#I'm going to be very normal about this show

[kaonarvna]

I get this with my EDS quite a bit. I've had casual comments (that some could perceive as complaints—and I'm probably too neurodivergent to tell in the moment) that I'm "always talking about it" or it's "the only thing I talk about".

It's almost as though my day to day life as I know it is structured around caring for my EDS. It's almost as though EDS is in every single system of my body, in such a way that it's altered my brain. It's almost as though every system in my body being built just a little incorrectly leaves me perpetually symptomatic in a dozen areas. It's almost as though I'm doing first aid for injuries that'd be considered emergencies in normal bodies every day.

My disability is sometimes my personality, because every drop of fuel my body has is going towards managing me.

At work, after so many years of working with my current employer, I now have a PowerPoint about my body that I show new staff. It's part of my risk assessment that colleagues are "informed about my conditions". It's 12 text heavy slides (with a few images of different braces, tapes, splints, etc) slides covering my risk assessment, what my diagnoses mean, what's "normal", and how to react to my body. Most able bodied people will never have to do this. Most people will never have to sit down with someone you don't even know, and give them a presentation about the workings of your flesh.

There's one slide that says: "When in doubt, I am fine. My 'fine' is very different from yours. Do not presume I need your help. I don't. If I need help, I will ask for it. This is the only body I've ever lived in, I know how to take care of it."

Fortunately the PowerPoint has been very good at decreasing the frequency of repetitive questions about my body. I make sure the content is understood. Most people don't have to lay their insides bare for every stranger they expect to be around for a few hours per week.

I still get inappropriate questions sometimes. Most recently I had, "Is your skin stretchy like...everywhere?" (their tone indicated they were asking about my penis).

I refused to answer.

Having to talk about my body too much is part of my life. It's "normal" to me, "abnormal" to everyone else, and it's for my own safety. If I didn't dissect myself for every new stranger, I might have an even worse time than I already do.

People wonder why disabled people "make their disability their whole personality" when we live in a world where disabled people have to constantly explain themselves so they aren't judged and attacked.

[prettylynnpup]

The Roommate

"C'monnn... Why is it taking it this long to come home?" You wondered aloud to yourself. Your roommate usually gets home from work around 7, and you watch your shows and eat together around 7:30. It's now 7:45 and there's absolutely no sign of it.

"Is something wrong? Is it safe? God I hope nothing happened-"

You're cut off by a *knock* at the door, proceeded by the jingling of keys. It usually knocks when it gets home to let you know that it's there. Thank god, it's home!

"You're here! I was waiting so long Lynn, what kept you?" You hopped out of your seat at the couch and excited walked toward the door.

"Wait, you actually waited for me?" There's a bit of surprise in its voice. Why is Lynn surprised you waited for it? Of course you did! Routine is very important to you, and you would keep telling yourself that "routine" is the only reason you waited. It's embarrassing to have feelings for your roommate, after all.

"Uh, yeah. We normally have dinner at 7:30 and I was just starting to get worried... I m-mean, you know how important these routines are to me!" You looked at it with those doe eyes of yours. You really wanted to hammer home how upset you were about your routine being missed without warning.

"Okay, look, I know I was gone but I promise it was just to get gas. First I stopped at that place on Mangrove, but they were having issues with their card readers so I had to go all the way to Lowans Drive."

"Out to Lowans??? Was there really not another gas station closer?" It doesn't often happen that the gas stations aren't working around here, so you're extremely surprised to hear that Lynn had to go somewhere 20 minutes away from here just for gas.

"Yeah... Regardless of where I went or how long it took, I'm gonna make it up to you, okay?" Lynn promised. You suddenly realize that it's been holding a bag this whole time.

"Hey, uh, what's in that bag?"

Lynn taps your forehead. "Don't worry about it."

Worry about what? What were we talking about?

"What do you want for dinner, hon?" Lynn asks. You blush a little at the pet name, and struggle to bring your mind to the question at hand.

"Uh, what options do we have?" You'd rather know what you're working with so you can make an informed decision.

"Well, there's those leftover shrimp tacos, the rotisserie chicken, ramen, hot dogs, or we could run out somewhere together if you'd like," Lynn lists for you.

"Can we finish off those shrimp tacos? I'd rather fish not sit in our fridge for too long." You reminisce on the Tuna Salad incident... What a terrible day that was to have a working nose.

"Absolutely, do you wanna set up Jojo while I cook?" Lynn asks.

"Yeah, I can do that." You answer, setting off on your respective tasks.

-

You've both settled in for dinner and are eating while watching anime. It's a very comfortable silence shared between you and Lynn - you've done this hundreds of times before, after all.

"Hey, uh, I'd like to explain the real reason I was late."

You look over at it. The real reason?

"It wasn't to get gas?" You'd been so willing to just believe it, so it almost hurts a bit that it lied to you.

"It wasn't." Lynn pulls out the bag from earlier. Opening it and pulling out the contents, you see a collar, leash, and edibles.

"I was hoping that we could, maybe, try something tonight?" It looks at you so sweetly, but you can tell there's something nefarious going on under that look.

"T-try what?" You stammer back. Fuck, the implications of this have you flustered. What in the world would Lynn want to 'try' with you with those three items?

Lynn taps your forehead again. It gets a bit harder to think. H-how did it do that?

"Well, I was hoping to, maybe uh, have you as my pet tonight?" Lynn shakes the collar and edibles at you invitingly.

Has it been researching your fucking kinks? How did it know to get edibles *and* a collar and leash? You didn't know how it knew, but you were definitely turned on at the idea. Oh fuck you still haven't responded...

"Uhm. I-I uh... M-maybe, w-we could try that..." You're stuttering over your words so bad. It definitely knows how bad you want it. Fuck this is so embarrassing...

"Pet, I know how long you've wanted me for. We share a bed, so I see the dirty things you look up at night. And don't think I didn't notice you researching 'how to stop being into your roommate' a couple days back. I know how bad you fucking want this, so please just..."

She taps your forehead one more time. "Give in."

"Y-yes mommy. P-please let me be your pet mommy." The words spill out of your mouth before you even knew what you were saying. It was like your deepest desires were being pulled out of you by force... Not that you really minded.

"Good pet!~" Lynn locks the collar around your neck, then puts the leash on it. Almost instinctively, you've put yourself on all fours. Lynn looks into your eyes, and holds out the edibles toward you.

"Does puppy want a treat?~"

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[harmless-variety-of-garden-snake]

Tommy's introduced as a bigot in season 2 and often shown taking initiative in starting the bullying of Hen and Chim vs. waiting for Gerrard to do something and just not standing up for them. There's even a scene in "Chimney Begins" where no one else is even in the room to overhear and Tommy still chooses to be nasty to Chimney instead of a bare minimum of civil. Even after the "resolution" of the episode and his 'apology' (not for racism, but for making Chim prove himself at work), he's still shown to have spent years not learning his lesson, becuase he goes back to the same behaviors with Hen and Chimnney even mentions that "the Asian guy" still isn't invited out by the team for drinks or BBQ.

Then when it's "addressed" in season 7, we see remarkably little growth from Tommy, where he's blaming "the environment" and Gerrard for his choices and actions as a grown man. And in season 8, we get a healthy dose of misogyny in ageism with how he speaks of Abby, while casually acknowledging he also screwed up her life.

It's not just that he was afraid to stand up against bigotry in the face of an evil boss. He could've taken Eli's route, and just be silent. But no, Tommy is someone who chose to actively participate in workplace bigotry and bullying, and then almost 20 years removed, shrugs it off as everyone else's fault.

let’s not forget his very recent comments about Abby that were reeking of misogyny. Talking about her dating some “himbo” younger than her (as if he wasn’t actively doing the same thing) and admitting he was lying the whole relationship (not just about his sexuality).

Word for word that man said, “Heard she went a little nuts after that” as if her entire world wasn’t flipped upside down with her engagement ending and having to take care of her sick mother. The only tiny bit of understanding he showed was him saying she deserved better, which duh. 

One time when I was five I put a bead in my nose and it went all the way up to the bridge and I had to push down on it from the top until I could get it out because I was scared it would go to my brain and kill me.

That has nothing to do with any of what you said, but I just thought I'd put that out there because you're doing some dumb shit and I wanted you to know we've all done dumb shit. This is a safe space.

Anyway, I don't think you've ever been a closeted queer person who's said and done some at times questionable or outright fucked up things to keep yourself safe from scrutiny.* I grew up seeing people like me getting murdered and heard people explain why it would've been avoidable if they hadn't been so obvious or if they'd just chosen to be normal. I also grew up with a lot of bullies who were only bullying me because it put them in the protected group. It kept them from having people look at whether or not they were actually a good target for bullying. I'm actually friends with a couple of those people now. Not close, but we're cordial and we'll talk when we bump into each other at the store. That has more to do with us being in our thirties and living our own lives. There's a couple who had no excuse whatsoever other than being actual homophobes, I don't talk to them.

I dated in high school, I was engaged but I was 18 so I don't know how much that counts, but then I came out when I was in my early twenties. I knew I wasn't actually interested the entire time I was with those people, either. At first I just thought the relationship wasn't right for me, then I started to realize what was actually going on. I still dated, I still asked someone to marry me because I thought I could be happy with them. I did love and care about them, just not the way you should if you're going to marry them. I also didn't tell anyone I was non-binary until two months ago, even though I figured it out about fifteen years ago. A trans person hiding their identity to protect themselves from danger or rejection is nothing new, but it's kind of a shitty feeling to know you've been lying to every ex you've ever had about something like that. I don't like that feeling, and it's going to take a while for me to shake that. I don't know that I ever will.

So all of that is to say that a character like Tommy is actually kind of important to those of us who also weren't perfect at being queer, especially those of us who grew up during a specific time. I was actually pleasantly surprised that a basic network show would have someone like that, but times they are a-changing. So onto your last point:

Abby Clark is played by a now 57 year old Connie Britton (drop the skincare routine, girl), Lou Ferrigno Jr is 40, and Oliver Stark is 33. When you're an actual grown person, a seven or eight year age difference is kind of nothing. One of you might be a little more ready for things like kids or marriage, but that's not a guarantee. But hearing that your ex started dating a 26 year old when she's about 50, whether or not he knows that she actually pulled Buck's info in a very questionable way (I love that no one going after Tommy ever seems to care about the massive ethical breach from Abby), is kind of...wild. And he presumably heard about this from a mutual friend of some kind, who likely gave him this information colored by their own perception of the situation. This is where critical thinking skills become important. Based on context clues, I can safely guess that Tommy asked someone how Abby was doing or ran into someone who knows her, too, and they said "Hey, did you hear about Abby's new guy?" Otherwise he would've said "I saw that she was dating...." or "She told me she was dating..." So this could've been secondhand bitchiness, it could've been that her behavior was being framed as extremely not okay by someone they knew. We'll never know, the show doesn't have the strongest writing all the time. I'm not touching the thing about her mother, because a very close family member of mine has Alzheimer's, a good friend just lost a parent to it, and I do not want to examine the behavior of a person who's dealing with that or that of the people in their lives.

Could he have said "But I get it, she would've been going through a lot because of her mom and then our breakup"? Yeah. Would it have been nice if they wrote any scenes between Tommy, Hen, and Chimney that bridged the gap between when they weren't close and when they actually celebrated him and his accomplishments when he left the 118 to show why he would be someone Chimney would call on in two major emergencies? Yeah. I think I would've liked to see them talk things out onscreen and to show any apologies. Mostly because it would keep people from dropping an essay in my ask box when I feel like my sinuses and temples are filled with hot needles. I don't actually need to see it other than liking the three of them together, because I figured that they would've shown some hesitation before Chimney would reach out to him or he would've pulled Buck aside to warn him to be careful with Tommy. Or Hen and Karen wouldn't have been so thrilled when they realized what had gone down before Buck and Tommy came into the hospital room. There's a lot of stuff they don't show on this show, but they'd at least make a point to do or not do certain things if a character hated or disliked a character.

*I believe a certain dispatcher even did a whole big speech about this on the very show you apparently watch. I didn't like the Glee part, because I don't like Glee after season one. But the rest of it was good.

[sillygoofyqueer]

I know that this is going to get weird but bear with me. Also this isn't meant to be as horny as it might seem.

I think that PIDW Logic™️ would give the middle finger to the whole point of bird demons having genders in the first place and make all bird demons lay unfertilised eggs about once a month, unless they get fertilised while still in the bird demon of course.

Crowyuan would be no different even if he's the heavenly demon variety.

I think Binghe would be jealous of Crowyuan's eggs.

I think Bingge might cook them if Xin Mo got to him.

Oh Binghe would be SO normal if he could naturally have children with Crowyuan.

And imagine how shocked and kind of horrified one of his followers/Binghe/the peak lords/the disciples would be if they were to find (one of) his nests with AN EGG in it. There isn't a baby in it or anything but STILL.

The crow family knows what's up but they still get a little surprise every time because SY doesn't bloody tell them when it's That Time Of The Month: Bird Demon Edition.

I am so so sorry the mpreg part of my brain leaked a bit into the Crowyuan part of my brain.

