#Its in a bunch of malls I visit

[everydaydg]

[andromedasummer]

becoming a data hoarder of crochet/knitting/sewing/embroidery patterns and books on my pc, laptop and phone. an ungodly amount fr.

[oishiyani]

🦐 ; Where Were You?

🦐 ; y/n’s presence never missed every single day! a text, a voice call, maybe even a visit. but then one morning.. boom! y/n vanished, not a single sign of life from them has got them shuffled in their minds! who knows could be what their reaction? (SCENARIOS)

— this is a fun little drabble while i had on my free time!! huehue, i swear ill make nikolai on the pt2 of this and along with another character in mind!

Sigma

Would end up trashing in fear in his body.

sigma's love for you is known to be only pure, he loves you whole and so do you. a routine where you'd keep him occupied with everything that's happened to you while he shoots you a bunch of questions of things he hadn't heard such about. the more you talked, the more curious he got.

the way you talk has him falling head over heels for you! that's the most special event in his daily life. the part where you'd find him and call so sweetly of his name out of your lips, your voice instantly makes him forget whatever's disturbing his head- soon relaxed when he recognizes your voice.

with this everyday routine with you is like a vitamin he has to take everyday, without it he may not function well. it's the most crucial part of his life- he can't miss a day without you. then one day, he did almost did miss a day.

usually you'd be calling out for him when he's really stuffed with the casino of his. a perfect timing for you to be his savior to come and comfort him, but after a few hours- he looked at the clock that was hanged on the wall.

'that’s strange.. y/n should be here at any moment now.. y/n's coming here soon right?'

and so, he waited. and waited. and waited. like a dog waiting for their owner to return home behind closed doors.

sigma begins to fidget without him realizing, one of his legs starts fiddling as both of his hands clasped together, his right index finger tapping up and down for who knows how long. and you still weren't here.

its been hours, he noticed. he spammed your phone number with a few text messages asking where are you, were you alright? were you not safe? the thought of you in danger increased his worries. could fyodor have captured you to use you against him?

he swallowed the developed lump in his throat, he had to search for you immediately. now was the time to take action. who knows what could’ve happen to you? he stands up and grabs the telephone by his desk- before he was about to dial, the sound of his main doors pushed open.

there you were, standing with a bunch of bags hanged on your arm. "hey, sorry i kind of arrived late! as you can see here i bought-"

"s-sigma?" you were cut by your sentence as you were took by a sudden surprise of sigma who dropped the telephone and approached you with his footsteps in a haste. he then hugged you tightly- wrapped in his arms, never wanting to let go of you. his head on your shoulder while his face hides at your sight. you almost fell behind and tumbled because of the unforeseen of event.

"where were you?" he asked, a sound of his voice cracked as he spoke. you hugged him back trying your best to tolerate how really tight his hug is, "i was out in the mall.. my phone happened to run out of battery so i couldn't message you. i'm sorry about that." you let out of a bashful giggle.

soon you felt slight coldness on the fabric you wore, your eyes dilated and grabbed sigma's forearms to push him slowly from you.

with his face in front of you. sigma's eyes were bottled up with tears, his nose a bit red. which looks like he's been holding in his emotions for a while. the tables have turned- now you were the one worried, confused, why was sigma crying? did you do something wrong?

"huh? did something happen? what's wrong?" sigma looked down, a sigh escaping his lips- his eyebrows furrowed. "you were gone for too long and i just got worried.. really that's all." his eyes shifted in another direction, a small pout on his lips formed after.

you also sighed in relief after thinking that something worse happened to him, "i'm sorry for that sigma.. next time i'll invite you to the mall with me. we could try one of those fancy restaurants i saw."

he sniffled, his index finger swiped the tear bubbling from the corner of his eye. "sure, i'd love to go." he then smiled. "i'm happy you're back."

sigma then felt something pressed on to his lips. it was.. a cookie?! his eyes lit of sparks. you pushed the cookie futher and sigma took immediate bite of it, "i also bought these cookies for you! do you like them?"

a faint pink shade of blush wave on his cheeks, "mhm."

Fyodor

Would come and fetch you immediately. and once found- it’s a must to return.

your presence being absent for a while doesn’t shaken fyodor himself. why? oh y/n, you lack the knowledge of fyodor’s tracking skills- an absoulute maniac at it! he could be watching you at every placed cctv camera by the city and you’re fully unaware of it.

fyodor fonds you quite alot- well for more than what you can think. he loves how you bring gifts for him on the way back, after he just watched you struggle to buy something for him. unable to choose between two goods situation. he smiles internally at how cute you look while deciding if he'd

with your loyalty to him, he surely should protect you from any harm that opposes you. that’s why he’s spectating you from the cameras y’know! it’s all for the sake of your safety after all. he even thought of placing cameras in your house, maybe if someone attempted to rob you then he’d save the day.

as soon as fyodor came back from his office- sitting on his chair, eyes stamped on the screen that displayed different corners of each street. in an insant his eyes hunt for you like a prey.

switching from cameras to cameras, he was unable to find you through it. he double checked again- maybe you’ll appear at any moment but no. you still weren’t there at the store you always went.

‘that’s strange..’ fyodor said as he gently rubbed his chin, thinking where have you might go. he only set off his eyes away from the screen for a minute and you’re gone that quickly? that was the least he expected since you take your time at browsing your items.

little did he know you stumbled upon this local cafe that just opened up! it was located at this small apartment that the owner set it up as their own business. you happen to saw a poster and an immediate urge drove into you as soon as you saw the cafe’s new release of a drink.

with that in mind, you went on your way to try it out. you open the door that supposedly says in the poster that this is where they’re located, a small, shady place for a cafe indeed. you were met by the sound of a small bell that clang on top when you opened the door. the aroma of coffee strikes you.

there were only a few people, really few.. like 3. the man who’s behind the counter greeted you a welcome. you came upfront and told him that you wanted to try their new drink. the man agreed, but as he went on to make it- the man seems like he couldn’t find himself to stop talking about you.

he continuously asked you multiple questions about yourself, what you do for living, how was living in the city, were you still studying, ‘till he abruptly asked if you were in a relationship with someone.

the first set of questions weren’t that bad, although they progressively became more personal. the conversation still about yourself- you ended up being uncomfortable as you sat and waited for your drink to be done.

“maybe we could exchange numbers.. if you ever don’t have one though! and we could go get some coff-“

“do you serve tea around here?” the familiar voice spoke. you quickly turned to your side and saw fyodor who was about to sit down beside you. “wait- fyodor?! what’re you doing here? i mean, when did you even get here?!”

“just now.” fyodor replied, his gaze on the man who was doing the finishing touches to your drink. the man who was behind the counter was also just as confused as you for the unexpected new customer. “tea sir? i’m afraid we don’t-“

“well, that’s unfortunate. i was hoping me and y/n would go here sometime.” fyodor replied. cutting the man’s words off. “y/n?” you looked to fyodor again, giving him a sign that he has your attention. he told you to bring out your phone and to wear your headphones for some reason, he then told you to listen to this orchestra piece he liked.

“just for a moment.” he told you, mouth close to your ear, then puts back the lifted half of the headphones on your ear. you watched him talk to the man, both of them having a conversation while you listened to melody in your ears. you then continued to sip your finished drink, ‘this is good.. and refreshing..’ the wave of relaxation was disturbed by a sudden slam that vibrated on the wooden counter.

you turned your gaze back to the two, lifting your headphones. the man’s face expression showed he was terrified, while fyodor was only giving the poor man a smirk. “get out before i call the police!” the man threatened. “wait- what happened?” yet again confused, you asked fyodor. he only stood up and stared at the man who’s legs began to shake.

“let’s go y/n. we surely don’t want to be in this place of a stench.” fyodor took his steps to the door turning the doorknob. you left your payment on the counter and catched up to fyodor on the way out of the apartment.

you were filled with questions for fyodor to answer, but the only answer you ever got was quite odd-

“i only gave him a little piece of advice, i wouldn’t want that cafe to be shut down completely.”

the next day, you were walking by the side of the streets. you found yourself in the same spot where the cafe you went was located. but this time, you took notice that there was a sign that said ‘THIS PLACE HAS BEEN SHUT DOWNED’

[syddsatyrn]

Chapter 1⛤Chapter 2 ⛤ Chapter 3 ⛤ Chapter 4 ⛤ Chapter 5

Masterlist

⛤Pairing: - Eddie Munson x FemReader

⛤Warnings: Swearing, drinking smoking, fluff, friends to lovers

⛤Words: 1.6k

⛤Song: "Photograph" By Def Leppard

⛤Summary: Moving away from Hawkins was the biggest mistake of your life. You left your best friends and forgot to stay in touch. Years later, you decide to hit up your good friend Steve. Its time to make a plan and make amends. The one thing you didn't expect was feelings to resurface when you saw your old highschool crush.

⛤Notes: This series is 18+ Minors scram. Special thanks to @hellfiremunsonn for being my sound board and fanfic support. You are an absolute unit! I have returned from the dead with a fluffy fanfic with a Sydd Satyrn twist. Enjoy!

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⛤Chapter One: Phone Call

It had to be the worst day you’ve had in a while. You were late to work and your boss scolded you. The cafe was so busy today, you had to skip lunch and your feet are killing you from all the rushing around and taking orders. You broke a plate in the cafe kitchen and accidentally cut your finger. You tripped trying to get to your car and scraped your knee, everything spilled out of your purse and you had to go through the embarrassing motions of picking everything up in public. Today was a total bust.

When you walked through the front door of your apartment, you breathed a sigh of sweet relief. You were not scheduled for tomorrow so at least you’ll get some time to relax. You notice your mom has already come over and dropped off a few boxes of your old high school stuff. She’s attempting to clean out the garage and says everything must go. It wasn't much but you still had to find the energy to go through it all.

After a much needed shower, you poured yourself a glass of wine and called in some Chinese takeout. It didn’t take long for you to devour half of the food in front of you. A reality show is playing on the television, you lean back and finish your glass of wine. The sun is starting to set, things are finally feeling peaceful.

That's when you notice the reflection on the TV screen. Those dusty old boxes staring at you piqued your curiosity once more. Despite your lack of energy, you really wanted to know what was in those boxes. After getting yourself another glass of wine and a pair of scissors, you grab the first box and set it on the coffee table. You opened the box and to your surprise, it was a bunch of your old Polaroid photos from high school.

You looked through each one, remembering each face like it was yesterday. There’s a photo of Steve and Robin at Starcourt mall. Oh and this one was from Prom when no one asked you out, you went with Nancy Wheeler, one of your close friends. You guys had the best night goofing off and dancing. Each photo was something special you left back in Hawkins.

After senior year, your parents got divorced and your mother ended up with everything. This meant saying goodbye to Hawkins and hello to Shelbyville. Has it really been that long? Since you saw your friends. At first, you visited and called but life just got in the way. Long hours at work, finishing school, and just surviving in general kind of took over. Maybe a dash of depression thrown in.

You pick up another one, it is a Polaroid of Eddie Munson passed out in your bed. You had such a huge crush on him in high school. He was so hot in a bad-boy kind of way. Eddie was kind of like your best friend though, there were many late movie nights at his trailer, and sleepovers while your parents were out of town.

You chuckled to yourself when you remembered that one time Eddie climbed through your window. Your parents heard something and came to check on you, you had to stuff him in the closet before you got caught. All these memories flood your mind and you start to tear up, feeling a little too nostalgic. You notice the phone number scrawled on the bottom of the Polaroid of Steve and Robin.

You know that number, you're pretty sure it's Steve's house phone number. You had to wonder what that man was up to these days. Is he still obsessed with his car and his hair? Did he finish high school like he wanted? You wondered if he and Nancy ever got back together. You sure miss your old hometown and all the trouble you and your crew got into.

You finish another glass of wine and look through some yearbooks, you giggle at old goofy messages written on the inside covers.

“You better visit or we will kidnap you! Miss you already” -Robin

“Don't change a bit, sweetheart.” -Eddie

“Keep your head up and Don't do anything stupid!” - Steve

“Love you so much! Call me!” -Nancy

You glance at the pile of photos on the coffee table, the Polaroid with the phone number is eating away at your ability to focus. The nostalgia clouded your brain or maybe it was the wine. Would they even want a phone call from you? Have they forgotten all about you? You brushed off all the self sabotaging thoughts and picked up the phone. You had no idea who would pick up but at least you had enough liquid courage to try.

"Hello, Harrington residence." Said the lady on the phone.

"Hey there Mrs. H, it's Y/N."

"Well oh my stars! We haven't seen you in ages! How are you, hun?" She asks politely, she's always been really nice to you.

"I'm good! I'm making good money, everything is rather ordinary in Shelbyville." You try not to sound depressed when you mention the last part.

"Good! And how is your mother? You tell her hello for me okay?"

"She's great! She's lost weight and her new boyfriend is pretty cool. I will tell her you said hello." You weren't one for small talk, but you humored her anyway.

"Oh goodness, I'm sure you're calling for Steve? He got a new apartment just a few months ago. I can give you the number."

"Oh, that would be great! Thank you!" You reply.

Mrs. Harrington gives you the number and you write it down on the back of some junk mail. You say your goodbyes and hang up. After a couple of deep breaths, you dialed the new number.

"Hello?"

"Steve?"

"....Y/N?" He sounds like he just got a phone call from a ghost.

"Yeah, it's me." You said, a little nervous.

"How the hell are you?! I haven't heard from you in what feels like forever." Steve's over excitement made you grin.

"I'm good! My mom brought over some boxes with my high school pictures in them. I was feeling nostalgic so I thought I'd call. How are you?" You ask, a lot of your worries fade away as you keep talking to him.

"I'm doing alright! I got an apartment with Eddie downtown. He does a lot of shows now so he's often out trying to live the rockstar life. I bought an old Camaro and fixed it up so it's all mine. Things are good."

"How is the rest of the gang?" You ask.

"Nancy went to college in Indianapolis, Robin works at the record store now. She lives just down the road. Eddie has been a little reclusive lately but I think overall he is fine." Steve sounded a little bummed about the Nancy part.

"Wow, sounds like you guys are staying busy. I wasn't sure if you'd still–" Steve cuts you off.

"You should totally come visit! You can stay here, and we can invite everyone. It will be like old times. What do you think?"

"I uhm…do you think everyone wants to see me?" You ask, unsure of your place in their lives since it's been so long. You honestly thought they would all be irritated with you.

"Are you kidding?? Dustin and I still talk about you all the time, Robin does too. But you know who I think misses you the most?" He says in a playful tone.

"Who?"

"Eddie." Steve chuckles.

"Why do you say that?"

"He still keeps one of your senior photos in his wallet." He has to be gossiping as usual.

"Still?!" You were genuinely shocked. There's no way, he has to be kidding.

"Yeah, he was pretty bummed when you moved. Poor guy. He was down bad."

"Shut uuuuup. He doesn't like me like that. Haha, we were just close friends." You try to brush off his words as nothing but nonsense. Steve is just implanting ideas in your brain.

"Close friends don't sleep in the same bed together." Steve snorts.

"Whatever Harrington." Your face gets a little red as you remember the many times you shared a bed with the brown haired misfit.

"So will you come stay? For a week?" He asks again, this time a little more desperate.

"Well…I do have some vacation days saved up…" You admit it would be fun. It sounds like they miss you and want to reconnect despite the time and distance.

"YES! This is gonna be so rad!" Steve is stoked.

You make a game plan with Steve, figuring out when would be a good week. You had to give your job enough notice to cover your shifts. Steve offered once again to give you a place to crash and you accepted. The final decision you both made was to keep this a secret from the others. It will be a surprise and everyone will "totally flip out" he says. You agree to stay silent and you say your goodbyes and hang up.

Then it dawned on you. You'll be staying at not just Steve's apartment, it's also Eddie's. You are bound to run into each other. You both are going to need some time to talk. It's no secret you miss him and can't wait to see him, but is he going to feel the same way about you? Does he still have feelings for you? Do You have feelings for him? Does he really still keep a picture of you in his wallet?

[dariaslookalike]

Needing Miller pt 2.

Summary: It's a shit hole of a world that you're living in, and it gets even shittier when you're ambushed in your sleep. It's a slippery slope that leads you from being tucked cozily in your sleeping bag to joining the raiding group lead by the most infuriating (and intimidating) man you've ever met. You need to survive, above all else- either in this group (without smacking its leader over the head), or in the world alone after somehow escaping. Easier said than done, when your mind loses all sense of focus, tactics and skills the second that Joel Miller rolls up his sleeves and shows his godforsaken forearms.

Warnings: Violence, swearing, adult language, mature themes, eventual smut, female protagonist, no reference of y/n

Rating: 18+ MDNI

Word Count: 4.6k

A/N: thought i should note while this is joel as a raider it is *not* dark joel- he is not going to be anything dubious to our protagonist- at the end of the day that is my sweet husband joel miller, not someone who is going to swing on a woman in the name of romance.

also more often than not i'll be updating this first on AO3 because i am like bugging out about tumblr formatting [desperately trying to make a masterlist]

Next Chapter: Pt 3

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You don’t sleep for long. It’s hard to. The pain that’s shooting from your cheek and the tension held in your body means that after a few pitiful hours, you jolt awake. The only thing you can be thankful for is that you’re so exhausted, no dreams visit you.

Night has completely fallen onto the mall now, and everything is cast in harsh shadows from the fire still burning off to the side. Soft hues of orange and yellow light up the pale floor, and the shadows are darker, deeper, than if they were made just by the moonlight above.

You force your breathing to still even as the memories of the day flood back in. Where you were. What happened to you.

