#Also Sora looks kinda weird here

[baladiumsdrive]

hot take: kingdom hearts dream drop distance - last good KH game

[crepes-suzette-373]

Kinda wondering something here, because these MADS scenes very clearly were meant to span over many years. I can't tell if this is just a big nothing or if there's really something to ponder here.

Because of language/terminology, I personally feel that Sora is someone from the outside who married in and Judge is definitely from Germa, so logically he has to be a prince from the start. All things considered it just didn't really make sense if he somehow "adopted" the Visnmoke name through some other circumstances.

Maybe his parents died and he ascended the throne somewhere in between the pictures? I mean, as we can see with his kids, they all wear outfits that I would also categorise as "bum" clothes. Aside from the tie and labcoat, what Judge is wearing in the second picture looks like Ichiji's clothes. So maybe only the king needs to wear fancy clothes?

I had a thought that it would be so crazy if the reason for this is because his attitude is similar to Oden. As in, maybe he initially had this big rebellious phase and didn't take his royal duties all that seriously until much later (especially because somehow Judge really suspiciously looks like Sukiyaki and I still think it's super weird). I doubt that's the case though.

[agenericplaceholdername]

Dragons Rising E6-10 Thoughts

Here’s some thoughts on each episode in the latter half of Dragons Rising, Season 1 Part 1:

Return to Imperium:

The color grading of this opening seems off – almost as if it’s a flashback (it’s not, ofc)

JORDANA SPOTTED

The conveyor belts directing people where to go is so on the nose for an authoritarian society

“It's the perfect companion for anyone that might... be lonely” :(

“Unconventional? Perhaps you can forgive her” man this is seriously dystopian but also pretty funny

Sora in her S1 outfit without headphones is kinda cursed

“Ever since the Merge it’s been you and me” I AGREE ARIN. LET’S KEEP IT THAT WAY

Kai’s Wu impression is great

The Advanced Science Lab? Isn’t it the Advanced Systems Lab?

I HATE SORA’S PARENTS I HATE SORA’S PARENTS

The sewer smash cut is perfect. Beyond the Phantasm Cave implies that Sora actually traveled through the sewers before so at least she had a reason to assume there was no security

The public shaming platform? At least it’s not a two hour YouTube video essay documenting your every misdeed (which I will then watch)

This episode sold me on Sora’s character and is essential for her arc this season

Mindless Beasts:

Like the Rapton ad

The Arin chase scene is fun

I certainly hope nothing bad happens to the new shoulder pad store

The Imperium Teenage Protection Force all have shorter legs, meaning they’re probably slightly younger than Arin (or just short)

Every Wyldfyre line is gold: “If I was your enemy, why would I let you out of your cell?” “If you don’t know, how should I?”

Sora says her family was poisoned against her by LaRow— meaning she believes that her parents would have accepted her if not for LaRow. Ofc, we know later that once they see the truth, they don’t change their mind, so her rejection of them means even more

For a scientist, LaRow isn’t very smart (or lab skills =/= street skills)

“I’ve got a master teaching me all the things I’m doing wrong” Arin no he’s trying to help you

Percival talking about him is the first time Lord Ras is identified in front of Arin — before, he was just the “tiger guy”

Rapton has the perfect combination of incredible arrogance and thin skin

Dorama just wants to show off

Ras has such a deeper voice than in S2

The Hunted soundtrack!

LaRow just can’t stop gloating lol. Not sure how a Photac can capture a source dragon 

This episode is pretty important for Arin and Sora, and introduces Wyldfyre… but also isn’t super interesting

I Will Be the Danger:

Wyldfyre opening! Not what I was expecting when I originally watched but super cool. Not sure where she came from tho

The caregiver-bot helping Wyldfyre train is sweet. I wish she came back later (I know she does in a canon(?) novel and there was a deleted scene, but I wish it had been in the show)

Wyldfyre not knowing certain words is a clever detail that isn’t used often

Percival is so not convincing as an antagonist

JORDANA NAMED??

Considering the other empty holes in the portal gate room—are they supposed to link to other monasteries? Since the one Kai goes through links to the Imperium Monastary?

You probably are famous among ghosts Kai, considering the whole Morro thing

Poor Riyu

Thank you Sora, she really is weird— oh shoot Dorama! forgot about him

“I DON’T THINK YOU UNDERSTAND THE WORDS ‘SHUT UP’!” and then the one take after are pure Wyldfyre gold

The “ninja think Sora betrayed them” plot line could have gone somewhere but didn’t, and honestly I hate bad miscommunication plots so all good

Weird way to end

This episode peaks with the opening scene, and is generally fine outside

The Calm Inside:

Green eyes child Lloyd voiced by Sam Vincent is off putting. I get why they do this but whatever. The lighting/texturing in this scene (maybe bc of the rain) also makes Lloyd and Wu look super plasticy

Good lesson tho, and I’m glad it keeps coming up

Arin and Sora are a great duo

Melvin, remember, always do the bare minimum that gets you paid

And so the Empress joins the main plot

Super cool protective Lloyd is great, leaping down to pull Wyldfyre back from the Photac

What’s his “big plan” Beatrix? Why does Ras want Riyu? “You can’t [drain him] yet. My plan for—” no wait he was about to say it!

Ras is so mad at Beatrix omg

Kai and Nya have interacted more now than in any season post Hands of Time right?

So how did Arin trip? Tbf he punched himself in the face so makes sense

Ok the show just made the same joke after I wrote it, I guess I forgot

This sweat thing reminds me of the first Sam Raimi Spider-Man movie (the blood scene)

Lloyd being surrounded by chaos is overshadowed by the very strange design of imaginary Wu, but the scene leading up to Wu is so great. The music, the action, the direction— really stellar. Someone needs to let this guy take a break

Not Rapton’s unicorn figurines!

Excellent rhetorical comeback Lloyd

Ras is so cool -- singlehandedly fighting multiple dragons

Zane! But how did he end up in that pod?

Jordana! Sora is just totally lost lol

Do you think Kai, Nya, and Zane were planning on jumping out or was it spontaneous?

Lot of questions in this episode, and it would probably be better if they saved Lloyd hitting the targets for a flashback later in the episode (that is, end the first flashback before Wu gives Lloyd the lesson)

That being said it’s the best one since E6 and a good setup for the finale

The Battle of the Second Monastery:

Jordana getting insulted by LaRow (albeit indirectly) :(

This is probably very overwhelming for Zane

Everything seems particularly saturated in this scene 

The Jordana reveal is very good. Funny, but also kinda heartbreaking since Sora was just using her technology to give herself a friend

Lord Ras is not very nice (although he’s right how do you lose to two mostly-untrained teenagers who are in handcuffs)

Arin and Sora use Jordana swinging her sword to free themselves, just like Lloyd did in E2. Shows how far they’ve come (much better than when they fight Ras, which just diminishes him as an antagonist)

Ouch Lloyd, always look before you leap

“As opposed to those really strong gnats” I’d spend some more time workshopping those comebacks Arin

The Source Dragon scene is SO cool!

Sora beats Ras mostly though luck but the real question is why was he running so slowly

And so we finish the S1P1 aspect of Sora’s arc, although her conclusion of “having a responsibility to use her powers” is very similar to the end of E5

Sad Arin :( already made a post relating this scene to what happens in S2 but it takes on a whole new meaning knowing what happens after

Beatrix imprisoning Ras actually makes a ton of sense and I might make a whole post talking about why (and her character generally)

The Ras fight isn’t great - I get why it happens and Arin and Sora don’t really beat him physically, but it does undermine him as a threat. The rest of the episode is really good tho, especially the vision

Next up, the first half of S1P2!

[axcel-lucci]

Happy birthday, my love.

Trafalgar Law x male!reader

A/n: it has some weird smut because it's 11:38 pm when I made this.

My masterlist

"Of course captain wouldn't want to celebrate his birthday... he thinks birthdays are... exaggerated" Shachi huffed while explaining that to the crew

"So... what, are we just gonna keep silent for the whole day?" (Y/n) questions, he is the crew's scribe.

Him and the emo captain have gotten along since day one, which was a plus since they have to work closely together to keep the needed documents updated and organized nicely.

So it was honestly a rumour that those two were dating, they are actually not. They would consider themselves "platonic".

But for the crew, it doesn't seem that way for the said emo captain.

The way he looks at him, the way he acts around him, even the tone and the way he speaks to him is different than the rest.

It's obvious that he likes (y/n), but it seems like it wasn't obvious to the man since he isn't catching.

Actually, he did. But he just brushed it off as him over exaggerating it and thinking it was a friendly tone.

The crew had enough of said "charade" and never ending "gazes from a far", "sexual tension", as well as some "awkward glances at each other" everytime.

So since it was the captain's birthday... the crew wanted to give him a gift.

And (y/n) was an accessory.

"Huh? Me??" (Y/n) grumbled as he wrote down some notes that were needed to proceed to the next island, "what the hell do I do? Distract him while you guys prepare for a surprise party? Shachi already said it himself, captain wouldn't want a celebration."

"When we meant 'accessory'... we actually meant..." penguin muttered as (y/n) slowly lifts his head to glare at penguin and the crew

"Go on..."

"Uh-..." penguin sweats rather harshly

"Look... we just want to give captain one gift, (y/n), ONE GIFT!" Ikkaku said, "so please help us...!"

"Ugh..." he groaned, "fine. As long as you count my contributions."

"Everyone has their own contribution!" Shachi grinned brightly

"What gift...?" Bepo asked, "I wasn't informed!"

"Don't worry Bepo, your part is the most crucial part because you'll be the one delivering the gift to captain!" Klione smiled as the bear brightened up and nodded

(Y/n) just sighed as he placed down his glasses, "what do you want me to do?"

"Here." Shachi said, handing him some juice, "because it'll be a long one..."

He rolled his eyes before drinking the juice and listening to their ridiculous plan of buying what they think the captain would like and stuff them into a big box with his favourite colours as wrapping and ribbon.

While they spoke, (y/n) could feel himself start weaken a bit, head spinning, and the vision started to get blurry.

And until he knew it, he was already knocked out

"Sorry we had to drug you (y/n)!" Ikkaku cried, "please forgive us when you wake up!"

"If he can walk after what we'll do." Shachi muttered, as a shiver ran up his back

"Eh? What'll we do?" Bepo asks innocently

"Don't worry Bepo, everything will be alright" Klione said

"Okay..."

Later...

"Here." Ikkaku smiled as she viewed her hardwork.

A big box with all the contents wrapped inside in black and yellow wrapping paper with it's matching black ribbon

"Carry it over to captain carefully, okay? It's kinda heavy so be careful, oh! And tell him to enjoy his gift as we'll be out tonight." Shachi advised the bear.

"Huh? Where are we going?" The bear asks as he lifts the box, "oh wow... this IS heavy..."

"Yep!" Penguin chuckled, "now as soon as you tell him your goodbyes, let's all go out for drinks, we also kinda booked a hotel so that captain can enjoy his gifts in peace."

"Hm...? Why would-"

"We actually gave captain a lot of Sora, warrior of the seas comic" Klione whispered to Bepo as the bear gasped.

Law would always want eace when reading, even comics.

The bear soon nodded with excitement, "no wonder it's heavy! Alrighty, I'll join you on the deck as soon as I deliver this."

The crew nods as Bepo left with the box

"Really sorry, (y/n)..." Jean bart said

"I hope captain gives you mercy..." the rest of the crew muttered.

...

Bepo knocked on the door of Law's bedroom door as Law himself opened it with an annoyed look.

He was slightly annoyed nobody even greeted him "happy birthday" but he kinda wished this upon himself.

"Happy birthday captain!" The bear said happily, "this is a gift for you, the crew made it and we all contributed to it!"

Law sighed with a chuckle, "oh? I see... tell everyone thanks"

"Oh, and captain... Shachi said that we'll be out drinking tonight and we booked a hotel so you'd enjoy your gift in peace" the bear informs as he placed the box gently inside his room

"Oh? How... considerate..." he grumbled before Bepo excused himself.

"Goodnight captain, I hope you enjoy your gift!" Bepo said before leaving in such a happy mood

"What do they mean by that...?" He muttered, before shaking his head, closing the door and locking it as he always does.

Law soon walked up to the big box and pulled on the big ribbon that held it together, removing the lid, he almost died of nosebleed when he saw (y/n) passed out inside.

(Y/n) himself was partly naked other than what seemed to be a man's lingerie that weekly covered his body, tied up by shibari ropes, and inside were also some... "toys" for them to play with.

He was also blindfolded and a gag in his mouth.

Law gulped thickly before reaching inside and pulling him out.

(Y/n) started to wake up only to realize he was bound by xsomething in a dark surrounding and mouth covered with a... ball?

"Calm down..." Law's sexy voice calmed him, wait, law?!

"Mmhf-!"

"Shh..." law hummed as he could feel himself start to grow and his pants a little tighter than he remembers, "I've got you..."

He placed the man down on the bed before removing the blindfold in his eyes.

(Y/n) basically scanned everything and only noticed he was in nothing but lingerie when the cold air of his room bit his skin, as well as Law looking at him like he was some meal he wanted to devour.

"Looks like the crew played you good" Law smirked mischievously

"Mmh- mhf!"

"Let you go, you say? Ahh... but it is my birthday... shouldn't I enjoy my gift?" Law basically grinned at him with a smug look

(Y/n) scoffed as he tried to break free only for Law to get out of bed and back to the box to retrieve doem things and return while he was busy getting out of the ropes.

"Come now... be a good little boy and listen to daddy" Law chuckled when he saw (y/n) swallow thickly.

He lifted his tied up legs against his chest and bit his lower lip when he noticed how the lingerie had a hole around the ass area.

"My, my... the crew certainly knows my taste..." he chuckled as he kept the legs in the air just long enough for him to coat his fingers in lube and rub the younger man's hole deliciously.

It made (y/n) jolt with pleasure as the cold liquid, matched with Law's warm fingers, was now abusing his back hole by rubbing it and even entering a finger inside only to pop them back out. He let out a whine unexpectedly and throw his head back as the captain continued to toy with the now wet hole.

"Hey now... I don't want you coming. Alright?" He smirked as he placed his legs back down before grabbing the underwear part of the lingerie and basically ripping it off the scribe's body making the wearer gasp, "oh look... you're awake."