Henlo, Anon! Thank you for the ask, I very much appreciate it. I need to preface this with the fact that I read this ask, thought "huh, this doesn't feel very horny to me!" and then showed it to one of my mutuals as a sort of second opinion if you will, and they just said 'damn, egg layer Yuan' and that sort of put it in perspective for me. Despite that, I still don't think it's very horny, so either I'm just desensitised to it all, or this isn't horny! ANYWAY, if you want mpreg, we can literally have mpreg. Crowyuan now has mpreg. I don't know if there's a secret group of people who have been praying for this moment, but if there is, you can now rest. Put down the blackmail plans. We're going to look at Original Crowyuan, then Crowyuan on Cang Qiong but with the mpreg lens because that's FUN. (Also jiuyuan) ((To that one irl friend, my bestie booboo bear, you do NOT fucking see this. You never did. Dear GOD, YOU FUCKING DIDN'T.)) Original Crowyuan usually has his unfertilised eggs in his crow home, surprising his family at first but then they learn how to track his...'cycle' if you will, so they aren't caught off guard if there's a random egg in his nest. However, when he starts spending more time at Bingge's castle, it's a constant fucken wrestling match over eating the unfertilised eggs. It's like Crowyuan being like "DROP IT!! DROP THAT EGG!" and Bingge is holding it above his head and being like "I'M GOING TO MAKE SCRAMBLED EGGS AND NOBODY CAN STOP ME!! IT'S A WASTE!" However, I like to think that Bingge is also like "this egg could be fertilised. This could be my child. But noooo, it's devoid of a baby, so I'm going to fucking eat this." Dude I forgot the tag for the Crowyuan that's just chilling on Cang Qiong, but he's obviously just hanging around Cang Qiong and making nests on most of the peaks, so he does just have unfertilised eggs lying around. I imagine that Shen Jiu is the first to find out because (as stated in a previous post, I think) he's got disciples/a record on every single nest on Cang Qiong, so he sees this fucking egg just...lying around in one of the nests and is like "Oh. My God." and then like well what the fuck would he do with this? His pretty crow demon is going to be a mother! He must not let any of the bastard peak lords learn about this, 'lest they try and 'take responsibility' and step up to be a father to his demon's children, so HE must do it first. (When Crowyuan learns of this, he feels so bad because Shen Jiu is so determined about it, so he has to like...actually have a child! Cue mpreg.)

[wee-larceny]

Time to Orbit: Unknown liveblog Chapters 021-030

Chapters 001-010 011-020

So let's start with a quick recap this time too, just to go through our previous questions, see what got answered, what I'm still wondering about, and what new mysteries arose.

Stuff we now have answers for:

Why did no one treat Captain Reimann's wounds? - He locked himself in CR1 away from the rest of the crew.

Whose body is missing and where is it? There were only three frozen corpses for four potential dead people in the back of the ship. - That'd be Captain Reimann in CR1.

What is in CR1? How did the 120-something people die there? If a guy with an axe in the process of being subdued can actually cause a hull breach then that's not a spaceship I'd like to travel on. - Reimann killed them with an axe. The hull breach was lie.

When and why was CR1 locked ? We know when it was damaged but not when it was password-locked. Which captain did it? Riemann probably didn't have the opportunity (it was still open during his rampage and I sure wouldn't have allowed him computer access after.) If it was Kinoshita, why? - It was Reimann locking himself in to commit mass murder. I assumed that when the AI said he was prevented from causing further harm it meant that the rest of the crew subdued him but that's not true&it just shows that I shouldn't have believed the AI.

Did the crew keep logs? If yes, read them. - They did but they're currently unreadable.

What's up with the disgusting air filer? - Coolant leak plus spores.

Questions I still have (some with slight modifications):

Why did Captain Reimann start hacking at colonist with an axe and how did he lose an arm?

Why did Captain Kinoshita try to move the giant box that ended up crushing her?

Why wasn't CR1 jettisoned? Why didn't the two halves of the crew reestablish contact in a different way either?

Why didn't Arc Hess clean up the coffee? Why did they keep a paper calendar?

Why was no one woken from chronostasis to replace the dead crew?

Why didn't the AI help Kinoshita or anyone else? What does it read/write to the crewmembers' chips? Why is it lying about everything?

What killed most of the crew? I'm theorising here that it wasn't the spores because they very easily could have taken care of that. Also what caused the coolant leak and where did the spores come from in the first place?

What was the experiment that killed three members of the crew?

Why can't the new captain override the previous one's orders? Captain locks a door, dies, door is locked forever. That's just bad design.

How did the aft engines get irreparably damaged?

What happened when the ship lurched sideways? It can't have been just the rotations slowing, because that would decrease gravity unless there's a complicated science reason as to why it doesn't. There can't be a complicated science reason because Derin explains those immediately.

Brand new, shiny questions I acquired:

Why are there so many Texan convicts on this ship? Normally I'd say they're being exploited somehow, but how?

What's up with the extra body in freezer storage?

How does the AI know exactly when and how Reimann died and also about the coolant leak in PLR1 if it cannot monitor these rings?

Why did Reimann lock the vents open?

Why did they lie about the length of the trip?

Why are the people in CR1&5 less likely to survive?

Why kill the colonists this way specifically? Is the cranial port coming free from the skulls of Riemann's victims in any way connected to what happened with Pterra Collyn? Because that was weird and freaky. Also why are they not as decomposed as the Friend expected them to be?

Has Denish ever broken into a pressurized vessel before? If yes, awesome.

[orionhelluvaranting]

Debunking the Myth about Stolass' Lack of Awareness

Justifying Stolass' harassment by his ✨unawareness✨ is such a popular tactic of the stans. "He didn't know his behavior makes Blitz uncomfortable!" they say. "He was sheltered all of his life!" they say. Some of them are bold enough to headcanon Stolass as autistic coded even.

However, what if I say there's the scene - the one single scene - that wrecks all those statements about Stolass' unawareness? And just the one shot expresses the whole essence of my point. Do you want to see it? Okay, here it is:

If you didn't comprehend it (maybe you forgot this moment from the series) that's fine. I was going to analyse this anyway 🔎

Here's the context: S2E4, "Western Energy". Stolass, Stella and Andre-blah-blah are sitting at the cafe for privileged jerks and discussing S&S' divorce. Then Striker breaks into the building and fires a series of shots at the prince (all missed the target). Right in the middle of the shooting Stolass turns to Stella, looks at her evil smirk... and he gets it all! Immediately! This is literally what's happening. Stolass understood that his wife has put a hit on him. And how did he come up with that conclusion?

He! Just! Read! Facial! Expression!

The line that's addressed from Stolass to Striker confirms this unambiguously:

So what is the unawereness we could talk about after all this? No, really! Stolass not only identified Stella's emotion (schadenfreude) correctly but also connected it to the current situation and his wife's general attitude towards him from which he deduced the reason for Stella's emotion (she craves his death, therefore she's the one who put a hit on him). And all this in a matter of seconds. To the whistle of angelic bullets!!! Like usually people become less analytical in moments of danger. But here's Stolass suddenly showing us miracles of emotional intelligence! Bravo!

So why can't he apply the same tactic to Blitzø or Octavia? Why is he able to grasp emotions of his abuser - who he hates and despises - very easily; but he stays unaware for so long when it comes to his loved ones? Why it took him almost a whole day to see that Via doesn't enjoy being in Loo Loo Land (although she openly said this from the very beginning)? Why it took him nearly a year (!!!) to see that Blitzø doesn't enjoy being his "impish plaything" (although he made it clear constantly)?

Isn't he able to understand them? Or maybe just doesn't want to?

Draw conclusions by yourself. And those of you who wants a few more thoughts of mine - I'm gladly inviting you under the cut!

You know what's the funniest part? This little detail doesn't have any impact on the story! At all!!! You literally could cut it off, change the dialog between Stolass and Striker a bit and TA-DA! Nothing would've changed. Because Stolass doesn't remember that his wife tried to kill him. He doesn't take any precautions even! Like, apparently, Via spends almost the entire second season with her mother.... and Stolass' totally OKAY with this?! Huh?!?

Why was that moment pushed into the series regardless? Well, I think Viv just wanted to praise her babyboy.* Like, "Oh, look how smart and cool he is, not like that stupid cow, Stella!" But ironically this decision has exactly the opposite effect.

I mean, it's a normal thing not being able to understand something in a few seconds in an emergency. Just a normal thing. Honestly, see no reason for judging. But if you, Stolass, have actually realised your abusive wife's desire for unaliving you and then you don't do shit preferring to chase your butty call while your precious daughter lives with that abusive wife of yours... Then I have a question:

Besides, as I just said, this all levels the whole "Stolass' unawareness" excuse to the ground. And you can't fix this by making excuses below your own video, Vivienne 🙄

If you want your audience to grasp something then you should follow the "Show, Don't Tell" rule. Also it wouldn't hurt you to try and not contradict yourself. This time you had every chance to do so but you've just missed it. Congrats!

So what was the point?!

*By the way something similar was showed at "Oops" when Stolass stayed with Ozz (for some unclear reason) and explained to him - the Deadly Sin - how deals with the Deadly Sins are working! Yeah, what a nice fellow Stolass is, saved helpless dumb Ozzie from losing everything! Isn't that adorable everytime Stolass needs to look smart somebody must lose all of their braincells? Looks like somebody doesn't beat the Gary Stu allegations, huh?

[burgerrat]

Harley Sawyer x Reader

NOTE: reader is gender-neutral. Scenarios are often sporiadic.

( Because there's little to none and it upsets me greatly how out of character people write him as or label him as yandere, in the few writings there are about him. So I'm going to try my hardest to keep him strictly canon. )

Pre-Experiment 1354.

At first he might come across as grouchy, irritable even.

Then, there is interest. Genuine interest. He wants to study you, see what makes you tick.

Realistically, Harley seems to be quite literally incapable of caring about anyone that isn't himself in a normal way most would expect. His form of feeling 'love', in his mind, is really just a sugarcoated form of saying "I need you alive, you are useful and resourceful to keep."

He does not feel love in the traditional way, that doesn't mean he doesn't care for you. He just does not feel.

His way of showing love is through acts of service, verbal affirmations and gift-giving. He keeps a list of what you like, your interests, and important dates.

Complimenting him or any sort of praise instantly sends dopamine in his brain. Inflating his ego. Automatically in his best mood.

And boy is he smug. He doesn't even attempt to hide it.

He'll keep a facade, perhaps not even tell you about the kind of 'workplace' he's part of at Playtime Co., he needs you to trust him, and you can trust him! He needs you.

Although he uses emotional manipulation, it is not done with malicious intent. He seeks to build a meaningful relation with this person that he wants by his side.

You can sometimes tell he's very... robotic with his behaviour, his gentle voice can only make his charm go so far.

But god does he try, he doesn't even get mad and threaten you for forgetting to take out the sweet pickles in his sandwich! Instead politely reminding you that he dislikes them😁

His perception of having a partner is a very alien concept to him. It feels like focusing on his work for another Bigger Bodies Iniciative experiment, there's that same passion behind to get to know you. He carefully constructs a face to seem normal for you, and studies your behaviour in the back of his mind. Observes you, takes note of what you tell him, etc.

He acts like he's studying a future guinea pig for Playtime Co., honestly. Yet the thought of using you never even crossed his mind.

Physical contact is another thing that feels alien to him, you can feel him stiffen when you hug him, he remains frozen for a few seconds before reciprocating. You can get a small glimpse of his almost-robotic attempt to recreate genuine human emotion. He'd start sputtering incoherently when you'd suddenly give him a peck on the lips.

"No, don't worry, you don't need to ask for my consent, I allow it, you and only you are allowed. I was simply unprepared."

You of course get concerned everytime he freezes or doesn't respond right away, thinking you've crossed boundaries since he noticeably grows tense. But he's always reassured you that he does not mind, he merely gets surprised.

The one time you've managed to aggravate him is by being so insistent on making sure he was consenting because of his initial reactions. He wouldn't audibly admit "Yes I like you holding my hand, hugging me, kissing me." But he WILL angrily tell you something along the lines of "I do cherish your displays of affection. Believe me, you will know if something upsets me."

It's a half-joke half-genuine warning. He's aware of his inability to get along with most people because of his anger.

With you... he's making an attempt to be less volatile. Even at work his shift in behaviour is noticeable when he thinks of you.

He genuinely struggles to grasp the concept of why he'd allow himself to have a loved one at all, having internal fights with himself about the 'pointlessness' of it, realizing the hypocricy of it given his disgust at others for feeling sympathy for his experiments.

He eventually comes to terms that he is allowed to have a loved one because he deserves to be appreciated for his work and how hard it is to share his workspace with people who are objectively inferior and incompetent.

He makes sure to keep this relationship secretive as humanly possible. The last thing he needs is for Leith or anyone at Playtime Co. to discover he has a weakness. He has a loved one too.

Although he doesn't show it, and you need constant reminders from him, that he does enjoy physical contact, he's just kind of like a ragdoll. He allows it but doesn't often reciprocate, and when he tries to- it's often awkward and very automatic like he's trying to copy what you're doing, he prefers to recieve contact rather than giving it. Again, it's another thing that fuels his ego.

He doesn't understand you fully, your compassion, your display of emotion, your sympathy.

And it's what draws him further in, mixed with disgust at how 'lovable' you are. It makes him question himself (not in a moral/self-reflection way, oh no no no, more of a 'why do I like this? This is counterproductive for my work. But I like it.' way) and it makes him question human nature, what it is that draws us to seek closure in such a way towards one another.

He might get vocal about that. And you're going to end up getting a semi-pessimistic philosophy lesson, all because you wanted to cuddle.

Post-Experiment 1354.

Remember his ragdoll-non reciprocative behaviour when you'd initiate physical contact? Suddenly he regrets not having indulged you more often, or asked for more.

Probably laughs at himself over the irony of how he didn't value simple things he had daily access to, and now that has been taken away, and he resents that.

Should you be able to find him in this state, in however way you managed to dig so deep into the foundation to find him, and should you be able to still see him with the same eyes you did before even in the state he's in, discovering what he'd done. Well, you'll make his (metaphorical) jaw drop.

After the shock, there is an uncharacteristic fear. Because of the Prototype, it must know you are here just as well as he does, but it does not know your connection to him, and he must keep it that way.

You refuse to go? He'll go on a long-winded monologue about himself (of course), how stupid one must be to refuse to run away from danger, proudly boasts about his work, it's purpose, long story-short: he fully tears off the mask. Because what he wants is to get you out. He doesn't want you to leave him, but you are useless to him if you are dead.

You want to stay? Even after all of this? With the state that he's in? Being only a brain, lungs and liver inside Vital System Center machines?

