#B-747

[waywardsheepplane]

The B-747.

[greenbagjosh]

Day 1 - 9 November 2003 - Flight to Hong Kong from SFO terminal "A"

Sunday 9 November 2003

Konnichiwa, Ni Hao and Ola!

Today marks fifteen years since my visit to East Asia, particularly the Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions of China, plus a partial day at Tokyo Narita airport. Actually I would not stop at Narita until Thursday 13th November 2003. This would be the first time in my adult life, and so far it is the only time, that I would cross the international date line. You may have heard in the news about the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge that was opened recently. When I visited in November 2003, this was not even an idea (at least to most US citizens) that this could be built. Without crossing into the PRC, the only way to go between Hong Kong and Macau, was by boat.

I would like to break up my visit into four parts as there is so much to tell.

- 9th to 10th SFO to HKG nonstop, coach from Chek Lap Kok airport to hotel via Kowloon, 7 Eleven at Queen's Road West near Hill Road (Shek Tong Tsui district).

- 11th Breakfast at hotel, Hong Kong to Macau ferry, lunch on Coloane, St Paul cathedral, and ferry back to Hong Kong, with a journey on the MTR subway and tramway back to the hotel.

- 12th Breakfast at McDonald's, bus to Central, Repulse Bay, Stanley Market and Aberdeen, MTR to Sheung Kwan O, Tung Chung and Kowloon

- 13th Minibus to HKG airport, flight to Narita, afternoon and "beef bowl udon", flight to SFO, arrival the "same day"

Let's start with why I went to Hong Kong and Macau and back via Narita. Instead of my usual journey to Europe as I did in August of that year, I was suggested to give Hong Kong a try, and not worry that I speak very little Mandarin or Cantonese. United Airlines at the time, had a special package of roundtrip airfare to Hong Kong, three day's accommodations and offers of touristic interest for a good price. I had to renew my passport from 1994 as it would expire in any case.

Sunday 9th November was my flight, nonstop from San Francisco Terminal A to Hong Kong. It was in a Boeing 747 and in the economy class when economy class at least had decent legroom. Before the flight, I wanted to try some "congee" with shrimp. Congee is a savory rice porridge, about the same consistency as an average bowl of Quaker Oats. A little soy sauce can give it a nice flavor.

I think the flight departed around 1:10 PM Pacific. It would not arrive in Hong Kong until at least 8 PM the next day (Monday 10th November), so that makes the flight about 15 hours long, not quite as long as a flight from the US west coast to Auckland, New Zealand. On the plane, you cannot automatically perceive crossing the international date line. At the time, the 747 did not have individually controlled entertainment in economy class as a 777 would, it was all centralized, I have no idea about the situation in business or the still-existent first class. I remember watching four films in total, including "Whale Rider" from New Zealand, I remember distinctly that traditional Chinese subtitles were on-screen for that film. During the flight there was a snack and then supper. At some times, the flight attendants would serve Chinese tea, where you would not add sugar or anything else, just tea leaves and hot water.

It seemed like for the most part, the day went on "forever", until the plane approached Japanese airspace - and then the 9th turned into the 10th, kind of like it's 4:30 PM on the 9th, and then suddenly it's 4:31 PM on the 10th, that's what crossing the international date line westward sort of feels like. The sun was getting low, and the plane made a southwest turn, to just touch the eastern Chinese coastline for the next two hours. As the plane approached Hong Kong, the sun set and the sky was getting dimmer. The plane touched down about 7:30 PM. Everyone alighted the plane to be processed by Hong Kong SAR customs.

If you remember Autumn 2003, you might remember the SARS epidemic. SARS was defined as "severe acute respiratory syndrome". The epicenter was Hong Kong, and Macau also was taking precautions to minize the effects. At passport control, you had to make a declaration that you had to state your health condition, namely stating any health symptoms if any, in addition, there were body temperature sensors, to make sure that travellers did not have a fever. The Hong Kong entry passport stamp allowed US Citizens a visa-free stay of 90 days, I think Macau it was down to 30 days. After passport control, I had to go to the baggage claim and meet the tour bus that was booked in addition to my hotel stay. While the tour bus had not yet arrived, I went to the MTR sales booth to buy a subway pass. It was called the "Octopus Card", and allowed three days of unlimited subway travel, plus a HK $200 stored value for bus and trolley rides. It even could be recharged at the local 7 Eleven stores for cash. I withdrew about US $ 100.00 to start, and I think the rate was around US 1= 8.20 HK. The Macau Pataca, I would find out, would be at par with the Hong Kong dollar, and local banks would be reluctant to exchange Hong Kong dollars for Patacas. More on that in the following chapter.

The bus came around 8:30 PM and the bus dispatcher had to tally up who was staying in Kowloon and who was staying in Hong Kong Island. The bus drove along Route 8 which passed through Tsing Yi, Disneyland Hong Kong, Tsing Yi and ended up in Kowloon. The bus dropped a few people off somewhere along Nathan Road or some side street closeby. Then the bus went under Kowloon Bay in tunnel to Queen's Road West, though the bus made a stop after leaving the tunnel. I did not arrive at my hotel until at least 9:30 PM. I was staying at the Novotel in the Sai Wan district, which currently now is the Hotel Jen. There was a McDonald's and a 7 Eleven store close by. For maybe $ 6 US, I bought a couple of curry buns (pulled chicken or pork) and a can of Sprite and a bottle of Lucozade. And I topped up my Octopus Card for bus fare if needed later.

My room was on the 22nd floor, and I think the outdoor pool was on the 25th floor. My room did not have the best view but it was okay. I had a room looking at the ramp of Hill Road, leading to Connaught Road. The room had a remote control to control the radio, TV, alarm clock, and many things imaginable. The bathroom was pretty much similar to those I knew in the US, Canada and Europe. Electricity was the same as in the UK, namely the "G" type plug. I found the next day that Macau also uses the "G" plug. I did not watch TV but I had my Aiwa HS JS 479 and could listen to and record the local stations, most of them were in Cantonese, there was also the BBC World Service in English.

I think I went to bed about 11 PM after enjoying my curry bun and Sprite. The bed was firmer than most that I remembered, was not too bad. Somehow or other, I thought, if the hotel has a free shuttle to the Hong Kong-Macau ferry terminal, why not go? I did not plan to visit Macau but thought, as long as I am in that part of the world, there was no better time to go. Looking back 15 years on, I am glad I did.

So that was all for the 9th and the 10th November 2003. Next chapter, ferry ride to Macau, and views of its Portuguese past.

Thank you and good night!

謝謝，晚安！! (Xièxiè, wan'an!)

Obrigado e boa noite!

ありがとう、おやすみなさい! (Arigato, oyasuminasai!)

[anza-redstar]

I have been thinking about Miss USA Miss-Universe-national-costume-contest costumes all day, and listen: I think we should lean into aviation more. Maybe get together with Brazil and do an Inventors of Flight co-costume, our contestant dressed as a sexy Wright brother and theirs dressed as sexy Santo-Dumas?

Thank you for posting about the Miss Universe costumes, I love them very much and I think I might make designing a better USA costume a design assignment for my middle schoolers. I’m thinking I would like to see a Gee’s Bend quilt inspired one!

Also, I just realized I met you at the Baltimore oddities convention last year, gotta visit your store some time!

Oh cool! hello again, and I actually have some posts about past Miss USA costumes and potentially better future ones under my “miss universe national costume” tag.

[whatsk-poppinhomies]

When Their GF Is Followed Home

Pairing : ot8 (separately) x f!reader TW : reader getting followed ; reader panicking ; honestly it's fluffy ; major anxiety though ; might be anxiety inducing or triggering ; Word Count : Bangchan (745) ; Minho (847) ; Changbin (747) ; Hyunjin (1370) ; Jisung (1396) ; Felix (1114) ; Seungmin (1564) ; Jeongin (1645) -TOTAL : 9.4k AN : this is entirely self indulgent and I will write my requests, this is kind of a coping mechanism for me. Thank you for being patient with me and for everyone who commented on my post about what had happened and I really do appreciate and love all of you. I won't tag my perm. tag list in this one because it isn't really a request or anything, it's just for me, but I'm gonna post it here just in case anyone else needs it or wants to read it.

You should have been home 5 minutes ago, he knew exactly the amount of time it took for you to get from your job to the house, and even if traffic was bad, it would only tack on an extra 3 or 4 minutes. It’s been 20 minutes since you told him you got out of work, and now he was starting to worry. Did you have to stay late? It wasn’t unlikely, but you’d usually tell him these things so he wouldn’t wait up for you at night. 

His phone started vibrating, and when he saw your name as the caller ID, he let out a little sigh of relief… Until he answered and he heard the sound of the car running, which wasn’t what he was used to considering you were a strict advocate of not using your phone while driving at all. Then he heard your heavy breaths and your sniffling. You were crying. “Channie…” You whispered, the sound of his name shaky when it left your lips. “I’m being followed… I don’t know what to do…” 

The panic that he initially felt came back tenfold, he felt like he couldn’t breathe, and the worst part was that there was nothing he could do. It’s not like he’d tell you to stop the car so he could get to you, he didn’t know what the person following you was capable of or even what they planned on doing. “Call the cops… Okay? Call the cops and go back to your work. Stay in your car… Lock the doors and keep the windows up.” 

You gasped before he heard the loud sob, he was terrified just hearing about it, he couldn’t even begin to imagine how you felt right now. “O-Okay… Bye… I… I love you…” You stammered, and the way you said it only had him freaking out even more. It sounded like you were saying goodbye to him, not like you normally would, but like a final goodbye. 

He knew where you were going, and he couldn’t, he just couldn’t sit at home and wait. He needed to know right then that you were okay, so he grabbed his keys, not even bothering to change into his shoes, running straight out the door and climbing in his car, racing towards your work. His own hands were shaking as his fingers wrapped around the steering wheel, his entire body was trembling as his head filled with the worst thoughts of what could have happened to you. 

The ride to your work was actually quite short, just a couple blocks, but right now it felt like it took forever to get there, but once he was finally in the parking lot, he could see that you were parked right out front. He pulled his car around to park behind you, quickly climbing out to run over to yours. 

It was heartbreaking to see the way you jumped when he got up to the window, the way your body was still shaking and your one hand still wrapped around the wheel in a vice grip as if you were ready to speed off if that person did come back. Once you realized it was him though, you rolled your window down, and then he really saw you. 

Your eyes were bloodshot and you were practically hyperventilating. “I-It’s my b-boyfriend…” You said to whoever it was on the phone, and when he glanced at it, he could see that you were still on the phone with the police. “I’ll hang up now… Thank you…” You whispered before ending the call and then looking up at him with the glassiest eyes, the saddest eyes, and all he wanted to do was hold you, to tell you that everything would be okay. “An officer is… on the way… right now…” 

“I’ll stay here with you, I’m not leaving you.” He assured you, grabbing your hand through the window and leaning in to press a kiss to your cheek. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t help… I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you. I promise I won’t let anything like that happen ever again.” And now he was crying, you both were crying as you sat in the parking lot, but that promise that he made was one that he’d stick to and keep forever. You were the most precious thing in his life and he’d make sure that you never have to go through something like that ever again.

It was a late night in the practice room, another comeback and he wanted this one to be just as powerful as the last so he was practicing his dances as much as he could. He was taking a small break, resting against the mirrored walls of the room when his phone started vibrating on the floor beside him, the sight of your name and picture on his screen had all of his exhaustion washing away and a smile spreading across his face. 

“You know I love you… Right…?” Was the first thing you said as soon as he answered the phone, and the question alone had his heart sinking, but the way you said it, the way you sounded, he knew that something was wrong. “I’m headed back up to my work right now… I just wanted you to know that I love you so much… Give the cats kisses for me. I gotta go though… I’ll text you when I can…” 

The call ended before he was even able to say anything, but it was all so cryptic, it scared the hell out of him. Whatever was happening, he could tell that you were beyond scared, and for some reason you were saying your final goodbyes, and that had him pushing himself up off the floor and rushing out of the practice room and down the hall to the elevators. 

He was pissed at himself for staying at work so late, the building was on the complete opposite side of town, there was no way in hell he was going to make it to you. He didn’t know what the hell was going on, and all of the texts that he was sending didn’t seem to be going through because you weren’t answering any of them. He felt physically sick, like the entire room was spinning and his knees felt weak and he couldn’t breathe and he really just wanted to hear from you, to know that you were okay. 

“You shouldn’t be on your phone while you’re driving, you could cause an accident, Min.” He remembered the way you’d scold him from the passenger seat if he even reached for his phone while his car was in motion. That little memory only scared him more because he heard the sound of your engine running in the background of the call, you were on your phone while you were driving… Or maybe… Maybe you weren’t driving… Maybe it was someone else… His stomach sank deeper at the thought. There had been so many stories coming out recently about things that happened to unsuspecting people… You were so nice, so naive… He needed you to answer him, he needed you to text him back. 

20 minutes had passed since the initial phone call, he had sent you so many texts, and you finally answered him. “Heading home now… I’m sorry.” He was standing at the front door, waiting for your car to pull up, and when it did, there was an officer driving behind you. His heart was racing as he ran out of the house barefoot, not even caring as he ran out into the street to pull open your door, sighing heavily when he saw you sitting there. “What happened…?” He whispered, his hands landing on your shoulders as you climbed out of the car, and he couldn’t not notice how puffy and red your eyes were, but instead of answering, you fell against his chest, your arms wrapping tightly around him. 

The officer had to take some information, and once Minho had thanked him for escorting you home, he walked you into the house, pulling you down on the couch beside him. You told him what had happened, and he went through an array of emotions. Anger, sadness, panic, but most of all, he felt downright awful. 

“Why didn’t you tell me that’s what was happening?” He questioned as you laid against his chest, your fingers gripping tightly onto his shirt as your body continued to tremble. The fear that you had felt still hadn’t left, and he was sure it would be there for a while, and rightfully so. 

“Because I didn’t want you to get hurt trying to race to my job… I know how you are. I just wanted you to know that I love you…” You whispered back, your voice cracking as you started to cry once again. “I know that you love me, and I love you too, so much. I’m gonna drive you to and from work now… I can’t have anything happening to you… I’ve never been so scared in my life.” He murmured, his hand running soothingly up and down your back. Now that he knew you were safe, that fear and desperation that he had felt subsided but quickly turned to anger. He wanted nothing more than to hunt this guy down, to find out who it was and make him feel the same way you felt. You’re his everything, and he was going to do right by you no matter what it takes.

He was in the studio with Chan and Jisung, his phone muted so as to not ruin the recording process. Maybe he had just become complacent in the fact that nothing had ever happened before when you were on your way home, but he never felt the need to have his phone turned on when you were at work or while he was at the studio and you knew that. You’d text him at some point if you had the chance and vice versa, but you both knew that once the two of you were home you’d have so much to talk about it would keep you up for hours. 

“I’m gonna head out now, Y/N should be home by now.” Changbin said, getting up from his chair and stretching his arms above his head. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” He was always the first to come in and get things started so that he could be the first to leave, not wanting you to be at home alone for too long. 

On his venture to the elevator, he finally pulled out his phone, noticing that his lockscreen was filled with missed calls from you from over an hour ago, and then a text from you from 25 minutes ago. You would never call him that much when he was in the studio… Unless there was an emergency… But there were never any emergencies. You worked right down the street from the house, what could possibly happen in that short amount of time? Unless there was an emergency in your job and you were trying to call him. 

Before even checking the text, he called you back, opting to take the stairs just to get out of the building faster as he held his phone up to his ear, waiting to hear your voice. “Binnie… I’m sorry I called so much… I’m okay now.” You whispered into your phone, and there was nothing truly relieving about what you said. You being okay now meant that you hadn’t been okay before and he wasn’t there to help you or even answer your calls when you needed him to. 

“What happened?” He urged, pushing through the exit door on the side of the building and coming out into the parking lot, slightly breathless from the amount of stairs he had just sprinted down in a matter of minutes. “Did you get hurt? Are you home? Where are you right now?” He needed more answers, but all he could hear were your shaky breaths over the line. “Baby… Talk to me, please.” 

He was getting more panicked the longer you stayed silent, and he could hear you softly sniffling as if you were crying. “I’m home… Not hurt… An officer escorted me home. I’ll tell you about it when you get in… Okay? I don’t want to talk about it when I’m by myself…” 

When he finally made it home and came through the door you were waiting for him right beside it, your cheeks stained with tear streaks, and you crashed into him as your body shook with uncontrollable sobs. “Shh… It’s okay… I’m here now…” He cooed, rubbing his hand soothingly over your back, although he still wasn’t sure what had truly happened, it must have been awful for you to be like this. “Tell me what happened…” 

As he sat and listened to you, all he could imagine was how scared you must have been. You were still shaking and you were already home, it must have been downright terrifying to be going through it at that moment. He wanted to know everything about what you possibly could have seen, what was the make of the car, what did the driver look like… He wanted to know every single detail. “Don’t try to find him… It’s not worth it…” You said shakily, holding tightly onto his hand. “It’s over now…” 

But it wasn’t over… Because you hadn’t seen the plate numbers, and all you could go off of was a vehicle description, and whoever this guy was… He was still out there. He could do it to someone else, he could come back and do it to you again… Changbin didn’t want to take those chances. For now though, he agreed, because he wanted to take care of you and make sure you were alright and make sure you felt safe. One thing he was certain about though… He’d never put his phone on silent again.

