#15/10 digital humanities work from them

[thesearchforbluejello]

SHCHEDRIVKI MY BELOVED

The Polyphony Project has some recordings of traditional polyphonic singing of shchedrivki

Like this one from Kozatske, Chernihivska oblast, which is very close to what became Carol of the Bells (let us pause for a moment to dropkick Wilhousky into space for those ding dongs):

https://www.polyphonyproject.com/en/song/BMI_UK17050383

Or this one from Stratiivka, Vinnytska oblast, which is notably different but closely related:

https://www.polyphonyproject.com/en/song/BMI_UK17100680

Traditional Ukrainian music is just on another level in general, but there's something in particular about this one that's just so captivating

(even with Jerry Heil recording it on a laptop setup and singing harmony to herself https://youtu.be/7XtkttHFw1E?si=gvhKBpmzKmTScyXz)

[isatforpalestine]

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[moonkissedvisions]

𝖄𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝕿𝖆𝖗𝖔𝖙 𝖇𝖎𝖗𝖙𝖍 𝖈𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖘 ☾

UNVEIL THE CORE ESSENCE OF YOUR BEING, PERSONALITY, AND PURPOSE WITH TAROT CARDS

Introduction:

We understand all Tarot cards as symbols. They essentially represent different aspects of our lives that reside in our souls and our subconscious minds. When we read Tarot cards, we are reading our energy, we are intuitively looking at our subconscious. We think of them as a mirror that reflects the multiple dimensions of our spirit to help us understand situations much better, and make our life more conscious and meaningful.

What are Tarot birth cards?

Tarot birth cards are symbols that shape our identity and lives from the moment we are born. They are our essence, an energy imprint, or even a map - like a birth chart but for Tarot cards- that can unlock a new understanding of ourselves, and all the potential of our life purpose.

Each of us has a pair of Major Arcana cards that represent our core self, so today I decided to explain all combinations. I explained the cards separately so you can combine them and see intuitively how they play out in your life.

Also, be noted that I only explain the "light" manifestation of each of them. So for example, if it says "selfless" the shadow aspect/backward expression of them is the opposite, "selfish". Or if it says "truth-seeker" its shadow would be "know-it-all". If you are curious about the shadow aspect of your birth cards or anything about them you can send me a question and I'll be happy to help.

Hey, don't forget to check out the awesome video link at the end of the post! It's worth watching if you want to dive deeper into the topic. Have a great time exploring!

Now let´s calculate yours!

and hope you enjoy it *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

How do I calculate mine?

The easiest way for me is to use the same method that we use to calculate our Life path number in numerology:

We add each digit of our birth date

m+m+d+d+y+y+y+y

Example: 11/22/1989

1+1+2+2+1+9+8+9= 33

2. We reduce it

3+3= 6

6 is The Lovers and The Devil (6 and 15).

As you can see, we got a pair of numbers that corresponds to a pair of Major Arcana cards.

important: IF YOU GET A 19, YOU HAVE TO REDUCE IT TWICE AND YOU´LL GET 3 MAJOR ARCANA: 19 (The Sun) -> 1+9=10 (The Wheel of Fortune) -> 1+0=1 (The Magician).

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

1 and 10: The Magician, The Wheel of Fortune

The Magician: This energy has the ability to manifest anything. Your essence is skilled, cunning, tricky, scheming. You posses autonomy and initiative. You are an independent thinker. You have a great potential, but you also put in the work and have a lot of fun in the process. You are diplomatic and you reject bias. Entrepreneur. Self-motivated. You are honest and direct.

The Wheel of Fortune: You are lucky or at least, you know how to feel lucky to attract blessings. You understand the cycles of life and therefore you have the ability to co-create with the Universe intelligently. You often get surprised by the events in your life. You know how to use opportunities in your favor. Manifesting is something that you probably did consciously since young.

19: The Sun (ALSO READ 1 AND 10)!

Adding to 1 and 10 cards, The Sun supplies your soul of creativity, popularity, happiness, honesty, harmony and serenity. You are a good friend. You are loyal and bring harmony, love and satisfaction to everyone´s lives. You are a leader, a celebrity, and people look up to you.

2 and 11: The High Priestess, Justice

The High Priestess: You are sensitive and wise. You are aware of the subtle, small details. You are able to find the point of unity, the basics of the Universe, and you understand how everything is connected. You are intuitive, compassionate, and loving. You excel at anything related to the occult, the mysteries of the Universe and human psyche, and anything related to relationships, unions, and secrets.

Justice: You are unbiased, rational, harmonious. You know what´s right and what´s wrong and trust in natural order and the balance of things. You value truth more than anyone else. You are good with law, philosophy, and karma.

2 and 20: The High Priestess, Judgment

Same qualities above for the High Priestess, combined with Judgment.

Judgment: The Judgment card adds in to the HP themes of awakening, spirituality, renovation. You may be someone who questions the status quo and the established norms and structures. You have the calling to awaken other people so you can rebuild and improve the system. You could connect to different dimensions and be a medium or have psychic abilities. You are otherworldly. You are also highly empathetic and sensitive.

3 and 12: The Empress, The Hanged Man

The Empress: You enjoy helping other people, creating, and giving birth to something. You embody kindness, intelligence, expressiveness, communication and abundance. You are dynamic and could be good at doing many things, you likely do all at the same time. You are good at communicating your ideas with others and you give others creative insights.

The Hanged Man: You are artistic, original, altruistic and idealistic. You see the world from a different perspective and you always contribute with clever ideas. You are witty and have the potential to become a genius. You are generous.

3 and 21: The Empress, The World

Here the qualities of the Empress are combined with those of The World card, so your creativity results in perfection, success, wholeness, finding your place in the world, feeling and being rewarded, self-realization. You are someone generous who help people with their creations and you make them realize their special place in the world as well. You are greatly admired. You are positive about people and life.

4 and 13 : The Emperor, Death

The Emperor: You are gifted with stability, strength, structure and practicality. You are powerful, hard-working and generous. You have integrity and good morals. You protect what needs protection and give structure and functionality to things. You are methodical and pragmatic.

Death: Death combined with the Emperor can reestructure and make radical changes to the world. You know when things need to die and be rebirthed in new forms. You can transform the world with authority, integrity and diligency.

In case you got 4 and 22, The 22 can be considered The Fool. You can either consider the Fool along with The Emperor and Death, or only read the explanation above and dismiss it. If you choose to consider the Fool, read below:

The Fool: I picture it as if you were the Emperor but with a good sense of humor, carefree, crazy, not making sense at times, chaotic, and extravagant. It makes me think of "dad jokes". You do not take anything too seriously. You restructured things spontaneously and the result may not make a lot of sense. Or it could be that you make more of a freedom-oriented restructure/change. You are an innocent and energetic leader. Maybe you don´t even understand why people may see you as a leader or follow you, because you don´t even take yourself seriously and are very disorganized, lol.

(edit): When I was writing about this combo, the new president of Argentina Javier Milei came to my mind. He talks about re-structuring the country, making economic transformations, solving the problems of the economy and poverty, and changing the country for the better. But he also has a silly personality, he's kinda funny and people make fun of him, they call him crazy, they even speculate about him having mental illnesses, and he doesn't make sense to A LOT of people. At that time I was lazy to search for his number but I just did and you know what? He is a 4 and a 22. 😳

5 and 14: The Hierophant, Temperance

The Hierophant: You are a teacher, someone wise who shares their knowledge and wisdom. You are patient, merciful, and modest. You guide others to goodness. You respect religion, tradition and family structures with open-mindedness and flexibility. You see everything as an experience and adventure and you like exploring different philosophies without getting attached.