He laughs. Starts genuinely pondering your sanity, and survival instincts.

As you approach the large machinery containing his mind, visible through the glass, his laughs grow silent. Waiting.

"Do you think yourself a hero? Coming to rescue the beast?" He'd condescendingly ask you to break the silence, dead-serious and mildly irritated that you'd be that stupid to risk your own survival for him.

"I don't. You deserved it."

Silence. Then, laughter booming through the lab.

"My, my! And here I thought you were always such an understanding golden heart. What happened to the old Y/N?"

You two argue. He's very mad at you for being so stubborn on staying with him even though now you know in full detail of just how evil he is. As if your relationship with him can ever go back to normal like before.

You are within his grasp, in his lab, deep down an abandoned toy factory. He could turn you into his next, newest experiment, he could feed you to Yarnaby, he could dissect you and keep you alive just like himself.

Yet he doesn't.

Something in his evil, metaphorical heart stirs.

You, the only person that he could tolerate. Could get along with. That he felt... something for. Something worth keeping.

"I've missed you."

Make no mistake, he says that with absolute seething spite. He hates the sentence he just uttered from the speakers.

But alas, it is a bitter truth.

Silence

...

He can't feel per-say your arms wrap awkwardly around the giant machinery containing his mind, but he sees it through his cameras, ever so-intently observing you; he heard it, as your clothes' fabric brushed and pressed against the metal.

Another incredulous laughter rasped from the speakers.

Though he can't feel it, it... warms him, in a way, that you still somehow find it possible to 'love', to care.

"I wonder... perhaps, somewhere deep down, we share a kinship of depravity? Or maybe you're just blindly loyal as my dear Yarnaby?" He'd playfully mock.

One thing is for certain though: you intrigue him. He doesn't understand you, your affections towards him, and it makes him want to keep studying you.

His mechanical vessels are a bit trickier to 'cuddle' with, if at all. You're welcome to try, Harley won't stop you, just be careful not to open a wound that'll require stitches.

He does appreciate the effort. And this time, unlike when he was human, he initiates contact first.

His hand reaches for yours, guides you to touch his screen. Although he can't feel it, he tries recreating the sensation in his mind.

You hear him sigh often when he feels content. And/or hum.

He might grumble incoherently in the typical old man fashion and try to pick at you in his typical, eloquent way of speaking, if you try to point out his hypocrisy towards his carelessness for others having loved ones.

[whamgram]

Hi Gram!!! I'm Taki, big fan of yours!!!!! the one who is translating your story into Italian... for now we've reached chapter 16... 👻 some time ago, when I asked you for permission to translate it, I told you that in Italy the Charlastor is not appreciated at all, I see that even there the situation is not very different... I see it from platforms like X or TikTok or Pinterest, where there are chilling comments about our favorite ship... nevertheless our community is small but good... have you ever had to deal with any haters? And how do you deal with it all? Never give up, we love your story... I think it's the best Charlastor of all time... I can't wait to read the next outgoing chapter, Taki

Omgosh, hi Taki! 👋

Charlastor gets such an unwarranted amount of hate. 😓 I think it's a pretty normal ship that hits on a lot of popular romance tropes. And they're two great characters with amazing chemistry in the show! The way some parts of the fandom have labeled Charlastor as this super problematic ship is just so ridiculous. So many of those arguments are really bad takes of the source material or just completely baseless. And it's funny how a lot of the issues that folks bring up about Charlastor are conveniently ignored when it comes to some other ships. 😒 I wish it wasn't such low-hanging fruit for the fandom to target as a "bad" ship. It's okay to hate a ship because you don't like the dynamic or you ship the characters with other characters. What isn't okay is trying to rally an entire fandom into thinking that ship is "bad" and anyone who ships it is a bad person.

I do get the occasional hate comment and just immediately delete them. 😪 These types of people are just looking to get a rise out of you and I feel like the best course of action is to ignore them. I also tend to stick to just the Charlastor communities in online spaces. There are so many great people in our little shipdom. 🥰

And don't worry, my passion for Charlastor and UMS is still going strong, even if the writing process can be a slog sometimes. 😅 Your support and kind words really mean a lot! ❤️ And I know how much effort goes into translating a fic into another language, so thank you for doing that as well!

I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter! 😘

[delight-angelsbliss]

Hello, may I request S1-30 where Sonic see his crush excitedly showing papers, stickers and perfume for letters to their group of friends asking for their opinions in some combinations of it bc she is writing a very important letter, then some days pass she seems kinda down and never touch in the subject of the letter anymore just to Sonic found a crumpled love letter cleanly to him with no sender but with the same combination of paper, stickers and perfume that he and their friends chose to reader's letter? (Btw I've been liking your writing a lot 💕)

Prompt: writing a letter only to throw it away

Warnings: none to my knowledge crazy notes go brr

Notes: I'm back queens did u miss me HELP THIS IS SO CUTE also ty I've been trying hard 😋 ok so basically when I was writing this on a bench with some ppl but someone was harassing me coming way too close and breathing down my neck I was literally so creeped out brother euugh and someone was laughing screaming saying " she's getting harassed!" I also had therapy and I might go back to a mental hospital again. Chat btw is sonic a homeless man? Idrk so I'll just pretend they have apartments and stuff lol also the reset thing isn't absolutely gone but I'll manage

Ever since February started you've been raving about a particular letter you're making everyone knew about it and even tried to help you

What perfume? Moschino pink Boquet seemed fitting! Should I pick the blue or pink envelope? White with hearts may be cool

The one who helped you the most was definitely amy, I see her as a romance enthusiast and would definitely be there for anyone who struggles or something with romance

But someone was more intrigued than helpful, ofc it was Sonic! Making little jabs at you for trying, pushing to who it could be, teasing you for having a crush

It was ENDLESS!! He was so relentless with his teasing that it got annoying at some point. But could you blame him? From his point of view you were in love with someone else and that made him jealous

He felt heartbroken but let it go to keep you as happy as possible

It's like his heart was ripped out his chest and eaten but he paid no mind and instead tried his best to continue helping you with the letter for mystery person

But at the point where he made peace with you not being in love with him.. You've already stopped talking about it

It's like you've never even heard of it

Maybe it has been sent? He didn't know but it made him a bit worried

But one day while back at his place, he finds a neatly designed letter, the envelope was white and had small hand drawn hearts every where with a nice perfume scent

The letter had his name on it but no sender, but the cute packaging reminded him of a certain someone's letter

Was it really from you? No way. His heart lights up and so does his smile, if it was really from you he had to find out!! His crush left him a letter his life felt whole and complete

If it was really from you then Sonic knew he had to confront you about it

Not long after he starts racing to your place, but suddenly he goes back home

It's best to get some flowers, don't you think?

With everything in hand, flowers and the letter, his feet race to your apartment

In mere seconds Sonic reaches your place, his heart beats as fast as possible as his hand hovers against your door. The sun had its time and was now setting, the shade from the others building and the combination from the setting sun made it all feel so much more romantic

Sonic calms his breathing, returning to his normal state: cockiness

His hands finally give a strong knock

After you open the door, your gaze meets the letter that was oh so gently in his hand

"Be my valentine..?" Sonic holds out the flowers

Maybe leaving letters do work

[mikibwrites]

Fuck it Friday

It's 4:13AM and I just wrote a scene in a wip I haven't touched in over a year, so that's something! Here's a gift for those who continuously tag me every week in wip games, you don't know how much I appreciate you, even when I'm having such horrible writer's block. This is from my TrueBlood AU, in which I am attempting to rewrite each episode of LS, except it takes place in the TB universe. It's slow going bc of the changes I have to make BUT it still lives in my head all the time. So here's something a little sad and angsty, but maybe hopeful? This is from 1x08, so you have context, but obviously things are different ;) It's a long one, too. An entire scene, 1k! So there's more under the cut :)

Hours later, his father had gone home exasperated and TK couldn’t find it in himself to care. The sweet nurse was back. This time, for some reason, he clocked her name badge: Traci. 

Traci didn’t pay him any mind as she grabbed the chart off the end of Carlos’ bed, checked his heart rate, oxygen saturation, all the monitors and lines connected to his body. She pulled out a penlight and carefully, so very gently, raised his eyelids to shine the beam into his pupils. TK knew she’d find no reaction, but he also knew it was another thing to check off a list, just in case. 

Traci went through the entire checklist in silence, not acknowledging TK at all, which was odd. She usually had a kind smile for him, even if it reminded him of his father’s—a little exasperated. But this time she ignored him entirely as she went about her duties. He wondered if he’d annoyed her enough that her kind demeanor—her customer service face, he almost snorted to himself—had fallen by the wayside when he was the only one present in the room. He’d become furniture, which was fitting, since he felt like he’d solidified in place. He hadn’t moved a single muscle in hours, not even needing to breathe to put on a good show for anyone. 

Finally, Traci hooked the chart back on the end of the bed, but instead of leaving the room without a word as TK expected her to do, she turned and looked right at him.

For a moment, her eyes were hard, determined, but it seemed like this sweet woman was incapable of harshness because they softened after only a moment, looking at him with something like pity. It didn’t even raise his hackles like it normally would. He had no strength left to care what she thought of him.

“Listen,” she began softly, still standing a few feet away from. “I don’t know much about vampire health, but I do know about the bleeds. You need to sleep soon, or feed, or you’ll die.”

“I’m already dead,” was TK’s rote answer. She sighed, and he could tell she was slightly annoyed at him but didn’t want to show it. 

“I can bring you a bag from the—”

“No.” He almost winced at his harsh tone, his nature creeping out of him a bit, snarling. 

She didn’t question why he wouldn’t take a blood bag from their supply, just moved on. He was oddly thankful amidst his melancholy. 

“Then let me find you a light-tight room for a couple of hours. Please, you need to rest. Do you think, when he wakes up, he’ll want to see you like this? Not taking care of yourself?” TK could applaud her tactic, appealing to his very obvious care for the man in the hospital bed, but he had an answer for that too. 

“To be honest, he probably won’t want to see me anyway. It’s not like we’re anything serious.”

She raised a very skeptical eyebrow at him. He couldn’t blame her. He was purposefully slowly killing himself holding vigil for a man he’d pushed away at every slight show of something deeper between them. He probably should have taken this as a sign from the universe that he should cut ties with Carlos for good, that being around TK wasn’t safe for him. The worst part was, what happened had nothing to do with the supernatural at all; it was just Carlos’ job and it’s random, merciless dangers that landed them here. But TK couldn’t help wondering if it wasn’t a sign from the universe anyway. 

“Forgive me if I don’t take your word on that. Please, let me find you somewhere to rest, and you can come back in a couple of hours.” Her face was all sympathy, almost pleading.

“Why do you care what happens to me, anyway?” I’m a monster from your nightmares, he doesn’t say out loud, a qualifier that isn’t needed but true all the same. 

“I’m a nurse. Caring about people is in the job description,” she says with a casual shrug. 

“I’m not people.” It’s a true statement, full stop.

“See, I don’t believe that. I think everyone, good or bad, living or dead, has a right to health and happiness. And right now, I care about his health and your health and also my own sanity, so I can’t watch this anymore without doing something about it. Also, I’m pretty sure I could take you right now, in the state you’re in, so don’t try me again. I’ll be back in a moment.”

With that, she breezed out of the room and TK was left floundering. She was right, though; she could probably bully him into any position she chose right now, given how much his body had deteriorated without rest or blood. He felt like he’d melt into the floor soon. 

When she returned less than ten minutes later, she practically did just that. She threw a heavy blanket over him and grabbed his wrists in a surprisingly strong grip. “Can you stand?”

“Maybe,” he said honestly. 

He let her help him from the chair, unsteady on his feet and leaning on her more than he would like to admit. 

“There’s no windows between here and where we’re going, but I brought the blanket just in case. Come on, we’re even staying on this floor. But if you sass me one more time, I’m putting you down in the morgue.”

That almost startled a laugh out of him, more an exhalation of air than anything else. 

The room she brought him to had two small cots and a row of five lockers. A break room of sorts. What he really needed was to go to ground, an enclosed space near the surface of the earth would rest him properly, but if this was the best he was getting it was more than he deserved. She didn’t turn the light on when they entered, which he was grateful for. The harsh lights of the hospital were already getting to him, another thing he didn’t want to admit, but she seemed to instinctively know how to handle his needs in the moment. 

She guided him over to a cot and helped him sit. He was nearly instantly horizontal, like a felled tree, but he was grateful when his head hit a pillow and not something hard like the cot’s frame. He lost track of the passage of time while she tucked him in like a sweet mother, taking care with him like he was someone worth caring about. Like he was human. 

“Sleep, and I promise I’ll come wake you myself if there are any changes, okay?”

He looked at her wryly with all the strength he had left, his body already drifting into a state of altered consciousness. “You’d wake a sleeping vampire? You have a death wish?”

She scoffed at him with a smirk. “Did we not just establish that I could totally take you?”

He wanted to laugh at her, wanted to come back with something snarky but also menacing, but he was already out.

Tagging some Tarlos mutuals @herefortarlos @guardian-angle22 @bonheur-cafe @carlos-tk @paperstorm @basilsunrise @rmd-writes @lemonlyman-dotcom @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut @firstprince-history-huh and also specifically thanking @alrightbuckaroo @carlos-in-glasses and @strandnreyes for tagging me in other wip games :)

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 02x13 - The Call of Dagomon / His Master's Voice

Previously on Digimon Adventure: The Chosen Children entered a Wild West movie where a shootout may or may not have occurred, depending on whether you have to answer to the FOX network. They strip-searched a handgun, hung a sheriff's star from the gallows, then decided this genre's overrated and headed out on the old dusty trail.

This is another one I've been looking forward to.

This episode opens unusually. Skipping the previous episode recap that typically goes before the title card, we open on an ominous establishing scene of a dark ocean somewhere dark and eerie. A lighthouse in the distance is putting off black light as its spotlight rotates.

