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greedyhoneyz · 5 months ago

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Judgement Day

.ೃ࿔* pairing: armando aretas x reader .ೃ࿔* synopsis: the aretas name carried weight in miami. it was a name which symbolised power and carried a notion of fear. to mess with an aretas, was a call to an early death. .ೃ࿔* wc: 3k words. .ೃ࿔* cw: angst. assault. violence. blood. harrassment. threats. .ೃ࿔* authors note: another fanfic for a piece of media i have yet to watch. this is long but i hope it doesn't come off juvenile.

The hot Miami heat bared the warmth of a deep-emotion smile at dawn but as night fell, it raged into an inferno, chaotic and wild. It charred and blistered the abode floor, once chilled by seasonal rains and engulfed the city with a tragic blaze.

Even in the heatwave, Miami bustled with life, men and women toiled across the dancefloor, their bodies weary and scorched beneath yards of thin fabric. They jived and boogied to the setlist with as much passion as their drunken states could emote and drank to their hearts' content. At the end of the night, they busted through the doors into the artificial glow of street lamps, staggering, failing to hail an Uber or move on to the next attraction. In the charcoal night, Miami Beach weaved together crowds of partygoers and workers alike, as the early morning sunshine threatened to peek through the sky.

(name) hissed and hollered her way out of the nightclub as her heels clicked onto the pavement.

She had worn them for the sake of fashion. The open-toed stilettos were to die for; they matched perfectly with her mini dress and petite shoulder bag. But now as she waddled, her feet were paying the price. The four-inch stilettos were not meant for walking, the leather straps dug into her skin and the arch pinned tiny knives into her feet. Each step she took sent a shockwave of pain through her feet.

Adjusting her stride, (name) attempted to distribute her weight more evenly into the shoe. It made little difference but she would make it work– the night was young and she had a couple more hours in her.

Straightening her shoulders, (name) fixed her bag and quickened her pace, walking in conjunction with her friend.

“Where are we going?” She had spoken out between anxious breaths, inwardly wincing at the pressure dented into her toes.

“Um…..” Kayla stared into her phone. “Nightingale, Candace said she’ll meet us there.”

“How far is it?”

“Just a couple blocks down. We’ve been there before, remember?”

“I do,” (name) huffed. “It's just– my feet are killing me. I don’t know how much longer I can take this Kayla. I’m tired.”

Kayla stopped, causing (name) to falter in haste as she slowly turned. She faced her friend, boring her eyes into hers, her lips forming into a hard line. She gripped her friend’s arm, holstering her close and darted her pointer finger to her.

“You,” She began slowly, her voice was low at first but grew louder and more boisterous as she glared into (name). “Are not going anyway, do you understand? Today is our night, our night to go out, get drunk and do something stupid, okay? No shoe and no bitch is ruining our night, comprende?”

“Sí. Sí. I understand.” (name) replied shortly, hiding a smile between her teeth.

“Good.” Kayla nodded, tucking her arm around (name’s).

The pair beelined across the strip, accustoming themselves amongst the crowds of partygoers pulling and pushing their way across South Beach. They found Candace waiting by the entrance, looking radiant in a yellow, mini-dress, her wind-tousled hair fell over her shoulders.

“Hey!” She exclaimed, giving them each a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

The bouncer let them in without hesitation, ushering the trio past the long, ascending line trickling across the street, and they made their way towards the bar. The music blared and pulsated from wall to wall and the stage lights flared and spun above them.

“So….where’s this boyfriend of yours at?” Candace asked inquisitively, sipping on her margarita. She wriggled her eyebrows playfully and passed a simple glance at (name’s) phone as she placed it on the bar, a picture of her boyfriend printed on her lock screen.

“Somewhere,” (name) shrugged. “He wasn’t home when I left for Kayla’s place.”

“So you snuck out?” Kayla jeered, propping her chin atop her hand. “You never told me that.”

(name) shook her head. “Nah, it's nothing like that–”

“Wait— this means you can stay out!” Candace bellowed happily.

“Of course I can–”

“No more talking, let’s dance!”

Candace shot up from her seat, slamming her drink on the bar counter, and reigned her hands around Kayla and (name). She wrung them out from their seats with the strength of a colossal giant and tugged the two towards the dancefloor, declaring the two move to the rhythm of the song.

It took a while – a couple of short seconds before Kayla and (name) joined Candace in dance. The three danced in conjunction with each other, keeping close to their circle with a light bounce from side to side and trigger fingers.

As the night wore on, the air grew thicker and (name) and her friends were tipsier. The club music had grown louder and more intense as the DJ turned to play Sexyy Red and the crowd had begun to surge forward in retort to the sharp change in tempo and pitch. The crowd was like a tide, rolling in and out, its rhythm intermittent to the beat.

No more did the throbbing of her feet cloud (name’s) mind; the blend of a rhubarb fizz and vitality was a deterrent. With her closest friends surrounding her, (name) felt at ease, her smile so wide and bright, that she feared it would become permanent.

She rocked her hips, her hands travelling across her thighs and slowly craned forward. She held onto her legs, shaking her thighs as motion rippled across her calves and ascended towards her ass. (name) shook her bottom with a smize, moving her cheeks with such fluid, curvaceous motions it left nothing to disguise that the skirt of her dress began to hike. Undaunted, she continued to move, placing a careful hand between her cheeks as the other tugged her dress down.

So young and so free, (name) craned herself upwards and placed her hands against her chest. She bopped from side to side, twirling her hips gingerly and scored her hands across her breasts and middle. She looked heavenward at the ceiling, the club roof clouded by bright, neon lights and flashes, she squeezed her eyes shut in retort. She dropped her head and opened her eyes, bouncing on the balls of her feet before letting out a raring shrill.

The night flew by in a blur of music, laughter and good company. And by 2 am, the club slowed and the crowd began to disperse. Exhausted but exhilarated, they left the club and amidst themselves between the sea of bodies flooding out from the club.

Letting out a refreshed sigh, (name) turned to her friends. Her hair was dampened, her hot-rod curls once full of life and shine, had dropped, now frizzy and weightless. The fabric of her dress had clung to her sticky skin and her bag was hung at the edge of her shoulder.

“I’m so lit right now,” she moaned, closing her eyes. She wobbled on her two feet, swaying from side to side, pressing her weight onto one shoe and when she threatened to stumble to the side, hauling her weight onto the other.

“Me too,” Kayla replied, stumbling over Candace. She clung onto the woman, grasping onto her dress and pressed herself against the wall.

“I….I think–” Candace couldn't help but giggle to herself, dropping her head.

(name) smacked her lips, her eyes slowly peeling open and peered at the two women. She swallowed deeply, curling her lips in practice before she spoke. “You girls….wanna head off to Oasis?”

“Yeah.”

Both Kayla and Candace hummed in agreement and staggered to height. They adjusted themselves, sheepishly picking at each other, one fixing the other’s hair and the other fixing her dress as (name) collected her belongings into her bag.

“Aye!” A voice began. It was deep and hoarse, breathy as his mouth approached a few more words. “Aye miss!”

Though inebriated, (name) couldn’t mask her quickening discomfort as his heavy footsteps rattled behind her.

She tensed, hiking her shoulders and carefully turned. She wore a tight smile on her face, a mask of politeness.

“Yes?”

The man was tall, handsome, and smelt good. And yet, he failed to strike (name). As she stood before him, swaying from left to right, he grinned, bewitched by her charming features and supple figure.

He smiled at her, his eyes never leaving hers. “I just wanted to tell you that you looked good.”

(name) shook her head and waved her hand, feigning appreciation. “Thank you.”

“You know, I was watching you, inside, dancin’ and shit,” He laughed, tossing his head back. “You can shake that ass pretty good.”

“Thank you–”

“And I– lemme get your number.” His words were quick and sharp; his intent was clear.

“Oh,” she tittered, throwing a glance at her friends. “Well…I’m sorry but I’ve got a boyfriend–”

“You’ve got a boyfriend….” He repeated sullenly. He laughed heartily as if (name) had said the funniest thing ever and shook his head.

“Listen,” He began, swiping his tongue across his bottom lip. “I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I promise you I ain’t no weirdo. No bear here.”

Kayla was prompt in grabbing (name’s) hand, making no effort to hide her disgust. She moved from behind her, Candace following in tow, and attempted to pull the girl along. “C’mon (name) let's go.”

Like a colossal giant, both the man and his voice grew towers tall. He gripped (name’s) arm and jerked her back. “Aye, I wasn’t done talkin’!”

(name) yelped, stumbling over her feet and sharply jeered her head at the man. “What the fuck are you doing?!”

“Just give me your number.” He demanded, digging his nails into her skin.

(name) profusely shook her head, quickly sobering up and attempted to pull away. “Let go!”

No more did the nice guy act continue, the man once cheerful and hopeful, sneered at (name), puffing out her chest and flaring his nostrils. He was quick to insult her, hurling a hail of curses aimed at her figure as he fiercely yanked her backwards, swinging her frame towards him.

“Fucking bitch!” He cursed at the top of his lungs, splatters of spit flailing out from his mouth. “You bitches are always too full of yourselves! Wanna act all uppity when a man wants to talk to you!”

“Then fucking let me go! The fuck!” By then, amidst the chaos, a crowd had gathered. Like a mob of meerkats, they gawked, gasped and videoed in disbelief at the rage pelting from the colossal of a man. They watched, uttering words of discomfort and dismay as (name) attempted to rear herself away from the man, thrusting herself against Kayla as she pulled her forward.

“I didn't even want to holler at your ugly ass anyways!” He roared, his voice loud and menacing.

“Oh my fucking god! Let me go! I don’t want to fucking talk to your stupid ass!” (name) shrieked back. Her eyebrows furrowed together and her lips pulled into an irritated scowl.

“Nah you fucking listen to me, bitch!” His voice erupted out from the vessels of his throat like a disgorging volcano, propelling a warcry in the wake of a lava-filled avalanche, in the form of a fist.

In a few short seconds, the colossal revolved free his arm, balling his into a fist and drew it back. He reigned his fists forward, fuelled with fury and humiliation, and swung at (name), striking her in the jaw.

She staggered to her floor with a loud yelp, the contents of her purse pooling across the floor. Both Kayla and Candace circled (name) in protest, pulling into their embrace as the colossal hovered above, jeering.

Candace gasped, her eyes were wide, her mouth agape as she held (name’s) face between her palms. “(name)!” She cried, fretting her fingers across her face. “Are you okay?”

Sore but unharmed, (name) could manage a nod, nursing a hand to her swelling jaw. “I’m…I’m okay.”

Candace shot her head up and leered up at the colossal begrudgingly, shrieking. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

Rapidly, she climbed onto her feet, jumping between the colossal and her friend’s dazed figure, and glowering, waving her pointer finger and screeching like a banshee. “Do you like putting your hands on fucking defenceless women?! Huh! Do you think that’s okay?!”

“Aye, shut the fuck up! That bitch got what she fucking deserved—”

The neigh of engines and the screeching of hot tyres hailed across the strip, and the sound had bequeathed a play of silence across the beach.

The once vivacious party strip, nestled with drunk partygoers and deafening music, had quickly shimmered into silence. And all that sounded was the row of heavy footsteps mounting from the street onto the sidewalk. The footsteps marched into the crowd, dispersing the tide and began to section off each corner one by one as the clatter of a single pair of boots trotted forward.

Armando stared at (name), his face firm, and carefully crouched to his knees. It was a while before he spoke, his voice deep and guttural, his eyes boring into hers. “Are you okay?” Slowly, he brought his hands to her face and brushed his thumb against her jaw, the surface of her wound spreading purple with yellow blotches, and when she cowered back his expression darkened.

(name) could only utter a wary whisper, her eyes darting between him and the colossal behind him. “…yes.”

Inhaling deeply, Armando rose to height, hauling his girlfriend up to her feet. He held her hand in his, offering a forgiving glance and turned.

He clambered away from (name), his shoulders taunt and chin heavenward. Armando was angry– enraged. He did a good job of hiding it, but (name) knew the signs.

He wired his neck, rearing it from side to side and heaved slowly, his chest rising and falling. Every muscle on his face tightened, his eyes narrowed, and his chin jutted outward.

He approached the colossal, his arms pinned behind his back and gave him a once-over, sizing him up.

He blinked, parting his lips slowly, and then blinked again. “Do we have a problem?”

The colossal shook his head and feigned a hearty laugh, his pupils flared and mouth twisted. “Nah man, we’re cool–”

“Let me ask you again,” Armando snarled slowly, gritting his teeth together. “Do we have a problem?”

“Listen, man, I can assure you there’s no problem here–”

Armando sucked at the air like it had suddenly become thick and shut his eyes. He’d become deaf to his galling words, his rapid chatter professing a tale of ignorance and regard, a rapid back-tracking to his previously tough stance. And by then, his anger was irreversible.

He lunged at him; pummelling, hitting. Each hit landed with a sickening thud, the blow between skin and fist astounding. The man had swung back, wailing his fists in the air, but succumbed to the force of Armando’s blows. His movements were swift and silent, spectral. The pivot of his feet from place to place was incorporeal. He was impenetrable evading each wild blow before he swung again.

Armando flitted around the man, his movements a blur of speed and precision and winded his knee upwards. It prodded into his middle, driving into his chest, and sent him stumbling backwards, off-balance. His tumble left an opening, a gap between his face and Armando’s revolving leg.

He took the opening, rearing his leg upwards and swung it forward, striking. A rapid combination of punches and kicks followed, each came and landed with more precision and power till the colossal succumbed to near-coming death. He crumbled to the ground, in a grotesque mess of blood. His eyes were swollen over and bloody spit drooled from his slack jaws. He was now as revolting as he should be, finally, the outside reflected the spoiled man within.

Armando stood victorious over the bloody mess that was his adversary and sneered at him with such venom and disdain. He crouched down, his knuckles wounded with welts and stained with blood, not of his own, and grabbed his shirt, his grip like a vice.

He pulled him towards him, his face taut with rage and displeasure, and glowered over him. Under his grip, the man hung like cattle, his limbs astray as blood sputtered from out his mouth.

Armando rubbed his lips, swivelling on the balls of his feet, and gnashed his teeth together, chiding grimly. “You see..” he shook his head, his nostrils flared. “If it wasn’t for her…”

He turned to (name), lugging the man along and pointed. He leaned into his ear, his voice began small as a whisper and bubbled into a rue of senile and ghastly distaste. “…I’d kill you….”

“Consider this a warning–” Armando released his grip, the man flailing back onto the ground, and stood back on his feet. “You fuck with her, you fuck with me.”

He scowled, whipping his hands and leered at the crowd before him. In a stop-start fashion, one by one, the crowd fizzled out in groups of threes, fours, and fives. Song and chatter fizzled back across the strip in small bites and vivid hues flashed across the beach.

Armando turned to (name), his face closed up and extended his arm. He reached for her, placing her hand in his palm and grasped it tenderly. He held her hand to her face and wrapped her wound beneath her hand. He looked at her as her gaze trembled, her shoulders shivering and tugged her towards him. He held her in his arms, his tight embrace swelled around her middle and carefully coaxed (name) away.

Despite the return of vibrance and euphoria flooding across the party strip, an unsettling mist hung over. A monochrome of silver glanced over the black night. There was an uncharacteristically grim line etched across the faces of those among the dispersing crowd, a sense of sadness, remorse, dismay and dread.

Armando Aretas was not to be toyed with— and neither was she.

#black!reader #bad boys ride or die #bad boys for life #armando aretas x reader #armando aretas imagine #armando aretas fanfic #armando lowrey x reader #armando aretas lowrey x reader #jacob scipio

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jointherebellion215 · 8 months ago

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Birdie

John "Bucky" Egan x female!reader

Summary: A rare night out in London has Bucky coming to terms with his feelings for you.

Word Count: 2.9k

Tags: mechanic!reader, songbird!reader, female!reader, she/her pronouns used, drinking culture, cursing, mutual pining, moderate bouts of denial, insecurities, women supporting women because it's what we deserve, let's pretend that The Old Therebefore is an ancient Appalachian folk song in this universe, maybe she's a Mary Sue idgaf, I just wanted to write something happy so LET ME LIVE, WWII era, there's no Y/N but reader has the nickname "Birdie"

A/N: Yeah, I'm obsessed with Masters of the Air. I had to write something for my mans before the creative procrastination literally killed me. Please leave a like, comment, or even a reblog if you're so inclined :)

You can read my OC version of this story on AO3!

