dilf! san x boytoy! wooyoung x fem! reader

genre: smut <3

summary: you search for a rebound at your local club after a break up. the club owner and his favorite boyfriend are there to satisfy your needs.

w.c: 3.3k

warnings: daddy dom kinda switch! san (almost chewed my fingers off writing him like this trust), dom! wooyoung (he’s kinda passively there when it comes to reader but i promise he’ll be more prominent in part two~), subby good girl! reader, woosan, alcohol use, reader is not drunk but sufficiently tipsy, daddy kink, dirty talk, pet names (angel, princess, pretty girl, etc), teasing, possessiveness, praise, voyeurism/exhibitionism, body worship, grinding, kissing, marking, fingering, double? blowjob? idk (san gets head while giving it too oop-) , deep-throating, slight hair pulling, snowballing

a/n: hii guess who’s back from the dead just in time for the cb? <3 and i brought a present ~ a naughty one hehe :3 the inspo came from those pics above bc they look so expensive and cunty and so yummy ugh and THEN san decided to strip at the mama awards and now i’m ILL and ready to howl at the moon anyways !!this is out of pocket like usual and i put my whole kitty into it okayyy so i hope you enjoy and pls lemme know if you’re excited for part two >< <33

song rec: incubator by ph-1, gun by doja cat, wine pon you also by doja cat feat. konshens (every time i hear the last part it reminds me of san’s dance cover hnnnnhgg)

“Girl, you better slow down on that drink,” the woman sitting beside you at the bar warned, resting her forearms down on the cool surface of the sleek marble countertop, continuing to watch you slurp down a long island iced tea. “I’m not about to hold your hair up for you later.”

“Can you leave me alone? I’m grieving over here, god,” you whined to her with your straw still in between your pouting, quivering lips, your eyes brimming with tears. “And for the record, he broke up with me over text. Text.”

She shook her head. “You are not about to cry over a man right now.”

You pushed your empty glass away, before dramatically pointing a finger into your chest, causing the strap of your dress to droop down your shoulder a bit. “You’re right, but I can still be a mess if I want to, thank you very much.”

“Well, you’re certainly achieving that,” she stated, idly sipping on her own drink, looking you up and down until you felt like you had to prove something to her.

“Okay, fuck this,” you muttered, pushing yourself off of the barstool and pulling your dress down where it was beginning to rise up near your ass, sniffling a bit.

“Where are you going?”

Pulling out a small tube from the v-neck of your dress to apply a fresh coat of lip gloss, you smacked your lips together and motioned your hand to the vast amounts of sweaty, drunk people grinding on each other on the opposite side of the club. “I’m gonna get some rebound dick. Don’t wait up.”

The woman smiled to herself as she watched you disappear into the sea of people, still just sipping on her drink. Little did you know, someone else was already waiting for you in that crowd. And they came as a package deal.

-

“I want her, Sannie,” Wooyoung chimed to the older man that was sitting beside him on the comfy VIP couch, the man’s arm wrapped protectively around his waist. The younger man took a finger off of his fruity drink to point at the woman that was feeling herself up with her body pressed to an unnamed man on the dance floor across from them, charmed by the unbothered, almost melancholic expression imprinted on her flushed face, like she was just waiting for someone like them to take care of her, to make her pretty face flush for a different reason.

San followed Wooyoung’s manicured nail until it led to the sight of you, a few wrinkles etched into his skin near his lips and where his eyes creased with amusement. “Mmm. Shall I leave you to your own devices then? Daddy can watch you seduce that pretty girl from here, can’t he?” His smile deepened when Wooyoung shifted beside him, his thigh pressing into San’s larger one, knowing his plaything was already getting hot under the collar. San held Wooyoung’s chin between his ringed fingers, leaning in to murmur, “And you’ll be a good boy and bring her to me once you get her nice and wet, won’t you?”

“Yes, Daddy,” Wooyoung replied breathily, barely getting his words out when the man pulled him in for a heated kiss.

Just when Wooyoung began to lean into him, his hands resting on San’s leather-bound chest, the older man broke the kiss, wiping the other’s saliva from his mouth. “Get going, naughty boy.”

Despite being dizzy with need, Wooyoung nodded, obediently nodding as he stood up from the couch. He fixed his hair and checked his makeup, before heading into the sea of sweaty, lust-drunk people to find you.

You were almost too busy rolling your body along to the hypnotic flow of the house track that was bumping through the speakers around you to notice the warmth of someone else pulling you near him, his hand sliding onto the small of your back and his lips against your ear, goosebumps forming across your skin.

“Can I steal you away?” Wooyoung whispered in a low voice, smiling at your slow nod, your eyes practically dilating at the sight of him. You didn’t know angels frequented night clubs. That was news to you. The both of you silently watched as his veiny hands slowly slid onto your hips, his fingers squeezing into them just enough to make you shiver.

He brought you back against him with a gentleness that made you a little weak in the knees, moving his hips against yours, guiding you against his body to the pulsing beats of the song.

Desperate to be needed by the obscenely attractive stranger, you took it upon yourself to grind back against him, feeling his cock harden against your ass through his satin pants.

“Fuck, baby, don’t you know what’ll happen if you keep doing that?” he exhaled into your ear, his fingers moving down slightly to squeeze your thighs.

You turned your head back to meet his searing gaze, licking your lips, your eyelids lowering. “What’s going to happen?”

Glancing to the side to make sure San was still watching, which he was, with a hand clutching his upper thigh, Wooyoung looked back to you, his hands moving further outwards to feel the sides of your ass, encouraging your dress to move up little by little, replying, “We’ll have to play with you, angel.”

“Yes, please,” you breathed out, resting your head against his chest, allowing him to feel up your body, his hands groping along your abdomen to your tits, the cogs inside your head moving at a slower rate than usual. “Wait…did you just say…we’ll?” Just as you spoke, Wooyoung reached around to grasp your chin and guide it to the side, allowing you to spot the fiery-headed gentleman manspreading on the VIP couch across from you, his heated gaze alone making you throb. “Isn’t…that the guy who owns this place?”

“Mm, he owns a lot of things. You see, darling, even though I want you all to myself–” Wooyoung squeezed his hands around your barely clothed tits through your dress, making you moan. “San doesn’t like it when I don’t share with him.” His hands slowly moved down your front to your clothed cunt, feeling your wetness coat his fingers when he rubbed them against your clothed slit. All you could focus on was the way San shifted around on the couch, his hands gripping his thighs like his body was aching to be free from his tight ensemble, Wooyoung’s upcoming offer barely getting processed in your hazy brain. “Do you wanna meet him?”

One single nod was all it took for Wooyoung to take your hand with a knowing smile on his pretty face, like he could already tell what was about to go down that night, before guiding you past the crowd, the bouncers, and directly up to San, who was eagerly waiting your arrival.

As soon as you stepped foot into the exclusive lounge, the visual of the older man had your already weak knees ready to buckle underneath you now that you could see him up close. He was dressed head to toe in sleek, expensive leather. The top only had two buttons to support his front, his broad chest on full display for you to drool over. Your eyes eventually followed upwards until you got to his obscenely handsome face, his sharp, feline-like features bathed in the club’s sinful red lighting. Then, of course, the nail in the coffin was the dimpled smile he offered you, one that was so inviting that you didn’t realize you were being drawn to him like a moth to a burning flame.

“That’s right, go ahead and get nice and comfortable on my lap, sweetheart,” his words, sweet like honey, melted off his tongue in a low drawl, his limbs wrapping around you as soon as you sat down on his lap, resting one hand comfortably on your thigh, his other reaching up to play with your hair. “What brought you here tonight? To my pretty boy? To me?”

You gently hooked an arm around his neck to keep yourself upright, gazing at Wooyoung who sat beside you both on the couch, his fingers rubbing gentle circles around one of your ankles, before turning your head to look at the older man, trying to keep bad memories from flooding your brain.

San gently twirled your hair around his finger, urging in a deep, comforting voice, “Let it out. Don’t be afraid, princess.”

Your brain offered you a pleasant fuzziness instead. “I…had a bad breakup…I just really wanted to come here, get my back blown out, and forget about it all, you know?”

Wooyoung stifled a cackle, while San’s lower lip jutted out in a pout, his hand splaying across your upper thigh, slowly rubbing it up and down. “Poor angel. I bet he never made you feel needed, huh?” You mirrored his pout, shaking your head. “I can make you feel needed, baby. Do you want that?” A nod this time, your breath caught in your throat. San leaned in, pressing his lips to your warm cheek, murmuring, “Then, let Daddy take care of you, alright?”

And just like that, there were no rules anymore. No regulations. No holding back. Just you, two strangers, and a club full of people that couldn’t care less about what you were doing. San still held you in his lap, your trembling legs just barely spread open enough to allow his hand in between them, rubbing his thick digits against your cunt through your soaked panties, while Wooyoung had a front row seat. “Is it good for you, baby? Or do you want more?”

“More,” you exhaled, about to say something when San squeezed your clit roughly, making you gasp.

“More, what, princess?” San leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to your lips, whispering against them, “What’s my name?”

“More, Daddy,” you corrected yourself, just as San’s ringed fingers moved past your panties and slipped right inside you up to the knuckle, filling you up just enough to make your brain go fuzzy.

Wooyoung moaned just when you did, biting his lip at the sight of San’s veins popping out when he began to pump his fingers in and out of your squelching hole. “Fuck, that’s so hot…she’s so wet, Daddy…”

“She is, isn’t she?” San agreed, curling his fingers inside you until he hit the spot that made you drool, his lips suddenly latching onto your neck to leave his mark behind on your skin so you could remember exactly what you did when you woke up the next morning. “Look at you, taking my fingers in your tight little cunt like this. Such a good girl.”

“Uh-huh,” you could barely verbalize, whining at his words, clenching around his digits. You could barely focus on anything else except for the older man’s thick fingers stretching you out, his rings offering you a pleasure you didn’t realize you needed in your life, though Wooyoung’s warm hands on your thighs and gentle smile kept you from getting too lost in the moment.

However, San was in the same boat as you, his trapped, throbbing cock already leaking so much pre-cum that he was about to lose it, encouraging him to suggest, “Mm, but you need Daddy’s cock, don’t you?” He watched you give him a weak nod, knowing you were on the edge of orgasming from the way your body began to lock up. “I should just fuck you dumb right here for everyone to see. Have you make a big mess on this couch. It’s my club, after all. Why shouldn’t I do what I want?” He sped up the pace, practically pounding his fingers into your cunt, your arousal leaking down your shaking thighs, continuing to dispel filthy words for only you and his boytoy to hear. “Fuck, they’ll enjoy seeing a pretty thing like you fall apart on my lap, won’t they? See this cunt of yours stretch around my cock and take my cum inside. Mmm. See the way I make you mine.”

Everything was too much. The crowded room. The possibility of someone’s eyes on you. San’s filthy words. His fingers jammed inside your soaked cunt. Wooyoung’s unwavering gaze, his hands squeezing into your thighs. The unrelenting pleasure coursing through your body. You ended up cumming so hard, you saw stars, not even realizing San was silencing your pleasured cries until you felt his lips on yours and his tongue push into your open mouth. Just as San pulled away, Wooyoung took his place, tasting the alcohol on your tongue, before gently tugging on your bottom lip with his teeth.

“Should we go to your office now, Sannie?” Wooyoung asked the older man, his hooded eyes flitting between San’s and yours, neither of you even having to speak another word before you all got up from the couch.

-

“Whoa,” you murmured to yourself, looking around the expansive room, the interior matching the rest of the sleek club. Aside from the small computer desk setup in the corner, there was a large bed with satin sheets that took up a good portion of the room, but most of your attention was on the mirrors that were perfectly positioned on either side of the bed, as well as the ceiling. “Mirrors?”

“Sannie likes to watch himself,” Wooyoung giggled, rubbing the small of your back in comforting circles, leading you to the bed alongside San who sat down on the edge of it, looking up to you and Wooyoung who stood behind you, running his hands along your sides up to your shoulders, before taking hold of the zipper of your dress.

“I like to watch pretty angels like you come undone too. Watch the lust take over you until you’re covered in sweat and cum,” San mused, gazing into your eyes until Wooyoung slowly pulled the straps of your dress down, the both of them watching it fall from your body. Groaning, San began to mirror Wooyoung’s actions, unbuttoning his blazer, then pulling it off and revealing an expanse of smooth tan skin, the muscles in his arms flexing as he began to unbuckle his pants. Once San’s pants hit the floor and his thick, veiny cock sprung up, you found yourself sinking down to your knees, your mouth watering at the sight of pre-cum dribbling down the man’s reddened cockhead. “What do you want, princess? Tell me.”

“Your cock,” you requested immediately, settling your hands on his strong thighs. “In my mouth, please.”

“Ahh…?” San tilted his head to the side, his eyebrows raising up slightly.

“Daddy,” you replied swiftly, leaning in to rub your cheek against his hot, throbbing length, pouting, licking at the pre-cum that dripped onto your face. “Please.”

“Good girl. So dirty for me. Aren’t I a lucky man?” San let out a satisfied sigh, reaching down to wrap a good amount of your hair around his fist, holding it in a ponytail so that he could see your face, before sliding his cock into the hot, slick haven that was your mouth and throat. “That’s it, suck it nice and hard, princess. Show me how much you like having Daddy’s cock in your mouth.”

You reciprocated, throating his cock the best you could, choking and gagging occasionally, digging your fingers into his thighs.

“Mmm, there you go. You’re so good for me, angel. Don’t stop, okay?” San praised, closing his eyes, gripping your hair, slowly thrusting himself into your open mouth, delighted by the lewd sounds of your moans and the squelching sounds coming from your throat. Once he felt Wooyoung’s fingers slide into his hair and grip it, San looked up, watching Wooyoung lift one leg up onto the edge of the bed, the younger man’s eyes full of hunger.

Finally getting your throat to relax completely, you simply continued to take San’s cock in your throat, having to blink the remaining tears away to see San clearly — though nothing could prepare you for the sight of Wooyoung guiding San’s head downwards, his twitching cock disappearing inside San’s willing mouth.

“Fuck, it feels so hot,” Wooyoung panted, a bit of drool leaving his plump lips, thrusting deeper until he entered San’s throat, the older man’s groans vibrating onto Wooyoung’s balls each time they touched his chin. “Daddy acts so big and bad all the time, but he just loves getting cock rammed down his throat, huh?”

Wooyoung knew him so well. That’s why he was his favorite, well, aside from the angel that was taking him to heaven with only her mouth. San reached up with his free hand to massage Wooyoung’s balls, guiding his mouth along the younger man’s cock himself, sucking him off like he was made for it, like he always did.

Letting go of San’s hair to touch his own body, shuddering at all the pleasure at his disposal, Wooyoung gazed down at you, watching you obediently take San’s cock, the man’s hand still wrapped up in your hair and tugging at it. “Look at you go. You look so pretty when your mouth’s stuffed with cock, angel. You’re gonna make my Daddy cum so hard for you, huh?”

Squeezing your thighs together around your hand that was playing with your dripping cunt, you nodded your head, swearing you were about to cum just from what was happening around you, knowing San was in a similar place from the way he started to involuntarily buck his hips up into your mouth.

“Don’t swallow and save some for me, baby, okay? Don’t be stingy,” Wooyoung reminded you in a strained, breathy voice, almost falling over from the way San gripped one side of his hips, a string of obscenities falling from his lips when the man forcefully drove his throbbing cock into his hot throat, about to see god herself when San’s throat began constricting around his length like a pussy would. “Fuck, gonna cum, Sannie.”

San pulled back, a few thick strings of saliva connecting his swollen lips to Wooyoung’s dripping tip, his hand closing around the base to jerk him off. “Cum on Sannie’s face, will you? Make a big fucking mess for me.”

Wooyoung whined and panted, San’s slick hand moving quickly along his length, trying not to choke on his spit and moans, barely able to stay upright, but thankfully San had a good grip on his hips.

San looked down at you, licking the saliva from his lips, pulling out just enough so that his thick cockhead rested on your tongue. “Are you going to take this load? Hmm? Want it?”

“Yes, fuck, Daddy, please give it to me,” you begged, panting heavily, your fingers about to slip out of you from how fast you were moving them.

“Oh god, here it comes, angel,” San groaned out, squeezing around the base of Wooyoung’s cock, making him let out a broken, high-pitched whine.

Your combined pleasure came rocketing up to an intense peak, sending the three of you into a mindnumbing state of ecstasy. Thick, hot spurts of liquid came raining down on San’s face, just as his load shot out onto your tongue and down your throat, your own release soaking into the velvet carpet underneath you.

Fading out of reality during the majority of your high, your ears ringing, it took you a minute to realize that someone’s mouth was on yours, their fingers cupping your face. Opening your glossy eyes, you watched in a daze as Wooyoung took his sweet time slurping San’s cum off of your tongue.

San gripped Wooyoung’s hair and brought his head back, parting his lips and allowing Wooyoung to shovel his own cum into his mouth, swallowing it down with a low, pleased groan.

Pleased with the sin that was taking place in front of you, you took it upon yourself to drag your tongue across San’s chiseled jaw to his cheek, collecting some of Wooyoung’s release into your mouth, only to press your lips to his, letting him taste himself. Wooyoung moaned into your mouth, deepening the kiss, until San pulled you away from each other.

“Haven’t had enough, you two?” San chuckled, running a hand through his sweaty hair.

“No~ Not after that,” you giggled, rubbing your cheek against San’s palm when he caressed it.

Wooyoung wrapped his arms around you, looking at San with a sweet smile, his long eyelashes fluttering. “Can we keep her, Daddy? I promise I’ll take good care of her.”

Little wrinkles formed near San’s eyes once he smiled at you. “I suppose so.”

Apply for the taglist here ⇢ ♡

© kitten4sannie, 2023.

[henneseyhoe]

Still Mine.

Tyrone x BLACK!FEM!Reader

WARNINGS: Tyrone being a slut, baby daddy drama, smutty flashback, slight daddy kink, unprotected sex(wrap it before you smack it!), abortion mentioned, pill mentioned, baby trapping, short, tad bit unedited.

SUMMARY: During Tyrone’s weekly pickup of his daughter, he tries to make his baby mama fold.

Ps. This was originally SO much longer but I didn’t like the way some parts were written so I cut it in half lolzzz

✮✮✮✮

“You know if I licked it, it’s mine, right?”

Your face twisted into a mug at Tyrone’s words while packing a diaper bag with all the necessary things your daughter needed for the weekend with him.

“Tyrone, please don’t start with that tonight” You couldn’t believe the extents he’d go just because you were seeing other people, it was crazy! Tyrone didn’t see it that way though.

The man was a tyrant. A danger to society and other men when he suspects you fucking with somebody who wasn’t him. Every single time he found out, he would let you know that you had limited days with that nigga, which he was always right about.

They’d either disappear completely or simply just stop responding to your texts.

One time you saw one of them at the grocery store and tried to say hi but he ran the other way, even left his cart stacked with groceries. You wondered what the hell was going on, and why they were so scared, but you knew there was only one person that could have them running for the hills like that, and it wasn’t you.

“I’m not startin’ shit, I’m speakin’ facts. You playin’, knowing them niggas ain’t shit compared to me”

Though the statement was true, it was bold of him to assume you wasn’t getting any good play. It was rare you did, but still! It’s the audacity.

You look at Tyrone up and down before bursting into laughter, making the infant besides you both slightly jump in her pack and play, looking around in confusion before flipping over on her stomach, a skill she just learned.

“Oop- I’m sorry, mama” You apologize to her, the baby just rolling back over and blinking up at you with a tether in her mouth. “Now, back to yo’ delusional ass!”

You thanked god the small child wasn’t old enough to understand words because she would have been cursing like a sailor by now. Pointing at Tyrone with the acrylic nails he paid for, that same signature mean look on his face that he always wore when somebody had him fucked up, you squint.

“Ain’t shit yours, and it hasn’t been yours since about a year now”

Tyrone sucks his teeth, still not believing anything you were saying to him.

“You shittin’ me, it’s always gon be mine!”

“Says who?! You crazy” You blow him off with the wave of your hand, zipping the diaper bag up and handing it to him.

He grabs it, then drops it to his feet without a care, crossing his arms. You look at him with a confused expression, your eyebrow cocked upwards.

“Why you like playin’ wit’ me?” He questioned while straight faced, but you stood your ground, unlike when you use to submit under him and his tone when you two were together. Truthfully, you use to be a bit scared of the nigga. He never gave you a reason to be personally, but he was a hard shell to crack, you rarely knew if he was happy or sad until he said something to steer you in a certain direction.