“I’m in my car now, I’ll text you when I get in the house. I love you!” The text came in and Hyunjin read it quickly, smiling to himself as he sank deeper into the couch at the dorms. You hadn’t been together very long, at least not long enough to take that step to moving in together, but he liked to know exactly when you got off work and exactly when you made it home. The second text that he had gotten used to, that he had timed almost perfectly to come in at least 7 to 10 minutes after the first text meant that you were safe and he’d finally be able to call you on the phone and hear your voice. 

When it went past 15 minutes and that second text didn’t come in, his initial thought was that you had just forgotten. Maybe work was just really tiring today and you ended up laying on the couch and passing out… But that didn’t make sense either… You’ve had days like that before and you still texted him to let him know you made it home safe… You just weren’t able to call him because you had gone straight to bed right after. 

“Hey honey… Did you make it home? Text me as soon as you can… I’m getting worried.” He quickly typed out the message, dropping his phone onto his lap as he nervously watched his screen. There were some nights that you’d stop at the store or the gas station on your way home, but even then, you’d text him beforehand that you planned on going there before going home, and then you’d text him when you made it to whatever destination you were headed to. 

After 5 minutes of you still not responding he couldn’t take it anymore, dialing your number quickly and heading to the front door. You had never gone this long without answering him, and you certainly wouldn’t have ignored a phone call from him. He even had his own special ringtone in your phone so you’d know it was him. Something must have happened, and his mind immediately jumped to the worst. 

“What’s going on?” Chan asked as he turned the corner from the kitchen, watching Hyunjin pull on his shoes. “You’re heading out?” Hyunjin never left this late at night, he’d usually already be in his room talking on the phone with you, his giddy voice heard through the walls, giving Jisung and Changbin perfect ammunition to tease him with the next morning. 

“Y/N hasn’t texted me to let me know she made it home… She didn’t answer my text or my call…” Hyunjin said, frantically looking around the room as if he was missing something, but it was just his phone which was still in his hand. He felt like a chicken running around with his head cut off, but the panic seemed reasonable at this point. “Can you drive me to her place?” Hyunjin asked, his eyes silently pleading with his hyung to say yes. 

“I’m sure she’s fine. She’s probably just stuck in-” 

“No! She lives in a residential area… Her work is only a couple blocks away… She doesn’t have to go through traffic! Something happened!” Hyunjin shrieked, running his hands through his hair. “Look, if you’re not going to take me to her house, fine… I’ll catch a cab or something. But I need to be there. I need to make sure she’s alright.” 

So Chan relented, grabbing his keys off the hook and following Hyunjin out the door, trying his best to keep up with the younger guy who seemed to be racing against time as he ran down the hall to the stairs. 

In Hyunjins hurry to leave the dorms, he had forgotten to grab the key you had given him to get into your house, but he knew you weren’t home yet. The lights weren’t shining through the blinds in the window, there were no lights on at all. Your dog was still barking at the front door as he and Chan sat on your front porch. But what really gave away that you weren’t home was the fact that your car wasn’t parked out front. 

Every single set of headlights that came around the bend had Hyunjin standing up, checking to see if it were you only to dejectedly sit back down as the car sped past. You still hadn’t texted him back and his heart continued to sink deeper and deeper into the pit of his stomach the longer the silence lasted. 

Two sets of headlights came around, both of them lighting up the street, and this time Hyunjin didn’t even bother to stand up, his head dropping back down to stare at his phone screen as he expected them to drive right by like the other cars did… Until the car in front parked right in front of your house, and he realized that the car that had been driving behind was a cop car. 

He pushed himself up off the stairs, tripping over his feet as he ran down to meet you outside of your car, practically pulling you out of it once your seatbelt was unlatched. “Oh my baby… What happened?!” He cried, his eyes already welling up as he looked you over, checking for any sign of injury or harm, but all he could see was that you had been crying, you were still crying. “Baby…?” His voice lowered a little more as he looked at you with worry filled eyes, his bottom lip jutting out. 

“I am going to need some information. Your license and your phone number.” The cop said, and Hyunjins eyes widened. Did you get into an accident? Your car didn’t look damaged or dented, and you’d have surely called him if something like that did happen. He watched as you handed over your license to the officer, your hands trembling and your breaths shallow and uneven. “If something like that ever happens again, if you see that car or the driver, just call that number…” The officer handed you a tiny white card and gave you a sympathetic smile. “You’re okay, everything is gonna be okay.” 

He was more confused than ever now as he watched the officer climb back in his car, but he didn’t take the time to watch him drive away, quickly grabbing your bag and then leading you up to your house. “I’m sorry… Sorry for worrying you…” You croaked out as you kicked your shoes off and dropped down onto the couch, fresh tears spilling down your cheeks. 

“No… Don’t apologize…” Hyunjin squatted down in front of you, grabbing both of your hands and giving them a light squeeze. “The cop followed you home… What happened? Why?” He questioned, kissing the back of your hands before cupping your cheeks, brushing away your tears with his thumbs. 

“I was… followed home… I had to go all the way around… And they kept following me. They blinded me with their high beams and… I called the cops. I didn’t know what to do… I drove back up to work…” You explained, your breaths coming out more heavy, your words broken up by loud sobs as your head fell forward. “I was so scared, Hyunjin…” 

He didn’t say anything, instead he scurried up onto the couch, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you onto his lap, his hand moving up to the back of your head to bury your face in the crook of his neck. Hot tears fell against his skin as he rocked you, whispering I love you’s as he held you close against him. 

There wasn’t much he could do, it had already happened, it’s not like he would have been able to stop it. Now all he could do was try to fight that fear, to make you feel safe again. It wouldn’t be easy, but nothing worth fighting for was ever easy. “I’m moving in… I don’t want you to be alone. Text me when you get off work and I’ll get a ride down there just so I can ride with you back home. This’ll never happen again, I swear.”

The problem with being out of the country for tours was the fact that he couldn’t bring you with him. Not only was it protocol from his staff members and management themselves, but your work didn’t really allow you that much time off. Whenever he was away, the two of you depended on texts, calls, and video chats to talk to each other, and with him being so far away, he liked to know everything. He wanted minute by minute updates on how your day was going and whether you made it to and from work safely. The guys would always tease him and say he’s being a little redundant, but there’s nothing wrong with wanting to make sure the person you love is okay. 

Your work schedule was never consistent either, which sometimes made it hard for Jisung to relax. Sometimes you’d get off work at 8pm, and other times you wouldn’t even be leaving the building until 11pm. It just depended on how much you had to do, and that would leave him restless, waiting for your text to come in to let him know you were on your way home. 

Tonight seemed to be a late night, and even though he wasn’t back at the house waiting for you, he couldn’t help but anxiously look over at his phone every couple seconds to see if your text had come in. He was about to start a live stream, it was already 10:40pm where you were, and there hadn’t been a single text yet, so he decided to text you. 

“Hey pookie bear, I’m about to start the live. You can still text me to let me know when you get off and please let me know when you get home. I love you so so so much!! I can’t wait to be back home with you!” He quickly sent the text before setting his phone down to the side to start the stream, trying his best to shake the nerves so he could turn on the camera. 

15 minutes into the stream his phone started vibrating. It wasn’t a text, it was a phone call coming in, and one glance over had him reading your name. Maybe you hadn’t read his text, but you usually didn’t call him during a stream, and you rarely ever called him when you were on your way home, and he still hadn’t texted him… Something must be wrong. He looked to the staff member who seemed just as confused on what to do, but he decided to answer it anyway. He wasn’t going to just let it go to voicemail. 

“Sungie… Baby…” Your voice came through softly, slightly muffled by the sound of the car engine humming in the background. “I love you so much… You mean the world to me, and you’re so special, you’re so amazing at everything you do… And I’m just… I’m so lucky that you’re my boyfriend, and I really wish I could spend the rest of my life with you… I just wanted you to know that. I have to go now though… I’ll text you if I can… Love you…” 

Now, Jisung was rarely ever stunned into silence, but this call had him staring blankly at the staff behind the camera who hadn’t heard anything. The call ended so quickly, but you were clearly panicking, you were crying, and he had never felt so hopeless in his life. He was thousands of miles away, and now you weren’t answering any of his calls. “The fans are wondering where you went…” The staff member said, but how was he supposed to worry about the fans when you were clearly in trouble, or hurt, or both. 

“I don’t know if I can… I…” Jisung stammered, running his hands over his face, feeling his palms get dampened with the tears that had started to fall. “Y/N is in trouble and I really need to try to get a hold of her… I can’t get back on like this… I’m scared.” He explained, but the staff member rolled his eyes, coming over with a box of tissues and setting it down in front of Jisung before flicking back on the camera. 

He didn’t have a choice it felt, but once the camera was off and the stream was over, he’d be having a long talk with the managers about the staff member who clearly wasn’t concerned with anything but himself. For the time being, he pretended to read comments off his phone as he stared at the text screen, waiting for you to say something, anything, to let him know that you were okay. 

It felt like forever, but in actuality, it was only another 10 minutes before another one of your texts came in. “I’m home now… A cop followed me home to make sure I’d be okay. I don’t want to worry you, it’s over with now, but I know that you’ll still ask, but I was followed home… I’ll explain everything when I get the chance to, but right now I just want to take a shower and go to bed. I love you… I can’t wait to see you either.” 

The text wasn’t in any way helpful, it actually made him feel nauseous, knowing that he wasn’t there when you had clearly been through something so traumatic that it made you feel like you had to call him just to say goodbye. The stream was still going, but he couldn’t be bothered to focus on it anymore, his attention solely on his phone screen as he continued to read and reread the message. He couldn’t keep up the act though, and once he had fully processed what he read, he looked to the camera. “I have to go now, there’s an emergency. I’m sorry… Please be safe, STAY. I love all of you.” 

As soon as the camera was off and the live stream ended, the staff member was pissed, but Jisung was just as angry. He was angry at himself, angry at the guy who was now coming closer to grab the laptop who had selfishly forced him to continue to live stream. “This is ridiculous. I’m sure the managers are gonna be real happy, especially ending a stream like that. I can only imagine the rumors that’ll come up.” 

Jisung didn’t care about any of that though, all he cared about was you. He pushed himself up out of the chair and headed to his hotel room door, pulling it open and motioning for the staff member to leave. “There is an emergency, and my girlfriend being terrified after being followed home when she was leaving work isn’t ridiculous. She’s terrified and I’m not there to physically comfort her and the last thing I want to do is a fucking live stream pretending that everything is all sunshine and rainbows. So get out, I have to call her.” 

Since you were okay, Jisung couldn’t exactly use your fear as a reason to leave the tour early, much to his disappointment. He wanted you to come out to be with him though, even if only for a couple days to help get your mind off of what had happened, but of course, you were still needed at work and your job really didn’t care that you had gone through something like that… Which again, made Jisung hate your job more than he already did. 

The distance seemed to feel so much further after what happened though, and there was nothing that would make him fully relax until he got home. For now though, you both agreed to stay on the phone with one another whenever you were driving, even if he was on a stream or in the middle of a concert, he’d stop everything he was doing to make sure you made it work and back home safe without something like this happening for a second time, and that agreement carried on even when he got home from tour… And now when you got home and he was there, he’d be waiting for you at the front door with open arms. That fear wouldn’t just stick with you, but it stuck with him too… The fear of losing you, of not knowing what to do… He never wanted either of you to feel that way again.

Your schedule was erratic to say the least, there was never a set time to you getting off, and Felix, being the sunshine that he is, trusted that you’d get home safe without any problems every single night that you did work. That’s why he didn’t expect you to call him or text him, he just believed that everything would be fine, and when you did get home, you’d let him know all about your day as he sat beside you on the couch. 

Tonight was no different, other than the fact that he was staying at the dorms because he had to head out early for a music video shoot the very next morning. You knew about this, and while you both hated being away from each other, you understood that his work was demanding, and sometimes it demanded that he be away from you for long periods of time. Instead of talking about your days in person tonight, you both had agreed on video calling each other, which was something that he was excitedly awaiting. 

When his phone started to buzz, he jumped off the couch and ran to his bedroom, shutting the door and locking it before answering and flopping down on his bed, a smile spread across his face as he waited to hear your usually cheerful greeting. “Felix…” You gasped out his name, and the happiness that he had expected to hear wasn’t there at all. He immediately went into panic mode, sitting upright on his bed and holding his phone closer to his ear. “I…I’m being followed, I don’t know what to do… I already drove past the house and… They’re still following me. They almost drove right into me… Felix I’m scared… What do I do?” 

You were audibly crying which had his own tears on the brink of falling over the edge, his fingers gripping the sheets tightly as his leg bounced over the side of the bed. “Hang up, angel… Call the police. You have to call the cops, right now… Okay?” He urged, or, moreso, demanded you to do. He hated the fact that he told you to hang up, but he knew that there was nothing he could do from where he was at right now. 

“Y-Yeah… Okay… I love you.” Was how the call ended, not even having the opportunity to say it back. He couldn’t sit still, adrenaline was coursing through his veins, and he wanted to go to you, he wanted to go to your apartment and wait for you there just to know that you made it home safe. The worst part was that he didn’t even know where you were going right now, he should have asked, but he didn’t want to waste anymore time which was essential to you and your safety at that moment. 

He couldn’t even stand to be cramped in his room that felt a little bit too small right now, walking out into the main room where the guys were sitting, and as if his emotions were like a cloud that had hit all of them at once, their heads lifted to look at him, questioning the tension that was radiating off of him in waves. “Y/N is being followed… Fuck! I don’t even know where she’s at right now… And she’s on the phone with the cops… I can’t call her…” He ranted, his hands running anxiously through his hair. 

“Do you want to drive out there to her apartment to make sure she makes it home? I can drive you there.” Minho offered, and Felix looked around the room once before nodding his head in agreement, shuffling over to the door and pulling on the first pair of shoes he could find. “I’m sure she’ll be okay. She’s a smart girl, she probably went back to her work.” His hyung tried his best to instill comforting thoughts, but Felix couldn’t stop thinking the worst. 

“Why would anyone follow her? Why would someone try to scare her like that? They could have caused her to get in an accident! What if they were trying to hurt her?!” Felix continued to ramble, and there was truly nothing that anyone could say to get him to think otherwise, not until he saw you again and made sure that you were truly okay. 

Just as Minho pulled up outside the apartment building, you were pulling into your parking spot, followed by an officer who parked a little further away. You seemed to be in a daze when you climbed out of the car, not even noticing that Felix and Minho were right there. Your keys jingled at your side from how much you were shaking, and he hated seeing you this way. He hated to know that someone, some stranger, had caused you to get like this. 

“Angel…” Felix blurted out, causing you to jump and drop your keys, which he rushed over to pick up off the ground before you could even begin to bend over to grab them. “You’re alright?” He questioned, holding you at arms length to check you over, and once he saw that you were okay, other than the crying, he pulled you against his chest. “You’re alright. You’re safe now…” He cooed, not even wanting to let you go for a minute to get out of the street and walk you into the apartment. 

“It was awful… I’ve never been more scared… My hands were shaking… I never use my phone while I’m driving… I couldn’t even focus… I thought I’d crash…” You choked out, your face still buried in his shirt as he continued to pet his hand over your hair. “He… He flashed his headlights at me… And I wasn’t going to stop… I just kept going… And I was scared my gas would run out and…” 

Felix shushed you, not wanting you to continue reliving those moments, at least not right now. You were safe with him, you were okay, although the mention of the headlights had him remembering a news report he had seen a while back about what that sometimes meant and it made him sick to his stomach. “You’re such a smart girl, angel… You did great. I’m gonna stay with you tonight, and all day tomorrow. I’ll head to the set the next day. I’m gonna get you one of those dash cameras… I gotta make sure my angel is safe, always.” He pressed a kiss to your forehead, giving you a soft sympathetic smile. “Let’s get inside, get you something to drink, and then we can lay down and cuddle for the rest of the night… How does that sound?”

“What time do you think you’re getting off tonight?” Seungmin asked from the back room, the stylist working around his phone that he had held up to his ear. Hearing your voice always helped calm his nerves before he did an interview, although he’d never tell anyone else that. 

“Not sure… It’s a late night tonight. I’ve got a bunch of stuff to do when I finish actually working.” You answered dejectedly. Seungmin hated how much your job seemed to overwork you, and it wasn’t just that, but they didn’t even show any sort of appreciation for the things that you did. There was no raise in your near future, although Seungmin would always be the first one demanding that you get one whenever you brought it up. No one even thanked you, it’s like they simply expected it of you, which pissed him off. 

“You know that I’d take care of you. You don’t have to stay there.” He reminded you, and he heard your tired chuckle, one that usually meant that you wanted to take him up on the offer, but you couldn’t take him up on the offer either, and that’s why he never pushed the issue any further. “I’m doing an interview, but you know the number for the staff if there’s an emergency, right?” You hummed in agreement, and he sighed quietly. “Text me as soon as you get off work and as soon as you get through the front door. Okay?” 

“Alright. I love you.” You whispered, and you couldn’t see it, but his cheeks raised and turned a light shade of pink, his heart fluttering at those three words. You were the only person that could ever make him get like this. “I gotta get back to work. I can’t wait to hear about the interview tonight.” 

“Mm… I’ll tell you all about it. Don’t overwork yourself… And don’t play your music too loud in the car, you won’t be able to hear anything.” He preemptively scolded you, and he knew that you were rolling your eyes, but you always played your music a little bit too loud… Something that worried him when he knew you were driving home alone at night. He wished that he could be there waiting for you when you got home, but he’d be there soon enough, and that’s what was going to get him through the interview. 