Law now played with (y/n)'s hard dick, pumping it, licking the precum off, and squeezing it until law was holding what seemed to be a small metal wand

"I think you can scream but thanks to the gag, it'll be muffled. Only I can hear." He smirked as he brought the small wand down to his dick and swirling the said metal rod around before the tip, that was slightly pointed, pressed against the slit of his already hard dick.

He tried to tell him not to do it but he pretended not to see and continues to pushing the rod inside the slit making him moan against the gag and throwing his head back as well as his eyes rolling to the back of his head in a weird pleasurable feeling.

The rod had small bumps embedded into it so he felt that as well until the rod was fully inside, his dick tried to leak precum but was stopped by the wand. It was twitching and he couldn't control it.

"Mmhh... what a pleasing noise..." law smirked as he lifted his legs up again and slowly pressed the tip of what felt like... wet rubber. And it was cold, giving (y/n) a shiver.

"This dildo is oddly shaped... but I'm sure you'll be able to handle it." Law smirked as he gasped when he felt the sudden push of said toy inside.

It wa indeed oddly shaped, giving more pleasure than anything.

He moaned against the gag until Law paused to take the gag off and continue pushing the toy inside until it was all the way in to the base.

(Y/n) panted heavily with saliva while gazing at the ceiling.

The immense pleasure makes him want to cum but he can't die to the rod stopping it from coming out.

"C-captain please... let me cum..." he moaned with stammered moans.

"What about... no." Law laughed, "you don't know how long I've been waiting for this moment and I am not letting this go."

And with that, Law continued to play with his hole, in different ways than one.

What? The box had all the toys Law wanted to try on (y/n), why not use it?

And after all those, he saved the best for last.

The rope was long gone as (y/n) clutched the bed under him, his chest against the mattress and a pillow keeping his already tired hips up, much to his own dismay since it was giving Law full view of what he had done to abuse the scribe.

"T-this..." (y/n) swallowed before moaning, "daddy... please." He cried.

It honestly gave Law the feeling of pride as he saw him cleanch around the big vibrator inside.

"Mmhh... look at how big your hole is..." he muttered while smirked and slowly pulling the toy out, "but don't worry... last toy."

"D-daddy pretty please...!" (Y/n) begged as he gasped as the pop sound when he pulled the toy out entirely.

"What was that? I don't hear ya." Law chuckled as he pushed the anal beads inside at once making (y/n) gasped and cry out loudly.

"D-daddy... please... let me-- ah-~" (y/n) cut himself off when he pulled on the string and one bead came out.

"Don't worry, I'll remove it... later." Law mused as he watched, and heard, (y/n) cry out from everytime he pulls a bead out until it was all out, "should I use a condom or just lube...?"

"D-daddy..."

"Alright. No condom" he grinned as he removed the rod from inside the scribe's body in one swift pull making him cry loudly and instantly cum out loads.

"Oh my... so much." Law brought a hand up and started to lick his hand clean of his mess while (y/n) watched in sick fascination until he was finished, "I did such a number on your hole" he smirked once he parted his cheeks to see the clenching hole.

"You did that...!" He whined making the other laugh out loud before snapping his hips against him, making his whole length go inside without warning and the scribe to moan out like a cow.

Law continued to thrust ever so strongly against the younger one's ass as the other moaned like a cow in heat.

"How does it feel? Talk to me."

"L-law...! Ah- please...!"

"Don't worry, I'm close." He smirked before finally releasing his hot and heavy load inside.

"Law...!" He moaned before slowly resting against the bed, heavily panting.

Law remained stuffed inside as he pushed the toys off the bed and laying down, still inside the younger man and pulling him close.

"Best birthday ever..." law muttered before kissing (y/n) deeply

"Law... you're still-"

"I know, I know... just... stay like this, I'll pull out later" he smiled, "but I'm serious... best birthday every"

(Y/n) could only muster a small huff, "happy birthday, my love..." he muttered before passing out to sleep

Law smiled softly and kissed her shoulder, "I love you too..."

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x29 - Mammon! Great Clash at Hikarigaoka / Return to Highton View Terrace

Previously on Digimon Adventure: Vamdemon went on a vacation to Japan but fucking forgot all of the children. We tried to Home Alone the place, as you do, but went too hard and accidentally brought the roof down. So we ended up playing cards in the basement until we could board a second flight.

Now, at last, the Chosen Children have returned to the campsite where this all began. The Eighth Child will be in Hikarigaoka. It's up to us to find them before Vamdemon does.

Discussing next steps at the campsite, Koushiro briefly lays down the time dilation effect that Taichi experienced.

Sora: You don't think Vamdemon has already found the Eighth Child, do you? Koushiro: According to my calculations, not even a minute will have passed between Vamdemon's arrival in Hikarigaoka and our appearance here. The flow of time between the two worlds is different. Yamato: The problem is, how do we get to Hikarigaoka? It's pretty far from here. Jou: But is today really the same day we were at camp? We were in the other world for months. Mimi: That's true. Even if the flow of time is different, we don't know for sure. Taichi: I'll go take a look at the camp! We shouldn't have been gone for that long!

Taichi would know. He was here, like, four days ago Digimon Time.

Over in the dub, they've backed off on saying Japan but they've also stopped dancing around proper nouns. They have arrived at an official name for their version of Hikarigaoka.

T.K.: We're back to camp where we started! Tai: We've gotta get to Highton View Terrace and stop Myotismon before he finds the Eighth DigiDestined! Sora: I wonder how much of a head start he has on us? Izzy: Not even a minute has passed between the time Myotismon left for Japan and when we arrived. Time flows at a different pace in the Digi-World. Matt: I'll say! We've been gone for months in the Digi-World and yet here in the real world it's the same day we left! Joe: But that's impossible! You mean all those adventures took less time than it does to, say, get a haircut? Mimi: Please, Joe! Don't exaggerate! Imagine getting your hair done in such a short amount of time! Tai: I'm gonna go take a look at the camp! I'm gonna see for myself how much time has really passed!

That's a pretty good Mimi Quip, I'll take it. XD

The actual Japanese district Hikarigaoka is now the fictional setting Highton View Terrace, which kinda sounds like a rich upscale neighborhood for fancy people.

Matt doesn't get to point out that "Highton View Terrace" is pretty fucking far from the campsite we're at, which is a problem for seven unattended children.

Taichi sprints down the stairs to go scout out the camp, only for the entire rest of the group to follow him down.

Taichi: You don't all have to come! Mimi: Maybe not, but.... Jou: I'm the group leader! Koushiro: We're all curious about what could have happened while we were gone. Taichi: But how will we explain if someone sees these guys?

Jou's line might seem odd after the last episode made such a fuss about Taichi being team leader, but he means that in terms of formality.

Taichi is リーダー riidaa, a loanword from the English "leader". Unofficially, the group has elected Taichi to the position of their leader.

Jou says he's 班長 hanchou, which we actually took as a loanword from Japan to become "honcho". It means squad leader, project leader, class president, etc. Jou-senpai is formally the responsible older kid who's expected to be in charge of these children, and it might be kinda weird if Taichi just showed up at camp without him.

In the dub:

Tai: One of you come with me, the rest of you stay there! Who volunteers? (everyone chases after) Tai: One volunteer, not thirteen! Mimi: I thought I'd keep you company. Joe: And we're gonna keep Mimi company. Izzy: I guess we're all pretty curious to find out what happened while we were gone. Tai: But how will we explain it if somebody sees our Digimon?

Officially, Mimi is the volunteer. She, alone, is going with Tai. Everyone else is going with Mimi. XD That's one way to do it.

Suddenly, a voice calls out. An adult voice. An adult human. An actual other human!

Voice: YAGAMI!!!

Taichi turns around to see a man running towards them.

Taichi: Sensei! Sora: It's Fujiyama-sensei! Taichi: SENSEI!!!

Overcome with emotion, Taichi runs out to meet Fujiyama, but Fujiyama's having none of this emotional reunion. He starts yelling at Taichi so hard that Taichi falls flat on his ass.

Fujiyama: YOU DUMBASS!!! Why are you loitering out here instead of packing your things!? Taichi: U-Uh well-- Koromon: What do you mean, 'packing'?

Oh shit, here we go again. Taichi clamps his hands down hard around Koromon's mouth. Fortunately, despite looking right at him with glasses, Fujiyama doesn't seem to notice that Koromon spoke.

Fujiyama: We can't keep camping out here in all this snow, of course. Everyone's getting ready to go home. Taichi: Oh, o-of course, hehe.... Fujiyama: What are those filthy things you're holding? Are they toys? Taichi: U-Uh-huh! Yep! Mochimon: Who are you calling filthy-- Koushiro: (covers Mochimon's mouth) Don't speak.

Credit to Gomamon, Piyomon, and Palmon who all freeze up and never speak or move in this entire scene. Also Patamon and Tsunomon who haven't done anything wrong.

The dub presents Fujiyama like a threat.

Fujiyama: Oh, kii~iiids!

He calls out, and we go to commercial with Fujiyama running towards them, like it's a cliffhanger. Then, upon return, they play peril music over his approach and also repeat his line.

Fujiyama: Oh, kii~iiids! Tai: It's our teacher! Sora: We are back in the real world! Tai: Mr. Fujiyama! (Tai races out to meet him and gets shouted down) Fujiyama: WATCH OUT!!! (Taichi falls) What are all you kids doing playing around here when you haven't even packed up your gear yet!? Tai: Well, sir, I can explain-- Koromon: Well, I'm Tai's Digimo-- (Taichi clamps Koromon's mouth shut) Fujiyama: Didn't you kids hear that we're closing up camp early because of the snow? Everyone else is all ready to go home! Tai: Sure, of course we heard! Ahaha.... Fujiyama: What are those dirty little toys you're carrying? Where'd you get 'em? Tai: Uhhh toys? Motimon: Who's he calling a dirty little toy!? That's not-- Koushiro: (clamps Motimon's mouth shut) We can't let anyone know you can talk.

Seems we were gone a bit longer in the English version than the Japanese, as all the other kids have already packed. They're waiting on us.

A minor plot change but a lateral one. Though it's kind of funny that Japanese Fujiyama seems angrier at the kids than English Fujiyama, despite the English kids actively delaying the rest of the class's return home.

Koromon and Mochimon screw up so hard they get all the other Digimon in trouble too. Takeru and Yamato clap hands over Patamon and Tsunomon's mouths even though they haven't done anything.

Yamato: (whisper) Pretend you're stuffed animals. Tsunomon: (muffled protests) Taichi: Th-these are plushies! Fujiyama: I can see that. Mimi: Someone threw them out here and we found them! Jou: Y-yeah! They were in a remote region deep in the mountains where no one ever passes through! We went through a lot of trouble before we finally got them! Fujiyama: How did you even find them in the first place if they were in an area people don't pass through? Taichi: Th-That's just how hard-to-find they were! RIGHT, EVERYONE!? Kids: RIGHT!!!

Oh, these kids were definitely doing drugs. They are being way too suspicious right now. if I were Fujiyama, I'd be seriously wondering right now whether Kids These Days use plushies to conceal bags of narcotics.

In the dub:

Matt: Pretend to be stuffed animals. Tsunomon: (muffled protests) Tai: Oh, THESE toys!? Well, you see, they're stuffed. Fujiyama: Yes, Tai. I can see that. Sora: Uhhhhh we found them here. Joe: Yeah! That's right! You see, we were hiking up an uncharted trail when we came across these stuffed toys that someone had thrown away! Makes perfect sense if you ask me! Fujiyama: Who in their right mind would hike up an uncharted trail just to throw away seven stuffed animals!? Tai: Exactly our point! And that's why we think that littering is crazy! Right, gang? Kids: RIGHT!!!

"That's why littering is crazy!" Tai making a desperate and futile bid to present himself like a Good Kid (TM) by inserting PSAs into his bad excuse. These kids were doing even more drugs and I'm about to search that Koromon.

Fortunately, Taichi's had enough time to think of something.

Taichi: S-See? (holds up Koromon) You remember my little sister Hikari wasn't able to make it? I wanted to give this to her as a souvenir. She loves this kind of stuff. Fujiyama: Oh... She had a cold, right? Taichi: She did, but she's better now; I made her an omelette. Fujiyama: YOU did!? Taichi: !!! Koromon: !!! A-- Taichi: (hand over Koromon's mouth) B-Before camp, I mean! Ehehe....

Wow, Taichi fumbled the ball fast. I would have thought an ace striker would be better at ball control than that.

Fortunately, the plan still works despite Taichi nearly screwing it all up.

Fujiyama: A souvenir for your sister, huh? Well, after you've all finished packing your things, meet up in the parking lot. Kids: Yes, sir! Fujiyama: (runs off) Don't take too long! Kids: Okay! Koromon: But how do we get to Hikarigaoka? Taichi: Hehe, I've got a plan.

Phew! We survived encountering our first adult in our return to Japan. Sympathy bid to sow doubt and make him feel guilty for suspecting us takes the win.

In the dub, Tai continues to try and sell his anti-littering PSA.

Tai: But, being the good citizens that we are, we cleaned up the mess! And now I'm giving the toys to my little sister Kari as a present! She wasn't able to come to camp, remember? Fujiyama: Oh, yeah. She caught a cold, didn't she? Tai: Yes, but she's feeling much better now because I went home and made her an omelette. Fujiyama: And when did you do that? Koromon: WHEN I-- Taichi: (clamps Koromon's mouth shut) Uh, when? That's a good question. Uh, right before I left for camp! Ahaha! Fujiyama: It's nice that you're thinking of your sister, Tai. But don't overdo it. Those toys are filthy and belong in the garbage. Right kids? Kids: RIGHT!!! Fujiyama: (runs off) Meet you at the bus! Kids: OKAY!!! Koromon: I'd like to get his gear together and throw him in the garbage can! Tai: Well, then you won't be littering, at least!

Tai is really proud of that 'littering' bit. Proud enough to again not talk about the logistics of reaching Highton View Terrace.

I appreciate English Fujiyama for pointing out the flaw in Tai's alleged intentions. Actually no? Do not pick up strange plushies from the wilderness and take them home with you? Insects will make nests or hives out of them if they get the chance. Those toys belong to nature now.