“Tyrone, quit playing and find you something safe to do, aight?” You fired back, challenging him. He moved not one inch. You knew he wasn’t scared of you at all, so this was no surprise, but you wasn’t gonna take him treating you like this in your own damn house.

“How many niggas you fucked since we broke up, Y/N?”

You shrug. “However many I wanted. I dunno, I wasn’t counting”

“Okay” He nods slowly, putting you on edge just a tad bit. You hum and study his reaction. He only did that when he had some shit up his sleeve. A simple answer, then a nod before he did or said some fuck shit. “And if I find them niggas and suddenly they stop callin’, then what?” Nothing he hasn’t done before.

“One less problem for me. You already pack up enough niggas in the glen anyway. Can’t kill ‘em all!” You giggle childishly after gaining your composure again, but as you found humor, the man stayed oh so serious.

“Oh, you’d be surprised at what a nigga can do now”

“Lemme guess, you learned to read a no loitering sign? Or maybe a no trespassing one?” You continued to joke, him finding nothing funny, as usual.

“You think you so funny” He warns, but you brush him off again, picking the diaper bag up and handing it to him again, this time forcing it in his hands to keep it there.

“I’m fuckin’ hilarious, nigga. better ask bout me”

Tyrone rolls his eyes.

“…so you really tellin’ me youn miss me?”

You turn and walk away to ignore the man further, side eyeing him as he followed. “Get out my face, Ty”

“Stop playin…so youn miss how I use to beat that pussy till you cry?” He spoke, getting closer to your ear so you could hear every syllable there. See, if this was a year and some change ago, you would have folded yourself in on a couch and put your legs to the sky faster than a pin could drop, but you had a point to prove.

You inched away from him to your kitchen, but he followed behind like a hungry shark that smelled blood.

“Let daddy dig that pussy out again, baby. You know I do it better than any other nigga”

Just with those few words, it had you thinking of flashbacks, your eyes fighting off a roll inwards. You knew the power he held in those boxers, you knew all too well what he was capable of. When Tyrone got to the pussy, he made sure he wasn’t playing no games. The man would even pull your bed from the wall everytime he came over so nobody in your moms house could hear how hard he was beating it up, talking dirty to you like you was a random bitch from the club, and that was your favorite part. That’s how you got into this mess anyway. Stuck with him and a tiny human who stole your face.

✮✮✮✮

Tyrone was definitely a man of threats, but he had never fallen through with any of the non-violent ones till this.

As Tyrone bucked his hips wildly into you, your leg began to quiver in his hold. You had thanked the gods that he had opted to lay you down on your side instead of fucking you standing up like he loved to do. You were sure your legs would have gave out by now if you were upright.

“Imma nut in this pussy, baby. Can daddy nut in this pussy? You want daddy to get you pregnant?”

He asks, and you nodded gladly like a dummy. Whatever the female version of pussy whipped was, you were definitely long past it. Even in that moment, you thought he wasn’t serious about the whole baby thing. He had never talked about one outside of sex, and you honestly thought he was against the entire idea of kids with the way he’d run junebug out of his presence when he’d do normal kid shit. He just didn’t seem serious.

Hell, you knew you weren’t serious about it. What would you do with a baby in this economy? Most importantly, how the fuck were you gonna care for it? You were only 21 and he was 24, had no business being together, but obviously he wasn’t the type to follow rules of any kind, or let you go.

The more he promised to get you pregnant, the harder y’all fucked until you were on top, riding him like there was a prize at the finish line you called an orgasm. Your hands were placed on his thighs behind you and your back was arched in as you spread your legs wide and bounced that ass on him, giving him the perfect opportunity to see himself slip in and out of you.

“Shit…shit! I’m bout to cum!” He shouts while panting, a few groans exiting his mouth.

“Fuuuck! I’m bout to nut, bae!” You heard him announce once again, but that wasn’t what set off alarms in your head, it was when he held you down and continued thrusting upwards into your wetness, making you leak. You whimper and shout, toes curling into the mattress.

“Shit! Lemme get up, Ty!” You tap his hands, trying to get them off of your hips so you could move, but he continues to bounce you with his fingers gripping you tightly, bound to leave a mark. “Tyrone! lemme get up, please!” You shout with urgency, but it had already been too late. By the time you rose up off of his dick, he had been pumping out the last bit of his seed, the small amount just sliding down the shaft of his dick. That’s when you knew you fucked up. Tyrone was a shooter in more ways than one, but when it came to cumming, he was damn near like a loaded gun. You’d have to squeeze your eyes shut when giving him head because he liked to cum on your face, and the first time he did, he almost blinded you with how far he came, literally.

“My god…” You breathed harshly, looking down at his dick begin to soften.

When it was all said and done, you asked him for money for a plan B, but lo and behold, he already had a pill prepared. Right in the glove compartment of his car is where he kept it and gave it to you when he came to see you the next day. But, as the weeks went by, you started to feel like that pill wasn’t much of a plan B, or at least not your “plan B”. It was definitely Tyrone’s though.

Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and nine of those later, you were popping out a little girl with a full head of hair and features just like yours. If you told somebody you made the baby alone, they’d probably believe you with how much you two looked alike. You were pissed off your entire pregnancy at Tyrone, but that didn’t stop you from loving your baby, you just couldn’t bring yourself to get rid of her either, though the process wasn’t foreign to you. If the “plan B” didn’t take her out, then who says she wasn’t meant to be here? But, with that being said, as you came closer to your due date, you grew farther from Tyrone while he was trying to keep you close, you even moved out of the glen and into a whole ‘nother town over.

He was there through your entire pregnancy, or at least tried when you weren’t trying to kill him for getting into stupid shit and almost dying, but because he was still so supportive and caring for you, checking up on how both you and the baby were doing, you cut him some slack, letting him name the bouncing baby girl. He went with the name ‘Autum��� because you two met in autumn, to your surprise he even remembered that since it had been so long ago.

Fast forward five months later, y’all were still beefing on and off over stupid shit. You would curse him out over scaring away new friends and or lovers, he’d ignore it and continue, working extra hard to make sure all them niggas knew who he was. Oh, Tyrone was on a mission, and he would not be ignored by some lame nigga you wanted to fuck, or ignored by you.

✮✮✮✮

[httpsdana]

Heeey! Could you do prompt 69 with Jamal Musiala (where he maybe accidentally confesses or something these are always cute)

BTW I LOVE LOVE YOUR WRITING SM HOW DO YOU ALWAYS GET ME INVESTED WHILE READING 😭

And thank you in advance ❤️

Oops?~Jamal Musiala

*Pictures are from Pinterest*

thank you for your sweet message, it means everything to me 💋💋

request from here

master list -> part 2

players/drivers I write for

69-"did you just say you like me?"

It was supposed to be a casual hang out between 'friends', but the tension in the air almost said something different.

Jamal and y/n were watching a movie, a comedy one to be specific, however Jamal's concentration seemed to be on something else.

What broke his train of thoughts was y/n's laugh at something that was said in the movie. He looked up immediately, watching how her eyes crinkled while she laughed, the sound being so soothing to his ears, to the point where he blurted out some words without even noticing.

"you have a really cute laugh" Jamal said, before he noticed what he did, causing his eyes to widen.

y/n's laugh faltered, looking at him to study his expressions. His face was in a deep shade of red, eyes on the ground and fingers tangled in each other on his lap.

"what?" she asked, wondering if what she heard was true or not.

"i meant you...laugh in a nice way?" he said awkwardly, clearing his throat while looking away.

"where is that coming from right now?" she asked, watching him squirm under her intense gaze.

"what do you mean, I didn't say anything wrong?" he said, his eyes still avoiding hers as he tried focusing on the movie again

"you're being really weird" she pointed out, reaching for the remote control to pause their movie.

She shifted her body in a position so she was facing him, her eyes searching his face for something...anything.

"tell me what's wrong?" she asked him, making him look at her for a second, before he turned away quickly.

"nothing's wrong. I don't know why you think there's something wrong" he mumbled, looking down at his hands.

"obviously there's something on your mind but for some reason you're refusing to tell me" she raised her eyebrows, crossing her fingers over her chest.

"it's nothing" Jamal brushed it off, reaching down for the remote to continue their movie.

Before he could reach it, y/n took the remote and put it behind her back.

"tell. me. what's. going. on" she said sharply, her eyes watching him so intensely.

"oh my god. nothings wrong. I mean I just like kinda have a crush on this girl but she's so stupid and she can't seem to get it and understand that I like her. i mean if I tell you your laugh is cute why don't you understand that I like you. isn't it obvious, I don't go around telling people they have nice laughs or whatever" he rambled, not understanding his own words as he felt the pressure of her gaze on him.

"hold on...did you just say you like me?" she asked, her eyes slightly wide.

Just then Jamal noticed what he had said, his eyes also widening as he cleared his throat.

"um...I did?" he said nervously, looking down at the ground once again

"yes you did" she said, a small smile appearing on her face.

"oh wow. I really did" he murmured, more to himself.

The awkward silence took over them for a while, both of them waiting for the other to say something. y/n got tired of waiting so she spoke again

"so you're not gonna kiss me?" she said, making Jamal look up at her with wide eyes.

"you want me to kiss you?" he asked, his forehead crinkling as his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"well obviously yes. if I didn't like you back I wouldn't be here would i? no offense Jamal but only people who really like you would stay around you for this long" she said, a bit of frustration evident in her voice as she spoke.

Jamal sat still for a second, trying to take in the words she had said. he didn't know if he should be upset about her words or just glad that she likes him.

"you're such a dumbass" y/n mumbled, before grabbing his face and connecting their lips.

Jamal's eyes widened, before he closed them and kissed her back, one of his hands reaching to the back of her neck to pull her even closer. their kiss was tender, full of all the admiration they have hid long enough.

They pulled away, both of them breathless. Jamal leaned back on the couch, his mind still comprehending what had happened.

He smiled to himself, his cheeks flushed as he looked at y/n with a tiny smile. Just then he remembered what she said, about "no one wanting to be around him"

"hey what did you mean no one would want to be around me?" he asked curiously, making y/n look at him with a look that says 'are you serious'

"we just kissed for the first time and now you're asking what I meant by that?" she said, her hand reaching up to cover her face

"I mean yeah" he shrugged, making her groan.

"you're so stupid oh my god" she mumbled, shaking her head with a small smile.

"but you like me...right?" he said, a boyish grin finding it's way to his face.

"yes you're lucky I like you" she said, making him chuckle a bit

"yes I am" he mumbled, smiling to himself at how their friendship has shifted in just one movie night.

[lucvly]

hi, how are you doing ? i was wondering if can you do christmas head canons with matt ?

— christmas headcannons with matt. ⸰ 𖥔 ͙

warnings: just fluff & a slightly suggestive one if you squint.

a/n: hii omg ?? is this Thing on ?? 🎤

— leaves the christmas lights up till january type of person. either a) he’s too lazy to take the decorations down, or b) he just wants you to help him take them down so he avoids it until you bring up the idea of helping him LMAO.

— this man knows how to wrap presents mhm. he’d a hundred percent do that stupid ass trend that’s like “wrapping gifts as something not even remotely close”.

— LOOOVES baking cookies with you aww. he doesn’t even like the baking process itself he just likes the decorating part.

— his presents are definitely well thought out. you offhandedly said you wanted a certain something five months ago? best believe he bought it for you for christmas.

— every single present he gives you includes a handwritten love letter. you love it because it’s always at least three pages long and it’s so cute :(.

— he’s such an attentive boyfriend i’m melting ugh. always has a spare jacket for you in the backseat of his car. he’ll say nick or chris left it there for some reason which is most definitely not true, he keeps it there especially for you just in case you get too cold.

— he doesn’t really like visiting malls on christmas because of the crowds but if you wanna go for some reason he’s absolutely following you around.

— he tries to be secretive with gifts but ends up being a major fail LMFAOO you’ve found out what your presents are on multiple occasions. one time he just left them in the car accidentally and you saw them before he could even do anything about it.

— which leads me to my next point, you and chris have an unspoken secret agreement to tell each other what matters got you for christmas. you tell him his present and he’ll tell you yours.

— this went on for a while before matt actually found out and all hell broke loose Oops.

— a perfectionist when it comes down to gingerbread houses. he eventually gives up though when some of the pieces don’t stick together.

— matching ugly sweaters are a must, duh. sometimes it’ll deadass just be mid june and you’ll catch him wearing one of the matching sweaters. it’s so funny but unironically he loves them, he can’t even figure iut why, he just does.

— he gets chapped lips during winter SORRY !! so you’re absolutely gonna catch him with cherry flavored chapstick and he doesn’t gaf. ( taste tests in the car <3333 )

— he’ll never admit it but he Loves christmas scented candles. he acts like the smell is way too strong or something but light one of those snickerdoodle scented candles and he’s Melting.

— lots of christmas themed pick up lines. deadass texts you in the middle of the night just to be like “can i take your picture? i gotta show santa what i want for christmas.”

— his favorite part of winter is the fact that he gets to spend most of his time cuddled up with you under a fuzzy blanket watching movies.

— expect tons of late night drives with him. he loves seeing how people decorate their houses, and for some reason he loves late night talks with you with soft christmas music playing in the background.

— he would be so serious about kids and santa. i feel like chris would be the type of guy to tell kids santa isn’t real but matt would get so pissed, literally raging.

— gets the worst case of sweet tooth during christmas. cookies, cakes, literally anything sweet idc.

— due to that, he’d a hundred percent get sick during the holidays LMFAOO (constant stomachaches because of the amount of sweets he’s had.)

— he’s definitely very considerate as to who you wanna spend your christmas with. he’s thrilled when you wanna spend christmas with him, his brothers and the rest of his family but he also understands that you wanna spend holidays with your family.

— to get to a fair arrangement, you both agree on: one year celebrating with your family, and another year you celebrate with his.

— though when you celebrate with your family, matt, chris and nick end up crashing at, like, the middle of the night HELLO??

— he loves showing you off and posting with you during the holidays. posting your matching outfits, posting vlogs / videos and hauls of what you got for christmas. it’s soo cute.

[drama-glob]

SPOILERS FOR "OOPS"

OMG TO ALL THE FLUFF WE GOT IN THIS EPISODE!!! <3<3<3 Literally squealed at how adorable Fizz and Ozzie are (which I already knew ;) ) and the fact that Fizz can't cook. ^_^<3<3<3 I also find it funny that they really weren't doing a good job at keeping their relationship under-wraps and how Fizz himself was not being low-key. XD I do love all his little fly dogs and the fact that one is in a wheelchair is absolutely adorable because he really does care about them as we see. ^_^ <3<3<3

Of course fate would bring Blitzo and Fizz's paths to cross, although I'm still surprised that we got Striker in this episode because I had heard about Crimson's men since it was in Greed after all, but dang, he must be trying to get business outside of royals since the last one didn't pan out. :/ I had a feeling that if it wasn't a hit put out on Fizz, then he'd be ransomed, so it just broke my heart at seeing how distressed he was at almost every turn; at least with talking with Blitzo it served as a distraction for him. It's still awful that he and Blitzo got kidnapped and in a way proved part of the reason for Fizz and Ozzie trying to keep their relationship secret (which admittedly didn't seem too well based on what Crimson said >_< ).

I do love that Blitzo obviously does have feelings for Stolas, and Fizz made some pretty good points about not all royal demons being the same as well as acting superior to others does cast you as snobby rich jerks; I know Fizz's been treated so well by Ozzie for over a decade, but he still came from humble beginnings and probably dealt with the same racist stuff other imps faced. :/

It was nice to see Stolas and Ozzie interact, even if it mainly was to go over the ransom demands, but I love that Stolas was empathetic and helpful in Ozzie's time of need even though Ozzie was withholding the crystal because of Fizz's hatred for Blitzo; I do hope Blitzo and Stolas will have their talk in the "Full Moon Ritual" episode because there is still so much he doesn't know about Blitzo's past. ;_;

I'm so glad that we got the confirmation that Blitzo caused the fire that cost Fizz his limbs and horns, but also the fact that he also lost his mom in the same fire...and it was all an ACCIDENT?! It was truly heartbreaking even if we were fed plenty of clues as to that being the reason why. ;_; It does figure that from there it was a whole misunderstanding that tore Blitzo and Fizz's friendship apart and I wonder who this "They" are that lied and said that Blitzo didn't come and Fizz didn't want to see Blitzo. Maybe Mammon's men if he was pick up by the Deadly Sin at that point? I do wonder why the fire was green while the sky was red like they were still in Pride. Hmmm. More to the mystery perhaps. ;) I'm guessing we'll see how Ozzie and Fizz met in the next episode. So excited!!! ^_^<3<3<3

Fizz's song was definitely VERY distracting and yes, I will look at this. O_O XD It is funny that none of the men seemed to catch on to their plan. XD

It was so beautiful and heartwarming that Blitzo and Fizz hugged and it seems to me like they're making their way back as friends, if they aren't there already. ;) I don't blame Fizz for being mad that he got blown up again, but like Blitzo said, at least he stayed around this time. ;) ^_^ <3<3<3 I'm still worried about Striker coming back though. O_O He just keeps getting more and more unhinged with each loss. >_<

When Ozzie and Fizz reunited those, I went "AWWWW" so hard and I love the way Ozzie said "Fizzy!" ^_^<3<3<3 It was really sweet though that Fizz told Ozzie to give Stolas the crystal for Blitzo as he DEFINITELY earned it today for saving Fizz's life. I wonder if Blitzo will tell Stolas? :/ Either way, seeing the amount of care the Ozzie gave Fizz and didn't blame him for anything that happened and just wanted him to take it easy, seriously kept melting my heart over and over. ^_^<3<3<3 They're so cute together and deserve all the happiness! ^_^<3<3<3

[ivorydragoness44]

Jason Todd / Red Hood x Reader: Factors

Word Count: tbd (I typed this on my phone)

Notes/Warnings: Based off of the Batman: Wayne Family Adventures episode with the rainbow suit. Breaking and entering via Batman (implied Batwoman), reader arming themselves, angst with resolution.

Summary: The Reader can't get to sleep. They hear someone entering the apartment so they hide. They text Jason but he isn't texting right away. When Jason does arrive in full Red Hood gear, who is more surprised, him or Batman?

A/N: Happy New Year! New year, new fanfiction.

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

Lying in bed, you rolled over for the third time. Somehow, for some reason, sleep was eluding you that night. Usually sleep would eventually find it's way to you in a timely manner. But, no. Could it have been that you craved the comfort of one very specific person in addition to the pillow you were cuddling? Maybe. It was certainly a possibility.

A small tap and scratch on the window across the room stalled your thoughts. You thought nothing of it. It was likely a bird, nothing else was going to be so many stories up on an apartment.

Your entire body stilled when you heard the window begin to open slowly.

Rolling out of bed, you snatched the dagger Jason had gifted you from beneath the other pillow. Quickly finding your footing, you too took your cellphone before slipping into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door quietly.

The way your heart was pounding, you were not sure if you would be able to hear anything else. You wasted no time in texting Jason. However, after a minute with no reply, you sent another text.

There was a faint muffled voice coming from the main room. You could only hope that they would leave immediately, or Jason would materialize beside you. Both seemed rather unlikely.

Fifteen minutes passed and you swore that your heart could take no more of the situation. With your phone still in your hands, you began to send Jason a flurry of text messages. Each ranged from his name in all capital letters to your initial situation. Finally, he replied. On my way.

Not long afterward, from the quiet apartment, came a second voice. You hoped that neither would find the fine display of weapons on the wall But with the amount of time that had passed, you doubted it.

There's another one, you sent to Jason. Please hurry, but be careful.

You were sure that five minutes had not passed before you heard the front door to the apartment fly open and slam shut. A startled voice was confronted with an angry one before there was a moment of complete silence.

"Are you kidding me?!" Jason's muffled voice broke through to you.

After the initial outburst, the conversation was much too low for you to hear. But no sound of things breaking or a fight of any kind was a good sign.

You sent three question marks to his phone and received a thumbs up emoji in return.

Unlocking and opening the bathroom door quietly still, you stepped out just as you got a message from him requesting for your to wait for him. Oops.

There in the open floor space of the apartment, lightly illuminated by the city lights outside was Batman and the Red Hood. Batman, however, was wearing a rainbow colored version of his usual suit. And after you turned on the lamp by the bed, the colors were much more prominent. Although, so was the suit on the ground covered and smelling like a strange meal with extra mustard.

Everyone starred silently before you spoke up. "What the hell?" You asked, gesturing at them with the dagger in your grasp.

Batman looked you over, reminding you of your pajama state of dress. But then he smiled softly, as if the sight was a warm welcome. Turning his head back to Red Hood, you could only imagine the glare he gave the caped crusader.

