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twomoonstwosuns · 3 years

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the interview.

back to you [series masterlist]

previous part · next part

pairing: professor!poe dameron x reader

warning: smut (18+), swearing, fluff

word count: 4.7k

a/n: guys I'm so sad, this is it before the epilogue. I have many thoughts and feelings that I'll put in a different post but this would not be what it’s become without you so THANK YOU!

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“Hey Poe, it’s me. I just got out of my interview. I think it went well, but…I don’t know. We’ll see. I think I rambled a little bit. Anyway, you’re probably going into your interview now so good luck, I love you, you’re going to do great, and I can’t wait to hear all about it tonight. Love you, bye.”

Tucking your phone back into your bag, you walked along the boardwalk towards the café you were meeting Finn at for lunch. He had texted you saying he got stuck in some traffic and would be a few minutes late. You decided to wait for him outside, the view of the ocean sparkling in the bright sun too enticing to not stop and admire for a bit.

The interview, at least, hadn’t been a disaster. The job was an entry level position at a small public relations firm looking to expand it’s teams. It was nerve-wracking at first at the beginning, but as you learned more about the company and got into comfortable conversation with your interviewer, you felt more confident. There were a few questions you answered that you felt nerves got the better of you, like four years of knowledge just flew right out the window, and you talked in sentences you weren’t even sure were complete. But the woman interviewing you didn’t say anything and at times seemed almost charmed by it. You could only hope.

As you stood against the wooden fence separating the edge of the boardwalk from a large span of grass, a part of you could see yourself moving to Los Angeles, enjoying the sun everyday and taking weekly trips to Venice or Santa Monica to spend the day by the beach. It was incredibly tempting.

But you’d be alone, your friends, family, and boyfriend a thousand miles away. You didn’t know if you could enjoy it without any of them there.

Sunglasses perched on your reddening nose, the gentle ocean breeze moved your curled hair around your face. He sound of the waves was calming, putting you so far into a daze that you didn’t even hear the footsteps approaching you.

“I promise, if you move here that view will never get old.”

Finn stood behind you, hands in his pockets as he looked at the ocean. He smiled when you jumped at the sound of his voice bringing you out of your calming trance. He took a step towards you and hugged you tightly, lifting you up off the ground.

“How are you, nugget?”

“I’m good! I miss you. How are you?”

“Also good. Hungry.”

“Come on, let’s go eat then.”

Finn set you down and you followed him into the café, taking a peek at the menu before ordering and bringing a number plaque over to a table.

“So, congrats on graduating! You’re a real life working adult now. Or, you will be.”

You gave him an uncertain smile. “Thanks…I’m terrified. I’ve had one job interview and I’m ready to marry rich and jet across the world as a trophy wife.”

Finn chuckled. “You’ll be fine. How’d the job interview go?”

“Okay, I think…they said they’d call me within a day or so if they want me to do a second interview. They’re interviewing a few other people so I might not hear anything until tomorrow or even Monday.”

“I think they call you.”

“You’re just biased,” you teased and Finn smirked and shrugged.

“Maybe a little.” He sent you a wink and you giggled, his tone teasing but the vote of confidence greatly appreciated nonetheless. The waiter came by with the food, sandwiches for both of you, and set them in front of you.

“So what’s new with you? I’ve barely talked to you the last few weeks…finals and all…”

“Well, I’ve been seeing a girl who lives up here.”

“Really?” You smiled. “Tell me about her.”

“Her name is Paige, I’ve been seeing her about four and a half months now…”

“Since January?” He nodded. “Poe didn’t mention you were seeing anyone…”

“He doesn’t know. I really, really like her and things have been moving kind of fast and I didn’t want to jinx it.”

“Moving fast isn’t a bad thing…hello, I met Kes after a month of dating and told Poe I loved him after two and a half months.”

“And he knew he loved you when Rey and I met you.”

“See? Poe and I are the king and queen moving fast and look at us! We’re happy!” Finn chuckled. “So, tell me more about her. What’s she like?”

Finn smiled and shook his head. “She’s amazing and beautiful and funny…she went to school for business and accounting but found it boring, so she’s worked tons of odd jobs…like, she worked at Disneyland for a bit, she’s an artist and she’s had her paintings featured in a couple galleries around SoCal…currently she works part time at a bar in Santa Monica and she’s an L.A. tour guide on the weekends.”

You quietly squealed. “Look at that smile on your face! You really like her!”

Finn nodded slowly and took his bottom lip and tucked it under his teeth.

“Can you keep a secret?”

You nodded and Finn grabbed his wallet from his pocket. He pulled out a picture and set it in front of you. The blur of black, grey, and white gave way to a very obvious shape in the middle of the picture.

“Finn!” You gasped, your hand coming up to cover your mouth. The smile on his face was so wide you were sure it would split his face in half.

“Ten weeks. Well, she’s twelve weeks now. We wanted to wait until the three month mark to start telling people.” You looked up at him, eyes wide. He looked at the sonogram adoringly. “It was a complete accident, so hopefully she likes me enough to put up with me for the rest of our lives.”

Your eyes watered and you smiled widely. “Congratulations!”

“Thanks, nugget. I’m so…fuck, I’m so excited. Granted, this isn’t the way I wanted to do this…I imagine I’d be married first…”

You smiled softly. “As long as that baby is loved, which I have no doubt that he or she will, then who cares how it happened.”

Finn nodded and grabbed the picture, smiling at it once more before putting it back into his wallet.

“You’re going to be an amazing dad, Finn,” you said softly, placing your hand on his arm. “And I can’t wait to meet your girlfriend.”

“We’re coming up fourth of July weekend. Poe, Rey, and I rent a cabin on the lake and we spend the long weekend there. You’ll probably be coming so you can meet her then.” You nodded happily, already excited for something happening a month and a half away.

“So, when are you and Poe having kids?” You threw your head back and laughed loudly. “What?! You said you guys move fast!”

You threw one of your chips at him and it bounced off of his chest and onto the floor.

“Yeah, not that fast! I just finished school, I’m not ready to have a baby!”

“But by Christmas, right?”

You giggled and threw another chip at him, which he caught and popped into his mouth. Your phone buzzed on the table and you saw an unfamiliar number flashing on your screen. Finn looked at it and raised his eyebrows.

“That’s an L.A. area code.”

You swallowed hard and answered the phone. “Hello?”

“Hi, I’m looking for Y/N L/N.”

“Yes, this is…” you said nervously. Finn looked at you with interest.

“Y/N, this is Jyn Erso with Erso PR.”

“Oh, hi…” Finn mouthed ‘who is it?’ at you and you held a finger up. The woman on the other end chuckled warmly.

“I can tell you’re a little surprised I’m calling you right now.”

“Yeah, a little…I just left a little under two hours ago.”

“Well, I took a closer look at your resume and some of the work in your portfolio and, with your interview earlier today, I wanted to call and offer you the job.”

Your eyes widened and you stumbled over your words. “Wha—wait, really?”

“I know we said we’d call you to set up a second interview but I was very impressed with you today and I think you’d make a great addition to our team.”

“Wow, um…thank you!” You looked at Finn and bit your lip. “Can I…could I think about it?”

“Of course you can. I know you’re coming from quite a ways away and have a lot of factors to consider, so please take a few days to think about it. The number I’m calling from is my office number, please feel free to call it if you have any questions.”

“I will. Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome, Y/N. Have a good day and a safe flight home.”

You hung up the call and looked at Finn, your face showing a disbelieving smile.

“I got the job.”

“Damn, congratulations!” You didn’t, couldn’t, say anything. You were still in a little bit of shock from receiving that phone call. “Or not…?”

“I….I don’t know! I wasn’t expecting this!” You sat back in your chair, crossing your arms in front of you and looking at Finn. “What do I do?”

“Well, you obviously didn’t say yes…did they say you could think about it?” You nodded. “Then you think about it.”

You sighed. “This job…there’s so many opportunities for growth. It’s the kind of job that could kickstart by career. Honestly, I’d be stupid not to take it.”

“But there’s a lot of factors you have to consider.”

“Exactly…I don’t know what to do.” You looked up at Finn. “What do I do?”

Finn sighed and finished off his sandwich, wiping his hands and tossing the napkin in the basket.

“I wish I could tell you to just take it, but it’s not that easy.”

You exhaled sharply and ran a hand through your hair.

“No, it’s not.”

》》》

The job offer was in the back of your mind the rest of your lunch with Finn and didn’t fully sink in until you were on your way to the airport. You spent the two and a half hour plane ride going through every pro you could think of: the job itself, working and building your career, a new city with lots of opportunities, and sunshine and warmth everyday. But there were also the cons: moving expenses, finding an apartment you could actually afford that was close to work, and navigating a new city. Not to mention your friends and family would be a thousand miles away.

Poe would be a thousand miles away.

You walked off the plane and drove home still undecided. Even the drive home couldn’t help you come to a decision. You were much too excited to see Poe and hear about his interview. He had texted you when you landed that he was finishing up with dinner and insisted on waiting for you to get there to eat, but you encouraged him to go ahead without you. Your stomach felt twisted with nerves and there was no room for food at that moment.

You walked into Poe’s apartment and was immediately greeted by Beebs. The smell of garlic and other spices was intoxicating and you followed it to the kitchen where Poe was dishing it up into containers for you to eat later.

“Hey!” He looked up at the sound of your footsteps, walking over and pecking your lips quickly before putting the last of the dishes into the dishwasher. “How as your flight?”

“Good,” you said, dropping your stuff and taking off your shoes. “Little turbulent, but fine.”

Poe smiled and came around the counter, leaning against it and crossing his arms. You could hardly contain the smile on your face.

“So?”

Poe smiled widely. “I got the job.”

“You got it?!” You exclaimed. “I’m so proud of you!”

He shook his head in disbelief. “I still can’t believe it…I’ve been pinching myself making sure it was real all day. After all the sabotage from Hux and our secret relationship, Leia really stuck her neck out for me to get this job.” You smiled proudly. “This is just…the best fucking day.”

The smile on his face reached his eyes, which shone brightly with pure happiness. “I’m so, so happy for you, Poe. You deserve this. You’re an amazing teacher and you’re going to make an amazing head of the department. Your department.”

“I haven’t accepted the job yet. I wanted to talk to you about it, especially because you just had a job interview yourself. Which, speaking of, how did it go?”

“I actually got the job too.”

“You did?! Congrats!”

“Thanks…but I’m not going to take it.”

Poe’s smile disappeared. “You’re not?”

You shook your head.

“Why not?”

“I don’t want it.”

“But raved about interviewing for this job. It’s what you’ve been talking about for weeks. You were so excited and now you got it.”

“And you got yours.”

“Babe, I don’t want you to feel like I’m making you choose between me and a job—“

“You’re not,” you stressed, taking a step towards him. “This is my decision. I am choosing you over the job and I’m perfectly okay with it. I’m just starting to job hunt and if I take the first job I’m offered, I can’t build up my interview skills and I won’t know what else is out there. What if I find something better? My gut is telling me this is the right move, so I’m doing it.”

“Have you thought this all the way through? I don’t want you to have any regrets.”

“I have thought about it. I talked to Finn earlier at lunch after they called me and did nothing but think about it while I was waiting for my flight and on the airplane. I was still undecided up until you told me you got your dream job, the one you’ve been talking about for months and months.” You sighed and put your hands on his chest. “You almost sacrificed getting this job to protect me…to protect us. Now you’ve got the job and all I want to be here to hear all about it at the end of the day. And I can’t do that if I’m in California."

Poe gave you a look of uncertainty and you smiled softly. “I love you. So much. We did not fight this hard for our relationship just to do long distance. This is what I truly want.”

Poe nodded and returned your smile. “As long as it’s what you want.”

“It is.”

Silence fell over you for a moment before your delighted squeals pierced the air. Poe had suddenly grabbed your waist, picking you up and spinning you around. Your arms went around his neck and he kissed the spot where your neck met your shoulder before looking at you.

“I got the job.” He smiled and you put your hands on his cheeks.

“You got the damn job.”

You pulled his lips to yours, the two pairs moving passionately together. After months and months of uncertainty and secrecy, things were finally going your way.

“Do you want to go get a drink to celebrate?”

You smiled suggestively and shook your head. “Maybe tomorrow. Tonight…I want to celebrate with you. Alone. Naked.”

He smirked and you wrapped your legs around his waist as he quickly made his way to his bedroom, his lips connecting with yours once again. He nearly dropped you on the bed in his excitement and you sat up as he got on the bed next to you. You moved to straddle his lap and your kisses grew hotter, the passion just as intense but the desire for each other burning brighter as you ground your hips against his. You grabbed your shirt and brought it up over your head, Poe leaning in and kissing your chest before you could toss it aside. His dark hair was messy from your hands and became more disheveled when you yanked his shirt off.

“You’re sexy,” you said as you ran your hands over his chest. He smirked and reached for the buttons of your dress pants.

“You’re fucking sexy,” he retorted, dipping his fingers into your underwear and immediately finding your clit. Your mouth opened slightly and he wrapped his arm around your waist and started to lay you down on the bed.

“No, wait!”

Poe froze and you pushed him back to his position on the bed, his eyebrow cocked with curiosity.

“You want to be on top?”

You smirked mischievously and grabbed his wrist, removing his fingers from your pussy. You brought them to your mouth and gave them a quick suck before moving down his lap and further down the bed, bringing his pants down with you. Kissing his stomach, your fingers dipped under the band of his briefs. He was already hard and you wasted no time removing his briefs and wrapping your hand around him. Poe let out a soft sigh of approval as you pumped him slowly. You swirled your tongue lightly around the tip and Poe let out a sound between a moan and a whimper with a very quiet plea falling from his lips.

“I’m sorry,” you giggled. “What was that?”

He swallowed hard, his body ringing with want. “Please.”

You smiled up at him and wrapped your lips around him, taking him in your mouth inch by inch. His head fell back against the pillows, closing for just a minute before looking back down at you. He gathered your hair back so it was out of your face, biting his lip and watching your head bob as you sucked him off. A quiet ‘fuck’ left his lips and you released him from your mouth, your hand pumping him quickly and your tongue found the base of his cock. You ran your tongue slowly, teasingly up the length of him before taking him in your mouth again. Your hand and mouth worked in tandem, bringing him closer and closer to the edge each time he watched your cheeks hollow around him.

But Poe wasn’t ready to be done quite yet.

“G—fuck….get up here.”

You ignored him, sliding your mouth all the way down his length until he touched back of your throat. The groan that came from him came deep from within him and it took all his strength to tug on your hair again instead of giving into the immense pleasure you were giving him and coming too soon.

“Get up here. Now.”

You let him go with a pop, crawling up into his lap again. “Mmm, bossy. I like it.”

He smirked as you grabbed him again to line him up with your entrance. “Another day, sweetheart.”

You bit your lip and nodded as you sunk down on him slowly, a soft groan leaving your lips as he filled you all the way up. He attached his lips to your neck, his teeth leaving little love bites along your collarbone as you grinded against him. Your hand came back up to his hair, tugging the inky strands at the base of his neck and he quietly moaned at the mix of pain and pleasure.

“F—ohhh…fuck, baby…” your voice was breathy, a sound Poe could listen to forever. The way you called him ‘baby’, even in the throes of pleasure, tugged on his heartstrings a little bit. One hand splayed across your back, the ends of your hair threading between his fingers. The other hand rested on your hips, his fingers digging into your skin as each shot of pleasure hit deep in your stomachs.

Poe’s lips traveled down to your chest and attached to your breast, sucking small marks onto your skin. A symphony of sounds filled the room: the sound of skin slapping against skin, yours and his moans of pleasure, and his name tumbling past your lips with a slew of expletives. Your hand found his headboard, grabbing it to use as leverage and support as your body was weakened by pleasure.

He kissed up your neck and found your lips once again, his tongue invading your mouth and tangling with yours. You moved faster, your body becoming slick with exertion. You struggled to kiss him back, your quick movements making you nearly gasp for breath. You rode him hard, the both of you chasing the high you wanted so badly.

You whimpered as you the burn in your belly grew hotter, the mind-blowing orgasm you always got with Poe building. Poe felt the same, having used a great deal of strength to hold off so he could give you the same kind of ecstasy you were giving him. Your body tensed and you clenched around him as his cock found that spot that drove you absolutely wild.

“Come for me, baby…” Poe’s voice was also breathless but still held the tone of finality, like he was commanding you. The idea alone spurred you on further and his hands helped you slam yourself down onto his cock, your body movements becoming sloppy as you started to lose control. “Come on baby, that’s it.”

His thumb found your clit and he rubbed it quickly, the sudden addition of stimulation making your body twitch and send you over the edge. You came hard, your body shaking in his hands and a loud moan coming from deep within your throat as the iron struck white hot in your lower stomach. He held you still and thrust up into you and your hand shook the headboard, making it loudly knock against the wall. Poe gritted his teeth and his head fell back as he came, spurt after spurt of his release filling you up. You both slowed, the intensity of your orgasms making you fight to catch your breath like you just ran a marathon. Your head fell against his and he presses his lips to whatever part of your face that was closest to him.

“You…you ride me so well.”

You let out a breathless laugh, allowing Poe to put both arms around you and bring you down on top of him as he laid back against his pillows. He rubbed your back slowly, neither of you bothering to move. His softening cock stayed nestled inside you as the both of you catching your breath in the afterglow.

“You know, I was thinking?” Poe asked after several minutes of comfortable silence. You hummed in acknowledgement. “You should move in with me.”

You looked up at him, your fingers running along the silver chain around his neck.

“You don’t think it’s too soon?”

“It might be…but I also know this is what I want.”

He reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, his fingers lingering.

“We went on our first date on Valentine’s Day but we’ve technically been dating since Halloween,” he said, the memories making you smile. “I know it was supposed to be just a one time hookup and then after that just casual sex but it ended up being a lot of talking. We were basically on dates, we just did sex first and got to know each other afterwards. So, in my mind, we’ve been together for about seven and a half months.”

He ran his knuckle across your cheek and you didn’t know if your cheeks were still flushed from sex or if they were flushing from the way he was looking at you - with pure love and adoration.

“If it’s too soon for you, it’s okay. I do want to move in with you, but we can wait until you’re ready. Just the fact that you’ll be close by instead of hours and hours and hours away is good for me.”