You twist in your sleeping bag, and Ryan glances down at you, still sitting on the edge of the fountain. You stare at him for a second before you clear your throat. You sit up, the material around you swishing.

“Thanks for staying. And stitching me up.”

“It’s fine.” Ryan nods. “Only a few hours- I can stay longer if you want to go back to sleep.”

“No. I don’t think I’ll be able to.”

His eyes flick to yours, but he doesn’t question you. He just nods again, and pushes to his feet, and begins walking over to sit by the fire.

You nod to yourself. He was good at stitching you up. To stay true to his word and watch over you. But the both of you clearly aren’t interested in being friends. He knows you’re only here because Joel let you be here. You know he was only tending to you because Joel made him. An odd, forced arrangement that you weren’t going to push any further. Right now you wanted to focus on staying alive in this group, not making friendship bracelets.

You settle against the fountain, still sitting in your sleeping bag. You can see everyone from here. While it’s later than before, only one person remains sleeping, and the rest circle around the fire. A nocturnal bunch. It makes sense. Sure, the light of day gives you the benefit of sight, but now, when the moon’s high up and everything is washed in darkness, it gives them coverage, security.

Your hand reaches up, and edges across the thick gauze pad taped to your face. It’s wet on the outside, and you know you’ll have to change the dressing soon if you’re able to. Your cheek is blooming with heat. You remembered it when you grazed your knee as a kid. Warm throbbing pain that was your body’s way of trying to kill any infection. Right now it feels like your body is trying to melt away your face. The skin beneath feels sharply prodded and stretched by the stitches, but you tell yourself that’s good. Better to feel that pain and hurt and heat than be the one with their head blown off.

Your hand drops from your face.

Terry. That was his name. Carving your own knife into your face. His head splattered across the floor. Your shoe crunching into his ribs with a kick.

You don’t know his dead friend's name and you won’t ask for it either. But in your mind, you still see the drop of his body to the floor, the slow, self-assured lowering of Joel’s gun as he tucks it back into his waistband. Two bullets. Two men. You’re only making up for one of them, and you wonder if he thinks you’re even more indebted to him now.

You clench your jaw. No. Joel was going to let you go- your hand wasn’t forced in joining this raiding group. You weren’t repaying a debt. You were trying to save your hide from raiders who wouldn’t just cut you, but carve you up and play with the pieces.

But Joel did you a favour. Spilled the blood of two of his men as a result of you. Took you in when he could have shot you for your limited supplies or left you to become septic.

And…you didn’t have any place better to be. You had run from the QZ; from the loss. The despair. The control. Everything that had happened, you had to get away from it. Head East. That was all you were doing.

It was a crack pipe dream thinking that you’d just keep heading East. Reach the coast. Swim abroad against the current and the tides and the waves and find a place on a continent you had never visited.

But something in your gut knew you were never going to make it to the coast; knew you weren’t truly following that day dream. Knew that you were going to get bit. Or caught. Or hell, step wrong, twist your ankle, and starve to death because you couldn’t walk the rest of the way.

You could make this work. Like Joel said, you’d do what he tells you to and you’d live. That was all you needed to do right now. Live.

You nod to yourself and get acutely aware that you aren’t alone anymore; that you couldn’t mutter to yourself without someone hearing now or hum under your breath if you got bored. You focus, and let your eyes trail to the campside. There’s two more people in the group than you counted before.

You focus on their forms. You see Ryan; the dirty blonde of his hair, your blood on the cuff of his jacket. He bumps his shoulder into the man sitting beside him, and they laugh about something you don’t hear. You don’t know the name of anyone else but spend time taking in their faces; rooting it to memory. All men. You’re not sure what that means for the group. Did they think they had no use for women outside of abuse and simply discarded them before you had shown up? Or were they just close knit, unwilling to let anyone into their protective circle? Neither option filled you with confidence.

Your gaze catches on Joel. He’s here now; you wonder where he walked off to, though you know you’re not entitled to ask. He’s facing the fire, and you’re able to take in his side profile. The sharp slope of his nose. The intense heaviness of his brow. The tightness to his lips, his jaw, his temple; as if even here, sitting at a fire with the group he commanded around him, he wasn’t at ease.

Your eyes sweep up and down him. He’s got a heavy, tanned jacket on, even that close to the flames. A pair of dirtied jeans. They hug his legs, and you think about him, wrapping himself around you just to stop your rabid attack. The thought swirls in your stomach, and becomes a flurry when you take in the slouch of his shoulders, the firelight catching on his hands that are clutched together in front of him.

He was handsome, and you feel nausea rise at the thought. When was anyone ever handsome to you? He was older than you, more brutal than you, more experienced than you. He should revolt and disgust you. Your logical reasoning does absolutely nothing to convince the pounding in your bloodstream to calm. You swallow. You have to forcibly drag your gaze away from him, force yourself to settle onto the new figure beside him.

But the man beside him is grinning, and already staring at you. You flush, realising you’ve been caught looking at Joel for what felt like hours. The man ducks his head closer to Joel, chuckling and saying something too quiet for you to hear. Joel doesn’t laugh, and instead his head spins, and he looks directly at you.

You sink further into your sleeping bag, and instantly look away, training your eyes onto the entrance of the mall, the slope of the walls, anything but him.

You flick your eyes back momentarily, wanting confirmation that you weren’t still being eyed. Instead, you catch the man beside Joel patting his shoulder and pushing himself to his feet. You stare at him, and shake your head slightly; praying to yourself that this wasn’t happening.

The man smiles, and he leaves the fireside, walking over to you. Joel’s staring at him, that notch in his brow again, before he scoffs and faces the fire again. You force yourself to look at this man, take him in; don’t cower or slink back; face him head on.

He’s got dark, black hair that’s curling below his ears, and the same carved nose of Joel. He’s wearing some kind of flannel and jeans, and he brushes his hands off on them as he comes closer, and sits down beside you.

You back yourself up, sliding against the fountain edge to put some distance between you but you still keep your eyes trained on him. Distance, not retreat. The man notices, but he simply smiles and sticks out his hand. You don’t shake it, and he laughs, withdrawing.

“I’m Tommy. Joel’s brother.”

You nod, and whisper your name back to him. His lips curl into a smirk. He’s got the same confidence as Joel. But Joel was domineering, commanding, authoritative. Tommy just came across as cocky. He taps his own cheek, eyebrows raised. You’re reminded of how Joel did the same thing, warning you that you’d bleed out if you left.

“What happened there?”

“Take a guess.” You bite.

He shrugs, unfazed by the harsh tone of your voice and huffs out a breath. “I was the one who cleaned out Terry.”

You feel anger burn white hot in your chest at the thought of him. His entitlement to you, his assault to your face. You swallow the anger down, aware that you were still being watched. You think of the body dragged out only metres away from you. You weren’t aware that Joel had directed the same to be done with Terry. It makes sense. You don’t want to attract rats, or other raiders who got it in their mind that the nearby group was smaller, weaker. Or something more vile than a rat, sniffing out after the death and decay in hopes to spread it’s virus.

Tommy’s gaze finds yours, and he studies you, as if trying to take you apart and sort through what the pieces meant.

“I know his ugly face was ‘cause of Joel- no one else that headstrong to put a bullet between his eyes. But he had a nasty shoulder. Skin clawed off his wrist.”

“What, were you friends with him?”

You resisted the urge to pick under your nails, to clean out anything left of Terry. There’s a beat of silence, and then Tommy’s lips spread out in a wolfish grin.

“No. Was gonna put a bullet in ‘im myself if Joel didn’t. Just wanted to say that I’m glad he suffered before. Especially if he cut up your pretty face.”

You nod, and turn your head away; half to hide the blush spreading across your cheeks and half to hide Terry’s assault. Tommy tilts his head to follow you, maintaining your gaze.

He smiles, eyes scanning over you. “Don’t worry- I dig chicks with scars.”

You laugh and it’s so unexpected that even you blink in surprise. You compose yourself, but Tommy’s smile is just wider, accomplished.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what my life goal is, for raiders to think I’m hot.”

Tommy’s jaw twinges at the word ‘raiders’, but he just shrugs. “Well, congrats then- mission accomplished.”

You huff out a chuckle, shaking your head. You flick your eyes back to him and allow yourself to examine him closer. His hair is combed back, and he’s has a slight stubble to him. As if he was a man who preferred to be clean shaven, but had been without a razor for a bit too long; a contrast to his brother. Smooth skin, cheekbones that drag your eyes down to his lips. He’s older than you but you struggle to pinpoint by how much.

He smiles as if it’s the easiest thing in the world; as if you were both just at some bar, chatting with each other, and the world hadn’t ended; as if you hadn’t done things you weren’t proud of and he hadn’t probably done worse.

“Seems ya to like to stare at Miller men.” He says, teasing.

He has the same Southern drawl, but his voice is higher, not as weighted. You blush and turn away but he waves his hands in defense.

“‘It’s not embarrassin’. I get it- I’d stare at him too to take in my handiwork.” He waggles his thick eyebrows. “Or were you starin’ at him for some other reason?”

You scoff, and turn back to him; glaring as the anger in your chest rears its head back up. “Handiwork?”

He smirks, nodding. “Yeah. Saw the scratches on Joel’s neck.”

He reaches up, gesturing his hands clawing down his neck. “Just a shame you didn’t give him a black eye too- would’ve paid money to see it.”

You should feel embarrassed, or wary to be discussing your earlier grapple with Joel’s brother. But instead your lips tug up. You look at Tommy from the corner of your eye.

“I kicked him in the balls. If that’s worth anything.”

His eyes blow wide and his mouth drops open a bit until he laughs, tipping his head back. “God. No wonder he was so moody when he came and got me.”

He chuckles to himself before he looks back at you. “That’s good. If you can kick him in the nuts and get away with it, you’ll make it here. No doubts.”

You nod, not sure how to respond. Did you want to make it here, wherever here was?

The conversation flows on. Tommy gives you the names of everyone, pointing them out around the fire. You’re able to laugh with him, and offer a little bit to the conversation.

You’re not sure where you stand with this man. How truly trustworthy he is beneath his charming facade. But Ryan’s antiseptic and skills were something you’d need to keep close by before you were fully healed up. Until the wound on your face became a scar, you couldn’t leave.

So, when he asks about where you came from, what you’re doing all the way out here, you feed him little pieces of information- not enough for him to gather the full story, but enough that he leans in closer; as if deciding to trust, or at least entertain, you too.

You don’t register that Joel’s walked over to you until Tommy’s gaze flicks upwards, and you follow.

Joel’s glaring down at his brother, and Tommy’s easy smile slips off his face; replaced with a hard carve of his lips and tense hunch of his brow. The charming man fades away, and in his place is a hardened, now seemingly older man. A raider- not a man you met at a bar that didn’t exist anymore.

There seems to be unspoken words between the two, communicated in the flare of Joel’s nostrils, the square of his shoulders, the clench of his fists. You simply watch the exchange, enraptured and feeling like you’re intruding. Finally, Tommy sighs, and his gaze slides to you, a bashful smile put back in place.

“Nice meeting ya, Dollface.”

You laugh, and when he offers you his hand again, you reach out, shaking it. He lingers, holding onto you, and you’re stuck staring into the dark of his eyes; you can see the firelight flickering in them.

Joel clears his throat, and Tommy rolls his eyes, shooting you a smirk as if to say Can you believe this guy? But he pulls back, pushing himself to his feet. He raises to his full height, and stares at Joel- more unspoken conversation, and now it’s Tommy talking in the set of his jaw, the tilt of his head, the twinge in his temple. The tension snaps and dissipates when he simply shakes his head, brushing past Joel and returning to sit by the fire.

Joel scoffs at him, and shakes his head. He doesn’t look at you as he sits down, taking Tommy’s seat beside you.

“What was that?”

His jaw clenches, and he keeps looking across to the fire. “Nothin’.”

“Yeah, sure seemed like nothing.”

Joel’s tongue darts out to lick across his lip and he shakes his head slightly. “None of your business.”

You force yourself to exhale through your nose, to not slap him across the face. “Sure- but I was having a nice conversation with him. Doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of that to go around here amidst all the shooting.”

He scoffs, and finally turns to you fully. His face is half cast in light from the fire, and the thought catches in your throat that Tommy was only sitting here a minute ago and didn’t look half as handsome as the man in front of you.

Joel glares at you, the notch in his brow deeper. “Those two needed to go- not gonna have some fuckin’ punks walking around like they make the rules.”

His eye dips down to the bandage on your cheek and you wonder if he sees the knife stabbed into it as much as you still feel it. He drags his gaze back to yours, hissing. “And Tommy only wants to get in your pants. Nothin’ nice about the conversation.”

Your eyes widen and you scoff, words slipping out before you can stop them. “Bite me.”

He scowls, lip tugging down. “Real creative.”

“What?” You demand, leaning forward, fire licking up inside you. “Am I supposed to sit here and think of a fucking essay when you tell me all your brother wants to do is fuck me?”

Joel’s brow furrows, and he clicks his teeth. “Watch it.”

You huff but you’re left with a moment of tension, and it leaves you with flashes of images- Terry’s head splattered across the floor. Your wrist nearly broken by Joel’s hand. His gun glinting at his waist.

But you also see the obedient turn of heads. Tommy’s annoyance yet subordination.

You’re angry. Angry that you were so exhausted you had to sleep. Angry that you weren’t prepared more in that fucking shop. Angry that you got caught. Angry that you got stabbed. Angry that you’re stuck with this group when you were doing just fine on your own before you met them. Angry that the man beside you is talking to you like you’re a child. You yield to the fire inside you and scoff.

“Fuck off Joel.”

His eyes widen and it’s the same minuscule, near-unnoticeable change that reveals his shock. But he just clenches his jaw, showing more restraint than you had. “Sure got some gall.”

You run your tongue along your teeth, and his eyes track the movement. “I ‘had some fight’, right? Thought that’s why I’m here.”

His eyes stay trained on you, and his gaze is heavy, stern. “Just ‘cause you can run your mouth doesn’t mean jack.”

Your eyes dip to his neck, and you see what Tommy was talking about. Where you had scratched him earlier, there is jagged lines down the smooth column of his neck, some speckled with blood. Your eyes flick back to his.

“Yeah?”

His nostrils flare and it’s the only indication that he knows exactly what you were looking at. He snarls, and leans even closer.

“Tomorrow we’re on the move. You slip up, you fuck up, you don’t have any of that ‘fight’ in ya, and you’re done for.”

You clench your jaw but you don’t flinch back, instead holding his gaze. “Sir, yes, sir.”

He scoffs and is the first to lean back, shaking his head. “You’re gonna learn some respect.” He pins you with a glare. “Don’t ever mouth off like that in front of anyone- or you’re gonna wish I left you for dead with that knife in your face.”

You swallow, and your cheek burns in pain and shame. You clench your hand.. Force yourself to feel the strain of your bones where he had nearly crushed them and the nails digging into your palm instead of reaching across and slapping him as hard as you could.

You could see the imaginary line you had to toe. Not subordinate enough for him to step on you and treat you like shit. Not insubordinate enough for him to put a bullet between your eyes. Tell him to fuck off when you needed to. Bow your head when he told you to.

So you just nod, and turn from him, leaning back against the fountain. You had clearly pushed enough of his buttons tonight, and you weren’t ready to push anymore. Yet.

He huffs beside you, and turns away, facing back to the group.

Finally, after what feels like tortuous hours of uncomfortable silence, he clears his throat. “You ever used a gun?”

You look at him from the corner of your eye but don’t turn to him. “What?”

He scoffs beside you, as if repeating himself is his own personal hell. “Have you ever used a gun?”

You swallow, and your hand slides in your sleeping bag, thumbing over the hilt of your knife. “Yeah. Got taught in FEDRA’s school.”

He turns his head at that, maybe just realising that you didn’t simply spawn into existence in this mall. That you had a life. A school. Maybe friends. A family. That you had gotten out, gotten this far by yourself.

He tuts. “‘T’s not gonna do you shit then. I’ll teach you tomorrow as we go.”

You swallow, tilting your head slightly to look at him. “Tommy can do that. Or Ryan.”

“Already sick of me, Newbie?”

You don’t say anything, and he leans in closer, eyes narrowing.

“I brought you in. ‘M responsible for you.”

You turn back to him fully, eyebrows raised. “You said I was free to go. I joined. I’m not some sick puppy you dragged in to fix up.”

His tongue runs along his teeth beneath his lips. “Whether you like it or not, it’s cause of me that you’re here and not bleeding out in some fuckin’ shop.”

You resist the urge to bite your ruined cheek. He’s right. You know it. You can feel the debt you owe to him thrumming between the two of you.

“So, what? You teach, and then I can stay out of your way?”

“Sure,” He snaps, eyes dark. “You learn to shoot a gun properly, and I won’t have to talk to you again.”

You clench your jaw. “Great.”

“What’s wrong, Dollface?” He hisses the name. “You should be jumping for joy.”

“What’s your issue?” You snap, reeling on him. “You take me in, get my face fixed up and now you’re pushing me for a fucking fight. What is it? Seeing how long it takes for me to snap, how long until you can put a bullet between my eyes too?”

He huffs, and shakes his head, fury evident in the clench of his jaw. “‘M not testing you.”

“So what is it?” You push, glowering. “Can’t stand the thought of your brother getting some ‘cause I told you I’d bite your dick off?”

His eyes flick towards you, and he scoffs. “No. Just don’t get why you’re buddying up to him. You’ve gotta learn something.” He hisses. “Anyone who’s made it this far, who’s survived, didn’t do so cause they were fuckin’ nice.”