Songs Mentioned in This Fic:

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy by The Andrews Sisters

G.I. Jive by Johnny Mercer

The Ole Therebefore (Accapella) by Rachel Zegler

Disclaimer: I own nothing. This story and any recognizably named characters are based solely on dramatic portrayals of the characters from the series, not the real individuals they represent. All the respect to the actual service people who fought and died in the Second World War. Also, don't copy my writing without explicit permission. That includes you, you AI sonuvabitch.

Your heels clicked on the cobblestone streets, turning into the pub you’d heard so much about. You were out celebrating a very rare weekend off. The Brass had somehow allowed you and twenty other mechanics from base two days leave, so you took advantage of the opportunity and headed straight to London.

Your two best girlfriends from base were with you. Teresa was one of the toughest nurses you’d ever come across. She could give you a wide grin, crinkles around her hazel eyes, and reset a broken bone without breaking a sweat. It helps that she was already working towards becoming a nurse back in New Mexico, the war just sped along that process. You had bonded over your love of books, giving each other recommendations almost weekly.

You’d met Irene on the boat to England. She puked on your shoes almost thirty minutes exactly after leaving the port in New York. You gave a small grin, offering her a handkerchief and a piece of ginger candy and the rest was history. Finding out that she was a fellow mechanic was the icing on the cake. Coming in at a whopping five foot two, the spritely blonde could easily be found in a crowd with her loud Appalachian accent.

It seemed almost like fate for the three of you to have found each other. Being some of the few women on base naturally made you close, but you were closer with Irene and Teresa than any of the others. That’s not to say that you weren’t friends with any of the men, because you were. Friendly.

All three of you were dressed to the nines, in contradiction to your everyday work wear. You all got ready together in your hotel room, giggling while you applied makeup here, spritzed some perfume there. You all felt confident and were ready to have a good time. You spotted some familiar faces and made your way over towards them, your friends linked arm-in-arm with you. Lemmons was the first to greet you.

Of the fifty men on the ground crew, Sgt. Ken Lemmons was the most welcoming of them all. From the get-go, he didn’t care if you were a man or woman. He just wanted to know that you were capable. You were sure he had to go through some hazing because of his age, which probably changed his perspective on gatekeeping the job. This made earning and maintaining respect a lot easier for the women on your crew. We all came over with the same goal, it was better for all if we just helped each other out.

“Hey Birdie! Nice to see you out and about.”

Ah, the famed nickname. You tend to hum and sing under your breath when elbow-deep in a project. It helps you pass the time and clear your mind. Of course, the rest of the ground crew quickly caught on to this habit of yours, which quickly earned you the nickname “Birdie”. You, of course, never sing solo in public, so this confuses anyone who’s not around you while you’re working. But the name stuck, so here you are. Birdie.

Chairs are quickly cleared for you and your friends, which you all graciously take. You go up to buy some drinks, knowing what your friends like, and quickly return with your drinks of choice. Conversation flows, laughs are shared, and a few drinking games are played over the next hours. Teresa soon speaks up on a topic you’d been hoping to avoid.

“Do you think he’ll be here tonight?”

You shrug and look into your drink, “Dunno. Why does it matter?”

Irene, the ever supportive best friend that she is, backs up Teresa. “What do you mean ‘why’? This is your chance to finally make a move!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You quickly deny, taking another sip.

An unladylike snort leaves Irene, “My ass! You and Major Egan have been making googly eyes at each other when you think the other’s not looking for months. I’m saying it’s time for you to perk your tits up, buck on over and ride that—!” You slam your drink on the table, pressing your hand over Irene’s mouth, heat rising to your cheeks in embarrassment.

“Are you insane?” You whisper harshly, looking around to make sure no one overheard you. You seem to be in the clear, which makes you calm down a bit. Irene pushes off your hand, takes a swig of her drink, and consults the person who started this whole conversation.

“Am I wrong?” You look to Teresa, who cringes slightly in agreement.

You gape at the pair of them. Normally, you were the median between the two girls who had vastly differing opinions. But this is what made them come to a consensus? Unbelievable.

“Look, I’m not saying that I don’t want to.” You start, which makes your friends nod encouragingly at you. “It’s just that… Is he really as interested as you think he is?”

They both groan and slump against each other, like they’d just run a marathon. Teresa sits up, scooching your chair in closer so that the three of you were in a private triangle, cut off from the rest of the group.

“Let’s look at the facts here, okay?” Teresa starts to tick off a finger with each point she and Irene make. But you seem to always have a rebuttal at the ready.

“He brings you coffee every morning.”

“I thought he does that for everyone.”

“He constantly fixes his hair when you’re around.”

“He takes care of his appearance!”

“He walks you to the mess hall every day for dinner.”

“We just happen to be going the same way. And we happen to have the same dinner schedule.”

“He read The Hobbit when you said how much you loved it.”

“He’s an adventurous guy, it’s an adventurous book, what’s not to like about it?”

“You two literally will walk and talk outside alone for hours.”

“A man can’t have a stimulating conversation with a woman?”

“He laughs at all your dumb jokes.”

“Hey! They’re not all dumb. Like, the one with the goose and the—”

“Point proven. Anyways! He has your picture in the inside pocket of his jacket.”

That one stops you in your tracks. You brain tries to justify this meaning but comes up blank.

“He…” You struggle with an excuse. “He…” Your best friends give victorious smirks in your direction.

“He… likes the extra padding in his jacket?” You stutter over what is possibly the most pathetic, sorry excuse you could have ever come up with.

“When are you gonna admit to yourself that he likes you? Like, actually truly likes you?”

You gave a sad sigh, letting the insecurity you were feeling deep down come to the surface. “I just… He’s just so…” You had stomped down your feelings for so long that it was becoming hard to articulate what exactly you’re feeling.

“He just seems so unreal. Like, of everyone he could have chosen, why me? I mean, I know I’m great. But you’ve seen the other girls on base. They’re all so beautiful, smart, classy… and none of them are covered in engine oil ninety percent of the time.” You looked down at your hands, specks of grease and oil peeking out from beneath your nail beds. It seems like it would never completely wash out, no matter how hard you scrubbed. You hadn’t even painted your nails for this weekend, knowing it would be money wasted come Monday morning when you’re back on the clock.

Teresa and Irene share a look that you don’t see, then come forward and grab each of your hands.

“The words you just used to describe those girls. All of that is you, Birdie. That and more. You being a mechanic doesn’t make you any less of a woman, and to hell with anyone else who thinks otherwise.” You nodded in agreement, Irene’s words of encouragement slowly washing away your anxieties.

Teresa spoke up next, “You deserve someone who will rearrange the stars and the whole night sky for you. And I’m more than willing to bet that Major Egan is up for the job.”

“Besides, none of that 'unreal' stuff. At the end of the day, John Egan is nothing more than a man. If he can’t look past his nose and his d—" You gave a squeak to cover up the vulgar word Irene was about to blurt in public. She rolled her eyes fondly and continued.

“If he can’t see what you’re worth and make the effort to treat you a hundred times better than that? That’s on him. Not you. You know what you deserve, and you deserve everything you want. Absolutely everything.”

You sniffed, happy tears coming to your eyes. You brought your best friends in for a hug, thanking them profusely.

“Don’t sweat it,” Teresa grins into your shoulder “every girl needs to be pulled out of her well sometime.”

You pull back from the hug, grabbing your glass and tipping your head back, finishing the rest of your drink. “Even if he’s not gonna be here, let’s have a ball!” Your girlfriends cheer as the three of you go to the bar for refills.

One drink turns into two, which turns into a few more, and suddenly you’re buzzed. Your group are having a rambunctious time, Irene dancing by the local piano player. Once Irene looks over to you, she stops and whispers in the player’s ear. He nods, then starts a new tune. Irene starts up her voice, walking over to you and Teresa, encouraging you to join her.

The alcohol has loosened you up enough that you don’t feel the nausea you usually associate with being perceived, so you join in the harmonies you and your friends have practiced in your bunks at night.

He was a famous trumpet man from out Chicago way

He had a boogie style that no one else could play

He was the top man at his craft

But then his number came up and he was gone with the draft

Soon the whole pub was jumping and dancing along to the tune as you brought a new vibe to the pub. It was like a spark that started an entirely new night and everyone was eager to go on forever.

One song turns into an entire set, which ends with a full rendition of G.I. Jive, which had everyone singing along. It was a magical moment; made you feel like you were a part of something important.

Irene sidles up to you, giving you a hug. She says in your ear,

“I think it’s time to slow it down a bit. How about you sing that song I taught you.”

She means an old Appalachian folk song that’s been in her family for generations. You had heard her sing it one night and immediately loved the dark, but strong nature of the lyrics. It was an honor to learn it from her.

“I don’t know, it’s your family’s song and…”

“And I can’t think of anyone better to sing it to these soldiers.” You gave each other a look, her slight eyebrow raise gave you the courage to nod in acceptance. She smiled, hugging you again, her voice yelled out to the crowd.

“Birdie’s gonna sing solo!”

The announcement is met with raucous applause, Irene and Teresa shoving you towards a dodgy looking table. Crank offers a hand up, which you take gratefully. As you find your bearings on the tabletop, you quickly spin around and find all eyes on you.

The crackling energy in the air seemed to simmer, the fast-beating hearts of the pubgoers recognizing a moment to acknowledge you. Nausea starts to make an appearance, but a deep breath quells the sensation within you for the time being.

You take another deep breath. Inhale, exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

You close your eyes, open your mouth, and sing.

Meanwhile….

Majors Gale Cleven and John Egan walk down the familiar street, one eager to catch up with his fellow countrymen’s alcohol intake, the other just happy to spend time with his friends. They were arriving later to the festivities due to being caught up in filling out reports. By far the worst part of having a higher rank was the paperwork.

“It’s pretty quiet.” Buck acknowledges. “They’re usually rowdier by this point.”

Bucky sniffs, shrugging off the concern. “Ah, it’s probably nothing.”

As the two men approach the pub, they find that a crowd has formed. Soldiers, civilians, RAF, USAAF, old, young— people had obviously stopped to watch whatever was going on. It was dead silent, save for a voice singing. Was there a radio show on or something?

A familiar face peeks out at them from the crowd, DeMarco quickly waving them over.

Bucky is quick to question, “Hey, what’s going on?” but is immediately shushed by nearby crowd members. Buck cringes in apology, despite not being the one to disturb the peace. His best friend, ever unshaken by the opinion of strangers, carries on.

DeMarco leans in, whispering, “Your girl’s taking us all to church.”

“My girl..?” Bucky’s nose scrunches in confusion. He makes space through the crowd and quickly makes sense of DeMarco’s words. It was you.

I’ll catch you up

When I’ve emptied my cup

When I’ve worn out my friends

When I’ve burned out both ends

Standing on a tabletop, watchful eyes sat all around you like baby ducks flocking to their mama. You were captivating everyone with each note and word that flows from your mouth. Damn, you've got a set of pipes— a voice that belongs on the radio, in concert halls, on Hollywood records. He had no idea.

His little Birdie.

“Wow.” Buck mutters in awe from behind him, and Bucky couldn’t be more in agreement.

When I’m pure like a dove

When I’ve learned how to love

He hadn’t noticed before, but her eyes were closed. Like she needed to concentrate on each and every breath she took, every single movement her body made, before letting them out in an angelic melody.

As if by divine intervention, her eyes pop open and lock on his as she belts “how to love”

It could’ve been an eternity, for all he knows, the amount of time that they spent locked in each other’s gaze. The world pauses around them, everything frozen. Her eyes were already the kind to knock a man clean off his feet with a single gaze, but he thinks- for a brief moment- that his heart completely stops beating.

John Clarence Egan would swear every day from then on, until his dying breath, that the course of his life was altered in that very moment. He knew how it would continue from then on, and how it would end. How he wanted it to end.

Then the world starts back up and carries on.

Right here in the old therebefore

When nothing is left anymore

Her final hums are joined by a short blonde woman who stands nearby, another face he recognizes from base.

The applause that picks up after the end of the song is near deafening. The star of the hour gives a shy smile, a quick curtsy and is given a hand to step down from the table.

Everyone soon starts mingling, the normal chatter of the bar returning. But Bucky is stuck in his spot, dumbfounded. In all the conversations you’d had together, somehow this never came up. He should’ve put two and two together, as he recalls overhearing your hums one morning as he made his daily coffee delivery to you. But you had been caught off guard, so much so that you tripped off the ladder you stood on and fell. Luckily, his quick reflexes kicked in to catch you before any serious injuries occurred.

Remembering the sensation of his hands on your waist and thighs, face just inches from yours, sent his brain into a tailspin. That’s not even considering just how damn cute you were when, after a beat, you turned away from him and playfully mourned the cups of coffee that were splattered all over the hardstand.

“John. John?” A hand waving in front of his face knocks him out of his reverie. He blinks once, twice. Then looks to his best friend.

His voice comes out uncharacteristically weak in response, to which he then clears his throat and corrects. “Yes—yeah?” He pops the collar of his sheepskin jacket to try and hide the rampant red of his ears that signals the heat radiating from them.

Buck just shakes his head and gives him a knowing smile. “You sure know how to pick ‘em, Egan. Never thought I’d see the day.”

“See what day?” Bucky starts to consciously return to his body, leaning on the bar.

“The day when a girl finally knocks you on your ass. I knew you had a thing for her, but that?” He points to his face and motions to indicate where they had just been standing. “That’s something else. That’s something real.”

Bucky gives another shrug in response, to which Buck throws back an unconvinced frown. He turns his head to gaze over the pub patrons and is distracted by you once again. Any denial he was about to spout immediately dies in his mouth when you lock eyes with him again and give him a dazzling smile. The world starts to fade away again.

His heart pumps faster in his chest at the sight. Damnit. He sighs, telling his best friend the truth he’s been privately wrestling with for a while now, all the while keeping his eyes locked on yours.

“I know, Buck. I know.”

Bucky smiles back at you and is elated when your face lights up. You give him a wave.

“She kinda snuck up on me.”

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elrieldreamer · 26 days ago

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You do know that Elain is younger than Gwyn right? I know math can be challenging but 24 is less than 28.

Hey, anon! I am fully aware that Elain is 23 (human) plus her fae years old. I also understand how numbers work. In this particular case, standard math doesn’t exactly jive.

In ACOTAR Alis discusses her nephews. Her nephews who are still children at over 50 faerie years old. She also reinforces that fae age differently than humans.

Tarquin, at 80 years old, is considered young by the other high lords.

Beron, Tamlin, the bay boys, etc … are all 540+ and in their “prime”.

Mor was promised to Eris at 17 and LoA to Beron when she was 20. But their partners were also MUCH closer (hundreds of years) in fae age than Gwyn would be to the bat boys.

The canon references to Gwyn’s age include Cassian calling her a “nice girl” and Azriel calling her a “young priestess”. Even NESTA agrees that to Cassian she is indeed “a girl”. Even if she can be considered “an adult”, she’s still very, very young for a faerie. Young enough that, combined with the way that both bat boys AND Nesta have described her above, I don’t find her to be a good choice of partner for the 500+ year old bat boys. Impossible? No. Rhys’s parents were 900 and 18, but… we know how that worked out.

In the human world, the Archeron sisters are MUCH closer to their “prime” than their ages seem when compared to the fae world. They would’ve been considered approximately 1/3 into their expected human lifespan, and thus fully old enough to be married, have children, and to be considered full adults.

Sarah gave us conflicting information across the series regarding fae age, but in my opinion the fact that Cassian, Azriel, AND Nesta all describe Gwyn as very young makes her a less than ideal choice as Azriel’s mate in future books. Much like it wouldn’t be palatable for me, someone in their “prime” to be with someone “very young”.

#elriel #pro elriel #azriel and elain #azriel x elain #elain x azriel #anti gwynriel

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piratecaptainscaptainpirates · 15 days ago

Text

Hey. I want to talk about how we, as a fandom, talk about Stede.

I want to preface this with the fact that I adore Stede, in all his multi-faceted, complex glory. The way that he's been brave and allowed himself to fight for a more authentic life is incredibly inspiring to me. I'm a lot like Stede, both on the surface-level "we're both femme gay men who are unable to present as anything else" and on a deeper "we both feel a sort of fundamental alienation from our peers and as a result are easily susceptible to peer pressure and tend to self-isolate as a learned coping mechanism and accidentally hurt others by assuming they don't want us in our lives." I think MANY people in this fandom find it very easy to relate with some of Stede's deeper issues, I don't presume I'm alone here.

And it's very true that there is a loud chunk of this fandom who vocally hate both of the main characters and talk about Stede like he's just some bumbling idiot. I get wanting to push back on that.

