#also yes i disappeared for a good while xD

[idontevenwatchbl]

Disappointed but not surprised with this whole Luktarn ''twist''.

Did I expect her to have a villain arc? Yes. Did I want it to be this bad? No. ._.

[darqx]

If you didnt come to party [get the hell out of this club]

In which there's some links to old art - I've been getting a number of asks that are already technically answered so that's just what I'm gonna be doing if i can even remember what RAD they originally came from lol.

❗️For commonly asked qs please see my BTD FAQ

UNFORGIVEN.

Yes he can speak at least two demon languages (commons and a more specialised one).

Not really cos the ichor will eventually disappear if it's not in contact with Rire for a while lol. You ever wonder how someone could mysteriously drown whilst not being around anything they could have drowned in? Yeah.

I have drawn several such instances a long time ago. But it's not really Rire flirting with Ren it's more him being like...subtly condescending to Ren since Ren's submissive level is not very interesting to him |D

I...think you may have possibly mistaken me saying Rire might cry if he was in severe pain to mean that's the only time he could cry XD; To answer your q, yes Rire can cry from emotions - the point is he would choose not to (esp in public) as that would be a weakness.

🤔 You could probably get away with the same dress design but in black, tbh (if it was Lady Rire). Since the outfit design is 1930s/1940s based Rire's equivalent would be like...a 3 piece suit with a long overcoat/trench coat.

Got you covered bro [from a suit meme I did before]

Rire has a very long life span, but he's not immortal XD;

Tbh I don't really have thoughts about any of other peoples headcanons. Like I'm generally quite neutral towards headcanons because I primarily deal with the canon; the extent of my thoughts would be like "hm i wonder how they came up with that" lol.

This is actually in my FAQ :d but good of you to check for permission! If it's your own artwork then yes it is ok to make fanmerch of Rire. Similarly Gato allows fanmerch of her BTD and TPOF characs as long as it's your own art you are selling (and not like, our art/someone else's fanart that they didn't give permission to turn into merch).

It would be in Cain's best interest not to.

Cain is literally saying Olé Olé because i happened to be listening to this song at the time.

I can barely keep up with my ask box as myself let alone do it while pretending to be a charac lol, so no 😅 You can find a bunch of the most common qs in the FAQ pages though.

No and not really - though he is a bit more sensitive to light compared to a human as he has much better night vision than a human. He may also be able to see more colours than humans 🤔

There is technically no "stereotypical" demon in my 'verse, there's a bunch of different species each with their own looks/powers, so if he was another species then he'd have their physical characteristics. Rire's species is considered "plain" because outwardly they can pass more easily as a human than say; Izm's species (who have a really noticeable Glasgow smile-esque mouth as one of their physical features).

Yes he was born a demon...to his demon parents...|D;

He's the king of his sector and his sector is pretty well-to-do, I think you can draw your own conclusions from that lol.

Maybe, depends on what the human in question does with that.

Your second q has two answers depending on what context I answer them in, so I'll reply in the BTD context keeping in mind a charac like EP's Cain :d Basically yes Rire would be able to sense them like he does other demons. It's not a specific sense of "THIS CHARAC IS AN ANGEL" but more like "this charac is not human" and depending on what else he gets from it a "in your best interests to not engage".

Something big with long black fur and yellow eyes, maybe like a Norwegian Forest Cat or a Maine Coon.

[if-loves]

consume

// Yandere Jiaoqiu

sum: The fastest way to a person’s heart is through their stomach. Or so they say.

wc: 871

warnings: written before jiaoqiu release (probably OOC jq), mentions of drugs and implied drugging, fem reader

a/n: sorry for the disappearance i had exams xd take whatever this is as compensation

likes & reblogs are appreciated :)

When Jiaoqiu loves, he does so wholly. He gives his heart and some, devotes his being, and allows the love to consume him. He feels the warmth rush over him, and he can’t help the smile that lives on his lips, the happiness that blooms in his chest.

He loves until he is squeezed dry, until the warmth disappears, until that happiness dies and the love spits him out; but he takes it all in stride, for as a foxian, his time in this mortal world is but a flicker compared to the rest of the Xianzhou’s inhabitants.

When Jiaoqiu meets you, he is instantaneously enamored. You are, to him, love personified, the one life in this universe made for him. He’s known it since the moment he saw you, and the feeling is only amplified when he speaks to you. Something in him, desperate and lovesick, calls for you.

You’re introduced as a healer from the Luofu, sent to the Yaoqing on an exchange between ships. You, like him, are a foxian, a pair of fluffy ears on the top of your head, and a cute bushy tail on your back. Naturally, you’re under his care.

While you are capable, you are also terribly shy around him. You only speak when spoken to, and you do your job dutifully, with no complaints. You’re independent, and Jiaoqiu can’t help but lament that. He wants you to depend on him, to see him as a reliable senior, someone you can turn to even if you’re not in a pinch. He wants you, yet you don’t seem to want him too.

So, he courts you the best way he knows how. There’s a saying that goes something like “the fastest to a person’s heart is through their stomach”, and although biologically inaccurate (the actual fastest way is through the veins), holds true - no one can resist food made with love, not even someone like you. Everyone must eat, and why pay for a meal when one sits in front of you for free?

The smile on his face is infectious.

~~~

With every passing day, the meals become more intricate. What started with simple stir fried dishes became more complex meals that could only be found in restaurants, all handmade by him. He watches as you eat all of them with a smile, happiness radiating off your figure as your ears twitch and your tail wags in unmistakable contentment. The food is good, yes. The drug has managed to slip in unnoticed as well.

It’s easy for him, really. Jiaoqiu doesn’t need to search for an alchemist, nor a chef. He is both, and he has more than enough knowledge and skills in both fields to be able to incorporate them in his work. Concocting a drug is just as easy as cooking a heartfelt meal, especially when it’s for the same person.

He is quite happy to know that you enjoy both.

~~~

It’s with a smile on your face that you tell him that you’ve applied to stay on the Yaoqing permanently, to stay by his side. You cite that learning under him was like exploring the galaxy, boundless knowledge awaiting you, and his home cooked meals always bring you warmth, like the embrace of a mother.

He takes all of your words to heart, a blush spreading across his face as you turn away. He vaguely feels his tail swaying drunkenly, and he feels like he’s the one who’s been drugged. He knows that this is the influence of the drugs he has been feeding you, but he cannot help but feel elated at your words. You complimented him… You want to stay because of him… You want to stay for him…