You glare at him. “You don’t think I learned my lesson from Terry? From your crew?”

You jut out your chin, and his eyes snag on the bandage across your face. You know what he’s thinking- that you’re never going to be able to forget that lesson. Something like pity flashes through his eyes for a second before you see him chew his cheek for a second, as if physically biting back his response. He takes a deep breath, and then another, before he looks back at you.

“Don’t get it twisted,” He says, eyes dark and foreboding. “Terry wasn’t good. But a Miller,” He huffs, "is a different kind of bad. Stay away from Tommy.”

You swallow, and almost want to laugh at the dramatism; but something in his words is ragged, raw. True.

You clench your jaw, levelling your gaze with him. “And what about you? You said you’re responsible for me now. Miller.”

His lips tilt down but he shrugs, nonchalantly. You scoff.

“So what? Tommy’s some big bad wolf I should steer clear from, but you’re my guardian angel?”

He mirrors you, scoffing and crossing his hands across his chest. You hate the stupid flex of his forearms and the way your eye catches on the shadow. “Nowhere near that. But I’m not gonna let you jeopardise my crew until you can prove you can handle your own.”

“You brought me in.” You hiss, throwing his own words in his face.

“Exactly,” He snarls, lip curling. “I brought you in and if you fuck up, it’s on me.”

Your pulse is thrumming in your ears. “So you teach me to not fuck up- And then you won’t have to talk to me again. That’s our deal right? I do as I’m told and I get to stay. Nothing more, nothing less.” You say, repeating his words from earlier again.

His jaw flexes, but he nods.

“Can’t wait.” You hiss, turning away from him

He doesn’t leave. You can feel him practically thrumming with annoyance and anger at how petty and childish you were- but he doesn’t leave.

You’re his responsibility now, hisses the small voice in your head. You want to tell it to shut up. To understand that you could have left, still could if you wanted to; but you chose to be here, because otherwise you would have died two streets away with a raider robbing your boots off your cold feet. Hell, you might have made it a week before the dirt and rubble and spores sunk into your wound and you died a feverish death.

But you don’t. Because you know that you owe Joel- owe him for the bullet in Terry, the bullet in his other insubordinate, the stitches in your face; the protection and food and shelter you’d get now in this desolate waste land of a city. That was the deal. He provides you with the mockery of a good life in this wasteland, and you do as you’re told.

And you know that Joel is responsible for you. Killing two of his own men, even if it was for disobeying his rules, because of you was a threat to his domineering authority. You, your actions, your slip ups, your fuck ups, would all be a reflection on him.

He was responsible for you and you owed him. Two truths that coexisted in this twisted partnership you had found yourself in.

So you don’t tell him to fuck off again and to go back to the fire. Instead, you lay on your side, back still against the fountain, and tug up your sleeping bag to your chin. Your head is closest to Joel; enough that if you tilted your eyes up, you’d be able to see the underside of his jaw, his cheekbones, the messy top of hair. Right now your gaze could only find the solidness of his thighs.

You think of the quick draw of his gun, his unflinching gaze as he blew someone’s head off for the second time that day. You wonder if he meant it- if he was a different, but wholly worse evil than Terry.

You don’t think you want to find out.

He can watch your back tonight, teach you about guns tomorrow, and the day after, you would make sure you keep as much distance between the two of you as possible.

The pain is still throbbing, but it’s becoming an accepted, familiar sensation in your body. It dulls in the background of sleep.

[jantowrites]

Hugs & Kisses

♡ Author's note; My very first short fanfiction on this blog, AHHH! Please don't come for me in regards to the audio, I think it fits the vibe heheh.

And please let me know what you think. Given this is the first fic that I have published here, I would LOVE to get feedback on everything, don't be shy!

♡ Content: Fluff, best friends to Lovers, did I mention fluff?

♡ Pairing: Levi Colwill x Fem!reader

♡ Summary: You and Levi visit sea life, where you share a moment.

The hammering sound of raindrops hitting the umbrella Levi and I promptly walked under was soothing to the ear. It was mid-July, July the 18th to be exact, summer still peeking through the obscure autumn-like weather, with the humid breeze wrapping uncomfortably around the heart of England, London. 

Levi and I scurried up the staircase to the entrance of the sea life aquarium building. The soles of our shoes tapped against the concrete, occasionally splashing water here and there. Closing the umbrella, Levi shook the excess water droplets off it and opened the door for us to enter.

While inside, we exhaled in unison, not realising the air we held hostage for some odd reason. The air conditioning and the overall coolness inside the building forced me into a potent shudder as I felt goosebumps underneath my long-sleeved shirt.

Levi quietly chuckled under his breath before swiftly grabbing the back of his hooded sweatshirt and pulling it over his head. I watched as he allowed it to slightly bunch up in his grip before he extended his arm, motioning for me to take it from him.

‘Very well then, gentleman.’ I mockingly responded to his gesture before eagerly grabbing the soft, grey-colored material from his grip. 

‘Always.’ He replied before shrugging, an amused look plastered on his face.

Sliding the hoodie over my head, the delicate whiff of fresh laundry, combined with his day-to-day perfume, the scent I Loved so much, found its way into my nostrils as I allowed the warmth from the hoodie to engulf me while yet another shiver found its way throughout my body.

‘Bloody hell, look at the map bruv! This place is huge, will deffo get lost in here man,’ Levi proclaimed as he used his index finger to point at the map in front of us that showcased the entirety of the aquarium. Something about his remark made me snicker, mainly because there was a chance we’d get lost inside this building.

Throughout our friendship, Levi and I have had our fair share of ‘dumb and dumber’ moments. Our bond, me and him, was different than any I have. We met in kindergarten and built our friendship into a solid one. Now, here we stand in front of the sea life map.

Making our way to the entrance as we excitedly stepped into the aquarium, the scenery of the water around us, between thick glass, was all but underwhelming.

‘Oh, my gosh, Levi, you see that shark?’ I questioned, as it was the very first animal we spotted. We both hastened our footsteps to get a better view of the sea creature. Out of instinct, our hands almost instantly pressed against the thick, cold glass, watching the humongous fish swim past us. I left my eyes wandering,  following the shark before it disappeared from my peripheral view.

‘Bosh, this is only the beginning of the aquarium as well, you know? We’re gonna be in here for a while…’ I said as I turned to face him, whom I thought was still standing beside me, but the man had already moved to the opposite side, watching another shark swim past. I couldn’t help but laugh, knowing today would be a memorable event.

As we walked throughout the building, each with springs to our steps, the only words that made their way out of us were; ‘OOH!’ and ‘LOOK, LOOK!’ as we pointed at diverse things that caught our attention. Our excitement and giggles eventually became one with the similar noises of the kids in the building. 

After walking for a while, we took a well-needed break, plopping down to the nearest sets of wooden planks labeled as seats. By now, we were halfway through the aquarium. The thought did bring a type of sadness, knowing it would all be over soon. Nonetheless, I was happy that I was finally spending time with Levi. I had to convince myself that I fully understood why things had to change now that he had become a professional football player. But quite frankly, I didn’t understand why. Why our daily hangouts gradually became less prominent.

‘What you thinking ‘bout then, all quiet,’ He interrupted my thought process as he probably noticed that I once again, as usual, decided to live inside of my head for a brief moment.

‘Just-’ I paused, knowing I eventually would have to cough up a word that would convince him I hadn’t been pondering over our less frequent hangouts, ‘happy.’ I replied after the pause, pursing my lips into a thin line and slowly nodding my head in approval of my statement.

I heard him sigh, ‘How many more times do I have to keep telling you this, Y/N. I know you very flippin’ well, I know you’re not being honest right now, just talk to me.’ He nudged my arm with his elbow, pushing me to the side as I dramatically leaned sideways. In return, I was the one to sigh now, knowing I had to tell him how and what I felt.

‘Levi, I am being honest. I am happy. I just miss you a lot. I’ve missed hanging out with you…’ I answered, tapping the pads of my fingers against my pants, seemingly looking over at him through my lashes.

His mouth gradually shaped into the smile I adored so much. Levi swung his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into a mixture of a side hug and an embrace. I took in the scent of his perfume that lingered on him, his beard lightly scraping against the very top of my forehead, and the heat that rose to my face. I felt the bliss of being in his presence.

‘I’ve missed hanging out with you too, Y/N. I know, I know we haven’t been able to hang out as we want to, it sucks.’ melancholy ringing in the tone of his voice. Pulling away from the embrace but maintaining a proximity of closeness that made my pulse rise, his eyes met mine.

‘However, I feel like I know a solution for that. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for quite some time now. Platonically, I like you, like a lot,’ he said before pausing, allowing his eyes to wander down at my lips, before quickly gazing into my eyes, ‘But romantically, I like you even more. Y/N..’ 

He paused yet again, scanning my face to try and soothe its puzzled appearance. 

‘Will you be my girlfriend?’

As if time had stopped, the jellyfish around us had stopped swimming, and the air had run out. I felt stuck. Not until the corners of my lips instinctively rose, not until then was I able to utter a simple but prominent; ‘Yes, Levi.’

The fit of laughter we broke into had to be one of the most intimate settings we had endured within our bond. A love like this never felt so sure and was nothing but genuine feelings reciprocated, filled with the rawest form of our emotions expressed. 

Cupping my face with his hands, I felt myself tremble under this touch as he leaned forward, merely inches away from letting our lips touch.

‘Can I kiss you, Y/N?’ he whispered against my lips, his cool breath hitting them.

‘Of course, you can,’ I replied, my stomach dipping right before we closed our eyes as he closed the tiny gap that never stood a chance. I instantly melted into the tender kiss, his lips perfectly set upon mine. It was as if our souls intertwined, morphed into one, and became the union we both had yearned for so long. In a language only he and I spoke, we shared our utmost Love for each other at that sweet moment.

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x27 - Vamdemon's Castle of Darkness / The Gateway to Home

Previously on Digimon Adventure: PicoDevimon bullied Sora into remember that her mom never loved her so she realized she can't love anyone and quit. But then she realized the truth: Her mom loved her, her friends love her, she loves her friends, and PicoDevimon loves being punted like the football.

After a disappointed Vamdemon petulantly whined at ominously warned the Chosen Children that their doom is still to come, they're left with time to breathe and figure out what all that was about.

The truth is something they could not possibly expect. And something that I had to read a 15-page Argentinian short story to digest.

Taichi and Jou use plastic bags to collect drinking water from the river we were decompressing at last episode.

Jou: These bags are useful, aren't they? I swiped them from the restaurant. Gomamon: I thought you were always honest and straightforward, Jou! Jou: No comment.

Hahahaha Jou looted the fucking diner on their way out the door. I guess even Mr. "Decay of Japanese Society's" sense of social propriety has its breaking point. We are a bad influence on this boy.

However, while they're collecting water, Mimi sits nearby looking distraught.

Jou: Mimi-kun, cheer up. Mimi: But now that Vamdemon's shown up, we'll have to keep running away from him like we were with Etemon, won't we? Jou: (dour) I guess that's true.... Taichi: What? Only for a while. Palmon: We have to be brave! Mimi: You're right.

Taichi is unsurprisingly flippant in the face of a new asshole trying to kill them, but that infectious courage is what Mimi needs right now.

In the dub, Joe's theft is retained but Gomamon doesn't call him on it.

Joe: Hey, check it out, Mimi! How about this for an instant bath? I'm glad I took these bags from the restaurant. Gomamon: Gee, now you'll be able to go soak your head the next time you have an allergy attack. Joe: Right. That was so funny, I forgot to laugh. Mimi: Now that Myotismon's chasing us, we're gonna have to keep running like a bunch of crazed shoppers at the mall! He's just a big creep, if you ask me! Joe: I have to agree with you on that. Tai: Yeah, he's small potatoes for us! Palmon: My wish is to never see him again, period! Mimi: Mine too!

Okay, so we're off to a bad start. Gomamon congratulating Jou for pragmatically breaking character is now another quip about Joe's allergies. Mimi's fears about another round of Kill the Children is played more light-hearted and goofy. And then we wrap it up with everyone being as flippant about Myotismon as Taichi was in the original.

Suddenly, Koushiro runs up with news.

Koushiro: TAICHI-SAAAAAAN!!! Taichi: What is it? Are all of you finished preparing the food? Koushiro: It's not that! It's Gennai-san! Taichi, Jou, & Mimi: Gennai is here!?

This is the same in the dub, except they give Tai, Joe, and Mimi separate remarks spoken all at once.

Mimi: Is this a scheduled visit? Joe: Hope he's found a way to get us out of here. Tai: What is it this time?

Mimi and Joe completely drown out Tai. As they should.

The kids gather around Gennai and very respectfully inquire about his message.

Taichi: What's up, Geezer? What is it this time? Gennai: I have both good news and bad news, so which would you like to hear first? Jou: I'd like to say we should leave the good news for last, but.... Yamato: We're going to be disappointed either way so let's hear the good news first. Gennai: Okay then. We'll start with the good news. Truth is, I've found a new member for your nakama. Sora: Nakama? You mean the Chosen Children!?

Gennai tries to be hip with the youngsters and use that word Taichi's been throwing around. Sora gets confused and demands specifically terminology for this context.

Gennai: Yes. There are actually supposed to be eight Chosen Children. Group: EHHH!?!? Pyokomon: Hey, wouldn't that mean there's supposed to be another Digimon in our nakama too? Sora: Yeah, it would.... Gennai: The important thing is that without all eight of you, the distortions in this world can't be corrected. That means the distortions in your world also won't be corrected. Do you understand? Taichi: Of course. Sora: (nods) Mm. Takeru: I wonder what this person is like? Mimi: I hope we meet them soon! Taichi: So where is this person? What's their name? Gennai: Their name is... Uh... I don't know. Taichi: GEEZER!!!

Gennai living down to the ageist slur jiji that Taichi keeps hurling at him every time they meet.

In the dub:

Tai: Well!? Don't keep us all in suspense! What's this all about, anyway? Gennai: Well, I've brought you some good news and some bad news. Which would you like to hear first? Joe: Save the good news for last; I hate being depressed. Matt: He's a basket case anyway! Let's start with the good news! Gennai: Actually, you all look like you could use some cheering up. I've been told another child will be joining your group. Sora: Another child? Who tells you these things anyway?

Joe and Matt's exchange rewritten so that Matt can be mean to Joe despite more or less expressing the same sentiment.

Meanwhile, Sora's asking the real questions here. Gennai, being a complete asshole, ignores her. Keeps right on expositing as if she never said anything at all.

Gennai: Well, this is someone you shall want as a friend. This someone is a DigiDestined. Group: Whoa! Really? Yokomon: Oh, I hope this new one will have a Digimon that will be able to help us! Sora: You and me both! Gennai: The important thing to remember is that all eight of you must be together. As long as you are separated, the worlds will not be in harmony with each other. Everything will go whacko. So we must find that other child as soon as possible. Tai: How do we do that? Sora: (nods) Hm. T.K.: I hope it's someone my size! Mimi: I hope she's my size so we can swap clothes! Tai: Tell us something about this kid! Like, what's his or her name? Gennai: Uh, the name? Tai: Yeah! Gennai: It's... I forgot.

We cut to a commercial break here. I hope you remember that dumb shit he just said after the commercials because we're picking right back up where we left off after the break, with Tai yelling at him for it.

Tai: GENNAI!!!

"We need all eight of you in order to correct the distortions in our world, which are causing the distortions in yours," is the point here.

What Dub Gennai says is, "If the eight of you are separated then the worlds won't be in harmony and everything will go whacko." What?

He makes it sound like Hikari not going to camp is the reason rice paddies are drying up and New York is buried in snow.

Once the kids have expressed their frustration with Gennai, he continues updating them on the situation.

Gennai: Sorry about that. But I do know where the child is located: Japan. Group: EHHHH!?!? Taichi: Japan!? Gabumon: Where is that? Agumon: It's in the word Taichi and the others are from. Koushiro: Oh yeah, you went there once, didn't you, Agumon? Agumon: Yep. Jou: But... That means we can't find this person. Gennai: Don't be so disappointed! Taichi: Yeah? What's the bad news? Gennai: Uh... Vamdemon knows everything I just told you. He's gathering an army to invade Japan and kill the child. Taichi: VAMDEMON IS GOING TO JAPAN!?!?

Seriously. What the fuck, Gennai?

"By the way there were actually supposed to be eight of you all along and either I just figured that out even though I'm part of this whole shebang or I've been withholding it all this time. But I just found out Vamdemon's after the other kid so I'm throwing all of this at you at once OKAY GO TO JAPAN NOW BYYYYYYE!!!"

Jiji is the fucking worst. He was legit just going to hang out and hope for the best with understaffed Chosen Children. I don't think he had any intention of ever bringing this up until Vamdemon forced his hand.

In the dub, it's time to finally set in stone a setting for where the kids are from. California? New York? Florida? At long last, where have they been localized to?

Gennai: Calm down. I do know of the location of the child. It's Japan. Group: Huh? Tai: JAPAN!?!? Gabumon: Where is Japan? Agumon: Japan's a big island in the far east. Izzy: Agumon and Tai were transported there when our two worlds converged. Agumon: Mmhmm. Joe: If they ever converge again, maybe we'll all get to go home. Mimi: Yeah.... Gennai: Remember, that was the good news. Tai: Can't wait to hear the bad. Gennai: Myotismon has heard of the eighth child and will be going to Japan soon. He's gathering his forces as we speak. If he gets to the child first, both of our worlds will be doomed. Tai: DOOMED!?!? WE NEED SOME SPIES ON THE INSIDE!!!