Temperance: You can adapt to different people, ideas and environments, and you can bring different people together with peace, harmony and respect. You have the ability to solve conflicts. This combo makes a mentor, a guru, or a coach. You are balanced in logic and emotions and you are seen as mature.

6 and 15 (or 33): The Lovers, The Devil

The Lovers: Opposite forces, love, complements. You know how to love, not only other people but the whole Universe. You are a sensual person. You appreciate beauty, art and can excel at many different things. You are a gentle person who is good at making decisions that brings in the frequency of love to your environment. Everything you do is coded with love and passion.

The Devil: You are passionate, magnetic. You border limits. You are highly influential in whatever you do. You can control and manipulate others, which is not necessarily a bad thing, it´s just that you understand human psychology and can easily get the attention of others. With this combo you can captivate, tempt and induce lust and desire in others, so you may be working in art, music, writing, marketing, design, even animation and programming.

I also like to think of The Lovers as oxytocin and The Devil as adrenaline/dopamine. Dopamine and oxytocin together make love and bring new life into the world.

7 and 16: The Chariot, The Tower

The Chariot: You are someone intelligent, energetic, analytic, and introspective, who fights for radical changes and the evolution of society. You are a truth-seeker. You are fearless. You challenge the status quo and strive for spiritual and material progress. You are curious and love to learn new things that can change the world for the better.

The Tower: You mercilessly and strongly destruct what doesn´t serve the evolution of society and humanity. You break the equilibrum to build a better one. You are a rebel. You know that the truth always comes to light, and you also make it happen. You show the world what they couldn´t see and that's why you could be triggering. But it´s for the good. You challenge wrong convictions, judgments and beliefs, and you completely destruct them.

8 and 17: Strength, The Star

Strength: You are someone resilient. You know the importance of controlling your actions, impulses, thoughts, emotions and everything you do with mental strength and intelligence. You know that if you manage your own forces, you can achieve all of your goals and also help others do the same. You are very determined and optimistic. You like to work hard, not only for yourself but for others. You are an example of the word management and you like being in charge.

The Star: You give others hope and enlightment. You are inspiring. You can provide a lot of healing and regeneration. You are selfless and generous. You are strong in faith, and that way you can give others the reassurance that they need. You see the good in everything and that is what helps you get you good results and be succesful.

9 and 18: The Hermit, The Moon

The Hermit: You are interested in seeing what others can´t see. You look through things. You are deeply intuitive and contemplative. You search for answers in yourself by being in silence, in solitude, and looking inwards at your subconscious mind. You are wise, capable of offering advice and solving problems or mysteries. You are the healer who heals yourself first. You are personally uninterested in worldly matters and detached from the material.

The Moon: You can see through illusions and imagination because you connect to the dream realm. You are a good psychoanalyst. You are good with the occult. You are attracted to the unknown. You are a researcher, a detective, a healer of the most mysterious diseases. You are deeply spiritual and adventurous.

Carl Jung had this combo as his birth cards and I think this quote from him really represents it: Who looks outside dreams (The Moon), who looks inside awakes (The Hermit). The funny thing is, I didn´t know he had them when I read it and thought about the cards, but I was sure he had to be and I searched it, lol. I also have these as my cards so...

✯¸.•´*¨`*•✿ ✿•*`¨*`•.¸✯

I hope you enjoyed this post and that it was helpful! Thank you for your support and please, keep supporting me if you like this one 🌷

video about birth cards

PAC: Messages from the Divine Feminine

PAC: Healing Messages

PAC: Your beauty

PAC: Your natural gifts

[alpaca-clouds]

Neurodiversity from an Evolutionary Perspective

I spoke yesterday about how neurodiversity is a bit of Schrödinger's Disability today. We neurodiverse people get all the backlash of being diabled, and all the discrimination, but we rarely get disability benefits of any sort.

But today I want to talk about something else: Evolutionarily speaking most neurodiverse people are not disabled. Our disability stems entirely from the fact that we just do not function in a 9-5 capitalist hellscape.

Just look at it from the perspective that our species actually evolved to gather and hunt - and maybe also cultivate some stuff. (Given how long ago we did that, you could argue that this also shows in our genes.)

See, by now a lot of specialists think, that both autism and ADHD are very underdiagnosed, because even within the field a lot of people are looking for a certain, stereotypic way for the neurodiversity to show. With modern diagnostic criteria there is a good chance that about 5% of all people have ADHD and/or autism. Which is... a lot.

But the thing is that it actually makes a lot of sense. Because evolutionarily it would totally have been an advantage.

Let me talk about something we did at university yesterday. We got a lot of random shapes on a picture and we were supposed to find the T and the X between these shapes. Something I could do within less than a second, while three of my fellow students were unable to find the T (which was rotated) at all. Because my brain processes visual information completely differently.

And this... is evolutionarily an advantage, right? Just imagine being a hunter-gatherer and going through the forest or the savanna. And now you have someone among you, who is able to see a prey animal instantly, because of how they process visual information. Or who realizes them being stalked by a predator. Or them finding fruits and other things.

Neurodiverse people are also very capable of having a very different approach to problem solving. Which again would have a small tribe easier survive. Doubly so with the hyperfocus that neurodiverse people can have. Which totally is an evolutionary advantage for a group to have. Who knows. Maybe the first person to make fire was a neurodiverse person hyperfocusing on this task.

Also, there is the very common believe that people with ADHD specifically were probably very well adapt at hunting for several reasons.

So, yeah. This is so very common, because evolutionarily it was an advantage. From an evolutionary perspective it makes sense that it is so very common.

You have to remember: Modern Homo Sapiens as a species is around 160 000 years old. We settled down sometime between 10 000 and 15 000 years ago. So, just from an evolutionary perspective us having settled down is a very, very new thing. And not to mention, that the modern working culture has been around for not even quite 100 years. Office jobs have been a thing for even less.

And I can tell you: If you leave me out and about outside. I am good. Like, give me some nature observatory duty or something, putting up trail cams, what not. I am good. I can work for 12 hours straight (because hyperfocus). But sit me in the office for just 6 hours, and you will have me crawling up the walls, because that is just not what my brain does.

Ideally I am gonna need a job, that involves a lot of research and going outside. Which is why I hope to either go into Digital Humanities or the Environmental Geoinformatics. Because that is stuff I work well with.

If you gotta put me in an office job, you might as well shoot me right. Because my brain just doed not work like that.

[tobiasdrake]

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.

[pleaseeeimjustagirl]

Building A Productive Routine And Being Consistent 

It is officially 2024! This is my first self-improvement post of the year<3 I want to discuss routines and creating a productive routine. Routines are super important they help you build structure in your life, boost your self-confidence, and can help you achieve all of your goals for this year!

What are your goals? 

♡ If you have not already written out your goals for the year I'm going to need you to do that whenever you have the time. Be realistic don't complicate or stress yourself out.

♡ Look at the habits that you have currently that are stopping you from achieving your goals. Be honest with yourself. For example, your goal is to read more self-help books this year but you have a habit of watching too much TV or scrolling on TikTok for hours on end.

♡ After writing down your goals and identifying your bad habits, it's time to select new habits that align with your goals. 