About 30 minutes into the interview, Seungmin saw one of the staff members bring their phone up to their ear, their mouths immediately falling as they listened to whatever it was that was going on. Seungmin was observant, but he wouldn’t have thought anything of it if the member didn’t make direct eye contact with him before walking further away from the interview set. 

None of the other guys seemed to notice, and neither did the interviewer, they were all still talking and goofing off, making it harder for Seungmin to even try to hear what was being said. “I’m not feeling too well, can I have a minute?” He said, still staring at the staff member who seemed to be on the phone still. The guys all turned to look at him, but he didn’t have time to answer their questions, not when he had his own that he needed answers to. 

By the time he got up and made his way over to the staff member, the call seemed to be over, but the girl who had answered the call seemed to still be a little shaken up. Whatever it was, it must be bad. Once she noticed he was standing there, her head was already shaking, her mouth opening and closing as if she didn’t know what to say, which only annoyed Seungmin. If it was serious, he wanted to know right now. “She called… Y/N called… She was crying and panicking and… She said she was being followed and… She said she’s on her way back to her work now and she’s calling the police… I told her to call them…” 

Seungmins mind was immediately going through different scenarios, a multitude of different reasons for something like this to be happening. He was trying to be as rational as possible, which was quite hard to do when the worry was setting in and he felt absolutely helpless as your boyfriend. “Good… Good… That’s good…” He rambled, his eyes squeezing shut as he tried to think of what to do. “Let them know that I need to go… I need to get up to her work right now…” 

There was only a short list of people that would follow you and have you panicking so badly. It was either a crazed fan that wanted to get to Seungmin or wanted to hurt you for being with him, or some absolute psychotic stranger. Crazily enough, it would be better if it were a fan honestly, at least Seungmin would know the motive and knew that most of them were hopefully not dumb enough to do something crazy in a public space such as your work. If it were a stranger… He didn’t know what they were capable of, and that scared the hell out of him. 

It felt like he was racing against time, and in that race, the staff member that was driving seemed to catch every single red light. It was aggravating, it was infuriating, and what was worse was the fact that you still hadn’t answered any of his texts which he had been sending out every five seconds, and the only reason it was taking that long was because he needed to type them out. 

By the time he got to your work, the cop was just pulling up. You had been sitting out in your car in front of the store for that long just waiting for an officer, and that too bothered him to no end. What if something bad had happened? Why didn’t the officer come quicker? He didn’t even wait for the car to come to a complete stop before jumping out and running over to your passenger door and knocking on the window. 

“Excuse me!” The officer shouted, rushing over to Seungmin, but you quickly rolled down the window, exclaiming that he was your boyfriend and unlocking the door so he could climb in. Of course, the officer needed to take down some information which seemed to take even longer when all Seungmin wanted to do was get back to the house with you and comfort you. 

“I didn’t want to ruin the interview…” You murmured as you put the car in drive, slowly taking off and heading back down the street. “I didn’t think they’d tell you… I’m sorry for making you leave.” If you weren’t driving, Seungmin would have kissed you to get you to stop thinking that way. An interview definitely wasn’t more important than your safety. “Are the guys mad?” 

Seungmin sighed, his head leaning back against the headrest but turned in your direction so he could look at you. Your knuckles had turned pale from how tight you were gripping the steering wheel, and your body was still shaking. You shouldn’t be driving like this. “This would be quite a stupid thing to get mad about, wouldn’t it? If you need me, I’m always going to run to you, before anything else. You’re my priority first and foremost.” He explained, and you nodded your head slowly, shakily sniffling as your bottom lip began to tremble. “I love you… That’s why I ran to you. She didn’t even have to tell me what was going on… As soon as she looked at me and I saw that look on her face, I asked her what happened. I’m so sorry you had to go through that by yourself… But never again…” 

You shook your head, your face scrunching up as you gasped sharply. “I still have to drive at night to get home from work. I… I don’t know if I can… Just the thought of it…” Your head dropped as you came to a stop sign, your hands quickly wiping the tears from your cheeks, and he wished he could have done it for you. “I’ve never… I don’t ever… God… Seungmin I’m so scared… What if they do it again?” If it were to happen again, if the same person were to come after you… Seungmin wouldn’t hold back. They were messing with the most precious thing in his life, and the fact that they had gotten away with it now, they should count themselves lucky. But Seungmin wouldn’t allow it to happen again, he wouldn’t allow you to be put in a situation where it could happen again. “I know you, for some reason, feel like you need to stay at your job. I’m not going to take that away from you… But I don’t want you driving at night by yourself again… Ever again. I’ll have one of the staff members come pick you up. Or I’ll have them drop me off so that I can ride with you. Either way… If you truly want to keep working there on that shift… You’re not driving alone at night anymore. I love you, and I don’t think I’d be able to live if anything ever happened to you. I’m going to make sure you’re safe. Always.”

He was performing tonight on Music Bank, and you had told him that you’d try to make it home in time to catch his performance. Of course, he told you it would be okay if you didn’t, and that he didn’t want you rushing to get done and potentially getting hurt trying to get home too fast. He already had your TV set up to record their episode just in case you weren’t home in time to see it. 

Your break managed to come at just the time that he was getting done up by his stylist, sending you silly little selfies to try to make you feel better after you had told him about how awful and busy your day had been. “I’m hoping I’ll be done soon, and then I can get home and change into my pajamas before the show starts.” 

Even though it made him beyond happy to know that you so eagerly wanted to see him perform, he wanted you to be safe, and he appreciated you regardless of whether you caught the show or not, just the fact that you wanted to rush so you could catch it was enough for him. “You have time… So please, take it. You won’t miss anything anyway, you’ve already seen us perform it multiple times in the practice room.” 

He could sense your eye roll just from staring at his phone screen, the way his message was left on read a couple seconds before the three dots appeared to show you were typing back. “Yeaaaah…. But I still want to watch it. I’m ending my break early just so I can get done faster. I love youuuuu. Hugs and kisses mwah mwah!!” 

How could you be so cute even over text? God, he loved you, and now it only made him worry more about how fast you’d be driving to try to get back home. He quickly typed out his last response. “Please drive the speed limit. I love you most. Seriously… Be safe.” 

15 minutes before the show was about to start, he got another text, and he quickly grabbed his phone from off the vanity table, his heart swelling when he read your message. “I’m fast as fuck baybeeee!!! I’m gonna make it home in time to see your performance. I might not catch the interview before hand though :(“ 

He chuckled to himself, hiding his phone from the guys as he texted you back. “That’s alright, but now that I know you’ll be watching, I’ll do so much better. Get home safe baybeeee! I love you a bunch!” He never thought he’d be this sappy, but with you, it didn’t even make him cringe. He just loved you so damn much, it was like you alone were making his earth spin. 

It didn’t take you that long to get home, he knew the drive from your work to your house by heart, and he was sure that you’d be able to make it home just by the end of the interview. His mind was soaring, thinking of ways that he could do facial expressions or certain moves just for you, things that only you would recognize that you’d know were for you only. It was one of his favorite things to do, giving you something to look for while he was dancing, and then coming home to hear from you if you actually caught it. 

As he stepped out on stage, he found his camera and smiled at it, giving a small wave to the lens before getting into place. This performance would be for you, entirely for you. He couldn’t wait for you to see it. 

He was sweaty, breathless, but excited as he rushed back off to the dressing room, grabbing his phone off the vanity and getting even more giddy when he saw the missed phone call and voicemail from you. It was probably you telling him just how amazing he was and that you had caught the little hand sign and wink that he had done for you. 

Dropping down into his seat, he played the voicemail, full volume because honestly, he didn’t care if the guys heard. You’d probably be complimenting all of them as well in the message. “Jeongin!” Your voice sounded through his speakers, and he wasn’t used to you saying his name like that, especially with that tone, and he immediately perked up in his seat. The sound of your voice had already gotten the attention of the other guys in the room and they had all begun to crowd around Jeongins chair as they listened with him. “Fuck… Fuck fuck… What do you want?!” You whimpered, the sound of your obvious crying and clear panic had Jeongin on edge, his eyes widening as he looked up at Chan. “I love you… And I’m really sorry I didn’t get to catch your performance but I know you and the guys did amazing. Uhm… Shit… Okay… I’m being followed and… And I have to go but… I just wanted you to know that I love you, okay? Don’t forget that.” The kissy sound at the end of the call wasn’t how Jeongin remembered it sounding, but he couldn’t even focus entirely on that. 

You were being followed, and instead of calling the cops first, you called him. Why would you call him? How bad was it? The call came in almost 10 minutes ago. “Call her… See if she answers.” Chan urged, but Jeongin couldn’t seem to get his fingers to move, he couldn’t even seem to breathe evenly as his mind went into a frenzy. “Someone call her! Minho, Changbin, you get him to Y/N’s apartment, someone go find one of the security and go see if they can find out where she is.” 

Minho was on the phone in seconds, dialing your number as he and Changbin ushered a seemingly shellshocked Jeongin out of the room. He was shaking, his phone still tightly gripped in his hand as he robotically followed behind the guys. “Everything is gonna be okay. I’m like… 99% sure she’s okay.” Changbin said, patting Jeongins back as he climbed into the back seat of Changbins car. 

“What about the other 1%?” Jeongin whispered anxiously from the back as Changbin climbed into the car. The two older guys both turned to look at Jeongin, confused about the question, but his hand slapped against the seat beside him. “What about the 1%?! You said you were 99% sure that she’s okay… So what about the other 1%?!” 

Changbin took a deep breath, looking to Minho who only shook his head as he continued trying to call your phone that was going to voicemail as well. “Don’t think about the other 1%. She’s fine. Okay?” 

Jeongin was completely zoned out the entire ride to your house, unable to think of anything except your voicemail. He had never heard you sound so scared and that fear was contagious, he was terrified for you, with you. He didn’t even realize how long Changbin had been driving until the car came to a stop, and he finally looked out the window to see that it was parked right outside of your house. 

The light from the TV was flickering through the blinds, and without a word or a look back, he climbed out of the car and ran to your door, his fist coming down harshly against it. He immediately regretted it though, wondering if the sudden loud knocking would frighten you more, but the door swung open and he saw you, illuminated by the light of the room behind you, already dressed in your pajamas, but your eyes were still puffy and your nose was still sniffling. You had been crying still. 

“Innie…” You croaked out his name, and he quickly pulled you into his arms, inhaling the scent of you, simply wanting to hold you after being worried for so long that he had lost you. “I’m sorry I missed it… I was watching it though… Just now…” 

He sighed softly, shaking his head as he tilted your back with his finger, pressing a quick kiss to your lips. “I’m not worried about that. God… I’m just… I’m happy that you’re okay. I don’t know what I’d do if something had happened to you…” But he cut himself off, biting his bottom lip to keep from pessimistically rambling about all of the awful things that could have happened. “You’re okay though? Not hurt?” 

You shook your head in response, giving him a small smile. “Just a little shaken up… You’re here now though… I feel a lot better.” You were acting so strong, and he knew that you were only doing it because you could see how scared he had been. “I shouldn’t have called you and worried you like that… It was a… Just in case call… So that you’d know that-” 

He kissed you again, stopping you from continuing that thought. “I’m glad you called me…” He kissed you again, his hands cupping your cheeks now as he brushed his thumbs along your dampened cheeks. “But I want you to call the police first if anything like that happens again… I really want you to move to the morning shift so that nothing like that happens again…” You nodded your head slowly as your sniffles subsided until they weren’t heard anymore. “And I’m gonna get my permit… I’m gonna learn how to drive, I’ll have the guys teach me… I don’t want you driving by yourself anymore. I’ll be your personal chauffeur. Until then… I’ll just ride with you and wait up at your work until you get off.” You scoffed, but he wasn’t joking, and you quickly realized that. “You don’t know how worried I was… I wouldn’t be able to live anymore if you were gone.”

[bennyboyfics]

tennis player reader who has a don’t give a shit version of herself and during a match her opponent is reallyyy pissing her off and so she acts like a petty b and Ben who’s watching in her playing box tries not to laugh because he’s amused 🤣

The petty game plan || Ben Shelton x tennis player!reader

A/n: Ty for the request!!

Wc: 747

Warnings: none really apart from r being a petty b?

MASTERLIST

-

Ben knew you could be intense on the court. He’d seen you frustrated, seen you get locked in, seen you lose yourself in the competitiveness of the game. But it had been a while since he’d seen this side of you. The absolute menace. The petty, psycho, I-don’t-give-a-shit version of you that only ever came out when an opponent pissed you off just enough to warrant it.

And from the looks of it, the girl on the other side of the net had done just that. Ben sat in your box, hood up, hand over his mouth as he tried to hide his amusement. He wasn’t supposed to be laughing—really, he wasn’t. This was a serious match, an important one. But you were putting on a show, and he was eating it up.

It had started a few games ago. The match had been tense, both of you playing high-level tennis, but then your opponent Emma, or whatever her name was, Ben didn’t care— started pulling some shit. A little too much talking in between points. An extra long time toweling off after every single rally.

Some loud “C’mon!” screams right in your direction after your errors, not even after her winners. And then, the final straw: a smirk. Ben had caught it—right after she’d hit a lucky net cord winner to break your serve. She’d smiled. Not just any smile. A smug, taunting little smirk that she’d barely bothered to hide. And Ben had felt the shift in you. Now, you weren’t just playing tennis. You were out for blood.

You started small. The very next game, you miraculously needed a new racket. And then another towel. And then you took an extra second adjusting your strings before each return. Emma noticed. Ben could see the way she started fidgeting, her focus slipping just a little. Then came the line calls. A ball from Emma landed close—too close to call with the naked eye.

The umpire ruled it in. You? You squinted. Tilted your head. Took a long pause before challenging it. The crowd murmured, waiting. The screen showed the ball clipping the line, and you nodded as if you graciously accepted the call, even though you were shaking your head and muttering to yourself as you walked back.

Ben knew you didn’t actually think it was out. You just wanted to kill the rhythm. The next close call? You did it again. At this point, Ben had to physically pull his hoodie over his mouth because he was laughing. Your opponent was getting pissed. She was rolling her eyes, muttering to herself, bouncing on her feet as if trying to shake you off. But you weren’t done.

No, now you were really getting in her head. You started mimicking her. She took a long time toweling off? So did you—except you took longer. She exaggerated a fist pump in your direction? You hit a winner the next point and fist-pumped so hard Ben thought you were going to dislocate your shoulder. She let out a loud “C’mon” after your error?

You screamed “LET’S GO” after breaking her serve, staring straight at her. Ben swore he saw her physically recoil. By the final games, she was completely unraveling. Double faults. Rushed points. Sloppy errors. You were in her head, living there rent-free. And when you finally won? You shook her hand at the net, all polite smiles and nods, as if you hadn’t just systematically destroyed her mental game.

Ben met you off-court, still grinning. “You love being a menace, don’t you?” You smirked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Ben shook his head, wrapping an arm around you as you walked. “Nah, I forgot how much of a psycho petty bitch you can be out there.” “Only when they deserve it,” you corrected. Ben laughed, pressing a kiss to your temple. “Remind me never to piss you off on court.”

[h50europe]

Some funny know it all doesn't believe dear Tommy could be part of saving Athena. I did a little write up.

Pilot's daughter heads up. How do pilots train flying an airliner? Imagine, Boeing has so-called flight simulators of different plane types and models. Let's say Athena's plane is a 747, there is a flight simulator with the exact same cockpit. If B*die edits weren't the only thing you watch, you'd know videos/movies, where pilots sit in these simulators and talk civilians with no clue through the process of flying a plane. They go through it step by step while simulating the situation on the ground. You can simulate anything, weather, daytime, nighttime, instrument failures, even a plane crash. Meanwhile you have flight simulators for Xbox or PlayStation. But I go with the real ones. The basic instruments are the same in every plane. Like altitude, speed, horizon. Plus there is also the autopilot you can use, if working. Landing nowadays is mostly fully automated. So yes, Tommy sitting in one of these, supervising Athena is a thing. And that is only one scenario out of many for 8.02+03. You can also fly parallel to the airliner and talk her through, or sit in the tower with a manual of the airliner... Anything is possible in 9-1-1. And no, I don't do videos. I prefer old-school writing.

[boeingboingboing]

Oh yeahh, also the 747's name has been decided! It's Atlas. Thanks to @sashathedoge for recommending it!

Here they finally are! The airliner trio. Some sketches I made recently, and did not want to postpone their introduction because drawing them takes time unlike sketching.

First up, here's the Boeing 787-8, Julian, with his wife who is Boeing 747-8 heh. He works for American airlines where as the 747 works for UPS.

-> I uh need some help in naming the 747 so I am open to suggestions.

Second is Charlie! He works for Delta airlines and is an Airbus 350-900.

Last one is a 777-300ER who works for United. His name is Austin :)

P.S: sorry for shitty camera quality as always lmao.

[cityof2morrow]

CDK: Company Cafeteria

Published: 9-25-2024 | Updated: N/A SUMMARY Cubic Dynamics by John B. Cube and Marcel Dusims forged the future with furnishings that were minimalist in design and maximalist in erudite pretension. Generations later, the company continues to produce edge-of-cutting-edge designs. Use the Cubic Dynamics Kitbash (Simmons, 2023-2024) collection to set up corporate, exposition, and office environments. Envisioned as an add-on to the Cubic Dynamics set (EA/Maxis, archived at GOS), it features minimalist and retro-futuristic objects. Find more CC on this site under the #co2cdkseries tag. Read the Backstory and ‘Dev Notes’ HERE. The COMPANY CAFETERIA set includes edited versions of the Focus Kitchen (Tolli/Simgedoehns) which are now linked to the recolors/textures in the #co2cdkseries. Use it to set up a cafeteria, breakroom or food court in your businesses.