Slowly, a colossal figure emerges from the ocean, letting out a low, beastly grumble. But then someone drives a boat straight into its forehead and it disintegrates into pixel dust. Whew! Solved that nonsense!

Once the title card's come and gone, we open on Odaiba Elementary in the morning. Miyako and Iori are on their head in for school while the narrator muses about the situation in the Digital World.

Narrator: What kind of violence will the Digimon Kaiser, Ichijouji Ken, inflict on the Digital World? While the Chosen Children return to their daily lives, each of their minds is occupied with thoughts of the Digital World and of their own destinies.

Hikari trails along the sidewalk a ways behind Miyako and Iori. Takeru comes up behind her, reaching to put a hand on her shoulder, but his footsteps startle her. Hikari turns around suddenly.

Hikari: Onii-chan!

But it's not a happy Onii-chan. Hikari looks freaked out. Haunted. But she quickly realizes her mistake.

Hikari: ...Takeru-kun? (blushes) Good morning!

The morning bell rings while Hikari's saying good morning. Daisuke, unsurprisingly late, runs up and catches the two of them standing on the sidewalk like that.

Daisuke: Ah, good morning! Hurry up or we're going to be late!

Then he bolts for the door, with Hikari and Takeru following after. You two can have your awkward but shippy moment later; There is school to be had!

The dub has a normal recap sequence for the previous episode and then goes straight to Odaiba Elementary, cutting the eerie scene of a Cthulhu-like entity rising from a dark ocean. In place of the narrator, the episode opens to the sound of the school P.A. system.

Announcement: Students late for first period will be responsible for cleaning the bubble gum from under the desks after school. Come on, kids! CHOP CHOP!!! (Yolei and Cody enter school grounds) Yolei: Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Cody: No kidding! (Kari approaches the front gate) Kari: (thinking) Keep yourself together! It was just a dream! T.K.: (thinking) There's Kari! I wonder what she got on Question 3? (T.K. approaches and reaches up) Kari: (gasp) STAY AWAY!!! (Kari realizes) Kari: Oh! T.K.! (blushes) Sorry.... T.K.: Uh....

The school bell rings here when Davis runs up, instead of when Kari's talking. But there is a school bell and it's pretty close to where it was in the original.

Davis: Come on, guys! You heard the principal! You don't want to scrape gum, do you!? Kari: (gasp) (The three of them run for the door) Davis: Last one in has to eat the old gum! Ahaha!

EW. DAVIS WHY.

I'm not sure how Davis heard the principal from where he was on his way in from. That is a very loud P.A. system. I don't know how things are in Japan but I'm pretty sure the American Localized principal's about to get an earful about the volume of his school's speakers next PTA meeting.

In any case, the dub tells us outright that Kari's haunted by a bad dream she just had... but it doesn't show us the Cthulhu entity. So we know what's going on with her but don't know the extent of it, where in the original we don't know what's going on with her but it probably has something to do with that thing we just saw, right?

While the children run for the door, we pan over to Tailmon and Patamon lurking in a tree, watching them go.

Patamon: Hikari has so much energy! Tailmon: We never change, but the children are growing up.

Tailmon looks down, saddened by something, but she doesn't elaborate any further.

Patamon: ...is something wrong? Tailmon: No, just... It seemed like Hikari felt something a moment ago. Patamon: Something? Tailmon: I don't know. I probably imagined it. ...bye.

Tailmon descends from the tree, offering nothing further to Patamon than that.

Patamon: Ah! Wait, I'm coming too!

Patamon frantically follows after her.

Hikari was feeling something, eh? Ehhhhh? This is kind of a double meaning here. What Tailmon is saying is that Hikari's haunted by some kind of feeling. 感じ Kanji refers to sensory perception. She's seeing something. Hearing something. Feeling something. Something is dancing on the edge of her perception and it's loud enough that Tailmon's taken notice.

...but it can also mean that she thinks Takeru is cute. 感じ Kanji can be used to describe, for lack of a better term, a vibe. If you're having good vibes, it's いい感じ ii kanji. If you're having bad vibes, it's 悪い感じ kanji warui. And if she was blushing like that, then she was feeling pretty いい感じ ii kanji, right?

No. She was not. Tailmon is talking about something else. But it's easy to take it the other way.

In the dub:

Patamon: School! Wow! Looks like fun!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I'm sorry but wow. They had no idea how to start this scene. This is such a terrible establishing line, especially this deep into the status quo. Hahahahahahaha.

Sorry. Sorry.

Patamon: School! Wow! Looks like fun! Gatomon: I don't think Kari's having fun inside of school or out. She hasn't been sleeping well 'cause of her bad dreams. (Gatomon looks down, saddened) Patamon: Bad dreams? Gatomon: Yeah. She won't tell me what they're about but she wakes up every morning dripping in a cold sweat. Patamon: Does she sense something? Gatomon: I don't know. Maybe I'm just imagining it. Let's go raid the cafeteria! (Gatomon descends the tree) Patamon: Hey, wait for me!

Gatomon indicates that this has been going on with Kari for some time now. She has a firsthand account of Kari's symptoms over multiple days, whereas Tailmon is trying to piece it together from the behavior we just saw from Hikari.

In fact, Tailmon's so uncertain about what she's seeing that she cuts off the conversation almost immediately after starting to open up about it. Gatomon shares everything she knows with Patamon, then shrugs and gives up on it.

Gatomon suggests raiding the cafeteria; Tailmon keeps what she's going off to do to herself. We never find out, though; She really did just end the topic and then leave abruptly. She wasn't going anywhere with that. So raiding the cafeteria is as good an explanation as any.

In class, Takeru notices that Hikari isn't paying attention to the lesson. She's staring blankly into space. Her hands down on her knees. Vacant.

In Hikari's eyes, she is indeed feeling something. The trickling sound of water. The image of the ocean waves. Around her, a fog fills the classroom and her classmates slowly vanish into its murky mists.

Hikari: (terrified) ...what... is... this....

When she looks down, Hikari sees the bottoms of her legs submerged in black water. She isn't in class anymore. Her desk is in the dark ocean now.

In the dub:

Teacher: (monotone) Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see: X = Y, Y = 14, and lickety-split, Q = 46 36. Now. Isn't that. Exciting. T.K.: (thinking) What's more boring: Paint drying or math? (T.K. looks at Kari) T.K.: (thinking) I wonder why Kari's being so distant today? Kari: (thinking) What is wrong with me? Am I just overtired from not sleeping? I can't get these dreams out of my head. (Fog sets in around class) Kari: (gasp) (thinking) What's happening!? I know my math scores have been a little foggy lately but this is ridiculous! (Classroom vanishes) Kari: (gasp) This is... bizarre! (Kari notices her feet in the water) Kari: (gasp) (thinking) Hey, did someone flood the boys' bathroom again!? Wait. Where am I!? T.K.!? Gatomon!? YOLEI!?!? TAIIIIIIIIIII!!!

Dub takes its first commercial break here.

No ominous trickling sound of water in Kari's head here. It's replaced by a lot of inner monologue and some quips.

Yolei ranks higher than T.K. and Gatomon on Kari's list of panicked callouts. That's interesting.

So. Yeah. Hikari is freaking the fuck out. She's having some sort of terrifying hallucination that's--

Takeru: (startled gasp)

In class, Takeru notices Hikari fizzling in and out of existence like a staticky old TV set. So. That's horrifying. Correction: Not a hallucination. Something really fucked up is happening to Hikari right now.

Takeru: (jumping to his feet) HIKARI-CHAN!!!

All eyes turn to Takeru, then slowly over to Hikari. She's alert now. Responsive. Grounded in physical reality once more.

Daisuke: Huh? (concerned) ...what's going on?

Hikari doesn't answer. She puts her hand up to her forehead in pain, then passes out and falls to her left. The girl in the desk behind her is quick on her feet, bursting out from her desk to catch Hikari before she can fall too far.

As Hikari opens her eyes again, she sits up out of her classmate's arms. Though the girl keeps a hand on her back to steady her in case she passes out again.

Teacher: Are you okay? Go rest in the nurse's office. Hikari: Yes, sir.

The other girl backs up and Hikari gives her a grateful nod. Then she stands up from her desk and leaves class.

...alone. Which. Uh. I don't know about you. But if I had a girl passing out involuntarily in my classroom, I'd send that other girl to escort her. She's going to faint in the hall, get a concussion when her skull smacks into the floor, and it's going to be the teacher's fault. She is visibly not in good shape to take herself to the nurse's office.

Since the dub interrupted this scene for an ominous commercial cliffhanger, it needs to re-establish what's happening with some editing. We come back first to Kari glitching out at her desk, then T.K. noticing.

T.K.: Huh!?

Then they replay the footage of Kari's desk in the dark ocean.

Kari: (gasp) (thinking) SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!

From there, footage plays as normal.

T.K.: (jumping to his feet) KARI!!! (Everyone looks at T.K., then at Kari) Davis: Huh? (concerned) What's going on? Kari: Ugggggggh.... (Kari falls over) Other Girl: KARI!!! (Other Girl gets up and catches Kari) Teacher: Are you okay, Kari? Do you want to go to the nurse's office? Kari: ...yes, sir. (Kari gets up and leaves) T.K.: (thinking) Something's definitely wrong with her!

T.K. spells out the vibe of the scene for us and the teacher actually gives Kari a choice rather than ordering her to the nurse's office. But apart from the editing to fit in the commercial break, this is mostly the same.

As Hikari wanders the halls alone due to neglectful educational standards, her mind drifts.

Hikari: It's been a long time since I last felt like this....

She stops in the hall and watches a memory play out. Herself, three years ago, with Taichi.

Younger Hikari: I'm sorry, Onii-chan.

No further context is offered on what she's apologizing for. Hikari looks away, her resolve hardened... Only for a splash of water in the hall behind her to rattle her once more.

She freezes. A ripple in reality flows across the hall from behind her. A distortion moving through the air, as if remaking space around her.

Then she hears another droplet. And another. Another.

Voices. Not speaking, not saying words... but humming. Chanting. A chorus of droning voices behind her. Water drops in the hall behind her. Getting louder. Coming closer.

Hikari slowly turns around and then she sees it. At the end of the hall, coming up the stairwell. Something's there. With glowing red eyes watching her.

It growls.

Hikari: (terrified gasp)

Absolutely chilling in a way no words can do justice to. There's also an interesting implication from Hikari that this isn't the first time hallucinations like these have visited her.

That checks out; She was the only one who could see and interact with Homeostasis. She's always had a certain otherworldly specialness about her. But that memory she revisits is something else.

Now let's make jokes over it.

Kari: (thinking) Oh, it's no big deal. Blame it on the algebra. It was so boring, you fell asleep and dreamed you were in the ocean. That's it. I'm not going crazy. (Kari stops and watches the memory play out) Younger Kari: I'm sorry I let you down, Tai. Kari: (resolved, thinking) Get a hold of yourself, Kari! (Water drop, reality ripple) Kari: (gasp) Hello!? Is anybody there!? Davis, is that you? You win, Davis; I'm scared now. (More water drops) Kari: (shallow breathing, getting more frightened) (Kari slowly turns around and sees the thing at the end of the hall) Kari: (gasp) AhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Actually, this is pretty solid. It's wordier like the rest of the episode's scenes so far but I do like the part where she hopes Davis is just pranking her. The extra dialogue fits the scene's tone pretty well.

I also appreciate that she screams when she sees the monster. I was watching the original like, "I feel like she should scream now." I guess the dub agreed.

We do, however, lose the interesting line where Hikari implies that hallucinations (or "hallucinations") like this have been something she's wrestled with in the past. So that's unfortunate.

End of the school day. As soon as the bell chimes, Takeru throws open the classroom door and sprints down the hall. Daisuke remains in class, confused by Takeru's abrupt departure.

Takeru goes straight for the nurse's office, popping in the doorway.

Takeru: Excuse me! Is Yagami-san here? Nurse: Eh? No one's here. Takeru: Huh!?

He looks over to the bed in the nurse's office, seeing it empty and still-made as if nobody's touched it. Then fear grips his heart and he leaves.

Running through the school, he searches the bathroom, the library, the stairwell. All empty.

Takeru: Wh... Where did she go!? ...she couldn't have....

He makes a stop at Computer Club and pulls up the Digital Gate. It's still closed. Nobody has opened it.

Takeru: Whew. But she can't have just disappeared.

With that idea also a bust, Takeru gets going and resumes his search.

In the dub, rather than the school bell, we have a P.A. announcement to set off this scene.

Announcement: May I have your attention. Will the student who put the jelly donuts in the swimming pool please report to the office. (T.K. emerges from class and goes running down the hall) T.K.: KARI!?!? Davis: Whu--!? (T.K. reaches the nurse's office) T.K.: Excuse me, Nurse. May I see Kari? Nurse: I'm so sorry but Kari's not here, sweetie. How about a lollipop? T.K.: Huh? (T.K. looks at the empty bed) Nurse: Do you want to lie down, T.K.? (T.K. grimaces with fear, then begins his search) T.K.: Maybe she's in the girls' bathroom! I'll check! (Bathroom) T.K.: Kari!? Girl: AHHHHH!!! T.K.: (sheepish) Sorry. (Library) T.K.: She's not in the library! (Stairwell) T.K.: (echoing) KARI, ARE YOU DOWN THERE!?!? (Computer lab) T.K.: (throws open the door) Kari! (T.K. checks the Digital Gate) T.K.: (defeated) It's like she just disappeared!

Having a girl shriek when T.K. inspects the girls' bathroom is an obvious bit and I'm glad that they made it because I was thinking that too.

We lose the beat where Takeru thinks Hikari might have gone into the Digital World. He still checks the Digital Gate because that's what the animation has him doing, but it isn't dwelt on.

Finally, Takeru gets a lucky break. He spots Hikari out a window, sitting on a bench by herself, and rushes downstairs.