"Not a word about this," he growled, pointing firmly at him.

Batman turned back to you, giving a nod. "My apologies." Then, without another word, he left back out the window.

Striding over, Red Hood shut and locked the window. He proceeded to close the curtains before turning to face you.

Approaching slowly, he took off his helmet. "I am so sorry."

Tossing your phone and dagger down onto the bed, you looked up at him, your hands resting unhappily on your hips. "You took forever to reply. What if it wasn't Batman?"

"I know," Jason's head hung low. "I messed up. We were so excited in picking out a suit for him to wear." His eyes peered up through his eyelashes with a deep look of sincerity. "But I swear, it'll never happen again. I promise. Even if you texted me 'goodnight' and that you were going to sleep, like tonight, I'll still check my phone to make sure if it's you or not. I just-" His breathing became heavy.

You stepped over to him as he searched for more words, gently cradling his head in your hands. "But at least we're both okay, right?" You reasoned.

"Yeah, but what if it-"

"Nothing did. We're living life. Some sort of lesson was bound to find us again. I'm willing to move on and look past this. How about you?"

With a small sigh, he smiled. "All right. My heart is still pounding-well, not as much as before," he trailed off.

"So was mine."

Bringing you into a hug, he buried his face into your neck. "I didn't want to lose you too."

Quiet lingered after his words. Slipping your hands under his jacket, you smoothed your hands in comfort over his back.

"When does your patrol end tonight?"

"Around three, but I'll try to get back sooner.

"Text me beforehand, okay?"

"I will."

"But, um...what do we do with that?"

The both of you leaned back enough out of your embrace to view the discarded Batsuit.

"Uh..."

"Stuff it in a bag and give it back?" You suggested, half joking.

"Ha, yeah. I'll dump it off at the Batcave."

Your eyes widened and you stared at him until he rose a questioning eyebrow at you.

"There's a Batcave?"

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

Thank you for reading!!

[hockeyboysimagines]

Love so sweet

Chapter 2

Warnings: Language, Angst, implied sex.

Chapter 2! Hopefully you guys like this as much as Chapter 1🤍

“Excuse me could you like get out of my way?”

Tabitha whipped around ready to tweak out on someone when she came face to face with Cole, and broke out in a smile instead. She let out a breath of relief, both because she was bursting with happier see him, and because it meant she wouldn’t have to cause a scene in public. Breakups put her in a foul mood and that usually meant some poor soul suffered because of it.

“Hi stranger.” She said accepting his hug. He gave her a squeeze and pulled back to look at her, hands still braced on her arms.

“How are you? I heard you guys broke up…again.” He said with a chuckle

She nodded, hands coming up to hold him by the elbows “What else is new right?”

“True.” He sighed and let go of her, and walking along side her as she continued to shop “You doing okay? We haven’t seen you in a bit.”

It was true. The last week or so had been especially tumultuous between she and Arber, and seeing them unfortunately hadn’t been in the cards. That was one of the worst parts of the constant fighting if she was being honest. She loved his teammates and his friends and most of all his family, but they were exactly that. His teammates, his friends, his family. Not hers. And if they really did ever break up for good she would have to expect to lose them as a part of her life.

But for now, she was fairly certain this was another temporary one.

At least she hoped. This breakup had been rough on both of them and she’d said a lot of things she didn’t mean, and thrown some accusations she couldn’t take back. She hoped Arber knew that she didn’t actually mean them, and it was something she said while in a heightened state, but it wasn’t an excuse. Her emotions felt out of control sometimes and she often said or did things she didn’t mean. At some point she had to pull herself together and start looking at things more level headed.

Maybe she needed therapy.

She nodded and tossed something in her cart “I’m okay I guess. Just been a rough week.”

“Tell me about it. He’s been a mess.”

She frowned “What’s that mean?”

“He just hasn’t been himself. Like more than normal. I hate when you guys fight.” He said frowning at her.

She sighed and nodded “That makes two of us.”

He picked something off a shelf and chucked it in her cart with a shrug “We may as well shop together. Let me tell you about your boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend anymore. Fuck this” she said air quoting, as Cole rolled his eyes and made a face “His words not mine.” She finished with a shrug.

“I know they are but you know that’s not for real right? I don’t get what you guys even fight about.”

“Everything basically anymore.” She said offhandedly “Something new to fight about everyday. This one was my fault though.”

“What happened anyways?”

“I-“ she said with a pause “Someone told me that Arber got some girls number when you guys went out the other night when I was working. I just kinda freaked out and here we are.”

“I see. He didn’t, just by the way. I’d tell you if he did.”

“I know that now. Unfortunately I didn’t ask before I yelled at him. Something I’ll have to remember for next time. Oops.” She felt a little embarrassed and glanced at Cole but he wasn’t judging her.

“I get it. But I can promise you he wouldn’t do that. You know that right? Arbers not like that.”

She nodded as they turned the aisle “I do but for some reason I keep doubting it. Maybe I’m crazy. Or maybe I’m just a bitch.” She said with a shrug.

“Nooooo your not.” Cole said with a small smile “I can see your hurting, and it’s any consolation he’s not doing any better. Seems sad.”

“It should make me feel better, but I don’t want him to be sad over me. I just want things to get better.”

Cole smiled a little and bumped her shoulder “And that’s why your so great. You gotta fix things though. Because he’s on the verge of committing a crime out on the ice.”

She laughed and rolled her eyes “He’s always on the verge of committing a crime on the ice. It’s adorable.” She said with a dreamy smile and then coughed to cover it up.

“See?” He said turning to her with a grin “That’s why you guys are perfect for eachother. Kirby asked him where you’ve been the other day and I thought he was going to punch him.”

“He would never punch Kirby.”

“Maybe not but he wanted to. You miss him?”

“Of course I miss him Cole. But if he wants to break up then it is what it is. I can’t make him change his mind. It’s not that simple.”

Cole was shaking his head “You could. All you have to do is call him.”

He was right. It didn’t take a lot to get Arber back and vice versa. Usually just a text or a phone call or even just showing up at his apartment did the job but she was always afraid to reach out just in case it was really over. She couldn’t take it if he told her it was the end, so she usually let him reach out unless she was feeling particularly brave.

As they made their way to checkout Cole updated her on the rest of the guys and how they were doing “They miss you. We went out the other day and they were hoping you’d come out with him. We didn’t know you guys were fighting though.”

“I heard. He was at my house.”

“I knew it!” He said pointing at her “ I knew he was there. He only cancels plans when he’s with you, and he hates going out. He said going out with you gives him anxiety.”

Tabitha chuckled “Yeah talk about him committing a crime.”

They chatted while they checked out and made their way out to the car.

He helped her load her stuff and turned to her, shutting her trunk.

“It was so good to see you.” Cole said as he hugged her, eyes closing and gave her an extra squeeze “Don’t be a stranger okay? Were your friends too.”

She felt her eyes start to water and blinked them away with a nod “I know. I will. Promise.”

He nodded and turned away but paused and glanced over his shoulder “I’ll tell him you said hello. Okay?”

She nodded, unable to speak and gave him a wave and slipped into her car just as tears rolled down her cheeks.

She hated this. She sniffled in the front seat and watched Cole back out and leave the lot as she collected herself. Her route back home took her directly past Arber’s apartment building, and she purposely looked straight ahead. She was always afraid during a breakup that she would drive by and see him with another girl, which was silly because she knew he was most likely with the guys or sulking in the living room.

She let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding in as she made it through the light and the building disappeared from her view.

***********

“I saw Tabitha at the grocery store.” Cole said off handedly in the dressing room.

Arber paused and half turned “Yeah? And how was that.”

“She said she was so relieved you guys broke up because she’s always wanted to date me.”

“Haaaaaa.” He said making a face “Very funny.”

“I thought so. She misses you.” He said quietly.

Arber nodded “I know. She okay?”

He nodded “She says she is. She told me to tell you hello.”

He sighed and ran a hand over his face and shook his head “Did she say anything else?”

“Like what? Like she wants you to go to her apartment after practice and get her back?”

He rolled his eyes as Cole continued “If I say yes will you do it?”

“It’s not that simple.”

Cole cracked a smile and let out a huff “Funny she said the same thing. You two are wild man. If you can sit there and tell me that you don’t miss her then I’ll shutup.”

Arber shrugged “Of course I miss her. I don’t like fighting with her.”

“Then get it together and go fix it you idiot.”

“Don’t call me an idiot-“

“Then don’t act like one.” Cole said with a shrug “You miss her, go get her back. You know how easy it is.”

“What’s easy?” Slaf said sitting down next to him.

“Arber and Tabitha broke up.” Cole said eyeing him with a small smirk “But he’s going to go get her back right?”

“Again?” Kirby asked pulling off his helmet off “Why now?”

“Maybe you guys should just break up for good.” Nick said.

Kirby, who was closest, slapped his helmet out of his hand “Take that back. He can’t break up with Tabitha. We like her too much.”

“I agree, but this fighting can’t be healthy.”

Arber didn’t say anything while he listened to the the guys talk about him like he wasn’t there.

He hadn’t expected his teammates to take to Tabitha the way they did, and almost instantly. In a very short time they were always bugging him about bringing her along when he went places with them. She was so good with them, and so easy to talk to. They were a good group, and always respectful, but they could be silly and joke with Tabitha and she gave it right back. She could be one of the guys, and in the next minute be the picture of femininity. They loved her, and she loved them and the constant fighting put a wedge between that each time. It made him feel bad.

He kept most of the fighting and breakups to himself when it came to his parents. They had thankfully always been on good terms when they came to visit or when she came to visit and they had fallen in love with her maybe faster than he had. They raved about her night and day to anyone who would stand still long enough, always requesting she be available when they FaceTimed him. She had fit so seamlessly into his life it felt strange when she wasn’t there.

He hated it.

He didn’t say much for the rest of practice and as he left. He heard the guys calling him but he just wanted to go home and pity himself so he waved them off and made his way home.

He thought back to the first time he ever saw her.

The bar was loud and packed and all he wanted to do was go home.

He was tired, his knuckles hurt from the fight he’d been in, and the headache was unlike any other he’d experienced, but he’d been roped into coming out with them to celebrate the win. He was thinking about the best way to plan his exit when he glanced up to find a girl staring at him from across the bar.

He was fairly sure someone was talking to him but heard nothing.

She was beautiful, the prettiest girl he’d ever seen without question, but there was something else about her. Whatever it was, it had him up and out of his chair and making his way across the bar. The closer he got, the more he wished he hadn’t taken a single step but it was too late to back out now. If there was one thing Arber was not, it was easily intimidated, and yet here he was with sweaty hands and something that could only be described as nerves settling in his stomach.

And then she smiled at him.

“Hi.” She said leaning forward on the bar, as he came to stop next to her.

“Hi.”

“I’m Tabitha.” She extended a hand and grasped his, fingers stroking against his in the most pleasurable way.

“I’m Arber.”

“Arber? That’s not a name you hear everyday.”

He chuckled and leaned against the bar top, feeling a little more at ease “Tell me about it. You should hear my last name.”

She smiled “Tell me.”

But he shook his head “No. I’m gonna write it down and I want you to say it.”

He wrote his last name down on a napkin and slid it over to her so she could see it.

“Xhekaj?” She asked glancing at him.

His mouth fell open “You can pronounce that?”

“Yeah? It’s Albanian right?”

“Arbs what-Oh hi?” Cole was standing behind him and smiled at her but then turned back to Arber “Why are you writing your last name?”

“He didn’t think I’d be able to pronounce it.”

Arber turned and looked at him “She said it right on the first try.”

Cole’s mouth fell open “No shit? Are you Albanian?”

“No.” She said with a small laugh and a headshake “I just happen to watch a lot of Habs games at work.”

“Work” ended up being a sports bar and restaurant downtown, and Tabitha tore up his world like wildfire from that point on. Before he knew it she had poured like water into every facet of his life. Her love was overwhelming and smothering sometimes and in the very early months of their relationship he was so infatuated with her he didn’t know his left from his right. He’d felt feelings for girls before but never like this. Tabitha had become everything to him in a very short amount of time, and when his feelings that normally died down a bit didn’t change for her after 3 months he knew she was the one.

And everyone else knew it too, except maybe Tabitha herself.

Even with the way things were, if he could go back to that night he would still get up and approach her every single time. She had made his life better even with the fighting.

As a last resort he called his mom. She was the best listener he knew. She was privy to some of the fighting but not all of it. She had always tried to help him see things from Tabitha’s perspective as well as his own, and that helped sometimes. He never realized how things were for her until someone else told him and that made him feel stupid. He’d just assumed she was as blissfully happy all the time as he was and never thought for a minute that she could be struggling with outside influences polluting her brain. He felt like an ass and had promptly driven to her apartment with flowers, apologized and never forgot what his mom had said after that. The conversation was much the same this time. His mom agreed, that she hadn’t raised a cheater because of she had he wouldn’t be alive, but that you start to believe things when you hear them enough times. It made sense to him, but she also reinforced that he didn’t do anything wrong this time, which he knew of course and Tabitha probably did too. Things had clearly gotten lost in translation and out of hand. But she said it could be fixed. They talked for a while until she hung up, encouraging him to go talk to her and make things right.

He huffed and checked the time, before heaving himself up and grabbing his keys.

Arber had a strict rule of never listening to any of his teammates and their dumb ideas, but hearing his mom say it was more convincing which is how he found himself a short while later following Cole’s suggestion as he made his way down Tabitha’s street. Her porch light was on and her car was parked out front. He hadn’t expected her to be anywhere else, and even though he felt a little bad but he was also relieved to find that she was home. Though he’d said last night he could go out and pick up some girl, which he could, it would be a lot easier for her to do it. And if that happened, then he’d have to have to hurt someone. It was a lose lose.

He knocked three times and leaned on the doorframe with a small sigh, but also some relief. This was usually when things got better rather than worse, and he was glad that it was heading in that direction, hopeful she was in a good mood on the other side of the door. He could hear her shuffling around, and she looked surprised when she appeared and found him standing there. But she smiled apprehensively “Hi.”

“Hey.”

“What are you doing here?”

He shrugged and smiled at her “Just thought maybe I wanted to see you is all.”

Her cheeks turned pink and she took a step back allowing him to walk past her inside. He sat on the sofa and looked at her expectantly as she hovered between the couch and the door.

“Come sit.” He said patting the spot next to him. When she did he reached forward and gripped her hand.

“Tabitha. Can we stop this please.”

She nodded and gave his hand a squeeze “I hate fighting with you Arber. It hurts more every time.”

“Then let’s just stop fighting. We fight over the dumbest stuff. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I am not cheating on you. I have no intentions of cheating, it never even crossed my mind. I love you okay?”

She nodded as he continued “You've got to stop listening to other people and just ask me. Whoever is telling you that stuff is full of shit. Do you think if I was cheating on you my teammates would want me to be bringing you around all the time?”

She shrugged and looked at her lap “No.” she said quietly.

“And do you think that I would even be with you if I was out fucking around. I would just be out doing that while I was single. Come on. You know me better than that.”

She nodded “I know. I just feel so anxious all the time.”

“About?” He said leaning forward.

“That you might find someone better.”

“No.” He said with a smile and a shake of his head “I couldn’t even if I wanted to, which I don’t. I’ve told you this so many times and it hurts my feelings sometimes that you don’t believe me. I’m not trying to gaslight you, but I try so hard and I feel like it’s all pointless. I don’t know what else I can do for you Tabitha but if there’s something, tell me what it is and I’ll do it.”

Her lip trembled and she squeezed his hand “I love you.”

“I love you too. Come here.” He patted his knee and waited till she was situated before he rested a large hand on her knee “I’m not saying we’re never going to fight because we will. But in situations like this can you promise to at least talk to me before you rip my head off? If something bothering you just tell me what it is. Okay?”

She sniffled and nodded “Okay. I promise.” She leaned a head on his shoulder.

“Do you feel better? Not mad at me anymore?”

“I feel better.”

“Cuz if your still mad and you wanna take it out on me a little I’m game.”

She looked up and snorted out a laugh “I don’t wanna hurt you or anything.”

He held up a fist and smiled “You know I can take a punch.”

She rolled her eyes and wiped away the mascara from under them as he leaned forward and kissed her cheek “If I give you-“ he glanced at the clock “A half hour, think you can be ready to go out to dinner?”

She shrugged “Sure. I just have to fix my face a little.”

“Makeup.” He corrected “There’s nothing wrong with your face.”

“Okay I have to fix my makeup and change. Unless it’s acceptable to wear pajamas whenever it is we’re going.”

“It is not. You will also not be wearing those pajamas when we return home.”

************

Arber felt so much better in the following days, and it was reflected to everyone he knew. He was a little lighter, more talkative and smiled wider which is how the guys knew things were back to normal.

“So things are good again?” Slaf asked as they watched drills during practice.

“Yeah. Much better.”

“Good. Stop fighting. It’s dumb and you’re no fun when your fighting with her.”

“You definitely should fight with her when we play rivalry teams though. Just sayin.” Kirby said from his left.

“No I don’t think that I should. I’m not sure anyone’s ever been arrested for committing crimes on the ice and I don’t want to be the first. Imagine having to explain that to my mom.”

“Tabitha would bail your dumbass out.” Slaf said with a chuckle.

“No she wouldn’t. She’d commit another crime against whoever he committed one against. And then we’d have to alternate weekend visits. Like children of divorce.”

Arber chuckled “Well don’t worry. No divorce here. At least not today.”

*************

“So. Back with…him I see?” Jessica asked cooley, eyeing Tabitha over the table.

She rolled her eyes “Yes. I don’t want to hear it.”

“I wasn’t going to say-“

“You were. You always have something to say about me and Arber and I’ve heard it all before. So save your breath.”

“You know Tabitha. We’re just looking out for you.”

At first she’d really believed it. She really felt like her friends wanted her to be done with a ther because it was in her best interests. But now she felt like they nagged her about him all the time and it was getting real old real fast.

It was constant.

If they were complaining about them together, they were complaining about Arber himself and if they weren’t doing that they were fueling her paranoia about the rumors by adding to them. I heard Arber did this, I heard Arber did that blah blah blah. Tabitha was over it in a big way. She found herself hanging out with them less and less. They had noticed this of course and then claimed that he was “isolating” her because he was this big evil monster that had taken over her life and her happiness. But really it was just because they were awful. She could understand them not liking Arber at first. That first breakup followed a huge blowup of epic proportions that made Tabitha ugly cry for days. Understandable how they would be weary of him after that, and he agreed they had every right to feel that way. But it had been over a year now and they hadn’t even thought about giving him another chance. If they had, they would see that Tabitha was at fault for half of not more of their breakups and arguments. She’d tried her best to rehab his image, and he had at first too but finally he said he wasn’t going to try and make peace with people who didn’t want to make peace.

It just wouldn’t be worth it.

She’d even arranged “accidental” encounters put at the bar and still no such luck. They avoided Arber like the plague and he did the same to them. So Tabitha was left somewhere in the middle. It was funny though, that her friends couldn’t stop saying terrible things about Arber and he never brought them up unless she talked about them. Sometimes made her wonder who was really the terrible one in her life.

They didn’t say much else, and neither did Tabitha but she excused herself earlier than she needed to, so she could pick up Arber while her car was in The shop getting new tires.

She sat in the parking spot drinking her nails on the steering wheel, and ran her fingers over the cool leather with a small sigh.

She felt so much better now that things with Arber had settled and her stupid friends had ruined it. She always felt, no matter how things were with him, that the disappointment of her friends ruined every good patch. They made her feel so shitty about her relationship with him, even when things were fine. Their tone was always dripping in disappointment when they talked about him which was often.

It was mentally exhausting having to play middle man between them.

She did know however she felt much more mentally exhausted having to shield herself from their disappointment than it was to be with Arber.

She shook her head and looked at the clock. Arber would be home in 30 minutes.

That would make everything better.

[blushblushbear]

I love cringey fanfic tropes omg... kitsunes with the one bed trope? Teehee

I found out recently that apparently "there was only one bed" is actually a regular occurrence in hotels! but also

I don't know the circumstances that would have you close enough to travel with the Kistune but also still not close enough where you're not actually dating them but I WILL say I want it to be whatever the funniest reason you yourself the reader can possibly think of! Anime convention?? Trip to Broadway??? Work trip??? Wild goose chase????? Vaguely magical beings convention????? STUCK IN A CONNECTING STATE/LOCATION AFTER BEING SNOWED IN?????? CAR BROKE DOWN ON THE WAY TO DISNEY???

REGARDLESS, you and the Kistune are traveling, there's def some dokis but you're not acting on them--- YET. But OOPS hotel OOPS one bed! whatever shall we do...