That said, it's more believable that Fujiyama accepts Taichi's backpedal than Tai's. Tai explicitly says he "went home" to make the omelette. That's a statement that should have blown his cover story wide open.

Meanwhile, in Hikarigaoka, the Vamdemon's inner cicle makes their plans. But the harsh light of day is not good for all of them.

Tailmon: So, the Eighth Child is near here? PicoDevimon: Yes. Isn't tha tright, Vamdemon-sama?

The both of them seated on the edge of the roof, they look back to see Vamdemon trying to remain inside a shrinking shade. His voice pained as he speaks.

PicoDevimon: What's the matter, sir? Vamdemon: I will wait in the world of darkness until that ball of light disappears. Take care of the rest, Tailmon.

He tosses the eighth Tag and Crest to her.

Tailmon: Leave it to me, Vamdemon-sama!

Then, groaning with pain, he flees inside and slams the door shut. Too late, PicoDevimon tries to follow after.

PicoDevimon: Whoa, wait for me!

PicoDevimon slams facefirst into the door and comically bounces to the ground.

In the dub, Gatomon chimes in with some silence-breaking observations while the camera's panning over the city.

Gatomon: The human world is so cluttered. All these creatures crammed on top of each other. DemiDevimon: The Eighth DigiDestined lives nearby! What's next, Myotismon? Myotismon: Agh! Unfortunately, until the sun goes down, I must remain hidden in the shadows! Begin the search without me. Here! (tosses the Crest) Gatomon: (catch) I won't let you down, Lord Myotismon. Myotismon: (runs through the door) I need to be alone! (closes it) DemiDevimon: I'LL COME WITH YOU-- (smack)

Myotismon doesn't use the same flowery language as Vamdemon. He just says "I need to stay hidden while the sun is out." That's fine. It's kind of odd that Vamdemon's describing it that way, when it's not like he doesn't know what the sun is. He has to hide from it in the Digimon World too.

In the Japanese, the flowery language does serve a purpose. Specifically, Vamdemon's over-description of the sun makes for a fun bit of wordplay. Do you know what the Japanese word for light is?

It's hikari.

He needs to hide in the shadows from hikari, while we search for the Eighth Child. How poetic.

This wordplay, of course, does not translate to English well so there's no reason not to have him just say "I'm hiding from the sun."

Back at camp, the Chosen Children prepare to smuggle their Partner Digimon on the bus.

Taichi: Listen up. Don't ever open your mouths in front of other humans, okay? Gomamon: We understand! Palmon: We should just pretend to be dolls, right?

Gomamon, Palmon, and Piyomon remain the MVPs of understanding how to stay undercover. Koromon, on the other hand....

Taichi: (slowly peaks out of bushes to see the kids gathering around the buses) Koromon: WHOOOOAAAAAAA TAIIIIIIIIIICHI-- Taichi: (clamps Koromon's mouth shut) I just told you not to talk! Koromon: (whispering) But there's so many children! Piyomon: I didn't know there could be so many human children! Sora: You can't be surprised by just this many. There are thousands more children all throughout the world. No, make that millions. Gomamon, Piyomon, and Palmon: EHHHHHHH!?!? Piyomon: There are millions of Soras!?

Piyomon imagines an entire flock of Soras. Sora wigs out and breaks the fantasy.

Sora: THERE'S ONLY ONE OF ME!!! Takeru: When we get to the city, you'll see tons more adults and children too!

This is going to be an adjustment. The Digimon have a lot to learn about this strange, foreign world they've been Isekai'd into. At least it was voluntary for them.

The dub takes Taichi's instructions and gives them to Joe.

Joe: Remember: Don't talk in front of anyone else, okay? Palmon: Don't worry! We can just pretend to be adorable stuffed animals. Tai: (slowly peaks out of bushes to see the kids gathering around the buses) Koromon: Whoa, look at all the kids! Tai: (clamps Koromon's mouth shut) Didn't we just say not to talk out loud! Koromon: Yeah, but look at all the human children! Biyomon: We never knew there were more human children than you. Sora: This is nothing. Why, just in this city alone, there must be tens of thousands of kids just like us. And when you add the rest of the kids in the world, there must be millions. Gomamon, Biyomon, and Palmon: Huh!? Biyomon: You mean there are millions of Soras!? (Biyomon imagines a flock of Soras) Sora: THERE'S ONLY ONE OF ME!!! T.K.: She just means there are more kids our age. But there are tons of different people in the world.

I like this version of Biyomon's misunderstanding better because I think Sora does a better job setting it up. Saying there are lots of kids "like us" queues up Biyomon to think she means millions of Soras more effectively than just saying there's lots of children.

But it still works in the original too. It especially makes sense that Piyomon might leap to that conclusion when you consider her frame of reference as a Digimon. Just as you can have an entire village of Pyokomon, why not a village of Sora?

Piyomon is experiencing culture shock.

Suddenly, Mimi spots two of her friends by the bus. She erupts with emotion, knocking Palmon to the ground in her haste to reach them.

Mimi: Ehh!? MI-CHAN!!! (breaks into a sprint) I MISSED YOU!!! Mi-Chan: Eh? I was with you earlier.... Taako: What's wrong? Mi-Chan: I don't know--

Before Taako knows what hit her, Mimi wraps her up in a hug and spins her around.

(If Fujiyama is around, this is only going to exacerbate the likelihood of drugs. I'm telling ya. Search that Koromon.)

Mimi: TAAKO!!! How are you!? Taako: (annoyed) Come on, Mimi....

The others, still hiding behind the bushes, watch Mimi weird out all of her friends.

Palmon: Really, Mimi? Taichi: I kept telling her that time hasn't passed here, but she still doesn't listen! Koushiro: I understand your feelings but we need to focus on getting to Hikarigaoka quickly. Taichi: Alright.

In the dub, despite the fact that Fujiyama-sensei's name was not altered, Mimi's friends do get new names.

Mimi: Hey, it's Michelle! (breaks into a sprint) I've missed you so much! Michelle: You missed me? You just saw me ten minutes ago. Terry: What's going on? Michelle: Mimi's weird! Mimi: OH, TERRY!!! (hug) Michelle: She's wigging out. Terry: Too much caffeine! Palmon: Oh, Mimi. Tai: She'll give us away! I told her no time has passed since we went to the Digi-World! Izzy: Forget Mimi! We have to find some form of transportation to Highton View Terrace. Tai: I've got an idea!

Okay, I was not prepared for Terry to in fact accuse Mimi of substance abuse. Tame though it is. XD I also really like Michelle accusing "Mimi's weird!"

The dub's generally harsher tone of voice works great for this scene.

There's a lateral shift here too. Taichi formulated the plan he's about to put into effect shortly after the tense conversation with Fujiyama-sensei. But Tai acts like he only now thought of it.

This connects well to the previous scene, as the dub had replaced Taichi coming up with the plan with the punchline to the litter gag. So Tai is, in fact, only just now thinking of the plan.

What doesn't connect is when Michelle says she saw Mimi ten minutes ago. In the Fujiyama scene, he said, "Didn't you kids hear that we're closing up camp early because of the snow? Everyone else is all ready to go home!" That was, at the time, a lateral plot change. In the original, everyone was still packing, but in the dub, they were already waiting on us.

So. Which is it? Have we been gone for long enough Earth Time that the rest of the campers were already packed and ready to go by the time we got back? Or has less than ten minutes passed since the Chosen Children first decided to go up to that shrine in the first place? Reminder that the snow we're evacuating from fell like a minute or two before we went into Digi-World.

Taichi puts his master plan into action: Asking for permission from an adult.

Taichi: Sensei! Fujiyama-sensei! Could you drop us off somewhere on the way? Fujiyama: Drop you off? Of course not! I have a responsibility to make sure you all get back home. Taichi: Oh, come on! Don't be like that! Please! You just have to take us to the housing complex in Hikarigaoka. Fujiyama: Hikarigaoka? Why there? Taichi: Uh... Well... I used to live there! I just felt like seeing it again. Other Kids (sans Mimi): (run up) Please do it for us! Fujiyama: You kids too? Other Kids (sans Mimi): That's right! Driver: Hikarigaoka is pretty close to the route we're taking. When we get on the Kan-etsu Expressway and interchange to the Tokyo Gaikan, we'll be passing through Ooizumi. That's within walking distance to Hikarigaoka. Taichi: (to the driver) Perfect! Then can you drop us off there? Fujiyama: Hold on! I haven't given my permission yet.

The route that the driver gives are real directions. It's about a two-mile walk from Ooizumimachi to Hikarigaoka, so the kids will be doing a bit of urban hiking but it's totally doable.

In the dub:

Tai: Mr. Fujiyama! Can you have the bus drop us off somewhere? Fujiyama: Have the bus drop you off? No can do. The rules say I have to take you straight to your homes. Tai: Please, Mr. Fujiyama! I'm begging you, sir! Could you just let us off somewhere near Highton View Terrace? Fujiyama: Highton View Terrace? Why do you want to go there? Tai: Well, we used to live there and we were feeling nostalgic so we thought we would visit our old hangout. Other Kids (sans Mimi): Come on! / Please! / We'd appreciate it, sir! Fujiyama: But it's against the rules. Driver: You know, I think we drive pretty close to Highton View Terrace. Let's see, first we take the freeway to the parkway to the throughway and-- Oh! That's the wrong way! Oh, yeah. Here at the roadway. Highton View Terrace is within walking distance. Tai: (to the driver) Great! Then that's where you can let us off, mister. Fujiyama: Whoa, hold on! I didn't give the bus driver permission yet.

At least the kids have finally figured out that Highton View Terrace isn't where they're currently living.

The real Japanese directions to Hikarigaoka are replaced by a wordplay joke about the way Americans name their streets. I'm cool with that change; I don't think many early 00's American kids were well enough versed in the urban geography of Tokyo to have gotten the original line, so this is a fine place for a gag.

Of course, there's no way in hell any responsible teacher would sign off on dropping these children off at a random highway intersection. However, Fujiyama's already demonstrated a vulnerability to sob stories. It's time for someone else to step up and strut their family tragedy.

Yamato: Sensei, please do this for us! We really want to see the place where our family used to live together, before the divorce. Takeru: (starts crying) Yamato: Takeru! Takeru: (dramatically hugs Yamato's legs) Onii-chan!

In the dub:

Matt: Please, Mr. Fujiyama? You'll break T.K.'s heart if you don't let us go. It was the last place we all lived together as a family before my parents got divorced. T.K.: (starts crying) Matt: T.K..... T.K.: (dramatically hugs Matt's legs) Oh, brother!

I don't remember if this is the first time we've changed tracks from Matt and T.K. being half-brothers, but I think that interpretation is officially dead. Unless the implication is that their mom cheated on Matt's dad and T.K. isn't his, it'd be logistically hard for them to live together with Matt's parents as half-brothers.

Suddenly, Jou storms up, ready to clinch this.

Jou: Sensei, please do this for us! Let us get off at Hikarigaoka! I will take responsibility for escorting them all home afterwards. Fujiyama: Well... I guess it will be okay if a sixth-grader like you is with them, Kido. Be sure to call your parents and let them all know about this. Taich & Jou: We will! (both bow respectfully) Jou: Thank you so much! Taichi: Thank you so much! Fujiyama: (walks off uncertain) It's fine, it's fine.

Similar to Matt and T.K.'s parents, I don't remember if this is the first time the dub's acknowledged Joe being older than the rest, but here it is.

Joe: Mr. Fujiyama, please let us off at Highton View Terrace. As an upperclassman, I'll take responsibility for getting them home. Fujiyama: Well, I guess if a reliable kid like you is going, Joe, then it's okay. However, call your parents and tell them where you are. Tai & Joe: Deal! (both bow respectfully) Joe: Thanks, Mr. Fujiyama! Tai: You're the greatest teacher ever! Fujiyama: (walks off uncertain) Yeah, yeah....

As soon as he's gone, Taichi congratulates the team on a job well done.

Taichi: Yahoo! Hey! How long are you two gonna keep that up? (Yamato and Takeru separate with huge shit-eating grins) Jou: What's going on here? Yamato: It didn't seem like he'd let us go unless we pulled out the waterworks. Jou: THAT WAS AN ACT!?!? I was desperately trying to get Sensei's approval because I thought it was true! Taichi: Now, now! It all worked out, so forget about it!

In the dub:

Tai: Yahoo! Hey! How long are you gonna keep that act up? (Matt and T.K. separate with huge shit-eating grins) Both Brothers: (giggle for five straight seconds) Matt: Hey, if we didn't come up with something sappy like that, he never would have let us go. Joe: You mean that sad story was just an act!? I was crying my eyes out so much for you guys that my glasses started to fog up! Tai: Joe, calm down before you have an asthma attack!

And Palmon despondently watches Mimi board the bus with Mi-chan and Taako.

Mimi: Ahahaha, is that so? Palmon: (dour) Aww, Mimi's forgotten about me. WAIT FOR M--

Sora and Koushiro jump Palmon, with Mochimon and Piyomon both clamping her mouth shut together. Her status as a plushie MVP is tragically revoked.

The dub cuts Palmon's sadness from this scene, turning it into a laugh line instead.

Mimi: Ahahahahaha!!! I missed all of you so much! Palmon: I hope she's not gonna act this way with every kid that she meets! Heeeeey--

Without Palmon suddenly realizing she's been abandoned and screaming for Mimi to wait for her, the part where Sora and Koushiro suddenly have to silence her feels out-of-place.

The kids board the bus to return to Tokyo. Along the way, they check to ensure their equipment's still functioning in the human world.

Koushiro: (checking his laptop) It's okay. It's still working properly in this world. Taichi: That's good.

Sora takes out her Digivice. It's showing a big centralized red dot for the seven of them, which bodes well.

Sora: The Digivice is also working. Fujiyama: What are those things? Is that what's popular with kids these days? Jou: NO, IT'S REALLY NOT A-- Fujiyama: Let me have a look. Taichi: YOU CAN'T!!! Fujiyama: Don't be stingy. After all, I'm letting you guys get off at Hikarigaoka. Sora: Y-yes, sir.... (hands over her Digivice) Fujiyama: Those are good manners you have, Takenouchi. You're an obedient kid, unlike some others I know.