A trio of kids in casual clothes playing soccer come out from around the corner, making noise and laughing before kicking the ball back the other way. Hikari doesn't even notice them. But when Takeru approaches, she responds to his presence.

Hikari: I... was at the ocean.... Takeru: The ocean? Hikari: I... might be going away. Takeru: ... Hikari: I can feel someone... calling out to me.... Takeru: Who do you mean by "someone"? Hikari: ... Takeru: ... Hikari: (quietly) I don't know. But the next time they call... I feel like I'm going to go there. Takeru: Who could do something so selfish!? Hikari: Onii-chan always protected me in times like this. Takeru: Taichi-san. It's always "Taichi-san! Taichi-san!" You're always saying things like that! Like Hikari-chan is worthless!

Hooooo....

It makes sense that Takeru would feel this way. He fought so hard to get out of the Baby Sibling space that Yamato carved out for him. I can understand why he's myopically resentful that Hikari so comfortably sits and occupies the one Taichi carved out for her.

But to say it to her face like that is a line crossed. I get what he's trying to say. He's freaking out because she's about to be taken by some thing and he wants her to resist it herself rather than hold out for Taichi to solve it for her. She might be the only one who can.

But it comes out so harsh. Hikari looks up at him, hurt by his words, and Takeru suddenly seems to realize what he said. He freezes a moment, horrified. Then he takes a step back. And then he turns and walks away in silence.

Once he's gone, Hikari looks down again. And in her mind, she hears the crashing of the waves.

In the dub:

T.K.: (thinking) She might be in trouble! She might be in danger! She might be-- Huh? (T.K. spots Kari out the window) T.K.: --right there!? Kari: (thinking) Boy, do I have a headache! (T.K. goes downstairs to meet Kari. Soccer boys briefly emerge) Soccer Boy: And then I threw the jelly donuts in the pool! Other Boys: Ahahahahaha! (Soccer Boys leave. T.K. arrives) T.K.: Kari! I've been looking all over for you! Are you okay? Kari: It was weird. I was at the beach? T.K.: You ditched school? Kari: Hehe, no, silly! The beach in another dimension. You saw me in class; I was just sitting there and then the next thing I knew, I was in the ocean. T.K.: Now you've totally lost me. Kari: Then, on my way to the nurse's office, it happened again. I was surrounded by water and then... I saw one of them! T.K.: What do you mean, "one of them"? Kari: Digimon. They keep trying to take me to their world. I don't know if I can resist anymore. T.K.: You've got to! Where are they, Kari!? We'll fight them! Kari: I can't, T.K. I'm sorry. I'm just not strong like my brother Tai. T.K.: You're gonna quit!? Give up just like that!? Look, Kari, I care too much about you to let anyone take you without a fight! Kari: (gasp) T.K.: Uhhhh.... Uh, sorry! I'd better go now. I'll talk to you later?

Kari seems much more psychologically stable than her Japanese counterpart, who is barely able to form sentences. She spends a lot of this scene directly recapping what's happened. She also says the thing she saw was a Digimon which... is a fair assumption to make but not necessarily something to state with so much certainty.

Kari's killing a lot of the intrigue and mystique here. "Digimon keep appearing and trying to drag me to their world" is a very different conversation from "Something is calling me to the ocean and I feel like I'm going to go away." I imagine that's by design; This is a very scary episode and I wouldn't be surprised if FOX Kids is downplaying the horror on purpose.

They also change the nature of what T.K. said that was so wrong. Takeru yells at Hikari that she needs to stand up for herself and stop leaning on Taichi so much.

There is a hint of possible jealousy here. The passing of the torch from a dependable male role model to a romantic suitor is a pretty common romance trope.

The interpretation of romance as a woman being passed like a ball from father to husband goes back millennia. It's literally the reason fathers walk their daughter down the aisle at a wedding. It signifies the father handing her over to the husband. And it's not always without conflict; Sometimes husbands have to pry their womanball out of the father's cold, dead hands.

So when Takeru suddenly goes after Hikari's male role model, it's another moment that is about one thing but feels like it could be about another. He says, "It's always Taichi; Why not Hikari!?" but it's not super hard to hear "It's always Taichi; Why not me!?"

T.K.'s outburst is a lot simpler. He just says outright that he likes Kari, then backpedals and runs away out of embarrassment.

The dub ends this scene by cutting out a shot of the dark ocean. The original gradually transitioned to this shot after Hikari started hearing its waves again; The dub has no sound of waves and removes the shot, further demonstrating how much more stable Kari is right now.

Hikari exits the school grounds alone. A small breeze picks up for just a moment.

Hikari: The ocean....

She steps out onto the crosswalk ahead of her. Pan up to that tree again, where Tailmon is comfortably napping. She wakes up and sees Hikari down below.

Tailmon: Hikari?

Tailmon hops down to street level to pursue, but then she sees it.

Tailmon: Huh!?

Standing atop a staircase leading down to the beach, Hikari looks out across Tokyo Bay. There, she glitches again. Her body begins to fizzle with static, except for her backpack for some reason.

Tailmon tries to cross and catch up to her, but a truck cuts her off, honking. Tailmon loses sight of Hikari behind the truck. Once it's passed, she's gone. She leaves behind only her backpack floating in the air, until gravity reasserts itself and the pack falls to the ground.

Tailmon: Hikari!?

Nope. She's not coming back from this one. Just like she said she would, Hikari has gone. She's at the ocean now.

In the dub:

Announcer: Will Mary Robinson please report to the office? Your locker is missing.

XD HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I'm sorry. I just. I've always loved that one. That's my favorite goofy PA announcement. Twenty years later and I can still recite its exact cadence. The principal must be so fucking baffled right now.

(Kari emerges from front gate) Kari: ...the beach....

After Kari goes to cross and we pan up the tree, the dub adds a bunch of horns honking. We only see one car pass by though, right after Gatomon wakes up.

Gatomon: Kari! (Blue car goes by behind Kari after she finishes crossing) Passenger: You're speeding, Harold! (Gatomon descends the tree) Gatomon: Kari! (Kari fizzles with static) Gatomon: Kari, are you okay? What's happening to you!? (Gatomon tries to cross but is interrupted by a truck. Kari vanishes) Gatomon: Where'd she go!?

Up in Computer Club, the other Digimon are gathered with Daisuke and Iori watching Miyako work. The room fills with the sound of typing while she talks with them.

Miyako: I thought I could expand the D-Terminal's protocols. Daisuke: ...what does that mean?

Before Miyako can answer, a dejected Takeru enters the room.

Miyako: I want to be able to communicate with the Digital World in real time, instead of just by email. Iori: I'm sure the Digimon Kaiser is already doing that. Daisuke: Gotcha. If only we knew where he is now. Chibimon: I love it! That way, we can stop our nakama from having to undergo Dark Evolution!

...huh. Yeah, Chibimon raises a good point. The SkullGreymon/MetalGreymon (Blue) incident happened because the Kaiser was able to get the Children over in the one place while attacking Agumon in the other. Better communication would have been a huge help.

While everyone else is focused on Miyako's programming, Patamon is more concerned with his Partner.

Patamon: What's wrong, Takeru? You don't look so good. Takeru: (defeated) It's nothing....

As if on cue, Tailmon suddenly throws the door open. Out of breath and gasping, she stammers out:

Tailmon: IT'S HIKARI!!! Takeru & Daisuke: Eh!?

So much for nothing!

In the dub, there is no keyboard clacking. Instead, for some reason, there are mouseclicks. Mouseclick. ...mouseclick. ... ... Mouseclick mouseclick.

Yolei: By increasing the system memory, I'm expanding the D-Terminal's capabilities. Davis: (sarcastic) Boy, do you know how to party. (T.K. enters sullenly) Yolei: I thought it would be better if we can communicate in the Digital World not just through email but in real time too. Cody: Great idea! It could be helpful for keeping tabs on the Digimon Emperor. Davis: Boring! I think I'd rather go outside and play some soccer. DemiVeemon: No kidding! Let's go outside and get some fresh air! This place smells like a pile of stale sweatsocks! Patamon: T.K., what's the matter? You look awful. T.K.: It's nothing, really. (Gatomon throws the door open suddenly) Gatomon: Kari's disappeared! T.K. & Davis: Huh!?

Yolei's mouseclicking the same changes to the D-Terminal that Miyako's programming, but Davis and DemiVeemon are just being shitty and contrarian. Daisuke and Chibimon need the technical jargon explained to them but once they understand, they're into it. It's a good idea and they're excited to be a part of it.

There's a great transition here where Takeru and Daisuke going "Eh!?" suddenly cuts to black, only for the scene to slowly fill in like eyes adjusting to the dark, revealing it's actually the black light of the lighthouse shining directly on the camera.

HIkari slowly comes to, opening her eyes in this new place.

Hikari: ...ah?

There are no words. No sound but the breeze. Just the dawning horror of finally being in this place, looking out at the dark ocean that's calling to her.

Annnnnnd break for commercial. HEY KIDS WANNA BUY A SUPER SENTAI RANGER!?!?

The dub, I wanna note, sometimes likes to do their own scene transitions. But they preserve that awesome lighthouse transition perfectly.

Kari: (surprised gasp) It happened again! I'm back at the beach! But something's not right. What kind of lighthouse shines dark light!?

Valid question. Top ten on the list of high school pranks sure to cause a major disaster.

The dub also takes its second commercial break here.

Back in computer club, the team unpacks Hikari's vanishing.

Daisuke: She vanished? Are you nuts? We can't go to the Digital World unless we open the Gate here! Takeru: That... might not be the case for Hikari-chan. Daisuke: What are you talking about!? Iori: Um-- Miyako: It's useless! The system I have now can't pick up Hikari-chan's location! Daisuke: Then she must be in the Digital World! Open the Gate! Iori: (concerned) Daisuke-san.... Daisuke: We'll go in and bring her back! As soon as-- Iori: PLEASE LISTEN TO ME!!!

The typically polite Iori suddenly yelling at the top of his lungs grinds everything to a halt. The room falls silent and all eyes turn to him.

Iori: We don't know exactly where Hikari-chan went. If we just open a Gate at random, we'll be lost in the vastness of the Digital World.

Nobody has a response to that. He's right, of course. The room is silent for a moment before Takeru realizes the problem they're having.

Takeru: She's not in the Digital World. Group: O_O Takeru: The ocean... Yeah, it's gotta be the ocean!

After making that startling remark and offering no clarification, Takeru bolts from the room to pursue his next lead. Patamon flies after him while everyone else remains in stunned silence.

Personally, "Our missing person is in the ocean" is not a revelation I would find comforting. I don't think Takeru's sudden outburst did anything to relieve the fear and tension in that room.

In the dub:

Davis: There's no way that she could just vanish into thin air! She's gotta be in the Digital World and she probably needs us! We'd better hurry! She might be in a lot of danger! T.K.: It's not that easy. She might not be in the Digi-World. Davis: Did you hit your head!? Cody: Uhhh-- Yolei: It's no use! Right now, the system can't even pinpoint Kari's location! Davis: We can't afford to waste any more time! Let's just go and find her on our own! Cody: Davis, I don't think-- Davis: Now is the time for action! Yolei, open the Gate-- Cody: WOULD YOU ALL STOP TALKING!?!? Group: Huh!? Cody: It makes no sense to open the Gate until we can target Kari's exact location! The Digital World is gigantic and if we go in there without any direction, we're bound to get lost too! T.K.: She's not in the Digi-World Group: Huh!? T.K.: The beach. That's where she is! (T.K. runs from the room) Patamon: T.K.! (Patamon flies after him)

It's rare that I say this but I would actually call this an improvement on the original.

Daisuke does this weird thing where he's initially skeptical and points out that Hikari would have to open the Gate, but then suddenly he flips positions and starts arguing hard that they need to go to the Digital World. Davis doesn't bring up that contradiction of facts. Instead, he takes a consistent position from the start of the argument: Kari must be in the Digital World so we need to go get her.

Similarly, we see T.K. trying to explain that Kari might not be in the Digital World from the get-go. He already knows she's not in the Digital World. He checked the Gate personally, and he had that talk with her.

So it's odd that Takeru takes the length of the conversation to suddenly realize that the place Hikari went to is the place she said she was going to go. By contrast, T.K. is trying to get them to understand this right from the start; He just gets shouted down by Davis the first time and has to capitalize on the silence that Cody's outburst brings to reassert it.

Takeru arrives at the beach overlooking Tokyo Bay. Standing at teh top of the steps, the place where Hikari disappeared, Takeru puts his hands up to project his voice and yells as loud as he can.

Takeru: HIKARI-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!

In the dark place, Hikari finds herself exploring an alleyway at the beach, made up of wooden fences gating off certain homes. She passes a sign that reads, in DigiCode, "Innsmouth".

...I can't read DigiCode, I'm just very familiar with that one through osmosis.

Well, it's good to know where she is, finally. She's in Innsmouth. I'm sure that's fine.

Takeru's voice seems to cross the boundary between realities. It carries to Innsmouth, but Hikari doesn't seem to notice. Pausing by the sign, she ponders the same question everyone else is asking.

Hikari: Where... am I...? Is this not the Digital World?

Only silence is there to answer her question, and so Hikari continues to look around.

In the dub:

T.K.: KARIIIIIIIIII!!!

T.K.'s voice does not carry over. There's a clean cut from T.K. yelling her name at Tokyo Bay to the ominous quiet of Innsmouth, without the important implication that the fabric between places may be somewhat thin.

Kari: This place is creepy but at least the beach is nice. And... deserted. It must not be the tourist season.

Kari (sigh) walks around Innsmouth quipping to herself. This episode is scary and they are trying so hard not to get angry parent phone calls.

Back in the human world, Takeru scours Odaiba Beach by foot. Patamon and Tailmon hurry to catch up to him.