Also for this we're gonna say they're mid unfoxing so no getting out of this by turning into a fox and sleeping on the floor or something (not that Fuyu would lmao)

Aki:

tries to pretend he's not immediately excited

fails

also tries to pretend he's not IMMEDIATELY nervous

also fails

very awkward

doesn't wanna be a creep (like Haru)

or be too lovestruck or weird or anything

but also he's going to be sharing a bed with you

AKI IS THE REASON FOR THE NO FOXING AND SLEEPING ON THE FLOOR RULE lmao

cause if he could get out of this by just going fox and sleeping on the floor or the foot of the bed he would

he shouldn't be so quick to let himself be treated like a pet but HONESTLY HE'D TAKE IT TO GET OUT OF THIS lol

but yeah no he can't so he has to sleep next to you

aggressively covers his eyes while you're getting ready for bed

maybe takes a little peak once

just once though

is very stiff when he gets into bed

lays there with his hands at his sides so so tense

doesn't sleep for the longest time

looks over at you and doesn't mean to but he ends up staring for a while

you're just so cute when you sleep

very peaceful

he doesn't remember falling asleep but he wakes up so warm and snuggled into you a little

mini panic and scoots away but he really doesn't want to

thinks/dreams about sharing that bed long after

Haru:

VERY down to share a bed

is flirtatious right up till you actually get in bed together

then he's actually very chill

all his moves before are verbal passes and once your sharing a bed he makes a point of it to stay on his side

he's not stiff like Aki, he's actually pretty relaxed

does tell you he's available if you want to cuddle or that you're free to snuggle up if you get cold

but once it's actually time to sleep he rolls over and sleeps

he likes you, he wants to seduce you, he makes his passes-- but he also knows pushing a boundary when you're just trying to sleep is going to do nothing but make you uncomfortable

so he doesn't

if you give any hint that you might be okay with something-- be it cuddling or something else

then his pass is very tentative

he doesn't grab you or force you into a hug

but he will put his hand on yours or open his arms and make himself avaible

he's only offering, he's not pushing anything

during the evening he wakes up in the middle of the night

he catches a glimpse of your sleeping face and actually gets a little flustered

in that moment his dokis hit him pretty hard and he has to try to ignore them

or at least, he will later

for now he's still staring

you just look so peaceful

probably goes to brush your hair out of your face but stops before he does it realizing he's being too affectionate and what even is he doing

if he wakes up to you cuddled again him and you weren't like that when you went to sleep, he'll probably lay in it a moment, enjoying the feeling of you clinging so sweetly to him, before he gently peels you off of him and lays you back on your side

in the morning he plays everything cool

very warm but he actually doesn't make a pass at you or anything

just a nice little morning together before you head out

that warmth, your closeness, that memory of your sleeping face half lit in the night, haunts him in a way he didn't expect but doesn't entirely hate...

Fuyu:

OKAY SO EVEN IF HE COULD FOX HE WOULDN'T DARE SLEEP ON THE FLOOR

actually with or without the fox form he tries to convince you to sleep on the floor

if you fight him, he acquiesces

but if you just sort of sadly agree he takes it back, feeling it would be too cruel to actually make you do it and he's not THAT heartless

but he makes it clear that you are to stay on YOUR side of the bed

AND DON'T HOG HIS BLANKET

has some nervousness and reluctance going into it

partly cause oops feelings but also grr dignity THE GREAT FUYU DOES NOT SHARE HIS BED

but for the most part you both get down without much fuss

once he's actually there though, his back turned to you and curled up on HIS side of the bed

he actually gets a little

contemplative???

forlorn??

he hasn't shared a bed with anyone in

well--- a VERY long time

and this realization along with his inability to fight off his growing pangs of loneliness makes him

idk

introspective??

and a bit sad

he's so used to an empty bed

and to the solitiude

but that doesn't mean he LIKES it

and usually he can push those feelings down and ignore them

or bury them in his sense of pride and duty

but when he's so very aware of your presences lying peacefully next to him

and compounded with the fact that it's YOU

idk-- he just can't sleep

a storm of emotions is waging in him and he doesn't know how to handle any of them

eventually he looks over his shoulder at you

your back is to him and it sort of makes him long for company all the more

you're simply doing what he's asked of you, you're staying on your side

but now he's regretting the request

if ever so slightly

he contemplates this, and many other things, as he turns to face your form

staring in a pained longing at your still shape

and when you turn over and he glimpses your sleeping face

his heart skips a beat

a new wave of strange and wonderful and awful feelings washes over him as he takes in the features of your peaceful expression

how darling you seem

how at ease you look

he didn't realize his hand was reaching ever slightly towards you until yours suddenly grabs his

it's not rough or sudden, though it did make Fuyu jump a bit

but it's actually very gentle

almost soothing

comforting

he's actually so touched by this one little gesture that your doing on accident that the room seems to light up

everything suddenly feels brighter

at least for now, Fuyu isn't alone

he'd never admit it, but he gently squeezed your hand

and with this small bit of warmth, this tiny connection soothing his frail night time nerves

he closes his eyes, sighs, and drifts to sleep

he held your hand all night

you wake up first, a little embarrassed when you find your hands together

you begin to pull it away but Fuyu's instinctively tightens it's grip and his face suddenly looks distressed in his sleep

you pause, before returning the grasp and seeing Fuyu's face relax

you leave it there till full morning

you do not speak of it the next day

[happysaddca]

Nobody look at me idk how or why because human AUs of the canon DCA are not my thing and I straight up told at @wyervan that the slasher boys scare me when I was working on the fanzine layout but I

let's just say I'm very very much out of writing block cause I'm already plotting some more. Thanks for reading this over before I posted it Wyervan. As promised there's a tiny present at the end for you.

A long, hard poke from the business end of a baseball bat wakes Moon from his nap. He grabs it before he can be poked again, moving to sit up. An endeavor made more fraught by the surprise stowaway in his hoodie digging her claws into the thin material of his t-shirt. One arm moves to cradle said interloper, the other keeping the bat at bay. “What?” 

“You scared me!” The bat jerks free to gently bop the top of his head, Ellis’s voice pitched half an octave too high and their face flushed. When Moon grabs at the bat again, they pull protectively back. “Why are you in my bus?”

“Better place to nap.” Moon ducks in the small space as he sits up fully. “Better company too.” 

Ellis’s confusion is partially masked by their tinted glasses. Moon answers by fishing the purring bundle of void out from under his hoodie, amber eyes giving Moon a wounded look at her eviction. “Oh! Eos, c’mere baby girl.” The cat changes arms, and Moon’s able to relax with the bat safely out of the way, the tension in his shoulders reducing fractionally. Ellis has chosen to ignore him entirely, face buried in Eos’s fur and mumbling nonsense. 

Moon remains seated on the edge of the bed, unable to reach an escape point (window that actually opens, the emergency exit on the roof, the main bus doors at the very front) without squeezing past Ellis and making far more bodily contact than could be considered strictly professional. 

Then again, he had broken into their home to sleep. Even if said home is a converted school bus. 

The bus is a teal monstrosity that has made its home at the far corner of the admittedly small arcade parking lot, a DIY project Ellis affectionately called Big Sue for reasons yet unknown. The beast’s taken Ellis from coast to coast before breaking down here. Ellis had asked for a job in exchange for the parking space and enough for repairs. Just enough to keep going, they’d promised. One, maybe two months top. That’d been five months ago. 

“Okay.” Ellis lifts their face from where Eos had been industrially grooming their hair, glasses shoved lopsidedly on their forehead. The absurdity of the look doesn’t take away from their smile. “If you’re here, you’re helping.” 

“Helping?” Ellis leans past Moon to let Eos loose on the bed, close enough that he can smell the fresh piney scent of their soap — the same smell trapped in their pillow and blankets he’d nested in before passing out. He can’t move without getting in the way, but Ellis is out of his space just as quick, watching him with hands fisted loosely against their hips. 

“Helping with dinner. You broke into my home and nearly gave me a heart attack. This is how you pay me back.” When Moon doesn’t move, Ellis grabs his hands, their grip offering no counterargument. Moon lets Ellis pull him upright and drag him to the sink to wash up. 

Ellis clearly doesn’t have the same reservations about personal space as Moon, constantly squeezing behind him in the narrow walkway as he’s tasked with prepping the veggies, okra and bell peppers and onions and more. It’s not until he’s feeding Eos a stray shrimp and Ellis is stirring in garlic that something clicks. 

“You’re the one that’s been cooking for us.” Moon’s voice is almost accusatory. He stands, stealing their spoon to point at them to finish the accusation. The sauce drips, a furry dark shape twining her way between their legs to lick the floor clean. 

Ellis steals the spoon back, pointing it back at Moon. “And you didn’t know?” Their aim is off, poking Moon in the cheek and leaving a smear of brown and grit. “Oops.” Their serious expression breaks all too quickly. “You can’t tell  me you really didn’t know.” 

Moon’s own face doesn’t change, but his eyes slide off Ellis and to the gently bubbling pot of jambalaya busily making the whole bus smell delicious and Cajun. “You never signed your notes.” 

“I didn’t think I needed to. You think that Star or that half-feral dude you guys keep letting into the break room can cook?” Ellis turns, ripping off a fresh paper towel from the roll kept by the stove. “Bend down.” 

“Still never signed.” Moon doesn’t move, so Ellis drags him down by the hood. They’re not too much shorter than Moon or Sun, but the angle and closeness lets him see over their glasses and see the pale gray of their sclera. This close, he knows they can see the mottled texture of his skin and all the imperfections. They exhale. Their breath smells like menthol and tobacco. 

“Maybe I should sign all my work moving forward.” They dab at his cheek before tracing his jawline with the corner of the paper towel. “Sign my face paint masterpieces right here. What do you think?” They meet his eyes and grin, and he straightens, the back of his neck growing hot even as he gives an answering sharp toothed smile. 

“Probably not necessary. Just if you have other surprises in store.” Moon recovers the spoon where Ellis had left it and stirs the pot, the shrimp and okra appearing like icebergs in the reddish-brown roux. Ellis leaves him to it, pulling something new — cornbread — from their icebox. 

It’s quiet save for the sound of cooking, bubbling liquids and metal scraping on metal as Ellis reheats the bread. Fingers ghost over Moon’s arm as they balance themselves on him, pulling out an extra bowl. Moon tries to protest, but they force him to sit at their narrow table, cleaning it of suspiciously striped and spangled fabric. Ellis serves him a bowl with a massive hunk of cornbread stuck in the corner. 

They sit opposite, curling one leg against their chest as they tear their cornbread, using it to soak up the excess sauce. “You know, I don’t know a whole lot about you, given you were just asleep in my bed Moon. Is Moon even your real name?”

Moon shrugs an answer, copying the tear and soak method Ellis is using with his cornbread. “Don’t know a lot about you. Is Ellis your real name?” They laugh and stick out their tongue, Moon replying in kind. The mimicry makes them laugh harder, covering their mouth with one hand. 

“Okay, fair enough.” 

Moon switches to a spoon while Ellis continues to tear down their cornbread into increasingly smaller pieces. He glances at the counter. 

“Okay, new question then. Can you guess where I’m from?” 

The grin indicates this is a trick question. Moon mulls it over as he bites into a particularly spicy bite of sausage. “Florida.”

“Ew, no, why?” Ellis is coughing when Moon gives another shrug and smile. They roll their eyes in return. “I’m from Alabama you heathen.” 

“Close enough.” That gets a kick in the shin from a steel-toed boot. Moon doesn’t flinch. 

“If you knew anything about the South, you would not be saying that.” Now that he knows, there’s just a hint of that accent, the words hanging on a touch longer even as their speech remains relatively chipper. Ellis finally runs out of cornbread, forced to use their spoon at last. Moon’s bowl is already half empty. “Were you and Sun really clowns before?” A nod, and Moon feels a little head bumping his arm as Eos crawls into his lap to smell at his food. “You don’t really seem the clown type.” 

“I don’t?” Moon quirks an eyebrow and now Ellis mimics him, but they do pause. 

“I mean, obviously when you’re in character I can see it.” The next bit comes out in a rush. “I’m not trying to say you’re bad at clownery or anything.” There’s a metallic tink as they bite on their spoon, rushing to cut themselves off before they say something else stupid. It’s dark out now, and the light inside makes it all the harder to get a good read on their face. Moon remains quiet, and Ellis shifts, leg sliding down out of the seat. 

“It’s just, you’re so much more chill than Sun is. If you asked me to guess what he was without seeing him in costume, I’d probably guess a discount Ronald McDonald.” That gets a laugh as Moon imagines just how Sun would react to that comparison. Maybe he’ll use it the next time Sun complains about how messy Moon gets during their second job. “And you’ve sharpened your teeth. That doesn’t seem very clown…y.” 

“It doesn’t?” Moon’s grin widens and he’s satisfied to see Ellis is now the one made uncomfortable. Fair play and all that. “What about your ears?”

“What about my ears?” Their hand shoots up to touch one gauge, hiding the plain black disc self-consciously. 

“Doesn’t seem very child care workery.” He gestures with his spoon. “Or the collar. Or the jacket.” 

Too far, Moon realizes as Ellis shrinks into themself, hand moving down from their ear to the heavy leather jacket that dwarfs their frame. There’s a moment where he thinks he should apologize (why?) but Ellis straightens back up before he can process the fleeting feeling. 

“Well, you knew what I was when you hired me,” they say, returning to their jambalaya. “And your teeth are pretty cool anyway. I don’t think I’d be brave enough for that intense of body mods.”

Moon swipes his tongue over his teeth. Cool huh? He scratches gently at Eos in his lap as Ellis turns the conversation to work, plans for the winter solstice and a wistful hope to visit the nearby state forest for a camping trip. To his surprise, Moon is invited. To the camping trip, and later, as Ellis is wrapping up the rest of the jambalaya and cornbread for Sun and himself, to nap in the bus again. 

“Eos likes you,” they explain, and their gaze is back to their usual place, somewhere in the region of his chin and mouth. “And you popping up here will force me to keep the place clean.” They follow him to the door. “Just maybe tell me when you plan on it?”

“No promises.” Moon steps into the cold and looks down at the bowl in his hands. That… was definitely an odd interaction. He glances back at the bus when music starts to play. Punk, because of course it was. He goes for the car, debating what to tell Sun of what happened. 

He’d keep the way their eyes changed when they smiled to himself for now.

also if you're curious what Ellis looks like since they are decidedly not a self insert but their own person...

[lenaboskow]

PLS PLS PLS GET INTO HOW WOULD CHRIS REACT I find it so interesting, because most of the times is Chris just going "Great ! Im happy!" which valid, but honestly? I really like when it's more complex than that, like in the fic Pinky Promise by rainbow_nerds, that explores a bit the fact that Chris does in fact has abandoment issues, like I don't doubt that Chris (even angry) wants his dad to be happy, but c'moooon, his mother was his primary caretaker (because his dad left for the military, though it always hard for me to get the Diaz Timeline), then she left him, then she came back, then she died, his dad almost died at least twice (that he is aware of), Buck in the hospital, etc. Chris is going to have many complicated emotions ! I love him ! And I just wished people explored more all that potencial, you know?

i vividly remember making a diaz boys timeline back before the s7 finale but i just spent thirty minutes looking for it and i'm pretty sure i never posted it so... oops. maybe i'll make one later with the references but (apologies for the mess this is i tried to make it organized but i’m sick so there’s only so much i can do lmao):

when you look at it, buck has been consistently in christopher's life longer than shannon ever was, even if you restart after the lawsuit. shannon was him primary caregiver until he was about three, and then for a year it was eddieandshannon, after which she left. after that, it was consistently eddie. even if he wasn't around that often because he was working, he was still there, and that's what chris remembers. she came back for about half a year when he was seven, but then she died.

not counting the lawsuit, buck has been in christopher's life since he was eight. but the lawsuit wasn't that long, it was a few weeks at most, so the real answer is he's been in his life since he was seven. that's seven years at this point. to chris, buckandeddie has been a constant, more so than eddieandshannon, even if it's not the same type of partnership. and that's just a fact. sure, he'd known shannon for seven years, same as he's known buck, but technically she wasn't there for all of it. that's what he remembers.

but the same way eddie thought he needed to be with shannon romantically so as not to ruin the relationship, chris probably thinks eddie and buck need to keep the status quo not to ruin the relationship. especially when you take into his warped view of romantic relationships. shannon, ana, marisol, they all ended terribly for eddie. and buck? i'm not sure what he's told chris about his relationships, but he doesn't have a much better track record. abby ghosted him, ali left at the first sign of trouble, there was the whole jonah scenario with taylor (who actually was in christopher's life, so that definitely messed with chris a bit), tommy broke up with him seemingly out of nowhere...

it makes the most sense that chris wouldn't want them to date. if chris was home when they told him, i can imagine him calling pepa or carla, kind of a parallel to him running away to buck in s4 (which he can't do now for obvious reason). i don't think the arc would last long, i think whoever he ran to would start the conversation and tell him about an ex that they're still friends with, and then eddie would come to pick him up and they'd talk it out, there'd be a buckley-diaz scene, end of ep.

but if he was still in texas? he'd probably yell at them over the video call and then refuse to answer any calls or texts afterwards. buck and eddie would probably "break up" for an ep or two, and be absolutely miserable. this probably culminates in eddie taking a trip to texas (alone, maybe not even telling buck) and talking it out with chris, addressing their mutual fears about the relationship and eddie explaining that even if it doesn't work out, they'd still be friends, and even if that doesn't work out, buck would still be in his life, that it wouldn't be like when his mom left. there's definitely a video call to buck in this, after eddie and chris have talked their feelings out, and then chris would ask to come back home, effective immediately.

but there's also the question of how chris would react if eddie tells chris about his feelings for buck (pre-relationship). he'd probably tell eddie he can never act on it, then tell buck the same thing (without telling eddie) and then there's a few eps of buck and eddie acting distant from each other before chris snaps and says "you weren't supposed to act like you're already divorced!". of course that's if he's in la. if he's in texas it would probably play out the same way it would've if they were already together after they stopped avoiding each other and finally talked it out.

of course, they could go the easy route and have chris say "it's about time" but this is 911 we're talking about, they probably won't do that

[mazeyphaedra]

brennan is so intentional about the things he lets slip about the ratgrinders that i refuse to believe ruben’s in space no one can feel you dying is about him being a bad boyfriend. it’s about lucy frostblade

heads up this is gonna be a very surface level assessment lol i hate making definitive statements if there's the slightest chance im wrong. oops! also none of this takes into account the devil’s honey, ruben’s dream, or ivy’s reaction to seeing “lucy”. (lyrics from FHJY ep3, Not All Who Wanda Are Lost)

Your boundaries slit my veins

this makes me think lucy really didn’t want to change her deity to ankarna, that she was pressured into it (still can't pinpoint a reason but probably has smth to do with the ratgrinders wanting a big bad to resurrect and fight). they fought about it and ruben got cut.

Your no thanks killed my family

in her defiance, and probably the fight and death that ensued, the high-5 heroes broke up. (raises an interesting point re: mollykiggins wanting to protect oisín. was she always like that or was it something that came up bc nothing must go wrong. she lucked out that the debacle with lucy happened after finals, but what if something happens within the year? the strength of the hero is the strength of the party. she needs to protect her party.)

And when you asked for space the space you made was outer space

lucy, lucy, lucy. principled, noble, 'she stuck to her guns' lucy. i think she asked out of the high-5 heroes and little miss overachiever was like you know too much that cannot happen i would rather you die. and in the fight, some portal or other was opened, allowing her allies or co-conspirators to do the unholy last rites. if you push a soul back past the point of raising, they can't rat you out! duh!

Can you hear me screaming

yeah ruben it's kind of embarrassing. everyone at the bus stop is staring at you and now none of them are gonna mob you for autographs

crossing my fingers for ruben on the complicated women podcast next ep!!! i need to know what happened to this made up group of high-schoolers like i need my next breath. like a normal person. see u at basrar's! <333

[cordate-chordata]

Hey this is a weird thing to ask but do you have relationship headcanons for knockout x soundwave

An unusual question to get, so it could be called weird, I suppose, but I'm happy to be asked this! My favourite kind of weird! :D I haven't drawn them in years, but it's still a ship I really like

Answer under the cut

I do have headcanons about them, I guess. They depend on the scenario they're in, though. Like, what their life is like. I most of all like assuming that Transformers Prime played out as it did canonically, and KO and SW then got together afterwards. The exact How and Why? That's more murky. There's multiple cool ways to go about it.