DETAILS All EPs/SPs. §See Catalog for Pricing | See Buy/Build Mode You need the Company Expo (Mesh Pack) set (Simmons, 2024) for TXTRs to show properly in game. ALL files with “MESH” in their name are REQUIRED. You may need “move objects” and “grid on/off” cheats to place some objects to your liking. When placing partitions/floating shelves and tables/desks/counters on the same tile, place the partition/shelves first. I recommend using this set with Object Freedom 1.02 (Fway, 2023), which includes Numenor’s fix for OFB shelves (2006), for easier use overall. ITEMS Counter 001 (747 poly) Counter 002 (963 poly) Cupboard 001 (90 poly) - bookcase Dining Chair (1703 poly, HIGH) Dishwasher (1014 poly) Fridge (315 poly) Microwave (280 poly) Microwave Cupboard (450 poly) Oven Hood (516 poly) Sink (1036 poly) Stove (1520 poly, HIGH) Table Element (14 poly) Table Legs (Right/left) (24 poly) Trash Compactor (1872 poly, HIGH) Wall Cabinet 001 (Deco) (132 poly) Wall Cabinet 002 (110 poly) Wall Shelf (Functional) (126 poly) DOWNLOAD (choose one) CAFETERIA MESHES from SFS | from MEGA CAFETERIA RECOLORS from SFS | from MEGA COMPATIBILITY AVOID DUPLICATES: The #co2cdkseries includes edited versions – replacements - for items in the following CC sets: 4ESF (office 3, other 1/artroom, other 2/build), All4Sims/MaleorderBride (miskatonic library, office, postmodern office), CycloneSue (never ending/privacy windows), derMarcel (inx office), Katy76/PC-Sims (bank/cash point, court/law school sets, sim cola machine), Marilu (immobilien office), Murano (ador office), Reflex Sims (giacondo office), Retail Sims/HChangeri (simEx, sps store), Simgedoehns/Tolli (focus kitchen, loft office, modus office), ShinySims (modern windows), Shoukeir via Sims2Play(reverie office, step boxes/shelving), Spaik (sintesi study), Stylist Sims (offices 1,2, & 3, Toronto set), Tiggy027 (wall window frames 1-10), Wall Sims (holly architecture, Ibiza). *The goal is link the objects to the recolors/new functions in the #co2cdkseries without re-inventing the wheel! Credit to the original creators.

CREDITS Thanks: EarlyPleasantview/EPV, Panda, Soloriya, ChocolateCitySim, HugeLunatic, Klaartje, Ocelotekatl, Whoward69, LoganSimmingWolf, Gayars, Ch4rmsing, Ranabluu, Gummilutt, Crisps&Kerosene, LordCrumps, PineappleForest. Sources: Any Color You Like (CuriousB, 2010), Beyno (Korn via BBFonts), EA/Maxis, Offuturistic Infographic (Freepik). SEE CREDITS (ALT)

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 02x06 - A Perilous Picnic / Family Picnic

Previously on Digimon Adventure: Iori's grandpa accidentally offered to make out with him and it was so awkward that Iori fled to the Digital World. There, Jou gave him a pep talk about self-determination, and Iori gave him his name in return. Then they had boiled crayfish for dinner.

We've almost gone on a life-changing vacation with every single member of the original Chosen Children. There's just one left. And we've saved the best for last.

Right from the start, a plane touches down at a Tokyo airport, and a crowd of people disembarks. GUESS WHO'S BACK, BITCHES!!!

Mimi: It's been so long since I've been in Japan....

She takes out her Digivice, fixing the time over from Eastern Standard Time to Tokyo. Not sure why her departure from the U.S. is labeled with its time zone but her destination time isn't Japan Standard Time.

Then again, J.S.T. is sometimes called Tokyo Standard Time so that might be the case here. I'm not 100% on the cultural particulars for what people preferred to call the time zone in 2002.

In any case, her time changes from 6:54 PM to 8:54 AM, which means she is going to have insane jet-lag.

Mimi: It's still morning. Alright!

Mimi tries weakly to give herself a shot of energy, takes three steps, and then lets out a huge, unstoppable yawn.

Mimi: So sleepy....

...Mimi must have a super early bedtime, because 7 PM isn't that late.

(They had to nerf Mimi or else she would be unstoppable. Dragging the Digimon Kaiser out of his control room by his ear and ripping into him in two parallel dimensions about his cruel mistreatment of the Digimon and also his hideous edgelord fashion. Who wears a wig to make their hair look unkempt!?)

In the dub, while the plane is setting down, they add in a flight attendant's voice over the P.A. system.

Attendant: Attention, passengers. East Means West Airlines welcomes you to Tokyo. Again, we apologize for the pilot stepping out for popcorn during the in-flight movie. (Everyone disembarks into the airport) Intercom: Would the owner of the gray 747 parked outside the window please report to the cockpit? Your lights are on.

Haha. HahahahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

That was good. Brilliant gag to open the episode on. Not just the direct jokes about the plane's bumbling pilot, though those are good. But also "East Means West" as the name of an airline that flies West from the U.S. to reach the "Far East" Asia. I love it.

Mimi: It's so bright out and I'm wide awake. What time is it? ...8:54 in the morning!? I'm still on New York time! (Mimi fishes out her Digivice) Mimi: I'd better change my watch. (Mimi changes the time) Mimi: There. Now I'm caught up. (Mimi tries to leave and gets caught up in a huge yawn) Mimi: I'm exhausted....

Mimi calls it a watch but it's clearly her Digivice. Though it's possible that she's gotten into the habit of referring to it that way during her time in New York, since it has limited utility outside the Digital World.

In the original, Mimi clearly states that this she hasn't been in Japan for a long time. Dub Mimi leaves it to the imagination.

Meanwhile, at the Motomiya residence, Daisuke oversleeps his alarm.

The alarm, which continues ringing incessantly throughout the scene wakes Chibimon. Realizing Daisuke isn't getting up, Chibimon calls out to him.

Chibimon: Daisuke...? ...huh?

Amid the gross disaster zone that is Daisuke's room, Chibimon finds him passed out in a pile of school supplies and snacks.

Chibimon: Daisuke! Daisuke! DAISUKE!!! DAISUKE!!!

When Chibimon's loudest shouting fails to wake Daisuke, he moves to plan B. He jumps on Daisuke's stomach and bounds up and down on top of him.

Chibimon: (bounce) DAISUKE!!! Daisuke: Urk...

It takes four bounces, but Daisuke's involuntary resolve to remain asleep finally breaks. He opens his eyes to see Chibimon sitting on his gut.

Chibimon: (pleasantly) Good morning, Daisuke. Daisuke: ...uh... good morning, Chibimon. ...why does my stomach hurt...?

Probably something you ate, I'm sure. No need to interrogate it too closely.

It seems the Chosen Children were able to smuggle their Partner Digimon home with them this time, rather than leaving them in Computer Club.

The dub, as usual, misses the show's audio cues. The blaring morning alarm that Daisuke's sleeping through is not present at all in their version, which strips DemiVeemon of his reasonable urgency in waking Davis.

DemiVeemon: Davis? Wake up! Davis: (loud snoring) DemiVeemon: Davis! Davis! DAVIS!!! DAVIS!!! (DemiVeemon jumps on Davis) DemiVeemon: DAVIS!!! DAVIS!!!

Davis does not react audibly to DemiVeemon's hops. Though we hear the sound of flesh smacking to indicate DemiVeemon's four impacts, there are no reactive grunts from the sleeping Davis.

Davis: (waking up) ...huh? DemiVeemon: (pleasantly) Good morning! Sleep well? Davis: Yeah, until I heard all that screaming. The next time I tell you to wake me up, try to be a little quieter so I can get some sleep.

Oddly, Davis objects to the shouts that failed to wake him up instead of the jumping on his gut. In lieu of the ringing alarm, his last line is meant to explain why DemiVeemon spent this scene so frantically trying to rouse him.

This scene is one case where dubbing purely off a translated script and making up the audio as you go really hurts the scene. The script for the scene is solid, but the missing sounds of the alarm and Daisuke's reactions to Chibimon's hops leave it a pale imitation of the original.

Over at his place, Iori gets dressed while wondering about Upamon, who's gone missing.

Iori: Where could Upamon have gotten off to?

Opening his bedroom door, he quietly calls into the dining room.

Iori: Upamon?

Sure enough, that troublesome Digimon is sitting on the dining room table, wearing a basket on his head as a Solid Snake disguise. When he sees that Iori's awake, he jumps down from the table and hops over to him.

Upamon: Iori! Iori: (scolding) You can't just go wandering around the house like that. Upamon: Your mom is making something weird! Iori: Something weird?

Fumiko, Iori's mother, is in the kitchen slicing sushi rolls. Iori takes Upamon back into his room.

Iori: That's kanpyoumaki. Upamon: Kanpyoumaki? Iori: Yes. Miyako-san requested it. Kan-pyou-maki.

Kanpyoumaki is a gourd-based vegetarian sushi roll. In place of the typical fish, it uses rehydrated strips of the calabash gourd, which are called kanpyou. The kanpyou are soaked for upwards of 24 hours ahead of time to soften them back up. Then they're boiled, sauced, and sliced into your typical sushi roll with rice and nori, a type of seaweed.

In the original, it's not clear how long Upamon's been spying on Fumiko from beneath his terrible basket disguise. Cody in the dub states in no uncertain terms that he hasn't been doing this for very long.

Cody: I turn my back on him for one minute and he disappears! Upamon, where are you? (Cody opens the door to peer into the dining room) Cody: Hmm? Upamon! Upamon: Hmm? Cody! (Upamon bounds down and hops over to Cody) Cody: How many times do I have to tell you not to wander around the house!? Mom might think you're a rodent! Upamon: Guess what! I think your mom is making us some candy over there. Cody: Candy? (Closeup shot of Fumiko cutting sushi before Cody takes Upamon back into his room) Cody: It's not candy, it's sushi! Upamon: Does it taste like candy? Cody: Not really. It's seaweed and raw fish. Upamon: Yucky! Cody: Hehe, that was my first reaction too.

Seaweed and boiled gourd but it's fine. I don't expect American nine-year-olds to be super familiar with the various types of sushi.

It was very common for dubs of this era to try and pass off clearly Japanese food items as localized American products. We all know Brock from Pokemon and his rice ball-style double bacon cheeseburgers and jelly donuts. So there's something really funny to me about Cody and Upamon having an "It's candy!" "No, that's sushi," exchange in the show itself.

That Cody nonetheless still manages to misrepresent the sushi is the icing on the cake.

Also, apparently Upamon Solid Snaking it around the house has been a persistent problem in the dub. I love the implication that he got in trouble for this before and went, "Got it. Next time: Basket hat. No one will ever know." Like this wasn't just a shitty plan; This is what he worked his way up to.

I am a firm believer that "again" is the funniest word in the English language.

Over at her place, Hikari's packing her backpack.

She breaks the fourth wall by humming "Break Up!", the show's kickass evolution and fuck these guys up theme. The replacement for "Show Me Your Brave Heart". It's an earworm, to be sure.

Hikari: (humming) Tailmon: (reluctant) Am I going in there too? Hikari: That's right, Tailmon.

With a huge shit-eating grin on her face, Hikari picks a distressed Tailmon and stuffs her into the backpack, despite Tailmon's wriggling and muffled groans of protest.

Hikari: Come on, get in! Get in!

At his place, Takeru steps out the front door, calling out the traditional Japanese farewell.

Takeru: Ittekimasu!

Before he can step out the gate, he suddenly realizes he's missing something. He goes back inside.

Takeru: Ah! Forgot something!

Takeru emerges with a furiously wriggling backpack.

Patamon: TAKERU!!! HOW COULD YOU FORGET ME!?!? Takeru: (sheepish) Sorry, Patamon....

Rude! And after all they've been through together. XD

In the dub:

Kari: I've made a nice little bed for you, Gatomon. Gatomon: You think I'm getting in there!? Think again! Kari: Oh come on. Be a sport, ahahahaha! (Kari picks up Gatomon and stuffs her in) Kari: It'll be fun!

Sad to lose Kari's fourth-wall breaking but they do nail Gatomon's muffled protest noises so this is pretty solid.

T.K.: I'm leaving now! I'll be back later! (T.K. almost leaves, then stops) T.K.: Oops, one more thing. Patamon! (T.K. goes back in and retrieves his angry backpack) Patamon: Will you hurry up!? Your gym socks from yesterday are in here! T.K.: (sheepish) Sorry, I forgot.

Not sure why they needed to change the punchline. It was pretty good as is.

...why is T.K. even bringing old gym socks to this event? That's gross, T.K. That's Davis-level gross.

If this were Cody, Davis, or Yolei, I might ding them for bluntly saying they forgot their Digimon when they enter the apartment. But Kari and T.K.'s parents already know Gatomon and Patamon. They were in Odaiba that day.

At her family's convenience store, Miyako loots the shelves and fills up a duffel bag while her mom notes down all the inventory she's making off with.

Miyako: Three with tuna mayo, two with bonito flakes, and one orange drink.

That's right, tuna mayo. The combination of tuna and mayo is so universally recognizable as the correct way to consume tuna that "tuna mayo" is a recognized ingredient in Japan.

Both tuna mayo and bonito flakes can used to make rice balls, which is what she's picking out. We don't get to see it for ourselves, but she clarifies it later in the episode.

The orange drink is probably a literal orange drink, not a rice ball topping. Though the way she counted them off did give me mental images of soaking a rice ball in Crush or Sunkist. Daisuke would eat it. So would Mimi.

Miyako: This is all for the Computer Club's picnic. Mother: (jotting down) Three with tuna mayo, two with bonito flakes, one orange drink. Where are you going for this picnic? Miyako: Add two anpan.

Anpan are sweet rolls filled with bean paste.

Miyako: (annoyed) And we haven't decided yet! Mother: That's suspicious. Miyako: (irritated) It's not suspicious at all! Mother: ... Miyako: BYE MOM!!! Mother: MIYAKO!!!

Miyako unsuspiciously bolts out the door with her bag full of appropriated merchandise before her mom can interrogate her any further.

She makes it out the door, but then her duffel bag yelps in pain.

Poromon: GYECK!!! MIYAKO-SAN!!!

Miyako stops, unzipping her duffel to check on Poromon who's been stuffed in there with all the picnic supplies.

Miyako: Oh no! Poromon, are you okay? Poromon: I'm okay, but don't shake me around so much! Miyako: Sorry, sor-- Takeru: (calling out) What's going on, Miyako-san?

Takeru and Iori are right there, watching Miyako sheepishly apologize to her dufflemon.

Iori: Let's get going! Miyako: (embarrassed) Ehe ehehe....

I don't think any of the Digimon like this particular method of passing Stealth checks.

In the dub:

Yolei: Okay, mom. I think I'm packed. Besides the usual, I'm also taking potato salad, macaroni salad, tuna salad, chicken salad, fruit salad, and three-bean salad. Mother: Actually, it's only two-bean salad today. I was out of the third bean. That's an awful lot of food for one girl to have for lunch. Yolei: I told you, I'm having a picnic with the Computer Club today. So I offered to bring salad for everyone. Mother: And who's paying for it? Yolei: Yeah, I need to talk to you about that... Mother: ... Yolei: TALK TO YOU LATER!!! Mother: YOLEI, WAIT!!! (Yolei flees the store with appropriated goods in hand) Poromon: (muffled) YOLEI, HURRY!!! OPEN UP!!! OPEN UP!!! THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!!! Yolei: What's the matter, Poromon? Poromon: Sitting on this coleslaw's getting a little messy! And what's in here that has such a foul smell!? Yolei: Deviled eggs! Poromon: PEE-YEW!!! T.K.: Poromon's right, I can smell them from all the way over here! Yolei: I guess the mayonnaise has gone bad.

Yolei's picnic goods are heavily localized. However, since we only directly see the merch when Miyako opens her bag, Yolei gets away with it pretty easily.

Per the last time Yolei brought treats from the family store, her dub family expects her to pay for everything she takes. This presents the scene with a complication. At no point does Miyako exchange money with her mother, nor is there any indication of an expectation that she will.

So the dub uses the existing joke of Miyako skirting away before her mom can make her explain herself, and makes that into a joke in which Yolei whole-ass robs the family store. XD

Incidentally, someone on the dub team really likes the "I only have two beans" joke. They made (or will make) that same joke with Tai's mother Yuuko in Digimon: The Movie.

The dub also changes out the bit with Poromon getting crushed by jostling merch during Miyako's Shoplifter Sprint, replacing it for an extended bit about rotten eggs.

Lot of dub-exclusive olfactory offenses being committed in the lead-up to this picnic.

Now that everyone's ready to go, Miyako, Iori, and Takeru meet up with Daisuke and Hikari who are already hanging out outside of Odaiba Elementary.

Miyako: Sorry to keep you waiting! Daisuke: Ah, there you are. Hikari: We're all here. Daisuke: Yes! Let's go have a PICNIC!!! Group: YEAH!!!

But we're gonna have to be sneaky about it 'cause we aren't allowed to be here. The team creeps over the hedges, making sure the coast is clear. Then they slide the gate open and sneak onto school grounds.

Once inside the school building, Miyako starts complaining about the injustice of their situation.