But I don't think it's really helpful to argue that people should police the way we talk about Stede. I can understand why the "Stede is my stupid bitch <3" and "Stede's cringe" jokes can hit a bit too close to home for some people, but I don't think that every joke post should need to come with a disclaimer that's like "I don't actually think Stede is a loser." Lord knows I've made my fair share of "Ed's such a dork <3" posts, too.

The thing here, I think, is that when people say things like "Stede's so cringe, I love him," that's from a place of deep affection and growing self-acceptance. I've worried about feeling "cringe" before, for a lot of the things that Stede does, too - not reading social cues correctly, for talking in ways that don't match up with the social situation I'm in, for loving things too much, for being a gnc gay man. If Stede's 'cringe,' and I love him so much...then how can I be mean to myself for the same things?

I don't think anyone who actually likes Stede and says things like "he's so dumb I love him" is being mean or simplifying the character, especially not just in a short joke post. If you've actually watched the show, then you KNOW Stede isn't dumb. Sometimes jokes just aren't that deep, and I think these posts, at their deepest, are no worse than "I relate to this guy a lot and he's really silly and I love him." It's okay if that kind of post annoys you, but it's also important to remember that they're coming from people who also love and relate to the character, and aren't malicious at all.

At the end of the day, I guess...I just think it's important for people to feel able to relate to Stede and write about him in ways that are meaningful to them, and sometimes our needs won't jive, and that's okay, and we can be mindful of that.

#ofmd #fandom discourse #btw this is not directed at anyone in particular i've seen this everywhere!#i've been thinking on this for a while and was just reminded of it after some discussion I saw last night/this morning

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daisyblog · 1 year ago

Text

Just Hold On

Our Story Masterlist Summary: Harry takes care of YN.

Warning: grief, loss of a loved one, upset, crying

Four days. Four days of feeling helpless. Watching her cry, not knowing how to stop her pain. Harry was expecting her to shut herself away but he had read that grief hits people differently, which explains her constant movement as she cleaned and rearranged everything she could. It was almost like she was afraid to stop and be alone with her thoughts.

Cutting his thoughts, Harry’s phone rang from where it sat on the kitchen island 'Mum' it read.

"Hey Mum". Harry greeted as he pottered around the kitchen, moving some used cutlery to the sink to wash later.

"Hi darling..how's YN today?" Anne’s delicate voice spoke through the speaker.

"She's okay..I just feel so helpless..like I hate seeing her hurting" Harry’s voice was deflated, he needed his Mum’s wise words.

"Oh darling...I know it's heartbreaking..I just can't stop thinking about them all..and the little ones" Anne sympathised on the other end of the phone.

"Yeh..they don't quite understand..YN spoke with her grandparents earlier". Harry explained about Ernest and Doris.

"Poor babies..are you going to watch Louis tonight?".

"Yeh..yeh YN's just gone to get ready..I think he's so brave for doing it..but I know it's what their Mum would have wanted" He gently spoke to his Mum as he continued to pace around the room.

"She would have..she loved watching him perform..they're stong..YN and Louis I mean". Anne thought out loud.

"That's what I'm afraid of Mum..I'm like..I'm worried she's going to hold it all together and..and..I don't know crumble I suppose". Harry’s voice rambled his thoughts.

"Harry..that's where she's gonna need you...let her be strong for everyone else..she's probably going to hold it all together for her sisters and brother...but you be the one that holds her yeh”.

"Yeh..I didn't think of it like that".

"Look after her love...she's going to need you now more than ever". Anne’s words were wise.

"I'll always look after her Mum".

"I know you will...I love you darling...give YN a big cuddle from me".

"I will..I love you too Mum".

"Bye love".

After the conversation with his Mum, Harry could hear some music playing upstairs. Following the sound, he was led to YN standing in their bedroom looking at a black plain dress that was laid across the duvet, and he recognised ABBA playing from the speaker.

"Hey baby" Harry’s voice startled her.

"Shit...you scared me" YN laughed. Harry had missed her laugh. It was one of his favourite sounds.

"Sorry..I didn't mean to...Abba huh?”.

"I remember when I was younger...me Mum would be doing her make-up or whatever..in her bedroom and..um...we would all be in there with her and she'd always play ABBA...and we would all dance and I dunno..sorry it's silly". As YN spoke, Harrg moved closer to her so he could listen.

"Hey..it's not silly..if listening to music helps...then do it" Harry gently spoke as he wrapped his arms around her in comfort. As she leaned her head on Harry’s chest, he had an idea. "Alexa..play Dancing Queen".

"What are you doin'?" YN looked up at him with a confused expression.

"We're going to dance!” Harry stated like it was the most obvious thing.

"Bu-" YN began before Harry interrupted her.

"No buts!” Harry’s voice was deep.

Ooh You can dance You can jive Having the time of your life Ooh, see that girl Watch that scene Digging the dancing queen

And that's how they got ready that afternoon, dancing around in their bedroom, singing into hairbrushes and forgetting the world around them for a moment.

---

Harry and YN were on their way to Fountain Studios, where Louis was performing his new song on The X Factor. As Harry drove, YN sat silently in the passenger seat as reality hit her again. Almost like it was a coincidence, a familiar song played through the speakers, causing their heads to snap towards each other.

"Fook off!" YN's voice broke the silence "They..I haven't..they don't play this on the radio anymore.” She couldn’t help but stutter.

"Almost like it was meant to be ey?”. Harry wore a big smile at how perfectly timed the song played.

"I remember when you sang this to me drunk once..cringey as fook it was". YN laughed at the memory,

"Don't fucking lie...you loved it". Harry was enjoying the happy moment between them.

"I did actually" YN finally admitted.

"Because you're gorgeous, I'd do anything for you, because you're gorgeous, I know you'll get me through" Harry sung along with the radio and reached over to hold her hand that sat on her knee.

As the song finished Harry was quick to speak again "You know I would do anything for you don't you?".

Her hand in Harry’s squeezed his slightly before she spoke the three words Harry loved hearing "I love you".

"I love you too gorgeous!”.

---

As they entered the busy room backstage where Louis and people from his team currently were, YN leaves Harry’s arms and immediately finds her brother in the crowd. Instantly they wrap their arms around each other and Harry can see Louis talk into her ear. Harry stands back in the corner and allows them to have their moment. From where he stands he can see YN nod slightly at whatever Louis says to her.

Two bodies break Harry from his thoughts as they stand next to him. “Hey man..how you doin'?”. Liam's the first one to talk.

"Just trying to be there for her if I'm 'onest..she just..she's trying to keep herself busy all the time" Harry explained to the two boys as he continued to look in YN’s direction.

"Must be so hard" Niall spoke as he took a glance at Louis and YN.

"We're gonna go and stay with my Mum for a few days before heading to Doncaster for Christmas...just escape reality for a bit...YN suggested it". Harry spoke about their plans for the next few weeks.

"Might be good..you know to be around other people..take her mind off things" Liam nodded his head.

"Yeah I hope so" Harry thought out loud, hoping they were right.

Louis was talking to a member of his team so YN made her way back over and Niall was the first to pull her into a brotherly embrace.

"Tomlinson...I've missed your hugs" Niall spoke as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Watching the sight in front of him made Harry realise how much love YN had around her.

"Yeah..well save some for the rest of us mate" Liam joked. YN moved from Niall's hold and greeted Liam in a hug. Harry could hear Liam's voice as he wrapped his arm around her. “We're all here for you too okay..don't be afraid to call or text okay?" to which YN thanked him. This wasn't just friendship, this was family.

"Is Lou okay?" Harry asked YN as she moved closer to him, before reaching to hold his hand.

"Think he's just holding it together if I'm 'onest" YN spoke as her fingers played with Harry, whilst looking over at her brother.

"Where's your Nan and Grandad...and the girls?" Harry asked as he looked around the room, not being able to see them. Niall and Liam were talking amongst themselves.

"Phebs and Dais wanted to see the audience empty or somethin'...I'm gonna stay backstage to watch Lou..if you don't mind?".

"Wh-why would I mind...we'll do whatever you're comfortable with" Harry reassured her and pecked her lips in a quick motion.

"Some things never change huh...still disgustingly in love..feel like I'm back in 2013" Niall teased them, which Harry was glad of because he thought that's what YN needed, for people to still act the same.

"Aw shut up Horan" YN laughed, as she pushed his arm playfully.

"I'll wait until you find the one" Harry joked as he pulled YN even closer to his side.

"I feel sorry for her already" YN continued to tease Niall as he stood there with a smile on his face.

"You're a cheeky shit Tommo..you know that" Niall joked.

Louis found them standing in the corner and pulled Niall then Liam into a hug and thanked them both for coming, explaining how much it meant to him. "C'mon Harold...I won't leave you out" Louis joked and Harry wrapped his arm around him as he whispers in his ear "Has she been okay?".

"Yeh and no" Harry truthfully answered, as they broke apart.

"I'm looking forward to hearing your song" Liam broke the silence.

"I'm so fookin' nervous man...I couldn't even finish sound check earlier..just dunno..felt like I was gonna throw up". Louis shrugged his shoulders, a nervous habit of his as he spoke.

Niall tapped Louis on the shoulder and reassured him "Hey..you're gonna do great Tommo...we're all right behind ya tonight yeh?".

"Yeh I know..thanks man" Louis wore a grateful smile. "I think Nan, Grandad and the girls are gonna sit in the audience..are you joining them Kiddo?". He aimed the question towards YN.

"I'm gonna stay backstage with Harry..and the boys" YN answered as she moved so she was standing in front of Harry and naturally his arm wrapped around her front and landed on her shoulder.

"Of course you are" Louis had a playful smirk on his face "Fookin' hell Styles...what's your secret, she never wants to leave your side?" Before he could respond, Louis continued before he walked away chuckling to himself "Actually don't fookin' answer that".

---

It had been a couple of days since Louis' X Factor performance and as YN requested they were in Holmes Chapel for a few days, before travelling to Doncaster for Louis's Birthday and Christmas. Harry and YN had arrived a couple of hours ago and as soon as they walked through Anne’s front door, YN was pulled into her arms. At any other time, Harry would have made a joke about her liking YN more than him, her son, but instead he carried on walking through the hallway and placing their bags at the bottom of the stairs.

After dinner later that night, they were sitting in the lounge, Gemma and Michael sat on one sofa with Robin and YN, Mum and Harry on the other. YN's back was pressed to Harry’s side and his arm wrapped around her frame and hand resting on her tummy. Harry had noticed she was quieter than usual as the rest of them chatted about different things, but Harry thought maybe she was concentrating on the film playing on the telly. Harry pressed his lips to the top of her head, and to his left, Harry felt his Mum give him a subtle nudge. As he turned to look at her she gave him a sympathetic look and mouthed "Is she okay?" as she nodded towards YN in Harry’d arms, to which he shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm gonna go to the loo a sec" YN spoke for the first time in a while, as she stood up leaving the space next to Harry empty and walking towards the kitchen.

Anne asked if anyone wanted a cup of tea, to which everyone replied: "Yes please". Anne had been gone all for a few minutes until she appeared at the lounge door calling Harry’s name softly and motioning for him to follow her. As they walked through the kitchen door, she spoke in a whisper "I..I'm..I didn't want to knock on the door just in case...but I think YN is crying in there".

Harry didn't hesitate to walk over to the bathroom door and give it a soft knock "YN..it's me", he heard a sniffle, instantly knowing Anne was right.

"I-I..I'll be out now" YN's voice was heard through the door. Harry opened the door gently and peered around to see her frame sitting next to the bath on the floor, with her back pressed against the wall and knees up to her chest.

"Baby!”. Harry panicked and walked into the room and closed the door behind him. Harry sits next to YN on the ground and pulled her to his side where she grips onto his jumper and sobs into Harry’s chest as he holds the side of her. Harry allows her to cry and get everything she feels out. After some time she sits up and wipes her eyes with the sleeves of her jumper.

"Sorry" her voice is quiet, almost like she’s embarrassed.

"Babe..why are you saying sorry?". Harry voice was gentle, soft and calm as he wiped away another tear from her cheek.

"I-I...for..for crying" she sniffled trying to stop her tears from spilling.

"Don't you dare be sorry for that...you know it's okay to feel like this". Harry was sad that YN felt like she needed to apologise.

"It's just..I..it hits me more in the night" she confessed.

"I think that's normal..you kind of have more time to think".

"Yeh..I just miss her so much..this is probably really silly-".

"Whatever it is I bet it's not".

"I've been phoning her phone still and sending her texts" YN wiped a stray tear that escaped.

"Does it help?".

"Kind of".

"Then it's not silly and you should keep doing it".

"Why did you come in here anyway?" she questioned.

"My Mum was making everyone a cuppa and she heard you crying..she didn't want to come in just incase-".

YN's voice interrupted "She's got a heart of gold hasn't she?”.

"She does!”. Harry couldn’t help but smile.

---

It was now Christmas Eve, also Louis' birthday. Harry and YN travelled to Doncaster that morning from Anne’s house. Since that night Harry found YN in the bathroom upset, she seemed a bit more relaxed and not hiding away when she feels upset. As they walked through the door to YN's grandparent's house, they were both greeted by Jen and Len pulling them both in for a hug. As Jen began making them all cups of tea, they all stood in the kitchen chatting.

"Is Lou here yet" YN asked her grandparents, waiting for one of them to answer.

"No not yet..he said he'd be here around 4ish". Jen glanced at the brown clock that was up on the wall.

"Oh I was hoping he'd be here earlier than that-" YN began but was interrupted by a heard of footsteps and her four sisters appeared all running into her and hugging any part of her body they could.

"Missed me have ya?" YN’s voice turned into her happy and bubbly self. Harry wondered if it was for her sisters sake.

"Can you paint my nails?" "Can I do your make-up?" "Will you curl my hair" the girls all spoke over each other, making Harry chuckle.

"C'mon then munchkins, let's go" YN spoke, holding Pheobe and Daisy's hand as they walked through to the lounge and continued upstairs.

Once the girls' voices had disappeared upstairs, Jen looked in their direction to make sure they were upstairs, before handing Harry and Len their mugs of tea as they all sat by the table. "How's she been Harry?".

"She..um..she's been okay..but she did break down in my Mum's the other night, I found her crying on the bathroom floor" Harry explained, as he watched the older couple take a glance at eachother .

"I knew she wasn't being truthful with me" Jen spoke with a sad expression.

"I think she wants to be strong for you all" Harry admitted, taking a sip of his boiling hot tea.

"She's always been stubborn..ever since she was little hasn't she Jen?”. Len sighed.

"Yeh..her and Louis both..oh Harry they would argue like mad...typical siblings really...and then the next minute they were like best mates...YN always looks for Louis for when she's upset..always has done" Jen reminised.

"Yeh she told me that when she's with him she feels like she's at home..a comfort thing I suppose" Harry admitted, thinking about what YN had told him before.

---

Just after 4, Louis arrived and just like the girls had greeted YN when she arrived, the five of them all ran to him shouting 'Happy Birthday'.

"Harold...I'm very disappointed that you didn't run to me too" Louis joked as he walked towards Harry.

"Happy Birthday mate" Harry said witha big grin and tapped his shoulder.

"Thanks lad!”.

"Right..c'mon then you lot..let's get some music on and let's celebrate me turning 25" Louis ordered his sisters. The younger girls ran into the lounge and decided which songs to play first. Harry stood back and watched as Louis and YN walked together, Louis's arm wrapped around her shoulder.

As Jen and Len stayed in the kitchen, preparing dinner and insisted they didn't need any of Harry’s help, he stood in the doorway of the lounge as the Tomlinsons danced around the room singing along to 'Shut Up and Dance".

"Harry c'mon...you can't just stand there" Daisy began to pull Harry into the chaos.

"B-but I can't dance" Harry protested, but it was no use.

"Neither can Louis..it's fine" Phoebe teased her older brother as he acted hurt and put a hand over his heart. The song changes and 'This One's For You' plays through the speaker.

As Harry spins Daisy around and she continues to dance. Harry looks over at YN as she dances with the older girls and as she catches his gaze, he sends her a wink that makes her shyly smile back at him.

We're in this together Hear our hearts beat together We stand strong together We're in this forever

Tag List: (let me know if you would like to be added) @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @harrys-flower @platinumbarbie143 @frickin-bats @harrysbbyh0ney fanfictioncafe lilfreakjez jerseygirlinca iamahallucinationnn @chronicallybubbly @goldensunflowe-r @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite @kaverichauhan @peterholland04 @panicattheuc @indierockgirrl

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slaaverin · 2 months ago

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Hey Slavv

you’re video edit was wonderful, thank you for sharing it with us

I just wondered what you thought about the episode as a whole? Did the baby conversation make you take pause? I hope they are able to stay together despite not being able to be parents in the future.