You took in every word he said. The whole point of your plan to decline the job offer was to be with Poe, and moving in with him would mean being with him all the time. There was a sliver of doubt that crossed your mind, that maybe you’d get annoyed with each other after living together for awhile and learning each other’s daily quirks.

“What do you see? When you think about us moving in together?”

Poe smiled softly. He knew exactly what kind of house he wanted to move into someday. Since he imagined having a kid or two, he wanted a basement or an extra room to be used as a playroom. He wanted a big backyard with a large deck and fire pit for late summer nights. He’d thought about it plenty, imagined his future home many many times before you, but it became so much more clear to him after you told him you loved him. Poe had been thinking of you moving in since before graduation, but held off saying anything because of your job interview. He didn’t want you to feel pressured if you had gotten the job…like you had to give up the opportunity because you were moving.

He wanted all that with you, but he wouldn’t sacrifice your future to make his come true.

“Well…” He started, making sure to word things carefully so he wouldn’t scare you with how much he’d thought this through. “For now, we’d find a bigger apartment or a townhouse to rent…somewhere where there’s enough space for all of your things as well as mine…I think we’ve seen enough of the inside of this apartment.” You laughed lightly and nodded. “Maybe find one with an extra room we can turn into an office for us to work in. Eventually I’d like to buy a house, but I think that’s a few years away still.”

Though Poe was sparing you details, you could tell he’d been put a lot of thought into it. You didn’t blame him, he was in his early thirties and wanting to start settling down and building a life. You were still young, twenty-two with all the adventures of your twenties waiting for you…but you couldn’t imagine doing any of them without Poe. Navigating your way into the world post-education was going to be difficult. Nothing is promised. But having a place of your own to come home to with someone you loved, where you could relax and unwind and have that feeling of comfort and safety…you wanted that.

“That’s just what I’ve been thinking. We certainly don’t have to, if you don’t want to.” His voice brought you back from our own thoughts and you nodded slowly and continued to play with his necklace.

“You know I was talking to Finn earlier about how we move fast but everything’s worked out pretty good so far.” You shrugged, biting back the wide smile that was threatening to take over your face. “I don’t see why we should stop now.”

A smile slowly spread across Poe’s face. “Really?”

You nodded and sat up a little bit so you were hovering over him.

“Let’s start looking. See what we find. In the meantime…”

“You’ll move in with me?” He asked hopefully, his eyes lighting up like a kid in a candy store. You smiled widely.

“I would love to move in.” Poe leaned up and kissed your lips squarely and surely. “I can leave now, start packing…”

“Oh no,” Poe smirked as he wiggled his eyebrows. “You’re not going anywhere. Tonight, we celebrate.”

He rolled you over onto your back, never separating from you and burying his face in your neck and kissing it all over. Your laughter filled the room and you kissed him passionately, the room soon filling with different noises of pure happiness.

You couldn’t wait to start your future with him.

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#poe dameron x reader #poe dameron x y/n #poe dameron smut #back to you series #modern poe dameron #modern au #poe dameron fluff #poe dameron x reader

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clansayeed · 4 years

Text

Bound by Circumstance ― Chapter 24: Better the Devil You Don’t (Epilogue)

PAIRING: Nik Ryder x trans*M!MC (Taylor Hunter) RATING: Mature

⥼ MASTERLIST ⥽

⥼ Bound by Circumstance ⥽

Taylor Hunter (MC) has made it good for himself in New Orleans; turns out moving to a new city fresh out of college to reinvent yourself isn’t as hard as people make it out to be. Things only start to get confusing when he finds himself the target of a malevolent wraith. Good thing someone’s looking out for him though — because without Nighthunter Nik Ryder as his bodyguard he definitely won’t survive long in the twisting darkness of the supernatural underworld he’s tripped into.

Bound by Circumstance and the rest of the Oblivion Bound series is an ongoing dramatic retelling project of the book Nightbound and the rest of the Bloodbound series. Find out more [HERE].

Note: Circumstance only loosely follows the events and plotline of Nightbound, and features a separate antagonist, different character motivations, and further worldbuilding.

*Let me know if you would like to be added to the Circumstance/series tag list!

⥼ Chapter Summary ⥽

Someone does right by Cadence.

note: And with that Bound by Circumstance is ended! I’ll start posting book 3, Bound by Choice, in a day or so! Book 3 is the only book in the series not based off of an existing Choices book, and follows the story of the Trinity in a series of flashback vignettes. Taylor and the Nightbound gang will return in book 4!

Also, Bound by Choice is currently in-progress, as opposed to books 1 & 2 which were completed at the time of posting. Once I catch up on the last chapters posted, my updating schedule will go to the weekly update my AO3 is on.

[READ IT ON AO3]

A few weeks later…

[TEXT]: hurry up [TEXT]: where r u??? [TEXT]: ur loss I’m not waiting [TEXT]: BUZZKILL!!! [TEXT]: pic.jpg

The picture does it — finally draws his attention away from his computer to where his phone screen changes from 01:07 to 01:08 as if to taunt him.

It takes Cadence a moment to realize the woman next to Kathy in her (blurry) self-taken photo is supposed to be Ivy. So used to seeing her true form in person — but glamours don’t fade on digital recording.

And who else do they know dresses like she’s always ready to attend a Victorian funeral?

In his friend’s defense Cade was supposed to be at the Shift over an hour ago.

She’ll hear his excuses and his apologies, pretend as though he’s committed the greatest sin in history — but come sunrise and sobriety he’ll be forgiven. The Nighthunter likes to make everyone think she’s the picture of cool nonchalance; the human equivalent of a cat.

But anyone who feeds strays knows just how affectionate cats can be when they so choose.

He shuts down his work, fighting the instinctual habit to leave most of it out and make his space look clean by pushing it to the sides of his desk — actually putting things back in their folders and boxes.

Tap-tap.

His head jerks up quick enough for his glasses to threaten flight. Working in this particular space for over a decade now, there isn’t anyone who doesn’t know about Odd Cadence and his odd hours; how he refuses to work in the daylight due to a debilitating allergy.

Even Gary from night maintenance wouldn’t bother.

Tap-tap.

He listens for a heartbeat. Can hear everything from the rush of water through old plumbing to the coo of pigeons scavenging on the outside Square.

Tap—

Isadora de la Rosa doesn’t get to finish her genteel knocking; pale hand hovering just shy of the taller vampire’s collarbone as he holds the door open.

She looks a little dumbfounded for him to have answered. That’s silly, though, since she was in his territory now.

The air is thick with a tension not felt since Mardi Gras those weeks ago. She looks ready to turn and leave without a word between them. He almost lets her.

“Izzy,” by way of greeting, and even though she now runs the dynasty her father built he struggles to call her anything but the petulant youthful human woman he first met her as, “I was just heading out.”

He gives her a chance; sees the opportunity for escape that flickers in her weathered eyes no longer young but no less defiant by nature.

Some people were just born ready to stand their ground. He always admired that about her.

“This won’t take long.”

One step forward, one step back. A familiar dance neither acknowledges as Isadora invites herself into his space. She’s not the oldest thing in the room by far, nor the most expensive. Still she commands the air around her to whisper softer, for the floorboards under her heels to wait until she passes to creak.

“Sure, come on in…”

She makes a point of trying to keep an arms’ length between her body and any clutter. He won’t apologize for it, not to her. She was half the reason he’s like this.

“I’m glad to see the Museum is treating you well.”

“Uh-huh.” He’s never met a de la Rosa good at small talk. He still hasn’t.

But she keeps trying. It’s hard not to cringe at every forced word, how she purposefully finds something to look at and mention; “New project, I see.”

Cadence doesn’t answer. She switches a black leather briefcase from one hand to the other; a poised woman’s version of shuffling her feet.

“You always were best kept —”

“I have somewhere to be.”

Her quirked brow says it all; how she definitely doesn’t believe him but calling him out on it is somehow counterproductive to why she’s here.

Why is she here?

Because the only reason he can conjure up has to do with the Coven, and the Council, and that’s why they’re enjoying nights like these at the Shift. To forget about everything that happened — to move on.

“Look, Izzy — if this is something that can wait, can it? I’ve got office hours tomorrow night—or hell, I’ll even come ‘round to the family house. But I do have somewhere to be, and I’m already late.”

When she takes stock of the room again he understands. It’s a tactic — and not a very good one — to allow her to think.

They’ve never been like this before. So why now?

It’s a brief flicker; blink-and-you-miss-it type. But Cadence doesn’t miss it — how Izzy stares at the chair claimed by Katherine in permanent marker.

“You’re going to meet her, the Nighthunter.”

“My friend Katherine, yes. Among others.”

“She treads dangerous waters in this town.”

It sounds a little too much like a threat for Cade’s comfort. Makes it a real effort to keep from letting it get to him.

“I think the same could be said for any hunter.” For Katherine, for Ryder.

“Yes, you would know,” she clasps the case handle with both hands over her front; a shield between them, “though this one — she’s different, isn’t she? She’s well-connected.”

Like he’s been fumbling around in the dark of his head — he finally finds the lamp chain and tugs. Lets the light flood through with an “Ah” of understanding.

So that’s what this is about.

“Contrary to what you may believe this isn’t the same world Carlo built his dynasty in. Humans — even Nighthunters and especially out-of-towners — they don’t whisper the rules to one another anymore.” Then, with firm conviction; “Katherine didn’t know she needed to ask your father for permission to bring Adrian Raines into town.”

“But you did.”

“Yeah, I did.”

If she’s here to enact some sort of delayed punishment, Cadence can’t promise he’ll stay civil. “I weighed the risks carefully,” he continues, “and decided it was best for everyone that no one knew who didn’t need to know.” Not that it had been a good choice. Maybe it could have saved Raines at his trial.

Sometimes he wonders why the two of them didn’t work out — especially when she was Turned. It wasn’t because of her perceived age, and obviously being his boss’ daughter hadn’t stopped them from getting involved in the first place.

He always remembers not a moment later. There’s a reason the term is ‘opposites attract.’ They were too similar — too hot in the head and both prone to speaking and acting without thinking ahead. Without considering the consequences.

So when she isn’t sneering an insult at him on the heels of Cade actually admitting to his wrongdoing… he knows something is very wrong.

“Izzy…?”

And the smile she offers is too forced, too fake. Sends shivers down his spine. “I’m glad you see things that way.”

“What way?”

She unclasps the briefcase with a flick of her little fingers. “That sometimes, in rare cases I think, withholding knowledge from someone is for the best; for all parties involved.

“I had prepared to give you this the night of the Minotaur’s championship fight…” The leather bound folder she pulls free is familiar only in that he’s seen the de la Rosa lawyers carry them like extensions of their hands. “And I have spent many hours since debating whether or not I made the right choice in keeping it close. Watching you in the cage — that made it easier.”

“Something’s happening, Kath—”

“Don’t fight it. Let it swallow you whole.”

Let it swallow you whole.

Katherine couldn’t possibly have known just how accurate she had been.

How it felt to stand at the edge of a yawning abyss no one else could see… and how it felt to have the ground fall out from under his feet the moment he decided to jump.

Memories of what happened after his meeting with Isadora still only came to him in clusters. It was less the act of remembering than feeling the same way — sensory triggers like the smell of blood or the tinny grate of a chain link fence.

Of course she had seen the fight. There were members of the underground community still who approached him on the street with praise for his ‘performance,’ or thanking him for standing up to the illegal deals Persephone covered with velvet and glitter.

But there’s a difference between knowing something and knowing it. Knowing the same hand he used to caress her cheek had also torn off the Minotaur’s horn. Knowing she was witness to it…

Isadora’s touch is solid, without the heat humans bring or the chill they feel. It simply is as she gives him the folder with no other choice. Whatever secrets rest inside they are his burden now.

“What you see here… I ask that you please not think less of me for keeping it from you. I was…” she doesn’t give an excuse — not a single one, “I was doing what I thought was right. But I cannot be the one to make that choice anymore. It’s too much Cadence; it’s far too much.”

He means to find comfort or some understanding in their hands. But there’s none to be found.

They pull away as intimate strangers. The space between them cavernous and echoing — and it only grows wider as he realizes she isn’t the one creating it.

He doesn’t need to ask what mystery he now holds.

What other mystery is there but the thing that has plagued him from their first “hello” to this their last “goodbye?”

Cadence’s voice is calm, even to his own ears. “Is this everything?”

“All that my daughter could find among his possessions.”

“And if I have any questions…”

“No,” she interrupts, “no you may not bring them to me. I would rather meet the sun than invite the conflict this will bring into my city, to my family’s doorstep.”

He wants to call her selfish but can’t say he wouldn’t be the same way were their roles reversed.

It’s a nice fantasy—altruism, kindness, doing the right thing so as not to hurt someone close—but it is a fantasy.

So what if he carried the ring she returned to him for a decade in mourning?

And intuition is a very separate thing from mind-reading; that he knows. In Isadora, though, the lines between them have always been a little smudged.

“In case you have any ideas of this meaning…” she breathes and tries again, “just know this has nothing to do with our past, Cadence. Consider this to be an act of release. Beyond what the Council will ask of us, I wash my hands of you.”

Isadora’s decision is as clear now as it was then. She will always choose her family over him. He can’t begrudge her that in the least.

“If only it were that simple.” But it’s probably for the best.

She leaves as abruptly as she arrived. Somehow with the ability to disrupt everything in his space without touching a single thing. As he looks around the office now it feels tainted with secrets and lies; all the things he still doesn’t know that now rest in his hand.

He need only look.

The chair is less than five steps away but he can’t muster the energy to move both his legs and arms; chooses the latter because what comparison is comfort to answers?

Cadence opens the folder and begins to read.

#nightbound #bloodbound #playchoices fanfiction #choices fanfiction #choices nb #oc: cadence smith #oblv: bound by circumstance #oblv: new chapter #; my fics

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inuyashasnook · 5 years

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Feral - Chapter One

https://inuyashasnook.tumblr.com/post/184932707221/feral-chapter-twoSo, I wrote something based on this head cannon I have where Inuyasha is actually very smart, but no one in his life has ever given him a chance to prove himself because he’s a half demon. This story idea is also heavily based on the psychological phenomenon of feral children.

This is only the second piece I do in a long time, but I hope it meets expectations! I will try to update this series once weekly and will post its updates on a scheduled time. I’m currently in the process of moving back home for the summer and starting my new summer job at a vet clinic, so once that’s settled I’ll post more info.

I’ve been editing this for the past 6 hours so I apologize for any grammar mistakes. (My s/o who was supposed to proofread it for me decided that 4000+ was too many words, so I really sincerely apologize for any mistakes!) »»———————————————- ♡ ———————————————-«« 

Feral: Chapter 1 // FF.net Rating: T

Next Chapter >>

Kagome let out a groan as she stretched and leaned back in her chair. She’d spent the entire day looking at her computer screen answering emails and working on her current research project. Unfortunately, it wasn’t going anywhere, and she was afraid she’d have to flunk the project altogether—thus was the life of a psychology professor at a highly competitive university. She wasn’t sure what she’d do if she couldn’t find another research thesis soon or she’d run out of funding and get in trouble with the department advisor.

The raven-haired woman glanced outside the window next to her desk and realized that it had gotten dark outside since the last time she checked.

Crap, I’ve stayed here way too late again she thought to herself.

Unhurriedly, she saved her work and turned off her monitor. As she was packing her bags to head out, she realized that she’d have to walk home since her usual ride had already left hours ago. Kouga, another of the psychology professors usually drove her home after work since the beginning of the semester. She thought he was a lovely fellow, but was a little pushy at times. Needless to say, she was grateful for everything he did for her so she didn’t press her luck and tell him to tone it down for fear she would hurt him.

As she stepped out of the building where her workplace stood, the fresh crisp air of the night filled her lungs and she breathed a sigh of relief. The young professor had been spending too much time cooped up inside her office, she felt like she would lose it one of these days.

The complete silence of the area was making her skin crawl. The street lamps gave off their weak rays of light and made her feel as if she was being watched as in a horror movie. There was no one in sight, the campus grounds deserted compared to during the day, bustling with busy students rushing to their classes.

The worst part was that her path home was only dimly lit, being a little woodsy off-road on the side of campus. The tree-filled gravel road made it hard to see where to put her footing, which often led her to trip a few times before making it to her final destination. As she made her way there, the words of her coworkers rang into her head.

“Hey, did you hear? Apparently, the campus police tried to arrest a student last night. He was acting off. I’m thinking he was probably on drugs or something because apparently, he was barking at the officers and growled at them when they tried to approach him. You know what’s the worst part? He got away! Supposedly, he jumped up on a dumpster and then onto the roof of the science building! I’d avoid walking at night alone if I were you, especially until that weirdo gets caught!” she had overheard from a professor working in the sociology department tell her friend.

But, she was almost off of school grounds now, so she was safe, right? If only life was that easy...

It wasn’t even a few minutes later when she heard some rustling sounds coming from the bushes ahead of her. She mentally kicked herself at her own childish fears and turned around quickly to face the source of the sound. Kagome was a grown woman and she wouldn’t let some childish gossip make her run home with her tail between her legs.

That didn’t stop the cold sweat from rolling down her back or the sides of her rounded face. Her heart accelerated as if it followed the rhythm of a melody played in affrettando.

The pounding in her ears stopped as did her breathing when a strange shadow emerged and walked—no, crawled towards her. It was almost dog-like in appearance and the figure was on all fours. All that was missing was a wagging tail and a long snout. She was no longer certain if what was coming towards her was a figment of her imagination, or that she was truly seeing it. The ground rustled around its footing and a low rumble permeated from the figure. Maybe all those days stuck at work were really starting to take a toll on her.

The figure, now only a few meters in front of her sat still. It had long white hair, a man-like appearance, but there was something odd about it. Tiny twitching triangular appendages adorned his crown and focused on her every movement. He was dressed in very few clothes, wearing a simple tattered cloth hung loosely around his hips. Sure, it was a strange choice of style, but nothing compared to what the man was doing–audibly sniffing the air in her direction as if he really was a dog.