Jiaoqiu decides to invite you over for dinner, to celebrate the occasion.

~~~

Perhaps he went a bit overboard with the dose, or perhaps he wanted this to happen. Whatever the reason, Jiaoqiu has filled your meal with aphrodisiacs, and a lot more than usual.

To see them take so quickly was honestly a surprise to him, but he could not complain of the way you started to cling to him, digging your face into the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent. The heat radiating off of your body told him plenty, and he did not mind. No, he didn’t mind at all, not even a single bit.

When you lift your head from his neck, your lips meet his, a collision of desire and lust, born from expertly manipulated strings. When you part, a thin string of saliva connects the two of you, and Jiaoqiu thinks he would like to swallow you whole.

When he brings you to the most intimate room in his home, and when you show each other your most vulnerable sides, he thinks it’s okay if everything isn’t so natural. Healing nowadays is aided by many external factors, love is no different. All you needed was a little push, just like how people need a little medicine to help their bodies fight off their illnesses.

When his mouth finds the junction between your neck and your shoulder, he licks and sucks, and finally sinks his canines in.

You’d let him consume you whole, wouldn’t you?

[blueishspace]

The Watchers court case 2 p2

BigB: So, who is the first witness?

Tubbo: Right, I call Karl Jacobs to the testimony stand!

*in the jury*

Sapphire: It will not go like he thinks it will.

Monika: How-

Sapphire: It's a long story.

Monika: -can you know that... Oh.

*Karl and Sapnap appear in the witness stand*

Tubbo: Uh...

Pearl: This is a bit akward...

Karl: H-hello?

Sapnap: Hello? Why are we here?

Tubbo: Well, I was summoning Karl as a testimony against XD but you also appeared so you'll probably be sent back?

Sapnap: Wait no, I have stuff to say about this guy too!

BigB: We could keep him here? Maybe?

Grian: I don't see why not.

Tubbo: Alright then... huh. Do you both of you know XD?

Karl: Yeah...

Sapnap: I do.

XD: Of course, I am the god of the server, they all know me. What a sad excuse for a prosecution.

*Tubbo just smiles and tilts his head slightly*

Tubbo: I just started. Have the two of you met him?

Karl: ... Yeah.

Sapnap: Sure thing.

Tubbo: Karl, when did you meet him?

Karl: It was after I went from the Inbetween to the Otherside-

Pearl: Wait, say that again. You were where?

Karl: XD sent me there, to help master my time traveling...? I think.

*Pearl turns slowly her head towards XD*

Pearl: You put a mortal in the Inbetween mate?

XD: ...

Pearl: What the fuck is wrong with you?

Tubbo: ehm... so, you met him there?

Karl: No, he brought me to a third place, it had a big clock and a lot of clouds.

Tubbo: So he did kidsap you?

Karl: Kidnap? Uh...did he?

Tubbo: Did you go there on purpose?

Karl: Um not really?

Tubbo: Then he deffo kiknapped you.

Karl: Kidnapped?

Tubbo: Yeah, that.

XD: Kidnap is such a strong word... i prefer borrow.

Tubbo: ... You can't borrow a person.

XD: ... ... ... Not with that attitude.

Tubbo: I will nuke you.

XD: ... well, anyway.

Tubbo: Karl, you said something about time travel?

Karl: Yeah, XD made me a time traveler. I would be sent back and foward in time.

Tubbo: And could you choose where to go?

Karl: Not really, it was random.

Tubbo: So you could say he kinnapped you multiple times then? ... What is wrong with me l? Kidnapped. He kidnapped you multiple times.

Karl: I guess so.

Tubbo: And was time traveling nice?

Karl: Not at all... I started to forget stuff after a while, XD said the time traveler before me lost all memories.

Tubbo: ... ... Huh. Interesting. So XD gave you a power that hurt you?

Karl: Yes?

Tubbo: See, he clearly is responsable- responsible for a lot of damage.

Pearl: That was good.

Grian: And do you have proof?

Karl: I have my book... I write stuff in it so I don't forget. I saw Ranboo doing it I think, that's where I got the idea from.

Grian: Taurtis?

Taurtis: Already got the copy machine on!

*in the jury*

Mianite: Well, this god is incompetent. It's frustrating really.

Madoka: Yeah! Why would he do something like this??

Aphmau: I don't know about god but definitely not a good leader.

Tubbo: And Sapnap, how did you meet XD?

Sapnap: He dropped a death book on me. It's like the revival book. But opposite.

Tubbo: So he dropped not one but two dangerous books in the server?

Sapnap: Yeah. Said of I used it my soul would disappear after death.

Pearl: ... Can he do that? That's Kristin's domain?

Grian: He can as long as It's inside his server, however the whole books situation is extremely messy. Do you have the book with you?

Sapnap: It's in my enderchest.

Taurtis: I'll get you an enderchest then!

Martyn: So Jimmy, how did you get to be here?

Jimmy: The listeners! I told you, didn't I?

Martyn: Yeah It's just... Nevermind.

Jimmy: ... Alright then.

Prev Next First

[doofus-and-dragons]

Thoughts on Malevolent e1:

Starting off strong with amnesia

Who is this echoed robo Stanley parable mother fucker I like him?

Rip Arthur

"What is it?" "A book" Thank you Narator who's voice keeps getting progressively deeper

Arthur seems pathetic little man he's cute

WHO IS THIS ANGRY ROBO BITCH GODDAMN THE MAN HAS NO MEMORIES CHILLAX

"Your whimpering is awfully distracting" Maybe don't posses a pathetic little bitch (lovingly)

Bound? Seems kind of gay if you ask me

WHO ARE YOU GAY ROBO BITCH

Watch it there's a... piano? Angry keyboard dog?

I need Arthur carnaly. First episode and he whimpers. WHIMPERS WHILE BEING TOLD WHAT TO DO BY AN AGRESSIVE VOICE

AND HE PLAYS PIANO

HE WILL BE MY WIFE

Ah yes, best first date idea: hide the body of your busniess partner and best friend while plotting a possible murder together.

Eddie is fair. I would also be suspicious of this whimpering buffoon.

Who the hell is this demon robo dude? He's kind of toxic and I love him.

"Look at him" "I cant" Dude forgot he took Arthur's eyes XD

Arthur baby I love you so much please don't let Eddie beat you up

"Look in the mirror I want to look at you." Kinda gay bro

"I do not like to be pushed around." Sound like something a guy who likes to be pushed around would say

"...noted." note the sarcasm in that echoed tone.

Demon voice, you seem like you keep forgetting Arthur is a very good detective.

Oh? Lore drop already? Fucking awesome

YES INTRODUCING ALTERNATE TIMELINES ALREADY! IM SO EXCITED FOR THIS SHIT!

DEAD VOICE GUY YEEEAH

ITS 1934!?!? FUCK YEAH!!!!

Someone is avoiding the questioooon

Mayhaps it is because ye voice has trauma?

Oh yeah. Trauma dump already.

It must be 1934, taxi fair is less than 3 bucks. Damn

"Describe everything to me." Arthur you are so cute.

Yessss 1934 music! I love it.

This voice guy is really trying to push his emotions down and it isn't working that well. Babygirl we can all tell you're troubled. Do you need a hug? A cup of cocoa?

"Crouch low and put your back against the ckunter." "Arthur: *old man groaning sounds*" babygirl that's not very sneaky

"Relax. That was a close call. it won't be the last." That's reassuring.

That "well done arthur" sounded awfully suspicious

Arthur is so smart and this traumatized voice keeps forgetting that.

Oh shit he already has an enemy he doesn't know. This escalated quite quickly

These two are already bickering.

This guy is surprisingly angry about him not helping the police investigate a murder he was already investigating the disappearance of the victim. Chill out dude he's a PI not a criminal investigator.

"Arthur it's another small room!" It sounded so aggressively excited that I had to stop because I started laughing that was so cute what.

Hm. Sounds creepy...and hot.

What was that name again??? Asking for a friend ofc.

Dint turn random stones have you learned nothing from horror movies? Oh, wait, 1934. Right.

Arthur would be the horror movie girl who survives because she wants nothing to do with the stupid false solutions.

PORTAL TO HELL PORTAL TO HELL PORTAL TO HELL!!!

AAAHH THAT WAS SO FUCKING GOOD!! HELL YEAH!!!

[bloopitynoot]

Reading SVSSS: Bonus Chapter 26

For those who don't know, I am reading SVSSS for the first time and sharing my thoughts!

If you have not read it, there will be spoilers! Consider this a warning.

Also- if you want to follow along, I am aiming to post updates daily. You can find all the posts in the tag bloopitynoot reads SVSSS. You can also check out the intro post for context on my read.

This chapter took me two days to go through! It's SO LONG (120 pages). I wanted to post yesterday but I got 60 pages in and started fading. Winter is here and the sun keeps disappearing too quickly, your boy is feeling the SAD.

The tea photo is from today and not yesterday- I tried out a new one it's almond amaranth and rooibos.

let's get into this monster of a chapter!

Fuck yeah, we have an airplane POV! Though this chapter is BEEFY. I think I'm going to read half today and half tomorrow before posting it (present me: and I did! ^-^).

I love that we are getting all of these forum comments. This is so fun! One of my favourite brands of fics are fics that include elements of social media/forum/blog style au's and this is a vibe! pp140-147

This guy is not wrong "Even though this famous Lord Cucumber spewed criticism constantly and without end in 'Great Master' Airplane's comment section, his subscription payments and demands for updates never waned. Because of this 'Great Master Airplane had come to suspect that this person was a masochist". p148 I mean yeah lol

OMG what an awful way to die! Alone in your house, let's be real - likely in his underwear- via electrocution induced by his sad instant ramen noodle dinner. p149

and the fact that he transmigrated so young. He was there for a while before the plot plotted with SY. 17 years old! p150. I do wonder if there is a wiggly time thing. Like years in the transmigrated novel equal like hours in the world he came from or something. They died close together I think? anyways- any theories on this are welcome!

Same though- Airplane is so real for this. The way in which I would just want to spill all of the foreknowledge and secrets to people I held in my brain as the creator of this universe p153

The SASS [Tip Complete. We wish you the best of luck]. p155

Are you kidding! This man didn't even write the plot that led for his main spy character to becoming a spy...dang man. the potholes are real bad. p156

Okay but this would seriously be me af. I am such a wimp- and that is totally okay! In the face of most definitely death, I would submit myself to being the Little Bitch Boy and pledge myself, my body, my undying love, to my new demon overlord and master. Good for baby him ahaha. p158

"As Shang Qinghua overflowed with snot and tears, clinging on for dear life, begging to pledge fealty to Mobei-Jun - wholly without warning, the demon collapsed." p160 Again, same. I'm feeling seen with Airplane here XD Screaming, crying, throwing up.

Man. I really see how these two end up together (I'm assuming they do?). He had a solid chance to murder the guy and he just couldn't because the character is just his ideal man. p162

"This character had been created entirely to the author's own tastes" p163 MHMMM. Yeah he was.

ehehehe and here we have the only one bed trope at the inn he got to nurse his ideal man back to health. p165

This guy is so shameless. Straight up just watching Mobei-Jun strip while he sits there and snacks. p169

It is so unhinged that this man just has a string tied to his neck pp170-171

that congee- YARF "clear as water" sounds so unappealing p174

"When in doubt- just cry" - Airplane definitely p176

The security on this mountain is so shit. Demons just popping in all the time under the radar. Mobei-jun literally lived there for three days no one even knew XD p183

awww, Airplane tried to warn Liu Qingge about the upcoming Qi deviation. That was nice of him. p190

Yes! Thank you! The scene I have been waiting for; in which the other characters are all like "wtf is up with shen qingqiu? He really is 100% different overnight, but also, no one say anything to him because we like this him better" p192

Fair though, I too would think that SQQ was possessed p194

The way in which airplane is SHAKEN by the actions of SQQ right now is so funny. Him frozen expression, this is NOT the character I wrote what the fuck is happening. p206

Someone commented on an earlier chapter post I had about the theory that the system is the manifestation of airplane's actual wants for the story and like- I stand with this theory. It really checks out with this POV the man keep's fantasizing of a queer man story and like he sure does get it. p207

LOOOOL oh no. the fact that the man who created these characters - VERY different than this experience. Has to listen to Binghe "If you hold unique feelings for a certain person, how can you make them understand you intentions?" p208.

Not airplane giving LBH love advice just so cucumber bro can literally Get Fucked. pp212-213