♡ You need a nonnegotiable habit this year. For instance, if your objective is to lose weight, you may consider meal prepping or pilates workouts three times a week as a non-negotiable. 

Time to build your routine 

♡ A planner that I use is the Structured App. This app has so many amazing features that you can use to plan your week. You can also use Google Calendar or buy digital/physical planners online.

♡ It can be helpful to take a realistic approach when trying to incorporate new habits into your daily routine. Take a look at your current schedule, including your sleep and work or school schedule, and try to fit in your new habits accordingly. This can ensure that you can realistically commit to your new habits without overwhelming your existing schedule.

♡ It's a good idea to practice a new schedule by taking a day out of the week to try it out. If you decide to wake up at 5 am instead of 7 am, test it out and see if it works for you. You might find that you get more done waking up earlier. However, if it doesn't work, don't worry. You can swap out and change your routine as much as you need until you find what works best for you.

♡ If you realize that you have too many habits and no space to fit them into your schedule, you might need to prioritize and focus on the most important ones.

You should make time for... 

♡ Sleep! I can not stress this enough you need to get a good amount of sleep daily. Sleep has so many benefits. You can read this article on sleep for more details

♡ Self-care. Incorporating self-care into your daily routine is very important. This can include taking care of your skin, grooming yourself, shaving, and other similar activities. Self-care is a nurturing act that you can do for yourself, so it's essential to prioritize taking care of yourself.

♡ Getting sunlight. Andrew Huberman is so popular right now and he recommends in the morning getting 10-15 minutes of sunlight. He says not only does this boost your mood but it will help you sleep better at night. For anyone who also deals with seasonal affective disorder, this is a tip I 100% recommend. 

♡ Moving your body. Find what works for you. Just because you see your favorite YouTuber doing a HIIT workout as soon as she wakes up doesn't mean you will like it. Find different forms of exercise and do what you enjoy you might prefer yoga over running on the treadmill or walking over pilates.

♡ Journaling. I love to journal a new form of journaling I have been doing in the morning is gratitude journaling. Starting your day by writing about the things you are grateful for in your life will boost your mood. I talked about journaling in Shifting Your Mindset From Scarcity To Abundance This is a website I use for journal prompts and this is a gratitude journal you can purchase on Amazon. 

What are you consuming daily?

You must know what content you are consuming daily. As humans we adapt the mindset and behaviors of those around us and the same is possible for the content you watch. I prefer to listen to podcasts, and I follow and watch YouTubers that relate to the woman I want to become.

How to stay consistent? 

♡ Remember you are doing this for yourself. Like I said above create routines based on your life, schedule, and goals do not try and force yourself to be like someone else.

♡ Be realistic. Do not overwork yourself and put so much on your plate to the point you become overwhelmed.

♡ Be intentional. For example, when you have a 3-hour work block coming up soon, avoid watching Netflix or any other distracting activity, you might end up putting off your work block to finish what you are watching.

♡ Don't try to be perfect. When you try a new habit for the first time you probably won't be good at it but keep going results take time.

♡ Do not compare your routine to the next girl's routine everybody is different and what might work for her might not work for you.

♡ When you have negative thoughts, counter them with a positive one. For example, instead of thinking 'Ugh, I'm tired and I have to work out', you can counter that thought with 'Working out is good and will get me closer to my dream body'.

♡ Give grace. You won't be perfect because you're human, so it's important to understand that some days won't be the same. Sometimes, you'll have to change your routine, but through it all, give yourself grace.

I hope this will help you when you're trying to build a productive routine<3 Comment any other tips you may have as well! I am open to taking requests and questions. My messages are always open for you girliesss to chat with me <3 

[lunarsilkscreen]

Another Internet Whitepaper

I'm just gonna get into there is no way to preface this.

1) content should be hosted in their own countries for which they are meant.

2) therefore the website should split into Nation->Sub-nation sections. So things for Michigan would be closer to those in Michigan. With U.S.->Michigan.

--"independent" Nations are just gonna have to deal with being lumped together into a united region. It's simply physics.

--country wide servers and clouds, and worldwide services will still be available; but we need to develop protocols to make it easier to distribute data and declutter the internet-cloud.

3) a separate Intranet for official use and security will need to be developed alongside this while also being completely disconnected from the worldwideweb.

4) Splits;

IP Addresses redesign;

[Country/Region]:[State/Province]:[individual]

[Individual] will need to be controlled by local The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) branches; likely to be reassigned to DMVs and SoSs.

5) Separate protocols For;

Streaming Services

Social Media Services

Bidirectional Interactions (like games and Virtual Machines)

Pornography needs to be completely identifiable by textual Web address.

5) you local region will be defaulted, but can be changed by the browser and not be hard-wired in.

Not indicating a region will automatically default to the local internet.

So typing in FBI.GOV in the U.S. will lead to the FBI website, and if you type it in the UK it'll lead to Mi:5 or something.

6) Social Media protocols will have to be integrated with the E-Mail SMTP protocols. Which will encourage a more decentralized internet. This will *also* have to find a way to work with phone text messages.

7) Cable TV and Streaming services will have to use the same protocols.

8) Because there's phone integration here; a phone number may have to be closer to a social security number going forward. Which will both be bad for animosity, but allow for people to not need login information.

-- This will technically also need to apply to your House; which will have to have an assigned street address.

9) all of these need to be obfuscated to casual observers.

10) this will deprecate our phone companies and require them to work with cable TV and internet companies in order to create more equitable protocols.

11) the current IP address and Domain Registry systems need to be deprecated; as it does not suit its original purpose.

[.xxx] will be assigned for all "adult" materials and be required for ALL "adult materials" posted online.

[.app] will be assigned for appstores.

[.store] for marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and whatever else.

[.bank] will be for banking and credit purposes

[.social] will be for social media

[.stream] will be for streaming materials,

[.np] for non-profit use only.

[.donation] for donation collections and Kickstarter like services.

[.pay] for payment services like PayPal

Non "adult materials" can be streamed through other "front ends" .

13) These human readable extensions will be simplified on the backend to reduce the total data envelope size.

14) single digit ip-adresses will have to be regulated for use for high-capacity uses. These will need to be "extended" protocols that different services can use.

This will help even out everybody's data envelopes. This will have to be part of a cloud service that can be used by anybody that needs it. With certain restrictions that are deemed necessary by local and federal governments and international treaty reasons.

15) limits on how algorithms and "bots" can ping anything at one time need to be addressed or regulated.

This will be a massive undertaking with the cooperation of all the other governments around the world.

And will be a very lucrative endeavor at the end of it all.

This is just an outline to describe the form the future internet should take and can be changed or modified as required; especially for things I cannot see.

The current corporations will be expected to develop a plan of actions in tandem with current regulatory authorities; failure to do so will create a need for an ultimatum, which we all wish to avoid.

We're also going to need to find ways to encourage competition in these sectors so that they can be upgraded and modified as needed by local areas instead of waiting on these companies to bother with it.