Kagome’s regained the movement of her muscles as her heart still raced as she took a few steps back, praying she wouldn’t trip on anything as she blindly backed up. She was trying her best to stabilize her breathing and not hyperventilate. The raven-haired woman’s ragged breaths had the creature’s attention and its golden orbs fixed on her brown ones. His ears perked, ready to captivate any sound the frightened teacher was emitting.

The professor had read somewhere that animals could smell fear and was certain that this thing could probably sense her terror. The dribbling beads of sweat rolling off her face and shoulders down her back would make sure of that.

The man never broke eye-contact with her while he crouched lower as if to give himself leverage. The muscles in his face, shoulders, and back tense as he dropped his back-end lower than it was. Not even a split second later, he pounced right on her, white hair flowing in the wind behind him, snatching the purse she had slung over her shoulders. The young professor gasped and instinctively clutched her bag while swinging her arm towards his head with her free arm.

A loud thwack resonated in the quiet woodsy path as her limb made contact with the dog ears. A whine proceeded by a growling noise were emitted from the white-haired man as he took a few steps back away from her. White, pearlescent canines were visible as the beast curled back its lips, threatening the trembling feminine figure.

Kagome gasped as she realized that hot, crimson blood dribble down her arms. The stupid creature had drawn blood with its dagger-sharp claws.

“What do you want, you freak?” she shrieked out while rummaging inside of her bag for something to defend herself with.

The man stared directly at her with almost pitiful eyes. He said nothing, peering at her as if a wild animal was seizing up their pray. He sniffed the air a few more times in her direction.

“Is this what you want?” she blurted out as she waved a plastic container with the ham and cheese sandwich she had forgotten to eat for dinner.

The dog man’s ears perked up and he readied himself to lunge towards her again. Panicking and not knowing how to react to the situation, she thrust her free arm out with an open palm to show he shouldn’t come closer. Kagome gently threw the piece of food and it flew in a low arc just to drop at the feet of the stranger.

The creature did not waste a second more before taking hold of the plastic container as he tried to break it free of its contents. Grunts and growls could be heard from his vicinity. After a few minutes of fiddling with the container, he had resorted to claw his way through it as he tore into the sandwich.

The raven-haired woman took this chance to back away slowly from the man by a few centimeters would she have to defend herself again. She simply couldn’t understand her brain’s reasoning as to why she hadn’t taken off running the moment the opportunity arose; he mesmerized her. The beast’s white hair flowed behind him majestically and looked almost like a fantastical beast her mother would read to her about during her bedtime stories. His features carved onto his face with perfection, a feudal Japanese painting having come to life.

It had not taken long before the dog-eared figure finished his dinner and glanced back into her direction.

“Look, I’m not sure what you want, but I’m going home. I’m certain I’m hallucinating all of this, so you’re more than welcome to follow me back to my place,” the petite woman said mostly to herself.

At this point, she was certain that she had just eaten something bad back at the office and simply needed to sleep this strange event off. There was no way she’d spent her evening feeding what looked like a man with animal-like features.

Kagome walked away without looking back over her shoulder, but the figure behind her tailed her all the way back home.

»»———————————————- ♡ ———————————————-««

Kagome dropped her bag in the entrance and sloppily removed her shoes. She proceeded to flick on the light switch to the kitchen. Tomorrow was Saturday, so she didn’t have to come into work if she didn’t want to. She made her way towards the sink in the illuminated room and grabbed herself a glass of water.

Golden eyes met milk chocolate ones as she glanced in the doorway's direction, where her new imaginary friend stood, seemingly lost.

“Look, I’m not sure why you’re not answering, but you can sleep on the couch. I have more leftovers in the fridge if you want some. Make yourself at home.”

By this point, she was certain she’d officially hit insanity, so she was just making a game of whatever her sleep-deprived brain was making her hallucinate.

Without even looking back, she waved at him and left the kitchen to make her way towards her bedroom. She locked the door for extra precaution and changed out of her work attire. Kagome slipped on a pair of kitten printed pajamas and crawled under the soft duvet cover of her bed.

If she did the math correctly, she’d only slept 20 hours combined throughout her work week which was enough to make her lose her marbles she decided. It was about time she went to bed.

»»———————————————- ♡ ———————————————-««

Light rays peeked into the cracks of the closed curtains, enough to stir the woman of her slumber. Her body wasn’t accustomed to sleeping more than a few sporadic hours at a time, explaining why she was up so early on a Saturday.

The woman rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and slowly removed the covers, inviting the cold air to wrap itself around her cold limbs. As she peered to the side, she noticed the white strands of hair splayed all over the bed, its owner slowly grunting as the source of the heat was being peeled away from his body.

She shrieked and jumped out of bed. The figure slowly came to and gave her the most dumbfounded look she had ever seen.

A million thoughts a second were going through her still sleep laden brain. First, the man had not been a figment of her imagination. He was truly there. Second, the man was nearly naked and had crawled with her into bed. She was so out of it, never hearing the soft padding of his barren feet make his way into her bedroom over the course of the night. Wait a second-

“How did you get in here? I locked the door,” she barked at him while pointing her index finger in his direction hastily.

The dog ears folded back as the woman yelled at him. The creature backed away a few centimeters from her accusatory tone but stopped there and stood his ground. He let out a few guttural growls and barred his sharp canines towards her, not scaring her in the slightest. It seemed he didn’t like to get woken up from his sleep.

“Look, you can’t just come into my bedroom,” she retorted and stomped towards the hallway to get some fresh air and process what had just occurred. Kagome slammed the door behind her as she exited her own bedroom.

This was just all too much for her to deal with at the moment.

She ambled down the hall and descended the flight of stairs towards the dining area. What waited for her in the kitchen was a sight she would never have envisioned if it were not directly in front of her. Packaging, leftover garbage, and various pieces of food decorated her grey kitchen titles everywhere she glanced—nearly every piece of food in her kitchen was devoured and their remnants, littering the floor.

She couldn’t take it anymore. The sight had exasperated her. Kagome beelined towards the nearest chair at the dining room table and sank into it. Every muscle and fiber in her petite body seemed to weigh a ton at that exact moment. She rested her forehead directly onto the cold wooden surface and folded her arms in front of her. Her breathing hitched and slowly, tears rolled down her plump cheeks. After a few seconds of quiet tears, they crescendoed into sobs that racked her tiny frame. Between her work, her failing research project and now this, she wasn’t sure just how much more she could take of this crap. It was all too much; her world was crashing around her.

Little did she know; the smell of the salty tears had attracted a certain half-demon to the kitchen. The man took a few tentative steps towards the crying figure, crouched down on all fours in a strange makeshift sitting position and whined softly. This was enough to get the woman’s attention and to get her to open her dark brown eyes. She turned to face in his direction while still resting one cheek on the table and looked at his disheveled face. She unfolded her arms and extended her right one towards the top of his head, seeking comfort from the small triangular appendages. They reminded her so much of her childhood cat Buyo’s.

The stranger seemed taken aback at the sign of affection and backed away a few steps. What could this woman be up to, anyway? Weren’t humans supposed to be chasing him with pitchforks and constantly yelling at him? What was this raven-haired woman trying to do to him?

She approached her hand slowly in his direction, letting him give her a sniff before resting her open palm atop his soft mane. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, letting out what seemed nearly like a purr. This was the closest the two had gotten since their encounter and the only time she didn’t find herself yelling at him.

“Who are you? What are you even?” she muttered to herself, stroking the soft fur that adorned his ears.

It was enough self-pitying and sulking. She had to make the best out of her situation since she was stronger than that. Kagome’s mother had always told her to carry out what she had started, so she knew that she couldn’t simply give up. She’d have to make do with what she was served and that was that.

The woman took her hand away from his soft head and pointed towards herself, “My name is Kagome. Ka-go-me.”

That left the dog-boy cocking his head sideways and blinking a few times at her strange gestures. He whined at the loss of contact. He thought it actually felt kind of nice. Bizarre, of course, since he’d experienced nothing like it before, but nice.

“C’ mon, I’m sure you can speak. Say it. Ka-go-me,” she insisted once more, pointing towards her face.

After a few more silent seconds passed by, the man attempted to make a rumbling noise at the back of his mouth. A gruff “Kah,” was muttered from his mouth, fangs seemingly in the way of his poor attempt at human speech.

“Yes, that’s right! Very good! You’re getting there,” she cooed, treating him like a child. What in the world was she doing? What in the world had she gotten herself into?

The higher-pitched feminine voice had the white-haired man more at ease. It was better than getting yelled at. Maybe he could get used to this.

“Look, I have work to do and I have to clean the disaster you’ve made in the kitchen. If you could stay out of trouble while I accomplish all of this, that would be wonderful. I’ll put the TV on for you or something, okay?” Kagome explained as she pushed herself up from the kitchen chair.

»»———————————————- ♡ ———————————————-««

She stared at her laptop cradled in her lap while she was wrapped up by a fuzzy blanket on the couch, working alongside her new companion. He hadn’t attempted to say anything since this morning and was glued to the TV since she had turned it on. He was still wearing the torn piece of cloth around his waist, so she figured she should probably do something about it sooner than later.

As countless thoughts muddled her brain, Kagome was certain she had heard of similar phenomena of children who had grown alongside animals while not being exposed to humans from her colleagues. She was wondering if this was the case for this strange man she picked up. He had nearly no human tendencies or mannerisms and he didn’t speak. Above everything else though, she wondered why this man looked part animals. To her knowledge, there had never been a documented case about anything similar before. It shouldn’t even be something that was biologically possible.

What if she could use him for her next research project? She could have just made a very important discovery in the cognitive behavioral development field. He wouldn’t mind being her guinea pig, right?

Kagome pondered this idea while doing more research on the subject. After a few clicks and searches on papers found from her university’s library website, she discovered that when children were isolated from humans for so long, they end up with a delay in their development. This also meant that the longer it was until someone discovered them, the less likely the effects were reversible to rehabilitate the cognitive ability of the children. She didn’t know how long it had been since this strange man splayed across on her living room floor had been without human contact.

The professor spent a few more hours looking up as much information as she could to aid in her documentation of the potential feral man that seemed to have made her home into his. Feral children tended to be apprehensive of humans at first, but with enough coaxing, could become comfortable with a select few. Once again, she noted that this fearful behaviour was amplified if the separation with humankind was over a greater period of time. There might be little she was able to do to get him to become comfortable with her, but she’d try her best.

This development had the professor ecstatic. Although she now had a strange man living alongside her, she’d found herself a new research project which might save her line of work at the university. She didn’t want to tell her coworkers yet for fear they would judge her, or worse, try to cash in on her discovery. She’d be the one to get the credit for this discovery. Too many times had the others taken credit for her own work, trying to appear better in the eyes of the psychology field and the university. Kagome also knew that this field of research was considered somewhat taboo, so she’d have to tread carefully on the manner in which she presented her findings and who she’d let into her close circle to help.

She had a lot of work on her plate and Kagome realised she would have to record her newfound test subject’s and hers’ interactions together. Kagome also knew that language acquisition was something she’d struggle to help her companion develop, perhaps never even reaching his language skills to that of a normal level for an adult. She wouldn’t let this get her down though; she’d see this project though.

The woman’s reverie was broken when a very gruff voice coming from the man crouched onto the ground now staring at her emitted the word, “Kagome.”

She stared at him in incredulously. He had just spoken. He shouldn’t have been able to. Not this early on, anyway, according to the piles of studies she had spent her afternoon reading.

Excitedly, she replied while pointing to herself, “Yes, yes that’s me!”

He answered her enthusiasm with a toothy grin and turned back to watch the dancing pictures appearing on the screen in front of him.

The young woman hastily created a new folder on her laptop screen and named it “Inu”, dog, with just a few clicks.

She was in for a wild ride.

»»———————————————- ♡ ———————————————-««

Their first day together had passed by in a flash. That meant that she still had tomorrow to work with him before having to return to work. Or, she could find a way to sneak him into the university. He looked young enough to pass for a student. But, she wasn’t convinced she’d be able to as there was still something off about him.

It was when dinner time rolled around that she realized she’d have her work cut out for her. She’d reprimanded the man several times as he tried to snatch the steak and peppers frying over the stove while she was preparing the rice.

“Stop, or you won’t get any dinner. Sit down at the table and wait until it’s ready,” the woman scolded as she smacked his arm away with the rice ladle.

His ears drooped slightly, but he looked at her confusingly. As the woman attempted to drag him to the chair and get him to sit, he growled every time she tried to lay a hand on his arm. His claws extended out, signifying his displeasure at the touch she was offering him.

He’s just not ready yet, Kagome told herself as she made her way to the table. She sat down in a chair at the dinner table and pointed to the one adjacent of her, “Sit.”

To her surprise, he made his way over to her location and sat quietly in the designated seat. As she returned towards her kitchenette, he had his eyes tracking her every movement as she fumbled around the stove to prepare the enticing dinner. There was no way he’d let that woman eat all the deliciously smelling food all to herself he told himself indignantly.

When she returned along with a dish full to the brim with steaming hot rice topped with beef and peppers, her companion’s ears perked up. He greedily reached out his arm to grab the bowl of food. She tried to hand him some chopsticks, but it was just too late. The man had already proceeded to dunk his entire face within the food and was nearly inhaling it.

She tried several times to get his attention away from his meal but to no avail. Sighing and knowing that there was nothing that could be done, she hoped that he could at least learn a thing or two from this interaction and watch her in action. Kagome pulled out her laptop and jotted a few notes before putting it away to eat her portion of the meal. The professor proceeded to eat her own dinner, picking up the food at a normal pace along with the proper tool, visibly chewing between bites, setting off a proper example to the odd man sitting across from her.

It was only after the half-demon had licked his plate clean when he noticed the woman sitting across from him eating food in a manner he’d never seen before. He could swear she wasn’t hungry by the speed she was eating it. Wasn’t she afraid that someone would come along and steal it from her? He gazed at her intently.

“Are you still hungry? I’ve got more prepared still, so I’ll go make you another plate. Just sit tight,” she answered the curious man as she grabbed his plate. The white-haired man growled at her as she removed his plate, but she made nothing of it. He hadn’t tried to attack her once since she had fed him the previous night.

When she returned with the dish towering with food once more, the white-haired man stared at her impatiently. Kagome handed him the chopsticks beforehand this time and then followed it by handing him the bowl. She observed him under severe scrutiny as he was holding the pair in one hand while balancing the bowl in the other.

He laid down the eating utensils on the table and brought the bowl to his face to repeat the animalistic eating process all over again. The professor noted this behaviour as well while hoping that she could eventually break through to him and teach him to eat like a normal human being.

After they finished dinner, the dishes cleaned and dried, the young woman decided it was time to take on her next challenge: getting the feral boy to take a bath. She was certain he hadn’t taken one in a while as he didn’t particularly smell good while being covered in soot and dirt from head to toe. She also had to do something about his attire. Perhaps tomorrow was a good day to go shopping for him, or at the very least, dress him in something appropriate so he could leave the house alongside her.

The professor made her way to the bathroom upstairs next to her bedroom. She had no idea how this whole ordeal would go down as she wasn’t aware if the boy even remotely had attempted to bathe before. Kagome blushed madly as she realised that she might even have to wash him herself as he probably didn’t know how. She never expected that the first man she’d bring home and see naked would be an experience remotely close to this.

A pair of curious golden eyes watched her silently in the bathroom's doorway as she bent over the tub and turned the warm water on, sticking her hand under the flowing water to verify the temperature. The last thing she wanted to do was to burn the dog-man half to death and have him run away from her home forever.

When she turned back around to call over the curious figure that had been standing behind her just a few seconds ago, she noticed he was nowhere in sight.

Oh boy, this would not be an enjoyable evening.

#feral #feral:chapter 1 #inuyasha #inukag #feral children #fanfiction #iki's fanfiction #inukag fanfiction #fanfic

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kazziemuse · 6 years

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Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie - Review!

My History with Hey Arnold!

Hey Arnold! It’s about time! Before I dive into the Jungle Movie itself, a note from history and the person writing this review. At the time of this writing, I am 29 years old. Yes, I am a late 80’s baby! And with that, I grew up in the 90’s…When we didn’t all have cell phones, the internet, online multiplayer gaming, and going outside to explore was daily life. What else was good about the 90’s? The cartoons…and, one specifically? Hey Arnold.

I remember at the time, Hey Arnold was a new thing in 1996. It would air during a two-hour time slot dedicated to after school cartoons called CITV. My Nan would pick me up from school at 3:00pm, and we would be home by 3:30pm, just missing the first cartoon. That was ok though, because beyond all else, my favorite by far was Hey Arnold. I used to sit with my Nan watching, and because Hey Arnold was SUCH a real-life show, it got my curiosity running wild. There was so much in this show that grabbed me, that taught me and that made me feel certain emotions for the first time. I would spend hours thinking about episodes and bugging my nan with questions about what we just saw. It must have driven her crazy.

In the many years that I watched CITV after school, not many cartoons from that time period stood out to me as well, apart from of course…Hey Arnold. And, I have fond memories of watching it with my Nan who, sadly passed away in the year 2000. I was 12 years old.

Hey Arnold “concluded” a few years later. And while I still loved the show, I was starting to move onto other things. Still waiting for TJM which, never came. In those early days of dial up internet, it was hard to find information if you didn’t know what you were doing. And thus, I entered my teenage years with the Hey Arnold book closed…But, for how long?

Fast forward to my early mid-twenties. OMG life, right? Real life? This sucks. Crisis after crisis…Let’s try and dive back into something that gave me some good feelings and thoughts. I know! I will dive back into some cartoons…Lets rewatch some childhood favorites, such as Recess and Hey Arnold.

Re-watching the Hey Arnold series as an adult was like watching a different show entirely. The emotion, the truth about how life can be so cruel, the real world problems these characters faced and most of all, Helga’s undying love for Arnold which of course, I shipped immediately. After finishing the Journal, I was devastated to find out the story of TJM being cancelled. I researched, signed the petitions and with little hope of Hey Arnold ever coming back…I counted my blessings and moved on into other fandoms, which would consume the next 5-6 years in terms of obsessions.

It wasn’t until about two years ago, I stumbled across the news that TJM would happen. And honestly? I was excited but not ecstatic. I had moved on and completely obsessed with other fandoms. More TJM information started to fly around, and I slowly started to become obsessed again. It’s only really in the last year or so, that I have re-watched the whole series, followed the news and subscribed to YouTubers. And with that, I’m hooked again.