AND THEN HIS ADVICE BACKFIRES WITH MOBEI-JUN LOL"So, if you want to be liked by a man, the best method is to act pathetic?" p214. Like he set this up for himself

Wait. Airplane had the option to return home! And he just didnt??? p217

Airplane really is weak for these villainous men. The way in which he describes Linguang-Jun is so simpy. p228

The drama. Airplane doing the MOST to save Mobei-jun. This man could have avoided all of this and just gone home. What a horrible torture! :( p235

Get it airplane! You yell at him ahaha p237-238

I AM SCREAMING. Airplane: I'm your daddy! p239 AND THEN him just leaving in a panic because he really thinks he's going to get murdered after that outburst LOL

I love SQQ sitting in domesticity with his man giving airplane love advice pp244-245

Awww, Mobei-Jun came back for his boyfriend! He's going to make him hand pulled noodles :'3 p255 I honestly think that Mobei-jun actually needed to be bossed around this entire time

BYE. LOL SGH deciding to continue writing in this world by basically writing slash fanfiction about LBH/SQQ + the other peak lords/famous cultivators LOL p256. Good for him ahaha.

We did it!

This chapter was such a ride ahaha. it was fun to see the POV for airplane but also him and the progression of his weird AF relationship with Mobei-jun. I honestly kind of love these two. They were such a mess in the beginning but it ended so soft :'3

[diesvitae]

once you're finished the game could you share your elgarook Thoughts? as i fellow villain fucker i also want him but i cant think of a plot that makes sense for rook and him to get together in any way shape or form akdbsj

OH HI!!! In truth now that I'm done with the game I still have to rework some points in my Elgarook timeline. But in case of Nadir and Elgar'nan... (POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT)

1) Their first (solo) meeting is an attempted assassination from my lil Rook, who was probably also kinda drunk, since he attacks with a normal dagger which is... kinda useless against a god. Elgar'nan in game seems pretty chill, offering "mercy" more than once so I doubt he would be pissed at Nadir for trying. 2) Words are exchanged, Nadir is trapped and probably panicking a bit once he understands the situation he got into, he's able to flee, but there is some sort of curiosity between the two: Elgar'nan can easily sense Nadir is a mage (and a powerful one) but my lil Rook never uses magic, especially the offensive one. That's a mystery he's curious about considering it makes no sense to him (one who's obsessed with power) Nadir refuses to use his natural gifts. And this fear to use magic makes him a perfect pawn to be manipulated and guided to become someone like him. Plus it would be a nice little revenge against Solas, to steal Rook away. Nadir, while looking like this cute smug creature, is pretty insecure, he hates using magic due to hurting people by mistake each time he tried to control it. He hates acting like a hero because he can't see himself as a good person, just a cursed one. But around Elgar'nan he doesn't have to pretend to be perfect, to be controlled. Elgar'nan is the enemy, who cares about his opinion after all? And somehow that lack of care becomes a sense of freedom. So for a while they seek each other out, to learn, to test boundaries, it's a little game neither give much importance. Elgar'nan needs a hobby beyond conquering the world and Nadir needs time away from responsibilities.

That being said, despite starting a literal affair with the enemy, my Rook is beyond loyal to the team, and makes it clear he won't divulge anything which could hurt his friends or help the evanuris. Another part of their dynamic is what they gain from each other. Nadir is quite the atheist, he recognizes Elgar'nan can be considered a god, but he doesn't feel the need to worship anything or anyone. Which makes him see Elgar as a person. He's close to him not to gain godly favor, power or whatever. He simply enjoys his company and the parts of Elgar'nan which can be considered... human (wrong word XD) A person who's built empires using only his power would end up with nothing if that power were to disappear. But Nadir? He would stay. So Elgar'nan gains what it feels to get real unconditional love. On the other hand Nadir gets to be free from his fears. He doesn't have to be scared about using magic around the evanuris because he literally can't hurt them, and even if he were to... it's enemies! Technically he would be doing good by hurting them XD Plus Elly is training him! He doesn't have to act like a hero amonst his enemies. He doesn't have to act like a leader since that's a role Elgar'nan won't leave to anyone. There is also the affection which builds over time which is always nice XD (and the fucks are real good too.) In the end I want them to be like two jigsaw puzzle pieces which lock with each other perfectly despite being completely different. (And yes, Nadir is still going to kill him at the end, in a tragic and painful scene.) As for you, it depends what kind of dynamic you want! You can have your rook act as a spy, joining his side to gather his secrets only to fall for him. Or you can have Rook kidnapped only to have Elgar'nan treating them courteously. Honestly it depends on your tastes!

[thoughtfullyrainynightmare]

HCs of mereoleona, fuegoleon and leopold (separate) returning to house vermillion after an exhausting mission(your choice) only to be told by julius that the others were turned into kids. Could you also include kirsch and mimosa

I was in the mood for some Vermillion family shenanigans, so this was just the thing I needed. To be thinking about them needing to be babysitters XD

Fanfic type: Headcanons Characters: Mereoleona, Fuegoleon, Leopold, Kirsch, and Mimosa Vermillion POVs: From Mereoleona's, Fuegoleon's, and Leopold's (in that order) Genre: Comedy (/slice of life?) Length: ~1,2k total Warnings: ...uhh... the toddlers do some name-calling and there's fire (I mean, it's the Fire Vermillions, how can there not be fire?)

Mereoleona hadn’t been home for quite some time, but was feeling happy about being able to see her brothers and cousins after a long time. And, there were comforts of home, and civilization, that she couldn’t get while out and about in the wilderness. A nice, long, warm bath being one of them. Sure, she could always visit Yultim for that, but there was something so homely about the bath of the Vermillion estate, maybe over a bottle of wine, that couldn’t quite compare.

Maybe she could take a bath before-

“Oh Mereoleona! Good to see you.”

Mereo quirked an eyebrow, and looked at Julius. Who was an unusual sight in this part of the castle. And that made her suspicious.

“Why are you here?” She asked.

“Well... There was a small mishap at the Magic Knights’ headquarters, which had unfortunate effects on... some knights. They are reversible, but will require some time.”

“...What kind of effects?”

“Well, about that...” he opened the door behind him, to reveal... 4 little kids, around the ages of 4 to 5 by the looks of it. And they had oddly familiar looking... hair... and markings on their skin... “I should get back to my work, and help Marx in solving this issue post haste. So, your arrival couldn’t have come at a better time.”

Mereo looked at the kids, and the to Julius, and back to the kids.

“Good luck!” Julius said, and disappeared, before Mereo could utter another word.

She looked at the kids.

The kids looked at her.

She looked at the kids.

The kids screamed, and rushed to her.

For crying out loud... She thought while picking all of the up with her fire paws.

“Aneue! I missed you!” The little boy with green eyes and a canine said with outstretched arms.

“Aneue! I learned making a fireball!” The little boy with purple eyes said confidently.

“Mereo! Brother is being annoying!” The little girl huffed with crossed arms.

“Mereo! Mimo is being jealous!” The little boy with golden eyes said, closing his eyes and lifting his chin.

Mereo closed her eyes with a sigh. Babysitting had been more of Fuego’s territory while growing up, and she had been able to focus on building character. But right now, four lion cubs were her responsibility.

As annoying as it might have been.

Julius better hurry it up, she thought while putting the kids down.

Leo dashed to give Mereo a hug. Fuego demonstrated his newly found skills, and lit the curtains on fire. Mimosa pushed Kirsch and Kirsch... complained about how he was going to get a bruise.

He better hurry it up... she thought.

------

Fuegoleon pinched the bridge of his nose.

That particular mission had been more taxing than he had anticipated. But. It was over now, and after completing the reports, he could put it behind him.

It was the home stretch so to say.

“Hello Fuegoleon!” Julius greeted him at the Vermillion estate.

“Hello, Julius-sama. Is something the matter?” He inquired with a frown.

“Well, you could say that,” he gave an awkward look. “There was an incident at the Magic Knights’ headquarters.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, and we’re still dealing with some of the aftermath... but it should be resolved in a few days,” Julius continued while scratching his cheek with his index finger.

“Good,” Fuegoleon nodded. “But I must inquire, why did you come to inform me so promptly?”

“Well... because it involved most of House Vermillion,” he gestured to a room, from where a loud laugh rang, making Fuegoleon turn his head towards the sound. “Good luck!” Julius stated before disappearing from sight.

Fuegoleon blinked, and walked into the room, where a rug was aflame, as a girl, of maybe 5 years of age, was standing next to it with a wide, proud grin on her face. Behind her, there was a young boy, who stared at the girl and the flame with his green eyes wide open. And at the corner of the room, there stood two other kids, a girl and a boy, looking scene.

“That is not beautiful”, the golden eyed boy concluded, earning a scowl from the girl next to him.

And Fuegoleon sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose, and picked up a nearby vase with flowers. I see... he simply thought before taking the flowers from the vase and pouring the water over the flames.

It was only a few days. His parents dealt with Mereo and himself while growing up for years, so... how hard could it be?

----

Leo made his way through the Vermillion estate. The last mission on which he had been, had been tough one, one of the toughest so far. But since he had been the one in charge of it, it made sense. And while he was tired, he was also incredibly proud, because he had been waiting for the time when he would be in this position. He had earned this.

So, he couldn’t wait to give his report!

“Leopold, hello,” Julius greeted him as he was making his way down the hall of the Vermillion estate.

“Julius-sama!” Leopold greeted back. “What are you doing here?” He asked with a puzzled look on his face.

“I am here to look after... the aftermath of an incident at the Magic Knights’ headquarters.”

“What kind of an incident?”

“A rapid de-aging.”

“Rapid... de-aging?” Leo asked with a curious frown.

“Yes. It should be resolved in a few days, but in the meantime, there are some people that need to be looked after. And I trust that I can leave that in your capable hands, as I get back to work,” he said with a small wave, before disappearing, and leaving Leo standing there, even more confused.

“Aneue you-, you idiot!” There was a shout from around the corner.

Leo’s frown deepened, and he quirked an eyebrow.

“Teacher’s pet!”

“No show!”

“No fun!”

Leo peeked around the corner to see two kids, maybe around 5 years of age, staring each other down. The girl had blue eyes, and the boy had purple ones. And they seemed to be only a few moments away from shoving each other.

Well... this can’t be worse than their brawls when they’re adults.... Leo thought.

“Kirsch you’re ruining it!”

Leo turned his head to another corner of the room to see a girl with green eyes, and a boy with golden ones.

“Sorry Mimo but beauty takes time,” the boy said with a pen in his hand, drawing something onto the floor.

“The tile had a small crack! They weren’t going to notice!”

“Now they will not!”

This... at least they’re not breaking things. They’re trying to fix them...  he thought. How long did Julius say this was going to take?

“Haha! You’re clo-othes are on fi-reeee!” Mereo laughed while pointing at Fuegoleon.

I... They will be fine. They will be fine. They will be fine. But first: WATER.

[rabbitonthemoon]

A small Nnoitra and Nelliel analysis made by humble me.