[probablyasocialecologist]

Researchers assessed 15 digital work platforms—among them Amazon Mechanical Turk, Scale AI and Appen—and found that all of them were “still far from safeguarding basic standards of fair work,” according to the report. “While the run for AI deployments gets public hype and momentum, workers behind the design, building and testing of these technological solutions, unfortunately, still face enormous challenges and experience unfair working conditions,” the report says. The basis for the report was a survey of 752 workers in 94 countries carried out by researchers from Oxford’s Fairwork team, as well as formal interviews with platform managers. The report’s authors then gave each platform a score out of ten based on five principles: fair pay, fair conditions, fair contracts, fair management, and fair representation; with a maximum of two points for each principle. Four platforms (Amazon Mechanical Turk, Workana, Microworkers, and Freelancer) scored 0 points. None of the platforms reviewed scored more than 5. A score of 10 out of 10, researchers note, “simply means that [a] company is complying with the bare minimum.” “We have very world-renowned platforms that are still among the worst scores,” says Jonas Valente, the lead researcher on the so-called “cloudwork” project. “We still have a very big problem with platforms that are not acknowledging the need to improve their workers’ conditions.” One finding of the report is that workers spend much of their time carrying out what the authors call “unpaid labor.” The report found that 250 workers on the five platforms most commonly used by AI companies to find gig workers spent 26.8% of their time carrying out what it calls “unpaid tasks,” including looking for work, taking unpaid tests, and applying for work. Taking that unpaid time into account, those workers earned an average hourly wage of $2.15 per hour—though the report notes that this pool of workers hailed from 51 countries where the cost of living varies significantly. “Still, the findings shed light on the persistent problem of low pay on the platforms,” the report says.

[the-catmans-offical-2]

Finally, after damn near a year; My commissions are open offically!!!

Please DM/PM me on Discord (@the.catman.giovi.offical) or on here if you wanna buy a commission off of me! Currently, I only do digital art commissions and furthermore commissions of my Cryptid Style (see below for more information.)

You must be 18+ to buy a commission off of me, regardless of it being nsfw or sfw.

Cryptid Commission Information:

- Sketches (rough drawing without color or background) Headshots ; 5 USD

- Sketches (rough drawing without color or background) Upper body ; 5 USD

- Sketches (rough drawing without color or background) Full body ; 6 USD

- Doodles (line art without color or background) Headshot ; 6 USD

- Doodles (line art without color or background) Upperbody ; 10 USD

- Doodles (line art without color or background) Full body ; 10 USD

- Addition of color (this includes flat color background) ; 5 USD

- Addition of background (non-detailed) ; 10 USD

- Addition of background (detailed) ; 25 USD

- Additional characters (more than one) ; 1 USD per additional character

[* Please note, this is for works requested in my "Crytpid Style" - a cartoony style made to look a bit wacky. ]

Examples of Cryptid Style:

Painting Comms Info:

(COMMISSIONS FOR THIS ARTSTYLE ARE CLOSED!)

- Sketches (rough drawing without color or background) Headshots ; 10 USD

- Sketches (rough drawing without color or background) Upper body ; 10 USD

- Sketches (rough drawing without color or background) Full body ; 15 USD

- Doodles (full piece, without background) Headshot ; 20 USD

- Doodles (full piece, without background) Upperbody ; 25 USD

- Doodles (full piece, without background) Full body ; 40 USD

- Addition of background (non-detailed) ; 20 USD

- Addition of background (detailed) ; 35 USD

- Addition of line art or line shading ; 15 USD

- Additional characters (more than one) ; 10 USD per additional character

[* Please note, this is for works requested in my "Painting style" - a style made more semi-realistic or surrealistic. ]

Examples of Painting Style:

Extra information;

Does draw:

- Ship art

- NSFW pieces (kink dependant)

- Gore, blood, violence (fits under NSFW)

- Portraits

- Animals / furries

- Humans

- SFW pieces

- Original Characters

- AUs (I love AUs sm, I don't mind drawing them ehe)

Doesn't draw:

- Depictions of rape

- Zoophilia

- Scat/Scat kink stuff

- Eproctophilia

- Emetophilia

- Nasophilia

- Pedophilia

- Political drawings or otherwise

- Racist caricatures, or any racist stereotypes

If there isn't something listed that you're curious about, lmk! Most of these are stated for my own comfort, I don't draw stuff I'm not comfortable with..

Oh yeah, 5% off if it's related to my current hyperfixation - Fullmetal Alchemist 2003/Conqueror of Shamballa.

10% off if it's a commission for a Wrath 03 drawing.

I do take free requests in my ask box, so just hmu if you wanna request a lil doodle from me!:) (I have the option to deny if I wanna, but don't be shy bc I'll likely draw it if I have time.)

[brushfeather]

A Rare Opportunity: Emergency Commissions!

Those that have followed me for a long time know that I don't often do commissions for a number of reasons. But times are extremely tight now, and with health insurance being threatened and mortgage falling behind, it's time once again to open these up.

💚 I will do: feral, anthro and furry creatures. My strength is with furred and feathered creatures.

👍I may possibly consider: A toonish human bust with a pet, with caution that this isn't my strongsuit. Fan OCs.

❌ I won't do: X-rated, suggestive, etc. Gore, violence. Vore. Various fetish materials. Full body humans, human-like plain-skinned creatures, strictly copyrighted stuff. Heavily detailed painting or backgrounds*.

(*I have offered this in the past, but this is not part of this commission opening. )

--

Sticker Style

Left: simple sticker style. Right: complex sticker style/product parody.

My sticker style is bright and semi-toony, with expressive eyes, faces, and sometimes exaggerated motion. Time is spent carefully refining the lines and perfecting the colors for these, especially when being set up for print. This is the style used for the 'angel' and 'food parody' designs I'm commonly known for, which you are welcome to request.

Simple sticker style: $30

Complex sticker style: $40+. Product parodies, extra animal/character, detailed objects, florals, characters with clothing, etc: will quote based on complexity.

Add package 1: 8"x10" or similar print, 1 sticker, 1 magnet: +$10, includes US tracked shipping or international stamped envelope shipping.

Add package 2: 2 prints, 2 stickers, 2 magnets: +$15

Watercolor Style

Left: Simple watercolor. Right: Detailed watercolor.

My digital 'watercolor' work is done loose and soft in a more sketchy style, but can be very involved when it comes to giving it lots of detail. Thus, this is the budget option if you're looking for something simple, but can be pricier for involved pieces, as it's more time consuming in that aspect.

Simple Watercolor style: $20-30. This can be a simple bust/portrait, or a full animal with minor detail. A clothed character, unless very minimal, will count as detailed, an animal with lots of texture and/or color, or a complicated pose.

Complex watercolor style: $50+ clothed characters, detailed objects, multiple characters, etc. This will be quoted based on complexity.

Add Print: ~8"x10": +$10, ~18x24: +$20 ~24"x36": +$25. Free US shipping only. Print-ready files will be provided for international customers to print locally.

The same prices above also apply to digital pencil characters, portraits & icons. I don't work in this style as often, but would be delighted to do more! This style marries the semi-toonishness of my sticker style with the loose softness usually found in my watercolor pieces.

All of my digital commissions can be sublimated/printed on a number of items, ranging from clothing, to memorial ceramics, to high quality tumblers. Let me know if you are interested in adding printed materials to your order!

Custom Beanies

Left: high stitch count cuff, around $80 Right: low stitch count cuff, around $55

Bottom: Peek-a-boo hat, low stitch count, around $95

These are priced a bit different: though beanie designs may not be time consuming to draw, there is cost in having the design digitized into stitches, then the time and material to have them created. These are priced by location and stitch count. More fill area = higher stitch count = higher cost.

Cuff Design: $55+

Peek-a-boo Hat (cuff and above cuff): $95+

These all include the cost of a basic acrylic cuffed beanie purchased in a stock color. Any specialty beanies, dying, etc will come at an extra cost.