That's right! With the looming threat of an entire goddamn arc spent in Japan, the dub officially throws up its hands and gives up on any possibility of localizing to an American setting. We will not be visiting Japanifornia in Digimon Adventure. We are returning to Japan, in English and in Japanese.

Though still talking about it from an American point of reference, of course. "Japan's a big island in the far East," Agumon definitely explains to the children watching at home and not to the Digimon around him because it makes zero sense in context.

Fortunately, the dub up to this point has mostly set their origins in a region-neutral void of geography. They never said it was the U.S., so they can make the transition to Fine It's Japan Okay smoothly. Contrast Ace Attorney, which is in too deep and now has to make up shit like "A village of Japanese immigrants!" to explain away their explicitly Japanese settings.

(Maybe it's a good thing that they skipped the OVA. Can you imagine if the OVA came out first and was like, "Once upon a time in Chicago....")

We cut to Vamdemon's castle, where we see he's aggressively recruiting. Various Vegiemon, Numemon, and Scumon are here. I guess something about the job listing sounded super appealing to Adult-stage junk evolutions and no one else.

Speaking of which:

PicoDevimon is not impressed by the recruits.

PicoDevimon: (sigh) They look like a bunch of useless clods. Nanimon: Nothing to worry about! I'll whip them into shape!

Fellow junk evolution Nanimon descends the steps to train these junk recruits while the narrator gives us his rundown.

Nanimon is an Adult-stage Virus-type Invader Digimon. He's the bottom-tier Digimon that evolves into Digitamamon. He's named for the expression you give when your Digimon evolves into this abomination: "What."

Narrator: What is this Digimon? No, that's his name. A drifter whose true identity is unknown, nicknamed Oyaji. His special attack is poop.

His nickname, oyaji, can refer informally to a father or more generically to any middle-aged man. Contrast ojisan, a respectful way of addressing an older man. And jiji, the rude and disrespectful terminology that Taichi regularly uses for Gennai.

PicoDevimon: I'm counting on you. Only a sensei with years of military experience like yours is fit for this job. Nanimon: Got it. PicoDevimon: Well, they're all yours! (wanders off)

In the dub, DemiDevimon's as unsubtle about his feelings as PicoDevimon.

DemiDevimon: Bah! The noodle-brainer team! Nanimon: Don't worry, I'll whip 'em all into shape! These dweebs will be unbeatable when I get through with them.

DemiDevimon handles our rundown here.

DemiDevimon: Nanimon is an Invader Digimon. I'd tell him what I really think about his sunglasses but his Power Punch would flatten me!

The dub keeps the name Nanimon but pronounces it differently. In Japanese it's Nani-mon, where in English it's Nanny-mon.

DemiDevimon: Okay, big boy, we know you can talk the talk but now it's time for you to do your stuff! Nanimon: Just watch! DemiDevimon: I don't wanna. (wanders off)

No mention of Nanimon's military service record. Rather, he just seems to have made some promises about being able to train these Digimon.

Coming in the gate, a couple of new recruits volunteer to join the training session.

Agumon & Palmon: (flamboyant) Yaaaaay! Palmon: Hey, is it ~true~ that you're recruiting soldiers? Agumon: Can we sign up? Nanimon: Who are you? Agumon: I'm PunkAgumon! Palmon: And I'm ReggaePalmon! Agumon & Palmon: Yaaaaay! Nanimon: (looks at the assembled junk evos) ...They might be better than these guys. (turns back to the new recruits) Okay! You're in!

I sincerely wonder which kid came up with this. We can probably 1:1 them and say Taichi's a fan of punk and Mimi listens to reggae. Those aren't localizations of Japanese genres, either; They say "Punk" and "Reggae" in English.

(When will the Digimon video games officially acknowledge PunkAgumon and ReggaePalmon as proper evolutions? The ball's in your court, Bandai.)

In the dub, Nanimon notices Agumon and Palmon and calls out to them, rather than them having to call out and get his attention.

Nanimon: Can I help you two!? Agumon & Palmon: Yup! Palmon: We're a couple of renegade soldiers looking for a battle to fight! Agumon: We may look silly but underneath our cool exterior, we're fighting machines! Nanimon: Is that so? Who are ya? Agumon: I'm PunkAgumon! Palmon: I'm ReggaePalmon! Agumon & Palmon: Yeah! Nanimon: (looks at the assembled junk evos) ...What a couple of weirdos. (turns back to the new recruits) You're perfect! I'll take ya!

Between "we look silly" and "couple of weirdos", you can feel a localizer cringing over these disguises. Nanimon, you have no butt yet still throw poop. You don't get to talk shit.

Sadly, that costs us Nanimon's point that even these two clowns are an improvement over poop-throwing junk evos.

(A point he makes despite being a poop-throwing junko evo himself, but you heard what PicoDevimon said about his service record. This particular Nanimon is trying to make the leap to Digitamamon.)

Meanwhile, in Vamdemon's library.

He sits at a desk lit by a candelabra, poring over a musty old tome. Suddenly, there's a knock at the door.

Vamdemon: Enter. PicoDevimon: (pushing open the doors) Vamdemon-sama, reporting in. Soldiers are pouring in from everywhere. Vamdemon: Are they any good? PicoDevimon: Uh... Maybe?

Suddenly, a new voice roars with laughter, echoing through the room.

New Voice: AHAHAHAHAHA!!! Those alleged soldiers are pathetic. PicoDevimon: W-Who's there!?

She's not wrong.

In the dub, DemiDevimon lies to Myotismon's face.

Myotismon: Come in. DemiDevimon: Myotismon, I have some good news to report! The soldiers are assembled and we're ready to move out! Myotismon: Are they worthy of me? DemiDevimon: Yes, my Master. New Voice: Hahahahaha! They're a bunch of helpless sea slugs if you want my opinion. DemiDevimon: Who are you!? New Voice: (approaching in silhouette) Greetings, little blue one.

This new servant of darkness steps forward into the light of the candelabra, revealing herself.

The narrator goes straight into the rundown. Tailmon is an Adult-stage Vaccine-type Holy Beast Digimon. Her name comes from the English word Tail, likely to draw attention to the Holy Ring on her tail. It's kind of a big deal.

Narrator: Tailmon. She looks like a cute kitty, but pretty roses have thorns. Using her long, sharp claws, her special attack Neko Punch holds considerable power.

In the dub, she's called Gatomon. For the spanish word "gato", meaning cat. DemiDevimon handles her rundown.

DemiDevimon: Gatomon! Gatomon might look like a harmless little kitty, but deep down inside, she's an out-of-control wildcat! Don't ever cross her path!

Once intros are out of the way, Tailmon lays into PicoDevimon.

Tailmon: Are you planning to make a second-string army out of those useless idiots? PicoDevimon: Rrrrgh, if I had the chance-- Tailmon: (provoking) What? Gonna do something? Vamdemon: (rising from his chair) Stop that. More importantly, Tailmon, have you found anyone useful? Tailmon: Yes, sir! As you ordered, I've searched the world and found many!

As she speaks, we see the silhouettes of Tailmon's recruits. They look more formidable than Scumon, to be sure.

Vamdemon: I look forward to seeing how useful they are. Tailmon: Yes, sir!

In the dub, Gatomon and DemiDevimon do not implicitly threaten each other with violence.

Gatomon: Just where did you manage to find that group of goofballs anyway? DemiDevimon: RRRRRRGH!!! YOU CAN DO BETTER!?!? Gatomon: With my paws tied! Myotismon: (rising from his chair) Gatomon, don't waste your time on him! Have you done what I asked of you? Gatomon: Yes! Purr your instructions, I searched everywhere and found the most ferocious Digimon I could find. You'll be very pleased. Myotismon: I knew I could trust you, Gatomon. I look forward to meeting them. Gatomon: Thanks.

Dub Gatomon isn't quite so formal when speaking to Myotismon. Tailmon speaks directly as if she were a soldier talking to a commanding officer, bowing and kneeling in deference with respectful barks of "Hai!" to respond to him.

Gatomon is more playful, even making cat puns, which causes her bows and kneel to come off a bit more sarcastic. She is also incredibly well-voiced, holy shit. Her actress is having the time of her life.

Suddenly, a Bakemon floats through the wall.

Bakemon: Excuse the interruption, Vamdemon-sama. Vamdemon: What is it? Bakemon: The stone room is ready for your inspection.

Vamdemon turns back to Tailmon and PicoDevimon.

Vamdemon: You can go. Both: Yes, sir.

Tailmon's "Hai!" is, again, forceful and alert, like a proud underling. PicoDevimon's is weaker, sounding reluctant and obligatory.

In the dub, Bakemon makes no apology for intruding on Myotismon. Instead, he makes spooky monster noises like he's trying to frighten everyone.

Bakemon: NYAAARGHHHH RRRRRRGHHH.... Myotismon: (annoyed) What is it? Bakemon: We've prepared the room and it's ready for your inspection. Myotismon: (turning to the other two) Fine, the two of you are dismissed. Both: Right!

Gatomon and DemiDevimon deliver their lines in identical cadences, no real difference between them.

I have no idea why they thought Bakemon should snarl and gnash at Myotismon. And then he just goes straight to talking normal the second Myotismon talks to him. XD Like he was just trying to be as annoying as possible so he wouldn't have to wait around for Myotismon to address him.

Once Tailmon and PicoDevimon have left, Vamdemon uses a hidden lever in the bookshelf to open a secret door. He descends a long stairwell to a chamber deep underground, with a stone pedestal and a large metal door.

Bakemon: Vamdemon-sama? What is this, if I can ask? Vamdemon: Something passed down in myths from ancient times: The door to the other world. We will use this Gate to invade the human world!

Pretty straightforward. No changes in the dub.

Outside the castle walls, the kids confer with Gennai again.

Gennai: The Gate that connects to Japan should be somewhere inside this castle. Koushiro: So the reason Vamdemon left PicoDevimon to deal with us is because he was busy preparing to open the Gate. Gennai: That's right. Taichi: But what are Agumon and Palmon doing? They disguised themselves to enlist in the army and help us sneak in, but we haven't seen them since.

Closing the circuit on why Vamdemon didn't just come kill us all like Etemon would have. It's clear that he prioritizes the Eighth Child far above the other seven.

In the dub:

Gennai: According to my information, the Gate to the other world should be somewhere inside this castle. Izzy: My theory is that Myotismon sent DemiDevimon to distract us while he stayed behind to prepare the Gate. Truly an ingenious plan on his part! Gennai: A good theory, indeed! Tai: Agumon and Palmon have certainly been gone a long time. It's not that I'm worried, it's just that... Well, I hope they're looking for the location of the Gate.

Everybody here is wrong.

Izzy, your theory is bad and you should be ashamed. DemiDevimon wasn't distracting you from the Gate, he was trying to steal your Crests.

Gennai, don't encourage him.

Tai, the plan is not for them to go find the Gate all by themselves. Why would that be the plan? That's a terrible plan.

Inside the castle, Nanimon's working these recruits hard.

Doing pushups with the others, Palmon and Agumon can sense that they're being talked about.

Palmon: We'd like more than anything to help.... Agumon: But we're kind of busy right now! Nanimon: Next! Bunny hops!

The Digimon switch from pushups to hopping.

Nanimon: Listen up! Stretch those earholes wide open and listen good! Only the toughest survive on the battlefield! So toughen up, shut up, and ganbari!

Remember ganbaru from Jou and Yamato's episode? The cultural construct of hard work and perseverance through difficult times? Yep, Nanimon's trying to use it to whip his recruits into shape and they are not having it.

Numemon: We're supposed to ganbari? They haven't even fed us! I can't take any more! Nanimon: Hey! No chatting over there! As punishment, you're skipping dinner! Numemon: Oh no! I only enlisted because I heard I could eat my fill every night! Other Numemon: This sucks!

Honestly, nobody looks good here. These recruits are ill-suited to what PicoDevimon expects of them and Nanimon isn't helping.

Meanwhile, the dub makes the -ahem- questionable decision to keep Agumon silent while only Palmon whines about the training.

Palmon: I'm wilting! I wanna get out of here now! Ugh! Nanimon: Now hop like Bunnymon! Get the jelly out of your legs! I want you grunts to be tough! This battle's gonna be big, so get with it, you worthless warts! You gotta try like you've never tried before! Numemon 1: He's right! We've never tried before! Numemon 2: So why should we start now!? Nanimon: Listen up! Everybody that mouthed off will go without dinner tonight. You do understand me, don't you!? Numemon 1: No way! The food's the only reason we joined this dorky army in the first place! Other Numemon: Yeah yeah yeah....

Gonna file that under Mimi slander by proxy. Hmph!

But the rest of it does a pretty good job of making the bit work without ganbaru to lean on. "We've never tried before so why start now?" got me. XD

A short time later, the exhausted recruits take a break while a pair of Vegiemon massage Nanimon's biceps.

Yeah, this seems above-board and not at all an abuse of power.

Palmon: (whispering) if this keeps up, we won't have a chance to sneak everyone in. Agumon: (whispering) We have to do something about Nanimon.

The one Scumon in the group overhears Agumon, but hopefully not Palmon, and offers his two cents.

Scumon: I used to be in the same squad as him. Agumon: What? Scumon: Back then, he liked to throw his weight around but whenever a real battle started up, he'd get wasted on sake and do nothing at all. Chuumon: We should get him drunk on sake! Palmon: He's a heavy drinker, huh? Agumon: That just might work. Palmon: Eh? Agumon: We'll give him sake and get him to drink himself to sleep! Scumon: Great thinking! Chuumon: Nice idea! Agumon: But the two of us will stick out like sore thumbs if we try to sneak off. Palmon: You're right.... Numemon 1: Leave it to us, then! Numemon 2: There's so many of us here, he won't even notice if a few are missing! Palmon: Can you do it? Numemon 1: Of course! I'm pissed off that he won't let us eat! Here I go.

In the dub, Palmon and Agumon are just complaining about how tired they are. Sukamon comes up with the idea to mess with Nanimon, apropos of nothing.

Palmon: I'd like to soak in a hot tub for about two months! Agumon: I've got blisters on my blisters! Sukamon: I think we have to stop this guy and I know how to do it! Agumon: Yeah? Sukamon: I was a soldier with him before. He likes to drink soda but the bubbles go right to his head and make him as dipsy as a doodlemon. Chuumon: He gets real kooky and he'll do anything you want! Palmon: Even let us escape!? Agumon: I must be exhausted! Palmon: Why? Agumon: I thought I saw a little pink thing pop up and talk to us! Sukamon: His stomach will fill with bubbles. Chuumon: Yeah! He's sure to explode! Agumon: But if it explodes, won't he make us hang around and clean it up? Palmon: You're nutsy. Numemon 1: Forget the mess! We can all escape! Numemon 2: One of us should go and get some soda. He won't miss one of us. Palmon: That might work! Numemon 1: After that slob wouldn't let us have dinner, I'll open the bottles and pour 'em down his throat myself!

I sure am glad Sukamon is on the ball here because our Partner Digimon are fucking useless. Viruses over here making the plan to get our kids inside while Agumon and Palmon get high and contemplate the existence of Chuumon. Holy shit, this one's bad.

Why does everyone suddenly think we're trying to escape? Agumon and Palmon are here to infiltrate and the others want to be part of this army; They just don't like Nanimon specifically. It's not hard to see why.

The alcohol censorship is unsurprising, of course. You know how people with a low soda tolerance get. That soda goes straight to their head and makes 'em goofy. In fact, I'm gonna crack open a Dr. Pepper right now and take the edge off.

While Nanimon's massage keeps him distracted, that one Numemon slimes his way up the wall and through an open window.

Nanimon stands up suddenly.

Nanimon: ALRIGHT!!! Time to make a pyramid! Whole Squad: (feigning excitement) Yaaaay!

In Japan, kumitaiso or the human pyramid is a controversial gymnastics exercise that children of all ages are made to do in schools. Kind of odd as a military training exercise, but it's a point of reference that kids watching at home can point to and go "Oh, shit, yeah. That's hard!"

Numemon makes his way straight to the liquor cabinet and grabs a couple bottles.

Numemon: Just you wait. The grudge of food is deep and terrifying....

In the U.S., however, human pyramids are primarily associated with cheerleading. Not exactly a point of reference most kids will recognize. But also it's girly. Which I feel like was the deciding factor in how they take this, because what they replace it with isn't exactly standard elementary-school P.E. either.

Nanimon: Next up: Contact sports! How about wrestling!? Whole Squad/Sukamon: Oh boy!/You're the boss, yeah! (Numemon climbs in the window) Numemon: I wonder where... There! (grabs the bottles) This is what he gets for not feeding us!

Yeah, that's really more of a high school extracurricular sport. It fits the aesthetic, though; Nanimon certainly looks like a pro wrestler.

Nanimon leads the Digimon in an activity that's definitely wrestling and not at all that other thing.

Good ol' battle royale wrestling, where we all get in a big pile of bodies together and see what limbs we can grapple. Agumon's winning!

Nanimon: Hey! Hey! You pipsqueaks shouldn't get tired just from this! Don't lose focus!

While they're holding Nanimon's attention, Numemon sends a bottle floating out the window with a little parachute.

Nanimon: Huh? What's this? (catches the bottle) I-It's sake!

Which, in the dub, becomes:

Nanimon: Oh boy! Me likes orange.

Just as planned, Nanimon proceeds to get absolutely shitfaced as more and more bottles rain down.

Nanimon: (visibly wrestling with himself) Oh no! My body's moving on its own!