I clarify that I'm not the best at these things, but I really wanted to do it, I just hope it's a decent read XD. Well to start, there is a detail that although you can glimpse it's not explicitly said, and surprisingly it even made it to the game Bleach Brave Souls, when you have Nnoitra and Nel together the team it's called Two Beasts (or used to be called, this feature was removed a while ago), the name may sound a little strange at first, but yes, they antagonized each other, Nnoitra crossed the line with the surprise attack on her and her fraccions but before that they were both each other's villain. There is a scene where Nnoitra kills an Arrancar and says something like (Maybe it's not 100% accurate, I wrote it from my memory and there are many translations) "Are you wondering why I killed him if he was an Arrancar? I killed him because he was an Arrancar, saving an enemy won't save a comrade, if you want to follow me keep that in mind." The Arrancar known for his fits of anger was willing to let Nel follow him, strangely calm, I even used to think this scene was with Tesla, he didn't seem to have any grudge against Nel and logically he already knew that she surpassed him, if this was a simple rivalry of pure hatred, why this scene exist?

We know very well that Nnoitra wants to die in a bloody battle giving his all and losing his breath before hitting the ground, we see him passed out after a fight with several adjuchas, from which Nelliel saves him. Nelliel follows him against his will, she says it's to avoid lossing an Espada but everyone knows that Aizen couldn't care less, and if he seeks death she shouldn't get involved, it's implied that he was fine with her presence until Nel got her hands in that matter.

I'm sure Nelliel sees this as something good, she tries to find out the reason for his fights, in one of the many translations she says they are like a high, a false high, he tells her straight up that he wants to die, but she still doesn't understand, and I don't blame her, anyone would think wasting life like that is wrong, and that's probably why she tries to make him see reason. In Nnoitra's mind he surely thought that if she doesn't allow others to kill him, she should do it herself, the problem is that Nel doesn't want that either, and that was the biggest clash, she doesn't allow him to have his end with others, but she also denies him an end by her sword, telling him that he's not a warrior worthy of her.

We get to Nnoitra's attack, it was crossing the line, that's not up for debate, but it's still weird, it would be understandable if his plan was for her to die in the desert without much more, but his real plan was to disable her for a while and reach her level, it sounds far-fetched. If she hadn't turned into a child there would be two options, she would return no later than a few months later to beat him up without giving him time to get stronger, or most likely she would just go on her way and never see him again, but he really planned for her to come back for a fight. It's very clear that Nnoitra's intention was never to kill her, even when that would make their whole story much easier, direct and no one would question it.

In his last fight, if you compare the effort he made against Nel and against Kenpachi the difference is huge. Until the end he was reluctant to die at the hands of Kenpachi, but against Nel he didn't show much resistance, he didn't even use his resurreccion. He smiled when he was cornered against that rock, he didn't show the intention of releasing his Zanpakuto, but that same smile disappeared when he saw Nelliel return to her childlike state.

I think Nnoitra is more interested in Nel finishing him off than in defeating her. The purpose of his life is to fight to the end or die at the hands of someone strong, but I'm sure that what he wanted most in the world was to die by the hands of Nelliel, I can't say if it was a conscious or unconscious desire but maybe he realized this in his last seconds, the closest thing to dying at her hands was seeing her for the last time, he ignored all the things in his sight to have that last look, at the moment of fulfilling his dream he didn't even think about Kenpachi, she was still the center.

For someone who claims to view women as inferior, the fact that he wants to obtain something SO important to him from a woman says a lot. Kenpachi was undoubtedly a much bigger challenge than Nelliel could ever be, but he was not her, he will never be her, Kenpachi said that the fight was fun, something that Nnoitra probably always wanted to hear from Nelliel's voice.

Nelliel in the form of a child did not remember him when they met again, she probably blocked the memory, but in his last seconds she remembered his name, at that moment they were both the same, perhaps wondering if everything could have been different. A scene like that should not exist between enemies, in fact if it didn't exist no one would bat an eye, but it is there, almost as a reminder that there is more than meets the eye.

[thelunarfairy]

Hey, when that incident happened, Teru was with Akane, one of the clock keepers. Why would he use the prince charming card while having the perfect alibi? His lack of self-awareness is hilarious though. XD I wanted to ask if Tsukasa is too strong or if the clock keepers are too weak and owls are too useless, but you've already talked about it. Thank you. I know Teru is stuck with handcuffs and no sword, but do you think he has a chance against Tsukasa? Cause Tsukasa seems undefeatable and unlike Teru, he decided to get caught and has a plan. ( I am biased)

Maybe because he himself said he can't have family or friends as an alibi, and like every jury, he also can't defend whoever is being tried.

It's generally like this, a judge cannot judge a family member or acquaintance in real life (of course it will depend on the laws of each country, but I'm talking about mine specifically).

That's why I think Akane didn't defend Teru or testify for him. Did you see he was also rooting for Nene?

He has to be impartial.

Hmm…. I think Tsukasa wins. I mean, Teru is a very good exorcist, but Kou said that his grandmother, with much more experience, couldn't exorcise Hanako, just seal him. Teru also lost to number six, they didn't even fight, number six just needed to attack by surprise, in this case, he tried to defend Kou.

If it were Tsukasa in that situation, do you think he would be knocked out like Teru?

So think with me, Hanako is sealed and he PURPOSELY pretends to be weak. Yes, he fakes it, did you notice that he recovers extremely quickly when he fights Teru?

When the entire fight scene ends, Hanako simply returns to normal as if nothing had happened. In arc number six the two fought intensely, or rather, Teru fought, Hanako only defended himself, he was crossed several times by Teru's sword, but when Nene appeared he simply ran away

RUNNING

As if nothing had happened. Remembering that Hanako was already waiting for Teru to exorcise him, he didn't mind disappearing because he was going to be away from Nene, so he was allowing it, he just didn't give up before because he wanted to take Aoi to the other side.

In other words, all this power that Teru claims to have is not as great as it seems. Hanako is so powerful that Tsukasa, who is JUST his yorishiro, is extremely strong.

So, Tsukasa is fast and strong, besides being very intelligent, he is clearly not afraid of Teru, in fact he is not afraid of anyone.

Based on this, I think Teru would lose, he would give Tsukasa a hard time, but he would hardly have a chance if he fought in Tsukasa's full form, that is, without any advantage such as an item that reduces his strength or anything like that.

Ironically, I think the only person (besides Hanako) who could give Tsukasa a lot of trouble is Tiara.

Yes, Tiara.

This would be an extraordinary fight, this girl has so much power that she destroys supernaturals with her hands, but no one is talking about it.

Obviously, she's a child so a serious fight between them wouldn't happen, but I'm comparing their power level to each other.

Tiara is stronger than her older brothers, consequently, she has a better chance of winning, remembering that she is STILL a child, so her power will increase when she gets older.

I can't tell you if she would have the ability to beat him, since we haven't seen all of her power or Tsukasa's, but I think that among everyone, she's the one who would give Tsukasa the most trouble.

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x28 - Pursuit! Hurry to Japan / It's All in the Cards

Previously on Digimon Adventure:

Big Fucking Nerd Vamdemon and the good half of his mercenaries are now off in Japan, closing the door behind them on their way out. The Chosen Children are forced to retreat from his castle and regroup with Gennai.

Gennai: I see. That's too bad. Yamato: "That's too bad" isn't going to cut it! At this rate, the Eighth Child is going to die! Sora: That's not all! If those Digimon run loose, they'll wreak havoc on Japan! Taichi: Is there a way we can reopen the Gate? Gennai: That's possible. Taichi: There is? Sora: How? Gennai: I can't simply explain it. You'll also need some tools to assist you. Taichi: Well, stop wasting time! Gennai: I understand. Come to my house.

Gennai points up, then vanishes from the rainbow beam. His meaning is lost on the kids, forcing him to come back and clarify his too-subtle gesture.

Mimi: He disappeared right when we needed answers? Gennai: (reappears) Look around you!

Off in the distance, he's waving a big-ass spotlight to get their attention.

Gennai: If you follow that light, you'll find my home. Taichi: Got it! Gennai: I'll be waiting. Taichi: Yes! Let's go!

Gennai trying to be stylish but forgetting that he's talking to children, who need a bit more instruction than that.

An interesting note about the way the kids are positioned in this scene. The episode recap ended with a brief snippet of new footage, showing the kids fleeing the castle while attacked by silhouetted Digimon. They also had to fight their way out; We see the outside of the castle and hear Tentomon firing Petit Thunder, followed by an explosion bursting out of the building.

This is why Mimi's doubled over up there; They just made it back here. She's gasping for breath from all the running they had to do. When he's in frame, we can see Yamato is piggybacking Takeru as well.

The dub, as usual, cuts the recap. This scene of them escaping got cut along with it, so the dub starts right here at Gennai with no explanation of why Mimi's exhausted and Yamato's carrying Takeru.

Gennai: Myotismon has shut the Gate. You can't follow him now. Matt: Listen, Pops! You gotta help us get through that Gate! The Eighth Kid is doomed if we don't! Sora: And that isn't all! If that rotten creep goes on a rampage in the real world, lots of innocent people will get hurt! Tai: There just has to be some way we can open the Gate up again! Gennai: Well, of course there is. Tai: No kidding? Sora: How, then? Gennai: Any door can be opened with the right key. Tai: Oh, don't be so mysterious, Gennai! Gennai: Follow me to my house and I will explain everything. Sora: Where's that? Gennai: Look above you! (points up and fades away) Mimi: What kind of directions are those!? Gennai: (returns) Very good ones if you will just listen.

Matt borrowing a bit of Taichi's aggressive disrespect for Gennai.

Gennai outright tells them to look up before pointing and vanishing, which makes them all look even stupider when he needs to come back and clarify.

Note: In both versions, the spotlight is making an audible shimmer sound. But in the dub it's also roaring with the fury of a thousand angry batteries. There's wooshing wind noises and what almost sounds like rockets exploding overhead.

Gennai: Keep looking and you shall see it. Matt: There! A searchlight! Gennai: Sorry, I ran out of maps. Follow the light and you can't miss it. Tai: Excellent! Gennai: Snack time for me! (disappears) Tai: Let's jet!

I was not ready for "Snack time for me!" XD

The kids follow Gennai's signal and find it coming straight out of a giant lake.

Mimi: Wait... WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!?!? Yamato: Is his house underwater? Koushiro: I get it. This is why I couldn't find him during those two months I searched the mountains. Jou: So then how do we get there? Gomamon: (pops into the water) I'll go take a look.

Suddenly, the water ripples and bubbles emerge all around.

Gomamon: It's not me! Ehehe....

The light parts the waters of the lake, granting the kids passage down a flight of stairs.

They don't say whether this is the same lake everyone's been crossing on Yamato's swan boat. But I choose to believe it is because it's funnier that way.

In the dub:

Joe: Looks like we're gonna be doing a little swimming. Mimi: MY HAT!!! MY BEAUTIFUL HAT!!! Matt: Either we got those directions really wrong or Gennai's house is in the middle of a lake! Izzy: So that's why I've never found it! Joe: Must be really tough to get pizza delivered. Gomamon: (pops into the water) Hey, c'mon in! The water's fine! (The lake begins to glow and bubbles emerge all around Gomamon) Gomamon: Oh no!

Fart joke's out. Mimi is freaking out about the threat of getting her hat wet instead of the inexplicable oddity of the scene. Izzy expresses the same sentiment as Koushiro, though Koushiro reminds us that he was doing precisely this during the group's split-up time. And Joe drops a pretty solid quip. XD

The waters part and the stairs emerge.

Group: NO WAY!!! Patamon: Do we use these to go down? Yamato: Looks like. Taichi: Alright, let's head down.