Patamon: Is this where Hikari is? Tailmon: I watched Hikari get digitized. Are you sure she's not in the Digital World? Takeru: She's not. At least, not the Digital World that we always go to. I saw it too. Hikari-chan... she was starting to disappear. Patamon: But... where did she go? Takeru: I don't know. I don't know! But I have to find her!

Takeru takes his D-3 out of his pocket, squeezing it furiously.

Takeru: This thing isn't any use at all!

Takeru is quite reasonably losing it. Hikari is lost in another world that we don't even know how to get to. It's an impossible problem to solve.

Interesting to note that Tailmon expressly describes what happened to Hikari as being digitized in a way that compares it to the kids coming and going from the Digital World. She's not confused by what she saw; Only by the context it happened in.

So that staticky effect wasn't a new metaphysic; It's what the digitization process looks like when it's not being drowned out by the blinding light of the Gate activating.

In the dub:

Patamon: T.K., wait for us! Gatomon: Yeah, T.K.! Let us be your advancemon! You're a lover, not a fighter! T.K.: (distraught) This is all my fault! I knew there was something wrong with her. She needed my help and I let her down! If I didn't leave her by herself, none of this would have happened. Patamon: Come on, T.K.! Let's go to the Digital World! T.K.: She's not there! I saw her disappearing in class. She's in a different dimension! (T.K. takes out his D-3) T.K.: And this stupid piece of junk is useless!

In contrast to Hikari and Kari, Takeru is the one who's keeping it together better than T.K. is. T.K. covers the key points but also takes some time to wallow in despair over abandoning Kari earlier.

Takeru is still visibly upset, but he's trying to hold it together. Emphasis on trying.

The detail that Hikari was being digitized as her method of transit between worlds doesn't make it into the dub.

In the dark place, Hikari emerges from Innsmouth and out onto the beach. There, she spots a tunnel in the distance and makes her way towards it.

Absolutely looks like a place you would want to go inside of.

Back in the human world, a helicopter passes by overhead while Takeru is searching. Stopping, her does what T.K. was already doing and opens up.

Takeru: I said some awful things to Hikari-chan. Patamon: Eh? What? Takeru: I was supposed to protect Hikari-chan and I.... Tailmon: (firmly) Hikari isn't a weak girl.

Tailmon's assertion takes Takeru by surprise. He slowly turns to look at her.

Takeru: ... Tailmon: Hikari's a strong girl. But that's because she has her nakama to help her. Takeru: But... (distraught) But what can I possibly do right now!?

Yep, now Takeru's breaking down too.

It might seem like Tailmon just doubled right back to Hikari needing help, but it's a difference of mindset. Takeru said he's supposed to protect Hikari. It's the same thing he accused her of always looking to Taichi for, and the fact that he thinks that lends a lot of credibility to that unspoken alternate interpretation from before.

But Tailmon says no. You were wrong before to say she should just do it on her own and you're wrong now to say she needs to be protected. Hikari is a strong person who, yes, relies on the support of her teammates so that she can work together to accomplish things. She's neither a rockstar superhero nor a helpless burden; She is a valuable participant in a team.

She doesn't need Takeru to come save her. She needs Takeru to participate with her.

In the dub, Kari's still complaining about how much Innsmouth sucks. Which. I mean. She's not wrong?

Kari: There's not even a hot dog stand on this beach! (gasp) (Kari notices the tunnel) Kari: It's a doorway! Maybe that's the way out of this stupid world.

She's about to file a complaint with Cthulhu's manager.

As Kari approaches the tunnel, various voices from within start calling out "Kari", giving her even more reason than Hikari has to not go in there.

(In the human world, a helicopter passes by) Patamon: Look! The news copter! Maybe another high-speed chase? T.K.: Agh... I really wish we had more of a clue as to where she went! Patamon: Well, what did she say? T.K.: The beach. She kept saying something about the beach. Now we'll never find her! Gatomon: T.K., don't be such a scaredy-cat. (T.K. slowly turns around) T.K.: Huh!? Gatomon: Kari's one tough kid. We have to believe she can take care of herself until we find her. T.K.: You're right, Gatomon! Thanks. Come on, let's keep looking for her!

Here we go the opposite direction. Takeru's the one being vulnerable and opening up while T.K.'s focused on the task... though still panicking about it.

They still touch on the "Hikari's strong" point, but they cut out Takeru's accusation earlier so all Gatomon can do with it is offer hope.

T.K. ends this scene in a much more positive place than Takeru does. T.K. is reinvigorated and ready to go find Kari, while Takeru's struggling to understand how he can apply what Tailmon's saying about Hikari to this situation. Cool, she needs help, not protection. So. How do I do that?

Against all reason, Hikari enters the scary tunnel.

Hikari: (thinking) This place... this terrifying place... I don't need to do this... Why am I...?

Even Hikari can't understand what's compelling her to go deeper and deeper into the scary tunnel.

Suddenly, she hears a groaning sound ahead of her. She sees red eyes glowing in the dark. Two pairs of them.

Hikari: Who are you!? Voices: (groan) Hikari: Who's there!? Voices: (groan)

Suddenly, one of the creatures lets out a louder, almost angry-sounding noised and stands up.

Hikari: WHO ARE YOU!?!?

Should not have gone in the scary tunnel.

In the dub:

Kari: HELLO!!! IS ANYBODY IN HERE!?!? ECHO!!! ...coming in here has got to be the worst idea I have ever had. I must be out of my mind. Voices: ...Kari.... Kari: (gasp) Voices: Help us! Help us! Kari: Get back! I play a lot of soccer! So I know how to kick! (Creature stands up) Creature: Help us.... Kari: What do you want from me!?

The dub creatures speak English and call out for Kari by name.

The original implies that Hikari is being compelled or controlled in some way. She's not fully in control of what she's doing, and is drawn into the scary tunnel for reasons she doesn't understand. Dub Kari seems fully in control of her own faculties and snarks at herself for the awful decision of entering the scary tunnel.

Also of note: Kari isn't one of the soccer kids. Tai, Davis, Sora, and Izzy are the four soccer players, though Sora transitioned to tennis after entering middle school.

But there's nothing stopping her from playing recreationally with Tai. Well, nothing except childhood trauma but that's his problem, not hers. :P

Back in the clubrooom, Daisuke's made up his mind. He holds his D-3 up to the computer.

Daisuke: I don't care what that jerk Takeru says! Hikari-chan is definitely in the Digital World! And nothing will stop me from finding her! Chibimon: Daisuke.... Daisuke: DIGITAL GATE, OPEN!!!

Against all established precedent, the Gate remains firmly closed. It will not allow Daisuke to pass.

Daisuke: Huh? Why won't it open? DIGITAL GATE, OPEN!!!

Nothing. Still, the Gate remains firmly shut.

Daisuke: FUCK!!!

Daisuke furiously pounds his fist on the desk. This does not open the Gate either.

Returning to the scary tunnel, Hikari hasn't fled from the creatures within. They don't seem to be chasing or attacking her, and so she takes a closer look. The creatures seem to have trouble even standing, with the one that stood up previously now back on the ground again.

And on its right arm, she spots the familiar sight of an Evil Spiral.

Hikari: Are you... Digimon? Creature: ...Digi...mon....

Hangyomon is a Perfect-stage Data-attribute Aquatic Beastman Digimon. We saw them before on Spiral Mountain, serving as soldiers in MetalSeadramon's Deep Savers forces.

Narrator: Hangyomon! Aquatic Beastman Digimon. Perfect-stage.

Yeah, the narrator cuts in with a rundown here like "Aha! I know the answer to this!" before either Hikari or the creature she's talking to has confirmed their identity. And then doesn't even tell us, like, anything at all.

Some real Um Actually energy coming off the narrator right now. This is the worst rundown in the history of Digimon Analyzer rundowns.

The Hangyomon in front reaches out helplessly. Weakly, they explain their situation to Hikari.

Hangyomon: We don't know... who we are... or how long we've been here.... Hikari: (quietly) Oh no... Hangyomon: ...only that we serve our god in the depths.... Hikari: God...?

Nobody told these Hangyomon that we already killed him three years ago so they don't have to do that anymore.

Hikari's demonstrating amazing strength of character by even being willing to stand here and have this conversation, but it's strength of character that's been well-established. This isn't any different from when she set out to free the Numemon. Hikari doesn't judge people by how scary or gross they are.

In the dub:

Davis: I don't care what T.K. says! I know Kari's in the Digital World and I'm gonna save her instead of digging up clams on that stupid sandy beach! Here I come, Kari! DIGI-PORT OPEN!!! (Gate remains shut) Davis: I just changed the stupid batteries! DIGI-POOOOORT OPEEEEEEEN!!! (Gate remains shut) Davis: RRRAGH! (Cut to Kari in the scary tunnel) Kari: You guys don't look so well. Creatures: (miscellaneous groaning) Kari: So what are you? Are you Digimon? Creature: ...Digi...mon...? Creature: (rundown) I don't know if we're Digimon but I know we're Scubamon! We have big flippers for swimming deep in the ocean. Scubamon: We have no idea how we got down here or how long we've been in this awful tunnel! Kari: You poor things! What happened to you? Scubamon: We don't remember. One day, we were serving our undersea master, and the next minute we were here! And we feel terrible. Kari: This is awful. Who would do something like this?

Kari remains entirely nonchalant and unaffected by the spooky atmosphere, but the compassion is there.

Unsurprisingly, their "god" is now their "master".

Note that in the original, the Hangyomon never self-identify as such. The narrator tells us that's what they are, but they can't even answer the question of if they're Digimon. In fact, they don't even recognize the word.

But, due to how the dub handles rundowns, somebody has to give a diegetic rundown for the Scubamon. So the Scubamon have to self-identify as such.

Note also that Scubamon is the wrong name. The dub calls this species Divermon. Is that an error? Well... we'll talk about that in a bit.

Hikari: But... but why are you...?

The Hangyomon in front holds out their right arm, showing Hikari the Evil Spiral.

Hangyomon: One day, this suddenly showed up and drained away our strength. Its voice tells us to worship a god who is not our god. Hikari: Digimon Kaiser.... Hangyomon: Yes, we thought you'd know something about this. Hikari: (gasp) Hangyomon: We could see you no matter where you were. You... Surely you, the Chosen Entity, would be able to take these off! Hikari: So that's why you called me?

Absolutely creepy that the Hangyomon could see Hikari across realities but she doesn't interrogate that any further.

Also note that the Hangyomon does not call Kari 選ばれし子 Erabareshi Ko, a "Chosen Child". They call her 選ばれた存在 Erebareta Sonzai. 存在 Sonzai simply means... existence. A thing that is.

An English equivalent would be if they called Kari something like, "Destined One". It's close, sure. But. That. Is not the phrase. They aren't using her title. They mean something else.

In the dub:

Kari: Why not... go back to the ocean? Scubamon: I wish that we could. A dark man came into our Master's kingdom and put these Dark Spirals on our arms that stole our strength and made us all his slaves. Kari: The Digimon Emperor! Scubamon: That's why we summoned you. You are our only hope. Kari: Huh? Scubamon: You have to help us. You are very powerful! Enough to free us from the Dark Spirals! We've used the last of our strength to get you here. Please help us return to the ocean where we can serve our Master! Kari: I don't know what I could possibly do to help.

We lose the eerie details of the Hangyomon "seeing you no matter where you are" and calling her the wrong thing.

Hikari walks deeper into the scary tunnel, approaching the Hangyomon. She reaches out for the Evil Spiral on their arm.

Hikari: I don't have that power. Hikari: (thinking) Why am I telling myself I can't? I can do this!

Gripping the Hangyomon's wrist, Hikari's holy pink light shines brightly and--

A sudden crash shakes the scary tunnel, causing some of the ceiling bricks to dislodge and fall. The entire tunnel continues shaking from the quake.

Hikari: AHH!!! EVERYONE GET OUT!!! QUICKLY!!!

Hikari ushers the Hangyomon from the tunnel, only leaving herself once the last of them is out.

In the dub:

Scubamon: (group) Help! / Help us! / Help! (Kari approaches and reaches for the front Scubamon's arm) Kari: Alright. I'll do my best but I don't know if I'm strong enough. Kari: (thinking) Come on, Kari. Stop doubting yourself! You are not a quitter! (Kari's light begins to affect the Scubamon's arm, but then the tunnel shakes) Kari: Come on, everybody! We've gotta run! Let's go! The tunnel is collapsing! (Kari ushers the Scubamon out) Scubamon: (fleeing with the others) Get out of my way!

Solid.

Exiting the scary tunnel, Hikari stops and coughs from all the smoke.

Hikari: What was that--

A massive, beastly roar cuts her off, pulling her attention skyward. A lone Airdramon soars into view overhead.

Hangyomon: That is the messenger of the new god who seeks to control us! Hikari: Digimon Kaiser!

Airdramon turns around in the air and comes in for an attack run. Sailing overhead, they breathe a plume of black fire along the beach. The Hangyomon scatter, but three Hangyomon are caught up in the attack and incinerated.

Hikari: (shocked) How could... How could he be so cruel!?

I imagine the fact that his vaunted Evil Spirals are inexplicably not working on these Hangyomon probably has something to do with it.

In the dub, Hikari has no questions. She just keeps coughing until Airdramon reveals themself.

Scubamon: That creature is a servant of the Dark One who put these rings on us. Kari: The Digimon Emperor! (Airdramon comes in for attack run) Airdramon: GYAAAAAAGH SPINNING NEEDLE!!!

They cut the shot of the three Hangyomon being incinerated. Replacing it is a brief and simple explosion that does not explicitly claim any lives.

(Scubamon flee the blast) Kari: WE'RE SITTING DUCKS HERE!!! And I can't fight without my friends....

Further censoring the three deaths, Kari reacts with fear about her tactical disadvantage instead of horror over what just happened.

I don't know why they called Airdramon's breath attack Spinning Needle. It involves neither spinning nor needles.

In the human world, Takeru is back at it. He cups his hands over his mouth and calls out to Tokyo Bay.