Miyako: (whispers angrily) Why do I need to sneak around to get into the Computer Clubroom when I'm already a member of Computer Club! Iori: (whispers) It can't be helped. The rules strictly forbid the use of school facilities during off-days. Daisuke: (hisses) BE QUIET!!! (Miyako and Iori bow sheepishly)

The precise reason for school closure isn't expressly stated. The word is 休日 kyuujitsu, which is a catch-all for any sort of involuntary day off. Holidays, weekends, snow days, what have you. If you can't go to school or work for reasons you didn't personally request yourself, it's 休日 kyuujitsu.

In the dub:

Davis: Aren't the others supposed to be here? Kari: Yeah, they're late. Davis: Here they come now! Hey, what took you guys so long? Yolei: I stopped at a drinking fountain to give Poromon a bath. It's a long story. Davis: Never mind! Let's go!

That payoff for the deviled egg and coleslaw bit is pretty funny. XD

The dub takes their first commercial break here, and then we return at the start of our sneaking mission - with some extra dialogue.

(DigiDestined peek over the hedge) Davis: All clear. (Davis opens the gate) Davis: Now everybody remember my plan: CROUCH!!! (The team sneaks inside) Davis: Keep crouching! (They make it up into the school) Yolei: Listen, I know it's a Saturday and we're not really supposed to be at school but nobody is within miles of this place! I refuse to crouch. Hmph! Cody: Actually, Davis, I don't think it's really necessary for me to crouch. Davis: I got us here! Am I the best or what!? (Yolei and Cody bow sheepishly)

That Miyako isn't bothering to walk around the halls in Sneaking Mode and Iori is so small that it isn't necessary is a funny bit of visual characterization. The dub works the dialogue around to emphasize that, while still conveying the key point: The school is closed and that's why we need to break in.

Though we lose Miyako's outrage at the perceived unfairness of the rules. Instead, she just thinks Davis is an idiot, which is not an unfair assessment of his behavior.

Additionally, Yolei's line doesn't really connect with the animation. She was visibly crouching when they were outside. Miyako only straightens up once they're safely inside the building, so the dub's gag needs for you to have not noticed that.

Since they threw out the part where Daisuke scolds Miyako and Iori for chitchatting during a Stealth Mission, the final shot of the pair bowing in embarrassment has to be recontextualized. In this version, it seems like it's supposed to be a mutual cringe at Davis's bragging.

Once Iori and Miyako have been scolded, the team keeps going until they reach Computer Club.

Daisuke: (whispers) Let's head in.

They slip inside, quiet as a mouse, and head over to the computer containing the Gate. Miyako loads it up, and we hear the activation chime signaling that the Gate is open.

Daisuke: Go ahead, Miyako. Miyako: Bingo! Chosen Children, LET'S ROLL-- (Door opens) Mimi: ...what are all of you doing here?

Three out of five Children freeze up in panic, as well as their Digimon. But the other two and two....

Hikari, Takeru & Digimon: Mimi-san!? Others: Huh!? Mimi-san!? Mimi: Takeru-kun? Hikari-chan? Takeru & Hikari: Yeah! Takeru: Daisuke-kun, Miyako-san, Iori-kun. This is Tachikawa Mimi-san, one of the older Chosen Children.

Tachikawa Mimi is a Chosen Child-type Human. Her "Specialty Skill" is listed as Otome no Nage Kiss, or "Maiden's Blown Kiss", and she also has the Special Attack Unchi Tsukami meaning "Poop Grab". Though the ン in ウンチ Unchi appears to be censored. This is a reference to that time she seized a Garbamon's Poop projectile and chucked it back at them.

Mimi originally debuted in the Digimon Adventure OVA before going on to feature as a main character in the anime that followed. She's had to move around a lot, first from Hikarigaoka to Odaiba and then to the United States. In video games and other supplemental media, she is typically accompanied by her Partner Digimon Palmon.

Narrator: Tachikawa Mimi! She lives on the East Coast of the United States. She's returned to Japan briefly in order to attend her cousin's wedding on behalf of her parents, who are busy with work. Miyako: Sora-san told me about you! Mimi: She didn't say anything weird, did she? Miyako: (sheepish) ...bingo.... Mimi: (irritated) Oh, did she? Daisuke: We're Chosen Children now. Mimi: Ehehe, I see that.

I don't know why Mimi gets a rundown from the Digimon Analyzer. XD But I'm here for it.

In the dub, a school bell inexplicably rings when the kids enter Computer Club despite school being closed.

Davis: Let's go! Hey, I wonder if the Digital World's open on Saturdays?

Once they're inside, Davis says nothing and the camera hangs awkwardly on the group in silence for three seconds instead.

Yolei: Alright! I got us in! Am I the best or what? (Door opens suddenly) Group: HUH!?!? Mimi: I'm sorry, but... Are you supposed to be here? Kari, T.K., & Digimon: Mimi! Others: Mimi!? Mimi: Um, T.K.? Kari? Kari: Yup! T.K.: Yup! Davis, Yolei, Cody, I want you to meet someone. This is our friend Mimi. She's one of the original DigiDestined who moved to America. Mimi: (rundown) I'm Mimi! I've set my sights on success in the fashion world of New York City. Don't think I'm just a strawberry blonde beauty who knows she's beautiful! Yolei: Hi, Mimi. Sora told us all about you! Mimi: I spoke to her! She told me about you too! Davis: (flirty) Hello, Mimi! My name's Davis but you can call me... uh, Davis. Mimi: (creeped out) Yeah, she definitely told me about you.

Mimi's diegetic rundown cuts out the explanation for her return to Japan, instead serving to re-establish her wealthy fashionista dub persona for the new series.

They take out Mimi getting miffed at Sora for sharing embarrassing stories about her. Specifically, Sora "telling them all about Mimi" is referring to Sora's pep-talk to Miyako in episode 2. Sora mentioned that Mimi used to whine a lot about wanting to go home but only sort of hinted at how that character arc ended.

And they add in some more of Davis being obnoxious while everyone dunks on him.

Mimi: Patamon and Tailmon look like they're doing well! Patamon & Tailmon: Long time no see! Hikari: So, when did you get back from America? Mimi: This morning! I was passing by Odaiba Elementary School and started feeling nostalgic, so I snuck in through the back gate. Ahaha! Daisuke: We came in through the back gate too! Mimi: Huh? Daisuke: We're on our way to have a picnic in the Digital World. Mimi: You're what? Miyako: You should come too, Mimi-san! Mimi: Well, my cousin's wedding is tomorrow... Would that be alright? Miyako: BINGO!!! Daisuke: (scolding) Miyako, you can't just decide that on your own. Miyako: (disappointed) Huh? I can't? Daisuke: I mean, I'm fine with it but-- Iori: I'm for it. Takeru: Me too! Hikari: And me! Miyako: BINGO BINGO BIIIIIIINGO!!! Chosen Children, LET'S ROLL!!!

It begins. Miyako got fucking target-lock on Mimi the moment she walked through that door, and it's only going to escalate from here.

In the dub:

Mimi: Gatomon, Patamon, how have you been? Gatomon: (bitterly) Other than being stuffed in a knapsack like a wet towel, fine! Kari: It's so good to see you! When did you get back? Mimi: This morning. I was passing by the school and just had to take a look for old times' sake. I just walked in the front gate! Someone left it open! Davis: That was us! We had to sneak in since the school was closed. Mimi: Huh? Davis: That's right! We all decided to go on a nice Saturday picnic in the Digital World! Mimi: Digital World?

For some reason, they have Mimi say that like she's just hearing about it for the first time. Weird line choice.

The back gate is now the front gate, and Mimi mentions that the group left it open. Unlike Yolei refusing to crouch, this shores up with the animation. When they snuck through the gate earlier, it swung back towards a closed position but stopped a little ways ajar.

Yolei: Maybe Mimi can come with us! Mimi: I haven't been there in so long! Do you think it would be okay? Yolei: Of course! Davis: Yolei, we didn't bring enough sodas for an extra person! Yolei: Oh no.... Cody: It's okay. She can have my soda. T.K.: Mine too. Kari: And mine. Yolei: PERFECTO!!! Now let's go! Davis: (grumpy) That's great; Now the rest of us don't have anything to drink. Yolei: Digi-Port Open!

They remove this reference to Mimi's cousin's wedding too. I guess that's not happening in the dub version.

Everyone voicing their agreement has been changed to everyone drowning Mimi in soda. She does love her soda, so I'm sure she won't object.

The Chosen Children pass through the Gate and enter the Digital World.

First order of business: A bit of scouting.

Daisuke: A Dark Tower... ... ...is not here! Group: (collective sigh of relief) Mimi: (enchanted) This... is definitely the Digital World!

Her eyes linger on a large flower sprouting from the base of a tree.

Mimi: (thinking) Will I be able to see Palmon?

In her imagination, the flower stands up and unfurls into Palmon.

Palmon: Mimi!

But only in her imagination. Not gonna be quite that easy.

Three years ago, Mimi never would have imagined that she might one day be nostalgic for this place.

In the dub:

Davis: Hey hey, good news, guys! Take a look around! I don't see a Control Spire anywhere, do you? Group/Yolei: (Miscellaneous unintelligible nopes) / No sirree! Mimi: (enchanted) How cool! I'm back! The Digital World hasn't changed! (Mimi's eyes linger on a flower) Mimi: (thinking) I wonder if I'll see Palmon again? (Mimi imagines the flower standing up as Palmon) Palmon: Hi!

Solid. No notes.

The team gets moving to find a good spot for their picnic, while Miyako briefs Mimi on the Digimon Kaiser situation.

Mimi: Digimon Kaiser? Miyako: He's building Dark Towers so that he can take control of the Digital World. Mimi: So you're saying that we're safe around here because he hasn't built any Dark Towers nearby? Miyako: And since it's safe, we're having our picnic here.

This is what Miyako meant when she told her mom they didn't know where they were going to hold the picnic. Implicitly, if they spotted a Dark Tower in the area, they'd keep searching until they found a place without one.

Mimi: A picnic in the Digital World... That would have been unthinkable back in our day. Things sure have changed! Miyako: Up until now, we've only really ever come here to knock down the Dark Towers. But now it's Golden Week, so we thought it'd be nice to have some fun in the Digital World for once!

And that's why school is closed. Golden Week is a set of multiple Japanese holidays so close together that they drew a big oval around the date range and called the whole thing a celebration period.

This, incidentally, gives us a fair understanding of the time that's elapsed in the show thus far. Episode 1 was on the first day of school, which is typically the first week of April. Golden Week takes place from April 29th to May 5th, so the new Chosen Children have been fighting the Digimon Kaiser for about a month now. Implicitly, there seems to have been a lot of offscreen Dark Tower tug-of-wars between episodes.

Assuming this is the very start of Golden Week, Mimi's cousin is getting married on April 30th. That day, as well as May 1st and 2nd, have no direct holidays to celebrate so it's well-timed. A big, joyous day of Golden Week but not one that's going to overlap an important holiday.

But Golden Week isn't a thing in the U.S. so the dub made it Saturday, and also erased the wedding for some reason.

Mimi: Digimon Emperor? Davis: Yeah! He builds these Control Spires, tries to take over the Digital World, yadda yadda yadda.... Mimi: So if there's no Control Spires, are we safe? Yolei: Yeah! That's why we picked this spot to go on our picnic. Mimi: Gee, we never would have thought about having a picnic here in the old days because we'd be too worried about giant-sized digital ants. Yolei: So far, every time we've come here, it's been to destroy a Control Spire. But since it's Saturday, we thought we'd just come here to have some fun!

Davis butts in on Mimi and Miyako's conversation.

The dub makes it sound like this is the first Saturday since the series began. Which it can be. There's been five episodes up to now and each one has ended at the end-of-day. So it is possible for this to only be the sixth day since Tai first activated those new Digivices for the new kids.

In any case, we've been walking for a bit and the team's getting hungry.

Takeru: Daisuke-kun, shouldn't we take lunch soon? Daisuke: Isn't it too early for that? Hikari: (pleasantly) I'm getting hungry.

I need you to understand that Hikari does not voice that as a complaint. She closes her eyes with a big smile on her face and, in the most upbeat tone, announces her hunger to the crowd.

Daisuke practically screeches to a stop with a huge blush on his face.

Daisuke: Let's have lunch! Hikari: (shit-eating grin) ^_^ Takeru: (irritated) What the heck?

She knows exactly what she's doing. Hikari fixed this situation.

In the dub:

Cody: We should pick out a spot around here to lay out the picnic blanket and dish out the food! T.K.: Sounds great! Davis: No, it doesn't! It's way too early for lunch. Let's keep walking! Kari: (pleasantly) I am a little hungry.... (Davis stops suddenly, blushing) Davis: I'm starved! Let's eat! Kari: (shit-eating grin) ^_^ T.K.: (snidely) Why didn't I think of that?

The dub de-emphasizes the one-sided love rivalry between Daisuke and Takeru here, by having Cody be the one to suggest lunch. T.K. merely agrees with Cody, so Davis ends up bickering back at the wrong person.

But the central gag, in which Hikari gently manipulates Daisuke into being less obstinate, comes through unscathed.

The team sets up their picnic blanket and dishes out the food.

Miyako: I brought rice balls from my convenience store. (holds one out to Mimi) Would you like one? Mimi: (gasp) Tuna mayo...

Closeup on the rice ball in Miyako's hand, while a short tune from the distinctly Japanese shamisen plays over it. The tuna mayo rice ball presented here as a microcosm of Mimi's homesick longing for Japan.

She came home from the Digital World just in time to get Isekai'd again to somewhere else.

Mimi: (teary-eyed) It's been so long! I've been dreaming about tuna mayo! (takes the rice ball) THANK YOOOOOOOOOOOOU!!! Group: Ahahahaha! Mimi: (bite) T_T So good....

Miyako rolled a Nat 20 on that Charisma check. Daisuke's jealous; He keeps rolling 5's.

In the dub:

Yolei: I brought these from my family's convenience store. (holds one out to Mimi) You want some? Mimi: (gasp) Is that what I think it is? (Closeup on the rice ball with no music) Mimi: A chocolate-covered rice ball!? (teary-eyed) I haven't had one since I was a kid! I love 'em! Group: Ahahahaha! Mimi: (bite) Mmm....

There are a variety of ways you can wrap the nori when making a rice ball. The ones Miyako brought are fully encased in nori, which is what the dub is passing off as a chocolate coating. This is still far less egregious than how some anime of the era tried to disguise their rice balls.

Missing sound time again. Going off a translated dialogue script, the dub didn't hear the shamisen playing when Mimi fixated on the rice ball. So they took "It's been so long!" to mean she's nostalgic for her childhood, rather than the obvious implication of Japan.

Miyako silently watches Mimi enjoy the rice ball for about three seconds before turning her attention to her actual Partner.

Miyako: How about you, Hawkmon? Hawkmon: I would like... some of that.

He points out Iori and Armadimon, who've set out the kanpyoumaki. Iori's happily watching Armadimon stuff one of the sushi rolls in his mouth.

Miyako: You want kanpyoumaki? Hawkmon: Iori-san, may I please have a kanpyoumaki? Armadimon: Huh? Okay dagyaa.

Armadimon takes a roll out of the tin and winds up to toss it to Hawkmon.

Iori: Huh? DON'T THROW IT!!! Armadimon: (throw) Iori: AH!!!

Armadimon overshoots by a wide margin and sends the kanpyoumaki rolling across the dirt.

Hawkmon: AUGH!!!! M-MY KANPYOUMAKI!!!

Hawkmon sprints off, chasing the rolling sushi and forcing Miyako to go chasing after him.

Iori: (scolding) My mother made this food for us! Don't be so careless with it! Armadimon: Iori... I'm sorry, dagyaa.

But while Iori's scolding Armadimon, Mimi's stopped eating her tuna mayo rice ball. She watches Miyako and Hawkmon disappear into the woods with concern printed on her face.

(Mimi knows exactly how perilous the Digital World can be. It's not a good place to suddenly run off on your own.)

In the dub:

Yolei: What will you have? Hawkmon: I'll have whatever Armadillomon is having. Yolei: He's eating sushi. Hawkmon: Excellent. I'll have one sushi please. Armadillomon: Comin' right up! (Armadillomon winds up the toss) Cody: NO, NEVER THROW FOOD!!! (Armadillomon overshoots) Hawkmon: AUGH!!! COME BACK, LITTLE SUSHI!!! (Hawkmon and Yolei run off into the woods) Yolei: Wait! Hawkmon, come back! It's just a California Roll! Hawkmon: Yes, well it's rolling all the way back to California! Mimi: (thinking) I have a bad feeling about this. I don't like that they're going off into the woods all alone!

Hawkmon's California Roll joke got me. XD

Iori's scolding of Armadimon is removed so that they can use that time spelling out what that expression on Mimi's face means. Even though I think it's pretty obvious.

Mimi gets up and leaves the picnic, going into the woods to search for Miyako and Hawkmon.

Mimi: MIYAKO-CHAAAAAN!!! HAWKMOOOOON!!! WHERE ARE YOU!?!? Woods: ... Mimi: MIYA--

Suddenly, Mimi takes the wrong step. A trapdoor panel opens up underfoot, and Mimi plunges into a dark abyss.

Mimi: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Cut to the dead of night under a crescent moon, Miyako shakes an unconscious Mimi to wake her.

Miyako: Mimi-san? Hawkmon: Mimi-san! Miyako: Mimi-san! Both: Mimi-san! Mimi: (slowly opens eyes) Miyako: Mimi-san? Hawkmon: Mimi-san! Miyako: Mimi-san? Mimi: ...what...? Miyako: Ah! She came to! Hawkmon: She's awake! Mimi: Miyako-chan, Hawkmon... what's...? Miyako: Look at that.