The kids descend past a still stunned Gomamon.

Gomamon: Huh? WAIT FOR ME, EVERYONE!!!

They head deeper down perilous stairs whose perils are unsurprising if you really stop and think about it.

Takeru: It's slippery! Patamon: Be careful!

Okay, yeah, these stairs were underwater five seconds ago. Forcing his visitors to descend a freshly-mopped stairwell is a pretty major hazard, honestly. They could break their necks! I'm filing a complaint with OSHA. Uh, as soon as I finish filing the child labor complaint.

Gennai sucks, y'all.

In the dub:

Group: (Miscellaneous cheering) Tai: Steps!? Alright, gang! We're in business!

The dub puts a commercial break here, which I think is a pretty okay place for one. They're able to then use Patamon and Matt's lines to briefly remind us of where we're at upon return.

Patamon: There are stairs going right down into the lake! Matt: They must lead to Gennai's house! Tai: Well? What are we waiting for? Joe: I was kinda hoping he'd send a boat to pick us up. (The kids descend past Gomamon) Gomamon: Hmm... HEY!!! WAIT FOR ME!!! (The kids go deeper) Mimi: If anyone wants any sushi, now's your chance! T.K.: I wish I had my boots! Patamon: Me too!

Another XD for Joe. A boat would be way better than freshly-mopped stairs. I'm with him.

Mimi also gets to make a silence-breaking quip commenting on the art. She's talking about the fish we see swimming around in the foreground while the kids are descending.

I don't think T.K. and Patamon's exchange lands very well. To get what he's complaining about, you need to already understand from context that the stairs are slick and dangerous. But when magical lake-parting is involved, I don't know that this is an assumption anyone would leap to. I certainly didn't until Takeru spelled it out for me.

Finally, the kids see Gennai's estate.

Patamon: Look at that! Sora: Is that it? Jou: I think so.

They invite themselves in.

Everyone But Taichi: PLEASE EXCUSE US!!! Taichi: WE'RE COMING IN!!! (The kids come inside) Piyomon: THIS PLACE IS KIND OF COOL!!! Sora: It really is....

In the dub, the kids continue riffing on the art.

Patamon: Whoa! Sora: Quite a place if you don't mind living in pink fog. Joe: No lawn to mow. Tai: I don't see a doorbell. Everyone: (shouts unintelligibly) (The kids enter the yard) Gennai: WHO NEEDS A DOORBELL WITH SUCH NOISY VISITORS!?!?

I like Joe's quip here in theory; He's talking about the area outside the estate, which is the lake. But it's a little janky that we cut from that to everyone standing on Gennai's lawn.

At long last, the kids see Gennai in person waiting for them.

Koushiro: Gennai...-san? Gennai: I see you children made it here safely. Taichi: (uncertain) Is that really him? Koushiro: Yes.

Taichi first takes a moment to confirm with Koushiro that this is really, truly the man in the flesh. Then, once he's secure in that knowledge, he lets his anger out.

Taichi: HEY, GEEZER!!! I'VE GOT A QUESTION FOR YOU!!! Gennai: What's that? Taichi: Why haven't you ever come to meet us in person all this time!? Gennai: Because I'm a couch potato.

The word Gennai uses here is debushou, which means a shut-in who's too lazy to get up and go outside. The subs here translate it as "I like staying at home" which is accurate but doesn't quite get across the self-deprecation at play. I've also seen debushou translated as "a houseplant" which is hilarious but requires some explanation.

Honestly, Taichi is right to be upset about this. Back on File Island, it was a plot point that Gennai was supposed to be there to meet them Day 1 but Devimon blocked his signal. They spent two weeks alone in savage wilderness being hunted for sport by monsters they couldn't understand because Gennai was too lazy to come explain the isekai in person.

I'd be furious too.

Everyone else has questions too.

Jou: Just who are you, anyway? Takeru: A human? Or a Digimon? Gennai: Neither of those. Mimi: What does being a Chosen Child even mean? Gennai: It means that you're children who were chosen to save both of our worlds. Yamato: But who chose us? Sora: Was it you, Gennai-san? Gennai: (shakes head) Mm... Enough questions. What you should be thinking about right now is saving the Eighth Child. Now, come inside.

Once the conversation turns to the specifics of who drafted these kids for war and why, Gennai gets evasive yet again.

There's long been a friction between Gennai and the Chosen Children, especially Taichi. He omits information he doesn't want them to have and routinely talks around answering questions, managing the kids on a need-to-know basis. This in-person meeting is doing nothing to quell it.

This friction is also there in the dub.

Izzy: Wow, it's the real Gennai! Gennai: Who did you expect, Santa Clause? Tai: (uncertain) We've just never seen the real you. Izzy: Yeah! Tai: (angry) So tell us! How come you're always hiding!? Gennai: I'm not. Tai: Well, you could have come in person but you always choose projections, right? Gennai: It's just a show to impress you. Joe: What kind of a person are you, anyway? T.K.: A human? Or some kind of Digimon? Gennai: That is not important. Mimi: (directly into Gennai's ear) HOW COME YOU CALL US THE DIGIDESTINED!?!? Gennai: EASY!!! I'm old, but I'm not deaf! You were chosen to save this world and you're own! Matt: But just how were we chosen? Why us? Sora: Yeah, we only signed up for summer camp. Gennai: (shakes head) That is all you need to know for now. Come inside. The most important thing is to return to your world and find the Eighth Child. That and maybe have a nice bowl of soup and a tuna sandwich.

It's a little different, but the main difference is in tone of voice. The kids are softer and less combative with Gennai in the English version. The Japanese versions, especially Taichi, sound exasperated by the lack of clear information they've been given.

The children follow Gennai inside.

As they enter the house, the parting of the lake waters ends and the house's exterior floods. The kids watch fish swim by the doors outside.

Takeru & Patamon: PRETTY!!! Jou: Porgies and flounder? But this is a freshwater lake. Gennai: Those are machines I made. It gets lonely, living by yourself.

Gennai pulls down a world map of the human world. He zooms the map with a flick of his fan.

Gennai: Take a look at this. (flick) Koushiro: Japan. Gennai: (flick) Mimi: Is that Tokyo? Gennai: (flick; A red circle appears on the zoomed in point) Taichi: That's the Nerima district! Gennai: Mm. This is where Vamdemon currently is.

Taichi and Yamato both suddenly gasp and jump, startled by recognition.

Taichi: (looking at Yamato) What's wrong? Yamato: No, it's nothing serious. You? Taichi: Same here. I was just noticing that he's in Hikarigaoka.... All of the Kids: Hikarigaoka!?

Hikarigaoka is kind of a big deal, which is why Taichi's so startled by it. He doesn't remember the events of the OVA well, so he can't put it into words. But Hikarigaoka is the place where Hikari's Agumon evolved into Greymon and fought a deadly battle against an invading Parrotmon; A battle that killed them both.

The other kids recognize it because they were there too. The OVA showed brief snippets of Jou, Mimi, Yamato, Takeru, Sora, and Koushiro watching the fight between Greymon and Parrotmon unfold. Yamato and Takeru were still living together at the time.

They don't know it yet but they're all connected by this dream-like monster brawl that took place one day in Hikarigaoka.

This is another point from the OVA that the dub's going to have to talk around.

Mimi: Look at the fish! Joe: But those are halibut. They're saltwater fish. Gennai: You are right. So I have to feed them popcorn, salted pretzels, and tons of salted nuts. Joe: ...do you think he's pulling our legs? Tai: I have no idea!

Not a huge change but the mystery of Gennai's regionally-inappropriate fish goes unanswered for the sake of a joke where he just lists things that have salt on them. Which, granted, does add to the crypticness of this obnoxiously vague man, so the new bit still works pretty well.

Gennai: (brings down the map) Now a look at the weather. (flick) State. (flick) County. (flick) City. Does anyone recognize this area? Tai: Our hometown? Gennai: Mmhmm. And the red flashing circle indicates Myotismon's location. Tai & Matt: (gasp and jump) Tai: Myotismon! Matt: Wow, he's only a mile from where we all live. Gennai: I'm afraid so. Tai: I'll bet you that he goes downtown.... This is not good!

What's downtown, Tai? Why is downtown so ominous? Hey, Tai. Hey, Tai, what's downtown? What do you think he's going to do downtown?

After all of the Japan namedropping of the previous episode, we are right back to geographically playing coy about the kids' point of origin, and also kind of implying that it's the U.S. with that "state, country, city" bit.

And also the dub team doesn't know about Hikarigaoka so they have no idea why all the kids are freaking out right now, and it shows. Thus we have the mysterious and ominous downtown.

Matt, incidentally, is bad at reading Gennai Maps. Hikarigaoka is about 18 miles away from "where we all live", which is Odaiba.

A brief cut to Hikarigaoka shows us Vamdemon and his forces lurking on a rooftop while electronics around the area go haywire. Phones are ringing off the hook. Technicians are at work on the issue but can't seem to find any cause.

In the dub, the city's quiet. There's no sign of any sort of technological malfunctions. But the technicians complain that something's causing "interference".

Then we return to Gennai for further instruction.

Taichi: Come on! Tell us how to open the Gate! Gennai: Let's not be hasty. You'll need to use these.

Rifling through his cabinets, Gennai finds a set of cards and lays them out in front of the Chosen Children. There are ten cards in all.

Kuwagamon

Agumon

Gazimon

Andromon

Elecmon

Unimon

Digitamamon

Drimogemon

TonosamaGekomon

Gomamon

Gomamon: Ha! There's one of me! Koromon: And Agumon! Mimi: What are these? Gennai: Cards. Taichi: We know that! Gennai: Do you remember seeing nine holes in the slate in front of the Gate? Koushiro: Um... Yes! There was. Gennai: You must place these cards into those holes. Koushiro: But you gave us one card too many. Gennai: There's an extra card mixed in. I'm not sure which. Taichi: Which hole do we put each card in? Gennai: Well... I don't know.

Unhelpful as always, Gennai! Thanks!

Sharp-eyed viewers may already be able to tell how these cards should be arranged on a 3x3 grid, and which two cards are redundant to each other.

In the dub:

Tai: Please tell us how to open the Gate back to our world! Gennai: You certainly are impatient. Keep your goggles on, my young friend! (Gennai lays out the cards) Gennai: You'll need these. Matt: Check 'em out! Tai: Whoa, Digimon keycards! Tentomon: It's the spitting image! Joe Alright! Look at Gomamon! Gomamon: I'm cuter in person. Koromon: There I am too! Mimi: But what are they for? Tai: Yeah, and how do they help us open the Gate? Gennai: Well, there are nine holes on the stone wall of the Gate. Izzy: Yeah, so... Oh, wait! Do the cards go into the holes? Gennai: That's right. However, take a closer look. It's not quite as simple as that. Do you see the problem? Izzy: You're giving us one too many cards. Gennai: That's right! One of them is a fake.

For once, the dub kids are slower on the uptake than their Japanese counterparts. Gennai has to explain the numerical flaw to them before they notice it's there.

Then Tai has the worst idea, provoking a response that both Gennai and the audience have wanted to do to him many times.

Taichi: Oh well. We'll just put the cards in a random order and go with that!

As he feels the biceps of furious adulthood wrap around his neck, Taichi suddenly regrets finally meeting the old geezer/Jiji in person. This man is responsible for mobilizing child soldiers. He does not give a fuck about the ethics of punitive child abuse.

Gennai: YOU CAN'T DO THAT!!! Taichi: Hck hck sputter Gennai: If you do that, you'll be cast into some random and unpredictable world! Mimi: Do that many worlds really exist? Gennai: Yes. There's also a risk that you may not be fully reconstituted on the other side. Mimi: What do you mean?

Gennai demonstrates with the example of Mimi and Palmon entering the Gate, only to come in with their data merged into amalgams of each other on the other side.

Mimi: NOT THAT!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!! NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

We briefly see Palmon looking up at Mimi with a hurt expression. She seems a little bit offended that Mimi took this so harshly.

Mimi continues melting down and shrieking No's in the background while the others carry on with the meeting.

Gennai: That is why, unlike Vamdemon who used an incantation for this, you will need to solve this with your own abilities. Jou: But there are so many things we don't know. Gennai: Anyway, here are the cards. Relax and enjoy yourselves tonight. The enemy won't attack you here.

Gennai can smell questions coming and changes the subject before they even have a chance to ask.