Leading up to The Jungle Movie

So, with my history with Hey Arnold covered, was that really important? Yes! Because like many of fans, it’s a story of growing up with this show and how returning to the things you loved can bring back the same happiness. But now it’s time to dive into The Jungle Movie!

Where to begin? Craig gave us so much insight to this movie to get one internally screaming! But, at the same time, he didn’t reveal too much as to give us the whole plot. The balance was truly perfect. We would have the answers that we wanted. Where are his parents, and would Arnold and Helga ever be?

SDCC 2017. The first sneak peek is shown and boy! I remember that afternoon so well. My heart was skipping beats watching. Look at this! Look at the animation, how spot on the voices are, look at how true they are to the original characters. It felt like an absolute dream! No revival can be this good? Can it? The more and more footage and screenshots that got released…The more and more I got obsessed and excited. Honestly, at first I wasn’t too keen on Arnold and Helga’s animation. I felt at times it was too different from the main series, especially Helga. That point aside, we were still getting The Jungle Movie soon! And I’m sure it’s not going to ruin anything for me. Hell, it might even grow on me!

In the leading months and weeks to TJM being aired, it had become my main obsession again. Craig’s weekly to daily Instagram posts became something I kept checking my phone for; the previews got me running from my desk at work to a toilet, so I could watch and fangirl in private. This was amazing! I knew this ship would soon be canon! But also, we would find out the answer to the biggest Hey Arnold Mystery of all time: Arnold’s parents.

By now, I was part of Facebook groups, being as active as possible in YouTubers live streams, meeting other fans at ComicCon, and the best part…Making friends within the Hey Arnold community. I was so ready for The Jungle Movie.

The Jungle Movie

As a 10-year-old watching the show back in season 1, I would’ve had a glass of orange juice. Now, as a 29-year-old watching the premier of The Jungle Movie for the first time, I had a glass of wine in hand. The movie kicked off, and the palpitations in my heart were disturbing my comfort. But I didn’t care, Arnold was back on my screen for the first time in many years.

The first dream sequence was painful and emotional. He finds them, but they keep leaving him? This must be a huge fear for him. The wine is needed and straight away this film is grabbing me, it had my emotions from the first scene. Buckle up girl…It’s going to be a long night! Arnold subsequently wakes up, and the main plot of the film is evident. But, this is a cartoon! Cartoons are meant to be funny! Luckily, Hey Arnold has that balance of comedy and emotion, because here enters Grandpa and Grandma to smooth over that first hill of feels. The boarders haven’t changed apart from a slight change in voice, but nothing that’s upsetting. And a pig eating bacon? No I quite agree, that is not ok haha!

With Arnold meeting Gerald on his stoop with friendship thumb wiggle, accompanied by familiar backing of jazz music, it’s apparent that Hey Arnold has kept that original vibe. And I couldn't be more excited to see what was in store! Like bumping into Helga in the next scene. Classic! Helga’s introduction into the movie was our typical old Helga. Leaving her temporary home at the beeper emporium while arguing with her father Bob.

The Jungle Movie has aged with the current time in terms of technology. The characters are only a year older from the original series. Beepers (or, pagers as they are known here in the UK) are not a ‘thing’ anymore with the ever-growing cell phone industry. A small but clever gag was Phoebe explaining what a beeper actually was to our younger audience watching. On another note, Bob’s company is failing as beepers are now obsolete. You get what you deserve Bob!

We see our main characters bump into each other just like tradition. Helga’s behavior hasn’t changed (thankfully). She is still love struck, but quickly raising her defensive walls (shout out to Francesca Marie Smith for keeping her character so true). But one thing that really struck me about this encounter was Arnold. He was reacting to her differently as he would in the original series. Instead of his normal frustration at Helga scolding him, he just smiles, offers to help her up and laughs to her attempts to push him away. “Whatever you say, Helga” with an almost flirtatious look on his face. Wait WAIT, why is he acting like this? Is this a call back to him knowing her feelings after the confession at FTi? Very interesting!

We move onto what seemed like a classic episode of Hey Arnold. Arnold and Gerald working as a team to win a contest. Helga scheming to help then win in a hope to win his affection, and ultimately them winning leading onto the main plot of the movie. I thought this was an incredibly clever call back. It was like being back in that Hey Arnold magic. It felt so true and pure to the original series.

Arnold Shortman, A 10-year-old signing his passport and confirming a long term mystery of his surname. Which was right under our noses for the last 20 years. So, Mr. Shortman, you promised your Grandpa not to search for your long lost parents. Your grandma is hilariously dressed up as a Jungle explorer. Keeping her wacky antics is nothing but a pleasure to watch. Are you ready to go? What could possibly go wrong?

Olga is coming! What could possibly be worse for Helga? Again, the writing stays true to the original show. Helga living in Olga’s shadow and being neglected by her father in favor of Olga. Sad but true. I feel that the amount of neglect Helga experiences from her dysfunctional family reflects on the way she feels her emotions so strongly. She has a lot of love to give and just wants to be loved in return. She is so used to disappointment and neglect which is why she puts up her defensive walls and bullies people away. She doesn’t want to get hurt. The only thing she can express is anger. I feel that is why it is so difficult for her to show the real love filled Helga. She is expressing herself in the only way she knows possible that will keep her safe. But over time we see her brave enough to let her true self seep through…More on this later!

We see our favorite class of PS 118 saying goodbye to parents and loved ones. A huge call out to Mr. Simmons, who is saying goodbye to his gay partner. We don’t see LGBT awareness much in cartoons. As someone who is part of the LGBT community myself, I felt this was a very warming addition. Thank you Craig and team! On the subject of Mr. Simmons… How hilarious was he with his agenda? From the fictional city of Hillwood, to the fictional country of San Lorenzo, my friends, welcome to the jungle.

Here we are guys, after how many years, speculation and imagination…We are finally here with Arnold and his class in San Lorenzo! But remember to be at the docks at 3:00pm to catch the boat down river. Our captain is Eduardo; anything suspicious about him? Many of us from the get-go were suspicious about “Eduardo.” Now here he is, in front of us ready to pilot this boat, and straight away he is fixated on Arnold. And what the hell did he say about tuna anyway? (Yes, I know it was Fortune ;)) Sure, it COULD be his parent’s best friend. We don’t actually have any recent images of him and he may have aged…I mean…He seems friendly, welcoming and genuine. So far anyway, right? But we all know…this “Eduardo” fellow has a huge part to play and we all know it’s not going to be in Arnold’s favor.

It’s our PS118 students as funny as they were 15 year ago. And, I for one am so happy to see them keeping us entertained with their old antics. Arnold, however, is away from his friends and with “Eduardo,” speaking of his parents and hoping to find some answers. But remember, he promised not to go looking for them and Arnold is a boy of his word…right?

I felt Arnold was more out of character than anyone in this movie. But who can blame him? He has the opportunity that he has waited for his whole life: to find his missing parents. With such an opportunity, Arnold takes a risk under false assumptions, which inevitably leads himself and his friends to danger.

Speaking of Arnold being out of character and his development…something stuck out to me and few other fans about his behavior towards certain friends. We see Arnold obviously concerned for his friends’ safety and how he is struggling to keep composed after he is sworn to secrecy by “Eduardo.” Gerald, his best friend of whom Arnold never hides anything from, is the first to confront him. And to my shock, Arnold hides the truth even though Gerald is not oblivious to the fact something is going on…Arnold?

Instead, Arnold opens up to Helga…HELGA. And poor Helga…she has struck up the courage to finally (and again) confront Arnold about her feelings. Hoping that her efforts to get him there to San Lorenzo had nudged at his heart strings, Helga is frustrated when Arnold opens up about his fears of getting his friends in danger while he plans to look for his parents. Again, he opens up to Helga, and not Gerald. Is this maybe a sign of his feelings and trust in her?

We can understand Helga’s frustration and feels of rejection when Arnold dodges out again of her confession. Even though technically, they were having two completely separate conversations. Helga takes this as the last straw. To all of our gasps, she gives up all hope of Arnold retuning her feelings and destroys the most precious thing in her possession since day 1: her heart shaped locket of Arnold. Devastating right? Brainy?

The vibe of the movie is certainly starting to take a turn into unfamiliar territory. Craig Bartlett said, “Friendships will be tested,” and I guess, these are those tests. When you think things couldn't go anymore wrong for our gang, well…it does. They are attacked by river pirates. Eduardo, claiming Lasombra is behind the attack, tells Arnold to hide and forget about his friends…hmm…still trust him, Arnold? By this point, any trust I had in this guy was completely gone.

Epic sword battles, fights and rapids. Our PS 118 friends take the most dramatic journey of their lifetime. Clinging on for dear life, we are all on the edge of our seats hoping that no one falls overboard…Even Curly, who is having the time of his life up on the crows nest. After a rough ride, we end up ship wrecked. We can breathe a sigh of relief that no one is thrown overboard, apart from poor Eugene. But who didn’t see that one coming? But never fear, He’s ok! As he is his own lifeboat.

With some truths coming to light about Arnold being involved with why the attack happened, trust and friendships begin to suffer. It was heart breaking seeing Arnold being avoided by his friends…Only “Eduardo” there to help him up during their long-suffering hike to the safety of the camp. But for me, Rhonda absolutely stole the spotlight here… Come one, We are all Rhonda…taking selfies, refusal to part with one’s luggage and being absolutely traumatized at the thought of hiking through the jungle. Her reactions and deliverance had me laughing so hard. That is certainly something I would like to see more of in Hey Arnold future.

The montage of our PS 118 class traveling through the jungle was a chance to demonstrate some of our characters individually. It was fun to see Nadine having the time of her life collecting weird and wonderful bugs, Sid crying on the floor after the unfortunate demise of his beetle boots (good call back there), and Rhonda struggling to just do…well anything. These kids never fail to make me laugh, even today! They all have something special and individual about them.

We are about halfway through the movie now, and if you made it this far, thank you for sticking with me! Now, let’s move on to what we have suspected all along…“Eduardo,” right? Wrong…if you didn’t suspect something of this guy, then go back and watch again, because this guy had something about him from the get-go. Our “Eduardo” is actually none other than the film’s villain…Lasombra. DUN DUN DUNNNNNN.

We then learn the true intentions of the class trip to San Lorenzo. It was all a scheme conducted by Lasombra just to get Arnold there. Unfortunately for our football headed amigo…he’s already put a lot of his trust in this guy. And he was wrong to trust someone who won’t give out a Wi-Fi password.

As the story continues, I felt nothing but mixed emotions. I found myself laughing, and then soon wiping tears from my eyes. We have so many sad moments that tug at our heart strings. Helga’s monologues expressing her love for Arnold have always been some of the most rewarding scenes from the whole Hey Arnold series. The writing and deliverance from Francesca is nothing short of spectacular, and let’s face it. We’ve all been there! Arnold giving up whilst in-prisoned hit me so hard. His voice was full of regret and defeat. Arnold, the boy who is always so optimistic, has given up.

It takes Helga to talk him out of his depressive state, and to accept the challenges ahead of them. Helga is already sticking to her guns and coming out of her comfort zone to assist Arnold. Seeing her comforting him and really being there to offer her support, which Arnold accepts is just so heart-warming! A sign of things to come with these two? Maybe.

Secret pathways, using beepers to create a homing beacon, and a pig eating shrimp cocktail in first class? The only thing missing from this movie is violence…wait no, it’s got that as well. I was surprised to see such brutal deaths of Lasombra’s guards. Although it’s kept fairly ‘clean’ with no blood (thankfully), we do see a guy getting hit by multiple arrows, one guy plummet to his death, and another bunch of guys getting crushed by rocks. That’s quite a few on screen ‘implied’ deaths. Who said TJM had no action?

I doubt this movie could mess me up more than it already had, but boy was I wrong. The emotions were about to kick into overdrive, and I have only had 1/4 bottle of wine left by the time Arnold, Helga and Gerald had found the Green Eyes. The answers to all our questions of the past fifteen years were soon to be revealed. As a long time fan of the show, it was so special getting to see these mysterious beings for the first time. The way they acted, spoke, lived and looked was something one could only imagine for all this time. Not only were we about to get our answers, but so was Arnold.

The hidden city of the Green Eyes was absolutely spectacular. The animation and the amount of detail put into this habitat was an eye saw which dropped jaws. We soon learn of the heartbreak that happened to this society: the adults were all asleep…for the past nine years! While nine years of sleep sounds like a luxury to most of us, joking aside, for these kids they have been functioning on their own for all that time. We start to learn about the final moments recorded of Arnold’s parents: the murals. WOW, was this hard-hitting. It’s the first sign of his parents that this poor kid has had in years, and you can tell just how desperate he is for answers.

The final pieces of the puzzle were starting to fall in place. It was just down to Arnold to do that final act. The problem being, it’s still a puzzle. And Arnold has no idea what to do. Before he can even start to figure it out…yep, what we were all waiting for: Lasombra.

Now, how many of you expected a young chief to throw a blade at Lasombra…A BLADE. I mean how badass was that? Followed by our trio and gang of Green Eyes kicking the wind out of this guy, unfortunately he was armed with a sword, and no one wants to go up against that unarmed. So, we all know what’s going to happen now. Lasombra is going to take what he came for with Arnold in tow.

Dragging an unwilling Arnold by his side, Lasombra reaches the (classic) rickety old wooden footbridge with the certain death plunge below. As they cross, we see Helga and Gerald appear behind them. Despite Arnold’s warnings and pleads, Helga and Gerald continue without any considering for their own safety. I mean wow, this thing is hanging by a thread, and these two kids are attempting to cross just to save Arnold. Can we get a round of applause for completely bravery and loyalty here? But this is a cartoon, that bridge won’t snap right? RIGHT?

Arnold has a dilemma in front of him. He has to solve this puzzle fast before his friends plummet to their deaths. OK that’s cool…it’s not like I’m already on the edge of my seat or anything. Arnold faces the Corazón with his amulet in tow. Sweat pouring down his head and full of determination to save his friends, we see his green eye tracing the steps needed to unlock the treasure inside. Once unlocked, Arnold is pushed to aside and Lasombra looks directly at the heart of gold in all of its pure beauty. Unfortunately for him…he is not as pure and ends up with a poisonous dart in his forehead.

Screaming in pain and heading for the cliff edge which, he inevitably falls off, (yeah byeeeee). Arnold is finally free to help his friends who are still clinging on for dear life. Our hero slips, falls and only just manages to grab onto the same plank Gerald and Helga are clinging onto. Now, top up that glass of wine here guys, because this is where is I almost downed a whole glass. Arnold and Helga meet each others eyes and they just widen. You didn’t need any dialog to know what was going through their heads here. Arnold was finally seeing Helga for her true self, her bravery, her loyalty and that she really does love him. Here they are about to die, and all of this is too late to act upon. They just stare at one another waiting to die, talking only with their eyes. Would somebody please throw them a life line before I jump at my TV?

That life line is finally delivered from the REAL Eduardo, and I can finally breath. There is hope! One thing that grabbed me about what happens next, while Eduardo starts explaining what has happened and how he has been following them. Helga is taken in by the Corazón. Now, I remember back in The Journal, Miles stating to not to look directly into it because they say it’s too sacred. But yet here is our girl Helga…mesmerized and staring directly at it with her hands placed on her heart. No poisonous darts being fired at her. Yes…I was worried for a moment there.

Of course, Lasrombra isn’t dead and climbs his way back up the mountain to finish what he started. With the two fully grown adults getting into a fight over a mustache, pushed and thrown. Helga is the first to run in to assist dragging a bag to place over Lasrombra’s head and using her fist “Old Betsy” to smash him in the face a good few times. This girl is just outstanding and an overall badass. Unfortunately, we see the Corazón fall off the cliff edge to be lost(?). Lasombra finally meets his ends once the poison takes its final effect and he once again falls to his death. “He died like he lived, full of poison.” 10/10 for the sass there Eduardo.

From one heart wrenching scene to another. Now, with Eduardo in tow, he is able to translate the native Green Eye’s language. Once back at the hidden city, Arnold is finally told his parents are there, and that the Green eyes will take them to where they lie. Um, Excuse me? Where they LIE? Could that mean? No…you can’t do this to me…after all these years and the last hour of pure emotional feelings. You’re now going to tell me they are laying there peacefully? I honestly by this point was on invested into the story being told that I hadn’t put two and two together like most of you have already. Instead, I was off my sofa bitterly nose to my TV in suspense to finally find out what happened. As Arnold entered the room, seeing them there pale-faced, sleeping so peacefully hand in hand…I whispered no to myself while a stream of tears started running down my face. I was literally Arnold by this point. After all those years here they are…And here is Arnold seeing them for the first time.

“Are they-?” No, It’s the sleeping sickness. OF COURSE! Wait that means…they are alive? They are alive? I actually laughed as I let out a small laugh in relief. And no, I really didn’t catch on that they had caught the sleeping sickness, not in 15 years. As it was explained that the Corazón was the cure, my heart fell again. But no, it can’t end like this, There HAS to be a way right? Seeing Arnold crying over his parents’ lifeless bodies while Helga and Gerald look on in complete shock was heart breaking. But of course, our girl Helga has a solution.

I honestly didn’t know how Helga would fix this. They knew what they needed and what they had to do. But, they had lost the Corazón. When Helga approached Arnold with a possible solution, I fully expected her to hand him the Corazón. I thought maybe she had taken it while she was staring at it. That was the only thing my mind could muster in those few seconds. I never expected her to open out her hands and present Arnold her golden locket with his picture in. That object that has been a huge symbol of her life for so many years, she is sacrificing so much in that one moment. It’s not only her most precious possession, it’s her true identity. Everything she has kept hidden and inside for so long was out on offer to help Arnold.

This selfless act was causing more and more tears to flow from my eyes. I later thought about this more in depth and theorized the following: Helga mentions her locket is just gold plated and it’s not pure of heart. Now, how would Helga know the Corazón was a pure heart? And anything in its place would need to be pure? Because she stared into the Corazón and felt that pureness. This is why I think she didn’t get a poisonous dart shot at her. Because of that connection with pure hearts, and Helga’s heart is a pure as they get.