---

Interested? Heck yeah, you're my hero! Contact me via:

Messages - Tumblr isn't very reliable at alerting people of messages, but I will be checking regularly while commissions are open.

Facebook: the easiest way to reach me.

Email: My username @Gmail! I check email frequently.

@brushfeather.creations on Instagram

On Etsy: also a very easy way to reach me, as Etsy is sure to alert multiple times if a message is accidently dismissed.

Let's chat and get your perfect piece planned! ✨🎨

[ikoarts]

October 2023 Art

for some reason i wrote a novel under the cut, for those of u actually reading, thank u for being so patient x

vvv dates + info under the cut vvv

1 - 03/10/2023 : another of my faves of last year, was trying to get better at drawing trainz, so just Edward and Toby hanging out, displaying the duality of old men x

2 - 04/10/2023 : got a new puter! one of the first things i set to doing after getting set up was to draw a Ru, of course, it was also just me trying to get used to the new MS paint..... it feels very odd

3, 4, 5 - 06/10/2023 : part 1 of redrawing random pics i have of Edward on my phone with my human version of him, this was really fun tbh, and the third here is one of my fave drawings of the year probs.. like sir.. those look heavy... what big uhh.. Glasses.. you have

6, 7, 8 - 07/10/2023 : part 2! i think i just like drawing his face... dare i say this train is cunty or will that get me exiled

9 - 08/10/2023 : something stupid i thought of and couldn't get out of my head for days so had to draw it..... little johnny from oingo boingo's only a lad, doing what he does best, fantasising about radios he wants oh so bad and running people down with a boyish craving for blood.. based on that 1 meme of the guy driving and thinking of a thing then making that insane face

10 - 09/10/2023 : based on that 1 silly vargskelethor song (that could not be less specific), had Shed 17 on the brain and was reminded of the milk song where the skeleton comes out.. thomarse dank 2 much milk and died..

11, 12 - 10/10/2023 : chooshada again :333 first a little doodle on my phone bc i was wondering about her livery, i do think she'd have originally been NER apple green but then painted NWR colours, butttt with a twist... coz i can do whatever i like... the twist is just that she's painted dark blue rather than a sky blue, coz its more her colour x

ALSO MS paint shada, wanted to draw her more uh, idk, detailed ig, idk i love this one, it also served as more train practice

13 - 13/10/2023 : previous one, but with COLOUR!! not much 2 say other than that shes very cute

14 - 18/10/2023 : saw a tweet abt old photos of engine crews posing with their crashed locos and how the NWR crews would do that, made me think of how, if Toni was (choo)shada's driver, she'd do that.. probably x .. very like her to slay in the midst of a terrible accident

15 - 22/10/2023 : predictably, i have some playlists for the ttte engines, one for Diesel which is notable here, so uhh, i have the scrapped song from the lorax "biggering" in there, bc i see it as like a Duck vs Diesel song, ik im surpassing several layers of cringe here but hear me out ok... i drew this at 2am coz i couldn't stop thinking of Duck lecturing Diesel

16, 17, 18 - 25/10/2023 : speaking of playlists, think i was listening to my Robin one here, and felt like drawing him, i have "the land of make believe" in there, which ive always found to be an oddly haunting song, so this is semi based on that, though that wouldn't be apparent if i hadn't just told u x .. this looks like vent art but tis not i was just having fun

also tiny chooshada, i was in the middle of writing something which i have literally Just remembered now and i was writing a scene where Ru is stuck between some characters who shes not looking forward to working with bc they're about to bicker the whole fuckin time and one of them thinks shes a dick, so i drew her being sad that shes forced to work with morons..... and speak of the devil, 3rd drawing is here with 2 of the aforementioned morons :D i think D+D take a liking to her, they're just a little obnoxious (love them for that)

19 - 27/10/2023 : a quick(ish) digital thing of Chooshada again that i did on the side of another project, more engine drawing practice he he, she'll be out of proportion and lacking detail but really it was just to not be too hard on myself about that, it did help i think to understand how to draw her more, plus just look at her lil face... also she has a number here, doesn't mean much other than 8 being her lucky number, other than 11, like those are just her numbers, suppose i could have it be 1188 to ref her bday, idfk x

[berniesrevolution]

IN THESE TIMES

The future of the four-day work week is looking brighter after the results of a major new study were released last month.

Nearly 3,000 workers at over 60 organizations took part in the latest trial of reduced working time — and the findings surpassed most expectations. A large majority of workers reported significant improvements in their quality of life. And it wasn’t just employees who preferred the shorter working week: more than 90% of employers who participated opted to continue the arrangement.

The U.K.-based experiment introduced a four-day week or equivalent cut in hours, with no loss of pay, from June to December 2022. Research teams at Boston College, Cambridge University and the London think tank Autonomy studied the effects. Overall, workers reported lower levels of stress and burn out, higher job satisfaction and less conflict between work and family demands. They also said they felt more capable at work and better able to manage their time.

Almost all (96%) said they preferred working four days and most put a high value on their new free time. Asked how much money would persuade them to return to a five-day week, 29% said they would want a 26-50% pay increase, while 8% wanted more than 50% and another 15% said no amount of money would lure them back.

Employers benefited as well. Compared with the pre-trial period, there were fewer staff resignations and days off for illness. Revenues saw a slight increase. Asked to score their experience on a scale from 0 (negative) to 10 (positive), the average among employers was 7.5 for productivity and 8.3 overall.

One likely reason for the trial’s success is that it recognized there was no one-size-fits-all formula. Each organization could choose its own approach to work time reduction so long as it offered significant reductions without loss of pay. The trial was also meticulously prepared, with two months of workshops, coaching, mentoring and peer support, drawing on experience from earlier pilots in more than 100 companies in the United States, U.K., Australia, Canada and Ireland. This approach was geared to help participants improve well-being and economic prosperity at the same time — by designing new working practices and changing company culture.

The trial took place during a pitched moment in history, as evolving digital communications combined with a global pandemic to wreak havoc on the concept of ​“normal” employment. More employees than ever could work anytime and anywhere with a suitable device and internet signal. And most everyone who took part had fresh memories of when workplaces closed down, human proximity seemed lift-threatening and online meetings redefined personal interaction.

In some ways, the Covid pandemic gave the four-day week a boost by forcing companies to adapt to new ways of thinking and working. One manager of a manufacturing company in the UK trial observed, ​“I think we have come out of the pandemic with a new outlook on life… There’s a greater expectation around flexible working, hybrid working — people are taking that opportunity to think ​‘I want to do something completely different.’”

(Continue Reading)

[thepeculiarbird]

Characters from project.dgkotr

So as you (maybe) know, I've been working on this wip for over a year now. So I've been thinking of introducing my characters, this will be updated from times to times if there's a new character or if I just find something interesting about an already existing one.

This is mostly based on their 'volume 1 versions' so most things happening in volume 2 or 3 won't be written here.

If you want informations about any of the characters, check on my blog and look for # with the corresponding emoji (exemple : #🦩). If you still can't find what you want, leave an ask or a comment and I'll try to answer as best as I can !

MCs :

🖌️ - Noe / 21-22 (start-finish) / Gay / He-Him

Noe is one of the mcs. His dad disappeared for (not so) unknown reasons when he was 5 so he doesn't actually know him that much. He studies art in an art school where he met Adam and Devyn. You guessed it, he likes to draw and he also used to play trumpet but just kinda gave up lessons.