Miyako directs Mimi's attention to an ominous black obelisk rising over the woods in the distance, lit by spotlights. Also there are cacti in the forest because fuck you, the Digital World doesn't have to make ecological sense. Eggs grow in fridges.

Miyako: That is a Dark Tower. Hawkmon: This is the Digimon Kaiser's territory.

I blame Armadimon for this. See, kids? This is what poor table manners does. It makes your friends vulnerable to fascism. That is an entirely reasonable and predictable outcome that he should have seen coming.

In the dub:

Mimi: YOLEIIIII!!! HAWKMOOOOON!!! Mimi: COME BAAAA--AHHHHHH!!!

I love the way the dub flows the vowel of "back" into her scream. The Japanese version could have done something similar with "MIYA--AHHHHHHH!!!" but they don't. She's cut off when the ground gives way, and then she's silent for about two seconds before she starts screaming.

Yolei: Wake up. Mimi, wake up. Hawkmon: I hope she's alright. Mimi: (slowly opens her eyes) Yolei: Mimi... Wake up.... Mimi: Mhm.... Yolei: Are you okay? Mimi: The last thing that I remember, I fell. Yolei: We all did. Look at that! Mimi: (gasp) (Shot of the Control Spire in the distance) Mimi: What is it!? Yolei: It's a Control Spire. Hawkmon: That means the Digimon Emperor controls this area.

Genuinely surprised at the restraint here. The roughly 10-15 seconds of just saying "Mimi-san" over and over gives the dub plenty of space to insert quips, but they play this scene totally straight.

Once the team's noticed the Tower, their attention is drawn back down to the woods by miscellaneous chattering animal noises growing steadily louder.

A chattering crowd of Gekomon and Otamamon emerge from the woods.

Mimi: Whew! It's just Otamamon and Gekomon. Miyako: You know them? Mimi: Yeah! They're my friends. Hawkmon: They're not your friends anymore.

Closeup on their legs. Each Gekomon has an Evil Ring on their left leg, while the Otamamon have Evil Rings on their right forelegs.

Hawkmon: They're wearing Evil Rings! Mimi: Eh!?

Without any further ado, the horde surges forward and attacks. Zoom out from the forest as a classic Mimi shriek carries us out to commercial break.

Mimi: AHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Miyako probably should have mentioned the Evil Rings when she was briefing Mimi on the Dark Towers. She only told Mimi that Dark Tower areas were under the Kaiser's control but she never explained what that means.

In the dub:

(Red eyes appear in the dark) Mimi: Something tells me those aren't taillights in a parking lot. (The horde appears) Gekomon & Otamamon: (chanting) PRINCESS MIMI PRINCESS MIMI PRINCESS MIMI PRINCESS MIMI.... Mimi: Relax! They're just Gekomon and Otamamon! Yolei: How do you know that, Mimi? Mimi: 'Cause they're my friends! Hawkmon: They don't look too friendly.... (Closeup of the Dark Rings) Hawkmon: Not while they're wearing those Dark Rings. Horde: GET HER!!!

The dub skips the commercial break here because they have somewhere else in mind that they want to put it. To that end, they cut the shot zooming out from the forest and go straight into the action of the next bit.

Returning from commercial, Mimi and Miyako flee from the Gekomon horde.

Suddenly, Mimi trips.

Mimi: ACK!!! Gekomon Swarm: GOT YOU!!! Hawkmon: Mimi-san! Miyako: NOOOOOOOO!!! THOSE WEIRD FROGS AND TADPOLES ARE GOING TO GET MIMI-ONEESAMA!!!

Miyako stands there shrieking instead of helping Mimi. In her panic, she also calls Mimi onee-sama in a slip of the tongue, saying out loud that she reveres Mimi as an older sister-type figure and in the most respectful and quasi-worshipful way possible.

It's not uncommon for younger kids to use onii-san and onee-san to address older kids they respect who aren't their literal sibling, but it's not something Miyako has been doing out loud, nor will she continue to. That just slipped out.

We've seen a few senpai/kouhai relationships between the old guard and new Chosen Children, but Mimi is not senpai. Mimi is onee-san. She'd probably prefer it that way anyway. But even more than that, Mimi is onee-sama. Miyako reveres her as a figure worthy of ultimate respect, despite the fact that they met like an hour ago.

Mimi: Miyako-chan, run....

Mimi's strength gives out and she collapses onto the ground, but with an huge, inexplicable smile on her face.

Mimi: (thinking) :-) I can't believe I'm saying this....

What the fuck is happening in this scene. I mean. Shipping, obviously, but besides that.

But before the horde can reach them, two sets of familiar vines shoots out of the bushes. One set snares Miyako and Hawkmon from behind. The second set grabs Mimi by the face.

Mimi: Palmon? Miyako: What the--

Palmon pulls them all into the bushes, and the Gekomon horde swarms past harmlessly.

The dub takes its second commercial break a few seconds after where the original returned. They let the Gekomon chase the girls into the woods, and then break on a shot of them fleeing.

We return just in time for Mimi to trip and for Yolei to shriek uselessly.

Mimi: ACK!!! Yolei: Gosh, Mimi! If those are your friends, I'd hate to see your enemies! Mimi: It's not... their fault.... (Mimi collapses, inexplicably smiling) Mimi: (thinking) :-) This is terrible. I wish Palmon was here to protect me. Palmon: POISON IVY!!! Yolei: Huh!? (Palmon grabs Yolei, Hawkmon, and Mimi) Mimi: Palmon?

Mimi's new narration connects even less with the weird smile than the original.

Mimi explains Black Rings to Yolei instead of urging her to run away.

Palmon keeps a lookout through the bushes until the Gekomon are gone. Once it's safe, she addresses the girls.

Palmon: Looks like they're gone. Mimi: (crying) ...Palmon.... Palmon: (crying) ...Mimi...MIMI!!! Mimi: PALMON!!!

Weeping, Mimi and Palmon hug each other and scream their feelings out. Miyako watches them, holding Hawkmon in her arms.

Palmon: I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!!! Mimi: ME TOO!!! Palmon: YOU WERE SO BRAVE!!! Mimi: I felt like you were calling out to me, Palmon! Palmon: Somehow, I also felt like you were here in the Digital World, Mimi! You came to help us, right!? Mimi: No, a picnic--

Record scratch. Mimi has utterly destroyed this dramatic reunion with that confession. And with the awkward look on her face, she realizes she fucked up.

Mimi: That's right! We're here to rescue--

Palmon fucking drops her.

Palmon: This forest has been taken over by the Digimon Kaiser. All of the Gekomon and Otamamon have been fitted with Evil Rings. And you're here for a picnic!? Mimi: Got it! In that case, Mimi-sama will take down that Dark Tower for all the Otamamon and Gekomon! Palmon: Wait a minute!

There are few things more pretentious than referring to yourself with the -sama honorific. Palmon grabs onto Mimi's leg to keep her from getting ahead of herself.

In the dub:

Palmon: I thought you needed a vine. Mimi: (crying) ...Palmon.... Palmon: (crying) ...Mimi..... (Mimi and Palmon embrace) Mimi: Oh, I'm so happy to see you! Palmon: I'm happy too! Mimi: I've never been this happy my whole life! Palmon: I've never known what happiness was until today! Hawkmon: Please, stop it. If you get any happier, I'll start to cry.

Instead of Mimi shoving her whole-ass foot in her mouth, the record scratch moment comes as a result of embarrassment from realizing that they're being watched.

Mimi: I'm caught in your vines. Palmon: I'm caught in your hair! Mimi: On 3. 1... 2... 3! (Mimi and Palmon aggressively separate) Palmon: Enough reminiscing, Mimi. We've got trouble! This area's called the Night Forest, and the Digimon Emperor's taken control of all the Gekomon and the Otamamon! Mimi: I know! We have to destroy the Control Spire. No problem! I've been living in New York. Compared to getting a taxi, that should be a piece of cake! Palmon: You're the best, Mimi!

They took all the conflict out of this scene.

Miyako: Mimi-san, you can't do this alone. Hawkmon: Miyako-san, please contact the others. Miyako: Yeah!

Miyako whips out her Digivice.

Over in the part of the woods that's still daytime, the rest of the team has gone looking for their missing nakama.

Daisuke: MIYAKOOOOO!!! Others: HAWKMOOOOON!!! MIMI-SAAAAAN!!! Daisuke: Huh?

Daisuke rifles for his pockets for his own Digivice. The others take notice of his behavior.

Takeru: Daisuke-kun? Hikari: What's wrong?

Back in the night forest, Miyako yells at her Digivice.

Miyako: Come on, notice us already!

Sure enough, there are flickering blips on Daisuke's Digivice radar. But they're faint, and their location keeps changing.

Daisuke: I think it's supposed to be a message from Miyako, but.... Takeru: It's coming through, but it's weak. Where could they have gone? Iori: Maybe the Digimon Kaiser got them. Group: (nervous) Uh....

It's worth considering.

In the dub:

Yolei: We can't destroy the tower alone! Hawkmon: Correct. You'd better contact the others and let them know where we are. Yolei: Right! (Cut to light side) Davis: Hawkmon, Yolei, where are you!? Group: Hawkmon, Yolei, where are you!? Davis: Ha--huh? This place has some echo! (Davis fishes in his jacket for his beeping Digivice) Kari: (sarcastic) Oh boy. (Dark side) Yolei: I'm trying to get through to Davis but so far no luck. (Light side) Davis: I think it's from Yolei but the signal's kinda weak. T.K.: She must be nearby! But in what direction? Cody: The Digimon Emperor must be blocking the signal. Group: Whoa!

Fuck Mimi, I guess.

I think the dub's trying to present it as they all went looking for Yolei at the same time, instead of Mimi going to look for Miyako and then everyone else going to look for Mimi and Miyako. They might not know yet that Mimi's also missing.

Kari's passive-aggressive jab at Davis seems like a bit of an overreaction to the echo remark.

Speaking of the Digimon Kaiser, he is indeed at work in his command center. Because where else would he be when school's out? This is his holiday too.

Kaiser: Huhuhuhuhu... Looks like this is going to be a fun Golden Week.

The Kaiser has Miyako and Mimi displayed on his screen.

Kaiser: Wormmon. Wormmon: W-What? Kaiser: What will we attack with today? Wormmon: The Gokimon Brothers. Kaiser: I see.... Hehehe... Hahahaha HAHAHAHA!!!

"Brothers" is English.

Wormmon is not used to this new tactic where he gets to be a participant in planning the Kaiser's moves.

In the dub:

Emperor: Huhuhuhuhuhu... What a wonderful way to spend a relaxing weekend: Getting rid of unwanted weeds in my garden! Wormmon! Wormmon: Yes, Master? Emperor: Who's the Digimon du jour? Wormmon: The Roachmon Brothers. Emperor: Excellent! Summon them immediately! They're staying at the Roachmon Motel! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

...they might have a hard time checking out. Ken did not plan this well.

In the dark forest, Miyako gives up on signaling backup.

Miyako: This isn't working.

The girls and their Digimon all hang their heads and sigh. Suddenly, a pair of cockroach-shaped silhouettes pop up from the foreground.

Gokimon Brothers: Hey ladies! What's got you so distressed!

The roaches scurry forward on all six legs to approach the girls, then stand back up on their hind legs again.

Gokimon Brothers: How about going on a date with us? Hehehehehehe!

And now this is happening again. Mimi's been back in the Digital World for one day....

Mimi & Miyako: (hugging each other) NOOOOOOOOO!!! COCKROACHES!!! Palmon & Hawkmon: (unintelligible)

Palmon and Hawkmon speak at the same time saying different things while Mimi and Miyako are still screaming "no" behind them. So it's extremely difficult to make out any individual words, but the general gist is "You won't get past us".

Rundown time. Let's talk Gokimon. Gokimon is an Adult-stage Virus-attribute Insect Digimon. Their name comes from ゴキブリ gokiburi, which means cockroach. Like "roach", gokiburi can be shortened to a simple ゴキ goki, which makes Roachmon a perfect translation of Gokimon.

Gokimon is another new Digimon from the Sega Saturn video game version of the V-Pet. Specifically, they're Ver. S's new junk evolution. It's hard to find information on the game, but the new Digimon for the game were acquired by combining Digimon or combining Digitama or something to that effect. Gokimon was what you got whenever the types you chose to combine were a dud.

Narrator: Gokimon. These Insect-type Digimon have shiny black bodies and bottomless vitality. Their ability to deftly run away is unparalleled! Their special attack is Dream Dust!

They're hard to kill and great at fleeing for their lives. Very intimidating. Thank you. They also don't handle rejection well.

Younger Gokimon: That hurts... Gokimon-oniisama! Older Gokimon: What is it, little brother? Younger Gokimon: Since they hurt us, we should do the thing! Older Gokimon: Good idea. Miyako: You guys are brothers? Gokimon Brothers: GOKIMON BROTHERS!!! YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT!?!? Miyako: (shrinks down into Mimi's chest) No, I'm sorry.

Fun fact, onii-san and onee-san are respectful identifiers you can you to address your older sibling. The neutral terms are 兄 ani and 姉 ane, which would get used conversationally when talking about older siblings. But if you're referring to your own, you would refer to them with those respectful titles.

But there is no equivalent for a younger sibling. The neutral terms are 弟 otouto and 妹 imouto, and that's all there is. You might address a younger sibling by their name or by a cutesy nickname or something, but there is no official title of respect like there is for older siblings. Gokimon is literally just using 弟 otouto itself to address Gokimon.

But, Gokimon, on the other hand, has a lot of reverence for Gokimon. He addresses him as onii-sama.

In the dub:

Yolei: There's no answer! (The girls and Digimon hand their heads and sigh) Roachmon Brothers: No answer!? We didn't even hear the question! (The Roachmon scurry over to the girls) Roachmon Brothers: We hope we're not bugging you! Hehehehehe! (Mimi and Yolei hold each other and scream) Girls: AHHHHHHH!!! ROACHES!!! Palmon & Hawkmon: It's the Roachmon Brothers! Roachmon: (rundown) Hi, I'm Roachmon! / And I'm his twin brother Roachmon! / I use my Garbage Dump attack to trash my enemies. / And I throw my Yard Sale Bombs to wipe out my opponents and clean out my garage. Younger Roachmon: You mean that's all? I thought you said there was a bunch of kids! Older Roachmon: So sue me! I heard wrong! Younger Roachmon: Is it really that hard to write down a message? Older Roachmon: Next time, you take the call! Yolei: Excuse me but do you always argue? Roachmon Brothers: THE ROACHMON BROTHERS DON'T ARGUE, NOW STAY OUT OF THIS!!! Yolei: (shrinks down into Mimi's chest) Sorry, go ahead.

As usual, the dub does everything it can to remove the uncomfortable part where children are harassed by Digimon.

Now that Miyako's been silenced, the Gokimon Brothers resume plotting violent retaliation over their spurned affections. Gross.

Younger Gokimon: Now then, Gokimon's Onii-sama is gonna show you his special attack! Older Gokimon: No, no, Gokimon's little brother should show them his special attack! Mimi: You guys are really close, aren't you? Gokimon Brothers: THE BROTHERS ARE BEST FRIENDS!!! YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT!?!? Mimi: (annoyed) Nope. Younger Gokimon: What if we attack together, Onii-sama? Older Gokimon: There's a great idea, little brother! Gokimon Brothers: DREAM DUST!!!

Given that Digimon hatch from Digitama in the Village of Beginnings when data accumulates there, I have questions about how Digimon brotherhood works. Can we get Elecmon out here to explain?

I'd guess that the Gokimon Brothers are probably onii-san and otouto in the same way Mimi and Miyako are onee-san and imouto. The episode is setting up an obvious parallel here, after all.

Unveiling their special attack, the Gokimon Brothers bury Mimi and Yolei in trash. Despite their bravado, Hawkmon and Palmon are overwhelmed too. A hits Hawkmon in the chest while an urn lands on Palmon's head, and the two are subsumed in the trash pile with their human Partners.

In the dub:

Younger Roachmon: I think I should use my Garbage Dump attack to finish them off! Older Roachmon: That's rubbish! I'll just use my Yard Sale Bombs on them and we won't even have to bargain! Mimi: Better yet, how about neither? Roachmon Brothers: THE ROACHMON BROTHERS ARE NOT GONNA TELL YOU AGAIN: STAY OUT OF THIS!!! Mimi: (annoyed) Just a suggestion. Younger Roachmon: I've got an idea, Roachmon! Let's use both attacks! Older Roachmon: Roachmon, that's the first smart thing you've said! Roachmon Brothers: GARBAGE DUMP!!!

The Roachmon Brothers aren't as tight-knit as the Gokimon Brothers. They still bicker over who should attack, but it's "I should use MY move" instead of "You should use YOUR move."

Mimi bursts out of the trash pile, outraged at how stupid and gross Dream Dust is.

Mimi: What the hell!? It's just trash! Gokimon Brothers: Hehehehehe!

The Brothers giggle to themselves, then suddenly send a sharp look Mimi's way that causes her to flinch. Miyako, half-dazed, pokes up from the garbage.

Miyako: What's going on...?

She comes to just in time to see a piano fall from the sky, crashing into the ground in front of the girls.

Girls: O_O .............. Mimi: (quietly) It's not just trash....

They look up in time to see a refrigerator heading their way, and scramble out of the trash pile to escape.

Girls: RUN FOR IT!!!

Mimi and Miyako bolt off into the woods, pursued by the Gokimon Brothers who keep firing at them.

Gokimon Brothers: DREAM DUST!!!