Helga doesn’t think highly enough of herself to feel that her locket will work. It takes Arnold to give her that push in confidence and guys, this couldn’t have been more cuter or tear jerking if they tried. “I think your heart is more pure than you know.” He finally understands her.

Pure hearts, loyalty, dedication, love, friendship, determination and Brainy being a saint in retrieving Helga’s locket got us to where we are now. We are about to witness what we have all wanted from Hey Arnold in so many years. Helga’s locket worked, and the cure rains down upon those in deep slumber. Butterflies start to flourish as the cure takes effect. Does that mean? Arnold runs to his parents’ chamber with the most dramatic heart sobbing music in the background. This was it, finally the moment we had all be waiting for, his parents…Arnold parents, of whom have been missing for nine years with no contact. In front of Arnold eyes, they wake from a deep slumber and the first thing they see is their baby. Hey, Arnold. His eyes replicate my own as he runs towards them. He did it, and I couldn’t be more happy even though I was a sobbing mess with no wine left.

The story was concluded. The mystery which lingered for over a decade was now solved. Arnold stood with his parents and celebrated along with the Green Eyes. Miles and Stella’s work was finally complete. It’s a sight we all wished we could see for so long. But our hero wasn’t there? And even after just being reunited with his parents, Arnold noticed Helga sneaking off. Helga was trying to retrieve her locket, which I thought was both a funny and sweet touch. Because after everything, that locket still symbolizes so much to her. After being interrupted by Arnold, Helga still tries to put on her tough girl front and hides her true self still, but Arnold is no longer blind to who Helga really is. With his words, we know that Arnold is seeing through her, seeing the real Helga and finally, after seeing her being so brave, loyal and willing to give up so much for him, he is ready to accept her love.

Even though Arnold didn’t outright say how he feels about Helga, I am a true believer of actions speak louder than words. We have seen how Arnold has acted towards Helga his entire movie. He silenced Helga, she literally had no come or no way out for the first time ever. His act of confirming how he feels about her is sweet beyond words. He takes her hands and offers her a mutual kiss like a true gentleman. The two of them share a moment with their lips locked, and it couldn’t be more beautiful. I was almost angry when Gerald walked interrupted the moment.

The adventure was over. Arnold wakes up in his bed and he is immediately concerned. Oh no you don’t, do not tell me that was all a dream. I am screaming profanity at my TV whilst a near identical scene is played from the beginning of the movie. Was that really all a dream? Please for the love of raspberries no. Please, please no. Arnold’s eyes widen and fill with tears when he thinks that it was indeed just a dream. But they wouldn’t do that to us…and in come Miles and Stella with breakfast for our forever moaning group of boarders. We have never seen Arnold so happy, Wide smiles and dancing on the spot at the sight of his parents back home. I must admit, I really did hold my breath for a second there!

Seeing Miles and Stella home and comforting Arnold is something I never thought I would see. And here it was. It was the sweetest conclusion and satisfying conclusion to the longest story. I would love to see them spend time together, but it’s the worst day of school. Repeating from one of the first scenes of the movie, we see Arnold and Gerald meeting Helga and Phoebe on the corner. But THIS time, things are a little different. There’s no classic bumping into one another. Gerald and Phoebe lead the way hand and hand leaving Arnold and Helga wondering if they should follow suite. While Arnold does attempt this making Helga (and all of us watching) swoon. Helga still ups her defenses and grabs her hand back. I can understand why people would questions her actions here, but I’m kind of happy they left that part of Helga in. This is still her character and she is not going to change overnight. She still keeps her guard up and she has a lot to learn in accepting Arnold’s effect in public. Still, the fact that she smiles as she walks off is a huge development. And don’t worry folks, Arnold isn’t put off by her…he runs after her with that same flirtatious smiley face.

A nice final touch is Arnold’s parents missing him and offering to walk him to school. That final look from Arnold as he enters his school with all his friends and Mr. Simmons declaring he still has a job after the jungle ordeal…that look in his eyes, looking back at his parents looking for him, waiting for him. And that smile knowing that they are never going to leave him again. THAT my friends is how you end a movie.

Conclusion

Nothing is perfect, but the Jungle Movie sure offers some closure. Every time I watch this film, I notice something new. The amount of detail in the background is admirable. They are like paintings. The texture, the colour, the ambience of them is just beautiful. The background animation of characters is incredibly detailed. Instead of just having a still image, I constantly found background characters to be animated and reacting, especially Helga.

The music in this film was gripping, and well suited for the story. A mixture of classic Hey Arnold style Jazz and hip-hop. South American Latin, full orchestral pieces. The emotion was most certainly intensified with the music backing. Hats off to Jim Lang. In cartoon revivals, one thing that is difficult to recreate are those voices. I can honestly say the returning cast and new cast did an absolute fantastic task of both recreating and advancing the characters. It was like watching an old and new show at the same time.

Overall, The Jungle Movie was everything an old school fan like myself could have hoped for. I am not only incredibly satisfied with what we have been given but, I am also thrilled for those who worked on this project for so many years. The creator, Craig Bartlett and his team and the fans who campaigned to make this happen. It’s a fine example of determination, love and appreciation for one another, which isn’t expressed much in today’s world. I am so happy with The Jungle Movie, and I finally have my closure from this epic story.

I can bet, if my Nan were still around today, she would be the one asking me all the questions. And, while I type up my final words, I feel a small part her sitting with me for the first time in many years.

#hey arnold #hey arnold tjm #hey arnold the jungle movie #hey arnold season 6 #arnold shortman #helga pataki #nickelodeon #craig bartlett #the jungle movie

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isotuan · 7 years

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I love you not. (Jimin x Reader Series)

Prologue: Lilacs

Genre: Fluff/Angst

Word Count: 3,457

Summary: “...you knew that you could never deny, despite how much you’d tried, that you’d always thought of Park Jimin as more than both he and you had labeled it all those years... Friends.”

Notes: This story was inspired by a prompt from a master prompt list and can be seen as the very first line here. Credit to that list, one of which I cannot re-find for God’s sake. This took me a while and was left in drafts for a while, but I’ve decided to finally post this. I haven’t been writing much and I’ve gone to shit due to the lack of practice :( Hope this one isn’t that shitty... So enjoy!

“Can I tell my parents that I’m at your house, just in case they get suspicious?”

“Isn’t that what you always do?”

Jimin’s laugh echoed loudly from the other end of the line.

“True, true,” he admitted. “They trust you more than they trust me, Y/N-ah.”

“I can see why they would do that,” you sat leaned up against the window and watch as the sun cast its last golden rays before sinking into the skyline.

“Are you saying I’m not trustworthy?”

“I’m not saying that you’re not not-trustworthy.”

“Well as the person that has kept all your secrets for as long as both of us can remember,” he breathed. “I am extremely offended.”

“Whatever, Jimin,” you sang into the receiver. “Just go have fun tonight.”

“Fine, fine,” he spoke with an exhale. “I will have fun, Miss ‘it’s-Friday-night-and-I’m-going-to-stay-in.”

You let out a small chuckle, “That’s me.”

Jimin laughed as well, you could just imagine the grin he had plastered on his face that moment. Long seconds passed, comfortable silence filled the line, only the low static buzzing through the earpiece.

“Well,” Jimin began after a while. “I guess I’ll get going now. I’ll see you later.”

“Okay.”

“Love you, Y/N.”

“Same here.”

“Bye.”

You removed your phone from the side of your face, knowing well that Jimin had already hung up by then. You sat still in your spot for a while, staring off into the fading sky. Even if the call had ended a long time ago, you still very much felt your heart race as if you have just run a mile.

Having felt the same damned feeling for seventeen years straight, you would think that you have come used to it by then. But as you had always proved yourself wrong, you knew that you could never deny, despite how much you’d tried, that you’d always thought of Park Jimin as more than both he and you had labeled it all those years.

Friends.

Your mothers were college best friends which, you could say, predestined the seventeen years of friendship you and Jimin had. It started from the first breath the each one of you took, quite literally because the two of you shared the same birthday. Despite being born the same day, you and Park Jimin had the complete opposites of personalities. He was outgoing and you were shy. Though someway, somehow you and he ended up complimenting each other perfectly.

Every single moment of your childhood was spent with this wacky boy next door, who used sticks as swords and threw marbles as a sport (and had a pet tree named ‘Max,’ but Jimin still won’t admit that). You remembered watching cartoons at his house every day after school and raiding the local convenience store with the coins Jimin saved up from under the couch.

Jimin was incredibly adventurous even at such a young age, he was always infatuated by the world around him, and he wanted to know everything about it. He dragged to you to all the place you'd never been and the two of you explored, having the times of your lives. Sometimes tiring, sometimes dangerous, but you could guarantee that all of it was very much worth the sweat and tears. Because Jimin showed you the beauty of the world and how to appreciate it. Though the one thing he taught you specifically was the little charms nature had to offer.

Flowers.

Yes, flowers, believe it or not.

Along with adventuring all across town, Jimin spent the majority of his youth flipping through this flower encyclopedia he ended up borrowing from the library. He was soon able to recognize every flower he came across and their meaning. He often took you day and night to the park where he sat for hours pointing out each type of bloom there, attempting to relay his knowledge of the blooms. And you sat there next to him listening to his every word, that was until you fell asleep listening to him recollecting the “Gardenia” or “Carnation” for about the twelfth time.

It was to the point where you knew flowers by heart and, honestly, you couldn't really complain.

You had a blast with your best friend and couldn't imagine spending your time any other way but him. You loved Jimin and he loved you. It wasn't until seventh that you realized that your meaning to love may have been different from his.

Jimin ran into your room one day and he could not stop talking about…

Minah.

You remember the moment you heard her name that there was a strange pang inside you. The sick feeling bubbling inside of you grew with each second Jimin spent telling you just how head over heels he was for her. It was Jimin’s first crush. Ironically enough, it crushed your little heart into pieces as well. You found yourself crying at night, not knowing what exactly you were crying. That was… Until you pieced everything together and that moment you finally realized that—

You’d fallen in love with Park Jimin.

And you’d fallen hard.

The summer of eighth grade, Jimin moved away. His father got a job offer halfway across town, and to make his commute a bit smaller, the Park family decided to move halfway across town as well. And that meant that you and he would be attending different high schools and more importantly that meant your best friend was not going to be a knock away anymore. It was a blur, you hadn't quite processed what was happening until Jimin held you tight as he promised that “things will stay the same, and if you need anything, I’m not a knock away but I’ll always be a call away.”

And you believed him....

But promises were meant to be broken.

And it all began with the fact that—

Jimin became popular.

He was smart, charming, funny, and charismatic, it was no surprise everyone loved him. You would see his Instagram flooded with likes, comments, and followers. You'd see pictures of him surrounded by people you have no idea of doing all things you'd never thought of doing. Snapchats of him drinking and partying and even hooking up with girls became a norm. As well as Jimin absence. From daily calls to weekly calls to monthly at most. By the end of freshman year, it was as if Jimin had completely disappeared from your life, despite his consistent presence on social media.

What was puzzling was that for the few times you two would talk or meet up, he would be the same kind, caring, loving, Park Jimin you always knew. He’d take you out to new places and the two of you would talk for hours upon hours about anything and everything.

For the few times you two would talk or meet up everything would seem the same again. As if nothing ever happened.

And—

—It was like falling in love with that stupid dork all over again.

Until you click on his story to see him shotgunning a beer and just wonder if you had just imagined the whole damn thing.

You were close to Jimin.

Yet—

You were still so far...

You snapped out of your little day dream, or rather an actual dream as you came the realize the sun had already set a long time ago when your phone blared out your ringtone.

You answered the call. “Hello?”

“Y/N!” A familiar voice bellowed from the other side.

“Hi, Mrs. Park,” you grinned.

“Please, ‘Mrs. Park?’ Isn’t that too old?” She teased. “I’m practically you second mother, you know.”

“You are, you are. My bad,” you chuckled.

She laughed. “How’ve you been, Y/N?”

“Great, you?”

“Lovely, honey. I’m glad to hear that. Now,” she went straight into the point. “Is my Jiminie there with you?

You took a second to look around your empty room.

“He is.”

“Good, good,” she sighed in relief. “I’m happy you two are still close. He goes over quite often.”

“He does.”

“I miss you.”

“You’re so cheesy.”

Jimin’s pout flashed across the screen of your computer and you laughed in response.

“I think you’re being heartless,” Jimin frowned.

“When am I not?”

“True,” he noted.

You looked over at your nightstand, at the digital clock that read 12:46 am. Jimin called you earlier that night, it had only been a week or so since you last talked to Jimin then, you thought it was strange considering it would usually take up to month, but you brushed it off. You listened to him talk for hours as you sketched mindlessly into an old history notebook.

“We should meet up this weekend,” Jimin spoke after a moment of silence.

“Why so suddenly?” You raised your head up to look at the screen. Jimin laid on his bed, his blonde head of hair in his palm as he leaned on his elbow, his eyes lazy as he stared into the webcam.

“‘Suddenly?’ What do you mean by that?” He quirked a brow.

“When we hang out it's usually planned two weeks ahead of time because Mr. Popular here always has his schedule packed,” you pointed your pencil at him.

“No, I don’t,” Jimin scrunched his nose.

You rolled your eyes. You directed your attention back to your drawing, adding a few finishing touches, “here, tell me what you think.”

“You’re done?”

You hummed as you chewed at your bottom lips. One last stroke and you held up the spiral notebook to the webcam.

“I’m sorry but I don’t think my lips are that big,” you heard him say and you let out a gasp.

“Ungrateful,” you sneered and slammed the notebook down onto your desk.

Jimin laughed loudly, his eyes turning into beautiful crescents, “I’m kidding.”

You huffed, “You’re mean.”

“When am I not?” He grinned, “Your drawings are magnificent, Y/N.”

“Now you’re being extra,” you puffed your cheeks. You took one last look at you drawing of Jimin before closing the notebook and placing it onto a stack of miscellaneous papers and books. You tucked your legs into your chin and stared at the seemingly still screen, his face had disappeared into the corner of the screen, only his back moved the slightest bit with his steady breathing.

“I have something important to tell you,” Jimin spoke, his voice suddenly an octave lower and his face coming into view once again.

You narrowed your brows, “Is something wrong?”

“No, no,” he half sighed. “Just want to tell you something.”

“You can't tell me it now?”

Jimin pressed his lips together, “I want to tell you this in person.”

...

“Okay,” you said. “That’s fine.”

“Is Sunday night alright?”

“You know me, I’m always free,” you gave a soft smile.

Jimin returned the gesture, “Thank you.”

You tilted your head, “For what?”

“For being there for me.”

Your heart skipped a beat at his words.

“Thank you, too, then.”

“For what?”

For being you.

“For buying me coffee this Sunday.”

Jimin chuckled, “Alright. Sunday night coffee run it is.”

“It’s late, you should go to bed,” you murmured.

“It's one in morning," Jimin rolled his eyes.

"That's exactly my point," you said.

"You’re such a grandma, I swear,” Jimin rolled his eyes once more. He waves into the webcam, “Bye, Y/N. Love ya.”

“Bye.”

The call ended up with a tone, Jimin’s profile picture filled the screen, below it, his username and call time that read: 4 hours 36 minutes.

You stayed in your spot for a while, in a mild daze. It was the feeling again. Every fucking time, you told yourself.

With a whopping seventeen years of experience and four of professional work, you were good at hiding your emotions when it came to Park Jimin. When in front of him, you can be unreadable. But, hell, does your heart want to explode. But you’d learned to be immune to Park Jimin, mainly because you knew well that it was your friendship at stake. You would never let something as stupid as a crush ruin something so valuable.

That was why you’ve never told him you love him. Even if he said it to you in a friendly manner. You were afraid he’ll catch onto you then.

That once you say it, it would sound too real.

Those damned words:

“I love you, too.”

_________________________________________________________________________________________

“I can’t believe you’re getting an Americano at 8 pm.”

“Watch me,” you turned to the barista with a smile. “One Americano please.”

“Hot tea, please,” Jimin leaned in over your shoulder, his chest gracing your back. The barista punched your orders into the machine and Jimin reached into his jean pockets before handing the lady his card.

“You won’t be able to sleep,” Jimin looked down at you.

You turned back to face the boy, “The night is young, Jimin.”

He cracked a smile and repeated, “The night is young.”

After getting your drink, the two of you walked out of the cafe and onto the busy streets of the city. It was getting chilly as the night falls, you’d forgotten how cold it would be.

“You alright?” Jimin asked.

You nodded, “Yeah, why wouldn't I be?”

“You’re literally shaking right now,” Jimin laughed and shook his head.

“I didn’t realize it would be this cold, okay?” You huffed and stuffed your hands deeper into your jeans pockets. The iced Americano was definitely a bad idea.

“Do you want my jacket?” You heard Jimin say and found yourself almost tripping on his words.

“No, it’s fine. I’m fine,” you said and tried hugging yourself.

“Suite yourself,” Jimin murmured.

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise,” he grinned cheekily.

You rolled your eyes, “That’s not good.”

“What? Surprises are supposed to be good!”

“Not from you, it’s not,” you huffed.

“Just come on,” suddenly you felt an arm wrapped around your shoulder, warmth surrounding your freezing body.

You looked up the boy. The light from the setting sun illuminated Jimin in every perfect way possible, he was glistening against the golden rays. and you just wondered how someone can be this beautiful. You took a second to let the image in front of you sink in. Jimin looked out as he sipped on his tea quietly.

“I’m holding on just in case you run away,” he eventually spoke. “I know you don’t like surprises but,” he paused for a second, “this is really important to me and I want to go some place where I feel secure.”

You stared at him for a bit, “Okay.”

“Plus,” Jimin looked down at you. “Didn’t you say you were cold?”

You smiled, “I did.”

Walking with Jimin beside you was nothing but old news, you could barely count how many times this had happened. Though this time, things felt different. It was something in the air that you felt, something warm, comfortable, and—familiar. Something you couldn't exactly grasp at, however. You quickly brushed the feeling aside.

“The park?”

The two of you stood in front of the grand metal arch decorated with vines that crept up its rusting edges. You and Jimin exchanged looks.

“It’s the park.”

You walked in together along the path, the feeling of nostalgia rushing well into you. The place looked the same, despite the rest of the town that underwent a massive modern renovation over the past decade, they didn’t lay a finger on the local neighborhood park. And you were glad they didn’t.