In volume 1, we start with his point of view (or pov).

📷 - Madhi / 22 / Bisexual and Ace / He-Him

Madhi is also a mc. He lives with his parents and his two sisters in the same city as Noe and Danae. He dates Danae, however, there's been some tension between the two and it may not go completely well. He studies journalism and likes to write but it's not really a hobby.

In volume 1, we finish with his point of view (or pov).

🛹 - Danae / 21-22 (start-finish) / Up for interpretation / She-Her

Danae is the third mc. She lives with her parents and her brother, Alec. She doesn't study but it is mentionned once that she works at McDonalds. She spends time skateboarding, roller-skating and she loves trying new ice-cream flavors and drinks (well at least that's what her bf thinks). She's kind of the mom friend. She dates Madhi as told above, she was really happy to be apart of the 'little' investigation, until of course, the discovery of the cult...

She's often called "Dan" for short by her family and Noe, her boyfriend doesn't use that nickname as much.

Deuteragonists :

🦩 - Prescillia / around 18 / Lesbian / She-Her

Prescillia is Madhi's sister, she's the middle child. She wants to become a fashion designer because she loves knitting and she will use her brother as a mannequin for the clothes she made. Her bestie is Sibylle <3.

🎸 - Alec / around 15 / Up for interpretation / He-Him

Alec is Dan's brother. He's in a band with 3 friends, he's the guitarist of that band. They play for little school shows or other small events. He cares a lot about his friends and sister even if doesn't show it much. He's also really close with Martin since they knew eachother for so long and he was really scared Martin wouldn't make it after 'the incident'.

🍭 - Devyn / 22 / Up for interpretation / She-Her

Appearance

Devyn is the silly person "every" friend group has. She also studies art, digital art to be more precise. Even tho she seems really innocent, there are some secrets about her. She never knew her mother, her dad told her that she went to prison and Devyn just believed it. She loves wearing really colorful accessories around her neck, in her hair or attached to her clothes, kind of decora aesthetic.

She does not make a physical appearance in volume 1 but is mentionned.

🦆 - Adam / 22 / Aroace / He-Him

Appearance

Adam is another less important mc. Like Noe and Devyn, he studies art, he loves to practise human anatomy and would have probably study sciences if he wasn't so bad at it. When he meets Prescillia, he agrees to be used as a mannequin instead of her brother, making all of them happy. Also, a lot of people thinks he dates Devyn which makes him laugh everytime someone mentions it because they obviously don't.

He does not make a physical appearance in volume 1 but is mentionned.

Side characters :

🧁 - Leslie / 10 / She-Her

Leslie is Prescillia and Madhi's little sister, she's the youngest child and she's so fucking cute.

📚 - Sibylle / around 18 / Up for interpretation / She-Her

Sibylle is a smart girl, she's stated as Prescillia's best friend.

🎤 - Oriane / around 15 / Up for interpretation / She-Her

Oriane is the singer in the same band as Alec. She's in a relationship with another member of the band. She has red and black hair. She also knows how to play guitar.

🍕 - Martin / around 15 / Up for interpretation / He-Him

Martin is the leader of the band where Alec and Oriane are in. He always has a smile on his face and is really good at helping people. He plays bass probably (I'm not an expert in music sorry) His best-friend is Alec.

🔮 - Honorine / around 18 / Up for interpretation / She-Her

Honorine is a member of the cult, she will appear hopefully in every book I write for this wip idea. Don't mess with her because even if she doesn't approve totally what the cult does, she can still kill you. She's very attached to her notebook. (She's more than a side character but doesn't really fit in the deuteragonists)

🎨 - Beatrice / 22 / Up for interpretation / She-Her

Beatrice is Noe's classmate at art school, at the beginning she dates his ex actually. She's quite mean but don't worry, that'll get better, hopefully. She mostly dresses in yellow and brown and she loves 60/70's clothing style.

🏚️ - Fronsant-sur-Breuil / Every character living in this village

This will represent the people leaving at Fronsant like Tristan, Cassie, Henry or even the Mayor. Since they're not as important as other characters and that there are a lot of them, I'm putting them all together.

Pets :

☁️ - Cloud / cat / female

Cloud is Dan and Alec's cat. She is grey/white and she looks like a cloud.

🦎 - Dino / dog / male

Dino was Noe's dog but he died when Noe was around 13. He was a barbet.

Tag : @athenaspeculiardaughter @kaylinalexanderbooks @raiden-makoto @sarandipitywrites @jaelink @aalinaaaaaa @lyutenw @buffythevampirelover @nettleandthorne @finxi-writes @arwenschepers @corruptedbread @whimsical-blood-fairy @unrepentantcheeseaddict @kidukami @ryns-ramblings @rowenas-my-fave-child @mysticstarlightduck

[heyimspade]

This isn't something I talk about a lot, but it's inportant for context.

I was an extremely suicidal kid, but only due to circumstances rather than depression. Every day when I got home from school, I was beaten (along with 3 of my other adopted siblings) by our adoptive parents.

EVERY

FUCKING

DAY

For 15 years, we had to deal with it, and we all found Solice in works from artists, one of my siblings preferred Jk Rowling, another preferred Stephane Meyer, and the other preferred music.

My first year of middle school, I was full well and prepared to kill myself at any given moment. I didn't see any end to the torment, but then I found the graphic novel section in our school's library. I read Kingdom Hearts, .Hack, and various TokyoPop titles, but then I stumbled upon 3 little Red books with a character strangley similar to Son Wukong in human form on the cover. I read them, and became obsessed. That was the original Dragon Ball Manga. It was goofy, had some very rated R jokes, but it was a blast. I read the entire series online by the time the second quarter of school rolled around.

Now I didn't realize the story continued until Dragon Ball Z Kai started airing on nicktoons.

And I watched, EVERY EPISODE AND MOVIE THAT AIRED.

It was my motivation. It kept me going.

"I can't kill myself, DBZKai still hasn't done the buu arc yet and theres talk of more movies and shows coming soon. They're gonna be doing GT next."

It wounds stupid I know, but I was a kid and that's all it took.

Now modern day, I turn 25 soon, and I am still keeping up on all things DBZ. I play all the games, have every episode and movie ever aired or released on DVD, and a digital copy of every book. (Including "That time I woke up as Yamcha").

Last night after a 10 hour shift at work, I got home, laid down in bed, and started playing mobile games to help me wind down. (It works for me, idk why).

Right when I was about to doze off, I get a text from from a co-worker who also liked DBZ. The text broke me. It was like I had lost something very important to me.

Akira Toriyama has worked himself to death at age 68. Died from a blood clot to the brain on March 1st.

I'll never get the chance to tell him "Thank you, for all you've done for me."

He changed my life. He made it better, made it easier to get through all hardships, even now.

I don't want him to go.

I just wish I had 1 more chance to tell him how much he impacted my life, as well as others.

Rest in peace, Akira Toriyama. You created a legacy, and you will be severely missed.

[sagesilentfire]

I FINISHED A SKETCHBOOK! Every page is drawn upon. It only took me... eight years. Wow. I only started working on it in earnest about six months ago, though, so... yeah. 

TO CELEBRATE: I want to take one of these sketches and develop it into a full rendered digital painting. I will make a fun little quiz and we'll narrow it down to one drawing. Quiz and logistics coming later, but will be posted here.