Nanimon tries to stop himself, but he can't. He's just gotta dance! He starts moving to a beat in his head, while rhythmically repeating the word yoi, for when something's pleasant or nice. The others do not help him.

Nanimon: Yoi-yoi-yoi-yoi.... Group: (cheering) YOI-YOI-YOI-YOI!!! Nanimon: ...yoi-yoi-yoi-yoi! Ahhh, I feel great!

Immediately after that announcement, Nanimon passes out.

The Digimon gather around him to celebrate their accomplishment.

Squad: HOORAY!!! Agumon: SUCCESS!!! Palmon: (to Agumon) Okay, let's go!

In the dub, meanwhile, Nanimon's getting bubbly.

Nanimon: (visibly wrestling with himself) Hey, anybody wanna go dancing? I'm light on my feet! (Nanimon starts dancing) Nanimon: Whoa ho ho whoa! Group: GO GO GO!!! Nanimon: (various grunts) Ha! Love that soda!

Courteous of him to remind us in the middle of his dance that he's high on carbonation fizz. It's just carbonation fizz. Remember, it's just carbonation fizz.

It's not super clear what takes him out all of a sudden, but he loudly vocalizes "WHOA!" type flailing grunts so I think we're meant to take it as him tripping and bonking his head. Nonetheless, the squad celebrates as if this was part of the plan.

Agumon: It worked. Group: YEAH!!! Agumon: Let's get out of here! Palmon: Before he wakes up! Agumon: YEAH!!! Palmon: Bubble fizz won't last forever!

It's just carbonation fizz.

With Nanimon out of the way, Agumon and Palmon are able to complete their part of the plan.

The kids wait impatiently with Gennai in the bushes outside their planned rendezvous.

(Can... Can we turn him off? We're trying to infiltrate here and he's a glowing rainbow hologram. What if a passing guard saw that shit?)

Taichi: (whispering) Aren't they here yet!? Yamato: (hissing) Be patient!

Palmon's vines suddenly lower from the tower above.

Mimi: Ahaha, Palmon! Palmon: Sorry for the wait! Taichi: Hooray!

As the kids make for Palmon's vines, Gennai leaves them with a warning.

Gennai: I won't be able to contact you in the castle, so you're on your own from here. Taichi: We'll take care of it! Gennai: You must stop Vamdemon's plans and protect your colleague (nakama) in Japan! Palmon: (sending the vines back down) Next! Hurry!

The dub shifts Tai's opening line to make his tone more sympathizing.

Tai: (whispering) I'm worried. Matt: (hisses) Just be patient. (Palmon's vines lower) Mimi: Hey, look! They're back! Palmon: Sorry, we had a big bruiser on our hands! Tai: Let's go! (The kids run for the vines) Gennai: My signal is useless inside the castle, so you are on your own. I'm counting on you. Tai: We got it covered! Gennai: I hope so! You must stop Myotismon from carrying out his plans and protect your friend in Japan! Palmon: (sending the vines back down) We'd better move it!

Aside from that small tonal shift in Tai's characterization at the start, it's mostly the same. Though, just as a fun note, they play a slide-whistle sound effect over Palmon retracting her vines to pull up Tai and Mimi. In the original, there's no sound effect associated with the vines stealthily pulling them up, though we do get a tiny wooshing sound as she sends them back down in both versions.

Either way, probably not as audible as Palmon shouting down at them to hustle. She is not good at espionage.

Inside the castle, Vamdemon contemplates a set of cards in his library, which are clearly computer chips.

Vamdemon: The key is within my grasp. Once I understand the meaning hidden in these cards, I have to place them in the proper order. Then the door to the other world will open. Chosen Children, no matter how hard you try, it's already too late. Hmhmhmhmhmhm.....

In the dub:

Myotismon: I must find the secret to the Gate. Once I understand the meaning of these cards, the key will open the lock. Then I will be able to enter the path to the human world. You DigiDestined think you're so smart but in reality I am always one step ahead of you! Hmhmhmhmhmhm....

Dude we just met last night. The insecurity of this man!

We go to commercial and come back to the kids exploring Vamdemon's castle in separate groups. I guess they split up?

And discovering for themselves that the castle was seemingly designed by M.C. Escher.

Patamon: That's.... Takeru: What's wrong? Patamon: Something's weird. Takeru: What is? (The kids approach the torch, burning in the wrong direction; Everyone gasps) Yamato: WHY!?!?

Yamato just sort of tuning into this conversation and then suddenly screaming at the torch got me. XD

Dub's about the same, but Matt's outburst is just a vocalized gasp. Instead of him. Yelling at the torch. For being wrong. XD

Meanwhile, the girls are with Jou. He's trying to break an iron lock off a wooden door by fiddling the lock with his bare hands.

Gomamon: How's it coming? Jou: It's very sturdy. That must mean that this is a very important room! Mimi: But doesn't this lock look rusty to you? Sora: Yeah. Maybe this room just hasn't been used in a long time. Jou: (stops) .... Pyokomon: Let's look somewhere else. Sora: Sounds good. (The girls start to leave while Jou remains frozen) Gomamon: Let's go, Jou! Jou: (distraught) I was so sure this was it. Eh.... (reluctantly follows the girls)

The dub removes Jou's comical oversight from this exchange.

Gomamon: Making any progress, Joe? Joe: No. This lock's ancient, but I still can't break it. Mimi: Maybe if we had the key, it would open. Sora: Yeah, and maybe if we had a cannon, we could blast our way in. Joe: (stops) It's no use! Yokomon: Maybe there's another way in! Sora: Let's check! (The girls start to leave while Joe remains frozen) Gomamon: Joe, let's go. Joe: (distraught; sigh) How come I never get to be the hero? (sighs again and reluctantly follows the girls)

It's always weird when they take gags out of the lighter and goofier dub version. It doesn't happen often, and it always makes me wonder what they didn't like about this bit. The new, weaker punchline is still Joe being humiliated; It's abstract humiliation about his role in the plot instead of direct humiliation about his bad decision-making.

Is it because Jou was shown up by girls? IDK.

Meanwhile, Taichi and Koushiro find themselves on opposite sides of the same bridge.

Taichi: I think we're lost. Agumon: Shit! Taichi: I'm sure we've passed through here before. Koushiro: (from below) Taichi-san! Taichi: (leans over railing) Koushiro!? You guys were searching down there? Tentomon: Eh? That's a weird thing to say. You two are below us. Agumon: No, you guys are below us! Koushiro: No, you are! (Taichi and Koushiro see each other over the railing) Taichi: Hey.... Koushiro: What the...? Group: Ehhh!?

This one's the same in the dub too.

Meanwhile, in his library, Vamdemon's ready to go.

Vamdemon: The time is ripe. Gather the soldiers in the stone room! PicoDevimon & Tailmon: Yes, sir!

Unlike last time, this time PicoDevimon and Tailmon reply to Vamdemon with the same energy. Once they're gone, he withdraws the computer chip cards from his cloak.

Vamdemon: I've made many preparations to open the Gate for the sake of my goals. But to think we're finally using them. First comes the eighth Chosen Child. Your dead body will serve as the foundation for my ambitions!

Shut away in his castle, Vamdemon has been researching and studying and planning this for a very long time. Ravenously devouring every last scrap of Chosen Children lore and other ancient secrets, while preparing this assault on Japan to kill the Eighth Child.

But now that it's finally here, that it's no longer theoretical but actually something we're doing, he takes a moment of privacy to orient himself.

In the dub:

Myotismon: I'm ready to proceed. Go now and tell our forces that no sacrifice is too great in this moment of glory! DemiDevimon & Gatomon: Right! (The pair departs) Myotismon: There's certainly no need to tell them that they won't be sharing in the rewards! I hold all of the cards, and they are no longer a mystery. Now all I need is to find that DigiDestined Eighth Child!

"Some of you may die, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make!"

While Vamdemon prepares for departure, the kids manage to find each other again after... whatever made them split up to begin with.

Koushiro: This place is strange. The space here must be warped. Taichi: This isn't the first time we've seen this world acting weird. Yamato: But this place seems weirder than the others. Maybe it's because Vamdemon's power is so great. Jou: Don't say that.

I don't know about that, Yamato. Remember that time Nanomon's program made a short tunnel between two distant points in space? I feel like that's about as weird as contextual gravity.

Given everything we've seen of Vamdemon to this point, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that his castle's like this because he's extensively well-researched and is pretty good at coding. I bet he wrote the entire castle himself.

Over in the dub, the kids seem to be under the impression that they've been made. Which given that "Make any sacrifices!" order Myotismon gave, might be true in this version.

Izzy: My theory is that Myotismon has set up these optical illusions to deter us from finding the Gate. Tai: Well, I'd say he succeeded! We're still as lost as we were before we started! Matt: All we've done so far is go round and round in circles, and we don't know up from down! Joe: It's making me dizzy!

This weird Escher painting of a labyrinth is like that as a fiendish plot to delay the DigiDestined from coming in and dying at Myotismon's hand! Instead of the castle just... being like that.

Hey, Izzy? If this is a trap, why aren't there any traps? Just saying. Mr. "Alien scheme" is still using many words to confidently and intellectually assert things that are wrong.

Suddenly, Gomamon notices movement nearby. Over on another bridge, oriented upside-down from our orientation, Tailmon's actually tough recruits march to the Gate chamber. They say no words, only giving off various horrifying bestial sounds.

The dub cuts out most of the horrific monster noises and just has them quip.

Unknown Digimon 1: I'm itching to fight! Unknown Digimon 2: Why, 'cause you got fleas?

Not nearly as intimidating. The kids watch in silence as the monsters pass by, then whisper to each other.

Yamato: They're about to depart. Sora: We should follow them. Taichi: Agreed. Let's go!

No change in the dub.

The kids follow Tailmon's creatures, crossing their own bridge to enter the same structure as the Digimon did. Inside, both Tailmon's forces and PicoDevimon's meager recruits assemble in front of the pedestal to open the Gate.

As his recently-hired mercenary force assembles, Vamdemon gives them their instructions.

Vamdemon: Listen up! Your target is the Eighth Chosen Child. Find them and put an end to them. Envelop everything in darkness and dark power!

He lays out the cards on the table and gives a, uh... magic incantation, of a sort.

Vamdemon: Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius!

This passphrase to open the gate between worlds is actually the title of a short story from Argentina. That connection is... Honestly fascinating? The story details the efforts of a conspiracy of men to invent a fictional world, Tlön, in which objective reality doesn't exist. The only true reality in Tlön is the reality that we perceive. Reality is a collective delusion, a product of our agreement that it exists.

Tlön is a fiction, a fantasy of a place where this is true. But over time, as it becomes known, it begins to impose itself on material reality. Objects and ideas from this fictional world of speculative reality begin to emerge into material reality, invading the real world and making themselves real.

You. Uh. You can see the connection between that idea and Vamdemon's invasion of Japan, right? The Digimon World is a digital Tlön, a world of subjective reality constructed from collective ideas. Vamdemon exists because vampires and demons are things that exist within the library of humanity's cultural creations, and so in this subjective space born out of the accumulated data of the Earth, vampires and demons take material form.

Now Vamdemon's subjective reality is about to impose itself upon the material world pretty fucking hard. Essentially, we are experiencing the imposition of Tlön into the world from the side of Tlön, after spending months lost in its impossible wildernesses.

After much research, Vamdemon has determined that this Argentinian tale is the pass phrase to begin the invasion - as if the story itself was the key to imposing subjective reality upon the material. Invoking Tlön to empower the Digimon World to do to the real world what was done to the fictional world in the story by the fictional-fictional world of Tlön. Layers of subjective reality.

The dub, meanwhile, seems to be under the impression that Myotismon is going alone?

Myotismon: I shall now be embarking on a journey to another world. There are forces which must be neutralized before our victory here can be complete. But never fear! I shall return in triumph! Gathered Forces: YEAH!!! WOOHOO!!! Myotismon: (lays down the cards) It's time to stand back and watch me work my magic! OPEN THE GATE TO MY DESTINY!!!

Not gonna mark them down for not expecting nine-year-olds to know an obscure Argentinian short story. That's one of the least surprising changes in the anime.

But. Like. Myotismon, what the hell did you gather all these soldiers for if you aren't taking them with you? Are they just supposed to stand here and watch the Gate? He mobilized them all here so he could tell them "Buh-bye" and scoot?

Contrary to the speech Myotismon just gave, Tailmon/Gatomon nonetheless begins moving her forces through the Gate the instant it opens. The dub even lets them make monster noises this time, particularly an eerie high-pitched wailing like the screams of the damned.

So. I guess Myotismon wasn't talking to them. ...who the fuck was he talking to? This was a weird speech.

As his troops pass through the portal, Vamdemon heads for his carriage. Before he can get in, Taichi calls out from the staircase.

Taichi: Hold it! You won't get away with this! Vamdemon: Oh, you're finally here. But you're too late. Look well upon this historic moment! Taichi: Cut the crap! Vamdemon: Unfortunately, I don't have time to deal with you. PicoDevimon? PicoDevimon: Yes, sir! Vamdemon: Stop them. PicoDevimon: Understood!

Vamdemon's last line is delivered with little energy, as if he doesn't honestly expect this to go well for PicoDevimon. Less "VANQUISH MY FOES!!!" and more "Uh, get 'em, I guess; Have fun with that." He's tactically throwing PicoDevimon to the wolves.

Their real forces, Tailmon's army, are already through the portal and have entered Japan. If PicoDevimon and his recruits all have to die here to buy Vamdemon five seconds of time to pass through, it's no skin off his back.

In the dub, either Myotismon forgot who these kids are or he's patronizing them.

Tai: You're not going anywhere! Not as long as we can help it! Myotismon: What is your name? Do you work for me? Can't you see I'm busy at the moment? Tai: Yeah, right! Myotismon: DemiDevimon, would you please take care of this annoying gang of hoodlums? I have better things to do. DemiDevimon: Of course, sir. Anything you want. I'm at your service!

Vamdemon's "Stop them" is so devoid of any real energy or enthusiasm that they get away with compositing his lines into one here. During DemiDevimon's last line, Myotismon's lips flap for it, but it's super easy to overlook if you don't already know it's there.

While Vamdemon gets in his carriage to depart, Nanimon brings PicoDevimon's forces forward.

Taichi: WAIT!!! PicoDevimon: (moves in to block the kids' pursuit, backed up by Nanimon and the others) Taichi: You still think you can win after all the times we've beaten you? PicoDevimon: This won't be like those times! Sensei, get them!

PicoDevimon retreats to the back of the group while Nanimon replaces him, stepping up to lead his forces into battle.

Nanimon: Got it! I won't let you pass! Taichi: DON'T GET IN OUR WAY!!!

We briefly see Vamdemon enter his carriage silent to depart while Taichi's shouting.

Nanimon: Soldiers! SEIZE THEM!!! Soldiers: (unenthused) Rargh! Agumon: I don't want to fight any of you, but we're running out of time. Palmon: Please forgive us.

Nanimon and PicoDevimon are the only ones enthused about this battle. Including Vamdemon.

In the dub:

DemiDevimon: I'm not letting you get past this Gate! Tai: Fat chance, you little twerp! DemiDevimon: I brought reinforcements! It's all yours, Nanimon. Nanimon: (steps forward to replace DemiDevimon) Right! Don't even think about passing by me, you got it! Myotismon: (entering his carriage) Farewell, DigiDoomed! Nanimon: Okay, let's FIIIIIGHT!!! Soldiers: (unenthused) Yeah! Agumon: We don't wanna fight you guys but the future is at stake. Palmon: You'll have to forgive us!

Taichi's line is changed so that Myotismon can drop some parting jabs about how definitely screwed the kids are in the face of this overwhelming force. Between this and the tonal shift in how his orders were given, Myotismon seems way more optimistic about DemiDevimon's chances than Vamdemon is.

At long last, it's go time. The Partner Digimon evolve to meet the forces arrayed against them! A fierce battle is ready to explode!

PicoDevimon's soldiers immediately break ranks and nope the fuck on out of there.

Nanimon: HEY!!! EVERYONE!!! FLEEING FROM THE ENEMY IS A FELONY!!! Numemon: Who cares!? You didn't even feed us! Scumon: I'd rather go work for an honest living!

In the dub:

Nanimon: I ORDER EVERYONE BACK INTO RANKS!!! Numemon: Right now!? Nanimon: Come on, I'll buy you dinner! Sukamon: Too late now! We're going for some fast food!

The two versions are very different, but both serve to pay off the ongoing subplot about Nanimon denying them dinner.

That's okay. We've still got Nanimon. The odds may seem against PicoDevimon's defense force, but Nanimon is a veteran soldier with a master plan that he's ready to put into action.

Nanimon: Surrender! I surrender! PicoDevimon: Sensei, you can't do that! Nanimon: Shut up! Only the toughest survive on the battlefield, but you won't survive if being tough is all you have. Escaping from a fight is also a victory, right? Taichi: GO HOME!!! Nanimon: (bolts from the room) PARDON THE INTRUSION!!!

So ends the saga of PicoDevimon's fiendish army.

In the dub:

Nanimon: Whoa! Y-y-you're big! (contemplative) Hm mm mm... (white flag) Anybody need a wrestling coach? DemiDevimon: HEY!!! YOU CAN'T RESIGN!!! Nanimon: You wanna bet, pipsqueak? When it comes down to having my fanny kicked, I'm out of here. And if you don't believe me, you might check the fine print on my contract! Tai: WE'RE COMING THROUGH!!! Nanimon: (bolts from the room) DON'T LET ME STAND IN YOUR WAY!!! WHOA HO HO!!!