Sora blushes from Fujiyama's praise and hides her face. The dub follows the script right up until Fujiyama shows up.

Fujiyama: What's up? Is that the latest toy all you kids are into? Joe: NO, IT'S JUST ONE OF THE OLD ONES THAT WE ALL HATE!!! Fujiyama: Let me take a look at it. Tai: UH, IT'S BROKEN!!! Fujiyama: Maybe I can fix it. Here, give it to me. I'm pretty good with electronics. Sora: Yes, sir. Fujiyama: Thank you, Sora. Unlike other children, you really listen to your teachers.

Tai comes up with a stronger attempt at fending off Fujiyama, but he's got an answer for it all the same. Meanwhile, Joe embarrasses himself with a hilarious failure of a claim.

Koushiro and Taichi discuss what's happening.

Koushiro: It's fine to just let him have a look at it. Taichi: I felt like we were being attacked by an evil Digimon or something. Koushiro: (skeptical) Fujiyama-sensei is an evil Digimon? Taichi: Evil! Evil! I mean, when you forget your homework, he snares you with his tickle atta-- Fujiyama: I heard that last part.

Fujiyama-sensei doles out intense punitive tickling to Taichi while terrifyingly stone-faced.

In the dub:

Izzy: There's no harm in just letting him take a look at it, Tai. Tai: For about a second there, I thought Mr. Fujiyama was an evil Digimon. Izzy: I think you've spent way too much time in the Digi-World. Tai: Think about it! If he were an evil Digimon, every time you failed a test, he'd scream out his attack, "HOMEWORK BLASTER!!!" Fujiyama: Actually, it's more like Tickle Blaster.

This version of the tickle gag doesn't work as well because Tai doesn't queue up Fujiyama to launch his tickling assault. He overhears Tai comparing him to an "evil proper noun he doesn't recognize" and decides to start tickling him, apropos of nothing.

While the kids are still trying to reach Hikarigaoka, Tailmon searches the district.

With the Crest around her neck, she moves through the district, waiting for a child's presence to cause the Crest to glow. But it never does.

Tailmon: It's not reacting at all. What does this mean? Isn't the Eighth Child supposed to be around here!?

In the dub:

Gatomon: You can't turn over a rock without finding a kid under it in this world, and yet I still haven't found the Eighth DigiDestined!

Gatomon's line doesn't convey how she intends to find the Eighth DigiDestined. Which is kind of important information, because a Crest and Tag glowing to indicate that their associated child is nearby is something of a new mechanic.

It's not entirely new. We've used the glow from the Tags to find their associated Crests and seen those Crests do some shit in the presence of the child and Tag. So the Crest and Tag together glowing to identify a child feels like it's rooted in established metaphysics.

But it's still nice to have her explain that this, using the Crest as a radar, is what she's doing.

She also has a brief altercation with a dog, who she fends off by whipping the dog in the neck with her titular tail.

Ultimately, Tailmon is forced to report her failure back to Vamdemon at his new lair: The basement of a parking garage.

Vamdemon: You couldn't find the child? Tailmon: Yes, sir. At the very least, the child doesn't appear to be in the vicinity of Hikarigaoka. Vamdemon: PicoDevimon.

A still art frame of PicoDevimon descends, with several Tags and Crests around his legs. He neither moves his lips to speak nor flaps his wings as he slides onto the screen. I guess they didn't have the budget for him today.

PicoDevimon: (telepathically I guess) What are these? Vamdemon: I've made copies of the Eighth Child's Tag and Crest. PicoDevimon: (levitates offscreen to the right) Vamdemon: The one you have is also a copy. Tailmon: Then where's the real one!? Vamdemon: (reveals his fist, clutched around the Tag's cord) Here, in my grasp. Even though those ones are copies, they will still react when the Chosen Child is nearby. Do everything you can to find the Eighth Child! Tailmon & PicoDevimon: Yes, sir! (they both bow, including PicoDevimon who is no longer paralyzed by the finance department) Vamdemon: Children... I will do everything in my power to eliminate you!

The misadventures of still-frame PicoDevimon cracked me up in this scene. But in any case, Vamdemon's flexing his Big Fucking Nerd credentials once again. The Digimon World's #1 expert on Chosen Children lore has fabricated fake Crests that can reproduce the tracking effects of the original.

Which he also has in his possession, of course. Can you really call yourself a Chosen Children stan if you aren't repping their merch? Of course he went out and yoinked one of those Crests for himself. He was trying to complete the collection through the entire PicoDevimon arc!

...I can't wait to see what the dub does with still-frame PicoDevimon.

Myotismon: What do you mean, you couldn't find the Eighth DigiDestined!? You have failed me! Gatomon: Please don't hurt me, Your Evilship. I swear he's not here! Myotismon: SILENCE, GATOMON!!! DemiDevimon: (levitates down onto the screen with a sort of whirring vrooming sound effect) Myotismon: I have made several copies of the Eighth DigiDestined's Tag and Crest. DemiDevimon: (levitates offscreen) Myotismon: The one you have is a copy too. Gatomon: So I'm a copycat? Myotismon: The original's with me. Even though they are only copies, they will still become activated when the Eighth Child is nearby. This time, make no mistakes. You must find that child. Gatomon & DemiDevimon: Gotcha! (they both bow) Myotismon: And when you do find him, then he must die!

HAHAHAHAHAHA They cut his line because he has no lip flaps HAHAHAHAHAHA

And gave him a little wooshy sound effect.

He is just. He's just full-on DisplayModelDevimon HAHAHAHAHA

The Chosen Children finally arrive in Hikarigaoka.

Koromon: Is that the Hikarigaoka housing complex? Taichi: Yeah! Piyomon: WOW!!! You used to live in that huge castle, Sora!? Sora: It's not a castle. It's divided into smaller rooms inside and a lot of people live there. Piyomon: Did you used to live in Hikarigaoka too, Sora? Sora: Mmhmm. Taichi: Sora and I were in the same class. Sora: Yep. Taichi: Third Elementary School, Class 1-2. Yamato: I was in Fourth Elementary School. Jou: H-Hang on! Then you weren't lying to trick Sensei!? Yamato: It's true that we lived in Hikarigaoka. Takeru: Yeah. I remember a little of it. Jou: I went to Fifth Elementary School here! Mimi: I lived here in kindergarten. Jou: Huh!? Koushiro: So did I! But only for a little while. Taichi: That means all of us used to live in Hikarigaoka! Koushiro: This can't be a coincidence.

Nor can it be a coincidence that Big Fucking Nerd Vamdemon began his search here. He has no reason to believe that the Eighth Child is presently in this place. He doesn't have, like, a huge blinking radar telling him "Hikari There".

He's here because this is the place that the Chosen Children came from. Hikarigaoka is the point of origin; The source of Chosen Children. The ancient lore knows that the children come from Hikarigaoka. But it doesn't seem to know that they moved.

In the dub:

Koromon: They were nice to drop us off here. Tai: Yeah! Mimi: There's the Highton View Terrace Tower! Izzy: The tallest apartment building in Japan! Joe: Terrific. I'm afraid of heights. Tai: That place isn't so hot! Sora: That's true. The heat never worked. I used to live there. Biyomon: Wow, Sora! You lived in that castle! Sora: Yep! Tai: I lived near here too. A block away in another building. Sora and I went to Westside Elementary together. Matt: Hey, I went to Westside Elementary! Joe: You're kidding! You mean that you guys were telling the truth when you said you used to live in Highton View Terrace! Matt: Yeah, we really did live here before my parents broke up. T.K.: That was a long time ago when I was a little kid. Joe: Strange coincidence because I used to live here too. Mimi: I lived here too before we moved! Joe: Huh? Izzy: Me too! Just for a little while; It's a long story. Tai: So at some point we all lived at Highton View Terrace at the same exact time! Izzy: This can't just be a coincidence; There's gotta be some meaning here.

Oh! There's a "Japan"!

Rather than compare schools, everyone just agrees that they lived here once in their lives. Tai somehow leaps to the conclusion that they're all talking about the same timeframe. This is not a conclusion Taichi reached, despite being a little better founded in the original when they're talking about being in elementary school (and, for the younger pair, kindergarten).

We lose Sora explaining what an apartment building is to Piyomon, echoing Agumon's similar confusion back when he and Taichi were in Odaiba.

We do, however, gain the "That's not so hot!" "Yeah, the heat never worked" bit, which got me. XD

The kids are interrupted by the sound of dozens of wings fluttering overhead. High up above them, Night Raid bats scour the city. At the same time, armed with weaponized cosplay, Tailmon and her mercenaries spread out through Hikarigaoka.

I realize that shot looks like half of her forces are fleeing into the mouth of a colossal Tailmon kaiju but the perspective was wonky and that was the best I could get.

Over in the dub, I think the shots of silhouetted Digimon mercenaries spreading out through the city confused the dub team because Tai suddenly yells this when he sees the bats.

Tai: It's Myotismon's army! RUN FOR IT!!!

Followed immediately by silhouetted figures running through the city. Then we get that shot above of Gatomon soaring overhead while the silhouetted figures spread out, and she says:

Gatomon: They can run but they can't hide from Mammothmon!

Which feels like it's meant to imply that the silhouettes are the kids fleeing for their lives from the Night Raid bats. And that Gatomon is then intentionally sending Mammothmon out on a rampage to force them out of hiding.

That's a pretty major change.

While Tailmon and her mercenaries scour the city, one Digimon isn't creeping around.

This massive mammoth Digimon, Mammon, goes on a full rampage. Stomping vehicles and smashing whatever's in his path. He picks up a biker's motorcycle with his trunk and hurls it.

Biker: (just sees his bike suddenly soar through the air overhead) MY BIKE!!! Who did that!? (whirls around to see the mammoth) Was it you!? HOW DARE YOU RUIN MY BIKE!?!?

Dude is bizarrely chill with seeing a violent armored mammoth in the streets.

(In fairness, this is Tokyo. It ain't their first rodeo with Godzilla shit.)

His boldness doesn't last, however. When Mammon roars at him, he throws his helmet at it and runs for his life. Mammon swats the helmet back at him, striking him in the back of the head and knocking him over, then stomps over him to continue their rampage.

Biker: (crying) WHO LET THEIR ELEPHANT LOOSE!?!?

Mammon continues his rampage, smashing cars and streetlamps while people watch on in confusion.

Bystander: Why is there an elephant in Hikarigaoka!? Girlfriend: It's probably for a movie or something! Bystander: Oh, very convincingly made. It looks like a real monster.

Happy to report that media has poisoned the survival instincts of people not only in the U.S. but in Japan as well.

Over in the dub, the biker remains audacious as ever.

Biker: (just sees his bike suddenly soar through the air overhead) MY NEW MOTORCYCLE!!! (whirls around to see the mammoth) HEY!!! Respect other people's property, you big walkin' shag carpet! Mammothmon: (roar) (Biker throws helmet and flees; Mammothmon knocks it back, knocks him down, and stomps over him.) Biker: T_T HEY!!! Whoever owns this elephant should know there's a leash law around here!

Meanwhile, both of the other civilians are complete fucking chuckleheads.

Girlfriend: Oh look, honey. A wild elephant on a rampage. Bystander: They must be filming a movie or something.

I support equal rights dipshittery.

While Mammon continues his entirely pointless and confusing rampage, Tailmon is as lost as I am about what he thinks he's accomplishing here.

Tailmon: What is that moron planning to gain by causing all this chaos!? I should not have recruited that Digimon.

Another bystander is forced to flee his car, moments before Mammon steps on and crushes it.

Driver: WHAT THE HELL IS AN ELEPHANT DOING HERE!?!?

And someone finally dials 110, the Japanese emergency number for the police.

Caller: I'm calling the police! (Nothing but static crackles through his phone) Caller: IT WON'T CONNECT!!!

Remember how the sheer presence of Vamdemon and his forces in Hikarigaoka last episode were making phones go haywire? Yeah, have fun dialing out.

Over in the dub, Gatomon has suddenly reversed course and is no longer cheering Mammothmon on.

Gatomon: What's that big-eared freak trying to do? Destroy the DigiDestined with everything else too? We never should have brought that type of Digimon along for this!

This is a little confusing because minutes ago she was like "HAHAHA You can run but you can't hide from Mammothmon." But now, to shore her up with her Japanese counterpart, she's at "Ugh so destructive Mammothmon sucks".

The driver fleeing squishy death takes this opportunity to quip.

Driver: If that's a car, it's got an awful lot of trunk space!

And, since phones going haywire was a plot point that they removed for some reason, the caller has what may or may not be the same problem?

Caller: I'm gonna call the cops! (Nothing but silence) Caller: Augh! My phone's dead!

Meanwhile, despite Tai freaking out earlier, the Chosen Children are non-urgently taking a fun trip down memory lane.

Taichi: I remember this place. I often came here to buy candy and juice! Mimi: I used to come here too! Jou: This sure brings back memories. Yamato: Takeru, you might not remember but we used to play around here a lot. Takeru: I do feel like I know this place. Sora: How long did you live in Hikarigaoka, Koushiro-kun? Koushiro: I don't think I even stayed here for a year. Probably a couple of months. Taichi: That's pretty short. How come? Koushiro: I don't know.

Fortunately, there's one kid among us with a longer memory than the rest.

Jou: Hehe! I can answer that for you! Sora: You can, Jou-senpai? Taichi: But you didn't know Koushiro back then. Jou: Even so, I still have a good idea of what happened. To make a long story short, the reason Koushiro's family moved was because of a terrorist bombing! Sora: A bombing!? Koushiro: There were terrorists? Jou: You guys might not remember this, but there was a terrorist bombing here in Hikarigaoka four years ago. So far as I know, they still haven't found the bomber. My parents said they didn't want to live in such a dangerous place, so we moved to Odaiba. Sora: THAT'S RIGHT!!! It was the same with my family! I do remember them saying something about a bomb! Taichi: Now that you mention it, I do think that's what happened.

A terrorist bombing four years ago whose bomber has never been caught, huh? Here in Hikarigaoka? Interesting....

In the dub, the kids are as chill as in the original. Which is weird given that they're supposed to be running from Myotismon's forces.