Takeru: HIKARI-CHAAAAAAN!!! Tailmon: Just calling out to her from here....

Tailmon's skeptical that this would work, but Patamon joins in to help.

Patamon/Takeru: HIKARIIIIII!!! / HIKARI-CHAAAAAAN!!!

Suddenly, something hits Tailmon.

Tailmon: Feelings....

No time to dwell on that, though. Back at the dark ocean, two more Hangyomon burn up and die. They even disintegrate into pixel dust, an effect we haven't seen much of in this series yet.

Hikari sits with the Hangyomon, defeated and helpless. Her mind drifts to the people who support her.

Hikari: What can I even do? Help me, Onii-chan... Tailmon... Takeru-kun...

Out in the human world, Tailmon has joined Takeru and Patamon in calling out for Hikari.

Tailmon/Takeru: HIKARIIIIII!!! / HIKARI-CHAAAAAAN!!!

Suddenly, Hikari's pink light appears as a distortion in the air in front of them. It glows more brightly, revealing Hikari herself reaching out for them.

Takeru: Hikari-chan!?

Takeru takes a moment to process what he's seeing, then leaps from edge of the landmass.

Patamon: TAKERU!!! Tailmon: Feelings are what connect the worlds!

Tailmon and Patamon jump for Hikari as well, and the three of them flicker out of reality in midair.

In the dub:

T.K.: KARI!!! KARI!!! Gatomon: I think he just went crazy. (Patamon joins T.K.) Patamon & T.K.: KARI!!! KARI!!! (Gatomon suddenly realizes) Gatomon: Ah! They've both flipped!

Gatomon realizes nothing which makes it peculiar that she's suddenly going to be calling out alongside T.K. and Patamon next time we see her.

Again, the shot of two Hangyomon burning up and dying is cut. Kari's losing hope and coming apart just from the flame blasts being laid on the beach.

Kari: I feel so helpless! My brother would know what to do. I need you Tai... Gatomon... the National Guard!

...

Really.

Gatomon, Patamon, & T.K.: KARI!!! KARI!!! (Kari suddenly appears in a glowing distortion of light) Kari: T.K.! T.K.: It's her! (T.K. jumps) Patamon: T.K., wait! Gatomon: Ah, what the heck. I've got nine lives. (Gatomon and Patamon jump too)

Altogether, Gatomon is shockingly flippant about finding Kari in this scene. She does not seem invested at all.

The effect that plays as Takeru, Patamon, and Tailmon cross realities is distinctly different from the typical digitizing effect for entering the Digital World. It doesn't take them too long to drift between worlds and arrive at the dark ocean.

The trio land on a high cliff overlooking the beach.

Tailmon: This is not the usual Digital World.

Hikari comes running down the beach.

Hikari: TAKERU-KUN!!! TAILMON!!! Takeru: Hikari-chan! Hikari: You came to help me!? Takeru: That's right!

Hikari's not the only one who's noticed them, however. From a distance, Airdramon approaches to investigate the new arrivals.

Takeru: Let's go, Patamon! Patamon: Yeah! Takeru: DIGIMENTAL UP!!!

The evolution sequence is a little different. The early parts of the stock animation, with the Digimental activating and Patamon crying out "ARMOR SHINKAAAAAA" are replaced by dynamic animation of Takeru's energy pouring out of the D-3 and into Patamon. This allows us to see the bright green of Takeru's holy light cleaving through the muted color scheme of the dark ocean world.

In the dub:

Gatomon: T.K., promise me we'll never do that ever again. Kari: T.K.!!! GATOMON!!! T.K.: There she is! Kari: HEY GUYS, I'M RIGHT DOWN HERE!!! T.K.: STAY THERE!!! (Airdramon approaches) T.K.: Time to rock, Patamon! Patamon: Right! T.K.: DIGI-ARMOR ENERGIZE!!!

Gatomon remains entirely flippant about all this.

Once Patamon's evolved, Takeru takes to the air on Pegasmon.

Airdramon moves straight in for a bite. Pegasmon quickly flits to the left, darting out of the way of Airdramon's teeth to avoid a sudden and anticlimactic end.

Airdramon circles in the air and fires off two bolts of black firebreath. Pegasmon keeps mobile, dodging each one in sequence.

One of the two bolts, however, hits the nearby village of Innsmouth. The four surviving Hangyomon wail despondently as they watch their village explode in flames.

Takeru: DAMN IT!!! PEGASMON!!! Pegasmon: NEEDLE RAIN!!!

As Pegasmon closes distance to Airdramon, he sprays his needles straight into the top of Airdramon's head. He keeps shooting until they pass each other, then rises upwards.

In the dub:

Airdramon: SPINNING NEEDLE!!! (Airdramon fires two shots; One destroys Innsmouth) T.K.: PEGASUSMOOOOOON!!! That was too close! Pegasusmon: WIND MANE!!! (Pegasusmon sprays needles into Airdramon's head)

Fuck Innsmouth, I guess.

...I mean, yes. Fuck Innsmouth. But still.

The Scubamon make no noise when the village explodes and T.K.'s only concern is that the shots nearly hit him. We watch the village explode but nobody engages with the destruction that the show went out of its way to show us.

Tailmon runs over to Hikari, eager to join the fight.

Tailmon: Hikari! I need to Armor Evolve too! Hikari: M-My D-3 is... in my backpack....

A flashback shows us Hikari's backpack dropping onto the sidewalk after she crossed over, having not been taken with her.

(I sure hope Tailmon grabbed that and stuffed it someplace safe.)

Tailmon: Oh no....

Nefertimon will not be joining this battle, which is taking a turn for the worse. Airdramon is on Pegasmon's tail and lining up their shot. Pegasmon evades the next burst of black flame by suddenly ascending rapidly, but this is the worst position to be in during aerial combat.

Rising high and circling in front of the lighthouse, Pegasmon arcs around to try and attack. Airdramon follows him and remains firmly on his tail. However, watching this, Tailmon suddenly realizes something.

Tailmon: (gasp of inspiration) Takeru: Shit! I refuse to let you win!

Takeru, meanwhile, is in dire need of backup.

In the dub:

Gatomon: Quick, Kari! I have to Armor Digivolve right now! Kari: But... I don't have my D-Terminal.... (Quick Flashback) Gatomon: We're toast... Oh, I don't know how much longer they can last! (Pegasusmon circles in front of the lighthouse) Gatomon: (terrified gasp) T.K.: He's on our tail!

The dub's gasp is one of fear and worry for T.K., rather than the lightbulb moment of the original.

Note that Kari says D-Terminal here instead of D-3 but honestly either works. She needs both to Armor Digivolve. She does not mention that it's in her backpack, but with the sudden flashback, I think it's clear from context.

Tailmon has a plan now. She takes off at full sprint on all fours, racing along the edge of the cliff.

Tailmon: (commanding) PEGASMON!!!

When Pegasmon flies close enough to the cliff, Tailmon leaps from the edge and lands on his back. Takeru grabs onto her as she lands to stabilize on her on the flying steed and they rise into the air, avoiding another shot from the pursuing Airdramon.

Once she's with the boys, Tailmon points out her target.

Tailmon: Pegasmon! Destroy that lighthouse! That's what's draining our power! Pegasmon: Got it!

Pegasmon circles around for an attack run on the lighthouse and lets off his shot.

Takeru: Do it, Pegasmon! Pegasmon: SILVER BLAZE!!!

His attack hits the lighthouse dead on, destroying the exterior and revealing a Dark Tower within. The Tower topples over into the dark ocean.

In the dub:

Gatomon: (worried) PEGASUSMON!!! (Gatomon jumps onto Pegasusmon) Gatomon: Pegasusmon! The Control Spire! You've got to take it out! Then I can Digivolve! Pegasusmon: Here goes nothing! (Pegasusmon charges the lighthouse) T.K.: FULL BLAST, PEGASUSMON!!! Pegasusmon: EQUUS BEAM!!! (Pegasusmon destroys the Control Spire) T.K.: Nice shootin', Pegasusmon!

Gatomon's been script-reading. She's a few steps ahead of the plot, calling out the lighthouse as a Control Spire before that's been revealed.

With the Control Spire destroyed, a beam of Hikari's pink light shines down and breaches the clouds. Tailmon leaps into it. Tailmon CHO-SHINKAAAAAA!!!

Hikari: ANGEWOMON!!!

Kari: ANGEWOMON!!!

It's a single proper noun. There's not a lot to say.

Airdramon surges through the air towards Angewomon.

Pegasmon: SILVER BLAZE!!!

Pegasmon lets off a shot of his own, nailing Airdramon right in the throat on their approach. The shot momentarily knocks Airdramon off course but they twirl in the air and continue their advance.

Angewomon: HEAVEN'S CHARM!!!

There's one we haven't seen in a while. Putting her palms together, Angewomon generates a vertical line of holy light, like a gigantic energy bow. Then she spreads her arms wide to create a wave of energy and fires it into Airdramon.

The shot hits Airdramon dead on for an instant kill.

...no, I did not mean that it broke their Evil Ring. Airdramon clearly and unambiguously disintegrates into pixel dust. Angewomon hits them with everything she's got and just kills that guy.

Takeru: We did it! We defeated Airdramon!

We sure did, Takeru. We sure did. ...the veterans are scary.

In the dub:

(Airdramon advances) Pegasusmon.: EQUUS BEAM!!! (Pegasusmon hits Airdramon) Angewomon: HEAVEN'S CHARM!!! (Angewomon kills Airdramon) T.K.: Nice job! This battle is just a day at the beach!

Contrary to the censoring of the Hangyomon deaths earlier, Airdramon's clear and unmistakable death is shown in full.

The dub takes its third commercial break here, following T.K.'s post-mortem one-liner.

Following Airdramon's death, there's one last order of business to attend to. Angewomon descends over the beach. There are now five surviving Hangyomon even though there were four earlier.

With a ray of her holy light, Angewomon releases the Hangyomon. The Evil Spirals unwind from around their arms and fall uselessly into the sand. The four five surviving Hangyomon are all free.

Since the dub's returning from commercial, they can't use the momentum from the previous battle. To reset this part as a new scene, they splice in that full-body shot of Angewomon from when she first evolved, and then she descends.

Kari also gets a line in this version, further re-establishing the scene.

Kari: Angewomon! You've got to help them!

It works.

The five Hangyomon are released from bondage. Hikari-- Wait, what's happening?

Free from the Evil Spirals, their bodies begin to morph and shift. The five creatures abandon the forms of the Hangyomon and revert to things like the monster in the stairwell that had been watching Hikari earlier.

Hikari: (frightened) Is this... what you really are?

Hikari tries to back off, but one of the creatures grabs her by the arm. They have no intention of letting her leave.

Hikari: W-What are you doing!?

Takeru and Patamon come running down the beach.

Takeru: LET GO OF HIKARI-CHAN!!!

But that's all they have to contribute. They landed like way on the opposite end of the beach for some reason and will not get here in time to participate in this scene. Weird choice, my guys.

Creature: The reason we called you is because you would make a suitable bride for us. We must produce many more offspring to resist the new god. Hikari: (distraught) B-But I helped you!

GROSS. GROSS. GROSS GROSS GROSS. GROSS GROSS GROSS GROSS GROSS GROSS GROSS!

This is worse than every single harassment Mimi suffered in the Digital World combined. Fuck all of these things. I wish more of them burned up in Airdramon's fire.

Also... uh... yeah. Welcome to Innsmouth. It's not a great place to be.

This is what they meant when they called Hikari the Chosen Entity. When they meant something else. This is the something else. This, and not the Evil Spirals, is why they've been watching her.

It's also why they had the worst rundown in the history of rundowns. Because they aren't actually Digimon at all. That was a fake-ass rundown by a fake-ass Narrator for these fake-ass Hangyomon.

And it's why it's... unclear whether "Scubamon" is a mistake or not. It's entirely plausible that the dub just fucked up and forgot it called them Divermon. There've been errors with names in the past. Isn't that right, Shogunmon/Gekomon/ShogunGekomon?

But it could also be deliberate. The Scubamon provided that name themselves. The fact that they provided the wrong name for the species they were alleging to be could be a subtle hint at the falseness of their identities.

In the dub:

(Creatures revert to their true forms) Creature 1: Much better! Creature 2: Now that's what I call a red-eye reduction! Kari: (terrified) Wait a second... You guys asked for my help and I gave it to you! Now what do you want! (Kari backs off but a creature grabs her) Kari: (gasp) Don't hurt me! (T.K. comes running down the side of the beach) T.K.: LET HER GO, YOU CREEPS!!! (That's enough of T.K.) Creature 3: Come with us, child. You'd be our new queen! We need you! Kari: (distraught) I trusted you guys and you lied to me!

To nobody's surprise, the dub dances around both the topics of "bride" and "producing offspring", settling on simply making Kari queen of the eerie sea creatures.

Anyways, this whole disgusting fish bride thing has gone on long enough. Angewomon lets off a warning shot, firing it into the ground at the creatures' feet.

The creatures may need to be told twice but they don't need to be shot twice. They back the fuck off.

Creature: Chosen One, we believed you'd be grateful to be our bride. Very well. We'll return to our former god in the depths... and wait....

With that, they retreat into the ocean and disappear.

In the dub:

Creature: But we thought you would love to be our queen! With your power, you could lead us in the battle against our undersea master! But I guess we were wrong. Beware, child! Our master can sense your power too! And he will come for you!

The dub is so grossed out at this point and desperate not to talk about that that it invents a whole new cliffhanger.

They also seem to have misunderstood what the creatures meant when they said they wanted to "oppose the new god". The new god is Ken. The Digimon Kaiser. They wanted to breed new offspring to fight the Digimon Kaiser.

The dub has them wanting Kari to lead them in battle against that Cthulhu-looking thing in the depths below... for some reason, even though all their conflict in this episode has been against the Emperor.

With the creatures gone, Takeru finally reaches Hikari. She has only one thing to say.