A lot of this is me figuring out designs for characters I haven't even written about yet, so look out for that. I'll elaborate one every sketch if you're interested, so keep reading if you want to know who's who. The sketches are generally in reverse chronological order from top to bottom.

1. Alice, a new character in Star and Marcie and the Forces of Evil, my latest project. She's fighting. She's a fighter. She's a love interest, but I hope I make her interesting on her own.

2. Cinder, wearing a shirt Kowari and Kultarr got for her. He will never take it off.

3. Various faces for Iako, a character in my next project that I'm 90% sure on the design for. She lives in a world of kitsunes who accidentally got addicted to gaining their nine tails through murder. Also magic powers are cursed. Iako wants to make magic better, so she goes on a trip to a mysterious island that holds the key to ending the curses... and their lives. Also it's based on the original premise of Lightlark. Hehe. Prologue can be found here. It's part 2.

4. lorge Sílthéy and small derg. 

5. Practicing SilkWings and playing around with dragon faces, plus their defining attributes.

6. ANCIENT Sílthéy expression practice. This is years before the eye redesign, but you can still get the essence of her character and how she's born out of my religious trauma.

7. ANCIENT Sílthéy expression practice cont.

8. SilkWing practice with face shapes.

9. Alice fullbody. My second drawing of her, getting her design down.

10. a. Evelyn, the protag of a story I'd like to tell someday. I can't say much more than that, except that it's a tragedy of epic proportions. b. Human Sílthéy

11. Alice and Shinjai. Shinjai is a main character in SAMATFOE, and she and Alice have an almost-thing going. 

12. Iako and a still unnamed... side character? They're studying the book Iako gets in the prologue.

13. This is [NAME REDACTED]. They're from a universe inspired by Star Wars, but if it was animated and also deeply weird. [NAME REDACTED] is [TOP SECRET INFORMATION]

14. First drawing of Alice. Figuring out her cheekmarks, and what I wanted to keep in her show design (she's based on a one-off background character).

15. More Iako drawings. Left out her hair in a, can't remember if it was intentional or not.

16. A dragon from a Wings of Fire inspired sci-fi world.

17. RPG species. They're aliens who are eusocial, and females are split into four "genders"/roles in society. This gender is soldier, distinguished by their massive claws and size. Their job is everything that requires strength.

18. An early Tethalaos, and also an entirely plausible form for them to take.

19. Above mentioned RPG species. This gender is gatherer, distinguished by their small body and delicate hands. 

20. Another dragon from above mentioned Wings of Fire inspired sci-fi.

21, 23-26. More sketches of [NAME REDACTED]. As you might guess, I quite like them. I just think they're neat, and I wanted to get their design down solidly.

22. Wasp friend :D

27. Shinjai's new crown, as seen in the latest chapter of SAMATFOE.

28. Funny Christmas Carol-inspired AU of SAMATFOE that I drew after being bludgeoned over the head with Christmas music for hours in a holiday sale I was working at.

29. Sílthéy being big mad.

30. RainWing. Not sure who this is.

31. Toffee's Mewberty wings.

32. More Evelyn.

33. LunarWings, but in my sci-fi world.

34. Yet another species in my sci-fi world.

35. Star and Marcie from SAMATFOE

36. Espina, a character from an urban-fantasy boarding school story about being bonded to animals people often find disgusting and repulsive. Espina controls wasps.

37. All the they/them nonbinary characters in SAMATFOE at the time of this drawing. From left to right: Nova, Toffee, Necahua, Dr. Edevane, Mayhem and Miette Maizley, Higgs, and of course, Tethalaos. Drawn at a nonbinary people meetup.

38. Sílthéy again

39. The oldest drawing in the book, Darkstalker from before we even knew what he looked like. An old doodle, but it proves how dedicated I was to Darkstalker being a good guy back in the day.

40. A design for an old idea I had of a hollow mountain filled with outcasts from society. Might revisit it, there's enough there to make at least a novella.

41. Toffee fashion sketches.

42. An old drawing of Sílthéy in her Wings of Fire dragon form, a hybrid named Liminal (nicknamed Lin). I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, honestly.

43. Sílthéy even BIGGER mad

44. More from the hollow mountain. The outcasts are protected by these guys, and in exchange they're cleaned and fed.

[tanglepelt]

Run Ghost Run 10

A03 prev next

What have Sam Tucker and Jazz been up to?

Sam was panicking. Danny had left for a council meeting this morning. It was now around 5 p.m. Those meetings never took this long in the human realm.  

The longest had been three hours. For them.

Danny says they feel super long back in the realm. With Clockwork as a long-standing member, it wouldn’t be hard to see him messing around. Then again nobody enjoyed these meetings.

Every member hated the meeting except the Observants. They always went the same way. Parties never changed minds most meetings solved nothing, and everyone left without a solution. Only to have to come back for the next meeting for the same thing to happen. Time is nothing for immortal beings, all would rather not sit around doing nothing. That was the observants job.

Once, Danny, has his coronation majority will fall on him. The council was only formed when Pariah was sealed away. A group of ghosts of different backgrounds to keep balance. Danny hadn’t told her the full details, honestly, he probably hardly listened. Danny tended to zone out on those things.

The whole king thing was odd.

Trial by combat isn’t a good way to choose a king.

Only the powerful would be able to lead. Those often only want to get stronger. Absolute power corrupts, a whole leadership based on the premise was doomed.  

It was 5:17 on the dot when she got a message.

The council wanted war; Danny said he tried to get them to listen. They didn’t. Danny thanks to clockwork convinced them to give a warning. To the GIW of all people.

The government was going to be the death of them all.

She’s been saying it for years.

At 5:45 p.m. they all glow green. Sam and Tucker had been alone in the theater room. A text to jazz and it happened to her as well. Thankfully she had been in the bathroom.

At 7:15 p.m. the ghost alarm goes off. Lockdowns now mandatory. The GIW and “mayor” masters had made sure they were enforced. Tucker and her at her house. Pretending to have a movie night.

Tucker gets grilled by her parents. They didn’t want him there in a lockdown. They can’t do much.

So, she waits.

An hour passes. No word

Tucker finally escapes the grilling of her parents they wait some more.

It was 9 p.m. no word from Danny. It’s now after curfew. Still stuck at her house. Still on lockdown.

No ghost had attacked. None of their equipment had been set off. So why was the alarm sounding? Why did the Fenton parents set it off?

Stuck sitting here going insane. No word nothing.

Maybe he just forgot.  A call and text go unanswered.

Jazz wasn’t even home for them to check with her. She had been away for the night a tutoring session gone long. The parents offered her to stay the night when the ghost alarm went off. She couldn’t get out of there. Curse the curfew and lockdowns.  Not expected back until around noon the next day. Longer than 24 hours after he disappeared.

Still, they texted her.

Jazz was going to hit home when she could. The parents of who she was tutoring were guarding the door. Just like how Gram was watching them.

The night passed too slowly.

Jazz texted them back at 6:05. 5 minimum after curfew.

He’s not here.

They had to find him.

**

Tucker knows he’s a good hacker, good reprogramming, and a good coder.

He knows he can hack the Fenton stuff well. He often overrides their security to make Danny’s life easy. Disengaging the security system, wiping Danny’s ecto-signature from their devices, and general device management.

All his safety protocols had been removed. Danny’s ecto signature was logged back into the system. The Fenton parents had to of seen them. Any trace of him was gone. All the hints, the bugs anything he ever touched. Software once up to date now older versions. This had to have been an old backup. He had been found out and a restore had been done.