In the dub, Gennai is so mad at Tai's poor decision-making that he rips two of Mimi's lines out of the script, talking straight through her lip flaps.

Tai: We'll try 'em all until we get the right combination! (Violent, cathartic throttling ensues) Gennai: No, you will not, you silly boy! That's absolutely the last thing you should do! There are many, many other worlds! If you put the cards in the wrong holes, it will be a disaster! You could end up in a different world with no way to return! (ahem) Let me explain. (Mimi and Palmon demonstration) Gennai: The wrong cards might take you to a world where, for example, people and Digimon switch skin! Mimi: NOOOOOO NOT THAT!!! I LIKE MY SKIN!!! (loudly cries through the rest of the scene) Gennai: Don't worry! Don't worry! You're not going to switch your skin with anyone as long as you learn how to use the cards correctly. Joe: But we don't have any idea what to do! Gennai: You must learn to use your power the way Myotismon is using his. Tomorrow, I'll teach you the proper use of the cards.

So, obviously I'm miffed about Mimi having two of her lines cut. For entirely reasonable and objective reasons, I assure you. I will have Gennai's kneecaps.

More seriously, "Use your power the way Myotismon is using his" is an odd way to translate "Myotismon did it with an incantation but you need to use your own abilities instead." I can kinda see how it connects. "Myotismon achieved it by using his power that was unique to him, and now you have to use your power that's unique to you to achieve the same." But it's janky and comes off sounding like he's saying we need to do things the way Myotismon does them.

The more pressing contradiction is that Gennai promises to explain how the cards work in detail to them, which is exactly the opposite of what he's telling them in the original scene. He does not have the answer to the card riddle.

This comes at the cost of telling them they can actually have a nice, relaxing, perfectly safe night. Which, at this point in their adventure, is just such a nice thing to be offered that I'm sad it got cut.

The kids go to bed for the night.

Jou sleeps between Taichi and Sora because I guess he's still upset over that "I want some of Sora's love!" thing. Mimi gets her own private little corner to herself like the princess she is, following that rude, triggering experience Gennai inflicted on her. Yamato and Takeru have pulled their futons close together then thought better of it and decided to sleep in the same futon anyway. And Koushiro is absent.

Koushiro is with Gennai, trying to learn more about the lore of Digimon.

Koushiro: This world is similar to ours, but there's still a lot that's strange about it. Why is that? Gennai: Do you know what this world is comprised of? It's something equivalent to the atoms and molecules of your world. Koushiro: Data, right? Gennai: Correct. Everything in this world is comprised of the data running through computer networks in your world. When you encounter something strange here, it's because of faulty or missing data. Koushiro: I see. On that note, Gennai-san, are you also made of data? Gennai: Nrgh.

Not a word. Gennai didn't have a good evasive response to that one and just grunted reflexively. Koushiro takes that as confirmation.

Koushiro: But you do have a real body somewhere, don't you? Just like we do? Gennai: Nope. Koushiro: Are you something different from a Digimon? Gennai: Yes. It's because I don't have an attribute. Koushiro: An attribute? Gennai: Although this world is created by data, Digimon are further classified by the attributes Data, Virus, and Vaccine. Koushiro: I see.... Gennai: On that note, has the Digimon Analyzer been helpful for you? Koushiro: Yes! But there's something that's been bothering me. Gennai: What's that? Koushiro: This only contains data on the Digimon that I've met. I can't access data on Digimon that the others have seen. Gennai: I understand. Koushiro: Can you do something to fix it? Gennai: Yes. Let me borrow that for a while. Koushiro: Okay. Gennai: I'll have it fixed by morning. You should get some sleep. Koushiro: Okay.

In the dub, Gennai starts off by saying that the Digital World - which I guess we're no longer calling Digi-World - is made of molecules and atoms too.

Izzy: The Digital World is like our world but different. Why is that? Gennai: The same material is used in all worlds! Izzy: Molecules and atoms? Gennai: Exactly! Everything here in the Digital World - plants, trees, buildings, even the Digimon themselves - came from computer data in your world. So if there are strange things here, they are the result of broken or missing data. izzy: What about you, Gennai? Are you just made up of computer data too? Gennai: Of course! So, in each of the worlds, I would appear somewhat different. Izzy: But Gennai, if you're not human, how are you different from Digimon? Gennai: I have no attributes. Izzy: Attributes!? Just what does that mean!? You mean the different attacks Digimon have? Gennai: Yes! And the way a Digimon Digivolves. But attributes determine much more than that. They explain why some Digimon are good and some are evil. All Digimon can be classified as Data, Virus, or Vaccine. Izzy: We're definitely familiar with the Virus kind. Gennai: By the way, have you used that Digimon Analyzer I gave you? Izzy: Yes. But there is something I wanted to ask you about it. Gennai: What's that? Izzy: I'm only able to access information on Digimon that I have seen. Not on the ones that the other kids have seen. Gennai: Hmm... You're right, that is a problem. Izzy: Is it one that you can solve? Gennai: You just leave it to me, my young friend. I should have it all taken care of by morning. But, for now, you had better get some rest. Izzy: 'Kay.

This infodump is more or less the same. Though Gennai claims that being made of data would cause him to take different forms if he went to other worlds. Which doesn't really track or segue well out of the conversation they were having. The Digimon don't seem to have a problem with visiting other worlds without changing shape.

It also replaces the interesting clarifying question of whether he's "made of data" like the Digimon or "made of data" like the kids' digital bodies.

The next day, the kids have a satisfying breakfast. Gennai enters with Koushiro's laptop in hand to show off how he's upgraded it.

Gennai: Are you ready? Kids: YES!!! Gennai: I've added an adaptor to Koushiro's laptop. If you insert a Digivice in here, the information of Digimon that its owner has met will be added to the Analyzer. I've also installed several new programs. Take a look at the manual when you get the chance. Koushiro: Thank you! Gennai: It may be tough for you, Chosen Children, but have faith in your abilities. Jou: (faceplants into the table) The abilities of the Chosen Children, huh? Sora: Hey! Have more faith! Gennai: I'm sorry I cannot be of any further use. Now go, children! I wish you luck. Kids: YES!!!

The dub starts this scene with a silence-breaking quip.

Sora: Wow, Joe. Why not just eat the bones too? Joe: Hey! I was hungry! Gennai: (enters) Good morning, all. Kids: HI!!!

Can I just say that having the kids yell "HI!!!" instead of "HAI!!!" is hilarious for meta reasons?

Gennai: Izzy, I've completed the modifications for your computer. When you insert someone's Digivice into this adaptor, the Analyzer will show information on any Digimon that person has seen. I also installed a new screensaver. You know the one with the colored fishes swimming around? I really like that one. Izzy: Great minds do think alike! Gennai: Now, I have a request for all of you. I don't want you to forget that you are the DigiDestined. Joe: I'll never forget this stomachache. Urrrrgh.... Sora: Joe, this is serious! Gennai: I have done all I can do. I can no longer help you once you return to Myotismon's castle. Good luck!

Fuck do you mean, you've done all you can do? Gennai, weren't you going to show us how to use the cards? What happened to that?

"Hey DigiDestined, don't forget that you're the DigiDestined," is an absolutely terrible way of presenting "Have faith in your abilities as Chosen Children."

The kids return to Vamdemon's castle, now guarded by the two Devidramon that Tailmon left behind. There's kind of an awkward commercial break here in the original. We leave Gennai and see them creep up on the castle for like two seconds, then cut to commercial, then come back on the Devidramon guarding the place. So it disrupts the flow.

Not sure why they didn't just put the commercial break after Gennai wished them luck, then come back to Vamdemon's castle.

Peering through a slightly opened door, they try and figure out how they're going to get in there.

Yamato: What should we do? Taichi: This is bad. Tentomon: (loudly) WANT ME TO DEAL WITH THIS!?!? (Taichi and Koushiro exchange looks, then nod together) Tentomon: HERE I GO!!!

Tentomon is chomping at the bit to go loud and fuck these guys up. The second Taichi and Koushiro give him the okay, he Super-Evolves all the way up to AtlurKabuterimon and bursts in guns blazing.

"HEY GUYS SPECIAL DELIVERY WHO ORDERED THE PAAAAAIN"

Koushiro: Hurry! While they're distracted!

Koushiro shouts as they sprint down the corridor away from the carnage. Which is certainly one way to describe AtlurKabuterimon wasting one Devidramon so fast we don't even see it, then slamming his axe horn straight into the other's neck and firing Horn Buster point-blank.

I would say they are "distracted", to be sure. AtlurKabuterimon is not cackling maniacally while he does this, but I'm gonna imagine he is.

The dub moves the commercial break to where I suggested, splitting up Gennai's "Good luck!" from the kids approaching the castle. It then gives Joe a silence-breaker on their way in.

Joe: Man, this place looks even scarier than it did the first time.

There's a little jankiness to moving it like this, though. The last shot before commercial is Taichi looking up and the first shot coming back is a snarling Devidramon. These shots are not connected to each other; They're separated by commercials. But cutting them together like this makes it look like the Devidramon is looming over Tai.

It was animated with the commercial break being at that spot in mind. So in the end, both versions feel a little off.

As the kids approach the door, Tai and Matt are given no lines, and Izzy speaks in regular speaking voice rather than a hushed whisper.

Izzy: How do we get past the Devidramon? Tentomon: Leave that to me! I'll take 'em out while you go in. (Tai and Izzy exchange looks, then nod together) Tentomon: ...

Tentomon is sadly not roaring "PIXEL DUST FOR THE PIXEL THRONE" in this version. He's still gung-ho about fighting the Devidramon but is not in a hysterical blood frenzy.

AtlurKabuterimon erases the Devidramon so hard that it breaks the coding on the castle.

In a flash of light, all the wonky physics of the place vanish, and the kids are dropped unceremoniously on a flight of stairs.

(They did speculate earlier that Vamdemon's power was sustaining the wonky physics. It's probably no coincidence that the effect ended after a) Vamdemon fucked off to another reality and b) the last of his gargoyle Devidramon guards was destroyed.

But on the other hand, Horn Buster broke Vademon's pocket dimension too. Horn Buster may just be really good at wrecking the custom programming that others have put into their surroundings. AtlurKabuterimon taking an axe not just to your face but your hours and hours of SQL coding.)

Mochimon flops down the stairwell, all of his power spent on gleeful mayhem. Koushiro catches him in his arms.

Koushiro: Mochimon! (catch) Mochimon: (weakly) How did I do? Koushiro: I think you fixed the distortions in the airspace here! Taichi: C'mon! Let's move!

No change in the dub.

Once they've arrived at the Gate, Taichi lays out the cards and tries to figure out the 3x3 patterns.

Taichi tries to classify them as

Good Guys: Gomamon, Unimon, Agumon, Andromon

Bad Guys: Gazimon, Drimogemon, Digitamamon

Disgusting Guys: TanosamaGekomon, Kuwagamon

Despite the fact that this setup puts four cards in one category and two in another, he snubs Elecmon, presumably picking that as the fake card.

Also, this is Drimogemon slander. He forgives Unimon and Andromon for the things they did under Black Gear influence but still calls Drimogemon a villain.

And another thing! I get that we have Kuwagamon trauma but what did he do to get classified as disgusting while the child-labor capitalist is merely bad?

I have a lot of issues with Taichi's breakdown.

Dub Tai describes them as "Good one, bad one, funky one".

Jou takes the next crack at them.

Small: Gomamon, Agumon, Elecmon, Gazimon

Medium: Digitamamon, Unimon, Andromon

Large: Drimogemon, TanosamaGekomon, Kuwagamon

Jou makes no assumptions about which card is the fake.

Joe, however, classifies them as "In-Training, Rookie, and Champion", the dub's terms for the Baby, Child, and Adult stages.

He actually has the right idea, as the stages are one of the two axes on the grid. However, the labels he gives are wildly incorrect for the cards shown. Holy shit, Joe. Gomamon should fucking slap him for calling him an In-Training Digimon.