Hikari: I want to go home.

Takeru puts a hand on her shoulder.

Takeru: (gently) Let's go home. That's why we came.

Hikari gives Takeru a warm smile. Then they leave. Takeru rides Pegasmon while Angewomon carries Hikari. Together, they ascend into the pink light still glowing through the clouds.

Rising through the light, the dark ocean below vanishes from view, and they appear in a brightly colored but vaguely defined animation backdrop. I think it's supposed to be a field of flowers?

Narrator: What the children saw may have been a different world from the Digital World they'd known up until now.

Thank you chiming in and clarifying that. I hadn't gotten the message until now.

Takeru and Hikari exchange smiles in the light. Which would be a great place to close, but no.

We cut back to the dark ocean for one last scene, witnessing the Cthulhu-like entity rising from the black and murky depths once more. They let out an eerie and eldritch sound, and then we close.

In the dub:

Kari: ...I'm ready to go home now. (T.K. puts his hand on Kari's shoulder) T.K.: It could be worse. We could be scraping gum at school.

XD Goddammit. That's a pretty good tension-relieving brick joke. They got me.

(Pegasusmon and Angewomon take their Partners up towards the light) T.K.: Last one home is a rotten Digi-Egg! Pegasusmon/Angewomon: Whoa ho ho! / Ahahaha! Kari: Thanks for coming after me, T.K.! I really appreciate it. T.K.: It's okay, Kari. I know you'd do the same for me. Kari: Hey, T.K.? Remember this morning when you said you really cared for me? What did you mean by that? T.K.: Huh!? Oh, well, you know. It was just... stuff. Kari: Mm... Well, you know what? I care for you too. (Cthulhu-like creature rises from the dark ocean) Narrator: Who is this evil, dark undersea master? Don't miss the upcoming Digimon: Digital Monsters!

The Narrator only implies that the next episode will have anything to do with this creature at all but doesn't outright say it so I can't technically call him a liar. Those two sentences are disconnected from one another and only seem contextually linked because they're stated side-by-side. It's a clever trick you also find in manipulative journalism.

This episode was shippy as fuck for Kari and T.K. so it doesn't come out of nowhere. But the dub has them whole-ass confess their feelings to each other at the end. I hope you're not expecting that to go anywhere 'cause that love confession is basically fanfiction. They will remain Ambiguously Shippy moving forward.

Assessment: So, let's get this out of the way first and foremost. The silhouetted creature is Dagomon. That's not ambiguous; The Japanese episode title calls them out by name. They're one of the two Virus Perfects from the Deep Savers line and are expressly based on Cthulhu.

But also, given the reveal surrounding the "Hangyomon", it's probably not actually Dagomon. It just seems like Dagomon in silhouette. In keeping with the eldritch and unknowable vibe of Lovecraftian dark ocean, the true nature of the Cthulhu-like entity that the sea creatures worship remains unexplained to this day.

(It's probably just Cthulhu.)

Something that's sticking in my craw is that Hikari mentions and even flashes back on a time something like this happened to her three years ago. But it wasn't the sea creatures back then; They only recently started stalking Hikari as a super gross measure to counter the Digimon Kaiser. And it wasn't the Digimon back then 'cause that didn't line up with any of Hikari's Digimon experiences that we've seen.

So. Like. What's the other other time Hikari's been haunted by otherworldly experiences? It's probably not as simple as just "She's schizophrenic" because she suggests that she hasn't had hallucinations like this for three years. Mental illness usually isn't considerate enough to leave you alone for years at a time.

The three-year timespan suggests that whatever she was remembering has to do with the Digital World. But that flashback doesn't line up with anything we ever saw in the first anime. So. IDK.

...they also didn't explain why Daisuke couldn't get the Digital Gate to open, come to think of it. Not sure what was stopping him there.

Hikari's sudden beam of holy light piercing the clouds, both Super-Evolving Tailmon and allowing passage between worlds? That would probably be kinda deus ex machina-ey but this is Hikari. We've seen her do shit like that before. Remember that time she Warp-Evolved Taichi's Digimon herself? Hikari's always been crazy powerful, just in ways she doesn't fully control.

In fact, the point that her D-3 is still in the other world makes it really interesting, because this is something only one of the veteran kids could have done. It connects with the endgame Apocalymon revelations that the children's power comes from within, and they don't actually need Digivices or Crests to manifest it.

This is what Tailmon meant when she said Hikari is a strong kid; She needs support, just like anyone else, but she's not weak for needing it. Once Takeru took down the Dark Tower, Hikari could manifest her power and solve everything.

[cc-tens]

hi !! i saw the oc ask game ehe. how about 12 for wyren and yeong-ja? always intrigued to see the music people think fits their guys and i love them very much. (also. prommy i'm doodling oc stuff to show u but. taking a while. sorry 😔)

(Lol no rush dude, focus on feeling better first and foremost /gen)

12. Do you have a playlist for the character? What songs do you associate with them and why?

So I'm one of those people who thinks A LOT about playlists for OCs lol. I sadly haven't had a ton of time recently to do a deep dive into building playlists for these two, but I have a few songs thus far and will link their actual playlists later on when I feel like they're more substantially filled out. So here's just a few stand outs for now.

Wyren (stuff I really think both they'd listen to and also is applicable to their story)

- Want To Be Free by Sea Power

I like to think this song sort of encapsulates Wyren's poorly mental and emotional state with the sad tones, heavy melancholy and the repetition of the line "I want to be free." Post O66 Wyren especially experiences this desire to be free of the Jedi life, any sort of responsibility or burden on him to fight back, and even at times their desire to give up guardianship of Yeong-Ja in order to allow her to live a normal teen girl life with a real family (and so they can find a little space to curl up and die).

- Let Down by Radiohead

Let Down is in a ton of my OC's playlists, it's my current song on repeat. I think it also portrays Wyren's sense of helplessness and their constant discomfort and the life they've chosen to live and the regret they have for allowing themself to constantly be squashed down and made helpless.

- Hebrews 11:40 by The Mountain Goats

Post Order 66 vibes. I'd like to think this is around the time or after they reconnect with Dover and meet the resistance; and this is also when they find Triu again. I think this is a song in which Wyren decides to be brave again, to try and be a Jedi once more. They're afraid and they don't want to do it, but they will for these kids and their love to keep them safe.

- Fourth of July

Obligatory Sufjan Steven's song. This is specifically in here for the arc where Wyren thought Dover was killed.

Yeong-Ja (music thus far is just stuff that reminds me of her so it's sort of jumbled in terms of genre but makes sense to me)

- Abbey by Mitski

Obligatory Mitski song. I think this song I'm picking due to her constant battle with the darkside. Wyren noted midway through the war she feels so angry and strongly, and her desire to protect those she sees as her own has her sometimes lashing out and acting too extremely. After O66 too, she definitely goes through a period where the darkside calls to her to give her more power but she keeps trying to deny it even though it feels like denying a pit of the stomach deep hunger

- Not Strong Enough by Phoebe Bridgers

As is Yeong-Ja's fear. She won't ever be strong enough to protect her master, her friends or her clone brothers. Her greatest fear is not being able to prevent their leaving.

- Not by Big Thief

Idk lol

- Sun Bleached Flies by Ethel Cain

Idk why I really wanted to add this to her playlist. I think the lines "that's how my daddy raised me, if they strike once you hit them twice as hard" is so her and Wyren especially post O66 getting their collective shit together. I think also "God loves you but not enough to save you....if it's meant to be then it will be" is her lines of accepting the Force isn't always going to be this all powerful thing on her side just because she's a good person. I think before a lot of her anger at the Force was feeling like it did nothing to help her despite her attempts to be a good person; but post O66 and after some healing she finally gets it. I also think the lines if it's meant to be it will be is her relinquishing her iron grip on needing to keep everyone alive and with her and understanding loss whether forever or temporary is inevitable and that's ok.

[odo-apologist]

I first saw this response yesterday morning but wanted to wait for when I could properly respond to it, and it has been on my mind ever since. There is something very reassuring about seeing multiple points I'm making in my thesis and details I'm pointing out be brought up in this post by someone who has actually watched the show (unfortunately my director/second reader have not seen it and I was starting to wonder if maybe I was going a little crazy), but it's also fascinating to see where our different theoretical lenses lead us to different points of interest.

I've only read a few pieces of Kristeva's work and have come across other theorists extrapolating from her ideas, though abjection was definitely a concept I considered using- perhaps may still use as I continue to plan out further chapters- not only for the Lows, with their more animalistic, mechanical, queered bodies accentuating the excesses found in the main characters which put the status of their personhood into question (though with Camille, I had not thought about until reading your post- very interesting to think more about that), but also for Rimmer in general, playing a bit with the idea of the corpse as abject. Hologram as disabled, queer body definitely comes into play. (I also do keep passing by Lacan without fully interacting with his texts; using Cathy Caruth for my past thesis on DS9 led to some other brief encounters with his ideas). Side note, apologies if not, but does Kristeva's mother/daughter writing include the concept of women as keepers of culture/history? I believe it was her work Jack Halberstam was discussing in one text on that familial dynamic, though I'm not sure and I do not currently have a copy of that piece with me. New thoughts about Kochanski emerging from that concept, and sone ways it is subverted with Lister...

More related to the topic of Ouroboros, I look at it in a chapter in which I connect the concepts I'm using- primarily from queer and disability theory, particularly how they deal with temporality- with the symbol of the loop (the other chapters which I still need to flesh out and write are centered around the line and the break/gap). The loop, differing from the line- the family line, the linear trajectory of normative ideals of success, "straightened," non-queer and non-crip time with clear past, present, and future which haunts the Red Dearf crew despite their lack of future- still enacts a normalizing effect.

Lee Edelman's work includes the concept of The Child as a symbol of heteronormative reproductive futurity; political and cultural discourse centers around this symbol as a negation, one which ignores literal (queer) children in favor of an imagined ideal. Lister, as "holding pattern" for humanity- a phrase which also intrigues me!- is not merely a child but The Child (just as he is the ultimate abandoned child, as you said); his real self is neglected and destined to suffer for the ideal which he signifies. He is caught in a self-destructive loop for the preservation of the species (for the good of the race), even as adult Lister throughout the show is consistently aligned with as well as finds solidarity with nonhuman beings. It is so striking to me that Ouroboros comes immediately after Stoke Me a Clipper. While Lister and Rimmer both fail at achieving capitalist, cisheteronormative standards of success through more traditional means, they find themselves caught in cycles out of the desire to still meet these standards, even as they restrict and endanger them: the creature eating its own tail, the ring of countless corpses of "Aces."

Lauren Berlant's concept of cruel optimism- attaching oneself to an object even as it impedes one- is how I look at Lister's attachment to Kochanski. As you point out, she is unreachable, in the way that a return to pre-accident normalcy remains unattainable, though I am not as well-versed in gnostic thought so my lens for viewing this dynamic is different. However, I do think that Red Dwarf is rife with the opportunity to use a more theological framework when examining it. Just briefly looking into the Demiurge, I agree that viewing Lister in that role would go so hard. I personally have some deranged thoughts about Lister, Rimmer and Kochanski and Christian mythology- especially with regards to Milton- but that is a post for another day.

Regarding Beckett, though I don't need to elaborate on the choice, I must ramble a moment about it. The titular character of Molloy is in an odd Oedipal-esque loop himself; she calls him "Dan," his father's name- and a letter off from "Da"/"Dad"- while he refers to her as "Ma(g)," and he takes her place in her room when she dies. Though I won't likely get to use that in my paper, as I was already working with a bit too much to include it without it seeming like too much if a non sequitur, I think Camus and the basic tenets of Absurd thought are still something to bring up with an exploration of themes in Red Dwarf (also, interesting that you mention the filtering of Absurd/Existential ideology into pop culture because initially wanted to focus on that myself, starting with the early depiction of those concepts in the avant-garde and theater, then move to their appearance in genre/sci-fi literature- Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, etc.- then end with Red Dwarf, showing that development in genre but in medium (though it is, in a way, a return; Beckett did film some of his plays for television)). And the observation about Kochanski's existence as a linguistic trick is great, really must think more on that.

And the Foucauldian reading of Red Dwarf would be so rich, I wholeheartedly agree; that would be its own thesis. The creation and (self-)policing of identities, the biopolitical aspects of some of the implications of the show's canon, heterotopia!! Ooh, his theories work so well here. Red Dwarf deserves to be looked at in the context of so many different theories it is astounding.

I'm so troubled by Lister continuing to pursue Kochanski after learning she's his biological mother. That genuinely bothers me.

[respectthepetty]

My plan is to ignore the colors in Kiseki: Dear to Me until they go away.

That won't be difficult. I can just, like, unsee them!

I don't see anything at all.

I see nothing.

I DON'T SEE THEM!

I'm okay. I'm fine.

Ze Rui is only wearing a shirt with that famous Chuck Palahniuk quote: The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will

Cool.

Cool.

Cool, cool, cool.

I'm gonna be so normal about this show.

[egophiliac]

don't think I'm not still obsessing over 7-12

[wolves-in-the-world]

the thing about eliot spencer as a character, right. the thing about him.

(and as always your mileage may vary on my analyses so if we disagree that's cool actually)

is that he is in fact a somewhat emotionally constipated idiot who is occasionally sensitive about his perceived masculinity and gets defensive about emotional intimacy around other men (largely hardison, who's much more comfortable expressing affection and embracing a softer kind of masculinity), but eliot displays enough emotional awareness and sensitivity and respect for women etc etc that anyone who's been subjected to that era of television will put on rose-tinted glasses without even looking twice.

(and he is, don't get me wrong, incredibly emotionally aware for a professionally punchy guy with enough trauma to sink the titanic. it still startles me to see.)

on top of which we have the layers and the accessories and the excellent hair with the secret braids and the way he barely has an ego and he's good with kids and protective of his team without taking it too far, and some of us never stood a fucking chance.