Both versions of PicoDevimon's forces collapsing are pretty good. Of note, the dub seems to be trying to preserve Nanimon's dignity. Both versions are craven, but Nanimon's confidence never falters in the English version; He's proud of his cowardice.

A difference of "LOL I'm out of here bitches!" vs "FUCK THIS!!! I CHOOSE LIFE!!!".

Which is, in its own way, equally ridiculous. The dub's idea that Nanimon was just a paper tiger grifting DemiDevimon this whole time meshes pretty well with Scumon's anecdote about Nanimon getting wasted and never showing up to battles. Though, ironically, that part of his backstory got thrown out with the sake when it came time for Sukamon to tell the tale.

Sadly, we lose Taichi snapping "GO HOME!!!" and Nanimon instantly complying, which is the funniest part of this entire confrontation.

As Nanimon flees, he shits himself, leaving behind a single poop which lands on PicoDevimon's head. PicoDevimon is so panicked, he doesn't even notice.

Yamato: So, what will you do now? PicoDevimon: Th-This isn't fair! It's five against one! Takeru: Hey, let's get rid of this guy and hurry on through. PicoDevimon: E-Even you would say that? (crying desperately) Damn it, how did this happen!?

When even Takeru is like, "Can we just waste this asshole?" you know you've fucked up.

In the dub, the kids try to take DemiDevimon prisoner or something.

Matt: You might as well give up! DemiDevimon: I'm outnumbered! Good help is so hard to find! T.K.: Just admit you picked the wrong side and give it a rest already! DemiDevimon: If you're trying to prank me, it won't work! (crying desperately)

DemiDevimon just vocalizes exaggerated teeth-grinding crying noises for the second half of that last line. This bit does not flow well at all.

In sheer desperation, PicoDevimon attacks suddenly with his Pico Darts. Patamon knocks his syringes out of the sky with an Air Shot, sending them clattering to the ground at PicoDevimon's feet.

But then a new player enters the field.

Sora: The Gate is closing! Taichi: Playtime's over! Let's go!

The kids sprint for the door. But before they can reach PicoDevimon's position, a new reinforcement arrives. Tailmon, standing guard at the Gate, leaps over in front of PicoDevimon to intervene.

Tailmon: Honestly, I can't stand watching this anymore. Jou: Another small fry. Shoo-shoo! Out of the way! You don't want to get hurt, do you? Tailmon: I see you underestimate me. Watch this.

Tailmon proceeds to demonstrate her strength with a show of force.

Leaping up into the air, she uses consecutive Neko Kicks to lay out Greymon, Kabuterimon, and Ikkakumon.

To edit out the syringes (even though we already saw them last episode), the dub cuts everything from PicoDevimon throwing his Pico Darts to here. The conversation with Tailmon takes place with visible syringes on the ground so that has to go too.

For their version, we go straight from DemiDevimon crying to Gatomon kicking Greymon, with just one line to bridge the gap.

Gatomon: You haven't dealt with me yet!

It's the largest single chunk of carved-out material thus far.

Which is kind of a shame, because this bit is a really interesting characterization moment for Tailmon. The way she intervenes and takes over right when they're about to kill PicoDevimon is... ambiguous. Did she come back to protect him and help him through the Gate? Or is she just trying to prevent the children from passing through? An interesting question.

In the dub, she attacks out of nowhere and is pretty clearly just the last evil minion standing between the children and the Gate.

The dub also plays comical bonking sounds for each of her kicks. Additionally, when they fall over, they add in the tree-falling effect usually associated with cartoon "TIMBERRRRRR!!!" lumberjack bits.

Togemon and Garurumon move in to engage Tailmon. Togemon tries to crush her with a punch, but Tailmon springs into the air, landing on Garurumon's snout. From there, she bounds back and forth between them, keeping away from their punches and slashes.

Taichi: Now! Sora: Let's go!

While Garurumon and Togemon keep Tailmon busy, Taichi sees a chance to run for the Gate and takes it. The rest of the group following on his heels. But Tailmon spots them out of the corner of her eye, and she isn't going to let them go.

Tailmon: YOU WON'T GET AWAY!!!

The ring on Tailmon's tail glows with energy, causing gargoyles at the top of the room to come to life, becoming more of those beasts pulling Vamdemon's carriage.

Which we are finally formally introduced to.

This is Devidramon, literally the Devil Dragon Digimon. An Adult-stage Virus-type Evil Dragon Digimon. Despite his obvious resemblance to Devimon and DemiDevimon, Devidramon has no relation to them on the evolutionary chart.

Narrator: Devidramon. An evil dragon Digimon called the Multi-Eyed Demon. His nails can tear through flesh and skewer his enemies from long distance. His special attack is Crimson Nail.

Not to be confused with WereGarurumon's Kaiser Nail.

Gatomon handles the dub's rundown.

Gatomon: Devidramon! He's one nasty dragon guarding the gate. Devi doesn't like losing. If you want a real surprise / Look into his eyes! / You'll be hypnotized.

I have no idea why she suddenly starts rhyming. But it sets up what comes next pretty well.

The Adult-stage Partners open fire on the three Devidramon that Tailmon awakened. However, as usual, trying to shoot something with three dimensions of agility proves futile, as shots miss left and right. Flying is OP in a projectile-based combat system.

The Devidramon's eyes glow and the air shimmers around the Partners, stopping them in place momentarily. Then the Devidramon move in and slash with their Crimson Nails.

PicoDevimon: That's it! That's it! Get 'em! Get 'em! Togemon: Keep up the assault!

The team finds their second wind and renews their attack. Kabuterimon throws a Devidramon against a wall, where Greymon and Garurumon pummel it with Mega Flame and Fox Fire. The Devidramon disintegates into pixels under their assault.

PicoDevimon goes for the Gate, but Patamon's taken a guarding position there. He batters PicoDevimon with an Air Shot to launch him back into the room with everyone else.

With two Devidramon remaining, Greymon tackles one to force open a path to the Gate. In the dub, he taunts:

Greymon: Come to Papa, lizard breath!

But the second Devidramon cuts in to block the kids once more. Taichi's determination super-evolves Greymon into MetalGreymon, instantly changing the tide of the battle.

The kids take cover behind MetalGreymon while he fucking erases the two Devidramon with his Giga Destroyer, then reverts to Koromon.

Taichi: Thank you, Koromon. Let's go, everyone! Others: Right!

The path now clear, the kids sprint as fast as they can to reach the door. However, someone else has already gotten there.

Patamon: HURRY!!! EVERYONE!!!

Patamon screams at them, still wrestling with PicoDevimon. Gatomon, already within the Gate, bats Patamon aside and frees PicoDevimon to make it through as well. Much more explicitly taking action to protect him.

In the dub, it's DemiDevimon who speaks here.

DemiDevimon: GET OFF OF ME!!!

Once PicoDevimon's through, Tailmon turns her attention back to the children.

Tailmon: Can't let you guys pass!

Tailmon's tail ring glows again, awakening two more Devidramon.

In the dub:

Gatomon: Sorry, but you're too late! I'll miss you in Japan!

This doesn't connect very well to the action she's taking, but still works as a taunt.

The Digimon dogpile on these two to keep them out of the way. Dub Tai inexplicably orders his group:

Tai: Get ready to jump!

Even though there is nothing for them to jump over.

But it's too late.

Tailmon: Bye-bye!

Seconds before Taichi at the front can reach it, the Gate closes, closing off the children from reaching Japan and leaving them still trapped in the Digimon World.

Taichi: It can't be.... Sora: We were so close!

Taichi pounds his fist on the iron door, to no avail. His voice breaking up.

Taichi: DAMMIT!!! Now the Eighth Child will be....

While Dub Tai is about as broken up.

Tai: NO!!! OPEN UP!!! OPEN!!! It can't be.... (vocalized sobbing)

The episode closes here on this hopeless moment.

And debuts the unbelievably tone-destroying lighthearted and upbeat new EP! Which is riddled with spoilers, holy shit.

Hikari's identity as the Eighth Child was already pretty clearly stated way back in Taichi's return home episode. But they give away who her Partner Digimon is (which is kind of a big fucking reveal) and also all of the remaining Perfect-stage Evolutions, including Angemon's evolution which won't come into play until the very end of the series.

And then they end on WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon just for good measure. Man, sometimes I forget how unapologetically spoiler-heavy Japanese media is sometimes. They do not give a fuck.

Assessment: I've always kind of felt like Myotismon was just Devimon But More. Same personality type. I was okay with that, since Myotismon is an evolved Devimon. But I'm seeing more nuance here, going through this.

Vamdemon does have his own niche, distinctive from Devimon and Etemon. Devimon was kind of a tinkerer. He had an evil plan, but it was something he constructed from the ground up. He made these gears and he was going to infect the world with them, and he had a bunch of way he could manipulate his tools to great effect. That was his thing.

And Etemon was... Etemon.

Vamdemon is a scholar. The reason he's been inactive through the arc thus far is because he's been sitting in his library ravenously devouring ancient histories and secret myths and as much Chosen Children lore as he could possibly find. Learning everything he possibly can about everything he possibly can.

He's better read than Gennai, as demonstrated by Gennai fumbling to keep up with him in this episode.

He's evil Koushiro. Right down to the fact that this arc would have been over several episodes if he just put down the tomes, went outside for five minutes, and throttled some children while they were still separated. He's a little too invested in theoretical physics when practical application is amassing its forces around him.

There's also something appropriately Bram Stoker about first meeting Vamdemon on his turf, only to have to chase him back to our home country and protect a young woman from his malevolence.

For the dub, I'm gonna call this another butcher job. There were a few points where they didn't have much choice due to censors, like Nanimon's love of sake, but there's also a lot of just weird lines and questionable choices in this one.

But credit where it's due, I super appreciate that we've stopped talking around it, aren't trying to gaslight the kiddos about it, and are finally just saying "Japan." There are plenty of dub teams that would swear up and down that we're going to Southern California, but Digimon Adventure has decided they're gonna take that leap.

[jezabatlovesbats]

Last but not least, Day 29 of the MCSMtober challenge was Festival. I know I’m very, very late to the challenge at this point, but I’m also super early for a very festive occasion coming up in 2025.

This game wasn’t the first thing that my young autistic self would be hyperfixated on. And, even then, I snuck onto my adult relatives’ computers to read people’s fanfics on fanfiction.net, watched people’s tribute videos and weird stuff on YouTube, and looked at their fanart on DeviantArt while it was still a useable site. But if it weren’t for this game, I wouldn’t have a reason to be posting on any of these sites I’m on.

Before this game, I wasn’t yet on the path to becoming who I wanted to be, but my life began to change for the better once I learned of its existence.

The first two episodes of Minecraft: Story Mode came out in October of 2015, back when I was 10. If I remember correctly, my first exposure to it was episode 2, Assembly Required. I remember my brother showing me videos of the opening Nether scene (where Jesse is going with Olivia), and I thought Olivia’s name was Jessie. You can probably guess what would happen in the coming months- this game took over my life and dominated 2016 and 2017 for me.

I’m not really sure how because I wasn’t really that much of a Minecraft-y kid. I remember being more into stuff like Kirby, Super Mario, and Ever After High, along with some Monster High. I think I remember playing just a little bit of Minecraft PE, but that was it. I’m not sure how I ended up being so invested in the adventures of Jesse and co. to the point where I shipped Magnugaard like a supercarrier and made a winged fanchild for them named Skyla, but I did. Did MC:SM get me more interested in Minecraft itself? Probably.

I don’t really remember much from 2015-2016. What I do remember is that in December of 2015, I wanted to roleplay a Magnugaard wedding with my brother, and I built a little wedding pavilion in my cousin’s Minecraft world when we went to visit them for Christmas. I also thought up, quote-unquote, “Minecraft: Story Mode- Updated Edition,” which had Skyla in it. You had to go with Lukas to find her. Magnugaard was also canon, and there were three minisodes you could unlock after you finished the main game.

In 2016, I also got into My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and while I have a guilty pleasure for the Equestria Girls movies these days, I… did this weird thing where I swapped the MLP and MC:SM characters to play out the others’ stories. For instance, I swapped Axel with Pinkie Pie, and… Magnus with Scootaloo. Don’t ask me how I came up with that. I also spent a lot of time on this online app called Builder Buddies, where I harassed a private town and annoyingly tried to show them the, quote-unquote, “magic of friendship,” because I thought they needed it. Even when they told me to leave them be. Then, I deleted my profiles and made new ones constantly, and even lied to people that it wasn’t me, but my brother. The whole time, I also lied about having an older sister, because I used my MawMaw’s phone to play with a second profile. As you can see, I was a complete and utter piece of crap back then.

Back to Minecraft: Story Mode. I also made a bunch of sisters for my OC Skyla, one of whom would go on to become one of my main OCs, Lena. When episodes 7 and 8 came out, I became attached to another ship, Harpvor, and wanted to roleplay a wedding for them with my brother. I also liked to write little stories and make drawings about Jesse and all of her friends (including Em and Ivor) living together in a big house… and I also had the idea that Ivor would sleep in a Haunted Mansion-ish coffin. One specific story I wrote was Christmas-themed and followed Jesse and Lena venturing through the mall to get presents for all of Jesse’s friends. And, I wrote a lot of MC:SM-related stuff in my copy of Dork Diaries 3 1/2: How to Dork Your Diary, which is one of those interactive books that asks you to write in it. Here’s an example of that.

At one point, I sent a letter to Telltale Games asking them to include Skyla and another OC called Lily in the next game, but thankfully, they never got it. It’s not like they would accept suggestions from an 11-year-old fan who hand-wrote a letter and colored her drawings of the OCs in crayon. Especially right when they were about to shut down.

I wasn’t expecting Season 2 of MC:SM to come out. Before then, I had an idea for an eight-episode Minecraft: Story Mode 2 that made no sense at all. But at the time, I was hyped for the remake of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga to come out, and I also couldn’t wait for each episode of MC:SM Season 2 to come out. Minecraft: Story Mode drove me into wanting to be a game developer, and so I took a computer class in 7th grade. I remember listening to the soundtrack before, during, and after I did my work in that class. That changed when Unikitty came along and made me realize I was more into cartoons, but still.

As I said, Minecraft: Story Mode was what made me realize that I wanted to officially start drawing fanart and write fanfiction more. I don’t think I would even be here writing all of this if it weren’t for me seeing @minecraftninjerkid’s MC:SM Rewritten fanfictions on Wattpad, and getting super invested in them. When I saw those, I realized that I wanted to have Wattpad, because I just had to tell them that I loved their work and connect with other people who liked the stuff I liked. Yep, Minecraft: Story Mode was my first official online fandom. This was what started it all.

MC:SM Season 2 was also a major inspiration for Broken and Frozen, my Unikitty fanfiction. If you look on my Unikitty OCs’ fake wiki pages on the @unikittybigbrightworldau blog, you can see that some of the characters were inspired by characters from the game.

Despite all its flaws, my heart and soul still goes out to everyone who worked on this amazing game. I loved it so, so much back then, and it still has a very special place in my heart now. It was so much fun exploring all of these interesting locations and meeting all of these characters. It was fun to see the possible outcomes of every choice. And even though people are prone to laughing at Reuben’s death, I still remember when it sent my brother into hysterics.

In early 2021, me and an old friend of mine decided to create a collaborative drawing to celebrate the game’s 5th anniversary.

The aforementioned friend never finished their part, and for personal reasons, we don’t talk to each other anymore. Below the Thank You, they were supposed to put the game’s logo. But my skills as an artist have definitely improved since then.

In my notes app, I wrote some other things about MC:SM to express my appreciation for it, based on a tag game that I saw in @minecraftninjerkid’s story, The Life and Times of Radki. No one had tagged me because I didn’t have Wattpad yet, but I did it anyway. I included them in my message when I posted this would-be collab to DeviantArt, and now, here they are again.

My favorite moment in MC:SM was when Jesse, Reuben and Olivia stepped out of the portal into Redstonia. The scenery and the music were so cool to me.

My moment of triumph was during episode 2 of Season 2, Giant Consequences. The strays were tough for me to beat for the longest time, but I could eventually do it.

I don’t really have a hardest choice because the choices in both seasons are all super easy for me. In my notes app, I wrote that my hardest choice was in Below the Bedrock, episode 4 of Season 2. It was hard for me to choose between bringing Radar with me or saving Fred’s people because I was nervous about what was going to happen in Above and Beyond, episode 5. Now, that choice is easy- I choose to save Binta and the rest of Fred’s folk.

My favorite characters? Ellegaard, Ivor, and Jack, as I’ve explained before.

My cutest ship is definitely Harpvor! I don’t ship Magnugaard as much as I used to, but they come in a pretty close second. In my notes, I also said that Radki was another cutest ship of mine. I remember really liking it.

I remember saying that Below the Bedrock was my favorite episode, and Season 2 was my favorite season.

I didn’t have any predictions for a possible Season 3 because I didn’t think there was ever going to be one. And from the looks of things, I was right. To quote my past self, “I’m thankful that those who keep the fire of the fandom alive gave me the guts to be writing this (and possibly care about me doing it).” I’ve heard about this Block by Block revival project that’s in the works, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

And, why do I love MC:SM? Past me said that it was because of the artistic approval that I gave the game, and that’s still true now. I still love the character design, the scenery, the music, and the voice acting. But I think it’s also because I’m a huge sucker for things with tons of characters and vast worlds with lots of locations in them. I found the game’s adventures through these places so much fun, and it used them and the characters to weave together an exciting story. For me, at least. Either way, it fed my happy little heart. It’s been a part of it since I was in fifth grade, and now, I’m a college sophomore. How time flies!