Tai: Say, do any of you remember this place? I bought candy here. Mimi: It was my favorite store. Joe: Oh, sure. Mine too! Matt: You probably don't remember this place, T.K., because you were too little, but Mom and Dad used to take us here all the time! T.K.: Maybe some candy will help me remember! Sora: You're awfully quiet, Izzy. Didn't you like living in Highton View Terrace? Izzy: I don't remember. Sora: How long did you live there? Izzy: Just for a little while. About six months. Tai: Wow. Why did your parents move away? Izzy: I don't know.

Very close to the original with no notable changes. Then comes Joe's time to explain the bombing.

Joe: You're kidding! Well, if you don't know then maybe I should tell you why. Sora: What do you mean, Joe? Tai: Yeah, Joe. How could you know why Izzy's parents moved away from here? Did you know them or something? Joe: No, I didn't know Izzy back then but I did see what happened. His whole family packed up and left Highton View Terrace because of a terrorist bombing. Sora: Bombing? Izzy: Did you say terrorist!? Joe: Maybe you don't remember it, but about four years ago, the story was in all the papers. It was one of the worst terrorist attacks of all time. They never found the group responsible for the bombings, so a lot of families got scared thinking it could happen again and moved out. My parents figured it had just become too dangerous to live here anymore so we moved out to Odaiba. Sora: Now that you mention it, I do remember. A lot of my friends moved away after that. Tai: Now I remember. My parents acted scared that whole time.

For lacking the context of the OVA, they do a pretty good job with this one. There's still a couple errors, however. The story doesn't need to be in the papers. The "bombing" happened right outside everyone's balconies. It wasn't just in the neighborhood but out in the street directly between their housing complexes.

Also, they blew up an unoccupied street late at night. Calling it "one of the worst terrorist attacks of all time" is a bit much. Can you feel how pre-9/11 this is? But, of course, the dub team doesn't know any of this context.

It is a little weird that Joe was peeping on Izzy's family departing enough to know it was them, and that Sora only mentions her friends leaving. All of them left. None of them currently live here.

Also, I guess we can say Odaiba but not Hikarigaoka. Maybe they just thought the latter was too complicated of a word.

Suddenly, the kids see cop cars go by.

Mimi: What's going on? Taichi: Could it be Vamdemon!?

A possibility that Tai is much more certain of than Taichi.

Mimi: What's going on? Tai: Where there's trouble, there's Myotismon!

You hear it here, folks. A nerdy vampire Digimon is responsible for all crime in Japan. I was not aware that Dracula was the yakuza Kingpin, but I'll believe it.

The Chosen Children race to the scene to find the trail of destruction Mammon's leaving in their wake.

Taichi: That's one of Vamdemon's Digimon! Koushiro: (already on his laptop) That's Mammon.

Time for the rundown on this destructive dipshit. Mammon is a Perfect-stage Vaccine-type Ancient Beast Digimon. He's from the Nightmare Soldiers line; An evolution for Garurumon and for Hanumon, who won't be seen in the anime until 02.

The name Mammon comes from "mammoth", same as their English name Mammothmon. The dub likely extended it because "mammon" has a different meaning in a society where Christianity is the predominate religion.

Narrator: Mammon. A Perfect-stage Digimon who has enormous ancient power. His special attacks are Tusk Strikes, where he fires his two tusks, and Tundra Breath, which releases a cold blast from his nose.

In the dub, this is quite reasonably handled by Izzy.

Matt: A monster Digimon! Izzy: (already on his laptop) He's called Mammothmon. He's a fully Digivolved Digimon with the strength of a wooly mammoth. He shoots missiles he calls Tusk Crusher and has a chilling attack called Freezing Breath.

Before the kids can do anything, a cop car pulls up.

Officer: All of you! It's dangerous here! Get to shelter!

Inside the car, he futilely tries to use the car radio to request backup but all that comes through is static.

Officer: Hello? Hello? I need urgent backup! Hello!? That's weird....

Mammothmon hears him, turning around and growling.

Taichi: He's seen us! Officer: Hurry and get out of here!

The officer shouts at the kids to get to safety and then speeds off in his mostly empty squad car, abandoning these lost children to their wooly mammoth fate. Fucking ACAB.

No change in the dub, except there's no static feeding back through the radio. It's just dead.

Mammon roars at the kids, and the fighting's on.

Taichi: HE'S COMING FOR US!!!

With admirable enthusiasm, Koromon and Tsunomon leap out of Taichi and Yamato's arms to the front of the group to fight him.

Yamato: DON'T!!! He's Perfect-stage! You two can't fight him. Piyomon: (rushes forward) Let me handle this! Sora: Eh? PIYOMON!?!?

This is the same in the dub, except Matt continues using the terminology "fully Digivolved".

Evolving to Birdramon, Piyomon fires off her Meteor Wing at Mammothmon. The shots land all around him, with one fireball glancing off his tusk and ricocheting into a series of phone booths. Sora gasps in horror, and the camera fixes for a moment on the bombed out phone booths.

Mammothmon slams his tusk into a nearby bus and hurls it at Birdramon. She deftly maneuvers out of the way - lobbing projectiles at flying opponents remains difficult - leaving the bus to crash into the ground and explode. This time it's Koushiro's turn to gawk in horror at the wreckage of the bus.

Birdramon gets in too close. Mammothmon slaps her with his trunk, then follows up while she's stunned with his Tusk Strikes.

A glancing hit to her shoulder sends Birdramon plummeting from the air.

Of note: Mammon doesn't have dialogue in either version. He's another non-speaking beast type of Digimon, and the dub didn't change that this time around. Nonetheless, the dub Mammothmon manages to call his attack when firing "Tusk Crusher".

Sora: BIRDRAMON!!! Takeru: KAIJU!!!

Bit of an odd proclamation from Takeru. Kaiju is one of the more well-known Japanese words these days. Literally meaning "mysterious beast", kaiju are most commonly associated with colossal city-destroying monsters such as those found in the Godzilla brand.

Seeing two Digimon fight like this has stirred a recollection in Takeru.

Takeru: Two kaiju! Taichi: What are you talking about, Takeru? Yamato: That's it! I remember now. A long time ago, Takeru insisted he saw kaiju but Mom scolded him for it.

Over in the dub, T.K. oddly puts the emphasis on the quantity of monsters rather than the fact that there were monsters.

Sora: BIRDRAMON!!! T.K.: There were two! Matt: What!? T.K.: There were two monsters! Tai: What are you talking about, T.K.? Matt: Oh man, now I remember! A long time ago, T.K. was insisting that he saw two monsters and my mom was upset at him for it.

I don't know why we're all emphasizing the number two like this, when it's the monster part that's important

Yamato flashes back on the day Takeru tried to tell their mom about the kaiju.

Takeru: I really did see kaiju! Natsuko: Kaiju don't exist. You were just dreaming. (bitterly, seemingly to herself but audible enough to hear) And whose fault is it that you can't even tell the difference between dreams and reality!? Takeru: ...but....

Okay, that took a turn for harsh. Takeru touched a nerve and I'm genuinely not sure if she's mad at him, at Yamato, or at her husband who she later divorced.

Just a brief glimpse into the broken home these boys come from. Yamato isn't in the room with them, but he is seen lurking behind a door.

The dub dials back Natsuko's hostility.

T.K.: But I really did see monsters, Mommy. Nancy: T.K., there's no such thing as monsters. You were just imagining it. Or maybe it's a dream. T.K.: But Mom, I really saw them! Nancy: Now that's enough! I don't want to hear any more of these crazy stories.

She still refuses to believe him, but she isn't bitterly fuming at an unspecific member of her family. The dub's never been comfortable talking about the divorce.

Yamato: ...that's why I couldn't said anything. Koushiro: When did this happen? Yamato: Around the time of the bombing.

Yamato's line as we return implies that he saw the kaiju too, but was afraid to speak up about it way back when after hearing what came out of their mom's mouth. As if he were afraid that bringing it up might further damage the fabric of their parents' marriage. So he kept quiet and eventually forgot he ever saw it.

All tragic context that, again, the dub doesn't want. So Matt legitimately never saw it.

Matt: I just assumed he imagined the entire thing. Izzy: So when did all this take place? Matt: It was right after the terrorist bombing. Sora: This is where it happened! Joe: Right on this footbridge!

Nonetheless, Sora and Joe are chiming in a bit early to identify this footbridge as the site of the bombing. So early, in fact, that we're still standing at the street corner we talked to the cop from and not on the footbridge.

There we go, a bit of an awkward teleporting cut later and we're on the footbridge for some reason. Birdramon got her second wind and has returned to the fray.

Jou: This is... Where the terrorist bombing happened.

As Jou says this, Taichi flashes back on the OVA, when he stood under this same bridge.

Taichi: This bridge....

The kids sprint downstairs from the bridge they inexplicably teleported to, as more and more they start to remember.

Mimi: This is the same thing that happened back then!

Another ricochet of Meteor Wing off Mammon's hide blows up the bridge, right where they had been before they moved.

Jou: It's exactly the same! A fireball destroyed the bridge! Yamato: No! The one shooting fireballs back then wasn't flying! It was something else! Taichi: You're right! There was a fight between... something and something else!

They're vaguely remembering the OVA battle. Yamato's right; It was Greymon shooting fireballs at Parrotmon. Mass deja vu is a hell of a thing.

In the dub, they talk through Taichi's OVA flashback.

Joe: This is really strange. Does anyone besides me feel like they can remember the night of the bombing? (flashback starts) Others: Yeah! / Uh-huh! / I do! Tai: I feel like I was there but somehow I forgot! Izzy: Gee, that sounds like repressed memory. Tai: WE'VE GOTTA GET OFF THIS BRIDGE!!!

Tai's sudden attack of precognition is as good an explanation as any for why they suddenly fled the bridge they inexplicably climbed up onto in the first place.

Mimi: I'M HAVING DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN!!! (Ricochet of Meteor Wing destroys the bridge) Joe: THIS IS JUST HOW IT HAPPENED!!! Back then, a giant ball of fire destroyed the bridge! Matt: Something is definitely different. I remember the firebreathing monster didn't fly; There had to be another one! Tai: You're right! There were two monsters fighting but they were different than these two!

Again, for having to recap the events of an OVA I'm pretty sure they hadn't seen, they're doing a decent job of making it work. Matt's line is nonetheless janky because. As with the Takeru flashback, Matt seems to be trying to prove a second monster's existence.

While the kids are discussing, Birdramon once again gets in close to try and melee the hulking Perfect. Grabbing his snout with one of her talons and wrestling.

It does not go well.

Sora: BIRDRAMON!!! Birdramon: Sora!

Sora sprints to where her half-frozen firebird partner landed, followed closely behind by Taichi. Her Crest of Love activates when she gets close, super-evolving Birdramon into Garudamon.

(Probably should have led with that. I understand the Digimon are trying to resource-manage. If I evolve, then I can go back to my Child base afterward and then evolve again next fight. But if I super-evolve, I'm basically out of commission for the next couple days. What if someone needs to super-evolve tomorrow and we're all burned out?

We have four Perfect-capable Digimon and right now three of them are burnt out to Baby-stage. As of this super-evolution, we are now defenseless against any future Perfect-stage Digimon until the others recover.

But when the Analyzer says "That dude's a Perfect", we should still probably try to match his level. At the very least, we should get Ikkakumon and Togemon in on this, rather than letting Birdramon try to solo a Perfect. This was a terrible idea.)

Mammon fires off his Tusk Strikes while Garudamon's super-evolving. She throws herself on top of Taichi and Sora, shielding them from the blast.

Taking cover beneath Garudamon's hand, this is the last piece Taichi needs to remember the OVA.

Sora: Garudamon! Taichi V.O.: What I saw back then...

Flashing back, Taichi remembers taking cover with Hikari, shielding her in the same way as Sora, but with a different monster towering over them.

Taichi V.O.: It wasn't a kaiju. The one who saved me back then was... Greymon!? Taichi: That's right! It was Greymon! Yamato: That's it! Koushiro: I'm sure of it. Jou: Yeah!

In the dub:

Tai V.O.: The firebreathing monster I saw... Greymon! It was Greymon and another Digimon! Tai: Sora! It was Greymon! Group: Right! / Greymon!

Garudamon mounts Mammon and giddyups him while Taichi remembers the OVA more clearly.

Taichi: A Koromon came to my house that day. That Koromon turned into Agumon. Then he became Greymon and he fought with another Digimon!

We see a flashback to Greymon and Parrotmon's brawl to give the dub team something to work with, and then Tai takes a crack at it.

Tai: The day Koromon came to my house! And Digivolved into Greymon! He was fighting with a birdlike Digimon! After the fight, they disappeared.

Hitting all the major points.

While they're talking, Garudamon finishes the fight. She hoists Mammon high up into the air and drops him from great height onto his back, then follows up with Shadow Wing. The firebird projectile slams into the defenseless Mammon, killing him. Mammon dissolves into pixel dust.

Once the fight is finished, Garudamon reverts to Pyokomon and falls into Sora's arms.

Taichi: The two disappeared after the fight. Koushiro: That's right. Jou: So that's why it was labeled a terrorist attack. Taichi: So that's why Hikari knew about Koromon. She met him back then. Patamon: She met you? Koromon: It must have been a different Koromon. Though, when I met Taichi for the first time, I did feel as if I've somehow always known him.

Koromon referring to how all the Partner Digimon laid eyes on their Partner Children and instantly knew who they were, way back on File Island.

He is not Hikari's Koromon but there's still some connection to that day in Hikarigaoka.

The dub puts a commercial between Mammothmon's death and this scene. It's a good place to put it, and that means it doesn't feel redundant when Tai mentions the disappearance again so soon after stating it before.

Tai: After the fight that day, Greymon and the other Digimon disappeared. Joe: And the police called the fight a terrorist bombing. Izzy: Exactly! Somehow, the Digimon were involved all along! Tai: That's why my little sister already knew Koromon! Kari met him back on that day! Patamon: You met her? Koromon: It must have been a different Koromon! But I did have a strange feeling when I met Tai that we had met somewhere before....

Close but not quite, Koromon. You'd always known him, but you'd never met him. That will make more sense when the series delves into the lore behind their Partnerships later down the line.

Suddenly, the sound of police sirens in the distance means we need to skedaddle.

Jou: This is bad! They'll ask a ton of questions if they catch us! Koushiro: Yes, they won't let us go easily. Taichi: LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!!!