There's a narrative one could thread about KO helping SW get out of the shadowzone. Which is sweet and all. I prefer a narrative where SW gets out on his own. Which, honestly, makes it trickier to spin a narrative on how they ended up together. If Knock Out had helped him, that would have created a reason for why they were interacting already. Without that, something else needs to be the reason why they get in touch again.

Which brings me more into headcanon area and not just plot threading. One of my headcanons for KO is that he's not a particularly good fit for staying an autobot. I see him as someone who'd do good being a neutral faction.

Soundwave is a decepticon through and through, for multiple reasons - political ideals, sunk cost falacy of having lost his cassettes safe for Laserbeak, more of a fighter who sticks to his goals than KO, tunnel vision, etc. I headcanon him to be in a lot of emotional pain with the decepticons disbanding. I like the idea of him begrudgingly coming to Knock Out for help with something (i.e. the best option of a medic available to him), and as they get talking (one-sided talking (at first?)) Knock Out's disenchantment with any faction starts rubbing off on him, OR, starts disillusioning him from how highly he holds the decepticon cause in his mind. Soundwave seems stupid to me with how he keeps holding onto the war instead of noticing how it's never going to achieve his goal of equality between all Cybertronian castes. He's not seeing the full picture whatsoever. Well, "stupid"… mean to say when I believe his reasons are tied to being mentally unwell and traumatized from his losses. His judgement isn't sound; let's leave it at that.

So then they become a neutral duo. Yippie!!! Trio with Laserbeak.

I headcanon Soundwave to have a face under his mask, which is half broken. So it's funny KO has another partner with a broken eye, since I hc him to have been in a relationship with Breakdown. Also sharp-toothed Soundwave supremacy. Also on the broken side the fangs are always visible because his lips and cheek are gone there oops

Also I hc Soundwave to fully lay off his vow of silence, but still not talk much.

I hc Knock Out to be more into bulky mechs (Breakdown, Optimus), but he thinks Soundwave's sleek appearance is attractive in an entirely different way - assuming SW remains in his Prime form, WHICH I want him to because that's my fav Soundwave design, even if others are really good too. KO finds records of gladiator Soundwave someday, where he still looks bulky AF, and loses his marbles over it. Confronting Soundwave about it earns him the information that that look was due to still having had all his cassettes. That info is like a punch to Knock Out's face, making him feel like shit. It becomes a depressing moment lmao sorry

I hc Soundwave to be really old, one of the first Cybertronians to be sparked. Knock Out on the other hand is young in comparisson, having been forged not super long before the war broke out. I like to think he's only just finished with his medical studies and established himself a slight bit in the field up until that point. I don't hc this because of an age gap or smth. I just like viewing SW as this old entity who was still very raw in the way he came to be and took his shape. Since the birth mechanism of Cybertronians is very wishy washy in canon, I have my own headcanons about that: Early Cybertronian's sparks simply appeared randomly on Cybertron and gathered mass around them to form their bodies - Soundwave was one of those. This spontaneous creation became less and less, and when it did happen, it became harder for the sparks to find unused ressources to form a body. Existing Cybertronians started forging bodies for those sparks, and also (maybe; not sure if I'm satisfied with this idea) came up with mechanisms with which to channel new sparks, easing them onto the planet, as the perimeters for them to appear in "the wild" became worse over time. Knock Out's spark appears towards the end of a time where sparks could still be eased in and could be eased in semi-frequently, but not long after that they started to wane and stop appearing at all. So he's the result of a time where only a few Cybertronians were worried about too few new sparks, and then after he'd been alive for a bit, it became a big deal with less and less and then no sparks coming. He didn't care for it much because he was busy with other things and hadn't been around for long enough to see it as his issue. Also he's just not the sort of person to care about that. KO just... doesn't seem like someone who's been alive for ages, to me.

That's a lot of headcanons about their lives separate from each other. What about them together? I don't have many headcanons there, I suppose. I like to think they'd co-exist nicely together. Not a super duper over the top heart eyes for each other couple, but something more mellow, always there for each other but not broadcast as a huge deal. They become deeply tied to each other and do yearn for each other's company, but can exist just fine alone, y'know? Soundwave causes Knock Out to be a bit more serious and less vain sometimes, and Knock Out causes Soundwave to be more lighthearted and show his shitlord memer side more often, when they're around each other.

I can see Knock Out be very caring towards Laserbeak, even if, if pointed out, he'll deny any sort of motherly or fatherly energy he gives off when with the cassette. And yeah, I subscribe to Laserbeak being sentient. At some point I read that they're supposed to be a mindless add-on in Prime (or was it stated in the show?), but nuh-uh. That's a mute mini-bot with no humanoid form.

I think that's all I got! Thanks for asking!

[sunthyme]

Okay, now is technically the last one before my prefect design lol. OOPS I FORGOR fuck well here they finally are lol...

😭Other Side Characters😭

I drew so many cutie patooties in this batch omg they're adorable. But first we'll kick off with the Royal Blade characters!

🐱Chenya🐱

Because I'm not spelling out his whole damn name 💀

(he/she/they/it/ whatever pronouns you can think of lol) Genderqueer - Pansexual

Teehee I forgot to colour in the damn hair clips... I'm gonna kms /j

- Genderqueer cat. Any character based on the Cheshire Cat is genderqueer to me istg. Chenya is no exception.

- I kept most of her design the same but added in some heterochromia for funsies and used those colours for the hair clips and earrings. Xe is also Hispanic, idk it just felt right.

- Totally has ADHD. The impulsive thoughts are obvious with this one and I think that Neige serves as its impulse control. They made like, a pact of sorts (after their Headmage yelled at Chenya for doing something) that Chenya tells Neige whatever the impulsive thought is and Neige either tell Chenya 'No, you can't do that' or 'We can do this instead'.

- Broke asf. I dunno but I feel like Chenya has like the worst habit of impulse buying you've ever seen so they never carry money on they to try and avoid it at Trey and Riddle's recommendation. It's mostly worked as Neige buys anything Chenya needs when they go out anyways.

Speaking so much of Neige,

🐦Neige LeBlanche🐦

(he/him) Transmasc - Biromantic Asexual

God I love how Neige came out, look at him!!! He's such a cutie patootie omgomg I love him sm

- Anyways, I was fighting my demons to not make him black and I lost. I dunno, we don't have enough sweet, cute black boys in media and that is a crime.

- I gave him some hairclips with cute lil charms on them and some of those silly little acne patches. Idk if he actually has acne, he totally could, but I think he'd wear them either way to like normalise not be ashamed of it, y'know?

- I gave him some cute little apple earrings which were a gift that Rook gave him after a concert with one of his letters lol. He wears most of the jewelry gifted to him at one point or another but he really likes the apple earrings.

- Has a crush on Vil. Idk how popular of a headcanon that is but as soon as they interacted, I felt like it made sense. I love the one-sided rivalry lmao with Vil hating his ass and he's just like, 'Omg, she's so pretty and cool and smart. Wow, I'm so glad we get to work together so much!' It's really funny ngl.k

- Loves to crochet, knit, and sew. All are kinda skills he picked up while caring for the dwarves but they're his favourite to do. He's made Chenya a few sets of mittens (because for some super mysterious reason, they always go missing) and a quilt at some point.

- Likes anything with apples in it, pies, drinks, you name it. Fall is his favourite season because of apple cider alone (otherwise it'd be spring).

Onto the Kingscholars!

🦁Cheka Kingscholar🦁

(he/him)

He's so cute!!! I love him omg I'd actually love to babysit him look at those eyes

- I kept his design also pretty on model, darken his skin a smidge and textured his hair to match Leona's. Smacked some dimples and birthmarks on as if he wasn't cute enough already.

- The gold eyeliner is like a royal thing, maybe be specific to the crown line or maybe Leona's just too fcking lazy, probably the later.

- He's actually really good at chess. He's played many games with Leona, even though he didn't get it at first, but now he can beat most people who play him (still not Leona lest he really screws up something). Most of his birthdays, he gets a new pretty chess set and he has a little display of them in his room.

Now for his dad! The only character here without a canon design (as far as I know... which I'm upset about).

👑Farena Kingscholar👑

(he/him) - Heterosexual

I woulda also made a design for his wife but I don' think she even has a name?? So maybe in the future.

- I based him more on Leona, trying to make sure that Cheka didn't just get his trait lmao. I think that he got his piercing actually after Leona got his because the palace staff were criticising him for it so Farena went and got one.

- I dunno, he's giving bi wife energy. It helps that the women of Sunset Savannah are buff and cool and I'm so mad we never saw them 😭😭😭 I wanna see Leona's sister-in-law so bad ;^;.

- He's not as much into the intellectual side of things like Leona is, would rather defeat people with strength which is why the two really don't get along super well. Though I think it's only perceived on Leona's side, I don't think Farena realises how much hurt Leona's had throughout his life.

- Angst aside, he doesn't get much in the way of free time what with all his royal duties and such. His favourite activities are spoiling his family and getting used as a weight for his wife's daily exercise!

We got even more other family characters incoming...

🐍Najima Viper🐍

(she/her) - Bicurious

Fair warning, I haven't encountered any of the last three characters lol.

- I didn't change much here either, just added some red streaks to her hair and matched her palette to Jamil's.

- I don't know if her age is ever implied but I think she'd be younger than him by like a year. She went to a different school with Kalim's cousin (who they're like besties).

- I feel like Najima didn't get the same set of exceptions set on her growing up and so her relationship with the Al-Asims, while still not necessarily healthy, was nowhere near as damaging. I think that while Jamil definitely envies that, he'd rather die than make her go through the same thing as him.

Up next,

🧢Mama Spade🧢

(she/her) - Bisexual

Never met her either 😭😭😭

- I based her off my Deuce design and really just added some more piercings. I actually toned down the blonde streaks but I think they'd both have just a few.

- I believe she has a small business??? Or something? I didn't read the wiki but her hat had a delivery service me thinks but I stan her having a small business.

- She loves her son very much and was super excited when she saw his new piercings. Also, super accepting when he came out, obvi and thinks that while Ace is a bit of a rascal, they do click together.

I don't have a ton for her but I want that event to come back pleaseeee 🙏🙏🙏

🐉Meleanor Draconia🐉

(she/they) Agender - Aromantic Pansexual

- I had so much fun with her horns. I made them more branchy and I think a full grown dragon (well, like an old one) would basically have a web of antlers. I added some purple to the tips for the 🌸aesthetic🌸.

- Also added some wave to her hair. Malleus looked in her spitting image so I figured I'd give Levan's genes a chance lmao. They're also super tall, probably even taller than Mal herself and especially with the horns.

- I think she'd have left some things that Malleus ended up growing up with not realising they were from her, like a hair clasp, some assorted jewelry, a couple toys and items that Lilia gave him when he was old enough. Pieces of her for him to grow up with, y'know?

Anyways, I'm so sorry for this posting without anything lmao I was real tired last night! Prefect is next on the chopping block!

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 02x02 - Digital Gate, Open! / The DigiTeam Complete

Previously on Digimon Adventure: Daisuke got so upset about Hikari and Takeru's Digimon history that he marched right out and got his own Digimon out of spite. And succeeded! Hikari was only mildly impressed but Taichi was so psyched that he adopted Daisuke on the spot.

We pick today's episode up right where the last left off: In a tangled pile of limbs and regrets.

Taichi: This is.... Takeru: ...the computer room? Iori: D-Did you just return from the Digital World? Daisuke: Yes, that's right! (jumps to his feet) We're back! The Digital World was so cool! We were attacked out of nowhere by this dinosaur-looking Digimon and-- Miyako: I'M GOING TOO!!! Daisuke: Geh!?

Miyako jumps right up in Daisuke's face, cutting him off.

Iori: Miyako-san, let's put it aside for today. Miyako: Why!? Don't you want to go!? Iori: No, I am interested too. But if I don't get home soon, my mother will worry. Taichi: Yeah, we should all head home for the day. Koushiro: I also think that would be best. Takeru: Let's do that, Miyako-san.

Finding not even one person sympathetic to her eagerness, Miyako pouts, then exclaims:

Miyako: NO FAIR!!! EVERYONE ELSE GOT TO!!!

Which is entirely hyperbolic, given that neither Koushiro nor Iori got to go. But, in her defense, the only reason she missed this trip is because Iori's computer broke down and she had made a prior agreement to help with that.

Inoue "I WANNA GO TO THE DIGITAL WORLD!!!" Miyako is such an interesting contrast to Tachikawa "I WANNA GO HOME!!!" Mimi. They both have similar stripes, but of different colors.

Against Miyako's wishes, everyone leaves the computer room and we hear the Gate shutting down. Which. Was not expected behavior, as Koushiro returns a moment later.

Koushiro: Oh, I should turn that off-- Huh? Koushiro: ... Koushiro: The Gate is closed....

Mysterious!

In the dub:

Tai: Where are we!? T.K.: This is the computer room! Cody: Hey, when you guys came through the computer, where did you come from? Davis: Where? The Digital World! (jumps to his feet) That place is the coolest ever! There we were when suddenly a dinosaur-like Digimon attacked and that's when I jumped into action! Yolei: Enough! Let's go back! Davis: Huh!? Cody: I think we've had enough excitement for one day. Yolei: Don't you want to go to the Digital World, Cody!? Cody: Of course seeing all those monsters and stuff would be fun but tonight's macaroni and cheese night at my house and I don't want to miss out. Tai: (despondent) That's right, it's pork surprise at my place. Izzy: Stuffed green peppers and a salad. T.K.: TV Dinners in the microwave. Yolei: NO FAIR!!! I WANNA GO!!!

As usual, details in sound effects don't carry over to the dub. We don't hear the Gate shut down as they leave, and instead get a little bit of extra dialogue.

T.K.: Don't worry, Yolei. You'll get a chance. Yolei: WHEN!?!? Izzy: (returns) Oops, I almost forgot to turn off the computer. Izzy: ... Izzy: The Gate's closed....

Izzy doesn't make a surprised noise so it's not super clear how we're supposed to feel about that. Also, very minor, but the lack of a surprised noise makes it a little awkward when he silently stares dumbfounded into the camera with a blank expression for a couple seconds.

Fantastic job with Yolei's outburst.

Making the "We should all go home" conversation about what family dinners everyone has waiting for them still captures the spirit of the discussion while adding a lot of individual character to it. Nice touch.

Though Cody's line misses a key point of characterization. Iori is a prim and proper boy like Jou. He needs no further reason to go home than the simple fact that it's getting late and his mom will fret about him if he isn't home punctually. Also keep in mind that Iori is about 9. As a third-grader, he's only a year older than Hikari and Takeru were last series.

Cody implies that he'd be fine staying out late if they were having something less tasty for dinner, implying that this decision is selfishly-motivated.

I'm also not sure what he means by "We've had enough excitement for one day." He and Yolei haven't done anything. That's why she's so upset.

Everyone leaves school, but Taichi, Hikari, and Takeru do not go home. Recent events warrant the making of other plans.

Yamato walks out on his band in the middle of rehearsal.

Bandmate: What the hell, Yamato? You're going home already? Yamato: I have something important to take care of.

A brief moment that establishes this meetup is spur-of-the-moment. Taichi's asked everyone to drop what they're doing for an all-hands-on-deck emergency meeting. Well, all hands but Mimi who is... let's say, difficult to reach.

Yamato is the last to arrive at the playground for the team's meetup.

Takeru: Ah, Onii-chan! Taichi: Yamato! Yamato: Sorry I'm late. Sora: (hops down) We haven't all been together like this in a long time.

You still aren't, and that's very rude. You don't have to go off the cliff yet but I'm watching you. (•̀⤙•́)

We cut from the team to Iori's place, where he's practicing kendo on the balcony.

Iori: The Digital World... What sort of place is it?

Inside, Miyako's working on his computer as promised.

Miyako: I'm definitely going to the Digital World tomorrow. Fumiko: (Iori's mom, through the door) Miyako-chan, will you be eating dinner with us? Miyako: Ah, I'll go home!

...I guess that's a no.

In the dub:

Bandmate: You're leaving already, Matt? We're not done with rehearsal! Matt: Sorry, guys. There's something I gotta take care of. (Playground) T.K.: Here he comes! Tai: Hi, Matt! Matt: Hey, everybody! Sorry I'm late. Sora: (hops down) It's been a long time! It's nice to be back.

Dub Sora does not clearly assert what it's been a long time since, and kinda makes it sound like she recently returned from vacation or something.

Cody: (kendo) I wonder what it's really like to actually travel into the Digital World? (Inside) Yolei: I don't care if they don't want me along! Tomorrow, I'm going to the Digital World! Fumiko: (through the door) Yolei, are you staying for dinner? Mac and cheese! Yolei: No, but thanks anyway! I have to get going.

Cody's more concerned with the experience of travel than the nature of the Digital World itself. Yolei is taking this "We should go home for the night" thing incredibly personally, but it makes sense given how upset she is.

Meanwhile, in his room, Daisuke tosses a soccer ball and thinks about Veemon.

Daisuke: I wonder what he's up to right now.... Yamato: (sudden cut) ARMOR EVOLUTION!?!? Taichi: Yeah. I've never seen evolution like that before. Agumon and the others weren't able to evolve, but Daisuke's Digimon did. Sora: Daisuke from Soccer Club was in the Digital World?

Daisuke may have been Taichi's kouhai specifically, but if he was in Soccer Club then he would have played with Sora and Koushiro too.

Takeru: Miyako-san and Iori-kun from my apartment building have Digivices too. Jou: So those three are new Chosen Children? Koushiro: I believe so. Sora: But if this Digimon Kaiser is indiscriminately hunting Digimon, will Piyomon and the others be okay? Hikari: Mimi-san sent me an email from America. She was worried about Palmon.

The text in Mimi's email is too small for me to make out the more complicated kanji, but we do get our first glimpse at her final 02 design. Love the hair. Sad she doesn't keep it in Tri.

In the dub:

Davis: Boy, I just can't stop thinking about Veemon. Matt: (sudden cut) Digi-Armor Energize, huh?

You know, the sharp cut bit really doesn't work without the frantic yelling.

Tai: It was a form of Digivolving I've never seen before. Somehow Davis's Digimon was able to Digivolve but Agumon and the others weren't. Sora: You mean Davis from the Soccer Club went to the Digital World? T.K.: That's right. And the two kids from my apartment building, Yolei and Cody, also got new Digivices. Joe: Well, if they have Digivices, that means that they're the new DigiDestined. Izzy: That's just what I thought. Joe: Mm... Sora: One question: If this Digimon Emperor's really hunting Digimon and making them his slaves, will Biyomon and the others be okay? Kari: I got an email earlier from Mimi in America. She was asking the same question.

Everybody stays on script. No notes.

Suddenly, Yamato has an idea.

Yamato: Why don't we go too? To the Digital World. Koushiro: But... When we left the room, the Gate had already closed. Yamato: Right... That makes sense. Group: ... Koushiro: In any case, tomorrow I'll inspect all of the computers in the Computer Club again. Taichi: Yeah! I'll go too. Sora: I'll go too. Hikari: Mhm! Takeru: Mhm! Jou: Sorry, I have a National Practice Exam tomorrow.... Yamato: I skipped band practice today, so.... Taichi: Got it! We can handle it. Yamato: Let me know as soon as anything happens. Taichi: Uh-huh!

I'm not 100% sure what test Jou has tomorrow but it's bound to be a big deal. As of today, he's started 9th grade, his final year of mandatory education before he moves on to high school. A big national test like that is probably non-optional. As a "practice exam", I'd wager it's an initial assessment of student abilities before the year's education takes place.

In the dub:

Matt: I think we should just go there and do things our way! Izzy: We can't! I went back to check the computer and the Gate was already closed. Matt: That means... We can't help them? Group: ... Izzy: I'm going back first thing tomorrow morning to check the computer and see if the Gate has opened up again. Tai: Mm! I'm going with you! Sora: And so am I! Kari: Mhm! T.K.: Mhm. Joe: I can't. I've got an oral test tomorrow on laryngitis. Matt: Yeah, and my band's got a big concert coming up so we have to practice. Tai: Don't worry about it, guys! Just leave everything to us. Matt: Okay. But let us know if you need us.

Not everybody stays on script. A few notes.

Izzy says he'll be going "first thing tomorrow morning", suggesting he plans to do this... before school? This makes negative sense, especially since he doesn't even go to that school anymore. Though, given all the futzing with everyone's grades last episode, that might not be true? IDK.

Yes, this does imply that Jou's national exam is after the end of the school day. I cannot say if that's normal or not.

Flipping the timing to "first thing in the morning" means we are now discussing skipping school. So, Joe's reason for backing out still works. But now Matt's is weird. Were you... Were you already planning to ditch so you could practice?