From there, the others start giving it a shot, but we don't get to see how they separate the cards out.

Yamato: Let me try. How's this? Weak, so-so, and strong. But we still don't know which card is the wrong one. Sora: I bet it's where they live! Like land or sea! Mimi: Maybe it's the number of syllables in their name. Like A-gu-mo-n, that's four.

Everyone in this group has reasonable ideas except Taichi and Sora. The former of whom is letting some weird-ass biases show. And the latter. Like. Sora? Hey. Hey, Sora. Name one of these Digimon who is aquatic. Name one.

This is not going to be solved by the soccer club.

...actually, Koushiro is a member of the soccer club so, ironically, it is. Huh.

In the dub, Matt steals Jou's idea but as a sarcastic suggestion born of frustration.

Matt: Or could it just be small one, medium one, big one... How can we be sure!? And we still don't have a clue which card is the fake one! Sora: Maybe it's where they live. Water or land? Mimi: Maybe the key is in their names! Like, Agumon starts with 'A', that's letter #1, then... oh, no, it really doesn't make any sense.

Sora's idea gets translated straight. Mimi keeps the idea of names and lettering but in a way that's more familiar to an American audience than counting syllables/katakana lettering.

Skipping Takeru because I guess he had zero ideas and is just deferring to the older kids, now it's Koushiro's turn to get his thinky-think on. Koushiro approaches the pedestal that the cards need to fit into, while thinking aloud.

Of note: Koushiro begins talking while Mimi's making her suggestion and trying to arrange the cards in the original, speaking over her. Yet more fucking rudeness from Koushiro to my kid that's gonna get him tossed off a cliff.

Mochimon: What's wrong? Koushiro: Vamdemon broke the seal with magic. Therefore, the pictures on the slate must also relate to magic. Mimi: (finishes sorting) AUGH!!! It still doesn't fit! Koushiro: I've seen these marks from occult pages on the Internet. The lion and archer are from the twelve Zodiac constellations. But the monkey isn't part of it. Also, these stars.... Mochimon: Do you know what they mean? Koushiro: No. But there must be some significance to them.

The dub, on the other hand, lets Mimi finish speaking before she prompts Izzy to share his thoughts.

Mimi: Izzy, what are you looking at? Izzy: Myotismon used a spell to open the Gate and I think this picture must have something to do with it. Some of these characters, I know. Sagittarius and Leo are signs of the Zodiac, but there's nothing about a monkey in any horoscope. And what's the significance of this star pattern?

We lose Koushiro crediting his familiarity with the zodiac to "occult pages on the internet", but replaces it by offhandedly mentioning horoscopes. No loss in the English version; We were all about astrology in the late 90's and early 00's United States.

Zodiac-based divination was so mainstream in American culture back in the day that I actually had a momentary kneejerk reaction over Koushiro calling it "occult". Like. Fuck do you mean occult!? They're just constellations that people use on a daily basis to oracularly divine the future for millions of stranger-- oh.

So, culturally, this is a good change. It's super easy for Izzy to just start namedropping Leo and Sagittarius. Those things are right there in the morning newspaper your dad reads every day. Kids will get it. And if they don't, it's easy for them to find out.

Suddenly, the building shakes. Outside, large chunks of the castle are beginning to move and reconfigure.

Takeru: W-What's that sound? Yamato: I don't know. Mimi: It feels like something awful.... Patamon: I'll go take a look!

Patamon flies up the stairs to scout what's happening. While that's happening, Taichi tries another configuration.

Taichi: How about this? Sora: Well.... Jou: It's useless. Mimi: It is not! Don't say that! Jou: Even if we come up with something that might work, there's no guarantee it's correct. Yamato: That's true, but--

Before he can finish, the castle shakes again. The structures have begun to fall in on each other.

This is meant to be a quiet build-up to tension. The background music is absent, as Taichi and the others are still trying to figure out the cards. We don't know that we're in danger yet, but something certainly seems to be happening that warrants investigation.

The dub plays their Peril Music track and dials the alarm up to 11 from the moment the kids notice the first quakes.

T.K.: Matt, what's that sound!?!? Matt: I don't know! Mimi: Well, maybe someone should go take a-- Patamon: I'll go find out! (flies off) Tai: Come on, guys! We have to figure out the cards! Sora: Yeah! Let's go! Joe: What's the point!? We'll never unlock the Gate. Sora: Don't even say that, Joe! Joe: Even if we put the cards in the holes so they look right, we have no way of knowing until it's too late! Matt: We have to try, Joe!

Nonetheless, the crux of this scene - Jou despairing over the unsolvable card puzzle - comes through intact.

Patamon: (soaring back down the stairs) WE HAVE TROUBLE!!! THE CASTLE IS CRUMBLING!!! Taichi: WHAT!?!? Mochimon: AUGH!!! This might be my fault! I broke the ceiling earlier! Patamon: All of the passages are blocked! Yamato: So now we can't turn back! Sora: That's not all! This place will start collapsing soon too!

With their backs against the wall, Jou-senpai makes a pronouncement, harkening back to what Gennai said to them before they left.

Jou: Taichi. Taichi: What? Jou: I'm going to let you handle this. Taichi: What's this all of a sudden? Jou: I'm not saying I don't want the responsibility. This is because I have faith in you! Taichi: Eh!? Yamato: Me too! At times like this, we should follow our leader. Taichi: Hey, now! Since when am I the leader!? Yamato: When you disappeared, we all fell apart. You were the one who brought us back together again! Taichi: That was a coincide-- Mimi: WHO CARES!?!? Sora: Mimi-chan? Mimi: DO SOMETHING TO TAKE ME HOME!!!

Then Mimi suddenly sticks out her tongue to reveal she was playing around.

Mimi: I've been whining like that this whole time, but that's not how it works. I won't speak selfishly anymore. Sora: That's right! If we don't change ourselves, nothing else will! Yamato: That is why I'm putting my faith in our nakama. Taichi: Everyone.... Yamato: You agree, don't you, Takeru? Takeru: Yeah! Even if we do end up in a different world, we'll all be together. That's why I'm not scared! Yamato: That's right! Sora: What about you, Koushiro-kun? Koushiro: (uncomfortable) Y-Yes. I always had faith in Taichi-san even before all this. Group: DO IT, TAICHI!!! (beat) Taichi: (with resolve) I will.

As of this moment, Taichi is officially team leader. The group has decided that he proved himself over the course of the PicoDevimon to be the glue that holds this nakama together.

We're a long way from that shit he pulled at Nanomon's pyramid. Chronologically. It's been months so nobody's thinking about that anymore, except Tai because that was like yesterday.

The dub starts this section off by removing the point Mochimon made about this being his fault.

Tai: Something tells me we don't have much time! Patamon: Hey, everyone! The walls and ceilings in the castle are caving in! The passages are all blocked! Matt: That means we can't go back the way we came in! We're trapped! Izzy: Now we have to open the Gate. One of us has to choose nine cards and put them in the holes, and that will be that. Joe: You, Tai. Tai: Me? Joe: Yeah, it's your call. Tai: Mine!? Why is it up to me!? Joe: I'm not trying to put you on the spot or anything like that. I just think we all really believe in you, Tai. Tai: Me?

This endorsement doesn't really hit as hard when Joe isn't at least on paper our responsible senpai who's supposed to look out for us. The Team Weenie wants Tai to do it; Big surprise there. Fortunately, we still have the others.

Matt: Joe's right! In times like these, decisions need to be made by the one in charge! Tai: Hold on, have you guys all gone crazy!? Who made me leader!? Matt: Do you remember when you were gone, Tai? We fell apart without you around! And after all that, weren't you the one who managed to bring us all back together again? Tai: Uh, yeah, I guess-- Mimi: JUST DO IT, TAI!!! Sora: Mimi? Mimi: I JUST WANT TO GET BACK TO MY HOME, THAT'S ALL!!! (Mimi suddenly gives a :P) Mimi: Oh, I'm sorry. I was being selfish again. I have to remember that we're a team. Come on, Tai! Save the day! Sora: Yeah, we have to believe in our friends! Remember what Gennai said? Matt: Yeah! He said to believe in our power! You believe, don't you, Tai? Tai: Maybe....

He did not. What Gennai said was "Don't forget that you are the DigiDestined. I cannot help you at the castle. Good luck!" You could infer that sentiment, but he certainly didn't say those words. The English kids are referencing things only said in the Japanese script again.

Mimi's moment of self-deprecation spinning into self-actualization is replaced with Mimi sincerely whining but then catching herself. Which isn't necessarily a bad change but it does mean her sudden :P partway through doesn't make much sense.

From there, instead of asking T.K. and Izzy's opinions, the kids just start calling back to other episodes. I guess we don't care what those two think.

Joe: Come on, we've gone through a lot of weird stuff already! If we hadn't stuck together, we never would have beaten Seadramon! Matt: Or smashed Tyrannomon! Mimi: Or escaped from Toy Town! Joe: And I'd still be making french fries in Vegiemon's diner if you hadn't saved me. You can do it, Tai! Group: YOU CAN DO IT, TAI!!! (beat) Tai: (with resolve) ALRIGHT.

Those feel like weird examples to me. Yamato and Gabumon fought off Seadramon by themselves. Taichi and Agumon defeated Tyrannomon by themselves while everyone else was afflicted with Love Serenade. Mimi and Palmon defeated Monzaemon and saved the team from Toy Town with help, but it was from an army of Numemon, not the other kids.

None of those victories was achieved through teamwork and relying on one another. Though the Vegiemon one, at least, is valid. That is a solid example of overcoming a problem by working together and having each other's backs.

ShogunGekomon would have been another good example to draw on, as Togemon, Ikkakumon, and Greymon/MetalGreymon all worked together to protect Mimi from him and ultimately vanquish him.

Also, general rallying about teamwork isn't what we're talking about here anyway; We're trying to puff up Tai into believing he deserves a position of authority over the rest of the group. He only gets credit for two of those four examples.

This is off-topic, and it replaces sincere moments of Takeru and Koushiro expressing their faith in Taichi, in the nakama, and in their ability to persevere through whatever comes their way.

(Especially Koushiro, who has always believed in Taichi and you can see that throughout the series. Koushiro looks up to Taichi like an older brother.)

Once Taichi is placed in charge, he immediately passes the buck to the correct person to be doing this actually.

Taichi: Just to confirm this: Will all of you really follow my decision? Group: (synchronized nodding) Mmhmm. Taichi: Great! Then I've decided! Koushiro! I want you to choose! Koushiro: M-Me!? Mimi: If that's what Taichi-san's decided, then I think it's a good idea. Yamato: We're counting on you, Koushiro! Takeru: Koushiro-san! Koushiro: But if I get it wrong-- Jou: No one will hold it against you. Sora: We have faith in you! Taichi: What they said.

Yeah, this is definitely a Koushiro problem. An esoteric and poorly-explained lore puzzle is directly within his wheelhouse.

The dub follows the script until Jou and Sora's lines. The two of them get cut in favor of having Mimi and Tai chime in again.

Izzy: But what happens if I'm wrong? Mimi: No one will blame you. Tai: We all know you're the right one for the job, Izzy. Go for it!

Once the decision is made, Koushiro gets work trying to crack this mystery.

Koushiro: Well, then.... Mochimon: Koushiro-han, maybe your laptop can help. Koushiro: My laptop?

Everyone stands by silently and watches Koushiro take out his laptop and open it up.

Koushiro: If I had access to the internet here, I would be able to ask people who know more about the occult.

He leafs through the Digimon Analyzer, skimming over profiles. Devimon, Leomon, Ogremon, Kentarumon, Whamon--

Koushiro: Ehh!?

He goes back, and we see the sigils superimposed over their entries. It's not Sagittarius and Leo; It's Kentarumon and Leomon.

Koushiro: Then the monkey is....

Koushiro pulls up Etemon's profile, adding it to the list.

Koushiro: This is it! But what does it mean? (flashback) Gennai: Digimon are further classified by the attributes Data, Virus, and Vaccine. Koushiro: Attributes!

Koushiro zooms each profile in on the three's Attributes.

Leomon: Vaccine

Kentarumon: Data

Etemon: Virus

That's one axis.