Tables and dressers and an oil drum all fall from the sky, attempting to crush the fleeing children.

Mimi: Palmon, can't you evolve!? Palmon: Not until we destroy the Dark Tower!

Mimi continues to have been inadequately briefed on the mechanics of the Digimon Kaiser's dominion. Maybe if someone had been more thorough with her explanation instead of getting distracted staring into Mimi's eyes, she'd be better prepared.

In the dub:

Mimi: That's it! This is a designer blouse! Roachmon Brothers: Hehehehehehe! (Roachmon sharply glare at Mimi and make her flinch) Yolei: ...now what...? (Piano) Girls: O_O .............. Mimi: ...sorry, but I don't play. (The girls flee the fridge and run for it) Girls: WHAAAAAAAA!!! Roachmon Brothers: YARD SALE BOMBS!!! Mimi: Palmon, Digivolve! Palmon: I can't until the Control Spire is destroyed!

Here we see what the delineation of Garbage Dump and Yard Sale Bombs is about. The dub's made the trash pile and the falling objects into separate attacks, whereas they're both encompassed as part of Dream Dust in the original.

That's fair.

While Mimi and Miyako flee into the woods, the Gokimon Brothers cackle to themselves about how easy this is.

Younger Gokimon: This is a piece of cake, huh, Onii-sama? Older Gokimon: Sure is, little brother. Miyako: Even the Evil Rings can't suppress the bonds of sibling kinship! Miyako: (thinking) It's so beautiful. If Mimi-san and I could....

There is no heterosexual explanation for this.

(I've heard Miyako's fantasy specifically a reference to Anthy and Utena of Revolutionary Girl Utena, but I can't vouch for it myself.)

Miyako disassociates from the chase to go wildly daydream about floating in a void, clasping hands with Mimi while wearing long, flowing dresses and even longer hair.

Fantasy Miyako: Mimi-oneesama! Fantasy Mimi: What is it, Miyako-san? Fantasy Miyako: No, it's nothing.... Actual Miyako: ...so enchanting.... Hawkmon: What the hell are you fantasizing about!? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND, MIYAKO-SAN!?!? WE'RE IN BIG TROUBLE RIGHT NOW!!! Miyako: Sorry, sorry. DIGIMENTAL UP!!!

Ladies and gentlemen: The Disaster Bi.

The dub tries to offer a heterosexual explanation for this.

Younger Roachmon: They were ten feet away and you missed 'em! Older Roachmon: I missed!? You missed! Yolei: Boy! For brothers, they sure don't get along very well. Yolei: (thinking) I'd be best friends with my sister if she were someone like Mimi.... (Yolei wildly disassociates into fantasy land) Fantasy Yolei: Oh, Mimi. You're my beautiful sister! Fantasy Mimi: Yolei, you're beautiful too. And we live in a beautiful house with a beautiful garden! Life is beautiful! Actual Yolei: Awwwwwww.... Hawkmon: Yolei, I don't mean to interrupt your daydream, but this is a rather precarious situation. Don't you think it's time? Yolei: Right! DIGI-ARMOR ENERGIZE!!!

And they fail miserably. They go harder to emphasize that Yolei's talking about platonic sisterhood. But also, in their version of Yolei's fantasy, she and Mimi are explicitly roommates who spend all day telling each other how beautiful they are.

Unfortunately, dub Hawkmon's sense of decorum keeps him from full-throated screaming at Yolei for this like his Japanese counterpart does. So we lose the punchline.

ANYWAY. AWKWARD LONGING LATER, FIGHT TIME NOW.

Horusmon: MIYAKO-SAN!!!

Miyako mounts her steed mid-gallop

Miyako: LET'S GO, HORUSMON!!! Mimi: Miyako-chan... That's so cool!

Horusmon turns around, shoots past Mimi, and takes to the sky.

Horusmon: RED SUN!!! Gokimon Brothers: WHAT!?!?

Horusmon's twin lasers catch them both offguard. The brothers let out a scream as the blast explodes into its typical red sphere.

In the dub:

Halsemon: Yolei, climb on my back. (Yolei does so) Yolei: Alright, let's go! Mimi: Wow! That Armor Digivolving is so fashionable! (Halsemon takes to the air) Halsemon: TEMPEST WING!!! Roachmon Brothers: AHHHHHH!!!

Fashionable, y'all. Mimi's just gawking at how well Halsemon color-coordinates to Yolei's outfit. Nothing to see here.

Getting hit by Red Sun enrages the Gokimon Brothers, who decide to take this seriously now.

Younger Gokimon: Are you okay, Onii-sama? Older Gokimon: I'm okay, little brother. Now let's get serious! Gokimon Brothers: GOKIMON BROTHERS KICK!!!

Together, they launch a flying kick. Horusmon swerves aside, and the brothers sail harmlessly past.

Horusmon: They're coming back around! Gokimon Brothers: GOKIMON BROTHERS CHOP!!!

Horusmon evades another charge, and the Gokimon Brothers crash into the ground with tremendous destructive force.

In the dub:

Younger Roachmon: I feel like someone just set off a bug bomb.... Older Roachmon: Never mind! There's two of us and only one of him! Roachmon Brothers: ROACHMON FLYSWATTER!!! (Halsemon dodges the flying kick) Halsemon: Here they come again! Roachmon Brothers: ROACHMON EXTERMINATE!!!

The dub gives them pest control-themed names for their attacks. Cute.

Seeing the dust kicked up from the Gokimon Brothers' tremendous impact, Mimi gets an idea.

Mimi: That's it! Miyako-chan!!! Miyako: Yes? Mimi: Use the Gokimon Brothers' attacks to break the Dark Tower! Miyako: Mimi-san! BINGO!!!

Miyako flies for the tower, while Mimi heads the same way on foot. The Gokimon Brothers recover, pursuing Miyako through the sky.

Gokimon Brothers: WAIT FOR US!!! Miyako: Here they come, Horusmon. Horusmon: (English) Roger! Gokimon Brothers: GOKIMON BROTHERS CRASH!!!

The Gokimon Brothers charge, full speed ahead. Miyako leads them straight for the Dark Tower.

Mimi: Now, Palmon!

Taking control of one of the Kaiser's narcissistic spotlights, Mimi and Palmon rotate it to shine directly into the advancing Gokimon Brothers' eyes.

Gokimon Brothers: I CAN'T SEE!!!

Just as planned, the brothers slam into the obelisk, breaking off a chunk of it. Not enough to bring it down, but enough.

Miyako: MIMI-SAN!!! Mimi: Eheh!

In the dub:

Mimi: (gasp) That's it! I've got an idea! Yolei: What? Mimi: Those Roachmon don't seem to be too smart! You can use them to destroy the tower! Yolei: Alright! PERFECTO! (Mimi and Yolei make for the Control Spire) Mimi: Come on, Palmon! Let's get ready! Roachmon Brothers: RRRRRRRRRRRGH!!! Yolei: (to Halsemon) Here they come! You know what to do! Roachmon Brothers: ROACHMON EXTERMINATE!!! (Yolei leads the Roachmon Brothers towards the Control Spire) Mimi: Since these guys aren't too bright.... (Mimi and Palmon rotate the spotlight) Roachmon Brothers: GYAAAAAAAH!!! (Roachmon Brothers crash into the Control Spire) Palmon: Now? Mimi: Now.

They reuse Roachmon Exterminate for Gokimon Brothers Crash.

Solid pun that Mimi awkwardly leaves hanging, but let's cut her some slack. It was the heat of the moment.

With the Control Spire damaged, Togemon is able to join the party!

Dazed, the Gokimon Brothers poke their heads out of the Dark Tower--

Togemon: CHIKU-CHIKU BANG-BANG!!!

--and instantly get their faces stuffed with cactus needles.

Horusmon: RED SUN!!!

Horusmon follows Togemon up, firing straight into the weak point that the Gokimon had made. His blast decapitates the obelisk, sending the Gokimon Brothers plunging to the ground alongside the upper third of the structure.

From his command center, the Digimon Kaiser watches his black square flick over to white.

Kaiser: My territory just shrank! This has become an unpleasant Golden Week. I'm going home!

He leaves his throne and storms off in a huff.

Wormmon: Ken-chan... If you could just grow up a little....

Don't let him hear you say that, Wormmon. He might kick you again.

In the dub:

Togemon: NEEDLE SPRAY!!! (Togemon needles the Roachmon Brothers) Halsemon: TEMPEST WING!!! (Halsemon decapitates the obelisk) Emperor: MY SPIRE!!! AUUUUUUUGH!!!

The dub takes its final commercial break right after Ken shrieks in outrage. When we return, they catch us up by replaying the footage of the Spire getting broken and start the Emperor's scene over from there.

Emperor: ARGH!!! (pouty) They've destroyed another one of my Control Spires! Talk about a wasted weekend. I'm going home! Lock up when you're done! Wormmon: About time. Now I can watch my Saturday cartoons.

The Emperor's wounded child tone is perfect. 10/10, no notes.

Wormmon, on the other hand? Funny self-referential gag about Saturday Morning Cartoons, which were a big deal back in the day and of which this dub was one.

But, as usual, Wormmon's vibe is completely different. They're still playing him as merely the put-upon minion, a staple of American cartoons of its era, with none of the genuine concern and affection for Ken-chan that he's supposed to have.

It's consistent with how the dub's characterized him up to this point. But I'd be lying if I said Wormmon being relieved that Ken's fucking off and leaving him alone didn't rub me the wrong way.

With the Dark Tower destroyed, Miyako's signal is finally able to get through to Daisuke and the others.

Daisuke: Ah! The enemy's area just disappeared! Iori: I got a message on my D-Terminal. "We're safe. ~Miyako"! Daisuke: She really had us worried!

Meanwhile, per usual, the destruction of the Dark Tower causes the Gokimon Brothers' Evil Rings to shut down. The Rings pop open and fall off their antennae.

Mimi: Looks like they've woken up, huh? Miyako: Yeah! Younger Gokimon: (startled) What are you doing here, Onii-chan!? Older Gokimon: Me!? How about you!? What's wrong with you, little brother!? Younger Gokimon: YOU ATE MY CHOCOLATE, ONII-CHAN!!! Older Gokimon: YEAH, WELL YOU ATE MY DAIFUKU!!! Younger Gokimon: WHAT!?!? GIVE ME BACK MY CHEWING GUM!!! Older Gokimon: FUCK OFF!!! YOU GIVE ME BACK MY RICE CRACKERS!!! Younger Gokimon: COME AND TAKE IT!!! Older Gokimon: I'LL TAKE EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!!!

The two Gokimon explode into fisticuffs.

Siblings!

Miyako: O_O ...they were best friends, but now they're viciously tearing into each other. Mimi: O_O ...maybe they were better off under the Digimon Kaiser's control. Miyako: I don't want to think that--

Cut to an exterior shot of the forest, as the brothers' fight escalates.

Younger Gokimon: GOKIMON OTOUTO KICK!!! (explosion) Older Gokimon: GOKIMON ANI CHOP!!! (explosion) Gokimon Brothers: GOKIMON BROTHERS ATTACK!!! (explosion) Miyako: (despondent) IT CAN'T BE TRUE!!!

Errors have been made today. The Gokimon Brothers, Miyako's model for the relationship she wants to have with Mimi-oneesama, were only able to tolerate each other because the Digimon Kaiser had them both mind-controlled. XD

In the dub:

Davis: Hey, look! It's Yolei's signal! It's coming in crystal clear! Cody: That's a good sign. It must mean that they're all okay and they were able to destroy the Control Spire in that area. Davis: Alright! Way to go, Yolei!

The team speculates wildly as to the state of things based entirely off a blip on the radar. Cody's still looking down at his D-Terminal as he speaks, though, so I think he's just reading off Yolei's email and taking credit for the "deduction".

Davis is dim enough to buy it. It's fine.

Mimi: Now they'll be friendly. Yolei: Yeah! Younger Roachmon: Last thing I remember, we were at the motel! Older Roachmon: Yeah, we were out by the pool and you took my towel! Younger Roachmon: Well, you ate the little chocolate they put on the pillow! Older Roachmon: I put those chocolates on the pillow! I brought them from home! Younger Roachmon: From home!? Those were my chocolates in the freezer! Older Roachmon: OH, YEAH!?!? WELL, IT'S MY FREEZER!!! Younger Roachmon: IT'S MY HOUSE!!! Older Roachmon: I'M PAYING RENT!!! (Roachmon fight) Yolei: Just goes to show you, there are some families where they're better off only having one child. Mimi: You're right, Yolei. And in some cases like this one, they shouldn't have kids at all. Yolei: I think it's time we left these two alone.

You heard it here, kids! Digimon Sez: Before you get ready to pop that kid out, maybe have a good, long thought about abortion.

Younger Roachmon: FROM NOW ON, STAY ON YOUR HALF OF THE HOUSE!!! (explosion) Older Roachmon: AND YOU STAY ON YOURS!!! (explosion) Younger Roachmon: FINE!!! Older Roachmon: FINE!!! (explosion) Yolei: Here comes Davis and the others!

Yeah, this isn't half as funny as the original, because the Roachmon Brothers were already characterized as bickering shits.

They took out the Gokimon Brothers being besties and they took out them inspiring Miyako's fantasy session. So this hilarious payoff to their whole function as characters just fizzles out in the dub.

The Roachmon Brothers were mean before they were freed, and they're still mean after. Oh well. Shrug emoji. Here comes Davis.

Davis: MIYAKOOOOOOOO!!! Takeru & Hikari: MIMI-SAAAAAAAAAAN!!!

The rest of the Chosen Children arrive, amid the swarm of Gekomon and Otamamon who've also been set free.

Gekomon: Our Evil Rings are gone geko! Otamamon: Thank you, Mimi tama! Mimi: ^_^ Hehehe.... Togemon: Mimi. Mimi: Huh? Togemon: I'm going to stand guard over this area. (Mimi embraces Togemon's glove) Mimi: Ganbatte.

Mimi leaves Togemon with parting encouragement to persevere through the trials she's committed herself to.

For no clear reason, Hikari has picked up one of the Otamamon and is holding them in her arms. Hikari is the person that "Do not pet the animals" signs are for. She can't help herself.

Daisuke: Who's that? Miyako: Mimi-san's Digimon, Togemon. Daisuke: Ahh! Togemon! We're counting on you! Group: We're counting on you! Togemon: (embarrassed) Ehehe, I'll get it done (ganbari).

Everyone shares a good laugh. Except the Gokimon Brothers, who are now hurtling through the air far above shrieking:

Gokimon Brothers: SOMEBODY STOP US!!!

As they hurtle past in the distant sky, they're given a cosmic hurtling sound, like a comet passing by.

In the dub:

Davis: Yolei! Hawkmon! We're over here! Gekomon: They told us you were back, Princess, but we didn't believe 'em! Otamamon: Princess Mimi, we have been waiting for the day when you would return to us! Mimi: ^_^ ......

What has the dub done to these poor Gekomon? The dub's unwillingness to let "Princess Mimi" go has left these poor creatures convinced that she would ever come back and rule over them again.

Palmon: Mimi! Mimi: Huh? Togemon? Palmon: I will protect this area now! You can count on me. (Mimi embraces Togemon's glove) Mimi: I've always counted on you.

Oh my god. T_T I love it. That's perfect.

Davis: Who's that? Yolei: That's Mimi's Digimon, Togemon. Davis: Wow! Togemon! Call us if you need us! Group: Goodbye, Togemon! Togemon: Don't make me cry. Rubbing my eyes hurts too much! Group: Ahahahahaha!!! (Roachmon brothers pass in the sky) Younger Roachmon: You stay on your half of the sky too! Older Roachmon: FINE!!! Younger Roachmon: FINE!!!

XD The Roachmon got me. That was good.

At last, the first day of Golden Week is over and the children return to their world.

Daisuke: And that concludes today's picnic!

Outside Odaiba Elementary, Mimi waves farewell to the departing younger kids. But Miyako stops suddenly.

Miyako: Ah! MIMI-SAN!!! Mimi: ...? Miyako: (shouting across the distance at the top of her lungs) I HAD FUN!!! MEETING!!! MIMI-SAN!!! TODAY!!!

Mimi covers her face for a couple seconds. (Embarrassed? Blushing?) Then, deciding on her response, she holds out her finger in what's becoming Miyako's iconic pose.

Mimi & Miyako: BINGO!!!

In the dub:

Mimi: Goodbye, everyone! Thanks for a great picnic! Bye! Yolei: Oh, Mimi! I almost forgot! Mimi: Huh? Yolei: I WANTED TO SAY!!! WHEN I GET OLDER!!! I WANNA BE!!! JUST LIKE YOU!!! (Mimi curls into herself for a moment then holds out her finger) Mimi: Perfecto.

Nothing to see here, folks. Just some good ol' platonic admiration for one's role model. Yep yep.

Narrator: Will the DigiDestined be able to stop the Digimon Emperor from expanding his empire!? Find out on the next Digimon: Digital Monsters!

Oh, you shut up. We were having a moment here. Not everything needs to be a tense cliffhanger.

Assessment: This is it. The episode that brought a thousand shippers out of the woodwork. I was looking forward to coming back to this one because I remember Mimi and Miyako having gay subtext but I figured once I saw the episode again in context, it'd be this little thing that the shippers were blowing out of proportion.

...

Yeah, no, this episode was way more gay than I remembered. Miyako wears her crush on her sleeve from start to finish. The rest of the group basically stops existing in her perception once Mimi walks through that door, and she does not let up until credits roll.