Like any responsible citizen, the Chosen Children flee the police to avoid being connected to the crimes they, uh, are technically partially responsible for. Birdramon caused a fair chunk of the damage here.

In the dub, this is perfect timing for one of Dub Joe's neurotic breakdowns.

Joe: Listen, it's the cops! They'll ask a ton of questions! They'll blame us for all this! I'm too young to go to the Big House! Matt: STOP IT, JOE, AND START RUNNING!!!

XD That's a good one. It's a mild exaggeration of what he was already saying, in a situation where freaking out is entirely valid. This episode's gotten good mileage out of the Mimi and Joe gags.

Taking shelter in a park, the Chosen Children discuss what they've learned and apply it to their search.

Koushiro: I've been wondering about this for a while. Out of all the children at camp, why were we the only ones chosen? But now we've found a clue to solving that mystery. Mimi: The incident four years ago. Koushiro: Yes. All of us are linked by the fact that we already encountered Digimon four years ago. Yamato: Then it must be the same for the Eighth Child! Koushiro: There's no doubt about it! The Eighth Child, too, would have witnessed that event! Jou: What if Vamdemon's already found them!? If the Eighth Child saw the incident, then they should be in Hikarigaoka, right? Mochimon: That's not true. Since Mammon was wandering around this area alone, the others must still be scattered about and searching for the Eighth Child! Taichi: We're going to find them first. The Eighth Child. One of our nakama!

Nobody's bringing up the obvious suspect but it's nonetheless a huge step for their investigation.

In the dub:

Izzy: You know, I always thought it was kinda strange that out of all the kids at camp, we were the only ones chosen to go to the Digi-World. And I knew it couldn't just be coincidence. Somehow, we were all connected by some common event. Today, I discovered what that event was. Mimi: We all took French in school? Izzy: No, four years ago we were all living at Highton View Terrace at the same time and all of us saw those two Digimon fight. Matt: Then the Eighth DigiDestined saw the Digimon too! Izzy: Right! So the person who's the Eighth DigiDestined had to have been there as well! Joe: What if Myotismon found the kid already!? I mean, he's been searching the city all day. And if the child lived here four years ago, maybe it's still here! Motimon: I don't think so! Mammothmon wouldn't be making all this commotion if they had already found the Eighth DigiDestined child. Myotismon is still searching; I'd say the child is still out there or maybe he moved like you guys! Tai: We'll find him! Before Myotismon! The Eighth DigiDestined... He might be someone we know!

Tai lays it on a little thick there at the end. And we have a Mimi gag that I'm going to put in the "harmless" category. I don't like it, but I don't dislike it either.

The episode closes on Taichi's renewed resolve to find the Eighth Child before Vamdemon.

Assessment: Man, this is a major lore episode. But also kind of a retread. The benefit of the dub is that for an English audience, this is all genuinely new information. For the Japanese audience, we're finally seeing the Chosen Children learn things that we've known since the OVA. This episode is for the characters to play catch-up.

Mammon is something of a nothing antagonist, here just to give the episode some conflict and spark the revelatory parallels to Parrotmon and Greymon. Even Tailmon is like, "Why is this guy even here?" which was hilarious.

A few errors on the dub's part but this is one of their better eps. They manage to hit most of the major beats successfully and there's a lot of charm in their presentation.

There's still some things that get missed such as the tension in Yamato and Takeru's childhood home or that weird moment when the dub thought the kids were fleeing Myotismon's bats. But they're few, and there's a lot of good to be found here too.

[redbullgivesyouwingedkuriboh]

Since y’all liked me getting beaten down by GX characters so much, here’s:

Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V Characters ranked by how easily I could take them in a fight

same rules apply: fisticuffs only and my personal feelings about the characters do not matter

also since ARC-V is WEIRD AF when it comes to characters this will be characters that are exclusive to ARC-V. so no repeat of Asuka. We already know I bite harder than she does.

without further ado, here we go:

Reira Akaba. No shit. is literally a baby. if I was a baby kicking kind of person I could punt her into the sun. However as I do not kick babies I am more inclined to wrap her in a lil blanket and put her in the corner.

Yuya Sakaki. Bitch. One good step on his toes and he’s going “reaction shot?!” I pull on his stupid fuckin goggles and snap them back onto his face. he’s down. count to ten.

Yuzu Hiragi. Canonically the bracelet girls really suck at holding their own at any given moment. Yuzu is the weakest physically because she has never seen war or hardship to the level of the other three. I could take her in four seconds. pigtail tug time.

Yuri. The second weakest physically of the Yu boys. has been coddled by Leo for years. probably sparred with Sho at the academy to make himself feel better about having 0% body weight from muscles. eat shit you purple motherfucker.

Dennis McField. not only would I beat him, I would enjoy doing it. I’d love to curbstomp that motherfucker off a boat, except he already did that to himself. physically he is a fuckin twig and I am five feet seven inches of pure unadulterated god complex. he’ll wish I turned his ass into a card.

Reiji Akaba. the scarf works to his detriment. I do two laps around him holding the end of that thing and suddenly his face is turning blue and he’s calling for papa. unfortunately for him I have zero mercy.

Rin. again, the bracelet girls are notoriously bad at being strong independent women. we literally don’t see Rin for most of the series because she got herself kidnapped off the cuff. that being said she could probably hold her own against me, but I think she’s too sweet for that.

Z-ARC. We’ve established I bite. even outside of human form, if you look at him, he’s got a fuck ton of exposed veins, both as regular Z-ARC and Yuya Z-ARC. chompy chompy motherfucker you’ll pass out from the blood loss before I can kick your ass properly.

Yugo. Canonically relies on his motorcycle for fuckin everything. lost to Yuri because he rolled a nat one on his constitution saving throw. even though he’s probably physically in shape from motorcycle stuff I could flick him in the forehead and he’d be whining like a baby. If I got the first shot in, I’d have a 99% chance of winning. If he got to me first it would go to about 60%. again, I bite.

Leo Akaba. Here’s where we get into characters that have a greater than 50% chance of beating me. Leo is canonically ripped and also has zero emotions. I would only win if I got close enough for a nut kick, but there’s only one person who wants to be that close to Leo Akaba and it sure as hell ain’t me.

Sora Shuin’in. Holy fuck who let their feral cat off its leash. Sora is literally insane and I am requesting backup. He’d shove that lollipop so far up my ass that I’d be able to tell whether it was lime or green apple. I live in fear of Sora suddenly materializing in my room

Ruri Kurosaki. Remember how I bite? She bites harder. She puts up with No Shit and also has No Fucks To Give.

Serena. No further explanation needed. I fear that explaining it further would cause Feral Child #2 to burst into my brain and start kicking.

Yusho Sakaki. Sweet mother of blue eyes white dragon. remember how I said my personal feelings don’t matter? now they do. smash. next question. wait what were we talking about?

Shun Kurosaki. kinda lost the plot on Yusho but we’re back on track now. Shun canonically took out armed guards by Batmanning his ass up a wall. There’s posters up for him that say “lost dog” and the caption is just “if you find him please keep him”.

Yuto. Everything that Shun is + Ruri taught him how to effectively bite.

Noburu Gongenzaka. he is actually ripped and wears cement shoes for funzies. he could probably just stomp once and my shaky joints would give out on their own. bye.

Yoko Sakaki. canonically beat the stuffing out of people in her past life and I would let her. angry mom energy means I barely make it out alive. smash. wait— shit—

[blauequuleus]

Okay so I’ve never played any Kingdom Hearts games and I’ve only watched the first 2 hours of a play through of the first game.

I’m gonna list everything I know through just internet osmosis. So tell me how off the mark I am on some of this (If I spell names wrong I’m sorry and be nice please)

Sora, Riku, and Kari(?), have all grown up together and play on this island with no parents in sight or a house or anything but island kids running around (do they have parents and houses to go home to? Or is this just Peter Pan style island of lost kids)

They want to leave the island and go on an adventure together

Kari just kinda showed up one day

Sora has a crush on Kari but has not a lot of interactions with her but is constantly talking about Riku and chasing after him

Kari I’m sorry sweetie as far as I can tell you’re the old trope of “this is girl character who is girl and main love interest that will spend 99% of the plot damsel’d and doing nothing -probably knocked out- and the last 1% she spends reassuring the main male lead in some way and has no personality outside of that” (this could be radically different in the games and she actually has a personality that doesn’t revolve around the main lead Sora needing to rescue her but all of the scenes I’ve seen from the games she’s either just standing there or is knocked out)

Riku and Sora have so mush chemistry people are convinced they are in love (to be fair every thing I’ve seen from the games has them constantly obsessing over each other more so than anyone else. Half their lines seem to be each others names. So yeah big rainbow energy coming off of them)

Also don’t they like combine swords or something into a big weapon… 👀🏳️‍🌈

Isn’t there matching wedding rings for Sora and Rikus swords cause if so that’s cute

Main game plot point is Sora, Goofy and Donald jumping around in a Gummy Ship?? to all the different Disney properties and movies and these are all treated like different worlds (is Star Wars in there now cause that’s a galaxy in and of itself, how does that work????)

Donald was dunked on for years as a terrible healer until he nuked a guy and the internet went insane over it

Micky Mouse is a king

Idk where the fuck Minnie is or Daisy

This is all connected to Final Fantasy games somehow. Cloud and Sephiroth(??) are connected to this (I have not played the Final Fantasy games either so idk what this means. I know it’s the same developers but haven’t they been in the KH games??)

The Halloween Town designs are cool looking

Sora gets a wardrobe change per world (species change for little mermaid?? And maybe others??)

Why his shoes too big lookin for his feet

Heartless are little shadow guys that are made from people having their heart/soul ripped out

There’s basically an apocalypse on every world cause of these heartless little creatures (but only main characters seem to notice them??? Everyone else going about their day which is a mood)

The Pirates of the Caribbean one is hyper realistic but Sora still looks like anime guy which is weird

Maleficent is keeps being a boss bitch but still dies for it

Doors and keys are super important

Sora and Riku have heartless but theirs get people forms but they don’t look like who they come from that shit is reversed for some reason

There’s like 3-4 just for Sora and none of them look like him

Riku got a stalker in some guy named Xnort(???how spell???) who possesses Riku at some point

This Xnort little old ass seems to have a habit of this possession thing and uses time travel?? to just keep possessing people

Eyes turn yellow when he does

He started a war for a specific heart??

Keyblade War (no idea what this is or means I just know it’s a thing)

There’s another trio that timeline wise came before the OG trio from the first game that was in the war

Xnort got the buff guy one, the other guy is in Sora but not?? turned into sparkles and possessed Sora but also didn’t, and the blue haired girl is out here working the hardest but she on a deserted island in the void

Micky also ends up chilling with her there at some point

Woody roasts a guy

How the fuck does the Toy Story world work if there’s people and sentient toys???? Why does Sora become a toy there if he a people

Sora wasn’t supposed to wield the keyblade Riku was but his dumbass got corrupted so Sora got it (?)

Riku got another one

I think everyone has kinda died at some point but they all got better

Sora got trapped in dream world by blonde Kari that drew pictures about it

Blonde Kari isn’t evil she was just chilling with a comatose Sora

Riku went through a lot to get his boyfriend back

There’s an organization that’s connected to Xnort guy that wears black robes

There is another set of Riku, Sora and Kari copies there

The third Kari black haired goes out Master Oogway style but with glitter

There’s a red haired guy there that talks big shit but is constantly getting his ass kicked

There are so many spin-off games that have a lot of lore in them and the titles only make sense to people deep in the fandom trenches and lore

Those titles got fractions and shit in them

The Disney princesses played a major role at some point but idk if that’s still a thing

Those stain glass window levels are gorgeous

Sora is a people pleaser who dies for it

But unlike everyone else getting better from it, as he also has in the past, Sora is now gone gone but also not and next game may be in basically purgatory which is kinda our world (so many jokes there)

Riku gonna be on quest 2 of save his boyfriend and is sad now cause of it

Poor Riku he went through his emo phase in the first game and now his punishment for it is running after and saving a serial self sacrificing people pleaser that can’t say no and who keeps dieing from it

Let me know if I was close at all to being right about some things and what I got wrong.