Ohh thank you so much 💜

This question is quite hard for me to answer properly.

First of all, I really loved it. I had a very peculiar and quite strong reaction to it. I'll try to put it in words the best I can.

I'll start with a simple thing: in my 7 years of being a jikooker, that is all I ever wanted to see from them.

Being relaxed, happy, joyous, authentic, confortable.

So this felt like some kind of apoteose. Everything came full circle. For them & for me.

When you think about it, nothing really happened in this episode, they were doing the most mundane things, but there was this vibe of the most comfort, the most warmth, the most quiet and simple love, that my heart was deeply touched by it and after it hit me I really had no words to describe the feeling I had. It's deep stuff lol

Somehow they always exceed my expectations. I'm not those people who say "I expect nothing so I won't get disappointed". No, I expect things. But not because I want them to do certain stuff, more because I feel I know them sufficiently, and some of their patterns, and I see them within the love umbrella, so it gets easier and easier to predict what they might do or not. How crazy this is that they check absolutely all the boxes everytime and confirm every theory? I'm trying to stay sane of mind over here but no they want me to be the most delulu lol

Of course the ambiance really helped the episode to feel dream-like. And we know how much Japan means to them. JK must have said 384737 times how much he loved it and how happy he was.

Nothing was hanging on their shoulders anymore, no burdens, and I think that's why they were able to enjoy it this much.

It's quite insane when you think about it how fluid this all was. Like nothing felt out of place, conversation flowed easily, they are on the same wavelength about everything, they spoke openly, they had fun and let their inner child play, everything felt SO EASY. Their dynamic is just perfect, no hiccups, it just fits, jives, it clicks.

Now I am wondering how the hell they are not already a human representation of the Cosmic couple because if there is supposed to be a next level to this relationship I can't even imagine what that would look like. How much better can it get? It's so full of love already. Anyway I digress

About the child talk, firstly I was expecting this talk in Sapporo indeed. It was obvious they would at least mention it. So when I saw the scene I was already prepared mentally.

It doesn't make me worry about jikook because I think that if at some point they will want a child, they'll get to have one. Jimin or Jungkook can firstly adopt as a single parent (a bill has been passed about this in Korea recently) and then raise the child together unofficially. Or they can use a surrogate mother from overseas or something. You know they are filthy rich so I think if they REALLY want to, they would find a way.

But JK isn't ready about it yet lmao leave this man alone for now 😂

When and if it is the right time for the both of them there will be solutions so I'm not worried. This moment was really cute 🥰

Who knows what the future holds for them. Many years before we would have never expected to see them even shirtless, we would have not believed we would see their dynamic up this close in a show like this.

Things can evolve quickly. Who knows how things will develop with BTS as well, for how long will they remain a group?

It's true they are getting old, in "idol age".

Who knows how the country will evolve too?

I trust Jimin&Jungkook to make decisions about their future that will benefit them and their relationship. Maybe it will involve a child, maybe not. But I personally don't think they would break up because of this. You can see how precious their relationship is for them.

But only time will tell if I'm right.

Anyway, I could go over all the scenes of this episode and talk about it for hours.

I know this was an ephemeral dream for them this trip, like a time capsule, a bubble of normalcy, where everything is and means suddenly more. There was nothing and everything they needed at the same time. Ahh, so beautiful 🥺

I wish their lives were all the time like this, but it is what it is, they had to come down from the cloud, and face their duty, then it will be their schedule, and things will go back to regular program.

But for now I don't mind losing myself in the dream with them, and float, and pretend everything is the way they want it to be.

"All for your happiness" Jimin said

If they are happy, I am happy.

Let's enjoy those next 2 eps, I think we're in for other surprises.

Thank you for your ask 💜

#jikook #kookmin #jungkook #jimin #bts #ask #are you sure #travel show #sapporo

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enjoy-the-small-thingsxx · 2 months ago

Text

THE POEM THAT ONCE WAS US

A little house with three bedrooms,

One bathroom and one car on the street;

A mower that you had to push

To make the grass look neat.

In the kitchen on the wall

We only had one phone,

And no need for recording things,

Someone was always home.

We only had a living room

Where we would congregate;

Unless it was at mealtime

In the kitchen where we ate.

We had no need for family rooms

Or extra rooms to dine.

When meeting as a family

Those two rooms worked out just fine.

We only had one TV set

And channels, maybe two,

But always there was one of them

With something worth the view

For snacks we had potato chips

That tasted like a chip.

And if you wanted flavor

There was Lipton's onion dip.

Store-bought snacks were rare because

My mother liked to cook,

And nothing can compare to snacks

In Betty Crocker's book

Weekends were for family trips

Or staying home to play.

We all did things together,

Even go to church to pray.

When we did our weekend trips

Depending on the weather,

No one stayed at home because

We liked to be together.

Sometimes we would separate

To do things on our own,

But we knew where the others were

Without our own cell phone.

Then there were the movies

With your favorite movie star,

And nothing can compare

To watching movies in your car

Then there were the picnics

At the peak of summer season,

Pack a lunch and find some trees

And never need a reason.

Get a baseball game together

With all the friends you know,

Have real action playing ball

And no game video.

Remember when the doctor

Used to be the family friend,

And didn't need insurance

Or a lawyer to defend?

The way that he took care of you

Or what he had to do,

Because he took an oath and strived

To do the best for you.

Remember going to the store

And shopping casually,

And when you went to pay for it

You used your own money?

Nothing that you had to swipe

Or punch in some amount,

And remember when the cashier person

Had to really count?

The milkman used to drive a truck

And go from door to door,

And it was just a few cents more

Than going to the store.

There was a time when mailed letters

Came right to your door,

Without a lot of junk mail ads

Sent out by every store.

The mailman knew each house by name

And knew where it was sent;

There were not loads of mail addressed

To "present occupant”

There was a time when just one glance

Was all that it would take,

And you would know the kind of car,

The model and the make

They didn't look like turtles

Trying to squeeze out every mile;

They were streamlined, white walls, fins and “skirts”,

And really had some style

One time the music that you played

Whenever you would jive,

Was from a vinyl, big-holed record

Called a forty-five

The record player had a post

To keep them all in line,

And then the records would drop down

And play one at a time.

Oh sure, we had our problems then,

Just like we do today

And always we were striving,

To find a better way.

Oh, the simple life we lived,

Still seems like so much fun.

How can you explain the game,

“Just kick the can and run?”

And all us boys put baseball cards

Between our bicycle spokes;

And for a nickel, red machines

Had little bottled Cokes?

This life seemed so much easier;

Slower in some ways.

I love the new technology,

But I sure do miss those days.

So time moves on and so do we,

And nothing stays the same;

But I sure love to reminisce

And walk down memory lane.

With all today's technology

We grant that it's a plus!

But it's fun to look way back and say,

Hey look, guys, THAT WAS US!

Jacqueline Penbe

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malorisaurus · 3 months ago

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No shade, promise! I just don't really understand taking murderous and toxic couples that we love for those traits and putting them in scenes of domestic docility? In other contexts, I am perfectly happy to watch characters arrive at their conception of domestic bliss, so it isn't necessarily a problem of not jiving with the concept. Perhaps I get too hung up on my own ideas of what would make sense for a character?

For example, embracing while being gutted/gutting is definitely a penetrative sex act, and bleeding out on the kitchen floor is climax. Even when not doing a stab, characters that express intimacy as though it is a chess game to be won light me up. I am obsessed with that particular dynamic, and I don't really imagine scenes where they set those aspects aside to play out cultural ideals of domestic tranquility. I don't mind or judge people for imagining that, but I just don't understand it (literally). I am trying to! I will often like images that people create because they are so talented and it is clear that so much love goes into it. Plus, little snapshots like that are easier for me to wrap my head around. I struggle more with fanfiction.

To continue to use Hannibal and Will as an example (if it wasn't obvious in the above), I don't even anticipate them having particularly vanilla sex. Vanilla sex was a part that Hannibal played with the people that he was fooling (Alana). And hey, my dude still likes to get off. Good on him. With Bedelia, my personal interpretation was that their relationship flirted with wider exploration, but Hannibal was still playing a part. In my world, if Hannibal and Will even have sex (much of the time, I don't even get there and instead ruminate over their power dynamics as desire), they get absolutely freaky-deaky, and their growth is counter to everything that is held up as ideal culturally (in the US). No nuclear family, obsession as a feature not a bug, and a deep commitment to absolute depravity. And there is plenty of that to be had amongst the fans, to be sure.

I suppose for me, these characters are a vehicle to allow the exploration and expansion of something within me, becoming, as fiction always does, my own. This, of course, is also happening for everyone else. I think what confuses me is reconciling an attraction to these "depraved" aspects of these characters and then seemingly removing them entirely? What is happening for people there? What is it doing for them? What makes that exciting and what feelings arise? Is it a way to reconcile one's own attraction to those themes and dynamics with ideas of how relationships should look? Or is it simply a joy in placing characters in unlikely and varied scenarios? Of course there are probably a million answers.

I am glad that there is a diversity of expression through the characters and these shows, though. I think this is one of the reasons I so obsessively watched film and TV growing up. Going through this process has really helped me to understand a lot more about people. I despise not understanding! XD

#personal #hannibal #nbc hannibal #hannigram #will graham

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agoddamn · 8 months ago

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While we're talking about inconsistencies with the new update--what the fuck is this.

"Warframe insurrections?" I thought at first he was talking about the Night of the Drums and the Collapse, but that doesn't track.

1) Night of the Drums was purposeful and orchestrated. The whole galaxy knows that, to the point where Tenno are still known as betrayers millennia later.

Loid calls the Insurrections (and hey, Insurrections plural?) madness. Savage. Something they succumbed to. That doesn't jive with the Night of the Drums.

2) "Fugitives," to whom giving shelter meant death. All text we have on the Collapse says that it caused instant mayhem as the entire leadership of the Orokin Empire was beheaded. Who had the power and organization and resources to be declaring anyone a fugitive at this point?

2.5) Who would a Warframe need to be a fugitive from? If a Warframe straight up decided to leave the Orokin weren't strong enough to win in that hand-to-hand. That's the entire reason their whole thing was soft control and indoctrination through the Tenno themselves having no identity, ranging up to hard control with the Dax mind control. They needed to do all that in the first place because they weren't physically gonna win against the walking nuke.

3) "We?" What the fuck do you mean "we," kemo sabe?

Loid didn't know about the Collapse in WitW. This is why he calls you a deserter when he first meets you; he thinks the Empire still exists. He thinks there's still an Empire to desert.

So Loid must mean 'we' in the sense of him and the Cavia after waking up in the modern day, right?

Except that doesn't track either. He's reminiscing in these lines, not reflecting on new knowledge he's recently learned. "I remember when...", "those like Dante became fugitives...". He's not talking like this is historical record he just read about, he's talking like he was there. This doesn't fit at all with his WitW dialog.

#warframe #loid warframe #dialog courtesy of alteredsilicon ty #if anyone tries to explain this using 'eternalism' or 'timey wimey' you will be blocked

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junkdrawernoggin · 29 days ago

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Soooo I feel like people are going to want to praise this as like the best TV show that’s ever been made just because it has Markiplier, so I want to get my opinion out now. Spoilers ahead

Edge of Sleep (TV) is fucking terrible

I mean, I watched it because I want Mark to be successful, but holy shit. That was the worst TV show I have ever willingly watched.

The pilot is fucking atrocious. The writing was abysmal to the point of being embarrassed that the actors had to perform it.

Mark in the first episode…not good. Middle section was okay to good. Final episode was bananas but the acting was good.

Not a single human person has ever acted the way some of these characters act. There is not a planet where the character of Dave and the character of Matteo, as we see them for the rest of the show, would make the choice to randomly abandon their jobs. I have no idea what age the show thinks any of the characters are. They talk about the party at the beginning like they are a max of 25, but then the rest of the show makes them out to be in their 30s.

Thinking about anything that occurs for a single moment makes your head hurt. They are pictured to be in a pretty big city. Yet Linda says they have ONE hospital in 30 miles. Also thousands and thousands of people work night shift, so the idea that there are 5 survivors, 3 of whom know each other, is the wackiest shit of all time. They hype up the medication and then that comes to literally nothing but renewal bait, and I guarantee this will not be renewed even if it reaches no. 1

Everything that comes out of Dave/Mark’s mouth about the “elephant monster” and “dream people” is goofy as fuck (not his fault). They seriously couldn’t come up with a better name? Seriously?? Even just “The Elephant” would’ve been better. Why the fuck did they make them fly to an island 17 hours away??? First, a private jet that small would under no circumstance be able to do that flight without refueling. But like, WRITERS YOU CONTROL THE SCRIPT MY GUYS. If you are gonna make up a mystical island, have it be randomly off the west coast or something. I also can say with 100% certainty that Matteo being a veteran was added at the absolute last minute. It does not jive with literally anything else about his character. They only added it because they needed a reason someone would know how to fly a plane.

Just imagine trying to pitch this show!

“Hey Boss, great tv show concept for you. So this guy Dave, he has really bad nightmares. Everyone around him starts dying from going to sleep. So he goes to sleep to commune with the dream people and talk about the elephant man who’s haunting him. This leads him and 4 other survivors to take a private jet 17 hours away after 50 hours of not sleeping. After his psychic battle with the elephant monster, it’s revealed he’s a chosen one to fight in the battle against the nightmare monsters.”

HOW ON EARTH DID THIS GET GREENLIT??

My final negative note is everyone’s names. Dave, Ruth, Linda, Matteo, and Katie. It feels like they put in stock names and forgot to change them. I do not know a single person under the age of 40 who is a “Dave” or a “Ruth”, certainly not a “Linda.” It just soundsweird. Each name on its own is fine, but all together they sound very cookie cutter

Okay my couple of positives

I thought the dynamic between Katie and Dave was good. I wish Katie got more of a personality than recovering addict, but her actress, Lio Tipton, did a great job.

Eve Harlow as Linda was probably the standout of the film acting wise. She was pretty believable all things considered.

I thought some of the visuals were really cool, and the little pill mascot was well animated.

I wish I could give more praise to Mark but he got the REALLY short end of the stick when it came to the script. He was stuck with most of the clunky exposition. His physical acting was really fantastic and he should be proud of that. His acting ticks are great. If he didn’t have to deliver the script, his acting performance in here would be on par with Eve Harlow.

Edit: Adding a little note that I completely forgot this was a podcast first. I have never watched it but I will ASAP because I want to see if it’s any better.

#edge of sleep #markiplier #markiplier edge of sleep

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hangon-silvergirl · 1 year ago

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The HellCheer Holiday Mixtape

OH HEY. I'm a sucker for a festive fandom, so behold my seasonal challenge TO YOU: The Hellcheer Holiday Mixtape!

For 12 days starting December 13th, express your Freak and Cheerleader affections as inspired by holiday music prompts (if one so titillates you), and in whatever medium you please!

Guidelines:

There are no constraints on your level of participation; do it all, do some, do none, doesn't matter; JUST HAVE FUN

Same goes for themes and subject matter; just please respect the rules of content curation and slap on appropriate tags. We observe DLDR in this house

Except, uh, whatever you post should be, you know, festive. And tie back to the prompt at least tenuously

Late posts count!!!

Tag your contributions with #hellcheerholidaymixtape (so I can see them and share them)

Share on any platform you like, but x-post here bc I'm only tumblin'

Don't be shitty (for this quest in particular, but also generally speaking)

All songs are on the Spotify playlist:

If you have thoughts, concerns, or questions, my ask box is open!

Prompts below!

13 December

"Merry Christmas (I Don't Wanna Fight Tonight)" - The Ramones

"Jingle Bell Rock" - Hall & Oates

"Run, Run, Rudolph" - Bryan Adams

14 December

"Hard Candy Christmas" - Dolly Parton

"Another Lonely Christmas" - Prince

"It Must Have Been the Mistletoe (Our First Christmas)" - Barbara Mandrell

15 December

"Do They Know It's Christmas?" - Band Aid

"Christmas in Dixie" - Alabama

"Let's Party" - Jive Bunny & the Master Mixers

16th December

"Christmas In My Heart" - The Jets

"Thank God It's Christmas" - Queen

"Silent Night" - The Hooters

17th December

"Wonderful Christmastime" - Paul McCartney

"Santa's Beard" - They Might Be Giants

"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" - U2

18th December

"Funky, Funky Xmas" - New Kids On The Block

"Hazy Shade of Winter" - The Bangles

"Merry Christmas, Everyone" - Shakin' Stevens

19th December

"Christmas Wrapping" - The Waitresses

"It's Christmas All Over the World" - Sheena Easton

"2000 Miles" - The Pretenders

20th December

"Fairytale of New York" - The Porgues (ft. Kirsty MacColl)

"Sleigh Ride" - Air Supply

"Put a Little Love in Your Heart" - Al Green & Annie Lennox

21st December

"Christmas in Hollis" - RUN DMC

"Mistletoe & Wine" - Cliff Richard

"Father Christmas" - The Kinks

22nd December

"Driving Home for Christmas" - Chris Rea

"She Won't Be Home" - Erasure

"The Power of Love" - Frankie Goes to Hollywood

23rd December

"Christmas With The Devil" - Spinal Tap

"Things Fall Apart" - Christina

"Peace In Our Time" - Eddie Money

24th December

"Last Christmas" - Wham!