I’d like to take some more time to say:

Jesse, thank you for letting us guide you on your journeys through your Overworld, the Nether, the End, the Far Lands, through other Overworlds, and the Underneath. There’s a good reason why you’ve become a legendary, world-renowned hero. I agree with you a million percent when you say that teamwork makes the dream work, and that your strength comes from your friends. We’re all stronger together! It’s also great that different variants of you exist so that anyone can see themself in you.

Olivia, thank you for your intelligence and your determination. I can totally relate to you worrying about what others think of you, and I believe that many other people can as well. I’m so happy that you’ve had a boost in your confidence, and I REALLY wish we could have gotten to see you more.

Axel, thank you for being such a loyal, caring, and supportive friend, and for such a generous guy, too. I didn’t forget when you went out of your way to make Reuben a cute little dragon costume, or when you handed out cookies to your friends to lift your spirits. You’re such a selfless person, and I wish we got to see you more, too.

Petra, thank you for your loyalty to your friends and for your capability and daring nature. I know how it feels to watch old friendships fade, so I can understand your resentment in Season 2. I also understand how it feels to be a nostalgic person. My old friend loves you so much, and I definitely see why. Whatever you decide to do, I’m wishing you well.

Lukas, thank you for your kindness and your smarts. It’s great how, right from the start, you tried to keep things cordial and fun amongst everyone. You were always so polite with others, but you weren’t a total pushover, either. I’d want to read your books, and I think it would have been cool if they’d released a real version of your journal for us to read.

Radar, thank you for your bravery and hard work. You really came into your own as an adventurer, and you always stood by Jesse and the New Order’s side. I even consider you to be a member of the Order. I would always choose to have you be Jesse’s co-leader, or the leader of Beacontown when they leave. I have every confidence in you.

Ivor, thank you for your knowledge, your flair for the dramatic, your quirks, and your silliness. You must have a lot of guilt on your shoulders from what you did, but I’m glad that you were willing to redeem yourself. I’m glad that you’re on good terms with Jesse and the gang, too. You were also absolutely hilarious at times! When it all comes down to it, you really do care. We miss your VA.

Reuben, thank you for being the kindest and most courageous pig we know. You were there with Jesse every step of the way during their journey to defeat the Witherstorm. You picked them up when they were down, and at the end of the day, you saved everyone. We really miss you, little guy.

I’m also thankful for all the good guys, bad guys, and other guys in the game for being their amazing selves, and for the many people who worked on the game for being so amazing, too. You all put your hearts into something that was such a big game changer for me. No pun intended.

Will I do a tribute video for the game’s actual anniversary once it rolls around next October? You know I will!

Minecraft: Story Mode helped me to craft my own story, as those two shorts with Petra and Jack said, in more ways than one. I would like to thank @stirpicus and every single one of the other writers, designers, directors, and artists who came together to work on this wonderful game. I would also like to give my thanks to the entire voice cast for using their talents for it, and to Antimo and Welles for their beautiful soundtrack. EVERY SINGLE person who was involved with MC:SM in one way or another has my deepest gratitude. Everything you did led to something truly great. And the universe said I love you.

I would also like to give a huge shoutout to all of my fellow Minecraft: Story Mode fans and enjoyers, past and present. You guys are great, and I’m so glad there are still people out there who love the game as much as I do! If you want to, you can reblog this post and talk about what MC:SM means to you, and why you love it. This prompt IS for a festival, so come on and join in the fun!

And, thanks so much to @bumpkin-bug for setting up the MCSMtober challenge! This concludes my submissions for it! It was such an honor to participate in it, even if it took me longer than expected! I plan to go as Yellow Clip Jesse next Halloween!

From the bottom of my heart, thank you all so much. I hope you’re all able to live your lives with as much happiness as possible. We’re all in this together.

Thank you, goodnight, and happy holidays! 💝

With all my love,

Jezabat 🦇

(Hailey W.)

[palmettoshenanigans]

My favorite part about TSC (spoilers not included): due to the timeline, they called the Fox Hills mall "Fox Hills mall". Why is this important to me?

I'm an LA native whose favorite and most frequently visited mall is Fox Hills, and so I can tell you for a fact that The Fox Hills mall hasn't been "officially" called that anymore since its name change when some business or another bought it and changed the name a bunch of years ago.

HOWEVER

No one who has lived in LA for a decently long time calls it by its new name, regardless of how long it's been since the switch. I don't even know what the official name is, and that shit is plastered on the outer wall in red letters. That's the Fox Hills mall. I don't care what the owners say, that's Fox Hills mall.

I've had multiple conversations with LA folks who are still annoyed about the name switch. Like, it's a thing.

Knowing that it's gonna be known as Fox Hills by AFTG fans fills me with joy.

[ruvviks]

🫵 you. hello. tell me. WHAT is jericho like. whats the vibe there. are there a lot of stores. a lot of clubs,, Whats going on there. i need to know. would i want to live there

HIII THANK YOU SO MUCH!! so for people who don't know anything about this story yet, you can find a bunch of general information here and the current cast for the story here! the story is centered around jericho which i'll talk more about under the cut :^) it's pretty lengthy as always sorry i have a lot to say

so jericho is a big city on the west coast of the united states, located in the south of oregon. it's a hotspot for vampires specifically because of its rich vampire history and culture, and it has actual accommodations for vampires allowing them to work day shifts in special departments or in the underground part of town which is a rare sight in the united states

in appearance it's like any other big city as we know it in our universe but with a significant modern and Almost futuristic twist, meaning the business district would be a lot larger and it almost has night city vibes in terms of bright night life but with our modern day technology. on top of that, it's kind of mixed with the vibes of 80s cities, as if buildings and cars and whatnot have been kind of stuck in that time period but simultaneously upgraded over the years (sort of a retro-futuristic vibe to it like fallout but more comparable to 80s las vegas, new york, chicago, los angeles, etc)

the city has a heavy focus on being accessible for all, meaning there is reliable and relatively affordable public transport, big sidewalks with enough space for wheelchair users and baby strollers etc, as well as well-maintained roads for regular traffic (though in the suburbs it's more common to run into pot holes). it even includes cycle paths in the suburbs and the shopping areas of downtown; in those shopping areas general traffic is prohibited as well, turning it into a walking and cycling area where only public transport is allowed to pass through

the underground part of town is located in the busy center, allowing a few office buildings and skyscrapers to have up to three basement levels which can be reached through elevators inside the building or their entrance underground. it also includes the lower levels of a huge and modern shopping mall, one of the town's most visited locations. surface access goes through tunnels and large stairs similar to stairs leading to the metro; the metro itself also has a direct connection, allowing vampires to travel underground to their workplace during the day instead of having to take above ground transport

the underground area also features one apartment building with shops, allowing some vampires to live there as well! more apartment buildings are under construction, as the underground area is still slowly expanding. it's definitely strange to find yourself in that part of town but with its continuous air flow, temperature stabilizers, and well-lit streets (safe for vampires of course) it's relatively easy to get used to, as the space does not feel claustrophobic at all. but it's certainly not for everyone, but luckily no one's being forced to spend time there

much like with night city, there's so much going on in jericho that it's very easy to spend your whole life in that city with areas you've just never visited before. even without the underground area it's a multi-level city, its business district characterized by the big walkways above road level, connecting buildings and large balconies / terraces with shops, marketplaces, and food stalls together. its infrastructure is incredibly extensive to the point it can be overwhelming to an outsider, but it's also very straightforward and allows you to get from one place to another in a lot of different ways following different routes, rather than making it easier to get lost

because of its large vampire populace, the city is still very busy at night. a lot of typical night shifts (in security, 24/7 retail jobs, firefighters, medics, etc) are filled by vampires, but they also own most of jericho's night life with bars, nightclubs, and casinos. most of these spaces are mixed human/vampire spaces, letting them exist together in peace with special rules that prohibits feeding and violence; but there are definitely a good chunk of vampire-only clubs, limited to vampires and, surprisingly, vampire hunters specifically, who often show up in those circles for jobs

dynamics between humans, vampires, and vampire hunters are different all over the world, but in jericho specifically the lines blur a LOT. there's only very little vampire hunters who want to kill all vampires and they're rarely found in jericho; most hunters only deal with actual threats, such as withered vampires, vampires who cannot control their feral sense, nests, and vampire spawns. especially in jericho there's a lot of these problems because there's just a lot of vampires, and most vampire hunters focus on gigs like that. there's even plenty of vampires who lend their temporary services to hunters to help track down a nest, or deal with a particularly strong withered vampire. that's what these vampire nightclubs are for; business :^)

but the clubs are also for fun of course and there's enough dancing going on, there's the best blood available at bars (for a pretty high price unless you're a vip), and most vampire clubs have other means of entertainment as well, one of these being carousel which is a russian roulette type game played in groups of vampires, sometimes even with vampire hunters! yes there's the possibility of death in there but that's what makes it exciting to play. there's a lot of rules to carousel and i won't go into all that now but heavenly, the main character of the story, is very good at it

vampires in this universe originate from the fae, which is where some of their special abilities come from which differ from bloodline to bloodline. but as a general rule, all vampires live by some sort of unspoken moral code which upholds the balance in the world between vampires, humans, and vampire hunters. feeding is necessary; but feeding and killing are two different things, as well as feeding and turning another human. these processes are treated as different things and while feeding is not a crime, killing IS still considered a crime in most vampire circles, and turning someone can have dire consequences which can disrupt the balance. vampire hunters should be treated with caution, but unless they make themselves a threat, they should not be treated as one, and while you don't have to treat them as your friend you should not treat them as your enemy either unless you have a good reason to

this moral code is respected by the other parties involved as well, which is why in bigger cities vampire hunters can safely enter vampire clubs and walk out of it alive, and can start business or even friendships or more with the vampire lords and ladies in town; and in smaller towns a vampire hunter passing through is treated as pest control if anything, presumably there to take care of a nest or a withered vampire which if left undealt with could become a problem for vampires as well, as its presence could cause local human groups to take action against them

and jericho serves as the hotspot for this code. it wasn't necessarily created here, since it's been an unspoken rulebook for vampires for centuries at this point, but when you think about vampires and vampire hunters teaming up on gigs to get rid of a nest that's spreading disease in a neighborhood, you think of jericho. when you think of a hunter getting patched up by a vampire street doc at 3am at night in exchange for a little bit of their blood for the vampire to feed on, you think of jericho. when you think of a group of young vampires defending some human partygoers from a vampire with activated feral sense, you think of jericho

so yeah i think that sums up what the city is like pretty well! as always if anyone has any more questions feel free to shoot them my way :^)

[adachimoe]

Persona 5 IRL Stuff

Requested

The entry and exit to each floor of Mementos is based on the appearance of train stations, and the stamps you collect for Jose are seemingly the game's version of train stamps lol.

I'm not sure if this is still true, but train stamps were introduced to me as something that smaller kids will collect when they travel with their families, so it makes sense to me that the NPC associated with them is also a kid. As an adult tourist, I've never bothered with train stamps cause you really have to go out of your way to find some of them and when I'm at a train station my ass is trying to go somewhere lol. I suppose that even in real life, some of those stamp locations must feel like they're random spawns.

I have absolutely bothered with red shrine seals, though. Maybe Persona 6 will have the protagonist collecting those.

Ryuji takes you to a ramen restaurant in Ogikubo. Based on it being in Ogikubo and the appearance of the restaurant in-game, it's modeled after Marufuku Chinese Noodles near Ogikubo Station. The sign in-game just says "Chinese Noodles" without the store name. I'm not sure if this is a famous restaurant or maybe it's just one that Atlus employees like to eat at lol.

Ryuji also takes you to a monjayaki restaurant in Tsukishima during his Confidant. You go to Tsukishima specifically because Tsukishima has a line of restaurants called Monja Street that specializes in, you guessed it, monjayaki.

Akechi introduces you to a jazz bar in Kichijoji called Jazz Jin. The outside appearance seems to be based on Some Time which is also located in Kichijoji. Only the outside resembles what's in-game, though. The inside is different.

Yongenjaya isn't a real place in Tokyo, but it seems to be a renamed version of Sangenjaya - san means 3, yon means 4. I've not been to Sangenjaya, though I've heard that details like the laundromat, even down to the vending machine, looks nearly the same as it does in-game. (If you are interested in doing Persona 5 tourism around Tokyo, I've heard that the Sangenjaya locals do not appreciate Persona 5 tourism or related loitering in this area.)

Shibuya Station is pretty much accurate with how it is IRL. The green train car that you visit Tora at has been moved since the game came out, but the dog statue of Hachiko (or Buchiko as its known in game) is there, the 1000 stairs you climb to get to the Ginza Line, etc, is also all accurate.

When you touch base with Ohya, you unlock Shinjuku. The movie theater in-game is called Cult 9, which is based on an actual movie theater in Shinjuku called Wald 9. The other areas in Shinjuku seem to be a condensed version of Kabukicho (or Kamurocho, if you've played Like a Dragon).

Futaba wants to go shopping in Akihabara and Nakano. Akihabara you've probably already heard about as Nerd Haven. She also talks about visiting Nakano, likely to go shopping at Nakano Broadway which is home to a bunch of Mandarake 2nd hand anime/etc goods stores.

The "huge pancake" that Morgana was talking about is how Tokyo Dome looks from the outside. The pancakes he's comparing it to are the thicc souffle-style fluffy jiggly pancakes that you can get at various restaurants. (Also probably what Akechi thinks of when he hears delicious pancakes lol.)

The other areas and things, I'm really not sure there's much to say about them.

Ann takes you to Harajuku cause she wanted to eat sweets (this is really relatable btw)

Meiji jingu is also real and located near Harajuku

The buffet Ann takes the guys to is the Marble Lounge, but I believe it's since been remodeled

There's multiple museums in Ueno

There's a Catholic church in west Kanda but afaik the inside looks different than in-game

Inokashira Park is real and has swan boats and stuff

Ikebukuro's planetarium is in Sunshine City Mall

Chinatown is real but it's much further than the map makes you think (it's in Yokohama)

Odaiba Seaside Park is another real location

Miura Beach is also real, way down south past Yokohama

Jimbocho is indeed where you'd go to buy books

etc etc etc

[katarinamiljkovic66]

~ Trip to New York ~

🌃 Activity title: Trip to New York

🌃 Duration and amount: two weeks (30th of July - 12th of August)

🌃 Type of activity: activity

~ Activity Description ~

My mom and I decided to visit my sister and her husband in New York. This was far from my mother's first time being in New York, but it was a first for me. Honestly, I've seen this city so many times in so many different movies that it didn't feel foreign to me whatsoever when I got to see it in person. It looked just like how I expected it to.

We first stayed in Brooklyn, where we had lunch and also where we got to see the Brooklyn Bridge, which is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the US. After finishing lunch, we decided to walk around for a bit as we were waiting for a Hudson River ferry to arrive to take us to Manhattan. This was not my first time being on a ferry, but it was fun nonetheless. It was also a bit stressful since the wind was very strong and the ferry was swaying left and right, so you had to hold onto something or someone for dear life.

At dawn, we had reservations for the Rockefeller Center. The view from the highest floor, which I believe was the seventieth floor, was one of the most beautiful views I've ever seen. We were so high up in the sky we could even see the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building. I've taken hundreds of pictures just to try and capture that beauty to be able to look at it even after the moment had already passed, but no picture could do justice to the incredible view I had the pleasure of seeing.

We went to the High Line and visited the Chelsea Market which is a multi-use building in Manhattan. It is a food hall, a business building, and also a shopping mall all in one. We spent a good while there since all of us were interested in at least one thing this building had to offer. I was personally very intrigued by all the small shops where you could find a bunch of high-quality products from Japan, such as clothes, accessories, and even stationery. The bookstore also possessed a lot of goodies, and I decided to get a few pins for my friends.

We also went to the Grand Central Terminal which is one of the busiest train stations in the world. It is considered magnificent by many due to its spaciousness but also because of the beautiful architecture. On the ceiling is a celestial mural depicting a map of the constellations, and a clock, which is above the information booth, that is worth over $20 million which speaks of its value.

My favorite part of New York would probably have to be Times Square. An obvious answer, I know, but I can't help it. The big screens and the performers that show up every night, the huge crowds, the life of it all is what makes it special. Right at the beginning of Times Square there were these small shops, and one of them had claw machines with cute stuffed animals as prizes. Of course I had to give it a go and I managed to win myself a cute bunny plush!

~ Reflection ~

All in all, this trip was amazing, and getting to spend it with my family made the experience even more priceless. By the end of our trip my legs were basically falling off due to how much we walked, but it was definitely worth it, and I would do it all over again if I got the chance to!

~ Learning Outcomes ~

🌃 Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth

🌃 Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the  process

🌃 Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience

🌃 Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

[xirex]

JULIA ✮ FRIENDSHIPS ?!

! YUNJIN . . . JENLIA

le sserafim's yunjin

julia's contact name : julie 💕

yunjin's contact name : jenjen 💞

they're basically sisters. julia met yunjin just before she went into produce 48 and their conversation just flowed so naturally—they just had to be friends. since then, they've been inseparable. if jake or one of the boys weren't there to give her advice, julia would head straight to yunjin. and when yunjin got eliminated from the show, julia was there to comfort her and make sure that she never gave up on her idol dreams. when she signed with somu, julia was her biggest supporter, and even showed up to every le sserafim comeback show to support her friend. yunjin offered julia the best of advice, even if she only understood the struggle her friend was going through to a certain extent. even the boys themselves know and are friends with yunjin.