Separate from that, Matt is weirdly aggressive about the new kids. "We should go do things our way!" I guess he really doesn't like the concept of Armor Digivolution. This doesn't have to be a competition, my guy.

The altered timing also creates consistency issues with the following scene. As we move to next day, clearly after school because that is the time of day when children are walking away from the building and not towards it.

Koushiro has returned to the elementary school's Computer Club as promised. He has the Gate pulled up on the computer. He types at it, but gets a rejection beep. Types some more and gets another rejection beep.

Koushiro: Like I thought, the Gate is still closed. (sound of door opening) Miyako: Huh? Izumi-senpai? Koushiro: Ojama shimasu.

Miyako and Iori enter Computer Club to find Koushiro in there. Not being privy to the Team Meeting, this is an unexpected sight for them.

Koushiro's response is easy to translate in words but not in intent. It literally means, "I am going to bother you." It's a customary phrase for entering someone's home. It pairs with ojama shimashita when you leave someone's home, which literally means "I have bothered you." It's playful nuisance energy filtered through Japanese politeness.

The point is, this is Miyako's club now, not Koushiro's. He is a guest and, polite as ever, engages with her accordingly.

(Not sure if she's club president or still just a member but the point is that Koushiro is no longer either.)

Koushiro: I've been thinking about what happened yesterday. Iori: I couldn't sleep last night either. Please take us to the Digital World today. Gate: (unlock chime) Koushiro: But the Gate is-- Eh!? The Gate's open!?

Convenient! I'm sure that's a coincidence. No need to look too deeply into it.

In the dub:

Izzy: Just as I thought, it's still closed. I've gotta find a way to the Digital World! Yolei: Izzy! Izzy: Huh? Yolei: What are you doing in here? Izzy: Oh, hi. I was just trying to get more information on what happened here yesterday. Cody: I couldn't sleep last night. I kept thinking about it. Izzy, will you take me with you to the Digital World? Izzy: I can't 'cause the Gate's not-- Gate: (unlock chime) Izzy: Huh!? Look! It's open!

The Gate waits slightly longer so that it can open at the most ironic time possible. XD

We still lose some sound effect details, though. First, Koushiro's keyboard clacking and the two rejection noises. Koushiro is actively trying to open the Gate and failing. Izzy seems to have just pulled it up, noticed it was closed, and proceeded to pout at it.

The other is the sound of the door opening when Miyako and Iori enter. I guess Izzy likes to hack reality with the door wide open.

No sooner has Koushiro noticed the open Gate than do the others arrive. Daisuke, Hikari, and Takeru enter the room, followed by Taichi and Sora.

Daisuke: Hey! Sora: Hello.

Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori present their new Digivices to the class.

Sora: Those are the new Digivices? Taichi: They're the three Digivices I pulled from the Digimental. Miyako: Hey, let's hurry up and get to the Digital World! Daisuke: (teasing) Heh, the Digital World is a scary place.... Miyako: Oh, don't try to brag when you've only been there once! Iori: We are prepared for a little danger.

多少の危険 Tasho no kiken. A little danger. Some mild peril. A reasonable level of risk.

Nobody tell Iori about... (scans through series 1) ...really all of that, honestly. Yeah, we'll go with all of that.

Koushiro explains the situation with the computer.

Koushiro: All of the other computers appear to be fine. However, it seems that this computer is the only one with a local Gate open on it. But a Gate's never been open two days in a row before! Daisuke: Whatever, let's go! To the Digital World!

Taichi, your kouhai is... acting like your kouhai. Fix that. XD Daisuke is aggressively disinterested in the particulars of the Gates.

An interesting note is that the first series only sometimes used the phrase "Digital World". It tended to refer to it as the Digimon World, or the Digimon's world. But 02 has thus far been very consistent about saying Digital World.

In the dub:

Davis: How's it goin', guys? Sora: Hi, everybody. (The new trio shows their Digivices) Sora: Those are the new Digivices? How cool? Tai: That's right. Those are the ones that were released from the Digi-Egg when I touched it. Yolei: Well, what are we standing around here for? I say let's get going! Davis: Hold it! I think I should give you a couple pointers about some of the things you're about to see. Yolei: Gimme a break! You've only been there once! What do you know!? Cody: I think we should be prepared for a little danger. Izzy: My suspicions were confirmed. I just checked the other computers. None of them seem to be affected by this. The Gate is only open on this one here. That's not all; The Gate has never been open two days in a row before. Davis: Then i say we get going! All ashore that's going ashore!

Solid. No notes.

Time to get going. To the Digital--

Voice: Well, if it isn't Yagami! Taichi: (flinch) Voice: It's been a while! Taichi: Fujiyama-sensei!

Hey, remember Fujiyama-sensei? He was the teacher in charge during the Chosen Children's fateful summer camp. They emotionally blackmailed him into letting them off in the wrong part of Tokyo, resulting in them predictably getting lost and having to hitchhike home through an ocean of child predators. And then vanishing into the bay on the back of a kaiju.

Fortunately, nobody found out about that so he remains employed. Despite the bad idea that he knew was a bad idea ending even worse than he could have anticipated. The moral of the story is: do not dump the children in your care at random parts of a metropolitan city. Trust your instincts and tell the crying children no.

Fujiyama: Takenouchi and Izumi too! What are graduates like you doing here? Taichi: W-Why are you here, Sensei!? Fujiyama: (poses dramatically) I'm the Advisor for Computer Club! Taichi & Sora: EHHH!?!? YOU CAN USE A COMPUTER, SENSEI!?!? Fujiyama: (still dramatically posed) Of course not! Taichi & Sora: (faces fall)

Taichi takes a moment to get over the whiplash, then starts physically pushing Fujiyama backwards out of the room.

Taichi: That's right! I had something I wanted to ask you about, Sensei. Fujiyama: What's that? Taichi: I'm having a lot of trouble keeping up with middle school classes. But let's not talk here!

Taichi successfully pushes Fujiyama all the way out of the room and down the hall. He signals the others with his fingers as he departs, giving them the go-ahead to leave without him.

Sora: (english) Thank you, Taichi.

Taichi is taking a bullet for us. While conveniently getting out of the way because he had his turn, and now it's Sora and Koushiro's turn to spend quality time with the new kids.

In the dub:

Voice: Tai Kamiya, is that you!? Tai: (flinch) Voice: We haven't seen you in a while! Tai: Mr. Fujiyama! Fujiyama: And Sora and Izzy are both here as well. Didn't you all graduate? Tai: Yeah... We did... And what are you doing here? Fujiyama: (poses dramatically) I'm the new head of the Computer Club! Tai & Sora: Huh!? But what do you know about using computers!? Fujiyama: (still dramatically posed) Hehe, not a single thing. Tai & Sora: (faces fall) (Tai starts pushing Fujiyama out) Tai: I just remembered, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about, Mr. Fujiyama. You got a minute? Fujiyama: Sure, what is it? Tai: Well, I've been having problems adjusting to high school! It's the girls, ehehe... They're so much older! (Tai and Fujiyama leave) Sora: Thanks, Tai. We owe ya.

Almost a straight 1:1 translation, though Tai's pivoted from academic advice to romance advice and remains "in high school". He will regret this pivot.

Okay, now we can go to the Digital World.

Koushiro: Well, now's our chance.

The seven kids hold their Digivices up to the screen, which absorbs them through the Gate and passes them on into the Digital World. Miyako and Iori get new outfits like Daisuke's, while everyone else transfers over in their same clothes.

Iori: So this is the Digital World. Huh? My clothes changed! Miyako: (checking out her outfit) Oh wow! This is amazing! Daisuke: Check out how cool I look! Miyako: Not bad, but mine are cooler! Daisuke: Oh no, mine are definitely cooler! Iori: I think mine are pretty cool.

While the children playfully bicker about their magical Digital World outfits, the older veterans look on with no small amount of bewilderment. Sora is the only one whose jaw isn't hanging open, and that's because she's using it to talk.

Sora: These new Chosen Children are completely different from us. Have the times changed? Hikari: (teasing) Please don't start talking like an old maid!

Fortunately, we cut away before Hikari can receive the inevitable flick to the nose for that remark. :P

In the dub:

Izzy: Alright, let's get going. (Transfer to Digital World) Izzy: Is everyone okay? Davis: Yeah, but I feel like I just went through the rinse cycle of a dishwasher! Cody: Wow... So this is the Digital World. Hey, wait... I'm wearing different clothes. And they're pretty comfortable too. Yolei: Hey! I'm dressed like I'm part of the cool crowd! Davis: I forgot the part about the new wardrobe. Yolei: I love this helmet! It makes my glasses look smaller! Davis: I wonder if they have anything in a surfer style? Yolei: Wait 'til I tell my sisters I got free clothes! (Pan over to the veterans) Sora: Kids today have no sense of values. When I was a kid, I showed a lot more respect whenever I received a gift. Kari: (teasing) Sora, I hate to say this but you're sounding just like my mom!

Yolei and Davis's playful bickering is turned into them nerding out as friends over the cool outfits. Plus side, it's much more rich in interesting character details than "Mine are cooler" "Nuh-uh mine are".

Sora and Kari's exchange captures the spirit of the original; Sora starts talking like an old lady and Kari calls her out on it. It's a little more awkward in the dub, though.

In the original, Sora comments on the generation gap between the two groups of Chosen Children. In the dub, she delivers an impromptu Kids These Days ramble because the new kids don't appreciate their new clothes enough. Even though... I'm honestly not sure what they said that's disrespectful.

Also, Sora, you're 14. I think the dub thinks you're like 15 or 16 but even so, you are a kid. That is a very realistic thing for a teenager to say so I'm not dinging it for being a bad line but I actually am old so I get to be snippy about teenagers saying "When I was a kid." XD

Once the new kids are settled in their outfits, the team sets out to look for their Partners.

Sora: PIYOMOOOOOON!!! Koushiro: TENTOMOOOOOON!!!

Unfortunately, they're not alone. Watching from his control room, the Digimon Kaiser giggles to himself.

Kaiser: Huhuhuhuhu... I've been waiting. Come, let's start the game. Go, Snimon!

As Snimon leaves the base to attack, we get a closeup on the dark ring around their thorax.

In the dub:

Sora: Biyomon! Izzy: Tentomon! (Meanwhile, the Emperor) Emperor: Huhuhuhuhu... I've been waiting for you to get here. Now, let the games begin. Snimon, attack!

Pretty much 1:1. The Kaiser/Emperor has been sitting in-lobby waiting for the other players to queue up. Despite his trash talk, it really goes to show how interested he's become in PVP since the new game mode was rolled out yesterday.

Meanwhile, the kids continue their search.

Daisuke: V-MOOOOOON!!! WHERE ARE YOU!? V-MOOOOOON!!! V-mon: DAISUKEEEEEE!!! Daisuke: Ah! V-mon: DAISUKEEEEEE!!!

V-mon sprints across the field and gives Daisuke a firm handshake.

Daisuke: V-mon! V-mon: Hey! We found Patamon and the others' nakama!

Patamon, Tailmon, Piyomon, and Tentomon come over the hill to join them as well. Agumon seems to have somehow got the memo that Taichi wasn't coming on this one. No clue what's become of Gomamon, Palmon, or Gabumon, who were also missing from the group last episode too.

Koushiro: Tentomon! Sora: Piyomon!

As the veteran Digimon approach, Sora and Koushiro embrace their partners.

Koushiro: Tentomon! Tentomon: Koushiro-han! It's good to see you looking well! Sora: Piyomon! Piyomon: I missed you so much, Sora! Sora: I missed you too.

In the dub:

Davis: VEEMOON!!! WHERE ARE YOU!? VEEMON!!! Veemon: Davis! Davis: Haha! Veemon: Davis, I'm over here! (Firm handshake) Davis: Veemon! Veemon: Davis! I've brought Patamon and his friends with me! (Patamon and the others come over the hill) Izzy: Tentomon! Sora: Biyomon! (Hugs) Izzy: Tentomon. Tentomon: Izzy, you're a sight for big green sore eyes! Sora: Biyomon. Biyomon: I've missed you, Sora! Sora: I've missed you too.

A minor note. When V-mon says they found Patamon and co.'s nakama, it's a reference to last episode. The difference here isn't the word nakama itself. The dub translates it into "friends" as dubs often do, which works fine in this context. No, the point of contention is 見つけた mitsuketa, or "found".

This reunion connects directly with last episode. Agumon and Patamon were with Piyomon and Tentomon when they were attacked by Snimon. Piyomon and Tentomon were struck by Snimon's attacks and fell behind, while Tailmon and Taichi were able to get Agumon and Patamon to safety.

This word choice is explaining that, after we left last night, V-mon, Patamon, Agumon, and Tailmon were able to go back and regroup with Piyomon and Tentomon.

We aren't gonna have much time for this reunion, though. In a cool bit of imagery, the shadow of a cloud passes over the children and leaves behind the shadow of Snimon. But now that we're together, this won't turn out like last time.

Takeru: Sora-san, get down!

Takeru tackles Sora to the ground, letting Snimon whiff past overhead. The other children hit the ground as well, with Miyako quite reasonably screaming at the top of her lungs.

The veterans take to the air, letting off Magical Fire, Petit Thunder, and Air Shot. Snimon's aerial mobility is too great, however, as they weave through the attacks unharmed.

Tailmon uses this distraction to close distance, throwing her Neko Punch into Snimon's unguarded face. Snimon takes the hit without flinching, then slaps her to the ground with their scythe arm.

As she hits the ground, Tailmon laments.

Tailmon: Of course... I'm powerless without my Holy Ring....

Aw, shit. This is turning out like last time.

In the dub:

T.K.: Sora, move it! (tackle) (Everyone tries and fails) Gatomon: I'm sorry but, without my Tail Ring, I don't have enough power.

Alright, warm-up's over. Time for V-mon to get into the mix.

V-mon: Damn it! I'll Armor Evolve and wreck this guy! Daisuke, Digimental! Daisuke: Yeah! Kaiser: (control room) I can't let you do that. Go, Drimogemon!

Suddenly, a sinkhole opens up underneath Daisuke and he plunges in, barely managing to stop his fall by hanging onto the side. Down below, Drimogemon emerges from the depths of the earth.

Narrator: Drimogemon. An Adult-stage Digimon that lives deep underground. Their special attack is Drill Spin. V-mon: DAISUKE!!! Kaiser: (control room) Go, Mojyamon!

Lying in wait, Mojyamon quietly emerges from the treeline.

Narrator: Mojyamon. An Adult-stage Digimon that typically lives out in isolated snowy regions. Their special attack is-- Mojyamon: Hone Hone Boomerang!

Hone means "bone". This is one of the rare attack names to not fully be called in English.

The Hone Hone Boomerang catches V-mon offguard, knocking him into the pit with Daisuke. Daisuke catches V-mon's hand to keep him from falling, but loses his own grip. They plunge together into the abyss, disappearing with Drimogemon into the depths of the earth.

In the dub:

Veemon: Don't worry about it! I'll just have to Armor Digivolve. Davis, get the egg ready! Davis: Right! Emperor: (control room) Not so fast there. This is not a drill, Drimogemon. (Davis falls into the sinkhole) Tentomon: (rundown) Drimogemon lives deep inside the cavities of the Digital World. His Drill Spin attack will make you wish you were at the dentist!

Tentomon's taking some time away from being attacked by Snimon to fill in our diegetic rundowns. His original rundown for Drimogemon was practically word-for-word from the original, but he's feeling a little spicy this time around.

Veemon: Are you okay? Emperor: (control room) You're up, Mojyamon. (Mojyamon emerges from tree line) Tentomon: (rundown) Mojyamon's a frosty Digimon from the snowy mountains. His Bone Boomerang attack will make your head spin! Mojyamon: Bone Boomerang!

Both the Emperor and Tentomon were feeling very playful about Drimogemon, but then were like, "And also Mojyamon, I guess." Guess we know who the favorite on this team is.

Seeing Daisuke swallowed up by a subterranean predator rattles Miyako and Iori. Miyako drops to her knees and they both tremble in place.

Miyako: No way... He got sucked into the ground.... Iori: We... We have to help him.... Koushiro: We should escape for now. Iori: But Daisuke-san....

"Sucks to be him, but oh well." ~Koushiro, apparently.

Up in the sky, the three airborne Digimon try to keep Snimon busy. Sora grabs Miyako by the arm and tries to explain things better for Miyako and Iori.

Sora: If they capture us here, then we won't be able to rescue Daisuke and V-mon!

Despite the Child Digimon's best efforts, Snimon and Mojyamon move in and surround the children. Miyako is simply too frozen to move.

Sora: Come on, hurry up! Miyako: This is... this is... (crying) NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Somebody regrets being so gungho about coming here. Now she and Mimi are on the same page. We have been here for five minutes and now Daisuke's dead probably and a yeti is going to eat our bones. What a great place to go to commercial.

In the dub:

Yolei: Oh my. They're gone. The ground just opened up and swallowed them. Cody: Well, I want to go home now. Izzy: First, we have to protect ourselves! Cody: But what about Davis? (Digimon fight Snimon in the air while Sora tries to get Yolei to move) Sora: Davis will be fine, he's got Veemon, but our Digimon are only at half strength! We've got to get away! (Mojyamon and Snimon surround them) Yolei: I can't take this! I wanna go home! (bawls loudly)

"Sucks to be him, but oh well." ~Cody, Izzy, and Sora. Absolutely nobody cares about saving Davis. Because he's Davis.

Speaking of, Daisuke wakes up to find himself suspended from a cliff above a ravine, with iron manacles around his legs and wrists.

Daisuke: This... It's.... Kaiser: (in person) You finally woke up? Daisuke: Who's there!?

The Digimon Kaiser is perched on the cliffside above Daisuke. He cranes his head up, but it's unlikely he can get a good glimpse of the guy from that angle.

Kaiser: Huhuhu.... I didn't think you'd be so easy to capture. I thought you'd be tougher than that. It's disappointing. Daisuke: Are you the Digimon Kaiser? Kaiser: That's right. Daisuke: Aren't you just a kid like me!? Kaiser: Ahahahaha! Just like you!? Don't even joke. There's a huge difference between us. Here's your proof.

The Kaiser snaps his fingers. Across the cliff, a square compartment opens up and withdraws into the cliffside, replaced by a panel with V-mon shackled to it.

I'm not entirely sure what that proves but okay, man. You do you.

Daisuke: V-mon! V-mon: Daisuke! Ehehe... (embarrassed) They caught me.... Daisuke: Damn it! If you could just Armor Evolve.... Kaiser: That won't be possible.

The Kaiser holds out Daisuke's Digivice and his little pocket computer with the Digimental.

Kaiser: You can't do anything without these. (smugly) Can. You?

What a dick! Though I should note that, historically, holding a Chosen Child's seized Digivice in your hand has rarely worked out well for their captor. But I don't expect him to understand the particulars of their gear.

The dub skips the commercial break from before and goes straight from Yolei screaming into Davis hanging from a cliff.

Davis: Huwaugh!?!? (thinking) Oh, great. I must have been walking in my sleep again.

Yep, that's it. That is definitely how you got here.

Davis: Where... Where am I? Emperor: You're just hanging out. Davis: Who are you!?

Someone who's thrilled to finally have an audience for his dad jokes.

Emperor: Ehehehe... I'm your worst nightmare come to life. Frankly, I'm rather disappointed that I was able to catch you so easily. Davis: Are you the Digimon Emperor? Emperor: Speaking! Davis: But you're a kid just like me! Emperor: Ahahahaha! I'm nothing like you, because if I were then I'd be the one hanging from a cliff. Ooh, that reminds me. (Emperor snaps, revealing Veemon) Davis: Veemon! Veemon: Davis! Hey... Great view, isn't it? Davis: I haven't had time to look! Quick, Armor Digivolve! Emperor: Uh, just one problem. (Kaiser holds out Digivice and computer) Emperor: Aren't you going to need these to pull off that little trick? Ahahahahahahahaha!!! Davis: Augh!

The dub then puts its commercial break here, on the literal cliffhanger of Davis not being able to Digivolve Veemon.

This is mostly pretty good. They're having a lot of fun writing the Digimon Emperor; He is chewing every ounce of scenery and it's great.

There's just a couple weird nonsequitur moments that fall flat. Specifically, the sleepwalking bit and Veemon's inexplicable "Hey, nice view!" They clearly wanted gags there to break up the tension of Davis literally being suspended over a cliff while the villain gloats, but the ones they came up with were more "Huh?" than funny.

The Emperor taking Davis's "just like me" a little too literally, on the other hand, is gold.

Elsewhere, in the woods, the other children have gotten away.