[goldensunset]

What's your opinion on Nomura saying he wants KH4 to be kind of like a reboot of the series? I'm personally a bit worried about what that means for the graphics and gameplay, but like, I'm probably always going to be mourning the loss of the old modeling style so I don't think I should be taken seriously on that front. Graphics change aside, it seems like most of the information we've gotten on KH4 boils down to "Yes it's in Tokyo" and "Guys it's not gonna be a crossover with TWEWY, Please Stop Asking". Really not sure what to make of it so far.

i really have no clue what he means by that... honestly i'm fine with the new style although i do see the concerns with kinda making it seem more generically anime prettyboy final fantasy-esque but like. we've only seen two characters so far and that was two and a half years ago and we already know they're planning on changing some things so who knows what the final product will look like. idk.

my one concern- and i say this as someone who personally likes simpler and more realistic designs, as well as like serious hardcore worldbuilding and dark stuff- is that kh will lose its weird, goofy, disney positivity charm. sora's design just needs slightly more color to it, nothing too drastic. the city of quadratum being hyperrealistic in a direct jarring contrast to everything else we've ever seen in the series is SO cool i just hope the final version has some unique charm to it. obviously i hope it's still kinda bleak bc i think that's the point of the story here but y'know? i hope they tell the story they're trying to tell while also making it feel magical in some way

see while i can't say i personally have any interest in the disney aspect of things (i understand that's what the series was supposed to be all along but me personally i'm in it for the original story side of things) i also never want kh to totally leave that dimension. i think they need to get better at implementing it into the story- akin to how it originally was in the first game, or in khdr, bc both of those were amazing. like prove to me that this disney crossover is the best way to tell your story bc i know you can do it. it shouldn't feel like two separate games, one of which can be entirely filtered out with almost no bearing on the plot

the other thing is like the collaboration with disney is a limitation- but it's a limitation that breeds creativity. if we let nomura do whatever he wanted he might run off the rails and make it too gritty. but having to keep the family-friendly positivity at the core honestly makes it way more interesting imo. and i think he knows that- i think he has a heartfelt story about connection and humanity and love and memories etc to tell and he's gonna tell it. i have faith in him (maybe not faith to write every single game's dialogue and scenario lol but like. in terms of general plot direction he knows what he's doing)

truthfully, as long as the series never stops being ultimately an uplifting tale of hope? i don't care what they do with it. i hope they keep adding dark and serious and weird stuff to it and i hope they keep coming back to the joyful refrain over and over again. that's the ideal story to me- one that takes you so, so low, but brings you back up at the end. that's what kh has been like all along and that's like the main draw imo

they've been leaning more into the possibility of sad endings without perfect resolutions lately (i mean i truthfully don't see how the khux crew is gonna reunite on this mortal plane without more ghost shenanigans.) but like. a bittersweet ending of fondly remembering someone lost to you is incredibly heartfelt and you can make peace with that. i like that more than the idea that you'll always get everything you want and things can always go back to how they were. i think that's what nomura was getting at with kh3, how the destiny trio can't get their innocent childhood back but that doesn't mean their bond is gone. it doesn't have to be a classic disney fairytale ending to be an uplifting one and honestly it hits my HEART. bittersweet ending supremacy. kh is about losing things and finding new things and being connected etc etc i'm repeating myself but i'm insane about this series and long story short as long as the love is there i'm not going to complain

if we're talking about kh4 specifically? really no idea what to make of it... the big question is as follows- is sora's predicament going to be resolved in this game or is that for another game. if it's for another game it's going to have to be a numerical kh5 and i kind of don't have confidence in the team to uh. um. finish more than one new numerical game at this point lol. plus just assuming there would be a gap period with other games in the middle there then sora would be away from home for a lonnnnng time. it could happen but it would require his best friends to reach him there too and get stuck and like oh man how is anyone getting home now. is the series ever gonna end

like maybe kh4 being a reboot would quite genuinely mean shifting the entire overall setting of the series to unreality for the time being. we've discussed the nature of the heart and human connection in this whimsical childhood fairytale world, now let's put these philosophical debates in the real adult world now! who knows. it honestly all depends on how much nomura thinks he has left in him. or if he does plan to retire whether he's gonna pass it off to someone else or just end it somewhere randomly. like truly we're getting kinda mixed messages here like simultaneously he's talking about retiring someday while also saying he's introducing a new phase to the series. ok but how long will that phase be bestie

[danganronpaisbest]

Another gift for @mythicalhuman

SDRA2 (Cupcakes AU)

!!Teruya goofs!! 🤩

Mikado: Why don't you want the cupcake... why bake it if you don't like them...

Teruya: *Sighs* it what the mind told me too bake...

Mikado: Can I also have that one? *Points to the one on the counter*

Teruya: No, that's for Rei when she comes over later.... she's gonna help me bake croissants for Kokoro's party later...

Mikado: Huh, ok... say these cupcakes kinda look like Shinji a little bit

Teruya: Yeah, he was here yesterday helping me with the cupcakes...

Mikado: Huh weird... (pov) Especially when he said he was meeting you up when he mysteriously went missing yesterday... along with Sora and Yuri...

Teruya: Are you gonna eat the damn cupcake or not?!

Mikado: Jeez fine... *eats it*

Teruya: I know it tates like shit...

Mikado: No, it actually tastes pretty.... ugh...

Teruya: What's wrong?

Mikado: My head hurts all of a sudden... I feel like I'm gonna... *yawn* Fall asleep... what did you put in.... this... *Falls to the ground unconscious*

Teruya: ....Fuck me!! I gave him the wrong one!! 💢

[mislamicpearl]

Random thoughts about Ninjago DR S2 part 2 (first three episodes)

SPOILERS

THE ADMINISTRATION! AGENT WALKER MENTION! Ugh, but if only Arin and Sora had mentioned him in front of the others!

The two of them acted more like actual ninjas in that first minute sneaking around than I think any of the OG ninja have done in 17 seasons lol.

For some reason that "dispel the vapor!" joke made me laugh hard.

Lloyd in the opening using rising dragon technique instead of Kai is both cool and sad at the same time🥲

Not really digging Wyldfyre's new hair style.

Kinda weird how Cole is nowhere to be seen in the first episode and only Zane is shown to have been training with the dragon masters.

Also his kids completely disappeared?? They weren't with Geo either, where'd they go???

Aww Lloyd... just, Lloyd. I love you baby boy.

Nya was going full aunt on Wyldfyre and I'm HERE for it!

KAI SIGHTING!!! Yes I am going to freak out every time they show Kai. Also have he and Bonzle eaten anything since they were sent to the back rooms?? How long has it been anyway?

Tournament of elements and Chen mentioned!

I completely forgot that Geo was an EM, because his power is really stupid...

Also did he just decide to go back and live in the realm of lost things or whatever it's called...?

Woah woah WAIT was that Ninjago City? It still exists??? And it looks normal? Is that where all the missing side characters are???

Hmm, so, Roby... not a fan of this character so far. I mean he's funny but I'm really not big on the whole influencer personality he has going on. At least he doesn't seem to be a jerk (except to his uncle lol)

Oh and he's gonna be the boyfriend/love interest of Wyldfyre the writers talked about huh? (Way to make that obvious.) That's... odd. Too early to judge the ship of course but it's a little strange to see Wyfy swooning over this type of guy (much less that she would swoon over anyone really).

NEW Master of Shade??? WHAT! What about, you know, Shade? He was cool! He was part of the resistance! Lego stop replacing the old characters for no reason!!

And of all the EM's to keep and bring back, you kept invisible man guy? Um excuse me, what about Karloff and Neuro? IF YOU REPLACE THEM I WON'T FORGIVE YOU!

Speaking of, where the FRICK is Skylor???? Like if you don't want her on the show (YET) at least give her a mention or something?? Or explain why she's not there? Seriously, wouldn't the ninja at least wonder if they might run into her?

Or JAY FOR THAT MATTER??? Ugh it bugs me so much that aside from Nya asking Lloyd about Jay in season 1, none of the OG ninja ever ask or wonder about the ones who were missing, or ever make it an objective of theirs to find each other.

Roby: the winner gets to take the loser's powers.

Ninja: What if the winner is evil?

Roby: Nah I have the cup and can take back the powers any time, and you can totally trust me bro.

Seems kinda sus.

Oh, Beatrix's twin sister showed up, that's neat and unexpected! (I forgot she had an elemental power tbh.) Already like her way more than Beatrix.

The Merge apparently: You get an elemental power, you get an elemental power, everyone gets an elemental power!

Seriously, these elemental powers are really becoming like quirks or devil fruits now (@ MHA and One Piece fans). I wonder if Arin's "quake" friend will have any significance moving forward.

Him fanboying over Cole and Nya was cute though.

I know nothing has really happened yet, but SHEESH Cole and Zane feel like they're just THERE. These characters used to have more of a presence even when they didn't have something to do. Honestly I think the cast has just gotten too big for the writers to know what to do with, which is why they keep putting at least one or two of them (usually Zane *grumbles*) in timeout.

Dang, what's happening with Jordana is messed up.

Ngl I'm glad snail guy got kicked out, was never a fan of him.

Definitely intrigued by weird horned geckle hybrid guy (didn't catch his species name).

'"There is an imposter among us!"

JAAAAAAAY WE GOT A JAY SIGHTING LET'S GOOOOO!

[mythicalartistx]

Lately I've been appreciating Vanitas more...

Honestly I just really like his character cause it's kinda sad...

Okay liking a character because it's sad isn't a good thing but—

Hear me out.

I really like the idea of him being forced out of Ven and basically kinda in a similar situation as Repliku.

Just a sad silly little guy who deserves so much more than what he has to deal with.

Then here are the Unversed.

The Unversed are little enemies that are like heartless except they come from Vanitas and he can control them and whatnot. Then each time someone slaughters one of the Unversed with the keyblade, Vanitas himself gets hurt and it's just sad.

And honestly I want a pet (flood) Unversed. They seem so cute just like heartless (shadows).

Fandom kinda weird about Vanitas...Makes me uncomfy

The hardest part about him is that the fandom and people who like him make him out to be this twisted, messed up character that does uncomfy nonconsensual things.

And it's so annoying because he such a great character and when I look up random art or just things about him, I don't want to see that.

I can look up fan things of Sora, Riku, and like 90% of the other characters and find decent cool things, but with him it's really hard to.

Wayfinders and Darkness

He does bad things to the Wayfinder Trio because he's darkness and everyone always says darkness is bad.

Until Riku came along

You're told darkness is bad and is dealt with doing not so good things you'd probably become a morally grey character/ not so good person to others.

He probably feels isolated.

Then there's Xehanort trying to get Vanitas to do things for him as well as using the Wayfinders to manipulate them to darkness.

Then he's told to reconnect with his other half to forge some kind of ancient χ-blade for the purpose of creating Kingdom Hearts

Vanitas does bad things and uses the darkness for evil but you also weren't showing why doing good things is better.

Since you can use darkness for good and evil, while also using the light the same way. All those masters were told use darkness is bad and didn't do a thing about the stuff happening Eraqus, Odin, and

Yen Sid (he's probably one of the better ones but still had both Sora and Riku take that exam when it was obvious something was going to happen)

Sora offers a 2nd Chance

Then in KH3 Vanitas along some others wants to find Ven and realizes this through encountering Sora.

It isn't until the final battle where Sora offers him a chance.

He tells him, You can be who you want to be. Basically kinda like Sora in COM telling Repliku, you are your own person too.

Then Vanitas tells Sora but I am Darkness and that is who I choose to be.

Sora realizes Vanitas wants to be darkness and decides that.

Vanitas chooses to fade away and the others understand his choice.

HC + Future installments

They gave him a chance, well Sora mainly and I think with that he could come back in the future a be a morally grey/ decent character who's neither good or bad.

Kinda like Riku but a little bit different.

Like he will probably use darkness but he might help them some as well.

He's done some bad but he could also do good.

That is why the fan trio — The Lost Trio would be so fun to have more of.

I think them interacting would be so interesting to see since they all are really similar. Plus it could just be like this wholesome thing

And another thing that makes them so great is because it's like the reversed Destiny Trio

[otakween]

Digimon Adventure Drama CD 3 (Character Song + Mini Drama 3)

The final part in this drama CD trilogy! There are other Digimon Adventure CDs for me to go through, but this is the end of the character song + mini drama collection. So great that these are easily accessible online. I've had a lot of fun going through them.

Download link

Translation

The Stolen First Dreams of the Year - Parts 1 & 2

The gang realizes that none of them had a New Year's dream (it's a Japanese tradition to analyze your first dream of the year). Yamato and Takeru go to investigate and Bakumon reveals he ate everyone's dreams! Dun dun dunnnn

Gotta love the totally realistic conversations of people being like "you didn't have a dream either, so weird!" I feel like I don't remember my dreams most nights lol.

I've always known that tapir were associated with dream-eating in Japan (due to anime and video games), but I've never looked up the origins of this. According to Wikipedia the nightmare eating, supernatural "baku" and the tapir are both called "baku," but they're different...but also baku look just like tapir lol. Not confusing at all!

In part 2 of this drama Yamato and Takeru are trapped in Takeru's dream. Takeru is a cat, Patamon's a kite, and Gabumon's a shishimai. I thought it was funny that Takeru had a profound reason for Patamon to be a kite, but Gabumon was a shishimai because...he just kinda looks like one lol

Takeru uses the power of lucid dreaming to defeat Bakumon and escape his dream...that's a pretty obvious weakness

Image Song 1 - Walk on the Edge (Yamato Ishida)

Translation

A very "cool" song for Yamato, very fitting. A lot of it is directed at Taichi, telling him to stop being so hot-headed and just be cool, like Yamato.

I feel like there's some conflicting vibes here because at one point in the lyrics he's like "we're the chosen children, we can do anything!" but then he's like "I'm fine on my own." Kinda jarring that both ends of his arc would be put into one song like that. Like...pick a personality.

I liked that they incorporated his harmonica in the song's intro. Smart.

Image Song 2 - Be All Right (Takeru Takaishi)

Translation

This had a similar vibe to Hikari's song, kinda abstract and hopeful about the future. (Makes sense since Hikari and Takeru become a duo).

I feel like Takeru's voice actress didn't even try to do her character's voice when singing this. It just sounds like some lady lol. In my opinion, when it comes to image songs, I prefer the song to sound more authentic to the character than to sound "good."

The Digimon’s New Year Performance

This was definitely the best gag drama yet! They threw a lot of dumb jokes in there that made me laugh/roll my eyes. Best bits were probably: Gabumon finally taking his fur off (in the AUDIO drama), Tentomon speaking without his accent (cursed), Sora and Joe praising Piyomon and Gomamon for their lame tricks and Hikari judging Tailmon for acting cutesy.

I felt bad for Agumon for being booed, glad he got his revenge at the end lol.

Image Song 3 - Shinka de Guts! (Partner digimon, minus Tailmon)

Translation

This one snuck up on me. It's so cute!! I feel like this is one of those anime songs that make you feel like you can do anything and everything's gonna be alright ;w;

Love hearing the digimon sing. This is what I was talking about in my critique of Takeru's song. I love in-character songs that aren't worried about sounding kinda goofy.

The digimon sing about their power together and their love for their human partners, very wholesome. There were also some lyrics thrown in there about taking it easy and stopping to smell the flowers. Cozy.

[strawhat-pkmn]

HEY! LUFFY! THE ANIME GUY!

Right, oops. You probably don't know me... Or even get what I mean by "anime guy." Wow, I really thought only Mario characters were falling down here...

Hey, I'm Pit!!! ... I didn't really have a good ask in mind. I just got excited when I saw THE Monkey D. Luffy!!!

Well how's the new place? Are you still rubber? Some people have been losing their abilities and coming down here looking different. Like me. My wings look so weird! And they still don't work...

@i-cant-read-sorry

Hey, it's nice to meet you, Pit!!!!!!! I've been having a lotta fun!!!!!!! And yeah, I am still rubber!!!!!!! Sorry about your wings, though!!!!!!! Hopefully they start working soon!!!!!!!! It is kinda annoying, though, Nami is the only one of my crewmates I've seen so far!!!!!! Stupid, getting all lost like that!!!!!! Zoro's gonna be really hard to find!!!!!!! If ya see any of them, let me know, okay????? It would be a really big help!!!!!!!! Also, yeah, I dunno what you mean by "anime guy" but I'm guessing it's a good thing!!!!!! And by Mario characters, you mean people like Luigi, right????? They're fun, too!!!!!!!