"Merry Christmas, Baby" - Bruce Springsteen

"Santa, Baby" - Madonna

#hellcheer #eddissy #hellcheerholidaymixtape #the hellcheer holiday mixtape 2023 #eddie x chrissy #chrissy x eddie #eddie munson #chrissy cunningham #hellcheer fanfic #hellcheer fanart #hellcheer edit #prompts #hellcheer prompts #christmas prompts #Spotify

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greenerteacups · 7 months ago

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Hey GTC, I have always been such a fan of your Tumblr and your engagement with the fandom. However I must say that as of late, the questions you’re being asked most often are essentially variants of “Will X happen?” or “Will Y character do Z like in the book?” or even, “I’m noticing Theme A, will it continue in future chapters?”

A significant element of the fun that you’ve created for Lionheart readers is that we don’t know which elements and events of the JKR texts you’ll preserve untouched and which you’ll turn into the sixth and seventh year Lionheart storylines. I adore making my guesses to which parts of canon you’ll play with and which parts you’ll completely and utterly upend. Unfortunately, questions that ask about canon events in books 5-7 ruin so much of the fun.

Historically, you’ve used the Ask box to provide us with analyses of your own work and characterizations, but I feel as if recently you are often indulging questions about books 5, 6, and 7. I hate to say it, but I even feel that your answers veer into spoiler territory. I used to lurk your Tumblr incessantly, but since I’ve started to see this influx in predictive questions these past couple weeks, I’ve been avoiding the app.

It’s such a gift that we get to engage with your work on such a vibrant epistolary and interactive space as your Tumblr. I know that you can’t control what fans ask, but I humbly request that you please consider refusing to answer questions that ask you to ponder future events. Thank you for your tender care to everyone in the fandom. ❤️‍🔥🦁🧡

Hey, what's up, dude. I hear you. Sorry about that.

The problem is that the line between spoilers and not spoilers is totally subjective, and the line between "spoilers that are fine" and "spoilers that bother me" is also totally subjective. I don't know where you are on it, but we probably don't line up, and that's okay. I just don't know how I'd begin to sort out questions that one person considers "too much" from what someone else just thinks is fun analysis. My hard rules are as follows: I don't answer any questions about future ships, events, or arcs (and I get a lot). I haven't revealed anything that I would be unhappy to discover in a Tumblr askbox instead of a fic itself. True, I've dropped teaser/trailer stuff for 6 and 7, but to be honest, even looking over the stuff I've posted recently — I hate to say it, but I disagree with you. It isn't spoilers. Not to me, anyway.

But that's just me! There's no right or wrong answer here, it's just a coordination problem of how we can both cultivate social media experiences that make us happy. For instance: I like answering questions about my fic. It makes me happy to talk to people who want to know what happens. It encourages me and gets me excited to write about it, and I don't believe that any of the content on my Tumblr spoils what's going to happen. I don't really want to stop doing that, so I'm not going to. If that means you and other readers whose spoiler thresholds are below mine can't engage with my Tumblr, that's a natural consequence of us having different attitudes about media, and it was bound to happen. I'm sorry that that's the case, but it would bring me much more grief for you to injure your reading experience than it would for you to avoid my (largely irrelevant) e-journal full of random metatext. I love my fic, and I love my readers, you most certainly included; I do not, candidly speaking, love my Tumblr account. And for what it's worth, I absolutely do not think anything I've written on here is worth diminishing your experience of a story you enjoy. It wouldn't jive with my philosophy of literature and art.

So here's what I got: I'll continue tagging spoilers about past and current events as [#lionheart spoilers], and if a question makes reference to events not published, I'll use the tag [#prognosticating]. That way you can block the tag, and other readers can enjoy content that fits under their threshold of non-spoilerism. If our thresholds still don't line up, then I think the only solution may really be to block the [#lionheart spoilers] tag altogether. That's probably not the answer you're looking for, but it's the best I can do.

#greenteacup asks #I am doing the best I can #it's hard to get questions about what's going to happen because I do try to give tidbits if i can't answer the main point #just so people will have something? but it's rough to know I'm disappointing people on both sides #as is inevitable really. those who want to know more and want to know less. you will never make everyone happy #but also— if a creator isn't writing stuff you want to read #I suspect you already know at some level the answer just has to be that you stop reading #I sometimes debate if having a Tumblr is worth the stress of trying to manage an internet presence #I generally think it is

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tobiasdrake · 2 months ago

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Digimon Adventure 01x47 - The Wind! The Light! SaberLeomon! / Ogremon's Honor

Previously on Digimon Adventure: The aliens finally returned Elvis to the world whereupon he farted in a small child's face. Meanwhile, Taichi and the others shot up some people who were barely even associated with their target. When they write the history books, they'll probably leave this chapter out; It was embarrassing for everyone.

Now on the run from MetalEtemon, Mimi, Jou, and Ogremon have been cornered by the emergence of a huge lion creature... whose identity has already been revealed by the Japanese title page. At least the Americans didn't join in on it this time.

As the creature steps forward, Jou and Mimi recoil in fear.

Mimi: (terrified) No more!

Ogremon and Gomamon take point, with Palmon hanging back defensively with the kids. Gomamon, however, is excited to throw down.

Gomamon: Alright! I'll take care of this! Creature: Wait wait wait! Calm down. Mimi: That voice...? Jou: Is it possible...? Creature: ... Ogremon: Hey, asshole!

The creature's diplomacy check rolls a 15, an 18, and a 3. In fairness, that last one is after a -10 circumstantial penalty.

In the dub:

Joe: (gasp) Mimi: Who's that!? Gomamon: Hey! Don't you come any closer! Creature: Wait! I won't hurt you. Mimi: ...do we believe you? Joe: He sounds familiar. Creature: ... Ogremon: Wait, I don't trust him....

Joe seems to be the only one who recognizes him in this version. Gomamon isn't so inadvisably gung-ho about fighting him either.

(I'm sorry, Original Gomamon, but you would have got your shit rocked. Again. About to be 0 for 2 on Zudomon battles in Pinocchimon's woods.)

Elsewhere in the woods, MetalEtemon wraps his tail around a tree and butt-slams it into falling down. Weird choice but at least he's having fun.

MetalEtemon: (calling through the forest) YIIIIIIIIIII!!! YOU CAN'T ESCAPE FROM ME!!!

Obviously, Mimi's crew hears that.

Creature: We can talk later. Quick, climb on my back!

Jou, Mimi, and their Digimon pile onto the creature's back and flee through the woods together... with Ogremon following behind on foot.

Ogremon: HEY, WAIT FOR ME!!! DON'T LEAVE ME BEHIND!!!

Before long, MetalEtemon discovers their footprints; human shoeprints and huge lion pawprints in the grass. He plucks a bit of dirt from the ground and crushes it in his hand.

MetalEtemon: Just you wait! I'm going to find you!

Over in the dub:

MetalEtemon: (butt stomp?) Don't give me any of your jive, bay-beh! Come out, come out, wherever you are! Mimi: (gasp) Creature: I'll explain everything later. Right now, we need to get out of here! (The kids flee on the creature's back; Ogremon follows after) Ogremon: (pouting whine) Hey, wait up... Don't leave me here with this wacked out monkey! (MetalEtemon finds their footprints) MetalEtemon: Hehehe, supreme! I'm fired up and ready to go on a mean streak!

The difference in Ogremon's voice is hilarious. He sounds so pathetic here. XD

The lion brings them to what appears to be the ruins of a destroyed city.

As they look around these desolate ruins, Gomamon suddenly notices a familiar landmark.

Gomamon: Huh? Hey, Jou!

He points out a ruined building across the way.

Jou: (recognizing) Hey, that's...!

Flashback to Jou and Yamato working in Digitamamon's diner.

Jou: This is the restaurant where Yamato and I were forced to work! Gomamon: That's weird, though. It should be next to a lake. Creature: Since that time, everything in our world has been remade. In any case, let's duck into here for now.

The creature reminds them that the Dark Masters reshaped the face of the Digital World itself.

They enter the now-destroyed diner, where the creature reveals his true identity. As if he were a Partner Digimon, he glows with light and regresses back into the Adult-stage Leomon.

Gomamon: Leomon! Jou: I knew it was you! Mimi: YOU'RE ALIVE!!! (crying) LEOMON!!!

Mimi runs forward and hugs him, crying into his bicep. Leomon returns the gesture.

Leomon: It's been a long time, Chosen Children.

Aww, we missed you, big guy.

The dub gives Mimi's crew a lot of silence-breaking dialogue while they flee to the destroyed city.

Ogremon: Slow down, you four-footed giant furball! Mimi: This is certainly more convenience than waiting for a taxi! (Entering the city.) Joe: If I'd known we were going to go riding, I'd have worn long pants. Mimi: Me too; I need a sidesaddle. Joe: This place doesn't look very lively. Mimi: It's kind of spooky....

For those unfamiliar with equestrianism, a sidesaddle is a special type of saddle that allows you to ride a horse while keeping both legs on one side, rather than straddling the horse's back. It's traditionally considered to be a "ladylike" means of riding horses.

There's a variety of reasons behind it, some more sexist than others. But for Mimi, the most pressing one is the fact that her long dress would make straddling a horse's back difficult to say the least. In fact, in close-up shots of the passengers, you can see that Mimi is in fact riding sidesaddle unlike the rest of her group.

From here, the original script begins. The dub changes the writing on the restaurant to read "RESTAURANT", matching a chance they made back in the original episode it appeared in. Consistency! They've gotten a lot better at it!

Gomamon: Look up there! Joe: I think I'm gonna barf. (Flashback) Joe (V.O.): That's the restaurant where they made me work like a slave! (End flashback) Joe: I'm still trying to get that greasy spoon smell out of my sweater. Gomamon: But this is all wrong! It's supposed to be near a lake!

The dub inexplicably puts their first commercial break here. I guess the shock of the altered geography is meant to be our commercial-break cliffhanger to keep us on the hook, but it's far from the strongest stopping point they've picked.

After commercial, we pick up where we left off.

Creature: (urgently) Everything's changed! Hurry, we'd better find shelter! (They enter the diner) Joe: This place is depressing. Mimi: There's not even a clean chair to sit on! (Leomon reverts to normal) Gomamon: Eh? Awesome! Joe: LEOMON!!! You are not gonna believe what you missed! Mimi: I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S YOU!!! (Mimi hugs Leomon and cries into his bicep) Leomon: I am truly happy to have finally returned and helped my friends.

Leomon's first line here lacks context. Everything has changed but he makes it sound like a recent occurrence. Like OH SHIT IT'S ALL DIFFERENT rather than the "Much has changed since you saw this place last" vibe of the original.

In a rare reversal, the dub kids are slower on the uptake than their Japanese counterparts. Mimi recognized the voice but didn't quite realize who it was while Jou figured it out. Here, only Joe recognized the voice but neither of them pieced together his identity.

Once the emotional reunion has passed, Palmon asks about the elephant in the room.

Palmon: Leomon, you can evolve now? Leomon: Yes. It seems that, after I was bathed in the light from the Digivice, I gained the ability to evolve.

Leomon gives us two flashbacks. First, when he attacked Taichi at Devimon's "mansion", and accidentally stepped on Taichi's Digivice. The light from it purified him of Devimon's control then.

The second is when Devimon fed a ton of Black Gears into Leomon's back, and he super-sized and attacked everyone. Taichi and Yamato used their Digivices to purify him then as well.

Back in the present, Leomon pounds his fist against the doorframe in frustration, briefly startling Jou and Mimi.

Leomon: However, I always change back. I'm not able to control it. Ogremon: Keh! It all comes so easy, but only for a bastard like you! But that still doesn't mean you're better than me! LEOMON!!! FIGHT ME!!!

In a fit of battle-lust and what I'm pretty sure is jealousy, Ogremon smashes the floor with his club, then charges at Leomon.

Leomon sidesteps Ogremon's swing, jerking around to his vulnerable left side. He grabs Ogremon's broken arm and wrenches it up into the air, forcing an agonized scream out of him. Then he shoves Ogremon down onto the floor; Ogremon folds into himself, nursing his broken arm.

Leomon: Let your injuries heal first. Then we can fight.

Amazingly, this manages to go by without a scolding from Mimi, who I imagine probably has some opinions about what just happened.

In the dub:

Palmon: You Digivolved! Leomon: A lot has happened to me since being set free of the Black Gears and their evil power. (Flashbacks) Leomon (V.O.): Being exposed to the Digivice has now enabled me to Digivolve! (End flashbacks) Leomon: (punches doorframe) But there is one problem! I am unable to control it! I haven't learned the secret yet; It's all still new to me! Ogremon: What makes you special, you oversized doggy chew toy!? Let's just see how many lives you have left! Huh!? Rrrrrgh GRAGH!!! (smashes floor and charges) (Leomon sidesteps and grabs Ogremon) Ogremon: 'scaredy cat! (grunts of exertion) (Leomon shoves Ogremon down on the floor) Leomon: There is nothing more pathetic than a whiner; Clearly you don't deserve to be called a Digimon!

Well, that took a fucking turn. Dub Leomon gets mean in his final line. Not really feeling the rival kinship here.

This goes super well right up until "Let's see how many lives you have left." Solid line but then it's like Ogremon and Leomon both forgot the rest of the script.

He stands there just... making noises for three seconds. He forgets to scream in pain while Leomon's wrenching his broken arm up, and instead just makes wrestling grunts. Then Leomon improvises a harsh new line that is so far removed from "We can fight once you've recovered" and kinda makes him look like a bully.

Meanwhile, all this commotion has disturbed someone else. A pair of eyes peek out through the hole in the floor that Ogremon's club made.

Slowly, quietly, a teeny tiny froggy hand picks up one of the broken planks and carefully drags it back over the hole. Unfortunately, it slips out of his grasp, loudly hitting the floor and startling the both of them.

Palmon turns around at the sound, spotting the little froggy arm before it can withdraw into the hole. She lets out a shriek and runs to the others. Leomon approaches the hole.

Leomon: Who's in there? Come out!

A single Gekomon and Otamamon emerge, kneeling in front of Leomon and pleading for their lives. As usual, they add -tama and -geko to their lines as respective froggy croaks.

Otamamon: Spare us-tama! Gekomon: Please spare our lives-geko! Mimi: Huh? You guys are.... Palmon: Gekomon and Otamamon!

Hearing Mimi, their mood shifts dramatically.

Gekomon: (cheerful) Ahhhhh! Princess-sama-geko!

The pair get up and run to Mimi, with Gekomon leaping into her arms for a big hug.

Gekomon: PRINCESS-SAMA!!! Mimi: (laughing with relief) Thank goodness!

Unexpectedly, another happy reunion in the midst of all this devastation.

Dub Gekomon and Otamamon do an even worse job with their stealth check, with the both of them letting out a panicked wail when Gekomon drops the board.

Leomon: Who's in there? Show yourself! (Gekomon and Otamamon emerge) Otamamon: Please don't squish us; We're friends! Gekomon: The last thing we want to do is cause trouble! Mimi: Oh! Palmon, look.... Palmon: They delivered the triple hot fudge sundae! Gekomon: Huh? Wow, the Princess; What luck! (Gekomon and Otamamon run over, and Gekomon jumps in for a hug) Gekomon: PRINCESS MIMI!!! YIPPEE!!!

Mimi doesn't get a line at the end and just makes happy laughing noises.

This is a strong adaptation. Very well characterized; I particularly love Palmon not just recognizing the Digimon but calling out which Gekomon and Otamamon they are. It's a cute little callback reference to better days, which itself serves as solid juxtaposition against present circumstances.

Meanwhile, back at Pinocchimon's mansion, Floramon and Delumon are really getting into trying to blow him away with a cannon.

Delumon: FIRE FIRE FIRE DE ARU!!! FIRE FIRE FIRE DE ARU!! FIRE FIRE FIRE DE ARU!!!