? WONYOUNG . . . LIWON

ive's wonyoung

julia's contact name : jieunnie

wony's contact name : my queen 👑

julia and wonyoung met during produce 48, when the former made a visit to the set to see yunjin preform. it took them a while to get close, but now, they're like best friends. they don't hang out alone often, most times being during 'dorkz' meetups because of wony's busy schedule, but when they do, it lasts hours because there's so much to catch up on. two fashion icons, the duo enjoy styling each other and occasionally post videos or pictures of the process on instagram. just a really wholesome relationship that's more private compared to julia's other friendships.

! MINJI . . . 2JI

newjeans's minji

julia's contact name : jujuju

minji's contact name : CAUSE IIIIIII 😋

them meeting was extremely random. julia bumped into minji in a target shoe aisle while looking for a new pair of shoes for seungmin. somehow they became friends after that. these two are like two hype girls !! constantly cheering each other or their friends on for doing the smallest of things LMAO. they love messing with dispatch too!! once julia went out with minji dressed man-like and it had everybody confused pls. my little pranksters <3 out of every duo in the 'dorkz' friend group, these two are the best at tricking the others. after minji debuted, julia would NOT stop singing attention & hype boy and even does it with omg now.. bless her members' ears.

! KEEHO . . . KEELIA

p1h's keeho

julia's contact name : front door frame 🖤

keeho's contact name : forward up 🖤

my silly gooses frl!!! they love to play around. they met just before p1h debuted, in a convenience store ?? julia saw him pick up a bag of chips and was like "i love those too!!!" :insert shock face: from there, they became bee eff effs! a mix of tom and jerry and "omg ilysm let's get married!" tbh. another more private relationship; these two prefer to hang out in the dorms rather than going out, just sitting doing something as simple as video games. trust me, they'll make it extra somehow. they're the type to send you 100+ tiktoks in a span of 2 hours and then continue to annoying quote said tiktoks the entire day until they find something else to mimic.

! LILY . . . 2LI

nmixx's lily

julia's contact name : lelelelelelele 💔

lily's contact name : lililililillili 💔

never shuts up x never stops singing. all of the 'dorkz' hate [/joke] them. they've been friends since they were trainees !!! their conversations could last for hours, because somehow, there's always something new to talk about. they like to go out a lot; arcades, malls, rollerskating, bowling, etc. every day there's some new adventure they're going on and documenting in the group chat. they have a bunch of different v-lives together, dating all the way back to 2019, of them just talking about whatever's on their mind or playing some game.

! SOOBIN & YEONJUN . . . JJUTTANGBIN

txt's soobin & yeonjun

their gc name : 도움이 필요 [ needs help ]

these three.. i don't know how to explain them. two overly confident idiots and one tired leader? its um. chaotic. they can't do anything together without causing chaos, but it's okay. 'sleepovers' that turn into either a. all three of them entangled together cuddling, or b. one of them accidentally breaking something and everything ending up in an absolute wreck. soobin and yeonjun love to scare julia, while julia loves to tease them for being "old hags" (they're only 2-3 years older...). overall, fans love them, while their group members do anything and everything in their power to keep jjuttangbin apart.

! SUNGHOON . . . PPOKKU

enha's sunghoon

julia's contact name : ppororo

sunghoon's contact name : 🐧

they began being friends when they had to be mcs together, but met some time before that. you would think they wouldn't be a good match—however julia's extroverted nature brings out the more playful and energetic side of sunghoon, something fans enjoy seeing when the two do interviews together. their friendship is filled with teasing; it could be over anything, just give one a prompt and they'll find some way to connect that to the other. despite this, the two admire each other, even if they won't admit it out in the open; julia for his talent in ice skating and visuals, and sunghoon for her expertise in dance. they hang out more often nowadays, just simple coffee or shopping friend-dates.

! JAY , JAKE , & RIKI . . . JAGIZ

enha's jay, jake, and ni-ki

their gc name : 사랑의 새와 세 번째 휠러 [ love birds and the third wheelers - made by riki ofc ]

julia met jay through jake in early jan '21. then, around a month later, she, jake, and jay were gonna go to an arcade to hang out; riki saw the three leaving and immediately started being a little shit asking them to take him with them. julia, wanting to be nice, agreed (although jake begged her not to) and that bloomed the jagiz friendship we have now. her best friends !!!! they always go out or have celebratory dinners whenever one group's promotions end. during the enskz drought, they got caught hanging out tgt by dispatch and fans so much that it started to make fans think julia was dating all three boys at one point...weird, right? anyways, their name "jagiz" came from a vlog julia posted in mid-2022. jake used 'jagi' to call julia over, and jay & riki immediately began to mock him, julia joining in at some point as well.

for some context ,, jake & julia went to the same school & have known eo for years; they began dating in january '21.

! BSS . . . BSSJ

svt's dk, hoshi, and seungkwan \ such a long nickname. bssj stands for booseoksoonjul :sob:

their gc name : 싸움, 아니 [ fighting, no ]

julia met hoshi when she worked with seventeen for home;run! he found her talent in dance really cool and because they had similar personalities, wanted to be friends. initially, it was just hoshi & julia, but then he introduced her to dokyeom & seungkwan and everything just clicked for the four. bss were the only seventeen members she wasn't highly intimidated by, and they had already knew of julia because she blew up in 2019 for her dancing, so they managed to get along in a more natural setting. these three treat her more as a best friend rather than a daughter or younger sister (although sometimes, they do end up using their ages against her); regularly scheduled game nights, sleepovers, gossiping, etc. and julia's been mentioned / involved in a handful of going seventeen episodes because of her friendship with bss.

xia's message . . . this took everything out of me to finish. lee jieun why are you a social butterfly. this is only her close friends too.. :sob: taglist [ @mynameisnotlaura ]. . . open!

[mba-yngboy]

I write a lot of stuff for my guardian, and my friends guardians, and I've collected a bunch of headcanons from myself and friends that I think would be cool to share. since you know, there's a lot of world building but not a lot at the same time

A/N: I use guardian a lot, but I mean light bearer. if I'm talking about The Vanguard, I will just call it the Vanguard/ Vanguards

(more below cut)

new lights aren't resurrected with armor or weapons, but it's not hard to aquire some. older, experienced guardians will discard their old armor pieces and guns for new lights in easy to obtain location.

it's pretty rare to know who you were before you died. dead celebrities and people who were resurrected in an old family home usually have an idea if they find material (my hunter knows her alive name only because of a family photo book, and my friends titan was a very sought after exo model)

how to input armor mods are a self taught thing. weapon mods are harder, and "redborders" is just entirely deconstructing the gun and trying to put it back until a guardian figures it out. it takes a few tries (and guns) to actually craft a gun.

a guardian has muscle memory for certain skills. if a guardian was a mechanic in their previous life, they have the skills of a mechanic without having to relearn. same with other skills. it's common for guardians to pursue a career (or even passion) for something their past life was proficient at

comms are inputted into all helmets and some guardians are lucky to have one on their wrist. they're used for silent communication, and sometimes can be upgraded to have games :)

glimmer isn't a physical currency. it's digital, and can be accessed through a guardians ghost, or wrist comms (or in a non-guardians case, phone/ tablet-like devices) and its a universal currency.

the people who choose to live in the EDZ usually aren't tied to the Vanguard. and the Vanguard do not mark claim over EDZ.

it's actually common to run into a guardian who does not associate/ hate the Vanguard. it's also common for guardians to team up together despite who you're affiliated with if it calls for it. they're all light-bearers, and will help save Sol together :)

anyone can enter the last city, but to go inside/ visit the Tower without being a Vanguard, a guardian would need a temp pass. it's a tedious process, and the pass is usually only a one time use. people in the EDZ can go to Devrim Kay and get one without having to sit through the entire process

everyone should know that Crucible is a televised event (one that happens regularly) but other events that guardians can watch/ join is sparrow racing, xtreme skimmer sports (think of it like skateboarding lmao) and even a guardian dating show

the use of weapons and harmful light/ dark abilities is prohibited in the Tower. weapons don't need to be closed carried, but should not be aimed and need to be used with trigger discipline. one too many accident have happened. and no suit jumping in tower either

there is a Vanguard "police force" and Vanguard jail. they're kinda like mall cops, and are all under command of Zavala

the top three vanguard are called The Vanguardians (it was Zavala's idea) (thank you Xeno)

Rahool is a collector/ trader. he's kind of like a pawnshop owner. he usually has artifacts and doohickeys and doodads. he barters exotic items for said artifacts and resells them at a lower price

(before TFS quest HCs) a guardian can swap between subclasses. not at the same time, but can usually spend about 3 seconds inbetween subclasses to shift energies.

it's common for guardians who live with other guardians to pick up skills from other classes. class abilities are a bit harder to learn (i.e a warlock cannot dodge, and a titan cannot make a rift)

it's also common for "supers" to not be the normal golden gun, or nova bomb. they are the easiest to teach and learn, but an experienced guardian can develop something that fits their fighting technique.

the green purple and primary ammo bricks are an item a guardians ghost will hold onto, to transmat it into ammo. it's a raw material only the ghost can manipulate. it gets harder to transmat it into new ammo for different weapons associated to that brick, so the loss of a few bullets or rockets is common

building a sparrow/ skimmer is common in areas. there isn't a shop where one can buy a sparrow, but there's usually a guardian or no-light who can be commissioned to build or fix a sparrow. it's a taught skill that most guardians know so they can repair their own sparrow

building and repairing a ship is also a taught skill, but you can buy pre-made ships. it's just a personal preference that a guardian builds their ship to make room for... activities? (my guardian wanted to have a bed in her ship, and a seat for her pet warbeast)

Ghost playdates happen frequently (just leaving them in a room together alone). when in a room alone like this, they usually turn into 9 year olds. they're curious by nature, so sometimes they get into trouble. (crank calls and getting tangled into wires is a common thing in The Family™️ household)

this only really holds true to The Family™️, but their clan lives together and all work together to keep their apartment building up and running. it's not rare for that to happen, a clan forming and living together but it is uncommon.

[umichenginabroad]

Week 4: Prague!

Well, over the weekend, we went to Prague! We were traveling to celebrate one of my friends' birthdays. We had 14 people with us, which is the biggest group trip that we had ever done and everyone was very excited for a weekend in Prague. It was my first time in Prague, so I didn’t know quite what to expect, but was excited nonetheless. We took a 4 hour bus ride over to Prague and before I knew it, we had arrived. 

We arrived in Prague earlier than we expected, at around 10:00 or so local time, and headed over to our Airbnb. We discussed sleeping orientation, dropped off our stuff and got ready. You may be asking yourself, what are these mad bunch of Americans (plus one Canadian) headed off to do now? Well, we decided that sleep is for suckers, and that since we would only be in Prague for about 72 hours, we were gonna make the most out of it. So while the night was still young, at around 12:30 am, we headed out for a fun night. Seeing as how there was a world-famous DJ in town, we decided that it might be a good idea to attend her show. For the entire time, we were bopping our heads to the music, dancing the night away and just having the best time ever. We ended up finishing at around 4 am, and went to sleep. That concludes day 1.

On day 2, we got up bright and early, at least I did, at around 8:30. We then spent the next hour and a half getting ready for the day. At around 10:00, we finally headed out to explore the city during the day time. The first place that we hit up were the Jewish sectors of the city and their beautiful synagogues. We also made sure to take plenty of pictures of the traditional Czech architecture surrounding us. It basically looked like what I dream my Minecraft world could look like. From there, we made our way across the bridge across the Vltava river to the other side of Prague. There we could see the beautiful Prague Castle at the top of a hill as well as many other scenic views. However, the real breathtaking view was when we looked back across the river and could see the city in its entirety. For as far as our eyes could see, it was just purely red roofs and classical buildings. 

The majority of the rest of the day was spent in the Prague castle, where we got to tour Cathedrals that were hundreds of years old, as well as other historical landmarks regarding historical Czech clans. We got to walk around some of their historical streets, getting to see what life was really like in the Castle, and visit other parts of the castle, such as their prison yard. 

After the castle, our group decided just to walk around and hit up whatever we saw along the way. At around 5:30, our group decided to split off as many of us were tired due to a lack of sleep and wanted to go back and take a nap. I was among one of these people. However, due to two people who will remain nameless, I was evicted of my right to go take a nap. These two dragged me around for over an hour on their little shopping spree, dragging me along like two big sisters do to their younger brother at the shopping mall. We couldn’t walk 1 minute without one of them going “Ooooooo wooooow, that’s so cute”, or “Ooooh wow, let’s go in there”. Anyways, regardless of the circumstances, we still all had a great time and I even got myself a nice shirt, so I guess it worked out in the end. 

We had made reservations at around 8:45 for a nice birthday dinner. We had all agreed for everyone to dress nice and everyone definitely delivered. Everyone was dressed super nicely and we all had a great time and enjoyed the delicious birthday meal. And of course we remembered to sing for the birthday girl. With that being said, Happy Birthday Marley!

That night, we decided to hit up another show, this time in the heart of Prague. This place featured some of the best DJ’s, and my personal favorite music. They played a bunch of songs that I had long loved, but had hardly ever heard in public. For example, they played songs like “Dragostea Din Tei”, by O-zone (otherwise better known as the Numa Numa song), as well as other favorites such as Fifa 14’s classic theme song “Love Me Again” by John Newman and “Astronomia” by  Tony Igy and Vicetone (otherwise known as the Coffin Dance song). Even though I suffered some minor hearing loss, it was well worth it as I had some of the most fun that I have had that night. With that crazy night over, it is time to go on to the final day. 

Our bus back to Berlin left at around 6:00 pm. We checked out of our Airbnb at around 11:00, and we spent the rest of the day visiting the local parks, and walking around some more around the river bank as well as other parts in the city that we didn’t get a chance to explore yet. When the time came, we boarded the bus and departed for Berlin.

We had an absolute blast in Prague, and I would do anything just to experience those 3 days again. I am so thankful to have spent it with the people that I did and can say that it was objectively the most fun that I had ever had in Prague. 

Dervin Tian

Data Science

IPE: Engineering Laboratory Experience at TUB in Berlin

[selamat-linting]

so anyway, there used to be this girl staying in one of the rooms our neighbor rented. lets call her F. one day F had to move and instead she stayed at my old house. i was too young for my mom to explain why but over the years i managed to connect the dots on my own. she got pregnant out of wedlock, her mom doesnt approve of her relationship and its not like the guy is eager on taking responsibility anyway. abortion is illegal here. and i guess somewhere along the way she had to lose her job?

anyway, F was living at my mom's place for a few weeks. i was a severe insomniac even as a kid and its nice to have someone to play with when i couldnt sleep. we watched animal documentaries and she taught me how to play board games like monopoly. during those days, she liked to talk about her siblings. especially this one girl who is a bit younger than me. F said she was a tomboy, and has always been a good, easy kid even in the womb. you see, when her mom was pregnant with her sister, they went through some marital problems that forced her mom to start working again. F was grateful her sister didnt make her mom sick so much and she was never a particularly fussy baby.

one day, F gathered the courage to see her mom again. she took me to her house. we met her little sister. at first i thought she was a boy, until i saw that she's wearing a necklace. it was the girl F liked to talk about. and she told me to play with her sister.

so we set off. this girl, lets call her C, she told me all of her favorite play spots. we walked around the fish market by the sea, we played in this park that used to be an old training ground for the military, it was amazing. i was ten or eleven years old at the time, and i thought C was the coolest girl alive. she could walk through an obstacle course without struggling, she knows how to fish, and she went on adventures almost every day. all i had going for me was that im good at browsing the internet and playing video games.

i wondered why C didnt have other kids waiting right by the door just to play with her. she was nice. definitely nicer than the ones i see at school. but then when we're in the middle of walking back, a bunch of kids saw us together and they start calling us a lesbian. C's cheery demeanor drops a bit and when i turned my head, she told me to just keep walking and ignore them. i remember feeling like i had to say something but i just didnt know what. years later, i think i know what kid me wanted to say, but by then it was too late.

anyway, we played again some more, and went back to her house. i promised next time we see each other its gonna be my turn to show her my stomping grounds (the internet). i ate dinner at their place, and F gave me a ride home. that was the last time i ever saw her.

okay no, not really. we met again. F decide to send the baby up for adoption to a relative of her ex-boyfriend. it was really sad. she couldnt stop crying. but after that, she seems to recover. at least she got herself a new job, a new place to stay, and the problem was over. on eid, she brought C at my house. yeah, C wore boy clothes on eid too. i was a bit envious of her ngl. we went on an arcade, met a kid who beg on the road outside the mall and she spent such a long time talking with them. i think C almost cried. she was a good kid. And then we played with toy guns, and C pranked a woman walking besides us by whistling at her. it was kinda mean ngl.

but thats it. there's no grand resolution. or any answer if F get to see her baby again one day. i went to middle school and liked another girl. F's visit got rarer and rarer and eventually become none as my mom moved out of our old house. with her gone, so as my continued friendship with C. we dont really have personal phone numbers as a kid and i cant find her on facebook.

when i was working at my first job, whenever i get terribly lonely, i'd get on a bus and stop around the fish market we used to hang out at. i walked by the bridge where she used to fish, near a row of stilt houses perched on top of the sea. it was almost like a pilgrimage. i hoped i'll came across C while walking around, or that i'll remember the way to get to her house. no such luck. pretty sure i'll never see her again, but i do wish her well. who knows man, maybe she'll taught me how to fish for the first time. i might know fish facts but i dont know shit about catching them.