She was fantasizing about Mimi (and possibly Utena, famously one of the lesbian classics?) while they were being shot at. She privately calls her oneesama in her brain and has to check her words not to say it out loud. She's got it bad.

To be fair, it's Mimi. Everyone and everything crushes on Mimi. That's been her life since File Island. Her hand slipped when she was rolling her Ability Scores and accidentally knocked a d100 into the mix so now her Charisma is 84 and she just has to live with that.

[beardedmrbean]

WASHINGTON — President Biden issued a pardon Monday for his brother James Biden, effectively burying the final details of a more than five-year probe into the first family’s influence peddling to save them from possible repercussions under the incoming Trump administration.

Congressional Republicans subpoenaed James Biden, 75, along with first son Hunter Biden, 54, in 2023 to investigate their involvement in the family’s domestic and foreign business dealings — after evidence emerged that both men repeatedly involved Joe Biden in their lucrative relationships.

Republicans accused James of lying to Congress and requested criminal charges. They also suggested his dealings may have amounts to unregistered foreign lobbying, another crime.

“My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me—the worst kind of partisan politics. Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end,” the outgoing president said in a statement minutes before leaving office.   “I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics. But baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families. Even when individuals have done nothing wrong and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage their reputations and finances.”   Biden added: “That is why I am exercising my power under the Constitution to pardon James B. Biden, [his wife] Sara Jones Biden, [first sister] Valerie Biden Owens, [her husband] John T. Owens, and [first brother] Francis W. Biden. The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that they engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense.”

It’s unclear why Biden pardoned some of his relatives, though Sara Biden was involved with some of her husband’s business relationships, and Biden’s brother Frank allegedly used his brother’s name in business dealings. The timeframe covered by the clemency grants also was not immediately clear.

Biden previously issued an unprecedented pardon on Dec. 1 spanning 11 years of his son’s conduct — stretching back to 2014 when Hunter Biden joined the board of Ukrainian gas giant Burisma Holdings — heading off sentencing on gun and tax evasion convictions and potential additional charges.

James Biden, unlike his nephew, was not charged with committing any federal crimes, though his conduct was actively investigated by House Republicans and the press.

The pardon of James Biden, who struggled to manage his own finances despite earning large sums, indicates the president likely feared the incoming Trump Justice Department would further investigate his family’s dealings, as James was involved in many key initiatives that included the president and Hunter.

The first brother for decades monetized his proximity to power — dating to Joe Biden’s 36-year Senate tenure — and House Republicans turned up records that he sent $240,000 to Joe Biden in 2017 and 2018 from funds linked to alleged influence peddling, which James said were personal loan repayments.

‘A line of 747s filled with cash’

In one of the earliest known instances of his dealings that garnered scrutiny, James in 2006 allegedly crowed, “don’t worry about investors, we’ve got people all around the world who want to invest in Joe Biden” when he and Hunter Biden were in the process of taking over a New York City hedge fund.

“We’ve got investors lined up in a line of 747s filled with cash,” Politico reporter Ben Schreckinger wrote in a 2021 book.

Joe Biden was the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the time.

Law firm SimmonsCooper — associated with wealthy asbestos lawyer Jeff Cooper — invested $1 million in 2006 to that hedge fund. The same year, Congress considered asbestos reform legislation, in which then-Sen. Biden (D-Del.) played a pivotal role in blocking a change that could have limited funding for payouts after lobbying by Cooper’s firm.

A Biden spokesman claimed in 2008 that the money was unrelated to the bill and that the investment was later returned.

Cooper subsequently partnered with the Biden family on business pursuits in Mexico during the Obama-Biden administration — and posed for a 2015 group photo with Mexican guests and Joe Biden at the official vice president’s residence and riding aboard Air Force Two for an official 2016 trip to Mexico.

James Biden was wiretapped by the FBI in 2007 — when his brother was still a senator — as part of a bribery investigation of Mississippi lawyer Dickie Scruggs, the Washington Post reported in 2023.

Biden, who was not charged in the case, was in talks with Scruggs and conspirator Tim Balducci about setting up a law firm that would have employed himself, his nephew Hunter Biden, and James’ wife.

Scruggs at one point flew Joe Biden to a fundraiser on his private plane, the Washington Post reported.

Then-Sen. Biden went from opposing federal legislation to punish tobacco companies for lying about the addictiveness of cigarettes to a supporter after Scruggs — the architect of a multibillion-dollar litigation plan — paid James Biden’s lobbying firm $100,000 in 1998, the Washington Post also reported.

“I probably wouldn’t have hired him if he wasn’t the senator’s brother,” Scruggs told the paper.

Another disbarred Mississippi attorney, Joey Langston, who was convicted in a different bribery case, told House impeachment inquiry investigators that he loaned James Biden $800,000 in 2016 and 2017 during Joe Biden’s final term in office, but only got $400,000 back.

The troubled attorney, who had hosted fundraisers for Joe Biden, ProPublica reported, was unsuccessfully trying to overturn a bribery conviction in court in 2016 — raising questions about whether he was also seeking a federal pardon from Obama while Biden was his No. 2.

China funds ‘laundered’ to Joe: GOP

James Biden was involved in an arm’s length of controversial foreign ventures.

Corporate bankruptcy documents say that James Biden received $600,000 in loans in 2018 from rural hospital provider Americore, including an initial $400,000 that January and a later $200,000 on March 1, 2018, by pledging to “obtain a large investment from the Middle East based on his political connections.”

Politico reported that “one person on the receiving end of Jim Biden’s health care pitch recalled a phone call in which Jim Biden said he was sitting in a car next to his brother Joe.”

James Biden in 2018 apparently made a pitch to Qatar to invest $30 million into a troubled rural hospital provider and directly mentioned that he was the “brother” of then-former Vice President Biden in 2018 in a presentation, according to documents obtained by Politico.

James told impeachment inquiry investigators that investor Amer Rustom, whose corporate biography describes him as having “strong ties with many of the Middle East and North African leaders and country officials” referred him to another businessman, Michael Lewitt, for a potential $20 million investment in Americore, but that it didn’t materialize in time to save the company financially.

The Securities and Exchange Commission in 2023 charged Lewitt, a Florida resident, with stealing $4.7 million from investors of his own fund.

James Biden wrote his brother a $200,000 check shortly after receiving his final installment from Americore.

The first brother insisted the payment was a legitimate loan reimbursement. Democrats said that bank records showed the Joe Biden had transferred that amount to James previously, Republicans said no loan paperwork existed and questioned whether Joe Biden had actually transferred the initial funds, which flowed from a law firm associated with the family.

James Biden also sent $40,000 to Joe Biden on Sept. 3, 2017, which House Republicans said came from “laundered” funds from CEFC China Energy, a Chinese state-linked firm that paid Hunter and James Biden millions of dollars in a venture that one Biden family associate infamously penciled in a 10% cut for Joe Biden, whom they referred to as the “big guy.”

The source of that $40,000 sent to Joe was trackable due to the near-empty balance of James’ account, investigators pointed out.

James defended his work with CEFC in his impeachment inquiry testimony, though his description of his duties drew questions about his possible liability under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires Americans to register before lobbying for certain foreign clients.

“Relying on the extensive network of contacts I had developed over many decades, I quickly identified a number of promising opportunities. For example, I reached out to a number of investors who were friends and who expressed serious interest in working with us,” James said.

“In addition, I connected with Richard Ieyoub, an old friend and the former long-term Attorney General of Louisiana, who by 2017 was the state Commissioner of Conservation. Mr. Ieyoub directed me to a number of projects, including Monkey Island LNH, a property off the coast of Louisiana with opportunities for the onloading and offloading of liquid natural gas. 

“Of all the projects, this was the one that proved most attractive to CEFC, whose representatives presented the opportunity to the Chairman [Ye] and gave an informal go-ahead for the project. We even marked the occasion with a celebratory lunch.”

Joe Biden allegedly met in early 2017 in Washington with CEFC Chairman Ye Jianming shortly before the company opened the spigot of funds flowing to the family, former Biden family associate Rob Walker testified.

James said in his own testimony, said his brother “had no information at all about the source of the funds I used to repay him.”

“I never asked my brother to take any official action on behalf of me, my business associates, or anyone else. In every business venture in which I have been involved, I have relied on my own talent, judgment, skill, and personal relationships — and never my status as Joe Biden’s brother,” he said in the testimony in February.

He insisted that the money he transferred to the president were all short term loans that were for tuition payments for his children, unforeseen medical expenses and storm damage on his house.

“The Committees have asked about those loans from my brother. They were short-term loans that I received from Joe when he was a private citizen, and I repaid them within weeks…. The complete explanation is that Joe lent me money, and I repaid him as soon as I had the funds to do so.”

“What I can say is not that I’m aware of,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Dec. 12 about a James Biden pardon. “But I just don’t have anything else beyond that, and the president certainly is going to as it more broadly speaking, as we move forward to the next couple of weeks, he obviously is going to review with his team about other clemency decisions, and they’re taking additional steps, and so that’s what I can speak to at this time.”

[downwithsithbus]

I DONT KNOW 😭😭😭

one note and i’ll reveal jed’s dick size

[waywardsheepplane]

[mrsniallhoran505]

Good Morning Austin Girls!

Theme 747: you are good enough

GMAG! Tag List:

Sometimes tags work sometimes they don’t!

If you want to be added to the tag list, please send me a message.

@ilovemycrayons @blurredcolour @dre6ming @slowsweetlove @pennyroyalcreep @austiebuttbutt @lisathewife101 @jojam10 @xxindiglow @crackerbarrelslut @katsukis1wife @purejasmine @feral-fae-writes @eliseinmemphis @klizzie93 @scarlet-sunsets @austinbutlermischief @dazzledbycarrie @sunset-striptease-too @chasingwildflowers @justafangir1 @kctj82 @alikaheroes @xanatenshi @b-bradshaw @armoredbutterfly93 @auvis @ifuckindontknow @imjustheretoreadsmuthaha @thenatallie @cynic-spirit

[todaysdocument]

Letter from J. B. Densmore to the Secretary of State Regarding the Number of American Citizens Who Had Sailed for and Returned from Europe from August 1 to August 12, 1914

Record Group 85: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization ServiceSeries: Subject and Policy FilesFile Unit: European War - German Refugees - Deportation of Italians - Alien Deportations

53854/39 August 14, 1914.

The Honorable,

The Secretary of State.

Sir:

In reply to your telegram of the 12th instant, requesting information as to the number of American citizens who have sailed for Europe since August 1st and the number who have returned to America from Europe since that date, I beg to inclose a table, prepared by the Bureau of Immigration, giving the desired data for the period from August 1st to 12th, inclusive.

Respectfully,

[stamped in blue] EXACT COPY AS SIGNED BY J. B. DENSMORE MAILED BY [/stamped in blue]

Acting Secretary.

[8/14 and illegible letter written over the stamped information]

SWM-F

Inclosure No. 1070.

Arrivals of United States citizens from Europe August 1 to 12, 1914, inclusive:

Port First Second Third Total

Class Class Class

New York 2265 2136 1076 5477

Boston 144 460 63 667

Philadelphia 2 150 46 198

Canadian Seaports 494 413 310 1217

Total 2905 3159 1495 7559

Departures of United States citizens for Europe August 1 to 12, 1914, inclusive:

Port First Second Third Total

Class Class Class

New York 284 595 747 1626

Boston 8 62 12 82

Philadelphia 73 29 102

New Orleans 4 4

Total 296 730 788 1814

Departures via Canadian Seaports are unreported.

[blackdollette]

hi i haven’t seen too many rory fics so i was wondering if u could do one where he’s getting ready at 7 in the morning for an interview and reader wakes up to him in the bathroom getting ready but she’s like extremely horny (like morning wood but for girls ;)) but she’s also like extremely tired cus it’s rlly early

and rory sees her and is like really sweet and goes to kiss her head say gm and give her a hug but when he tries to pull away he realizes that she’s like gripping him not letting him go and he’s like “babe i gotta finish getting ready” but she’s just holding onto his waist and rory’s all confused until she like looks up at him with eye bags and red shot doe eyes (but rory still thinks she’s beautiful ofc ;)) and is like “can you help me?”and rory’s confused at first but then realizes what she means when she slowly starts to take her panties off and then he’s like “you’re so tired tho” kind of laughing at her neediness but she’s like begging like “please?” with doe eyes n shit basically still half asleep but he gives in but is like “we hv to go quick cant b late” and he fucks her good and hard and like he’s holding both her legs up giving her a so much pleasure from the angle and he’s a little rough with her like grabbing her face and choking her and whispering dirty things into her ear and she’s like so tired but she’s staying up thru it and right after they cum she like falls asleep and he finds it really cute and is like “gn baby” and gives a her sweet goodbye kiss. :3

(dis is so much im so sorry)

ask & you shall recieve :))

"i need you." | rory culkin

off to the races. - lana del rey

female!reader x rory

word count: 747

contents: unprotected sex, p in v, creampie

p.s. i didn't write this with the intention of directing any disrespect towards rory's relationship :))

you rolled over as you felt the morning sun hitting your face. you slowly opened your eyes, letting them adjust to the light. you glanced at the alarm clock on your bedside table. it read 7:02am. you got out of bed, slipping on your robe and stumbling to the bathroom, seeing rory getting ready through the crack in the door.

you opened the door and walked in, wrapping your arms around him in a tight hug. he gave you a soft kiss on the forehead before trying to brush you off, but you kept a tight grasp on him. you were so sleepy, but all you wanted was to be with him right then. you’d woken up feeling so needy for pleasure, so you weren’t ready to let him leave.

he looked at you, still trying to get you off of him. “i’ve gotta get to work, baby. i have an interview at 8 and i don’t want to miss the train.” you put your head on his shoulder and groaned. he lifted up your head and made you look at him, looking into your eyes. it was clear that you hadn’t had the best night.

your soft was soft and a little raspy. “i need you, baby. please. don’t go yet…” you looked at him, your big pleading eyes staring into his soul. and he noticed how your hips were just slightly grinding on his legs. he looked at your body in your robe, seeing as it revealed some of your cleavage. he looked down as you fiddled with your lacy panties, and he knew exactly what you were getting at.

you were making his mind wander. he surely couldn’t go to work without settling this matter, so he sighed as he reached his hands down to his belt, unbuckling it quickly. he pulled you into a passionate kiss, running his hands down your body as he picked you up and set you by the sink, helping you take off your robe. 

he tossed it onto the ground and stared at your body for a moment, fully taking in your beauty. he pulled himself into you, starting to kiss your neck softly as he took off your soaked panties. you ran your fingers through his hair as your body grew warmer. your tongues started dancing together as he slowly rubbed your clit.

you whined as he teased you, but you both knew that you’d have to be as quick as possible. so he lined up his cock with your entrance before pushing it in. you moaned loudly. it felt so good to finally be filled up like this. he wasted no time thrusting into you. you wrapped your arms around his body as he pushed himself in and out of you. 

deep groans were coming out of him. it was clear that he’d wanted this too. he kept your legs apart and circled your clit with his thumb. the room filled with your noises, them surely being loud enough to wake up the entire neighbourhood.

he gently grabbed your face and started speaking to you in between groans. “you feel so good, baby. just wanna make you feel good…” he started going faster with his movements, syncing his fingers with his thrusts. you were a moaning mess, tugging at his hair and feeling yourself losing control.

you started bucking your hips into his touch, feeling your body finally getting the relief that its been craving. he made sure to hit that perfect spot everytime, feeling as your pussy clenched around him. his groans became raspier the more frequent he got. you were both painfully close to such a satisfying orgasm.

his chest heaved up and down with each breath. “cum with me, baby… ” and that was all you needed to hear before completely letting yourself go, releasing all your cum on his cock. he looked down at the white ring around his length as precum started shooting from his tip. with one final thrust, he came inside of you. there was so much that when he pulled out, you were connected by a thick string of cum.

time was running short, so he didnt have to time take care of you like he usually did. so he carried you back to bed, you almost instantly falling asleep as your head hit the pillow. he smiled and pressed a loving kiss to your forehead. then he walked to the door and walked out without a sound.

author's note: this has been sitting in my drafts for a while. so sorry for the delay but i hope you enjoyed it :))

[katthepiratequeen]

My most commented upon fic, and the one my readers were most passionate about is an a/b/o historical pirate DabiHawks fic. It's also the one I'm most proud of--passionate engagement, the first time I ever had a fic break 100k (which reassured me that I could do it in my professional writing as well, and a successful adaptation of a novel I'd half written but knew something was missing from it .

Plunder

Touya has wanted to be a sailor for as long as he could remember, a dream his father nurtured...until he presented as an omega. Shortly after a pirate attack Touya is dropped at an omega school and left there for years. When his brother arrives to liberate him, Touya assumes it's so he can finally return to the Endeavor, and be the sailor he always knew he was. Instead, he's told he's been promised in marriage to a Keigo Takami--a landowner and merchant. And probably old as the hills and a landlubber, to boot.

Alpha Keigo Takami has a second identity--the well known and feared pirate Hawks, captain of the Ghost (if you see her, you're about to become one). He decides to get a look at the man his uncle Tsunagu promised was his perfect match, and raids the Endeavor. When Touya raises a sword, determined to fight him, Hawks falls hard and fast, already dreaming of their honeymoon. Which is how he ends up bargaining with Touya for a kiss...and then more.

Stats

Rated Explicit

33 chapters

105,777 words

1,121 kudos

747 comments

229 public bookmarks (a lot of people privated their bookmark of this fic-orders of magnitude above my others. Guessing bc of stigma around liking a/b/o?)