Any trace of the Fenton’s experiments and lab work is long gone.  

The security footage in the lab was wiped. All of it is gone. Deleted digitally and the SD card they kept for each day is gone. No record of anything that had occurred in the last week. Not for the nearly 24 hours they hadn’t seen Danny.

The Fenton parents never got rid of anything. Not after the portal incident, the one-to-many close calls with Danny always showed that. Tucker had to constantly loop the footage and change the time stamps. It was never deleted never fully gone. Not even the incident when Mr. Fenton got pantsed by a ghost.

The two Drs. had to have done something.

It was at 10:10 when he had to inform the group, he had nothing.

All he could do was wipe the little information remaining, the ecto-signatures. The items that are meant to track and hunt down. Those remained.

**

Jazz left for the infinite realm at 10:11. They would know if he made it back. She searched the house even calling her parents. The GAV was gone, and Danny’s room didn’t look slept in.

Was she wrong about their parents?

Her fingerprint unlocked the portal. She left with the speedster. Sam and Tucker staying to look for clues. Looks for his signature to see if they could follow him.

Pandora and Frostbite were by the entrance. Guarding it from Danny’s rogues, a promise they meant to keep. Preventing them from leaving the realm.  The two were worried, Jazz promised updates. She left the realm more worried than before.

Pandora and Frostbite wouldn’t stand by idle if they had no word.

There was a war now looming.

Knowing it was only a matter of time. Knowing Danny, the would-be king was missing. Knowing they’ll look for him if he doesn’t show up. Knowing her baby brother was missing.

It was 11:00 am when they went to the go bag. Pulling it from its hiding spot. Jazz made sure the med kit was stocked. Full to the brim with supplies. She put a note on the bag as well. Sam added some cash.

She knew her baby brother.

He’d run if something happened to him. Thinking it would hide the situation from prying eyes. The GIW would chase him down, they had enough force to spare. Ever since those acts, they only got more and more members. It would only be a matter of time before they’d nab a ghost inditing war… If they hadn’t to Danny.  

Hopefully, her note would get through to him.

She knew it wouldn’t, but she had to try.

The three regrouped at the nasty burger. Text and calls still going unanswered. The GIW was their next step. It couldn’t just be rushed into, breaking into government labs isn’t always Childs play. Not with the GIW seeming to have better weapons each and every day.

They planned and plotted. Only leaving the nasty burger when it became more crowded. Their tiny corner booth is no longer prime real estate.

Her parent's answer about Danny was concerning.  I’m sure he’s fine jazzicans. Just leave it be.

They had done something.

The three went to Tucker's apartment this time. Away from Sam’s home and away from her parents. She wouldn’t leave it be. It was her brother, and she would do whatever she could for him.

Tucker wasn’t having luck getting into the GIW security system. All the spyware they had managed to get in was non-functional. Nothing was coming live.

8:00 was curfew. They’d keep trying until then. At curfew, she would confront her parents. Since 4 p.m. they’d been telling her to come back home. That it was important.

She wasn’t ready to confront them. Not until they knew how to find her brother.

At 7:54 when the communicator went off. It was Danny. He was alive.

The communicator sat left behind at the meeting point. He left them behind just three letters at the rendezvous point.

Each envelope was labeled Jazz, Tucker, and then Sam.

That wouldn’t stop them from finding him. Danny was self-destructive. It was Jazz’s job as an older sister to find him and scold him. Well after making sure he was okay.

He wasn’t.

She knew that.

Jazz could hope he was safe.

The three would get supplies from the lab and head out. Some pure ectoplasm and ecto-dejecto. The specialty meds and thread was made just for him. Nothing else would work. They just had to get past her parents. Sam and Jazz had been bonding science the “girls” night. It would be too hard to believe they got caught up before curfew and all just went to the closest house.

Everyone played the system this way. To “trick” the system.

The Three would find him despite what he wanted. Hiding wouldn’t solve anything. Letters are hidden away in pockets.

They could read them on the road.

Jazz knew something felt off as they got closed. The air was tense. Things were wrong. She ignored it. So did the other two.

They shouldn’t have.

Immediately upon entering the house, the alarm system spoke.

Lockdown protocols engaged.

Her parents rushed up from the lab. Looking frantic and worried. Anti-ecto weapons in hand. The two looked feral and crazed.

“Good, it’s the three of you.”

“There’s no easy way to break this to you guys.”

Jack hissed out “Phantom had been possessing our baby boy for who knows how long.”

With a disgusted tone, Maddie agreed with him “That thing has been disposed of...”

Time froze for Jazz.

Jazz wasn’t listening anymore. All she could do was think about Danny.

What did they do?

There was yelling between Sam, Tucker, and her parents. She only caught keywords.

disposed

possessed

thing

What did they do?

Rage filled her as she thought of the past. Learning his secret, the picnics as kids, fending off dinner together, and all the botched holidays.

She was barely aware of the shouting and the struggle. That Jack was now restricting Sam and Tucker in a “hug”. That Maddie was approaching her.

“WHAT did You” Jazz spit out at them “to my little brother” then lunged at Maddie.

Jazz would like to say she put up a fight. The most she accomplished was pulling the blue hood off Maddie’s face. Only to ultimately have her hands forced behind her back.

Sam and Tucker were oddly calm in Jack's grasp.

The prick in her neck made her realize why. Some type of relaxant.

Brought to the lab a blood test for all. Monitors on their wrists. In case of an escape.

To the shock of none of them, all three of them were contaminated. They’ve known this for ages. Anyone with enough exposure to a portal of the beings of the realms would be exposed. What they have is ingrained into them, something that would never go away.

The majority in the town had exposure. A kind that would dissipate after a day or two of being overshadowed only an hour or two after a major fight. No one else in town that they were aware of where like them.

Jack and Maddie kept talking. It was hard to stay focused on what was going on. She heard them talk about texting Sam and Tucker's parents. A lie about being with Danny. Talks of how to cleanse them all. Talks of how they only had just a tad bit more than them. Talks of if they should hand them over to the GIW.

There was a flash of green. A green rip opened wide through the lab. The room now illuminated in green. 

Guards who attacked at the town hall meeting came through a portal. Followed by they eyeballs, the observants. They looked even creepier then Danny had described. Not the one that had been made. The one on lockdown is out of reach to them. 

Frostbite and Pandora looking beyond furious. Staring daggers at Jack and Maddie. Eyes that looked ready to kill.

A minor reveal from an observant of all things. The beings Danny always complains about. The know-it-alls who watch everything. The ones who casually mentioned watching Danny but not acting hoping he’d see their way and cease his rebellious streak.

Whatever they had done to him caused this. She didn’t know what.

What did they do?

She heard them talk about a new hunt. An ecto-signature had suddenly been hidden after leaving Amity. The one for Danny, the talks of rounding up those in this realm before they began. She, Tucker, and Sam were the first to be retrieved.  More would follow. Talks all around them like nothing was wrong.

Nothing could happen until all entities were found. They would follow the agreement that had been made. The capture of Jack and Maddie would be handled now. It wouldn’t change the results, while they can’t destroy anything they could be kept.

Jack and Maddie use a portable ghost shield to get away. The ghost couldn’t touch them as they left up the stairs out of view.

They’d be kept in the realm in the keep until arrangements could be made. As she was being brought through the portal. Out of the side of her eyes, she saw a figure leaving behind a green glowing sticky note. Hidden right by an ecto-dejecto.