As they're walking, Miyako and Iori's Digivices start letting out a repeating chime. Everyone stops and checks their Digivices.

Iori: Huh? What's going on? The Digivice is reacting to something? Takeru: (speaking for him and Hikari) But our Digivices aren't reacting to it. Sora: (speaking for her and Koushiro) Same with ours. Piyomon: Could it be because of the...? Tentomon: No question about it. Sora: The...? Piyomon: Everyone, follow us.

Explaining absolutely nothing, Tentomon and Piyomon lead the confused children off into the woods.

The dub misses the repeated chime that instigated this entire scene. We just have to take Cody's word for it that it's making sounds because there are no sounds to hear.

Cody: Wait up. This Digivice you were nice enough to give me is starting to make noise. T.K.: My Digivice is going off too! I think something's nearby. Sora: A building of some sort! Biyomon: Hmm... There are no buildings around here. Tentomon: No, just the temple. Sora: Temple? Biyomon: Yeah, but it's closed down now Tentomon: They couldn't book enough weddings or bar mitzvahs. Sora: Well, something in there's making our Digivices go off and I don't think it's the caterers! Let's take a look!

...no. No, dub team. Only Cody and Yolei's Digivices are supposed to be going off. You know, because there's... There's kind of a reason why those specific Digivices would be reacting to something nearby, and no other.

There is, perhaps, something nearby that is specifically calling out to those specific children. And not to Sora, Izzy, Kari, or T.K.

Also, Sora's Digivice tells her that the reaction she's not supposed to be getting is coming from a nearby building? Did Izzy upgrade the Digivices with a three-dimensional geomap of their surroundings or something?

Piyomon and Tentomon lead the way to a great pyramid in the middle of the woods.

Koushiro: That's.... Iori: Doesn't it look like the ruins of a Mayan pyramid?

The children follow the beeping from Miyako and Iori's Digivices into the pyramid, until they come upon a central chamber with a pair of pedestals on a raised platform. Sitting on the platform are a pair of familiar looking egg-shaped artifacts.

Piyomon: Look up there, Sora! Sora: (gasp) Are those Digimentals!?

The team climbs the steps to approach the pedestals, seeing a pair of familiar Crests emblazoned on them, just as the Crest of Courage was on Daisuke's Digimental.

Iori: It's reacting to this egg-looking thing. Sora: This is the Crest of Love. Koushiro: And this is the Crest of Knowledge.

Sora and Koushiro step forward to lift their respective Digimentals, but the artifacts refuse to budge.

Sora: I can't. Koushiro: It's too heavy. (Flashback to Taichi in the playground meeting) Taichi: Daisuke easily lifted the Digimental with the Crest of Courage that I couldn't even budge. (End of flashback)

This is not a line we saw Taichi deliver, but the scene did cut away to Iori and Miyako while he delivered the recap. Contextually, this is clearly part of said recap.

Sora and Koushiro exchange silent glances, then turn to their junior partners.

Sora: You try it, Miyako-chan. Koushiro: Iori-kun too. Miyako: Me? Iori: O-Okay!

Okay, we need to talk about this for a moment because it's kind of nuts that Miyako is not designated to the Crest of Knowledge, despite literally being established as Koushiro's junior. That is one of the first things we learned about her: She's a technology whiz with a lot of admiration for her former club president Koushiro.

No, 02 has a very particular and kinda lazy way of divvying out Crests. It keeps its Crests gender-segregated. Girl Crests are for girls and boy Crests are for boys. With the main character boy Crest going to the new main character boy. Absolutely zero effort, which will be reinforced once the Digimentals of Friendship, Purity, and Sincerity enter the picture.

That's not to say Iori doesn't exhibit the values of the Crest of Knowledge. He is both curious and insightful. He's not a zero-effort character. But it's still very much an "I see what you did there, and it's lazy," thing.

And it's further wild that the characters assume this will be the case too. Regardless of who the Crests actually go to, what part of their relationships up to this point leads Koushiro to go, "Iori is definitely my understudy. It couldn't be Miyako. She and I have nothing in common." Even if Iori is the inheritor of Knowledge, not Miyako, why would Koushiro just assume that out of hand?

Now, if this were the Digimental of Purity, I could see having Miyako try that. She's demonstrated some clear Mimi-like qualities. But so far as Love and Knowledge go, all we really know about them thus far is that Miyako was in computer club under Koushiro and Iori cares a lot about his mom.

I feel like Sora and Koushiro just... made sexist assumptions, which were then validated by lazy metaphysics.

The dub gives Yolei a gag line while the kids are ascending the pyramid.

Yolei: I'm exhausted! Hasn't anybody heard of escalators!? (Entering the pyramid and approaching the shrine) Biyomon: Look at it this way, Yolei. Only a few more steps to go! Yolei: (groan)

Yolei raises a valid point. The Digital World is weird and arbitrary, and often likes to insert scattershot appliances everywhere. So there's no reason they couldn't have installed an escalator into these ancient ruins. I'm with her on this. Whoever's responsible for restocking the Egg Fridges and installing new Numemon Dispensors should get right on that.

Sora: They look like Digi-Eggs. Cody: That must be what our Digivices have been reacting to. Sora: Look! That one has the Crest of Love on it. Izzy: And that one has the Crest of Knowledge. (Izzy and Sora try, and fail) Sora: It's just no use. Izzy: We'll never be able to move them. (Flashback) Tai: I don't understand. I couldn't budge the Digi-Egg with the Crest of Courage on it but somehow Davis moved it with no problem. (End Flashback; Sora and Izzy exchange glances) Sora & Izzy: Hmm.... Sora: Yolei, I think you should try to move it. Izzy: You too, Cody. Yolei: What!? You want us to try it!? Cody: Uh, okay....

With the exception of Yolei's comical aggravation at the pyramid design, this is played pretty straight.

Miyako and Iori step up to the pedestals. As with Daisuke, they easily lift the Digimentals.

Hikari: (awed) They lifted them.... Takeru: (awed) It's just like that time with Daisuke.

The new Partner Digimon emerge from the orange and purple beams in front of Miyako and Iori respectively. They're both Child-stage Digimon in the Free attribute, like V-mon.

Like V-mon, they also seem designed to be pre-evolutions for existing Digimon. Hawkmon and his Adult form Aquilamon seem to be more natural pre-evolutions to Garudamon than Piyomon and Birdramon, while Armadimon seems to resemble a Child form for Tortomon.

Narrator: Hawkmon. A polite and cool-headed Child-stage Bird-type Digimon. Narrator: Armadimon. A charming and carefree Child-stage Mammal-type Digimon.

Their rundowns tell us a little about their personalities and nothing more. Like V-mon, these Digimon were created for the show and thus are meant to be a little mysterious. What are they? Where did they come from? These aren't answers we're going to get from the Narrator reading off their wiki entries.

In the dub, Hawkmon and the only slightly renamed Armadillomon handle their own rundowns.

Kari: They were able to lift them! T.K.: Just like Davis did yesterday! (New Digimon emerge) Hawkmon: (rundown) Ahh! It feels so good to be out from under that stuffy rock and spread my wings! Armadillomon: Howdy! Why'd ya have to wake me up? I was having such a nice dream....

Hawkmon and Armadillomon both have noticeable accents as they wake up, which seems to be how the dub intends to translate their respective "coolheaded" and "charming carefree" voices. Hawkmon speaks with a posh British accent while Armadillomon is a Texan cowboy.

Notably, Armadimon does speak with the Nagoya dialect. This doesn't really translate to a Southern drawl, which is more associated with rural folks. Nagoya is, itself, a major urban area, so something like a Bostonian accent may have been more fitting. But... Y'know... Armadillo. I can see where they were coming from.

Meanwhile, Hawkmon is a bald eagle with face paint and a feather headdress. Giving such a Native American-coded character a British voice is a remarkably tone-deaf translation choice.

It's also interesting to note that Hawkmon is the first Partner Digimon who presents the opposite gender as his Chosen Child. Inasmuch as Digimon present gender, which is to say that he has a male voice and uses masculine verbage instead of feminine verbage when speaking, unlike Palmon, Tailmon, and Piyomon.

The new Digimon proceed to introduce themselves to Miyako and Iori.

Hawkmon: My name is Hawkmon. I've been waiting for your arrival. Miyako: H-Hang on a sec.... Armadimon: (yawn) I slept well! Were you the one who woke me up? My name is Armadimon. Thanks dagyaa! Iori: Ah! Uh.... Hawkmon: Come then, Miyako-san! Let's fight together! Miyako: W-Wait a second! I can't fight! Hawkmon: Oh!? (considering) That's going to be a problem....

Weirdly, Hawkmon already knows Miyako by name even though V-mon needed Daisuke to introduce himself. Not sure if deliberate inconsistency or plot hole. Could go either way.

Right off the bat, Armadimon introduces us to some of the distinct characteristic of the Nagoya dialect: The kitty-cat speak. Nagoya speakers are stereotyped as cat-like because they pronounce ae and ai sounds as a singular "a" that other Japanese speakers hear as "ya".

This results in words like the お前 omae Armadimon uses in this sentence coming out as "omyaa". To a Tokyo ear, Armadimon basically said, "Were nyow the one who woke me up?"

We also see Armadimon's favorite sentence ender dagyaa, which serves a similar purpose to the Canadian "Eh?" or the Minnesota "Doncha know"; A habitual phrase that simply conveys that the sentence is complete, played up as a regional stereotype.

So far as I know, this is not an actual thing Nagoya dialect speakers say but instead a TV thing. In fact, all of my attempts to research dagyaa ended up circling back to "The thing that Armadimon in Digimon Adventure says."

In the dub:

Hawkmon: Greetings! My name is Hawkmon and I've been waiting to make your acquaintance. Yolei: Uh... You talking to me? Armadillomon: (yawn) Wowee, I think my shell fell asleep. Hi, I'm Armadillomon, and you and I are partners! Cody: Uh... Well.... Hawkmon: So then, Yolei, you and I shall be working together as a team. Yolei: What!? I don't fight! Except with my sister over who gets the last cookie! Hawkmon: Are you saying you refuse to fight!? Harrumph! Why do I get stuck with a defective human!?

Dub Hawkmon says nothing about fighting but Yolei assumes that's what he's talking about. Which, given what she's seen thus far, is probably a fair assumption.

Dub Hawkmon throws a fit at Yolei's refusal. The original seems to accept her opinion, and is simply troubled by its ramifications for their Partnership.

Seeing Miyako's hesitancy, Sora steps forward and places her hands around Miyako's and the Digimental. Then she shares a bit of history from her team's journey three years ago.

Miyako: Sora-san.... Sora: A girl named Mimi-chan used to say the same thing. (Flashback to Mimi) Sora: "I don't want to fight! I don't want to see anyone else get hurt!" (End flashback) Sora: I didn't want to either. But someday you'll be grateful to have met the Digimon and gone on an adventure with them. I'm certain of it. So ganbatte. Miyako: (thinking) Sora-san's hands are so warm....

As usual, ganbatte is a word that doesn't really translate well, as it refers to the Japanese cultural value of perseverance over adversity via hard work and dedication. A lot of context is encapsulated in that one word. She's telling Miyako to face the hardship Miyako fears head-on and push through.

Miyako's takeaway from that speech was "OMG She's touching me."

Now is probably a good time to mention that the fandom is approximately 135% sure that Miyako is bi as fuck. Can't imagine why.

In the dub:

Sora: Yolei.... Yolei: What is it, Sora? Sora: I have this friend. Her name is Mimi and she's a lot like you. (Flashback) Sora: She used to tell me that she didn't want to fight anymore either, even though she knew she had to. (End Flashback) Sora: She did it for the Digital World and for us. Yolei, the more you do to help your Digimon, the closer the two of you will become. And that's a friendship you'll carry with you for the rest of your life. And you've got another friend for life too: Me. Yolei: Aww!

Dub Sora loses the plot after the flashback. She suddenly shifts topics to friendship-building. The dub also skips Miyako lingering on Sora's touch; Yolei seems to be paying more attention in this one.

Alright, now it's Iori's turn for a senpai-kouhai pep talk.

Koushiro: Iori-kun, what do you think about the Digital World? Iori: What do I think? I don't know yet. I just got here. Koushiro: But you are thinking about it, aren't you? Iori: Yes... I've made a few suppositions... But new questions keep popping up one after another, and there's so many things I want to understand. Koushiro: Iori, you have a heart full of curiosity. Just as I thought. Iori: A heart full of curiosity? Koushiro: If there is anything you can't understand, please go ahead and ask. We're nakama, and we share our power. We can think together. Iori: I will!

Again, I'm not sure where Koushiro got the idea that Iori is filled with boundless curiosity. He indicates that he already suspected this. He's right, but I don't know why he knows that. The only thing Iori's said to that affect was, "What sort of place is the Digital World?" and he was alone on his balcony for that.

Miyako is the one who's been raising a fuss about how badly she wants to see the Digital World, after furiously interrogating Koushiro about it and the Digivices. Miyako's demonstrated far more curiosity up to this point than Iori has.

In the dub:

Izzy: So tell me, what do you think of the Digital World so far, Cody? Cody: I don't know. After all, I've only been here for a short time. Izzy: Well, you must have some sort of opinion. Cody: Well... I try not to make up my mind until I have all the information but this place is so new to me, I have so many unanswered questions. I'm afraid I don't know where to start first. Izzy: You seem like a curious kid who just wants to know all the facts. Sounds like someone I know. Cody: What should I do? Izzy: Do just what I did: Learn to trust your instincts. And if there's a problem you can't solve, just come to me, and you and I will solve it together. Cody: Okay!

..."Trust your instincts"? Who are you and what did you do with Izzy? That's. Not. A thing. He does. Koushiro/Izzy trusts his ever-expanding knowledge base.

Encouraged by their mentors, Miyako and Iori turn towards their new Partner Digimon, clutching the Digimentals.

Hawkmon: So, Miyako-san, Iori-kun, please yell "DIGIMENTAL UP!!!" Iori & Miyako: DIGIMENTAL UP!!!

I know we just met these two less than three minutes ago but nonetheless, Hawkmon and Armadimon ARMOR SHINKAAAAAA!!!

With the Digimental of Love, Hawkmon evolves into Horusmon. Who has teeny-tiny Hawkmon wings that certainly could not lift a creature of that size, and it's kind of hilarious.

Nobody knows how to translate Horusmon and it gives me cancer. The official romanization is Holsmon, which is only slightly better than the dub's Halsemon. But this isn't like Centarumon where they misspelled it in Japanese. ホルスモン is literally ホルス Horusu モン mon, named for the falcon-headed Egyptian deity Horus. Who apparently neither the dub team nor the official romanization team have ever heard of.

So it's Holsmon in the Digimon Reference Guide, it's Holsmon in Wikimon, it's Holsmon in the subtitles. And I want to throw things. Because it's Horusmon.

In any case, Horusmon is an Armor-stage Free-attribute Beast-type Digimon.

Horusmon: Flapping Love, Horusmon! Narrator: Horusmon! A Beast-type Digimon that excels at aerial combat. He releases shockwaves from his wings with his special attack, Mach Impulse!

Excels at aerial combat despite those teeny-ass wings that aren't even attached at the right place. I'm sorry, I can't stop laughing at them. They look vestigial as fuck, and they don't even flap when he flies. In fact, nothing about him flaps which really calls into question the title of Flapping Love.

The Digimental of Knowledge makes Armadimon into Digmon, whose hands are scissors made of drills. Frankly, that is the scariest design in the show thus far. His face is a drill and he has drill scissors. Also he's an insect for some reason? Antennae and gossamer wings. For when you need to drill the sky.

Armor-stage Free-attribute Insect-type Digimon. There's not really a lot to say here with Armor evos. They're all Armor stage and Free attribute.

Digmon: Steel Knowledge, Digmon! Narrator: Digmon! An Insect-type Digimon that is unbeatable underground. He attacks with all of his drills at once using his special attack Gold Rush.

I'd rather he didn't. That sounds unbelievably gruesome.

As the children stare in awe at their new Armor Digimon, Horusmon interjects.

Horusmon: Now, let's go save our teammates (nakama).

In the dub:

Hawkmon: I beg your pardon, but in order for us to Armor Digivolve you must say "Digi-Armor Energize". Yolei & Cody: Digi-Armor Energize!

Huge inconsistency with the fact that Hawkmon needs to tell them that but Davis instantly knew it without being informed. But no more inconsistent than Hawkmon and Armadimon knowing Miyako and Iori's names when V-mon didn't know Daisuke's.

Halsemon: Halsemon, the Wings of Love. Halsemon: (rundown) I am an Armor Digimon. As Hawkmon, I used the Digi-Egg of Love to Armor Digivolve. I use my Tempest Wing attack to defeat my enemies.

"Wings of Love" is not what he's called, but I'll allow it because it's actually better than Flapping Love. They got a little poetic with 羽ばたく愛情 Habataku Aijou, and the dub is better off for it.

His rundown, on the other hand, completely sucks. He says absolutely nothing.

Digmon: Digmon, the Drill of Power. Digmon: (rundown) I, too, am an Armor Digimon. As Armadillomon, I used the Digi-Egg of Knowledge to Armor-Digivolve. Digmon: Now whaddya say we go find the others?

Digmon's rundown is even worse, and he also missed the memo that his title is supposed to have the Crest Virtue in it. There is no Crest of Power, Digmon. Are you embarrassed to be associated with Izzy? Because that's fair, he's an awful adaptation, but still.

Back at the cliffside, Daisuke and V-mon are still hanging out.

Daisuke: Damn it! Give me back my Digivice! Let V-mon go! Kaiser: That's not going to happen. This is what happens when you trespass in someone else's garden. I'm going to let you see the moment when your Digimon becomes my pawn.

The Kaiser snaps his fingers, conjuring one of those black rings.

(Rude. You're not allowed to throw Poke Balls at another Trainer's monster. At least play the game correctly.)

Daisuke: STOP IT!!! Kaiser: Huhuhuhuhu.... V-mon: Heh, go ahead and try, but I'll never be a minion of yours! Kaiser: What did you say?

As the black ring slowly approaches V-mon, he continues to reject the Kaiser's claim.

V-mon: I waited for so long... I waited for such a long time to meet Daisuke... I'm not about to become your minion now that I've finally met him! Daisuke: V-mon.... Kaiser: Then we'll just try it now. Daisuke: STOP IT!!!

A small translation note. The subs here use the word "slave". The Kaiser is going to make V-mon his "slave". But the word for that is 奴隷 dorei.

The actual word that the Kaiser and V-mon are tossing back and forth is 手下 teshita, which means his subordinate, his underling, his henchmon. Much softer terminology than "slave".

While the effects of the black ring are clearly to enslave Digimon, this choice of language may indicate that the Kaiser doesn't think of what he's doing as slavery. In his mind, he's just... going to make V-mon work for him. He's catching a new Pokemon.

Or it could just be the word choice of the moment. We'll keep an eye on that moving forward.

In the dub:

Davis: Gimme back my Digivice! And let Veemon go! He has nothing to do with this! Emperor: Yeah, right! You've both been trespassing in my garden without my permission. And as your punishment, you'll be forced to watch Veemon as he becomes my slave. (Emperor summons the Dark Ring) Davis: VEEMON, NO!!! Emperor: Ahahahahahaha! Veemon: Ha! You'll never get me to be your slave! You might as well destroy me right now and get it over with! Emperor: As you wish. (Dark Ring begins its approach) Veemon: Hey, take it easy, I was just kidding! Come on, old buddy, don't you know a good joke when you hear one? You know, a little comedy to lighten the mood. Haha, funny guy Veemon, c'mon! Davis: Veemon, no.... Emperor: I don't hear anyone laughing now, Veemon! Davis: LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!

Oh hey, they kept the flowery "trespassing in someone's garden" line. Good job.

The dub goes for the slave terminology, so no hypothetical nuance there. We'll reserve judgment for that based on whether that's actually a point of the Kaiser's characterization or not.

What was V-mon making a verbal last stand, defiantly shouting down the Kaiser and refusing to accept his fate even as inevitability comes for him, is now Veemon pathetically pleading for his life. Thanks, I hate it. Partner Digimon of Courage, everybody.

Suddenly, at the last moment, the cavalry arrives.

Horusmon: RED SUN!!!

Horusmon's Red Sun attack is a pair of red beams fired from his eyes. On impact with the black ring, they explode in the shape of an identifiable red sphere.

(Of note: Among his many domains, Horus is a sun god.)

Kaiser: What the--!? Miyako: DAISUKE!!! Daisuke: Miyako!

Miyako rides into battle mounted on Horusmon's back. While all eyes are on her, Digmon suddenly erupts through the wall behind V-mon, catching him with his adorable little scoopy legs.