Jimin led you to the play structure. It, like the rest of the park, remained the same, the slide too steep and the swings too squeaky. Though with the chipped paint, broken wooden planks, and rusting chains, you couldn’t help but to realize just how long it had been.

The two of you sat silently on the set of swings, the chains creaked with each movement.

It was all too familiar.

Off to the side of the gravel lot, something caught your eye. A lilac bush stood tall amongst the greenery of the park with its ravishing pastel purple color, swaying with the gentle breeze of the night. This was the park’s greatest characteristic, that despite its age, the plant life continued to be preserved. The trees lush and the area adorned with an assortment of blossoms.

Of course, this was one of the two reasons you visited this place so often. The other was—

“Hey, Jimin?” He met your eyes.

“Do you like still like flowers?”

Eight years ago...

“Lilacs.”

“Lie-lags.”

“No,” Jimin huffed. “Lilacs.”

“Li-lacs,’ you sounded.

“Yeah, yeah!” The boy’s grin spread from ear to ear. “You know what they mean?”

You shook your head. Jimin pointed to the bloom in front of him as the two of you crouched under a large bush of lilacs, an array of purple surrounded you and him.

“The book says they symbolize youthful innocence and confidence,” Jimin graced his fingertips along its petals.

Jimin chuckled lowly and turned away, “It’s been so long. I don’t think I can remember anything about them at this point.”

It was all too familiar.

Yet—

It was all too different.

“That’s too bad,” you said quietly and stared off into the pond that sat a couple of meters away from the playground. The moon had emerged and the white reflection danced around in the water. The roar of crickets grew louder within the trees. Glowing specs of fireflies bounced around in the bushes, the beautiful sight matched the stars that emerged in the darkening sky almost perfectly. "I want to talk to you about something,” you turned to Jimin who had his eyes locked on the gravel he was kicking beneath his feet.

“What’s ‘something?’”

Jimin breathed. “Something that means a lot to me. And—” he looked up, “And since you’re a person that means a lot to me, I wanted to tell you this.”

You felt your heart skip a beat before beginning to pound against your chest violently the moment his words sank into you. It was ridiculous how quick Park Jimin affected you. Your grip tightened on the chain your hands.

You would be lying to yourself if you said what Jimin was about to tell you hadn’t been bothering you one bit. Jimin told you everything, that’s the truth, but he had never arranged a meeting just to tell you something after he moved away—that was, until now. It was usually over the phone or video call, it was never something like this. And it scared you a bit come to think of it.

Jimin had always been a loving person and he was not afraid to show you a lot of it. You’d grown to be used to his care-bear of a personality, but you couldn't help but to just notice how he had been extra, as one can only say, “friendly” lately. And that scared you as well.

As much as you didn't want to overthink little things as such... You couldn't help but think of the possibilities these two combinations could mean...

Don’t, Y/N.

It's ’probably not what you think.

“I’ve kept this to myself for a while,” his eyes dropped to the ground, his hands started to fidget with the hem of his shirt. “To be honest, I’m scared to tell you this.”

Don’t, Y/N.

“But it’s you after all.”

It’s probably not what you think.

“So I think it’s time for me to get it out of my chest.”

Your heart had to be beating hundred a minute at that point. As much as you taught yourself to not react to Park Jimin, this moment just seemed too surreal. You were glad the night has fallen, or else he would most definitely catch the bright red color creeping onto your cheeks.

“Y/N...”

Don’t, Y/N.

“Y/N, I l—”

It’s probably not what you think.

...

“The purple ones are different though,” Jimin spoke. “They symbolize first love.”

“‘First love?’” You tilted your head. “What’s that?”

Jimin stayed silent as he pondered, then shrugged.

“...I don’t know.”

...

“I lost my virginity.”

513 notes · View notes

recentanimenews · 5 years

Text

THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH Has Come To An End!

Welcome back to the final edition of THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH. I'm your host this week, Daniel Dockery, and after 200+ of episodes of high stakes ninja battles, low stakes ninja filler, and medium stakes ninja fart jokes, we've come to the end of Naruto. Every week since the beginning of the year, we've watched seven episodes of the show and every week, we've come together to discuss our feelings on them. Whether we were basking in the wonderful glow of Rock Lee or begging to be done with another filler escort mission, we did it together. We're like a family that gathers on a weekly holiday to complain about Sasuke. That's truly a family that we should all aspire to have.

But it is now over, which means that it's time for reflection. It's time to look at the series as a whole and see what we liked most, what we got out of the whole experience, and what we want in the future. If this was a movie, "Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)" by Green Day would be playing as the school year ends. We'd all give each other hugs and cry a little bit and then Joe Luster (played by Miles Teller, probably) would say something like "Same time next week?" and we'd chuckle, because it's only kind of a joke. We'll be starting a few new series soon before we jump into Shippuden, and you'll just have to wait to find out what they are.

We're gonna START this week with the HIGHS and LOWS from the last few episodes:

Joseph: The high point for me was seeing this series of corny battles wrap up and finally, FINALLY send us packing toward Shippuden. The low point was... I just can't believe this filler story was the finale.

Kara: The high was the very end... seeing how far Naruto and everyone else have come both in their own skills and their estimations of each other. I think I mentioned before, but it's wild to realize we've gone from "tie Naruto to a post and make him skip lunch because he failed that hard" to his peers talking completely unsarcastically about trying to measure up to him. Low point was the fact that I couldn't focus when I realized this series was going out on a story where Naruto tries to teach Japanese Merlin the power of friendship or whatever.

Kevin: High - I actually kind of liked the last scene or two, where everyone realizes that Naruto's about to leave with Jiraiya, and Naruto stops for a ramen lunch with Iruka before heading out. It's a nice bit of counterpoint to the beginning of the series, showing how Naruto's succeeded in getting people to recognize and accept him.

Low - Gaara's basically out of chakra to the point that the enemy doesn't think he can even fight. Clearly that means he has just enough power left for three major attacks, the likes of which we've either never seen or would almost certainly exhaust him if he were at full strength. I guess this arc really is taking ideas from Shippuden, because willpower is apparently more of a factor in battle than actual physical limitations.

Dishonorable mention - Admittedly, I don't think anyone ever explicitly stated how Gaara's sand works, but I was always under the impression that Shukaku was in control, or at least powering it, rather that Gaara using his own chakra. Also, when I heard that the armor absorbed chakra, my first thought was that Lee was a great match, because Taijutsu doesn't use chakra. I guess I was wrong. Either that, or the people writing this last arc were making some assumptions about how Naruto works.

Carolyn: I would have to agree; watching everyone actually care about Naruto leaving was very sweet. He's spent so much time caring for his friends and feeling like an outcast and now he's found a family. That's a definite high point. My low point would be the fact that the final episodes weren't really about Naruto at all. They were about Gaara. Which, while I like Gaara, seems like a weird choice.

Jared: That last bit with Naruto leaving was real good. Seeing how everyone was reacting to him heading off with Jiraiya, although it's kind of funny that Jiraiya gives him the whole spiel about training and it takes him 80+ episodes for him to actually do it. There was also a small scene where I liked how Neji was basically trying to wingman for Hinata by having them stop training so she could see Naruto off. Low point would be just how bland the final villains were for this last arc.

Noelle: I'm with everyone else, Naruto leaving was definitely my high point. After all, this is his home, and he's leaving all he's familiar with in a bet to possibly get stronger. It isn't just hollow either, because he has people who will miss him and come see him off. It's very touching, especially considering how Naruto has always been framed as being alone. Low point... this last arc felt so dull? Surprising, considering I adore Gaara but I really wasn't feeling it.

Paul: My high point is the realization that Sakura's Medical Ninja training consists of using her Chakra to revive progressively larger and more expensive fish. My low point is related: Sakura and Ino have now both been relegated into roles as healers. I think Kara previously brought this up many, many episodes ago: that sort of power, while crucial, is a fundamentally reactive power rather than a pro-active power. I worry that going into Shippuden, the girls will still be playing second fiddle to the boys.

Danni: The high point for me was the final few scenes. Seeing Naruto say his goodbyes to the Leaf Village while everyone else vows to get stronger as well got me real excited for the impending timeskip. I really can't wait to see how much they've grown when Shippuden begins. The low point for me was how underwhelming the villains turned out to be. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish this arc had been longer so there could be more time to flesh out the Artisan Village and the Four Celestials. The inexplicably magical Voltron armor gets an honorary mention.

David: My low point is similar to last week: despite liking everyone involved in this arc, all the best parts mostly felt like the show nudging my shoulder and asking if I remember this cool stuff from forever ago. High point seems to be echoing most everyone else: finally saying goodbye before we come back to see how everyone has changed.

Welp, that's it, y'all. How are you feeling? Relieved that it's over? Ready for a break? Eager for Shippuden? Frantically writing Sasuke fan fiction?

Joseph: I'm somewhere in the middle. I'd say I'm eager for a little bit of a break, but I also desperately want to wash this taste out of my mouth with some sweet, sweet, main storyline action in Shippuden. I wanna watch Naruto get good again!

Kara: It's about the same for me. As excited as I am about Shippuden, that was a lot of filler and I need a few minutes.

Kevin: Honestly, I'm ready to go to start Shippuden. Throughout this rewatch, I kept remembering just how much changes between the two series. Naruto starts with actual ninja techniques and ends up with Naruto being accepted by the other genin and a selection of higher ups. Shippuden starts with Naruto trying to save a world leader, and (without spoiling too much) ends with fights to save the planet and a war that takes over 200 episodes.

Carolyn: I'm very happy to have a break in between Naruto episodes.

Jared: It's going to be real weird not having Naruto in my weekly schedule, but I think a break is going to be good. I'm pretty excited to get back to non-filler writing though.

Noelle: I have been in filler jail for so long, I'll take that break.

Paul: I'm ready to move on to Shippuden, and I've even added it to my queue. When I was in college, among my social circle, Naruto was held in low regard. People treated it as a series for babies, and being a Naruto fan was synonymous with having questionable (or at least very "basic") taste. I never thought I'd pick it up so many years later, or that I'd enjoy it as much as I have.

Danni: I'm not gonna lie, as soon as I finished episode 220, I considered secretly starting Shippuden right away anyway. It's been the light at the end of the filler tunnel for me for so long that I'm actually bummed I can't dive right into it just yet. I just bought my first Naruto t-shirt from the Crunchyroll Store, and now I have to wait to break it in until [redacted].

David: Despite the last few months of disappointing filler, the actual show up until the retrieval arc turned out to be some of the most fun I've had watching anime every week, so count me in with those who kind of wish we were just going straight into Shippuden.

What is one character that you desperately wish had been given more to do?

Joseph: I would have liked more Kakashi in these filler storylines. The fact that it was a shocker when he occasionally showed up speaks volumes. Instead it felt like we were getting the same or very similar teams on each mission.

Kara: Hinata. She got to do some awesome stuff, granted, but I'm so tired of her one line being "Naruto-kun..." I mean I know how they end up, and it's kind of a gateway spoiler for even knowing what Boruto is about. But considering her capabilities, it's a little annoying to see her constantly fall into the role of Girl Who Likes Naruto instead of that being, you know, just one of her things. Because it's okay to have a crush on a boy. It's okay to have an embarrassing crush on a boy. It happens. But I'd love that to be an aspect instead of a good chunk of her identity.

Kevin: Tenten, absolutely. She's a bit of an obvious choice, since most people know the joke about how little screen time she gets, but her abilities are legitimately interesting and could be extremely versatile, she's just not given any time to show off her prowess.

Carolyn: S A K U R A

Jared: Basically any of the girls. I don't know if the last bit with Ino was an actual tie-in to what happens in Shippuden, but to have her just do the same thing as Sakura really feels like a "hey we have no clue what to do with you" type moment.

Noelle: We all know that Kishimoto is really not good at writing women, but it just stands out so, so much with Sakura. She has a couple of moments and that's it, versus Naruto and Sasuke who are consistent all throughout. Give her something to do, it's not that hard. Please.

Paul: My first instinct is to say Kakashi, but I'll echo the others and say Sakura, and I'll add a little Hinata into the mix. I'd like to see them given a chance to shine, too. Sakura and Hinata have had a few iconic moments, but not to the same degree as Neji, Choji, and Kiba, who not only got dramatic death scenes but also got to survive their heroic sacrifices by pure plot fiat.

Danni: As much as I missed Kakashi in all this filler, I'm gonna have to go with Sakura as well. Despite being one of the three main characters, she's done next to nothing at all. Her main roles have been victim and healer, which are some really disappointing tropes to fall into when writing a female character.

David: It feels weird to say this since everyone including me loves him, but Rock Lee actually? After his big moment he gets relegated to a hospital bed with no discernible improvements made until suddenly he's ok now, I guess. I wish that were handled a little more gracefully.

Have any favorite moments from the series? Favorite fight scenes? Favorite quotes? What sticks out to you as the curtain (momentarily) closes on Naruto and His Amazing Friends?

Joseph: I miss the tournament arcs during exams. Those were really fun, and it was always exciting to see who would emerge victorious and how the animators would handle it. For sheer animated splendor, though, I have to go with the battles during the whole attack on Konohagakure village.

Kara: As messed up as their individual stories can be (especially Jiraiya), I really love the older generation. I like the feeling - not just the feeling, the fact - that the story didn't just magically begin with Naruto, and that there are several levels of information we're still unpacking. My favorite moments tended to touch on those multigenerational elements in some way.

Kevin: If I had to pick a single high point in the series, something that would be an exemplar of how good Naruto can be when it isn't bogged down by endless filler, I would probably go with Naruto's Rasengan training into the Kabuto fight. It shows off Naruto's dedication, ingenuity, and willingness to put himself in harm's way in a fight to save those he cares about, and also opens up the world more by revealing some of the history of the Leaf. It's not quite as emotional as some of the character deaths, like Zabuza and Haku or the Third Hokage, but it showcases some of the best aspects of the show in quick succession.

Carolyn: I think I'll always be partial to Rock Lee training outside the hospital. He's such a good boy.

Jared: I came into this knowing relatively little about the series and leave knowing that Rock Lee is the best boy. That fight against Gaara is just something else, even if that was one of things things I actually knew coming in. When this show is good, it's amazing, which is kinda hard to remember when you're locked in filler jail.

Noelle: I think overall, my impressions stayed fairly consistent from when I first watched it to now. I think I definitely enjoyed the Chunin arc more, since I thought it dragged when I was young, and I really appreciate Rock Lee. I can't believe I used to think Rock Lee was annoying, this kid rules.

Paul: My favorite moment is still the scene where, while training with Sakura and Sasuke under Kakashi, Naruto gets caught in a rope trap, escapes from it, then immediately gets caught in another rope trap. Another scene that really stuck with me was when Naruto and Sasuke teamed up against Zabuza and together they hide Naruto (disguised as a shuriken) in the shadow of another shuriken. Finally, a phrase that stuck with me is: "A ninja is one who endures." That phrase is the thesis statement for what defines heroes and villains in the world of Naruto.

Danni: The battle between Naruto and Sasuke in the Final Valley, for sure. Their relationship is the backbone of the entire show in my opinion, and that fight was an incredible turning point and moment of understanding between them. It also just looked really freaking cool.

David: The scene where Sakura tries one last time to stop Sasuke from leaving. It's sort of understated but there is a lot of emotional complexity going on there, down to her 'confession' hail mary that is completely ineffective. The show isn't usually great at writing women, or even emotions in general that aren't loud and clear, but that's definitely a place it got things right and sticks out to me even now.

I want you to sum up your experience with Naruto in three words.

Joseph: Always Craving Ramen.

Kara: My Queen Tsunade.

Kevin: Ninja wizard president.

Carolyn: I like Naruto?

Jared: So much ramen.

Noelle: Power of friendship.

Paul: Not Kid's Stuff.

Danni: Only just beginning.

David: Please less filler.

What advice would you give to someone that hasn't watched Naruto but plans to try?

Joseph: Don't be stubborn. Listen to what longtime fans say about the filler and don't bother with it. Don't feel the need to absorb every bad episode and just follow the main story through both this and Shippuden. Failing that, read the manga.

Kara: I know the main advice is "seriously, skip the filler," but my friend circles are made up of a lot of completionists and telling them to skip it would just make them watch it harder. So whatever. Honestly, even without the filler, Naruto has highs and lows. So I guess I'd say don't expect all 220 episodes to be fried gold, but enjoy it as a chill watch and just appreciate when those really solid stories come along.

Kevin: If they already want to start, my advice would be to binge the first season to get to the Zabuza arc. The earliest stuff is important, but not necessarily the most interesting. If I need to show them something to convince them to watch, then I'd probably recommend the Chunin Exams. Some of the details might be confusing, but it's some of the best self-contained storytelling in the show.

My general advice is honestly to go back and keep pace with the Rewatch if you want to watch the entire show. There are over 200 episodes, around half being filler, so you're not going to watch the entire show over a weekend. The Rewatch keeps a brisk pace that gets through all of the less interesting bits without going so quickly that you accidentally skip the emotional resonance of the better arcs. If they just want to watch those better arcs and skip the likes of Filler Jail, then watch from around the Genin Exam or Land of Waves arc to episode 130 or so (it'll be obvious when the filler starts).

Carolyn: Yeah, skip the filler. Watch until Sasuke leaves and call it a day.

Jared: You don't have to watch all of the filler. There's certainly a few arcs that if you wanted to check out as a buffer for Shippuden that would be fine, but going through it all isn't necessary. Although if you're liking things and get to the filler and want to keep going, who am I to stop you? I'm not your dad.

Noelle: It's a lot less compact compared to more modern shonen, but it's still got plenty of substance. Naruto, at the end of the day, is a good kid that's worth rooting for. Also, skip the filler, you won't miss anything.

Paul: When you're going through Filler Hell, keep going. A ninja is one who endures.

Danni: Just skip the filler. I'm saying this as someone who endured all of Dragon Ball without giving in to everyone telling me to skip certain batches of episodes. Skip the filler.

David: Don't watch too much at once! This show doesn't exactly have a reputation for solid emotional or thematic setpieces but I think that's because there is so much content people lose the details, so watch a little at a time and let it sit with you.