So much so that I owe the dub of the previous episode an apology for nitpicking over the "Take this Puppetmon" battle cry. They're going so nuts with this that it weirds Taichi and his crew out.

Taichi: Hey, you two... Isn't that about enough? Sora: It's like all the resentment they've built up inside has finally exploded out of them.

Pinocchimon reaches the front of the house and roars up at the occupants. The sound prompts Floramon and Delumon to poke their heads out. Upon realizing they're caught, they panic and flee the attic.

Floramon/Delumon: AHHHHHHHHH/SORRY DE ARU!!!

That's okay; Their work is done. Tailmon pops out onto the barrel to address Pinocchimon herself.

Pinocchimon: Who said you were allowed inside my house!? I'M GOING TO SUE YOU FOR BREAKING AND ENTERING!!! Tailmon: (pops out onto the cannon) Oh no, we got permission from the people in your house first. They left, though.

While Tailmon holds Pinocchimon's attention, the rest of the kids disentangle themselves from the attic and make their way down into the foyer. Taichi and Agumon suddenly kick open the front door.

Taichi: It's time to end this, Pinocchimon! Pinocchimon: Hmph! Fine by me! If you're after me, then right this way!

Pinocchimon turns, retreating down the cobblestone walkaway into the forest. Taichi and his crew give chase.

Taichi: PINOCCHIMON!!! WAIT!!!

In the dub, Deramon doesn't sound quite as bloodthirsty as his Japanese counterpart.

Deramon: Take that! Hahaha! Here he comes! Floramon: Oh no! Deramon: He's mad! Floramon: Well, we are shooting at him. Tai: I bet they don't invite Puppetmon to their birthday parties. Sora: I think it's a good thing that they're finally releasing their hostility.

Tai and Sora still react like Deramon is losing his goddamn mind in his eagerness for the killshot on his abuser, but the pair don't really sell it. Though the "We are shooting at him" point is a funny bit.

Once Puppetmon arrives at the house, the dub fills in something of an oddity. In the original, he looks up at the window and moves his lips as if he's saying something, but no dialogue comes out. Then we suddenly cut to a close-up of his face and he screams guttural noises.

It's clear that he was meant to have more of a line there, which would be what prompts Delumon and Floramon to peek out the window. The dub is more than happy to take advantage of those lip flaps and give him a line to say.

Puppetmon: GET OUT NOOOOW!!!

Floramon and Deramon, on the other hand, have no lines here. They scream when they realize they're caught, then scream some more as they flee. That's fair; The only thing they said in the original was a parting de aru gag.

Puppetmon then seems to address Floramon and Deramon, rather than the kids. Which makes sense since they're the only ones he's seen up there.

Puppetmon: You guys know you're not allowed upstairs! My room is off-limits! Plus, I hate sharing my toys! Gatomon: (pops out onto the cannon) I'd say that you need to learn a little more about good manners. We're not hurting anything, except maybe you! (Tai and the others explode out the front door) Tai: We've had it with you, Puppetmon! You're toast! Puppetmon: So now you want to play, huh? How 'bout a game of Follow the Leader? (Puppetmon flees) Tai: Come back here, you gooey toothpick! You play with us and you're gonna lose!

This is all better than perfect. A solid improvement over the original scene.

The children pursue Pinocchimon straight into an ambush, as over a dozen new plant Digimon suddenly emerge from the ground around them.

Agumon: T-Taichi.... Tailmon: Oh no! Pinocchimon: Ahahahaha stuuuuupid! See, Takeru? I wasn't lying! I do have friends after all! Hahaha hahahahaha! GET THEM, REDVEGIMON!!! RedVegimon Horde: (together, in English) OKAY...!

RedVegimon is an Adult-stage Virus-type Plant Digimon. A recolor of Vegimon created for the Digimon World video game, then brought into the V-Pet to fill the Wind Guardians' roster. Like the regular Vegimon, they're a trash evolution; Obtained by taking poor care of your Digimon and not training them.

Though they can also evolve into Delumon and Jureimon, they fit best into the tree as the predecessor to Garbamon.

Tragically, much like the original Vegimon, the official romanization for RedVegimon's name in the Digimon Reference Book is "RedVagimon", but we will not be calling them that.

Narrator: RedVegimon. With their bodies ripened into a dark crimson, this Digimon is a stronger version of Vegimon. They can appear anywhere at Pinocchimon's command.

He's been able to summon these guys THIS WHOLE TIME!?!? I mean, they wouldn't do shit to MetalEtemon but still....

Questions for later. Taichi has only one thing on his mind: Going straight through.

Taichi: Alright, team! EVOLVE!!!

In the dub:

Agumon: Huh!? It's a trick! Gatomon: (sheepish) ...not our best move. Puppetmon: Hahahahahahaha! Well put, punk! See, T.K.? I have friends after all! (singsong) Problem is, they don't like yo~ou! Hahahahahaha hyah hyah hyah! And what they don't like, they destroy. RedVegiemon: YEAH, BOSS!!! Izzy: (rundown) RedVegiemon have extremely volatile tempers. That's why their faces are always red! Not exactly the friendly type. Tai: IT'S TIME TO DO SOME WEEDWHACKING!!!

Izzy's just making shit up now. XD They're red because they're ripe, Izzy. At least this is inconsequential background information and not important plot details.

Apart from Izzy pathologically lying instead of reading the information in front of him, this is super good. I like Gatomon's sheepish admission that they're boned, as well as Tai's battle cry at the end.

With the battle on, we cut back to Digitamamon's Diner, where Mimi has questions for the new arrivals.

Mimi: Why were you hiding in here? What happened to the castle? Gekomon: (crying) Our castle was destroyed by the Dark Masters geko.

Flashback to the destruction of the Gekomon castle. The structure and its landmass sink into the ocean as pillars of black energy erupt all around it. Inside, the building collapses, with supporting columns and chunks of debris falling on the hapless Gekomon and Otamamon inside.

A brief shot shows ShogunGekomon plunging into a terrible abyss, so it's not all bad, but still mostly bad!

Lastly, we see Mekanorimon hunting down the surviving Gekomon and Otamamon, shooting at them with their Twinkle Beams.

Otamamon: After that, the Digimon working for the Dark Masters hunted us down tama. We barely escaped with our lives and made our way here tama. Mimi: That's awful. Ogremon: Keh! Those assholes slaughter any Digimon that won't obey them! It's all gone to shit. Leomon: We cannot allow them to keep doing this. That is why I've been searching for you, the Chosen Children, all this time.

Ogremon uses the word yatsura here to describe the Dark Masters, which we'll see more of throughout the episode. It's a slang pronoun that basically means "They/Them (Very Disrespectfully)". A way of saying "that person" or "those people" while also conveying that you think they are a piece of shit undeserving of a kinder pronoun.

Leomon's words are punctuated by flashbacks of his own, showing him fighting his way through Hangyomon, Woodmon, and Mekanorimon forces.

In the dub:

Mimi: How come you two were hiding? What happened to your palace? Gekomon: The palace was completely destroyed by those creepy Dark Masters! Otamamon: Yeah! It was horrible! They attacked us for the fun of it! We all had to run for our lives. We were all separated and we've been hiding here ever since. Mimi: How awful! Ogremon: Those guys make me sick! Who do they think they are, anyway? Picking on poor, defenseless Digimon. I mean, is that fair? Leomon: The Dark Masters have to be stopped if we expect to survive. I've spent all this time searching for you and it hasn't been easy; The Dark Masters have seen to that.

Again, this is a pretty solid adaptation.

Leomon continues, but Mimi has questions.

Leomon: In order to rid our world of the powers of darkness and defeat the Dark Masters, we need the relentless power of you Chosen Children. Mimi: Then we should have faced the Dark Masters from the start. Why did we begin on File Island instead? Ogremon: Kahahahahaha! Are you stupid? If you'd faced the Dark Masters from the start, you'd be dead before you even knew what was happening! Mimi: But then so many Digimon wouldn't have had to die in our place.... Jou: (sympathetically) Mimi-kun....

Mimi grips the fabric of her dress and shakes as if she were crying, though she makes no sound.

In the dub, Leomon shames Mimi and Joe for splitting up from the group.

Leomon: You two have the power to defeat those beasts but you must work together and join forces with the other DigiDestined. Only then will you succeed. Mimi: Are you saying we wasted our time fighting everyone else? I mean, I could have stained my clothes with perspiration! Ogremon: Ahaha! Listen, girly, if you would have fought those guys at the start, you would have broken way more than just a sweat. Mimi: Maybe. But what about the good DIgimon on File Island that sacrificed themselves to help us? Joe: (confused) Mimi?

Ogremon's the only one staying on-script here. He gets a cookie.

Mimi inexplicably specifies "the Digimon on File Island that sacrificed themselves", muddying the topic of what she's talking about. Out of the four graves she's had to dig, only one came from File Island.

Joe's tone pegs him as surprised and confused by Mimi quietly breaking down, rather than sympathizing with her. You'd think by now he'd be cognizant of Mimi's supreme despair and deep emotional trauma regarding all of this. Her rope isn't just frayed; It snapped two episodes back.

To answer Mimi's question, Leomon has a theory.

Leomon: I can't say for certain, but there was probably a reason you first landed on File Island. It may have been to test you. Palmon: A test? Leomon: That's right. Are the Chosen Children really able to be the saviors of this world? If Devimon on File Island had been too much for you, then that would be that. But you passed the test and have grown enough to face the Dark Masters on equal ground.

As he speaks, we flash back on the slow disintegration of a gloating Devimon, the "death" of Etemon as he's pulled into the black hole, and that time we punched VenomVamdemon in the crotch so much that he dropped dead.

(As an aside, a curse upon Leomon for his soft voice that gets drowned out by the music and the sound effects. It was so fucking hard to hear a goddamn thing he was saying during the flashbacks. I am officially joining Team Ogremon due to the poor sound mixing of this scene.)

Leomon stands up suddenly, excited. At the same time, Mimi also gets up, quietly drifting over to a nearby window to look outside without another word to anyone.

(Mimi silently excuses herself from the group) Leomon: Now is the time to defeat the Dark Masters! (Leomon stands up.) Leomon: Where are the other Chosen Children? We must gather them immediately! Jou: Well, you see... We've kind of gone our separate ways. Leomon: Separate ways? Jou: We're undergoing another test.

Jou speaks with determination as he says that, and we cut to Mimi staring despondently out the window. This feeds back to what he was saying to Taichi when they split up, that he intends to convince Mimi to return.

Jou doesn't see Mimi's departure from the group as final; Rather, like Yamato, she has her own personal ordeal that she needs to overcome before she'll be ready to fight the Dark Masters. This is her Bioware Companion Quest.

In the dub:

Leomon: This is true. Joe: What do you mean? Leomon: I think you were brought to File Island to prove that you were capable of working as a team. It could have been a test to make sure that you were the DigiDestined. Palmon: Did we pass? Leomon: You did. It actually makes sense. If Devimon had defeated you, then you would not be ready for this bigger challenge. Devimon's power was nothing compared to the Dark Masters. He was merely the beginning. But you've proven yourselves over and over by defeating one evil Digimon after another. You're ready to take on the Dark Masters! (Mimi silently excuses herself from the group) Leomon: Come on, we must find your friends immediately! (Leomon stands up) Leomon: So tell me, where did they go? We can't do this all alone. Joe: Some of us needed a time-out from each other. You know how it is. Leomon: You needed a time-out? Joe: Yeah, you might say it's another kind of test.

This is almost perfect, except for the part where Leomon calls it "a test to make sure you were the DigiDestined".

That much was never in question. They were specifically chosen for the role, and the role just means "this set of kids we chose". There is no possibility of error here. What was in question was whether Homeostasis's plan would actually work.

They didn't exactly have a way to prototype this shit. They were acting entirely off of Homeostasis looking at a weird thing that happened in the human world once and going "Huh, maybe if we...." Hence, Tutorial Island.

We leave on Mimi's despondency and return to the battle in progress.

It's going very well.

Birdramon, Kabuterimon, and Angemon blast away huge swathes of RedVegimon with their Meteor Wing, Mega Blaster, and Heaven's Knuckle respectively. Tailmon is also mixing it up by batting off individual RedVegimon with her Neko Punch; It's slower going but she's still dominating.

(Very strong, highly experienced, and phenomenally agile... but poor crowd control. Everyone has their weaknesses.)

The four of them clear the road, allowing Taichi and Agumon to go straight at Pinocchimon.

Pinocchimon: The hell are you guys doing!? You're all useless! (Taichi runs up, brandishing his Digivice) Taichi: Pinocchimon! I CHALLENGE YOU!!!

For some reason, the dub flips the attack order. Kabuterimon and Birdramon's attacks trade places, though nothing is cut in the process.

Puppetmon: You guys are about as useful as a load of stinky, rotten vegetables! I've had it with you! (Tai runs up, brandishing his Digivice) Puppetmon: Huh? Tai: TRY TO STOP US NOW!!!

Agumon Warp-Evolves to WarGreymon. Bad news for Pinocchimon: Unlike the last time this happened, this is a Show Me Your Brave Heart fight.

WarGreymon calls "Dramon Killer" as an attack and stabs downward with said claws. Pinocchimon is not a -dramon, however, so it's not as effective as it could be.

Pinocchimon counters with Bullet Hammer, and as with Zudomon before, their weapons collide. Unlike with Zudomon, they're equally matched and nobody's weapon goes flying.

Pinocchimon: Try THIS then!

He casts his marionette threads, binding WarGreymon into his control. We already saw with MetalEtemon that this shit's effective even on "the strongest" Ultimate, so that's bad for us. Controlling WarGreymon, he turns him around the other way.

WarGreymon: (with exertion) Ngh... My body's moving on its own! Pinocchimon: Haha! Why don't you go over there?

Guiding WarGreymon's movements, he makes him approach Taichi and Sora. WarGreymon trips and falls over for a moment.

Taichi: WarGreymon! WarGreymon: (with exertion) Everyone... GET AWAY!!!

Pinocchimon makes him leap up suddenly. Taichi and Sora flee the scene just before he comes down, stabbing his Dramon Killers into the ground where they'd been standing.

Heeding the warning, Koushiro and Hikari run for it too. Hikari trips, falling on her face in the dirt. Before she can recover, WarGreymon is on top of her, raising his Dramon Killer for a lethal blow.

The dub uses "Terra Force" for WarGreymon's initial strike. That really is just a catch-all for any attack he throws to them, isn't it?

Puppetmon: Think you're so smart!? Nobody toys with me! YAGH!!! (Puppetmon takes control of WarGreymon) WarGreymon: (with exertion) URGH!!! He's got me strung up! Puppetmon: (singsong) The enemy's that wa~ay! (WarGreymon stumbles and falls) Tai: WarGreymon! WarGreymon: (with exertion) Don't come too close! I don't know what he'll make me do!

As WarGreymon pulls back to deliver the killing blow to Hikari, Tailmon punches out another RedVegimon and turns, noticing what's happening.

Tailmon: Hikari!

WarGreymon wrestles with himself, desperately trying to hold back from attacking. He fails, but he buys Angewomon precious seconds to Super-Evolve and scoop Hikari out of harm's way.

As the children flee, the controlled WarGreymon gives chase. He gains on them quickly.

WarGreymon: Run quickly!

In the dub:

Gatomon: KARI!!! (Gatomon Digivolves and scoops up Kari) Angewomon: Gotcha! (WarGreymon chases down the kids) WarGreymon: Keep running, kids! I don't want to catch you!

As WarGreymon gains on Sora and Koushiro, their Partners Super Evolve to get in the mix as well. Sizing up the situation, AtlurKabuterimon quickly opens fire....

...on the real problem, Pinocchimon.

(How very Crest of Knowledge of him.)

A blast from his Horn Buster sends Pinocchimon flying. It breaks the strings he's binding WarGreymon with and also separates him from his Bullet Hammer. Garudamon catches the smoldering weapon midway through its flight, crushing it to pieces in her talon.

In the dub, this sees the debut of their second attempt at an English take on "Show Me Your Brave Heart": 90's Rap "Change Into Power". Unlike "Hey Digimon", this slaps and properly matches the "Let's fuck 'em up" vibe of Show Me Your Brave Heart moments.

Good job, team. Took you way too long to get here but you made it.

The five Partner Digimon surround Pinocchimon, penning him in.

Disarmed and defenseless, Pinocchimon quivers; His voice breaking from terror.

Pinocchimon: (voice breaking) W-Wha... What the hell! Taichi: (stepping forward) PINOCCHIMON!!! The fight is over!

Pinocchimon curls into himself defensively. He flashes back on Jureimon's words to him.