Digmon: We're here to rescue you! V-mon: You saved me!

You're just lucky those aren't even more drills, V-mon.

In the dub:

Halsemon: TEMPEST WING!!! (Halsemon destroys the Dark Ring) Emperor: Who's that!? Yolei: DAVIS, HOLD ON!!! Davis: Save Veemon! (Digmon saves Veemon) Digmon: Sorry to burst in on ya like this! Veemon: You coulda knocked!

I guess Red Sun is Tempest Wing. I thought Mach Impulse was going to be Tempest Wing.

They're probably doing that dub thing where all of a Digimon's attacks have the one name for some reason.

Seeing which way the wind is blowing, the Kaiser decides to withdraw.

Kaiser: Hmph.

He turns to go, but finds Tailmon standing in his path.

Tailmon: I won't let you pass. Wormmon: I won't let you lay a finger on Ken-chan!

Out of nowhere, his little caterpillar minion steps in. Wormmon never gets a rundown so now's a good time to go over him. Wormmon is a Child-stage Larva-type Digimon. He's also a Free-attribute Digimon created for the show like V-mon, Hawkmon, and Armadimon.

You may notice that he does not have a black ring anywhere on him. He's also distinct for being the only Digimon among the Kaiser's forces to address him by his real name. It's easy to guess why; It's pretty obvious what his relationship to Ken-chan is.

Wormmon goes full-offense, lunging at--

Tailmon: NEKO PUNCH!!!

Tailmon punches Wormmon in his useless-ass face and sends him hurtling back into the Kaiser. The impact knocks Daisuke's Digivice and pocket computer out of the Kaiser's hands.

Kaiser: CRAP!!!

Daisuke's gear plunge into the chasm. Horusmon passes by and Miyako catches them out of the air.

Miyako: (pleasantly, in English) Thank you!

XD Miyako is the best. Also, poor Wormmon. He tries.

In the dub:

Emperor: Hmph! (Emperor tries to leave, finds Gatomon waiting for him) Gatomon: This litterbox ain't big enough for the both of us. Wormmon: Keep your claws to yourself, you big bully! (Wormmon lunges) Gatomon: (silently punches Wormmon) (Wormmon slams into the Emperor and sends Davis's gear flying) Emperor: You're useless! (Yolei catches the gear) Yolei: (pleasantly) Thank you!

The dub seems to be avoiding having Wormmon address Ken-chan by name. I think they're trying to keep him as an ominous and mysterious force of evil. The original, on the other hand, wants you to be thinking about the fact that, at the end of the day, this guy really is just some kid like Daisuke. Underneath the wicked shades and sick cloak and vile personality, there's a human boy named Ken-chan.

Furious, the Kaiser turns on Tailmon.

Kaiser: OUT OF MY WAY!!!

The Kaiser grapples Tailmon with his whip, then flings her off the cliff behind him.

Okay, yeah, the fact that this was a fight he could win means that was a pretty major whoopsy-doodle on Wormmon's part. Wormmon is actually less formidable than Ken-chan.

Kaiser: COME OUT, SNIMON!!! MOJYAMON!!! DRIMOGEMON!!!

The Kaiser's forces emerge from region around him. Snimon rises into the air, Mojyamon comes out from his hiding place in the rocks, and Drimogemon bursts forth from the earth.

As he's regrouping, the Chosen Children do the same. Daisuke descends the cliffside to join the group; Who freed him from his shackles and why they didn't bring him down themselves is unclear. Tentomon carries Tailmon safely to the ground to join the group as well.

Daisuke: That Digimon Kaiser...! Miyako: Here. (hands of Daisuke's gear) Daisuke: (English) Oh! Thank you! (Japanese) Alright, let's start our counterattack! Let's go, V-mon! V-mon: Yeah! Daisuke: DIGIMENTAL UP!!!

V-mon Armor Evolves into Fladramon and joins the fray.

In the dub:

Emperor: Here, kitty! (Emperor throws Gatomon off the cliff) Emperor: SNIMON!!! MOJYAMON!!! DRIMOGEMON!!! (The Emperor's forces emerge while the DigiDestined regroup) Yolei: Here ya go. Davis: Thanks a lot, Yolei. Now it's time for a little payback. Whaddya say, Veemon? Veemon: Yeah! Davis: DIGI-ARMOR ENERGIZE!!!

Solid.

The two sides mobilize their forces. The Kaiser sends Snimon in to attack.

Horusmon: Hang on tight, Miyako-san. Miyako: Okay!

Horusmon takes flight. No flapping is involved.

Fladramon: Destroy those black rings! Do that and they'll all return to their senses. Horusmon: Got it!

While Horusmon flies up to engage Snimon, Drimogemon attempts to conceal themself underground. Digmon puts his own drills to work and pursues.

(Ludicrous as Digmon's drills are, it's worth noting that Drimogemon has far more. Both Drimogemon's front and hind legs have three drill fingers apiece, plus the narwhal horn drill in the center of their face. So, so many drills.)

Digmon: You won't get away!

That leaves one opponent remaining for Fladramon.

Mojyamon: ICICLE ROD!!!

Mojyamon hurls an icicle spear at Fladramon.

Fladramon: Ice against fire.

Fladramon blazes up his claw and catches the spear, melting it into water.

Mojyamon: O_O Fladramon: KNUCKLE FIRE!!!

Fladramon's counterattack ignites Mojyamon, setting every last surface of the hairy beast on fire. Which happens to also destroy the black ring. I guess that's one way to do it. I sure hope someone's got water handy to put out the flames now.

Daisuke: YOU DID IT, FLADRAMON!!!

In the dub:

Halsemon: Better hold on tight to me. Yolei: Okay! (Halsemon flies off to fight Snimon) Flamedramon: Let's show them what Armor Digimon can do against the slaves of the Emperor! Halsemon: ATTACK!!! (Drimogemon goes underground) Digmon: (wordlessly pursues) Mojyamon: ICE CLOUD!!! (Mojyamon throws the decidedly un-cloudlike spear) Flamedramon: When it's fire against ice, fire always wins. (Flamedramon catches and melts the spear) Mojyamon: O_O Flamedramon: FIRE ROCKET!!! (Flamedramon sets Mojyamon on fucking fire and also destroys the Dark Ring) Davis: Yeah! You destroyed the Dark Ring, Flamedramon!

They cut out the part where Flamedramon tells the two newbies how to fight these guys. Do they just... all somehow know what Dark Rings are?

Rather than explain what they need to do in order to end this fight with minimal harm, Flamedramon boasts, "Yeah, let's fuck these slaves up!" Like, he is stoked to beat the shit out of some mind-controlled puppets. Tonally, this is exactly wrong.

Though it does better match what they, uh... proceed to do in the fight.

The icicle spear is not a cloud. It in no way resembles a cloud. To be fair, it's not a rod either. It's more of a spike than anything else. Everybody is wrong here.

That's one adversary down. Two to go.

As Horusmon closes distance, Snimon fires off a pair of Shadow Sickle blades. With one blade forming a \ shape and the other in a /, it will be difficult to dodge them both. But Horusmon is up to the task, doing a barrel roll in midair to skate past both shots.

Closeup of Miyako screaming at the top of her lungs when gravity momentarily stops being friendly to her riding experience.

Horusmon: MACH IMPULSE!!!

Once past Snimon's attack, Horusmon lets off his Mach Impulse, which takes the shape of two crescent blades parallel to one another fired from his Digimental helmet's wings.

Once his shots are away, Horusmon breaks off his approach and descends into the canyon. The attacks continue forward, with one blade precisely skirting past Snimon's midsection and carving away the black ring without harm to Snimon.

Miyako: You did it, Horusmon!

In the dub, Snimon calls their attack.

Snimon: TWIN SICKLES!!! (Halsemon evades with a barrel roll, freaking out Yolei) Halsemon: Time for TEMPEST WING!!! (Halsemon shoots and breaks off, hitting his mark) Yolei: You did it, Halsemon!

Yeah, they had to do the Togemon "add words to attack name" thing for Mach Impulse. You'd think they wouldn't. It has the same number of syllables as Tempest Wing. In theory.

But in Japanese, Mach Impulse has six. Ma-hha-In-pa-ru-su. So we're at Chiku-Chiku Bang-Bang/Check out my Needle Spray all over again.

Deep underground, Digmon is waiting to ambush Drimogemon.

Drimogemon bursts into a subterannean chamber to find Digmon already there, in position and ready to fire.

Digmon: GOLD RUSH!!!

Digmon lets off all five of his drills as missiles, which strike his target dead-on and explode on impact. Uh, if his target was Drimogemon's face, as not one of the drill missiles even comes close to the black ring.

Fortunately, while blowing Drimogemon the fuck up, he inflicts enough splash damage to break the ring too.

(Horusmon was the only one paying attention when Fladramon said to shoot for the black rings, including Fladramon.)

Digmon does not get a verbal pat on the back from Iori as nobody can see this happening. The Kaiser does seem to have made it back to his control room, however, as we briefly cut to him reflecting on his defeat.

Kaiser: Huhuhuhu... Not bad. It wouldn't be any fun otherwise....

In the dub, Digmon takes advantage of his lack of lip flaps to quip at Drimogemon before firing:

Digmon: I guess we're the drill team! GOLD RUSH!!! (Digmon blows up Drimogemon and also succeeds incidentally) Emperor: (control room) Hehehehehehe! They're better than I thought! This makes things a lot more interesting!

Goddammit, Digmon. XD

With the three Digimon released from bondage, the Chosen Children see them on their way.

V-mon: Are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't have any other choice. Mojyamon: No, this doesn't hurt nearly as much as the agony of being the Digimon Kaiser's minion.

Okay, since Mojyamon also uses the term 手下 teshita, I think we can safely assume it's just the show's particular word-choice for the Digimon's enslavement and not a specific point of characterization for the Kaiser.

I'd guess they're probably dialing down the language because Children's Cartoon. Similar to how 殺す korosu, "kill", is used sparingly.

As the three liberated Digimon depart, the children unpack.

Daisuke: That Digimon Kaiser is a jerk! Wow, I am so pissed off right now! Hawkmon: Miyako-san. Daisuke: Eh?

No one cares how mad you are, Daisuke. XD

Hawkmon: Moving forward, will you continue to lend me your power? Miyako: Sure, I'll be with you to the end. Armadimon: Iori, I look forward to getting to know you dagyaa. Iori: (politely) I look forward to that as well. Sora: From now on, they'll have to ganbatte in our place. Koushiro: No, we have to ganbaru as well. Piyomon: That's right, Sora. We have to do it too. Tentomon: We can't let the younger generation pass us by! Sora: I guess you're right.

Sorry, Sora, but you ain't getting out that easy.

Remember that speech Sora gave that Miyako wasn't listening to because she was too busy Gay Panic Blue-Screening over Sora touching her? It makes that scene even funnier when you realize that, despite her beautiful words, all Sora actually meant by it was "Yesssssss I'm FREEEEEEEEEEE."

Neither of them was correctly invested in this sweet mentor/pupil torch-passing moment.

In the dub:

Veemon: Sorry we had to fight you but we had to get rid of the Dark Rings. I hope we're still buds. Mojyamon: It's okay. Thanks for saving us! Being the Emperor's slave was the worst! All day long, it's "Destroy this", "Destroy that", "Get me a Cappuccino". Oy!

Toning down the part about "the agony of being his servant" and making it a laugh line instead.

Davis: He makes me so mad! Digimon Emperor... I'll show him who's in charge around here! Hawkmon: Settle down. Davis: Huh!? Hawkmon: So, Yolei, will I be able to count on your assistance from now on? Yolei: Absolutely! 100% Armadillomon: And will we be a team, Cody, when I'm not nappin'? Cody: Of course. I'd be honored to be your partner. Sora: Well, it looks like the new DigiDestined team doesn't need us around anymore. Izzy: I don't know. I still think we have a lot of work ahead of us. Biyomon: We can still help them fight the Emperor. Tentomon: And we can also provide them with advice and guidance! Sora: What a team!

"I'll show him who's in charge"? Davis, are you trying to dethrone the Digimon Emperor or supplant him?

Hawkmon directly addresses Davis and tells him to shut up. In the original, they ignore him, prompting his reaction when nobody cares about his outrage.

The funny moment where Sora tries to quit and gets dogpiled by the crew is dialed down to a casual discussion of whether the older kids can still be of use.

Well, it looks like we're done here. Time to get going.

Daisuke: Alright, let's head home! Kaiser: (control room) So, which Digimon do I want to play with next...?

As the kids return through the Gate, Taichi finally gets away from his former teacher.

Taichi: Ugh, I'm beat... Fujiyama-sensei never stops talking....

Taichi sees the bright light from the Gate opening and hears various screams and crashes. He rushes into the clubroom, finding the others once again in a tangled pile of limbs, now with their Partner Digimon in the mix.

V-mon, Hawkmon, and Armadimon have all regressed to Baby stages, though Patamon and Tailmon remain in their base forms.

Taichi: Is everyone okay!? Team: (groaning) We're fine.... Taichi: You brought the Digimon with you!? Daisuke: Eh? (notices Chibimon on his head) HUH!?!? Miyako: (hugs Poromon) AHHHHHH SO CUTE!!! Iori: (observing Upamon) We didn't bring them with us. They just followed us. But why did they take this form? Hikari: They must have regressed to their Baby stages. Patamon: But we didn't change. Takeru: That could be because our Digivices are different. Sora: Huh? What about Piyomon and Tentomon? Piyomon: Soraaaaa! Sora: Hm?

The kids turn their attention to the screen, seeing that Tentomon and Piyomon remain in the Digital World. They did not follow the children through the Gate.

They continue casually having this conversation while tangled up in the limb pile. Except poor Koushiro who's stuck in Family Guy Death Pose.

Piyomon: Sora, we're going to investigate what we can about the Digimon Kaiser. Tentomon: We'll let you know if we find anything. Sora: Sounds good. Be careful and don't do anything reckless. Koushiro: Guys... I'm sorry but... PLEASE GET OFF OF ME!!!

Koushiro's comical despair sees us out for the episode.

In the dub:

Davis: Well, it's time to go home!

The dub skips over the Kaiser's brief moment and goes straight to the return to the human world.

Tai: The birds and the bees, huh? Thanks Mr. Fujiyama! (exits) Boy, when it comes to girls, this guy has a lot to learn. Huh!? (Bright light flash in the computer room, with screaming and crashing) Tai: What happened to you guys!? Team: Please don't ask. Tai: The new Digimon returned to their In-Training forms! Davis: Huh!? Augh! Yolei: Wow! He's so cute! Cody: I don't understand how this little fella can turn himself into such a great big creature like Digmon. Kari: Are we gonna have to do this every time we come back? Patamon: And I thought Digivolving was a tough job! T.K.: Well, at least we made it back to the real world safe and sound. Sora: Hmm, except Biyomon and Tentomon. Biyomon: Sora! Sora: (silently turns to look) Biyomon: Don't worry. We'll both be safe here because the Digimon Emperor never comes out at night. Tentomon: Imagine! All that power and he's afraid of the dark. Sora: Well, get some rest. You'll need it for tomorrow. Davis: Yeah! That's when we'll go back to the Digital World and beat that Digimon Emperor once and for all!

As we zoom out from the school, they then superimpose the cut shot of the Kaiser over the scene as if to imply that he's somehow monitoring this conversation.

Emperor: Oh, really? Well excuse me if I don't start shaking in my boots! Narrator: What does the Digimon Emperor have in store for the new DigiDestined? Find out on the next Digimon: Digital Monsters!

What the fuck? Okay, dub team. Sure.

Setting that aside. The dub seems to imply that they brought the Digimon home on purpose. Nobody's surprised by their presence, only their regression. For reasons unclear, Biyomon and Tentomon weren't able to make it through the Gate. They will not be doing anything useful, and are just... not in danger, even though we couldn't take them with us for some reason.

On the plus side, Tai spent this whole episode having what was apparently an F-tier sex talk. XD Dipshit Tai can call him out on how bad his understanding of women is! And he threw up in Sora's hat and didn't tell her once! I guess Fujiyama must be a manosphere bro.

Assessment: Okay, I'm just gonna come out and say this: Sora feels wrong in this episode. I touched on it earlier with the Digimentals, but I feel like her role here was written for Mimi.

It's weird that Sora instantly pegs Miyako as having exhibited Love qualities when Knowledge and Purity are the qualities we've actually seen from her thus far.

Miyako's freakout about becoming a Chosen Child requires Sora to tell an anecdote about Mimi's growth and development as if it were her own.

The funny closing moment where Sora tries to seize the opportunity to bail on all this Digital World nonsense and everyone has to shout her down feels like a Mimi moment. Sora's never been like that before.

This feels like a Mimi episode with Sora accidentally reskinned over her.

Nonetheless, 02's setup continues. The children have met the Digimon Kaiser in person for the first time, as well as unlocked two more Digimentals. There's still a lot of details to come, but we're well on our way to a full team of next-gen Chosen Children.

[olivieblake]

I know it's SO silly to avoid posting spoilers on a fic that was written almost a decade ago but @wonniesverse asked about what happens in chapter 35 or 36 or whatever of Marked (you know the one) and I am putting my answer under the cut!!! it's unfortunately kind of a short answer lol

hi! i am so sorry if i've got the wrong account but i had just recently read the clean and marked dramione series you wrote on ao3, and i was genuinely FLOORED. yep it's me lol this was the first fic i had ever genuinely cried for, the way you expressed hermione's and draco's relationship so well. the fic was written so long ago - in 2016 - and you might have forgotten about it, ahahahah pls but i had one question i simply couldn't ignore for the life of me: when snape used the time turner, he went to another parallel universe, right?

sorry to interrupt you here, but no! he used the time turner to go back in time, within the same universe, in a time loop. as with the events of book 3, there is still only one universe and only one timeline—there are briefly two harrys and two hermiones in the book because they're the ones who used the time-turner, but in this case, only snape went back, so he's the only one who is experiencing both the current timeline and the rewritten past.

so the new universe's hermione and draco could feel the phantom original universe's draco and hermione's experiences, so the original universe must still have been existing and operating alongside the new parallel one, meaning that the original hermione and draco were still there (please correct me if i'm wrong!).

so again, there is only one timeline, but them being able to feel the echoes of other decisions and other lives was meant to be sort of ineffable. magic!!! etc etc

but i was wondering, if that was a separate timeline, what happened to the original universe's draco and hermione if they still existed? i know draco died in the original universe, but i was curious how the original universe's hermione (master of death) lived after that, and if she ever found joy again, or if she only talked to the ghost of draco forever, and i also wonder how theo fared in that original timeline. there are so many other questions i'd like to ask, but i'll keep this as short as i can.

I made a joke in this week's not writing video that the oversaturation of multiverse media has led to some confusion so yeah, the timeline is disrupted and written over, like—oops maybe this is too Aged a reference—but it's like when you record over an existing VHS and the original footage is simply lost. but there is also the concept of a palimpsest, which is what I wanted those echoes of another life to feel like

as for what would have happened if that timeline continued: what the story suggests (the reason snape went back to begin with) is that the timeline is hopeless—draco is dead and can't be resurrected, hermione maybe never moves on, she allows absolute power to corrupt her absolutely. but that was the point of the story, that the pressure point that re-starts the time loop each time is that draco dies and everything goes irreparably wrong from there. you are of course welcome to reimagine something else! but that was the point of writing a story that resets to canon; I was trying to resolve and explain all the places where something doesn't make sense, like whenever an adult makes a terrible and illogical decision

the way that you wrote of hermione's heartbreak truly tore me apart, and i cried unabashedly when i saw draco died. draco loved her so much and she loved him, so to kill one of them would be utter torture, and i hope the original hermione got to find peace or at the very least see draco in the afterlife. theo was so strong too - even though he wished he could be selfish and talk to draco too, he knew he couldn't take even the ghost of draco away from hermione, so he gave up his chance. i cannot even begin to describe how this story broke my heart and mended it again, and i'm happy that at least the hermione and draco in the other parallel universe got their happy ending, but i also worry about the original hermione and draco too. if you've read until here, thank you so so much for just indulging and entertaining this silly question of mine, and i wholly understand if you don't feel like reading this question anymore. nonetheless, regardless of if you read or reply to this message, i just wanted to let you know that this series was truly of the best i have ever read, and i thank you so so much for that. again, if this is the wrong account, i apologize! but the fic was written in 2016, and the author said this was her tumblr account, so i found the best match i could <3

hahahaah it's so funny to me that you would have any doubt that this was me... I still pretty much write endings that people get mad

but thank you so much for caring this much about the story and I'm so glad you enjoyed it!!