And before we depart from our journey, we have a question from a reader:

"What were some of your favorite Opening and Ending Theme Songs (or intros and outros, respectively)? Are there any bands/groups/artists you are now a fan of, but weren't previously, because their work was featured in Naruto?"

Kara: "GO!!!" by FLOW is absolutely my favorite opening. I envy everyone who gets to see them live at Crunchyroll Expo this year! As for endings, "Yellow Moon" by Akeboshi really hits me. I also liked "Wind," but this is the one that sent me looking for more music by him. "Parade" by CHABA is a close second, but that's mostly because it sounds like it's by The Killers.

Joe: I'm gonna go classic with Far Away as my favorite OP, and Wind as my favorite ED.

Noelle: Far Away is probably my top fave op because of how absolutely rad it is, but I'll be lying if GO!!! isn't the first thing I think of when I think of Naruto openings (fighting dreamers!). I'm also feeling Wind for my favorite ed, because it's very touching, but it's also so radically different compared to the rest of the endings? A top fave.

Jared: "GO!!!" and "Wind" are definitely top tier when it comes to openings and endings. I also actually went and purchased "Far Away" and "Pinocchio" so those would be up there too.

Kevin: Interesting that someone asked this actually. Since we're nearing Shippuden, I've been occasionally listening to all of the Shippuden themes together, and it is quite an experience to go through 500 episodes of content in a half an hour via song.

To the actual question, for openings my favorites are probable Far Away and GO!!!. Between the two, I'd probably have to go with Far Away as my favorite, because while I didn't know the artist when I first heard the song as a kid, it technically introduced me to Asian Kung-Fu Generation, and I don't think I've heard a song of theirs yet that I don't like.

For endings, to be honest I had to go back and relisten to literally all of the Naruto endings, because I seriously don't remember any of them. As a result, I guess the first ending, Wind, wins by default since it is the only one that I've actively sought out and listened to outside of the show. That being said, I actually found that I liked Mountain-A-Go Go-Two and Speed much more than I thought I would.

David: I really couldn't believe how good Wind is as it had somehow left my mind but now it's my favorite ED in original Naruto by far. GO!! is unsurprisingly my choice for OP both because it is very good and how much it represents the feeling of watching Naruto in general.

COUNTERS:

Week Ramen: 2 bowls Hokage: 0 Clones: 0

Total Ramen: 210 bowls, 20 cups Hokage: 62 Clones: 940

And that's all for the GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH. Once again, thank you for joining us and we hope you'll accompany our merry team on our next adventure!

CATCH UP ON THE REWATCH!

Episodes 211-217: Nearing The Finish Line

Episodes 204-210: Escort Mission Time

Episodes 197-203: Solving a Mystery

Episodes 190-196: Matchmaking Gone Wrong

Episodes 183-189: No Laughter Allowed!

Episodes 176-182: Reach for the Stars!

Episodes 169-175: Anko’s Backstory At Sea

Episodes 162-168: The Tale of the Phantom Samurai

Episodes 155-161: Quickfire Curry

Episodes 148-154: The Forest is Abuzz With Ninjas

Episodes 141-147: Mizuki Strikes Back!

Episodes 134-140: The Climactic Clash

Episodes 127-133: Naruto vs Sasuke

Episodes 120-126: The Sand Siblings Return

Episodes 113-119: Operation Rescue Sasuke

Episodes 106-112: Sasuke Goes Rogue

Episodes 99-105: Trouble in the Land of Tea

Episodes 92-98: Clash of the Sannin

Episodes 85-91: A Life-Changing Decision

Episodes 78-84: The Fall of a Legend

Episodes 71-77: Sands of Sorrow

Episodes 64-70: Crashing the Chunin Exam

Episodes 57-63: Family Feud

Episodes 50-56: Rock Lee Rally

Episodes 43-49: The Gate

Episodes 36-42: Through the Woods

Episodes 29-35: Sakura Unleashed

Episodes 22-28: Chunin Exams Kickoff

Episodes 15-21: Leaving the Land of Waves

Episodes 8-14: Beginners' Battle

Episodes 1-7: I'm Gonna Be the Hokage!

Have anything to say about our thoughts on Episodes 218-220? Let us know in the comments!

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

Daniel Dockery is a writer and editor for Crunchyroll. You should follow him on Twitter!

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: [email protected]

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superpuppies · 3 years

Text

Week 4/22 – 4/28/20

Anti-Virus

So, when this prompt hit, I was re-watching TMNT 2012, I really like that series it just fun, and I instantly knew who I was writing about. I did have to change the word mom to dad in the prompt because the character of Casey doesn’t have a mother at least not that I could recall though I did remember him talking about his dad and little sister. I also did break my no research rule on this one a little bit I wanted to make sure I got the age of legal guardianship right. This was strange for me because I had never written any TMNT fiction before and my two favorite characters are Mickey and Donny and they aren’t who I focus on here. Donny plays a bigger role but it’s not his story. And Micky is almost demoted to Leo statues (Leo is my least favorite turtle; I very much just tolerate his existence).

This got a lot darker than I thought it would, not that I ever thought it was going to be light and cheery but still there were times when I was writing and I thought “oh shit this is uncomfortable” so please keep that in mind. I’ll list some trigger warnings below the summery. Otherwise I had fun writing this one it just poured out of me in in about a day and a half. There are some moments between the turtles that just make me smile. Does anyone ells think it’s weird that Raph has a pet turtle? That just always struck me as really weird.

Summary : When Donny accidently unveils Casey’s dark secret, he isn’t quite sure how to proceed without hurting his friend or one of his brothers. Can he find a way to help them both without causing anymore harm?

Trigger warnings: child abuse, reference to NonCon & rape, forced fellatio

This story is a longer one and I wanted it to be easier to find for solo reading, so I have posted it separately. Please click the link out to it or continue on to the next week’s tale.

If you would like to read this and all of 2020′s weekly writing challenge stories click HERE or continue read below for today’s tale.

Dialogue Prompt: “hear that? It’s destiny. She’s calling.”

“No, I’m pretty sure that’s your mom dad yelling for you to take out the trash.”

Donnie leaned back in his computer chair and looked over his shoulder at his brothers, Raph and Mikey, reading comics with Casey. They had all come up to Casey’s place after almost an hour of whinnying from Casey about his computer. With an exasperated sigh Donnie had finally caved under the condition that Raph came with him to keep Casey out of his way while he worked. Mikey had simply invited himself along and now the three were huddled together on Casey’s bed reading. Donnie bit back the smirk as he looked at them.

They had been quiet for the last hour or so and that quiet had finally peaked Donnie’s curiosity. Raph was sitting with his back against the wall, Mikey leaning against his left shoulder munching on some chips. While Casey was settled between Raph’s legs, his back against Raph’s chest while he held up the comic book for all of them. The three of them looked so comfortable and natural together. Mikey reached out and offered a chip to Raph’s mouth his eyes never leaving the comic book. Raph’s tong snaked out, snagged the chip and retreated also never breaking concentration on the comic book. Donnie’s gaze slid down them as he tried not to laugh, until he realized just how low Raph’s hand was on Casey’s stomach, could it even still be said to be on the stomach anymore? Donnie turned back to the computer, he needed to get this fix and done. So, he didn’t have to think about what might be happening behind him.

Donnie groaned, what had Casey done to get so many viruses on his computer at once. Part of him just wanted to throw the damned thing out the window. “CASEY!” the whole room jumped at the boom that was Casey’s name. Casey shot off the bed and out the door closing it behind him as he went. The three brothers listened to their friend’s muffled voice as it spoke with quick almost desperate speed to an older male voice. They went back and forth, finally who they had to assume was Casey’s dad issued a loud and final statement, “Your friends better be gone and the trash out when I get back.” They heard the front door closes and shared a quick glance between each other.

Casey came back into the room plastering on his classic goofy grin. “We’ve got about ten minutes.”

“You okay Casey?” Raph scooched forward so he was sitting on the edge of the bed. Mikey perched on his knees behind Raph with wide concerned eyes.

“Yeah, dad was just pissed because I hadn’t done my chores or told him you guys were coming over.” Casey waved Raph’s concern away turning to Donnie. “So, what’s it looking like Doc?”

“well…” Donnie looked back at the laptop. “I can’t have it done it ten minutes but if I take it back with me, I might be able to have it done by tomorrow night.”

“Cool, yeah. Take it.”

“Okay.” Donnie began shutting everything down and gathering the cords he would need before grabbing his bag.

“are you sure you’re okay?” Raph asked moving closer to his friend. “That sounded pretty bad.”

“Na, it’s fine. His bark is way worse than all that, you know.”

Donnie sighed, why couldn’t Casey finish a saying like a normal person.

“are you sure, you know we’ll help if you need us.”

“It’s nothing to worry about. Why are you acting so weird about stuff? I mean I know you guys haven’t had a lot of experience being at friends’ houses but sometimes your friends get yelled at. It’s not that crazy. So, chill…” they all heard the front door open. “Okay, times up. Bye guys.” Casey pushed them all toward the window and fire escape. All three brothers sent up protest at being so man handled toward the window.

“Casey,” Raph started.

“CASEY!” his father boomed from the hall.

“Hear that? It’s destiny. She’s calling me.” Casey posed dramatically.

Raph sighed he clearly wasn’t going to get a real answer out of him now. “No, I’m pretty sure that’s your dad yelling for you to take out the trash.”

Casey grinned wide and goofy. “See ya guys.”

“See ya!”

“Bye, Casey.”

“Later, man.” Raph smiled following his brothers up to the roof.

Mikey and Donnie were already across to the next roof but Raph sank low in the shadows and watched Casey gather a few wrappers off the floor before the door burst open. “Just getting the last of it now.” Casey said waving the wrappers at the furious man in his door way.

“Don’t give me that crap!” the man swung at Casey’s face but Casey managed to side step him and run down the hall.

Raph gripped the edge of the roof somehow unsure what to do. Casey appeared at the front of the building a bag of trash in hand a minute or two later, just as goofy and care free as usual. He paused for a moment after tossing the bag into the dumpster in the alley beneath Raph. Casey looked up almost directly at Raph, who sank back farther into the shadows, and shook out his hair. His right hand brushed lightly over the place Raph’s had rested against him, a smile stretched across his face before turning and heading back inside.

Raph walked into the lair to Mikey’s loud announcement, “Raph’s, back!” from the sofa. Ice-cream Kitty Meowed a greeting at him as he came to settle on a beanbag chair closest to her. “where did you go, Bro?” Mikey asked swirling whipped cream onto Ice-cream Kittie’s head.

“I felt like a walk.”

“Oh, that was weird tonight, right?”

“I don’t know,” Raph watched Mikey drop a cherry onto Ice-cream Kitty then another into his mouth. “I don’t have a lot of experience with this stuff, maybe we were luckier than we realized…”

“Where did you disappear too?” Leo cut him off coming to a stop in front of Raph, arms folded over his chest.

The odd contemplative calmness Raph had been feeling flared into rage at the smug look on Leo’s face. “I felt like a walk,” he snapped at his brother.

“So, you just walked off and didn’t tell anyone?”

“I don’t have to tell you anything Leo.”

“We need to know where you are, what if there was a mission?” Raph dropped his chin against his right shoulder, rolling his eyes at Leo. “This is important, Raph.” As Leo was reeving up into yet another, I’m the leader I’m right speech, Raph watched Mikey sigh, stand and carry Ice-cream Kitty back into the kitchen. There Mikey put away all the toppings and pulled his monster dualling card deck across the counter, settling in for a game with Ice-cream Kitty. Raph glanced back at Leo, his anger fading as he realized he just didn’t have the energy for Leo today. Standing abruptly Leo jumped back startled. “Look, you maybe our leader but you aren’t our dad, so just stop trying to be.” Raph stomped past Leo, not even sure what he said matched any of what Leo had been going on about.

Closing the door to his room, Raph stroked the sleeping Chompy’s head before dropping onto his bed. He knew it was crazy to think he could still feel Casey’s body heat on his skin but there was part of him that almost did. There was definitely a part of him that missed Casey’s weight against him. He looked down at the hand that had rested on Casey’s stomach and groaned. Flopping down onto his chest, what was wrong with him? Why hadn’t he been able to move when Casey’s father took a swing at him. Why had his hart skipped a beat when he had watched Casey’s hand brush over where his own had rested? Raph bit his pillow with a frustrated groan, something was definitely wrong with him.

Donnie was doing better with Casey’s laptop now that he was in the quiet of his own lab. No longer distracted by his friend and brothers or the knowledge that right behind him Raph was practically groping their friend. How could he do that and with Mikey right beside him. Oh man, had Mikey noticed? Probably not, if he had their probably would have been some sort of scene about it.

Donnie glanced back at the computer screen; his software was still running through everything chasing down all that virus code. Maybe if he could figure out what or where they had all come from, he could convince Casey not to do whatever he had done again. Time for a little snooping. The internet history wasn’t all that surprising bunch of websites for hockey, a few that were clearly school project related, some video sharing websites. Donnie hovered the mouse over one he couldn’t place, finally clicking on it a video window opened with the title ‘teaching a punk to shut up’ under it. With a heavy sense of trepidation Donnie clicked play.

The camera was looking down on a mop of messy black hair as a hand forced the owner up and down a cock. Donnie sighed of course Casey had something like this saved to his computer. “where’s that back talk, now” the voice behind the camera laughed, Donnie froze on his way to close the window, he recognized that voice, he had heard it less than an hour ago. The hand in the hair forced the head back just enough to see the face. Casey glared up at the camera through a swollen left eye and bloody nose. Casey’s father laughed down at him from behind the camera as he pumped his dick in and out of Casey’s swollen, stretched and cracked lips.

Donnie watched in complete horror and fascination; he had never seen Casey so docile despite the fury that burned in those eyes. Casey’s father tightened his grip, pulling Casey tighter against his hips and groaned heavily as he came in Casey’s throat. Finally, releasing his grip, Casey fell back coughing and spitting out all he could. “At least you’re not completely useless, get lost, you little shit.” He kicked Casey’s hip until Casey scrambled away from him. The video ended and links to similar content popped up over the blurred frozen image of Casey’s retreating form.

Donnie’s eyes were locked on the screen. How could this be happening? Why hadn’t they done anything today when they heard Casey getting yelled at? That’s stupid, they didn’t know about this then. How did they not know about this? Why hadn’t Casey told them? They would have helped him, he has to know that, right? He has too. Donnie closed the window, to keep snooping. There had to be some sort of explanation as to what was going on somewhere in here. There had to be.

Digging through more history he came across a slew of websites on the age limitations of a legal guardian and how to apply for guardianship. Fallowed closely by what was needed for proof of child endangerment and abuse. Donnie swore under his breath, if he was putting this together right Casey was trying to figure out how to become his sister’s guardian but was at least two years away from that happening and that video had been at least a year old already. There had to be something he could do. Opening his own laptop Donnie began researching and digging for more information, switching between the two computers as needed. A pen twirling between his fingers as he reads, pausing to take quick notes from time to time.

Donnie vaguely registered when Mikey called out that Raph was back, too engrossed in his new mission. The sound of Leo starting in on Raph played like familiar music in the background.

Donnie leaned in to the computer screen, he had found what looked like a digital journal, he took notes of some particularly bad beatings and what appeared be the first sexual attack. He felt sick reading it all in detail but was oddly proud of Casey for keeping such meticulous notes, these would certainly be a great help in the case against his father. Apparently, the sexual stuff started a little over a year ago so only just before that video, not that, that was somehow better but at least it didn’t go back farther than that.

Donnie tilted his head at the first mention of himself and his brothers, it was several months after they had met. ‘I dodged him, completely dodged him and managed to get us both out the fire escape and across a few roofs before collapsing in a heap behind some pigeon house. She slept through most of it, a rough landing woke her up but she’s still so little that a quick song had her back to sleep. Hanging around with the guys has definitely made me faster. I’ll have to get Raph to show me some more cool moves. Maybe I can get him to teach me that neck pinch thing.’

Donnie smiled, happy that they had been able to help at least a little bit already. he would have to make a point to show Casey a few more evasive moves. Raph started coming up more and more as Donnie read, though he supposed that wasn’t all that strange they were best friends. Though the focus slowly changed from learning new moves or who / what they found on patrol to what Raph did or how he looked silhouetted against the city. How close Raph would settle next to Casey on colder nights and how much Casey looked forward to those nights in particular.

Donnie stood; he needs to talk to Raph. He was surprised to find the lair so dark as he walked through it but a quick glance at his T-phone cleared that mystery right up. But if it was so late why had no one pestered him to go to bed yet? Maybe someone was still up, he peaked into Mikey’s room. Mikey was out cold, Leo was the same in his room, that only left Raph which might be ideal considering what he had to talk to him about. After no response to the light knock, Donnie eased the door open. “Raph?” Raph was deep asleep, his jaw slack, a trail of drool dribbling onto his pillow. Donnie smirked, reaching in and flicked off the over headlight. He could talk to him tomorrow, he should probably have everything as mapped out as possible for him anyway, might make the news a bit easier to take then just having Donnie saying it to him. Yes, if he had something concrete to show Raph, he might not be so quick to hit him, might. Donnie returned to his lab and started on some simple flow charts.

Raph walked into the kitchen to find Mikey dancing with Ice-cream Kitty as he made breakfast to some of his latest music obsession, Raph was pretty sure he had called it nightcore, booming through the room. “Moring,” he smiled at Raph still dancing, “Breakfast’s almost ready.”

“Where’s Leo?”

“Shower.”

“Donnie?”

“Not in his room.” Mikey danced over to the coffee pot and poured a mug.

“Did he sleep in the lab again?”

“Probably.” Mikey handed Raph the mug.

Raph took the mug and headed for Donni, why didn’t Leo ever ride Donnie about getting some sleep? Why was it his job to make sure Donnie didn’t kill himself with work. Donnie’s head was on the desk top between his and Casey’s laptops. Casey’s was blinking some message at the sleeping turtle. Raph shook his head and shouted Donnie’s name. no response. Coming closer he poked the sleeping turtle’s head, shook him, shouted in his ear, waved coffee sent in his face but the best he got was a grumbling turn of the head. Raph’s left eye twitched. Finally, he kicked Donnie’s chair out from under him, but instead of the dramatic flailing he was hoping for Donnie simply sank to the floor and curled up under his desk. “Fine.” Raph grumbled placing the mug of coffee next to Donnie’s head, the smell would get to him eventually, and walked back out to the kitchen.