(Flashback) Jureimon: Please be careful around the Chosen Children! If you don't take this seriously, even you could be defeated by them. Pinocchimon: (stops, suddenly serious) I... might be defeated...? Jureimon: They have something that you lack, Pinocchimon-sama. (End Flashback)

Back in the present, Pinocchimon clenches his fists angrily, refusing to surrender.

Pinocchimon: (thinking) Something that I lack? Heh! That's impossible. Pinocchimon: STUPID!!! Don't think you've won just yet!

Suddenly, his eyes glow bright as headlights. This isn't over yet.

In the dub:

Puppetmon: (clearly terrified) I-I'M-I'M-I'M-I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU!!! ...I'll get you.... Tai: (stepping forward) If I were you, I'd reconsider! Puppetmon: Huh!? (Flashback) Cherrymon: Wait, we must be careful! The DigiDestined are strong! Stronger than I suspected; Don't underestimate them, Puppetmon, or it could be disastrous! Puppetmon: What!? Spit it out already! Are you saying that I might lose? Cherrymon: I'm only saying, take them seriously. The DigiDestined have something you don't! (End Flashback) Puppetmon: (thinking) Hmm, what does he mean by that? I've got more powers than they ever will! Puppetmon: Fools, I'm never gonna lose to you! Watch!

Of note: Puppetmon's flashback here isn't actually what they said back in that episode. For comparison, here are the original lines from that episode's dub:

Cherrymon: Wait a minute! We gotta be careful! The DigiDestined are strong! Stronger than I expected, and to underestimate them could be disastrous! Puppetmon: What!? Are you saying... I might lose? Cherrymon: I'm only saying that I think you should take them seriously. There's something about them.

Notably, Cherrymon never said that they have something Puppetmon doesn't. Puppetmon's next line here is:

Puppetmon: Something? Hmm... You mean like something I might be missing!?

So he still infers that from what Cherrymon said. But it's not in any of the lines Puppetmon is flashing back on, so they had to rewrite the scene to make him say that more directly.

That omission messed up this later scene and forced them to rewrite the flashback.

The phrasing of other parts is also subtly different in ways that don't really matter, but make it clear that they went back, rescripted, and redubbed the scene again without checking the original rather than just use the recording from the original.

In response to Puppetmon's glowing eyes, his trump card activates: the entire goddamn mansion unfolds into a giant wooden robot, towering over the Partner Digimon.

Pinocchimon: Take them down!

Pinocchimon barks that order while fleeing into the woods.

In the dub:

Puppetmon: (singsong) I know something yo~ou don't!

I mean. They know it now.

I think the sub's flavorful "Squash them flat!" is probably the winner here.

In both versions, the house roars. The Japanese roar is this bestial, animalistic noise, while the dub house roars like an angry man.

The house robot lifts its foot to step on the children, and we cut to a commercial in both versions. We return not on this scene, but following up on events at Digitamamon's Diner, which is about to receive another unexpected arrival.

This one is less welcome than Gekomon and Otamamon.

MetalEtemon lands on the ruins near the diner, giggling to himself. Inside, Leomon and Ogremon both face the door, as if sensing his presence.

Leomon: Everyone, be careful. Ogremon: He's here.

MetalEtemon kicks in the front doors, smashing them off their hinges.

MetalEtemon: I've found you! Now it's time for my revenge! Leomon: MetalEtemon! I will be your opponent.

Cut to outside the diner, where we can see the holy light suddenly shining through its windows. From within, Leomon says those familiar words we know from Agumon and Gabumon.

Leomon: Leomon! Warp-Evolution! ... SaberLeomon!

Sorry, my guy, we don't have a stock footage evolution sequence for you. You have to do it offscreen.

Showing further disrespect to Digitamamon's establishment, SaberLeomon crashes through the wall to take the fight outside. MetalEtemon follows him out the door he just broke down.

MetalEtemon: Fine by me! It doesn't matter which would-be hero thinks they can stop me.

But before we can get into Leomon v. Etemon Ultimate Edition,

As you can probably tell from the "Warp" in his evolution call, Leomon's new honorary Partner status lets him skip Perfect and go straight to Ultimate.

SaberLeomon is an Ultimate-stage Data-type Ancient Beast Digimon. Like MetalEtemon, he first appeared in the video games as a Perfect, before the two of them were shored up to Ultimate once that became a thing. In fact, they were both upgraded in the same V-Pet: the Nature Spirits release of Digimon Pendulum.

They're rival Ults from the Nature Spirits evolution tree; A tree which contains neither of their obvious predecessors, Etemon nor Leomon, and was probably just trying to cram them in and get them out there.

Narrator: SaberLeomon. The Ultimate form of Leomon. His special attack is Infinity Arrow.

Extremely minimalist rundown.

Of note: When MetalEtemon first arrives, his killer theme Love Serenade plays in the background as if to announce that he's here. The dub just uses their generic ominous "bad things have come" music, so that's sad.

MetalEtemon: It's showtime, bay-beh! (Inside, Leomon and Ogremon take notice) Leomon: Hmm? It's MetalEtemon! Ogremon: He never quits! (MetalEtemon breaks in) MetalEtemon: You tryin' to pull a number on me, bro!? Well, I'm gonna lay it on the line! 'cause I'm so fine! Leomon: Deal with me. Then we shall see who's fine! (Lights glow from within the building) Leomon: Leomon Digivolve to... SaberLeomon! (The pair take it outside) MetalEtemon: Whoa! Well, I see we've been taking our vitamins but it's time to put the cat out with the garbage! Gomamon: (rundown) SaberLeomon may have a heart of gold but he'll crush his opponents with his claws of steel!

Gomamon's rundown doesn't say much but it's still more than simply reading off the accompanying text file on the side of the screen to us.

Leomon's stodgy hero persona having to collide with Monkey Elvis delivers us the fantastic line, "Deal with me. Then we shall see who's fine!" XD This is like Drax fighting Iron Man.

Nitpick: Dub Leomon does a standard Digivolution, implying that SaberLeomon is American Ultimate stage rather than Mega. And since the dub only bothers translating the Digimon's name on the Analyzer screen and uselessly leaves the informative side panels in Japanese (or DigiCode I guess, grumble grumble), kids watching have no way of knowing that's a mistake.

As SaberLeomon and MetalEtemon square off to fight, one person isn't onboard with this course of action.

Mimi: (half-crying) LEOMON, STOP!!! SaberLeomon: I'll handle this. The rest of you, get out of here!

Without another word, SaberLeomon lunges for MetalEtemon. He channels power into his claw for his signature move Nail Crusher; MetalEtemon responds with Number One Punch, and their strikes collide.

Number One Punch certainly lives up to its name. The colliding attacks explode, sending the both of them flying. SaberLeomon lands on his feet, but then staggers, visibly feeling the blow. MetalEtemon lands on his back and rolls, flipping into a standing position and seeming no worse for wear.

Gomamon: I can't just leave Leomon behind and escape!

Gomamon evolves into Ikkakumon to provide cover fire.

Palmon: I'll fight too!

At this, Mimi flinches; Gripping her Digivice tightly and folding her hands into herself.

Palmon: Mimi! ...what do you want me to do? Jou: (worried) ...Mimi-kun....

She still can't bring herself to fight, and doesn't want SaberLeomon to fight either. Nor is she trying to run. She just seems paralyzed.

In the dub:

Mimi: Don't do it! SaberLeomon: I'll be alright! Now run before it's too late!

The dub inexplicably renames Nail Crusher to Howling Crusher, despite the fact that lions do not howl. That is. Wildly not a thing.

They also call Number One Punch as "Banana Slip" despite the fact that no bananas are involved.

Gomamon: I'm not gonna sit here and watch this! HEY GUYS, WAIT FOR ME!!! (Gomamon evolves to Ikkakumon) Palmon: Mimi, please let me fight with them! Mimi: ... Palmon: Well? They need me; What should I do? Joe: (uncertain) ...Mimi?

While Mimi languishes in despair, Ikkakumon prepares to join the fight.

Ikkakumon: TAKE THIS!!! HARPOON-- Jou: WAIT!!!

Jou casts one last glance back at Mimi, then hops through the destroyed wall and quickly approaches Ikkakumon.

Jou: You have to stop! Ikkakumon: What's going on, Jou? Why are you stopping me? Jou: (commanding) Let's do what SaberLeomon told us and run away. Ikkakumon: (worried) Jou....

SaberLeomon fires off his Infinity Arrow; It's a seemingly endless stream of needles shot from his mane to perforate his target.

Metal Etemon holds his arms out and allows the needles to hit him. They ricochet harmlessly off his invulnerable metal hide dealing no damage whatsoever.

MetalEtemon: Ha! SaberLeomon: (stops firing, stunned) ...what...?

Gonna need more than that for the World's Strongest.

Now that there's a plan to run and the fight is escalating, this seems to shake Mimi out of her funk. She emerges from the diner to watch, while the other occupants are loaded on Ikkakumon's back.

Jou: Now! Hurry and climb on Ikkakumon! Mimi: But what about Leomon!? MetalEtemon: (cracking knuckles) Kehehehehe! Now it's my turn.

MetalEtemon rushes in with Full Metal Hip Attack. He lunges at SaberLeomon and spins in the air, slamming his steel asscheeks into SaberLeomon's face. The attack hits hard, laying SaberLeomon flat on his side.

In the dub, Ikkakumon gets all the way through calling his attack.

Ikkakumon: HARPOON TORPEDO--

Joe doesn't shout anything to stop him, so he just sort of hangs out not firing for three seconds while Joe hops out of the building and approaches him.

Joe: Wait! Ikkakumon: What do you mean, wait!? We've gotta help him out! Joe: But don't you think it's a better idea to leave like he told us to? Ikkakumon: (indignant) But Joe...!

The dub names Infinity Arrow as "Twin Fang" because I guess we're just saying words now. Leomon's startled "...what...?" does not make it in, but MetalEtemon's little laugh while invulnerably tanking the move is turned into an Elvis "Uh-huh-huh!" which is gold.

Joe: I really think we'd better leave before it's too late! Mimi: What about Leomon!? MetalEtemon: (cracking knuckles) Huhahahahaha! You call that your best shot!?

He then calls "Metal Punch" before his decidedly not a punch butt slam.

(Wait, so that is Metal Punch but throwing a punch is Banana Slip.)

Speaking of which, they also cut the shot of MetalEtemon's ass actually colliding with SaberLeomon's face. Though we still see him twist in the air so it's clear what he did, albeit made confusing by the attack name.

With SaberLeomon down, an unexpected ally rushes to his aid.

Ogremon: Wait! I'm the only one allowed to defeat Leomon! MetalEtemon: ...what? SaberLeomon: (struggling to stand up, pained) Back down, Ogremon. You're no match for him. Ogremon: Shut up! I'm sick of you being the one who looks cool all the time!

Upon realizing what Ogremon intends, Mimi runs screaming out onto the battlefield.

Mimi: NO, DON'T!!! Jou: (startled) Gah! Palmon: Mimi! Mimi: Not with those injuries! Don't do this! Stop! MetalEtemon: (singsong, in English) Shu~ut up! (Japanese) There's no need to push each other out. I can send you all to the afterlife together.

MetalEtemon calls Dark Spirits Deluxe. The original form of Dark Spirits was a ball of pure darkness he threw from his hand, but this one's been upgraded into an on-point jolt of black lightning that strikes down at a target from above.

Aimed straight at Mimi. Before it can hit, SaberLeomon throws himself into the air, taking the full force of Dark Spirits Deluxe into his back, then falling prone on the ground beside Mimi.

Jou: SABERLEOMON!!!

The dub dials back Ogremon's shonen rival-ness.

Ogremon: He's nothing! If you want a real challenge, it's right here! MetalEtemon: ...whuh? SaberLeomon: Ogremon, don't be ridiculous! You're no match for him! Ogremon: Hey, listen: I can take on this tin can if I want to! (Mimi runs out onto the battlefield) Mimi: NOOOOO!!!! Joe: (startled) WHAAAA!!! Palmon: MIMI!!! Mimi: You're in no shape to fight; Now stop it! And quit trying to be a hero! MetalEtemon: No, everyone's welcome! As a matter of fact, little darlin', today I'm offerin' a special group discount! Besides, it saves me time to destroy all of you at once!

Dark Spirits Deluxe has no attack name in the dub. When SaberLeomon leaps to take the bullet for Mimi, either he or Ogremon says something I honestly can't make out. It sounds like, "Leery, no!"

Joe: OKAY, THAT DOES IT!!!

So, yeah, Ogremon's jealousy and rivalry with Leomon isn't driving him here. Mimi indicates that he's "trying to be a hero", while Ogremon himself suggests that he just wants to fight.

At Jou's behest, Gomamon Super-Evolves into Zudomon to fight MetalEtemon.

It does not go well. Initially.

Mimi kneels beside the injured SaberLeomon, utterly distraught.

Mimi: (crying) No... not again....

Meanwhile, Zudomon fires off his his Hammer Spark. As before, MetalEtemon opens up his guard and lets Zudomon's shot hit him dead-on in the chest. It strikes him full force and deals no damage whatsoever.

MetalEtemon: Absolutely futile! My body has a full coating of Chrome Digizoid! Zudomon: Then how about this!?

Reconsidering his options, Zudomon lets his hammer fly, throwing it straight at MetalEtemon and calling it Hammer Boomerang.

In the dub:

Mimi: (crying) Leomon, wake up! Please tell me you're alright! (Zudomon hits MetalEtemon with Vulcan's Hammer, to no effect) MetalEtemon: Ha! As you can see, that didn't even phase me! My metal's Chrome Digizoid, the absolute strongest metal there is! Zudomon: Then maybe you'd like this!

Dub Zudomon calls the hammer toss "Vulcan's Hammer" again.

Yet again, MetalEtemon opens up his guard and confidently takes the hit.

MetalEtemon: Are you stupid or something? What are you even trying to--

The Thor Hammer strikes him square in the chest, right between the two kanji of his saikyou tattoo, leaving a huge fracture in his metal skin.

MetalEtemon: WHY!?!? My Chrome Digizoid metal coating! Zudomon: I'll tell you why. This Thor Hammer is also made from Chrome Digizoid. MetalEtemon: It's what!?

While MetalEtemon's focus is on Zudomon and his new awful crack, he doesn't even realize SaberLeomon's back on the move. The lion charges him silently from behind, calling Nail Crusher when he's too close for MetalEtemon to defend himself.

MetalEtemon whips around at the sound, just in time for SaberLeomon's claw to pierce through the cracked part of his chest and tear him open.

As his body begins to pixelize outward from the hole SaberLeomon tore open, he lets out one last scream of complete bafflement.

MetalEtemon: THIS CAN'T BE TRUE!!!

And then he's gone. Strongest in the World, King of Digimon, is finally and truly dead.

(And Zudomon is now 2 for 3 on useful Assists in Ultimate battles. He carried this one, though he had a lot of help from the very same overconfidence that led MetalEtemon to get that tattoo in the first place. This would have gone very differently if MetalEtemon didn't think he was invulnerable.)

Jou: We did it.

SaberLeomon degenerates back to Leomon... Then tips over forward and falls on his face. It's a little funny, but also tragic.

Mimi: LEOMON!!!

In the dub:

MetalEtemon: No matter what you attempt, it's useless! 'cause I'm invincible! (The hammer strikes its mark) MetalEtemon: I'm breakin' apart! This is terrible! I lost my luster! Why does this keep happenin' to me!? Zudomon: Because my hammer is made of Chrome Digizoid metal! I'm afraid it isn't your moment to shine! MetalEtemon: That can't be! SaberLeomon: TWIN FANG!!! MetalEtemon: Whuh-oh!

So, last time SaberLeomon used Nail Crusher, the dub called it Howling Crusher despite lions not howling. Infinity Arrow, meanwhile, was called as "Twin Fang" despite no fangs being involved.

Here, when he uses Nail Crusher again, now that is Twin Fang... despite, again, no fangs or anything that could be described as "twin" being involved. It's a super-strong claw punch.

MetalEtemon: (disintegrating) YOU'LL PAY BIG TIIIIIII.... (MetalEtemon fully pixelizes) Joe: He did it! (Leomon changes back and falls over) Mimi: LEOMON!!!

From here, we cut back to the fight with Pinocchimon's house.

WarGreymon: Look out!

As the house golem brings its foot down, the children scatter. WarGreymon moves in, catching the giant foot to buy the others time to escape. It reaches for Hikari with its free hand, but Angewomon grabs its finger to push it back.

Taichi: Hikari, over here!

Taichi grabs Hikari's hand, and together they run for it.