I think "anime" is kinda similar to comics...? It seems like we're ALL comic characters in this world...

Ohhhh, like the Sora ones that Traffy reads sometimes????? That's so coooool!!!!

[agenericplaceholdername]

Dragons Rising S2 E1-5 Thoughts

Here’s some thoughts on the first episodes of Dragons Rising, Season 2:

The Blood Moon:

RAS AT SHADOW DOJO. Part of what makes the running joke about the scene so good is that the scene itself is really cool

Ras’ night vision is a cool detail but imagine a fight scene in the dark lit only by elemental powers where Ras fights the Ninja

New intro!

Intelligent George definitely uses clickbait thumbnails

Are Borg’s Sufficient Nutrient Wafers just using the Borg brand? Or actually made by Cyrus Borg

Goodbye cute baby Riyu, hello Teen Riyu

Poor Lloyd. Also a lot to analyze in that vision (but not here)

The way Arin talks about seeing his parents and Sora talks about unlocking her True Potential implies only a few weeks, maybe a month or two have passed since the end of S1. And outside of the reference to the Mech Master 5000 being an annual race in the Mech Shorts, it honestly could be that long (instead of over a year)

Kreel and I are the same: we both have “organization systems” only understood by ourselves

Kreel’s hat does look jaunty, and at least Arin smiled

So when did Cinder start searching for the mallet? Clearly before the season started, but the season also opened with Ras and Jordana finding the Shadow Dojo, and Jordana hadn’t met Cinder yet. Maybe Ras just gave him a call while walking in the Forest of Spirits to start looking

The Arin and Sora friendship is so sweet

“Maybe percussion is my thing”

Love the fight against Cinder

Cinder outmatches Arin and Sora and then immediately is forced on the defensive and flees when Lloyd arrives

“Our dark journey can begin” thank you for beating the villain allegations Ras

Shattered Dreams:

I would also like bagels

“We want you to work the same amount, just be funner about it.”

First the Cloud Kingdom, now Percival—we’re just revisiting S1 places

You can still see the bridge that was damaged in S1 connecting the Crossroads to Ninjago City

Where’s Mystake when you need her

Arin did you even do Spinjitzu to fight Cinder?

Would love to see Kreel’s robot dance

Sounds believable Fedulian, I’m with Arin here

“MAGIC ATTACK” “KILLER BUTTERFLY SWARM” “PSYCHIC ORB BLAST” I want a Hantro-Clutch Powers spin off

As weird as “shattering goodness” is, the music and atmosphere of the scene sells Hantro’s exposition

Love this flashback, and its location in the episode helps contribute to a constantly rising tension

I would like to learn an evil language

“You cursed the worms?” but when? And did he have this in mind when he did?

I love how the Five’s teachings and language have been banned but also the Cloud Kingdom is allowed to learn Theroxian (to translate it) and keep scrolls about the Five

Jordana is so mad lol. Tbf for Sora, she re-met Jordana for what, 10 minutes half a season ago?

Ras believes in strength above all else but also refuses to fight the Ninja on equal ground (he’s way above them and then sends out the Wolf Masks and Cinder to do what he can’t)

The Wolf Masks seem powerful once the Gong is struck (beating Arin, immune to fire, knocking Kai and Sora down) but then are easily dealt with in E10 so what gives?

Kai is so cool

Not gonna analyze the Cinder fight in detail. All I’ll say is that it’s well choreographed and directed, the music is great, and it’s kinda nuts that we get a fight this good in E2. Ofc Ras and the Ninja don’t interact until much later in S2P1, but this shows just how outmatched the Ninja are and demonstrates the need to learn a way to fight Shatterspin

Ouch Wyldfyre

Excellent episode

Beyond the Phantasm Cave:

Jordana demeaning Euphrasia to appease her own bruised ego

Sora and Arin - why is your dialogue to each other just saying what you feel? What happened to show don’t tell

Cool shot with Lloyd

We got names for the Source Dragons through the Netflix captions and credits lol

Kai and Wyldfyre why are you so well characterized? imagine if Wyldfyre had stayed at the Monastary and then everything else happened the same way — as in Kai was still sacrificed.

Yes, Wu would take you on a mission based on spirit smoke or actual dreams (see Hunted)

Cloud Kingdom sky base is so cool

Watching these episodes, even months later, after having seen the marketing clips so many times is funny. The clips were all great too — I love “Ninja Mission” 

Are flying ships commonplace in the 16 realms? Because how else would there be a bunch of destroyed ships 

I love the grappling scene for Arin’s character

Sora has the elemental power of LEGO sets

What is this random tentacle thing

Stop with the cute Arin Sora scenes they’re gonna be friends forever

“Are the Ninja your family now instead of us?” ouch

Sora how would that be Kai

“You will never be good enough” Lloyd you’ve saved the world countless times please seek therapy

What are the chances Jay has lost his memory and wouldn’t remember Nya, cmon not a very realistic fear

“What even are you” very good question Nya

I’m sure we’ll learn what Kai saw later, right?

“You should trust you, too” thank you Nya

Cliffhanger for the next episode

Force from the East:

This is a super cute scene, with a cool detail: Geo slightly misremembers things in favor of his and Cole’s relationship

Cole told Geo the cloud monks were nice? Only one was, while the Master Writer tried to get him and the other ninja eaten by whatever Nimbus is

Kai’s animation is very briefly messed up here

Dragon basketball is a key part of S2 and needed to be included

“I’ve always got you, Arin”

Hat-less, bald Egalt is so strange

Lloyd come on the ancient talking dragons are obviously the teachers

Lord Ras’ army meets its most dangerous foe yet: two orphan children

I know Geo can’t fuse living things, but couldn’t he fuse the clothes someone is wearing together and then to the ground?

COLE!

“Dragons can be Ninja?” the First Spinjitzu Master is crying in the grassland rn

Given that the Ninja have fought the embodiment of evil three times, I think they probably can imagine the evil of the Five

No fill us in on your mission now

Cole’s powers seem more… powerful, I guess

The name “Rising Dragon” is similar to if Sensei Yang called Airjitzu “Rising Human”

What are the consequences of using the gong too much?

“Oh [Ras is] evil. 100%. Even his breath smells evil.” Arin has very strong moral convictions

What is “last time”? Why did Egalt swear off training non-dragons?

The Forbidden Five exploit overconfidence, you say…

Even if the boundary spell was still in place, how would the fog prevent the Finders from using the portal gate?

“It doesn’t matter where they go. We will follow.” Ras then proceeded to do the opposite and wait for Bonzle to enter the Forest of Spirits

Another setup for the next episode

The Spell at the Waterfall:

I want a Frohicky plush

At least Fritz and Spitz like Mr. Frohicky’s cooking

Of all the things Bonzle could say… that was not something I would have predicted

I think Egalt would be more impressed with the Ninja if they mentioned they defeated the entire Oni invasion

How does Rontu know what Wyldfyre’s element is? Was it not an element created only after the Merge?

What does Wyldfyre’s element being Heat explain? Besides explaining how she and Kai seemingly have the same elements

Bonzle’s backstory is delivered beautifully

Rontu, I don’t think it’s possible to jump 3 times your height

“He’s just a dragon” Sora you’re talking to a dragon. “Dragons can’t do Spinjitzu” Sora seriously read the room

Love Egalt’s lesson and the surrounding scene. As the Ninja are going through the motions, Arin is consistently a half-second or so behind

The Wu and Bonzle scene is also really really good. I wonder where in the timeline it takes place — given that Wu and Garmadon are “no longer on the same side” but the Ninja are Wu’s family, it’s probably post-Pilots but before the end of S2 or between Hunted and March of the Oni. I don’t think the sideburns matter that much in determining time, since Wu could just shave them. (All this matters far less than the great conversation in the scene itself)

Nah Sora, that’s clearly a Mucoid

Okay yet another fun scene with great music

Lloyd and Egalt’s training styles are very different

Arin nooo :(

Bonzle of course they’d accept you for you are

“Strength is all that matters” hmm okay 

RAS WHAT who are you talking to AHHH

Sacrifices!?

Next up, the most recent episodes of Dragons Rising Season 2 to release (at the time they were supposed to) – the finale of Season 2 Part 1!

[sludgefriend]

Today, I woke up feeling better than I did yesterday. So that was good. I went into work, and made sure to say hello and good morning to everyone that I work with. This has become important to me, for some reason. We’re working on rice surveys, still. I’m looking forward to them being over, at this point. It’s very… dynamic work. By dynamic I mean not very organized or structured. I really never know quite what to expect, and usually, results are rarely quite what we want them to be. At the very least, I usually enjoy the activities surrounding the rice. It puts me in swamps and streams, sometimes in a kayak. There’s so much beauty in a wetland. Each inch of them is teeming with weird little lifeforms. My favorite kind. I’ve also really come to enjoy kayaking. I knew that I would; I’ve always loved being in water and on water vehicles. Even though I’m shit at swimming and predestined to drown. One of my coworkers taught me to stir my kayak sideways a while back. I struggled a lot with the movement at first. My connection with the motor skills of my accursed corporeal form still leave something to be desired. But I’m learning, you know? And learn, I did. I went from flailing around helplessly to being able to whip out a really great side-stir at a moment’s notice within about an hour.

Anyways. Our sites today were two hours of driving from the office. Pretty sick, honestly. Easy work and a decent helping of fucking around. Spent the drive laughing and joking with my coworkers. Our first site, an agricultural drainage ditch, was a dud. Apparently it had been bustling with rice in previous years. Although, we found a big clam shell with a nice little hole through the middle of it. It had a little magic in it, I thought, so I kept it. Reminded me of a witching stone.

The second site was this big wildlife reservation… thing. Mostly wetlands. Loaded with rice. We just went to confirm the presence of rice, though. Not actually survey. Something about the place felt like being in another country. Whereas the rest of Indiana is just Fucking Corn, this place was bustling with a variety of greenery and life. I got to see sandhill cranes, great egrets, and blue herons. Lovely! Big beautiful birds. This place was also LOADED with soras. A funny little water bird with a very animated little tail that I’d previously dubbed the Illusive Peeper due to a previous struggle that we’d had finding and identifying the little guys. Other sites had handfuls of these guys. We were practically surrounded by them in this one. They have such a delightful call. Such charming little fellows…

After work I sorted bugs with Sarah for our volunteer position. We do this every Tuesday after work. It would genuinely be such a boring task without her, especially because it always comes immediately after our usual 8 hour work day, but the time really just flies. I’m really thankful that she ended up working here.

On the way home from work, I spotted a bald eagle sitting in a field. Bewildering! What are you doing here! I didn’t know you were here! Helllooooooo. Anyways. I was really excited to see him. I pulled my car over and tried to take a picture, but I ended up spooking him off. Oh well. Some things in life are meant to be experienced, not kept, I suppose. I was glad to see him anyways.

I’m tired now. I’ve realized that I focus so much on all of the negative thoughts and concepts in my head and life. It’s easy because they’re so prominent and also just kinda fun to write and think about. But I do think that I am fucking poisoning myself. So, I’m making an extra effort to find all of the good things in my day and life.

[nesisamess]

thinking about akane/sora.

sigh that whole thing along with her (their? both of their?) dynamics with utsuro, and how that kind of bleeds over into yuki.

i was gonna put some shit in the tags but my brain just kept writing so ahem here we go (sorry as always for the nonsensical rambling if you can’t tell i just use tumblr as a place to word vomit about the things that are Taking Up My Brain)

The main reason I’m not a huge fan of Sora/Yuki is because how much of it is just Sora’s programming? But at the same time that just makes everything 1000x more interesting because where does Sora begin and the programming stop, yknow? Sora is so vastly different from Akane imo that it feels weird to call Sora nothing but an imitation of Akane, but… canonically, i mean, that’s all she really is

I’m definitely a big believer in your own interpretations of media (and especially with some of Kodaka’s choices that i don’t personally agree with) and in Sora’s case I kind of don’t believe she’s just this really simple ai. I definitely think that her relationship with Akane and the melding of them is v. v. interesting and could lead to a lot of emotional development but it becomes a lot less interesting to me when it’s just like “oh yeah sora isn’t even like. anywhere close to real she can never be real whatsoever” like is the questioning of her own reality not enough? cuz her emotions feel pretty fucking real and it feels ridiculous to say otherwise

In my own fanfiction & writing for a post sdra2 what-if-sora-survives a lot of her struggle is with figuring out how much of akane is still in her. like. that’s almost a seperate person, but wait, no it’s not. i have her memories. i have her face. i stare in the mirror and she looks back and am i her? am i the one who did all those horrible things? or was it someone else? and sora’s struggle with that could be so so interesting

and how yuki/utsuro plays into it too ughhhh

did sora ever really love yuki, or was it all just the programming? and is that programming her or is it akane? and who is she, if she’s not just akane? utsuro and akane are 100% an unhealthy ass relationship and that always will kinda poison any variation of sora/akane x yuki/utsuro ships for me.

but utsuro and akane at the same time are so fucking interestinggggg in their toxic mess like she fucking worships him. he is a god to her but to him? akanes just another follower. a particularly loyal one but at the end of the day he. does. not. care. about. her. whatsoeverrrrrr!!! he doesn’t care about anything, not even himself

and i think she kinda knows that, or is aware but she doesn’t even care because to her utsuro is a god and she’s thankful he even lets her worship him. because he saved her. and how fucked up must akane’s situation must have been? i mean, i can’t imagine. and now, post sdra2, sora has all these memories. she remembers all this shit, all the reasons why she worships and loves utsuro but also. she has other stuff. she has yuki, and yoruko, and all these new memories that she had made. but, but… but she would still pick him.

and doesn’t that prove it?

that after all this time that sora didn’t even get to experience, she is the same.

the same girl that did all these horrific things in the name of worship.

is she also, then, the person she was before those memories came back? the person who flirted with yoruko and created bonds and made sarcastic comments.

is she…

is she both? neither?

well, we’ll never get an answer.

because at the end, she did what she always did.

she sacrificed herself for him.