“Where’s Donnie?” Leo asked between bites of pancakes.

“Sleeping, why didn’t you make him go to sleep?”

“I thought I wasn’t everyone’s dad.” Leo narrowed his eyes, triumphant.

“that’s never stopped you before.” Raph dropped into his chair.

“Ooohh- snap! Shots fired Kitty.” Mikey laughed feeding Ice-cream Kitty a bite of pancake. Leo frowned and Raph smirked. They all knew Mikey loved them unconditionally but even Mikey was getting fed up with Leo’s attitude recently., that was why he had tagged along last night. He didn’t want to be left alone with Leo when he was like this and they all knew it. Leo, thankfully had enough sense today to keep his mouth shut. Raph and Mikey shared a quick glance and shrug when Leo opted to just eat in silence, before picking up their own forks again.

Donnie crawled out of the lab four hours later, a mug of very cold coffee in his hand. Mikey spotted him first. “It Lives!” Raph took the distraction to kill Mikey in the game they were playing, while Leo looked up from his magazine.

“Where you off to Doctor Doninstine?” Raph chuckled fending off Mikey’s whinnying slaps.

“Coffee.” Donnie grumbled.

“Looks like you have some in your hand.” Leo said putting down his magazine to watch his usually smarter brother try to navigate the lair.

“coffee.” Donnie just grumbled in response again.

“Sorry Don, but the kitchen is closed.” Raph folded his arms over his chest, smirking Down at Mikey, who he had pinned down with a foot on his chest.

Donnie finally turned to look at them with his morning dead eyes. “Coffee.” He growled.

“No.” Raph growled right back. Mikey and Leo shot each other a quick glance.

Donnie bolted for the kitchen. Raph on his heels, Leo and Mikey right behind him. Mikey latched his nun chucks around an overhead pipe, swinging over Raph and Leo to land on Donnie, tackling him to the ground. Raph and Leo dog piling right on top of them as Donnie let out an inhuman screech.

“it’s for your own good.”

“you won’t sleep tonight, Bro.”

“you should have just gotten up earlier.”

Donnie let out another horrifying shriek, the three brothers struggled to restrain him as he flailed about.

“Caffein deprived Donnie is scary!”

“Where does this strength come from?”

“Where is it when we need it?”

“Mikey, wrap him up.”

“I can’t, I can’t reach my chucks without getting off him.” Mikey reached for the chuck he had dropped when landing on Donnie and was almost thrown by his flailing brother.

“Wait, look.” They turned to Raph who was struggling with Donnie’s legs. “look at him.” They all looked down at Donnie and saw that his berserker state was quickly fading beneath their combined weight. So instead the all just tightened their grip and hunkered down to wait him out. Once he was calm, they dragged him into the Dojo and locked him in for a four-hour training session.

With training finished Leo grabbed Mikey and dragged him up to the surface with him for patrol. Donnie pulled some left overs out of the fridge to finally eat something. He had been uncharacteristically quiet all through training. Everything he had learned through the night and his lack of caffeine, not a good mix, the better part of his mind told him it was best to just say nothing at all, so that’s what he did.

Raph watched Donnie, petting Chompy while he mechanically eats the cold leftover lo main. Raph leaned against the counter sipping on some water after filling a glass. “What were you working on so late?”

Donnie went still remembering he wanted to talk to Raph, he looked up at his brother slowly. “I … I found some stuff on Casey’s computer.”

“Some new crazy techno virus?” Raph chuckled at Donnie’s need to tackle every program thing he came across.

Donnie dropped his eyes to the table, he wished. “No,” it came out as more of a broken whisper then he hoped it would have.

Raph knitted his brows together. “What?” Donnie kept his eyes on the table, he wanted to talk to Raph, needed to. And now he was presented with a prime opportunity to and he had no idea what to say. “Donnie?”

Donnie looked up at Raph’s concerned face. “I’m worried about him, but I don’t know if there is anything we can really do.”

“About what?”

“I … I..”

“About what, Donnie?”

“Maybe I should just show you.” Donnie stood and walked them into the lab. He moved his laptop off a large paper flow chart. “It’s not finished but it’s not a pretty picture.”

Raph ran his eyes over the mapped-out maze of words, taking note of a few key words as he did. ‘start of abuse,’ ‘loss of mother.’ ‘legal age’ ‘sister’ ‘start of sexual abuse’.

“What does this…” Raph’s finger hovered over ‘start of sexual abuse’ unable to finish the question, he felt oddly heavy and cold.

“That’s the first thing I found but it might be worse than I originally thought…” Raph just looked up at him. “I found another video.” Donnie opened a link on his computer, this one had a preview image. Casey’s face was swollen, though not as much as in the first video, he was on his knees in front of a door looking as protective and defiant as he could while clearly so defeated. Come was splattered over his face, his nose bleeding and a bruise forming around his right eye. “I’m not going to play it again.” Donnie told Raph who just nodded, his eyes locked on Casey’s face. Donnie watched his brother closely; he couldn’t think of a time when he had seen Raph take bad news so well.

“Why wouldn’t he tell us?” Raph finally asked.

“I think there are a few reasons for that. The main one being that everything that I’ve been able to piece together right now is Casey is trying to become his sister’s guardian but he isn’t old enough yet. So, until he is, nothing, can happen to his father.”

“What?!”

“If something happens to Casey’s father, both of them will be put into child services where they will most likely be separated.” Donnie put his hand on Raph’s wrist to try and calm his growing rage. “If they are separated, there is a very good chance he will lose her to the system, forever. But if he waits it out a bit longer, he can be her guardian.” Donnie tightened his hold on Raph but was surprised to see him settle again.

“He could lose her?”

“yes.”

“I don’t want him to lose her.” Raph felt numb and crushed by the idea of losing a sibling. His brothers were everything to him and he was sure Casey felt the same about his sister. He could understand wanting to be hurt over losing them.

Donnie stroked a comforting thumb over Raph’s wrist. “There is something ells you should know.” He took a quick breath. “Casey, is falling for you,” Raph’s chest tightened. “but maybe you already knew that.”

“What?” Raph looked up at Donnie with desperate confusion.

“the way you two were sitting against each other last night…” Donnie trailed off as a deep blush spread across Raph’s face. “Oh,”

Raph tried to ignore the heat on his face and the strange look Donnie was giving him. “why,” His voice was strangled, “Why do you think that he’s …. Um … you know, for me?”

Donnie turned to the computer in order to hide his smile, he still had a hold on Raph’s wrist and his brother’s hart rate was intense. “he’s been, well I think they were originally notes about what was happening but they turned into more of a journal and you come up, a lot. I mean you’re his friend so that in and of itself isn’t all that unusual. But the way he talks about you has changed. You’re not just a friend anymore. You’re more important than that.” Donnie looked back at Raph. “Are you okay?”

Raph looked and felt like he had been hit by the metaphorical bus, frozen, staring blankly ahead. What the hell was his life right now? Had he gotten seriously injured in the last fight and this was one of those weird final brain flash things Donnie had told them about? No, he could feel Donnie’s hand on his wrist. Okay, so this was a thing that was happening. Why couldn’t he think? “Raph?” Donnie stepped closer to him. He should say something, he should respond. “Raph? Are you okay? Take a breath.”

Donnie snagged his rolling chair with his foot and brought it around behind Raph, slowly lowering his brother down on to it. He hadn’t been anywhere near prepared for this reaction. He continued giving soft calming commands for Raph to breathe until, Raph spoke. “it’s a lot.”

Oh, thank goodness, “yeah, it is.” Donnie stood next to Raph watching him process until his hart rate had slowed to a more normal pace. Then he slowly stepped away and pretended to work on something, just to give Raph the space he knew he needed.

About twenty minutes later Raph stood abruptly and started for the door. “where are you going?” Donnie asked watching him.

“I need a walk.”

“Raph,” Raph paused in the door. “Don’t say anything to Casey, he doesn’t know we know.” Raph gave a curt nod and disappeared through the door.

Raph wandered through the sewers, his feet moving seemingly as aimless as his thoughts. Except for the fact that all his thoughts were about Casey. From how his laugh always rang in Raph’s head to the pain he must feel every time he was at home. To what might happen if he tried to keep Casey safe in the lair to how much that stupid catch phrase of his made Raph chuckle. Looking up he wasn’t surprised to find himself almost at Casey’s. Settling into one of the cross tunnels, he wasn’t in the mood for the surface right now and he still needed to get his head right. He let his thoughts over take him again.

Raph came back to the sound of a manhole cover sliding closed above him. Sinking back farther into the shadows, he waited to see who was climbing down the latter. Casey walked past his tunnel and before he had thought about it Raph heard himself calling out to him. “Hey,” Casey jumped, turning around he found Raph already standing behind him.

Raph frowned, Casey was sporting a fresh shiner on his left eye. Raph reached out cradling Casey’s face between his hands. “he hit you after we left.”

Casey froze, he didn’t know how to take Raph’s soft voice, sad eyes, gentle movements or that he knew exactly what had happened. “Wha…”

“I’m,” Raph leaned in, “sorry.” He pressed his lips to Casey’s, soft but persistent.

Raph’s lips met his and Casey’s mind screeched to a holt, his eyes locked on the turtle. The soft reassuring warmth of Raph, the warmth from his hands against Casey’s face. Casey felt something brake in his chest, tears began to stream down his face. His fingers fumbled against Raph’s chest, catching on the edge of his plastron.

Raph rested his forehead against Casey’s wrapping his arms around his crying friend. Casey’s tears were quiet but violent, he shook with the force of them. Raph held him tight, hopeful that the warmth of his arms and his presence was enough to reassure his friend. They stayed that way, standing int the sewer, clutching to each other for a long time.

Casey’s legs gave out under him, emotional exhaustion over taking him. Raph scooped him up and cradled him against his chest. Seeing Casey finally lose to sleep, Raph started toward the lair.

Donnie had been nervously watching the entrance since Leo and Mikey’s return. They hadn’t run into Raph on their way back nor had they seen Casey tonight. They pestered him for why he wanted to know but of them all he could be the most stubborn when he put his mind to it and after twenty minutes of him not being willing to give them anything, they had left him to his own brooding. He stood a Raph slid through the turnstiles caring Casey against his chest, taking a few quick steps toward them to help. “where did you, what happened?!” Leo stood from his beanbag chair.

Raph shook his head at Donnie who nodded and rushed past them to open Raph’s bed room door. Raph ignored Leo, moving past Donnie. “if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Don.” Raph appreciated how low Donnie had kept his voice and matched it.

Donnie nodded and closed the door behind them. Turning he found his two brothers staring at him eagerly awaiting some sort of explanation. “It’s okay” he tried to sound reassuring with out going into anything.

“What happened?”

“It’s okay, they just need some time.” Donnie smiled at them, actually believing it might be true.

The end.

#weekly writing #Challenge #2020 #tmnt 2012 #Raph #Casey #Raph/Casey #Child abuse #NonCon & Rape Referenced #Forced Fellatio #Casey/ his Father #Donnie #Someone who doesn't know about computers pretending to know something about computers while writing.

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writingguide003-blog · 5 years

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A writers' strike may delay the final season of 'Game of Thrones'

New Post has been published on https://writingguideto.com/must-see/a-writers-strike-may-delay-the-final-season-of-game-of-thrones/

A writers' strike may delay the final season of 'Game of Thrones'

Save our shows!

Image: hbo/amc

Game of Thrones is safe. Netflix might even benefit. And Saturday Night Live well, they’ll be screwed.

If you’re a TV fan, you’ve probably heard rumblings about a looming writers’ strike, which if it goes ahead (and that’s not a done deal yet) could cause significant disruption to some of your favorite shows.

Movies, on the other hand, are a little better off; writers might be barred from doing polishes on scripts during a strike, but a finished feature is still likely to get to the screen on time.

On Monday, members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) which represents television and film scribes voted to authorize a strike if the guild is unable to reach a new agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the organization that represents the TV networks and movie studios that produce all that sweet, sweet TV and movie content.

The current contracts between the WGA and AMPTP expire on May 1, which means a strike could begin as early as May 2. Negotiations between the two organizations resumed on Tuesday, but the signs are not great.

What do the writers want?

There are many issues up for negotiation in the contract talks with the AMPTP including boosting employer contributions to the guild’s health plan but the main source of contention is how much writers are earning.

Since many writers are paid per episode, the guild is pushing to get scribes on cable and streaming shows closer to the compensation that writers on broadcast shows receive, as well as increasing income for writers on short-order or limited series.

SEE ALSO: Netflix remains the streaming giant, but they’ve got competition

As The Hollywood Reporter notes, there are more scripted TV shows than ever before production has skyrocketed thanks to the increased popularity of cable and digital networks like Netflix and Amazon but those newer platforms often order fewer episodes per season, anywhere from six to 13, compared to the traditional 22 episode season favored by broadcasters (although they, too, have been experimenting with limited series in recent years).

This means writers have fewer episodes on which to earn money, and the breaks between seasons are longer, making it harder for low- and mid-level writers stay afloat. Compounding matters, Newsweek says, is the fact that “most AMPTP agreements prohibit writers from working on other shows for the duration of their contract, so even if a series is on hiatus theyre unable to work anywhere else during the downtime, which they also are disputing.”

The WGA has laid out many of the guild’s concerns here, if you want to dig deeper.

What does it mean for our favorite shows?

The last writers’ strike, which began on Nov. 5, 2007 and lasted until Feb. 12, 2008, had a massive effect on the TV industry, as production on all scripted shows immediately stopped. This resulted in the layoffs of thousands of crew members, assistants and support staff, while several shows that were forced to stop production mid-season were outright cancelled, including ABC’s Men in Trees, Fox’s K-Ville andNBC’s Bionic Woman remake.

More than 50 broadcast shows had shortened or delayed seasons since production could not be completed on the full run of episodes ordered by the networks, while many late night shows entered reruns immediately. According to a report from the Milken Institute, the 2007 work stoppage cost California 37,700 jobs and $2.1 billion in lost output from the fourth quarter of 2007 through the end of 2008.

Another strike would undoubtedly have similar effects but don’t panic yet: the WGA and AMPTP are still in talks, and everyone is well aware of the consequences of a major work halt, so it’s not a decision either side would take lightly.

In danger:

The first series to go dark, if the writers put down their pens on May 2, would be late-night talk shows whose writers churn out daily or weekly commentary on current events, like Saturday Night Live, Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.

Given our political climate and the fact that Saturday Night Live is currently airing live across the country for the first time in its history we’d certainly miss out on some searing satire, with Chris Pine scheduled to host SNL on May 6, Melissa McCarthy (no doubt bringing her Sean Spicer A-game) on May 13, and Dwayne Johnson on May 20.

You wouldn’t like Spicey when he’s angry.

Image: Chris Haston/NBC

Also in the danger zone: Scripted series that are just about to begin filming or are still early in their production schedules including The Walking Dead Season 8, American Horror Story Season 7, Jessica Jones Season 2 and the first seasons of ABC’s Inhumans and CBS All Access’ Star Trek: Discovery.

The second and third seasons of Ryan Murphy’s American Crime Story are also in the process of being written, along with the Prince Charles and Princess Diana-themed second season of Feud. Likewise, the final season of The Mindy Project is expected to begin production in May, unless a strike delays it.

While a number of scripts on these shows have likely been completed ahead of shooting, a strike could certainly derail the back half of their seasons, and prevent any of the standard rewrites that occur as an episode moves through the production pipeline.

Safe for now:

The one benefit if one can call it that of a strike taking place in May, is that the majority of broadcast shows will have completed production on their seasons and closed their writers’ rooms, with writing on a new season or freshman series usually beginning in June.

That means fans of most broadcast shows which traditionally air from September through May will be able to see the conclusion of current seasons of favorites like The Flash, Empire, The Big Bang Theory, Grey’s Anatomy and Law and Order: SVU with no interruption.

If a potential strike were to drag on for several months, as it did a decade ago, it would likely delay the premiere dates for the 2017-18 season (new shows generally debut in September or October), or result in more reruns during the summer months, if networks decided to hold some of their planned summer premieres for fall to make up for any holes in next season’s schedules.

I guess if there’s no TV, we could… read?

Image: hbo

Either way, Game of Thrones fans can rest easy; the Season 7 premiere date may have been delayed until July, but the the show has completed filming on its penultimate season and is now in post-production winter is coming on July 16, no matter what.

Although a lengthier strike could slow down the writing of Season 8, the show isn’t expected to begin filming its final season until September, giving showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss a little breathing room. The duo revealed at SXSW back in March that they already had an outline for the last six episodes and have begun dividing up the installments, so work might currently be underway on Season 8 to give them a head start.

SEE ALSO: An obsessive deep dive into the ‘Outlander’ Season 3 trailer

Shows that will have completed their scripts or finished filming by May 2, and therefore be unaffected by the strike, include Showtime’s Twin Peaks revival; Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black and The Defenders; Starz’s American Gods and Outlander; BBC America’s final season of Orphan Black; and, according to EW, Season 2 of Netflix’s Stranger Things.

Any other exceptions?

The shows that would profit most from a strike are unscripted series: reality competitions like The Voice, The Bachelor and Big Brother; docuseries that are the bread and butter of networks like Discovery and HGTV; sporting events; and shows with non-union writers, like series produced and written in Canada, World Wrestling Entertainment’s events (which have in-house, non-unionized writers) and some animated series like South Park, since creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are reportedly not members of the WGA and kept writing the show during the last strike.

And even though Netflix boss Ted Sarandos insisted that the streaming giant “will be impacted” in the event of a strike, with some of its series currently being written and filmed, streaming services will definitely get a boost if traditional networks go into reruns.

With a deep bench of original and acquired programming ready to watch, more viewers could be tempted to cut the cord and throw their dollars towards Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and the backlog of classic shows offered by HBO Go and CBS All Access.

In fact, one of the only benefits of a strike, at least for viewers, would be the breathing room to finally start making your way through everything in your Netflix queue.

WATCH: Netflix’s new murder mystery could be next on your binge-watch list