Replaying footage of Pinocchimon's eyes glowing, he signals the golem to attack. It lifts its foot from WarGreymon to stomp; However, this buys WarGreymon a chance to escape from underfoot. It then flicks Angewomon off of its hand, sending her flying.

Garudamon flanks the golem with a Shadow Wing to the side of its head, dealing no damage.

Sora: (gasp) It didn't work! (Golem backhands AtlurKabuterimon out of the sky) Koushiro: AtlurKabuterimon! Angemon: Takeru, get out of here! Takeru: But...

While this fight is going south, Pinocchimon flees through the forest, making his escape.

Pinocchimon: Haha, get them! Get them! Ahahahahaha!

A single RedVegimon pops out of the brush.

RedVegimon: Take me with you! Pinocchimon: Shut up! You'd only slow me down! FLYING CROSS CUTTER!!!

Pulling his control bar off his back, Pinocchimon swings it straight into RedVegimon. The flying bar kills RedVegimon and cuts down the adjacent tree before returning to Pinocchimon.

In the dub:

WarGreymon: Don't worry, I've got it covered! Get moving! (Angewomon stops the golem from grabbing Kari) Tai: Kari, come on! (Tai and Kari run for it; Garudamon attacks uselessly) Sora: It fizzled out! (Backhand to MegaKabuterimon) Izzy: MegaKabuterimon! Angemon: T.K., hurry! Run! T.K.: Okay, good luck!

Minor change, but Takeru was reluctant to leave Angemon while T.K. cheerfully peaces out.

Puppetmon: Haha! I'm out of here! Happy housewarming! RedVegiemon: Take me too! Puppetmon: Are you joking!? Do I look like I want your company!? Take this!

The dub calls Flying Cross Cutter as Puppet Pummel.

Unfortunately for Pinocchimon, the betrayal and murder of a "friend" he was bragging to Takeru about earlier summons some new attention.

MetalGarurumon silently emerges from the woods.

Pinocchimon: (failing to read the room) Who's there? Oh! I'm glad you made it. Now, try and defeat him like last time!

Pinocchimon points up into the sky, where WarGreymon can be seen delivering a slash across the golem's face. But MetalGarurumon remains standing there silently.

Pinocchimon: Huh? Listen to me!

To get MetalGarurumon moving, Pinocchimon lays out his marionette threads, taking control of him.

Pinocchimon: Now, go! Take him down!

But MetalGarurumon refuses to budge, even under Pinocchimon's marionette control.

Pinocchimon: W-What is going on here!? Why can't my abilities make you listen to me!? Yamato: (emerging from the woods) Isn't it obvious? He would never listen to someone who'd murder their own nakama like that. Pinocchimon: (bristling) What did you... That's ridiculous! EVERYONE SHOULD JUST DO WHAT I SAY!!!

Pinocchimon draws the control bar from his back, brandishing it like a melee weapon, and charges at them. MetalGarurumon fires, hitting Pinocchimon full-on with Cocytus Breath.

The frosted over control bar flies up into the air, then comes back down - Embedding itself in the dirt sticking up, like the cross over a grave. It lands beside Pinocchimon's iced over body.

We close up on Pinocchimon, and we can hear the gears in his chest struggling to keep turning.

Pinocchimon: Jureimon... What was it... that I lacked...?

He will never know the answer to that. Without Pinocchimon to sustain it, the golem fighting the others suddenly collapses into pieces. Then Pinocchimon and his control bar disintegrate into pixel dust, taking his question to the grave with him.

In the dub:

Puppetmon: Who's that behind me!? Well, it's about time! Get them! Do some major damage, and I want no foul-ups! MetalGarurumon: ... Puppetmon: Huh? MetalGarurumon: ... Puppetmon: What's with you!? Daydreaming again, huh!? (Marionette strings) Puppetmon: Now, MetalGarurumon, sock it to 'em! MetalGarurumon: ... Puppetmon: Hey, this isn't working here! Remember, you're supposed to obey me; I'm the boss! Matt: Think again! (emerges) You're washed up, Puppetmon! Nobody's going to be on your side because you don't care about them! Puppetmon: (defensive) I'm still strong! And it doesn't matter what they think! THEY'RE STILL GONNA DO WHAT I TELL THEM TO DO!!! (Puppetmon charges in) MetalGarurumon: METAL WOLF CLAW!!! (Puppetmon mortally injured) Puppetmon: Cherrymon... What is it that those kids have... that I don't...? Cherrymon: (ghost I guess) Friends!

Uh, no, the answer was "a heart" with which to comprehend friendship. Cherrymon's disembodied voice showed up here to rub salt in the wound. Which. Fair.

Puppetmon's dying words are the same as Pinocchimon's, but they don't have the same punch because the question hasn't been haunting him these last few episodes.

Overall, the dub take on this scene is a lot weaker. Puppetmon doesn't steadily break down the way Pinocchimon does. Meanwhile, Yamato's dramatic line gets completely butchered by the dub's need to talk around death, and is also too gung-ho.

Yamato's vibe is homicidally offended by what just took place, while Matt's vibe is "Haha, gotcha now, bad guy!"

Sora: Yamato-kun!

Now that the fighting's stopped, it doesn't take long for the others to realize that Yamato's with them. But nobody says anything. Yamato turns away, and he and MetalGarurumon take their leave. The rest of the team stare at their backs as they go, in various states of uncertainty and sadness.

Shortly after, the ground beneath their feet begins to shake violently. Chunks of earth start to break apart from each other.

Everyone: Waugh! Sora: An earthquake!? Koushiro: Because Pinocchimon's been defeated, the forest is disappearing! Taichi: RUN!!! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF THE FOREST!!!

While the Chosen Children make their escape, we cut to Earth and watch from the humans' perspective, as the strips of forest land in the sky disintegrate just like the oceans did.

In the dub:

Sora: Thank you, Matt!

Matt makes a surprised gasp and nervous vocalizations here. Yamato did the same thing; Matt's are just slightly louder. But no extra dialogue is added to the quiet moment of everyone seeing each other and then parting ways.

In fact, they actually remove dialogue. Once the ground starts shaking, Sora's line is cut.

Everyone: Waugh! Izzy: Now that Puppetmon's been defeated, the forest is disappearing! Tai: RUN!!! WE'VE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE AND FIND A SAFE PLACE!!!

From here, we return to Mimi's crew.

Everybody's gathered around Leomon, who they've laid up on the steps of the diner.

Mimi: No! You can't die! Palmon: Leomon! Gomamon: Leomon...

Jou falls to his knees, weeping into his duffel bag.

Jou: Damn it! Toilet paper can't fix this!

He throws the bag out of frustration, spilling its contents across the ground.

Leomon: (opens his eyes) The forest... the forest is returning....

Mimi and Ogremon turn, following his gaze, and see the treeline moving quickly. The wooded region sliding away from Spiral Mountain.

Leomon: It seems your nakama... has defeated Pinocchimon.... (proudly) I knew they would....

A beautiful sight amid all this darkness, for Leomon to see in his final moments.

In the dub:

Mimi: Leomon, it's me! Palmon: Come on now! Gomamon: Yeah, wake up! Joe: This stupid toilet paper isn't gonna be any good this time! (Joe throws the bag) Leomon: (opens his eyes) The forest... The forest is disappearing.... Mimi: (gasp) (Mimi and Ogremon turn to look) Leomon: It's a sign... that something positive has happened.... Your friends must have defeated Puppetmon.... That's good. I expected that they would.

Despite having to talk around the D word, this works pretty well. Apart from "It's a sign that something positive has happened", which is atrocious character dialogue. XD

Like. They were clearly struggling to figure out how to stretch Leomon's line out into the large amount of space provided.

After seeing the treeline moving, Leomon closes his eyes once more.

Mimi: (crying) HANG IN THERE!!! PLEASE!!! DON'T DIE!!! Leomon: Don't grieve for me. I will be reborn in the Village of Beginnings.

Leomon lifts his head to say his final farewell.

Leomon: I'm sorry, Ogremon. I won't be able to settle our rivalry with you.... Ogremon: Leomon....

With his last ounce of strength, Leomon reaches for Ogremon. Ogremon, tears streaming down his face, reaches for Leomon's hand. But before they can make contact, Leomon's hand begins to disintegrate. It's soon followed by the rest of him.

Mimi: NOOOOOOO!!! Jou: DAMN IT!!!

For a moment, Ogremon can't move. He stares at the space where Leomon had been, his hand remaining outstretched. Then, finally, he clenches it into a fist and pulls it back into himself, closing his eyes and crying.

In the dub:

Mimi: Oh, Leomon! Please don't leave us! We depend on you! Leomon: You have no reason to worry. I must go now and rejuvenate myself at the Primary Village. Ogremon: But... Uh... Leomon: Ogremon, I'm very sorry. Now is not the time for us to resolve things but I promise we will meet up again. Ogremon: (crying) You're a good rival. (They reach for each other's hands, but Leomon pixelates first) Mimi: (crying) Oh no!

Joe doesn't get a line, and just weeps with the rest of the group.

Again, trying to talk around the D word here. Leomon's just heading off to Primary Village to heal up, and he and Ogremon will have it out once he's better.

In the midst of all their grieving, Jou suddenly gets an idea.

Jou: Mimi-kun, let's go to the Village of Beginnings. Mimi: If we go to the Village of Beginnings, it won't just be Leomon waiting for us there. Piccolo and Chuumon and all of the other Digimon who are gone will be reborn as well. Jou: That's right! That's why we should search for the Village of Beginnings! Ogremon: The Village of Beginnings is dead.

With that shocking phrase, Mimi and Jou both turn their full attention to Ogremon.

Ogremon: I passed through there the Village of Beginnings recently. The shadow of the Dark Masters has changed it completely. Mimi: That can't be.... Ogremon: The Village of Beginnings won't return to the way it was until those assholes have been defeated. What will you do?

There's a fucking ultimatum. Not only are 'mons dying, but in fact the Dark Masters' regime is so twisted that none of the 'mons who die can reincarnate.

In the dub:

Joe: Mimi, let's go to the Primary Village. Mimi: Yes! We need help, and if what Leomon said is true, we'll meet some old friends there! Wouldn't it be just great to see Chuumon and Pixiemon again? Joe: Well then, the matter's settled! We're making a trip to find the Primary Village, alright? Ogremon: There's only one problem: It doesn't exist. Mimi: What!? Ogremon: There isn't anything there. It's a ghost town. It was destroyed after the Dark Masters poisoned it with their evil. No one is left. Mimi: it can't be.... Ogremon: it will never return to the way it was until the Dark Masters are eliminated! Any ideas?

"It doesn't exist" is a suitably shocking replacement for "The Village of Beginnings is dead."

With this new information in hand, it falls to Jou and Mimi to decide where they go from here.

Jou: We have to return the Village of Beginnings to normal. Gomamon: I don't want to sit around here doing nothing! Jou: Mimi-kun! I know this is a hard situation, but we have to defeat the Dark Masters! Palmon: Hey, Mimi? Let me fight too. If our friends still die even when I don't fight, then I would rather fight!

Taking all of this in, Mimi wipes the tears from her eyes.

Mimi: I understand. I'll do whatever I can to restore the Village of Beginnings! Hey, you'll come with us, right, Ogremon? Ogremon: Like I'd ever want to team up with you. But I do still have to settle things with Leomon. Guess I have no choice! Jou: Thank you! That's reassuring.

Looks like somebody forgot that he owes Mimi and Jou his life on yakuza's honor. Or he remembers and is just trying to act tough.

In the dub:

Joe: I say we throw them out and then save the village! Gomamon: That would be great, and it's better than sitting around and doing nothing. Joe: Okay, Mimi. The only way out of this mess is to defeat the Dark Masters. Are you up for it? Palmon: We need your help, Mimi. Please say yes. For Leomon and everyone; The whole Digi-World needs us! Mimi: Yes, you're right, Palmon. Sniveling is for babies and I've done too much of that already!

The dub removes both Joe's more sympathetic angle in approaching Mimi and Palmon's entire argument. Which is a shame because Palmon's argument was rock solid. What Palmon says in the dub is no different from what everyone else has already been saying to Mimi.

They also use Mimi's own line to sneak in a diss at her character arc.

Mimi: Ogremon, are you going to come along with us? Ogremon: Huh? Well, I have no intention of joining forces with you crazy kids. However, if we all happen to be going the same way, I'm stuck tagging along. Joe: Don't worry, Ogremon. We won't blow your cover.

This part works pretty well. Ogremon doesn't bring up Leomon, but still gets across the idea that he's joining but he doesn't want to look like he's joining.

From here, there's one last order of business before we can set out.

Ogremon: With that decided, we need to form a nakama. Gomamon: Nakama? Ogremon: There should be other Digimon who are still opposing those Dark Master assholes. We should search for them! Mimi: Yeah!

Ogremon has been on this team for two episodes and now he wants to kickstart a grassroots proletariat revolution. I think I love this guy.

On that note, Gekomon and Otamamon approach.

Otamamon: Princess-tama, may we come with you tama? Mimi: You may not. Gekomon: Ehh!? Why not!? Mimi: I will change my mind if you address me as Mimi instead of as Princess. Gekomon: Mimi! Please take us with you geko! Mimi: (pleasant smile) You're in. Narrator: And so the children continued down their separate paths. But there would be no rest for Taichi and the others. A new enemy was already upon them.

The yatsura narrator drops that on us without even an ominous final shot of what the fuck he's talking about. Come on, man. Why you gotta do me like that?

In the dub:

Ogremon: Now that it's decided, we need to seek out a few allies. Gomamon: Allies? Where? Ogremon: There must be others that are willing to fight the Dark Masters and get their hands dirty. I know they're out there. We just have to find them, that's all. Mimi: Yeah! Otamamon: Hey, Princess! How about if we come along to help out! Mimi: No way! Otamamon: Huh!? Gekomon: Oh, come on! Mimi: Only if you stop calling me Princess and call me Mimi instead. Gekomon: Our pleasure, Mimi! So can we come now? Mimi: Of course you can!

From here, the dub wants to give Mimi's sub-arc an outro to wrap up what we've learned today. But they're out of footage, so they splice in a shot of Taichi's group walking down a street from the next episode.

Mimi (V.O.): Some call this a crossroads in life. In the past, I might have avoided it by going to the mall. But you know, it feels good to do the right thing even though at times that might be a dangerous thing! Which we may soon find out.... Narrator: The DigiDestined are gathering allies but, separated, will they be able to survive the combined attack of the Dark Masters? Tune in to the next Digimon: Digital Monsters!

Naturally, they trivialize the shit out of it. Also the narrator flat out lies to us about what the next episode will entail, promising a "combined attack" from the two remaining Dark Masters. Piemon ain't doing shit 'til we get to his turf.

Assessment: So long to both Etemon and Pinocchimon. Pinocchimon's sub-arc is the longest by far for any individual Dark Master, clocking in at five episodes. And the reason for this is only obvious once it's over: Because it was also the sub-arc for the stealthy Secret Boss Fight with MetalEtemon.

Dude 100% has "Surprise villain hidden at the bottom of the optional bonus dungeon" energy about him.

This one is probably the most contentious episode in the series for Mimi. Because. Yeah, Jou and Mimi got Leomon killed. There's no two ways about that. If Zudomon had joined the fight when Gomamon first wanted to or if Mimi hadn't exposed herself to attack out of fear for Ogremon, Leomon would probably still be alive.

Though, so far as I know, Jou escapes criticism for his bad call here. Mimi, however, does not.

That said, I do appreciate that the episode never really brings that up, not even to refute it. Because while Mimi and Jou could have made better choices, the person responsible for Leomon's death is ultimately Etemon, not the two traumatized child soldiers one of whom spent most of the episode in the grips of emotional breakdown.

Leomon's death is the saddest of the Dark Masters arc, rivaling Wizarmon's. Mimi and Ogremon already discussed the question of who Ogremon would even be without Leomon, and now he has to find out.

Oh, and also the Reincarnation Nursery has been wiped the fuck out. That's a fun little apocalypse bomb to throw in there. You know, just in case this arc wasn't dark enough already.

For its part, the dub has very high highs, sometimes even surpassing the original, and also some low lows. There's a lot of death in this episode, and the dub fumbles the ball every time it comes up because it just can't go as dark as the original is allowed to.

For the sake of the Saturday Morning Cartoon tone, they have to paint all the skulls in clown makeup, and only sometimes do they pull that off well.

Also they assign attack names seemingly at random in this one, which is very confusing.

But overall there's a lot more they do super well than otherwise, and I think this is one of the stronger episodes for the dub.

#digimon #digimon adventure #revisiting digimon #revisiting digimon adventure

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