Koushiro: Who here has met Digitamamon and TonosamaGekomon? Jou: I have. Koushiro: Bring me your Digivice!

Koushiro plugs Jou's Digivice into the laptop and downloads those two profiles.

Over in the dub:

Izzy: I still have no idea how this all fits together. Motimon: Maybe you could use your computer to help figure it out! Izzy: The computer? Right now, I'd rather use it to log onto the internet and book us a flight out of this place. (Izzy skims through the profiles) Izzy: HUH!?!? Wait a minute.... (Izzy goes back through) The horse. The lion. And... THE MONKEY!!! THAT'S IT!!! (flashback) Gennai: Remember, all Digimon can be classified as Data, Virus, or Vaccine. Izzy: Could it be!?

We don't get to see the confirmation of his question for ourselves. The dub cuts the shot of him zooming in on the three Digimon's attributes. Probably because of how skittish they are about showing Japanese letters onscreen.

He then casts his vote on TonosamaGekomon's name. Remember how the Analyzer said ShogunGekomon but all the characters said Shogunmon?

Izzy: Who here has met up with Digitamamon and Gekomon? Joe: I have! Izzy: Give me your Digivice.

THAT WASN'T ONE OF THE OPTIONS, IZZY. THAT IS A DIFFERENT DIGIMON, IZZY.

The Analyzer, incidentally, still clearly reads "SHOGUNGEKOMON" in the big bold English font they used to replace the original Japanese lettering.

All this context is precisely what Koushiro needs to crack this puzzle.

Something absolutely none of the kids picked up on is that the cards themselves hint at the X-axis. Vaccines have a red background, Datas have a green background, and Viruses have a blue background. That would have been a great place to start, but every single one of these kids failed at pattern recognition.

Their school needs to do better at teaching critical thinking.

Taichi: Did you figure it out? Koushiro: Let me explain. (Koushiro draws his own reproduction of the pedestal in the sand) Koushiro: Listen closely. Take a look at this. Lion, Archer, Monkey. These respectively represent Leomon, Kentarumon, and Etemon. Each has a different Attribute. Specifically Vaccine, Data, and Virus. What I'd like to point out next are the number of stars. From top to bottom, they mean Child, Adult, and Perfect-stage. If you put the cards in the appropriate places.... Jou: It's a perfect fit! Sora: That's amazing, Koushiro-kun! (zoom in on Gomamon and Agumon) Koushiro: But there are two here. Either of them could be the wrong one, but I can't tell. I'm sorry. I couldn't live up to your expectations. Jou: What are you talking about? You did great!

The kids all give Koushiro a round of applause.

Koushiro: (smiling) Everyone.... Sora: You should decide the rest, Taichi. Taichi: Will do. You were a big help, Koushiro. Thank you.

The dub follows the same script until Izzy makes the same mistake Joe did.

Izzy: The stars starting from the top represent In-Training, Rookie, and Champion! So now we can put all the cards in the right squares. Sora: You did it, Izzy! Good work! Tai: We knew you'd figure it out! (zoom in on Gomamon and Agumon) Izzy: But wait a minute. Not so fast. There are two cards here. One of them is the fake but I don't know which one. So that's it. I'm sorry, we still can't be certain where the Gate will open to. Joe: But we made it this far! That's great! (round of applause) Izzy: Yes, it is! Sora: Tai can pick which one's fake. Tai: if I can't, everyone gets an ice cream and I'm buying!

Like. The dub team just forgot what they're calling the stages. Come on, guys.

It's a good thing Koushiro was able to get us this far because we are out of time. As the castle continues to shake and fall apart, spiders suddenly descends from the ceiling.

Jou: Who is that!? Koushiro: (laptop) I'll have their data pulled up in a minute.

That is Dokugumon. An Adult-stage Virus-type Insect Digimon. The name comes from dokugumo, which means a poisonous spider.

This Digimon does not exist in the V-Pet. Yet. It's an early preview of an up-and-coming new addition. This episode aired on September 19th, 1999. Dokugumon is a Nightmare Soldier added in the .5 edition released the following month, replacing Bakemon in the lineup.

The Chosen Children are being attacked by a product ad.

Narrator: Dokugumon. A cursed Digimon whose entire body is covered in a computer virus. Their special attack, Stinger Poration, is released from their sharp fangs. Dokugumon: Anyone who damages Vamdemon-sama's castle will pay with their lives!

Well, there's a fucking word. "Poration". The formation of pores. Dokugumon will make new pores in your skin. Using their stinger. Fun for the whole family!

Appropriately, the dub has Izzy do the diegetic rundown.

Tai: What is that!? Izzy: I'll tell you in just a minute! Izzy: (rundown) It's Dokugumon! An evil Digimon with computer virus parasites covering his body! Dokugumon: INTRUDERS IN THE CASTLE MUST BE DESTROYED!!! GO GET THEM!!!

Again, the dub cuts the reference to the fact that AtlurKabuterimon's enthusiasm destroyed Vamdemon's castle and caused the calamity we are currently in. In the dub, Dokugumon's just acting as a security guard.

Dokugumon does not lead with Stinger Poration, instead sending a swarm of weird-ass baby spiders whose existence is super questionable within the Digimon life cycle. But eventually they would be acknowledged as KoDokugumon.

Garurumon, Togemon, and Ikkakumon all evolves and unload on the KoDokugumon swarm. A few get through and attack Sora, provoking Pyokomon to regain her Piyomon form and counter with Magical Fire.

In the dub, Garurumon forgets his attack name (Howling Blaster) and instead calls Blue Blaster, which is Gabumon's.

While the Digimon hold the line, Taichi places the cards on the pedestal and agonizes over the final decision.

Taichi: Which one. Agumon or Gomamon? Mimi: TAICHI-SAN, HURRY!!! Jou: It doesn't matter which!

Hahaha it kind of does matter if you don't want to swap skin with Gomamon, my dude.

The dub cuts Jou's line which is no real loss because it's kind of stupid. XD

Tai: I can't decide! Which one is the fake card? Mimi: HURRY UP!!! CHOOSE!!! Tai: If I choose wrong, we're toast!

While Taichi agonizes over this choice, Dokugumon enters the fray themselves.

Dokugumon: I WON'T LET YOU ESCAPE!!!

Binding the three Adult Digimon with webbing, they yank them up helplessly into the air and hit them with Stinger Poration.

Togemon: I'M GOING NUMB!!! Dokugumon: THE CHILDREN ARE NEXT!!! Yamato: GARURUMON!!! Sora: GANBATTE!!!

There's another conjugation of ganbaru, the important Japanese cultural principle of working hard and persevering through tremendous adversity.

The dub cuts most of this combat shouting. Dokugumon just cackles menacingly. They name the webbing attack "Poison Thread", and then the actual Stinger Poration is called "Poison Cobweb".

Matt: GARURUMON!!! Sora: Digivolve again!

Not quite as punchy as shrieking ganbatte at the top of her lungs.

Garurumon takes Sora's advice and perseveres.

Super-evolving into WereGarurumon, he uses his Kaiser Nail to cut the other two free and wrestles with Dokugumon. The bright red energy released by his Kaiser Nail cuts straight through the walls, knocking huge chunks off the dwindling mountain holding up the castle.

Gomamon and Palmon lose their Adult-stage and revert as they fall.

Patamon?: TAICHI!!! Yamato: You're still deciding!? Sora: PICK ONE!!! Taichi: Alright, I've got it!

Fulfilling the idea Gennai throttled him for, Taichi throws both cards face-down and just turns one over.

Taichi: THIS ONE!!! (turns over Gomamon) Open the Gate, GOMAMON!!!

In his defense, there is no way to discern which card to use. At this point, it is a 50/50 coin flip, and there's no wrong way to flip a coin. What Taichi just did was a clever method of breaking choice paralysis. I've actually employed similar methods many times in my life.

In the dub, only Matt yells at Tai.

Matt: TAI, YOU'VE GOTTA MAKE UP YOUR MIND NOW!!! WE'RE OUT OF TIME!!! Tai: (throws down the cards) Okay! It's this one! (turns over Gomamon) Come on! NOW!!!

The Gate opens wide, granting the children passage to whichever world lies beyond, and they take off running.

Except Yamato, who stays behind to grab his Partner.

Yamato: WE HAVE TO GO!!! Dokugumon: I WILL DRAG YOU TO HELL WITH ME!!!

They will not.

WereGarurumon: KAISER NAIL!!!

Dokugumon takes a point-blank Kaiser Nail that decapitates the goddamn castle, cutting through what's left of the mountain and bringing the entire thing down like a freshly logged tree. The attack erases Dokugumon.

Once the up-and-coming Nightmare Soldier IN STORES NEXT MONTH has been carved into pixel dust, Yamato catches the reverted Tsunomon and they too make the long sprint to the other world.

Yamato: Thank you, Tsunomon! LET'S GO!!!

The dub obviously changes out "I'll drag you to Hell with me".

Matt: Leave him and come on! Dokugumon: YOU'LL NEVER GET OUT OF HERE IN ONE PIECE!!!

They also cut WereGarurumon calling his Kaiser Nail. Then Matt's line is:

Matt: It was real close, Tsunomon, but it looks like we made it!

Bit too calm for my liking.

The children wake up back at the campgrounds, lying on the ground in front of the shrine they'd started at all those months ago.

Yamato: (waking up) Th-This is.... Taichi: Japan? Jou: This shrine... WE'RE ON THE CAMPGROUNDS!!! WE MADE IT BACK!!!

Mimi starts bawling from sheer joy and relief.

Sora: This is where we left for the Digimon's world. (beat) Sora: Where are our Digimon!? Koushiro: It couldn't have been a dream, could it? Sora: (heartbroken) ...maybe it was the wrong card-- Piyomon: Sora! Sora: (gasp, suddenly ecstatic) OR NOT!!!

Sora's come a long way from being weirded out by Piyomon's pushy friendliness and reluctant to emotionally connect to others in general.

In the dub, they don't mention Japan.

Matt: (waking up) H-huh.... Tai: Where are we? Joe: I know this place. This is the summer camp where we all met! You did it, Tai! We're home again! Mimi: OHHHHH HOME WHOOOAAA!!!

Dub Mimi doesn't so much cry as... some kind of yowling vocalization.

Sora: We're back to where we were first sucked into the Digital World. But where are our Digimon? Izzy: I wonder if we got the cards wrong after all? Sora: (heartbroken) Then in this world, we could be without them. Piyomon: You can't get rid of us that easily! Sora: (gasp, suddenly ecstatic, giggles)

Here Izzy theorizes that the card was wrong, rather than Sora despondently accusing it.

Right as it's revealed that the Digimon made it across too, the insert song "Seven" fires up to relieve the tension, which comes across as surprisingly hopeful now that we're back.

Palmon: Looks like you're all awake. Taichi: (jolly) And where did all of you get off to? Gomamon: Foraging for food!

The Digimon all reveal berry bushes that they brought with them. How Tsunomon and Koromon carried theirs, I have no idea. The kids have a good laugh about it.

Jou: Hahaha! This is Japan, so you don't have to eat that stuff anymore! Mimi: You'll get to eat nicer things! Everyone: WELCOME BACK!!! WE'RE HOME!!!

The dub overcompensates for the fact that we are admittedly in Japan right now by turning this last bit into another rousing round of just rattling off American things.

Palmon: Wake up! Come on, sleepyheads! Tai: We're up! We're up! Where have you been? Gomamon: (berries) We thought we ought to go look for a little lunch! Joe: Hahaha! Now that we're home, we don't have to eat leaves anymore! We can eat cheeseburgers! Mimi: That's right! And pepperoni pizza! T.K.: And french fries! Matt: And ice cream! Sora: Yeah! And broccoli: Other Kids: BROCCOLI!?!?

Before we can wrap up, Koromon has a question for Taichi.

Koromon: Taichi, why didn't you choose my card? Taichi: Your card? Oh, uh... I wanted to keep it as a souvenir? Koromon: Really. (¬_¬)

Koromon is right to be skeptical. Taichi is lying through his teeth. He picked at random.

Dub Tai seems to sell his lie better.

Koromon: How did you know that my card was the fake, Tai? Taichi: I didn't. I kept your card because you're my friend! Koromon: Hehe, that's so nice! (¬_¬)

Though the expression he's making doesn't really vibe with the pleasant response.

Taichi quickly changes the subject.

Taichi: A-Anyways! We should start looking for the Eighth Child. Yamato: Yeah! Vamdemon must already have made his move. Taichi: Hikarigaoka. I'm certain that's where the Eighth Child is. Let's find the kid before they do and rescue them! Group: RIGHT!!!

Good news, Vamdemon can't have gotten far. The time dilation that Taichi experienced earlier means it's been like eight minutes since he and his forces arrived in Japan. But the kids don't really understand how that works yet.

In the dub, of course, they've been dancing around Japan so they're not going to say Hikarigaoka.

Tai: Hey, everybody! We've got to go and find the Eighth Child! Matt: Yeah! And we've got to get a move on since Myotismon's there ahead of us! Tai: I'm happy that we're finally headed back to my hometown! And we already know that's where we're gonna find the Eighth Child! LET'S GO!!!

Tai, you live in Odaiba. You're as bad as Matt when it comes to reading Gennai Maps.

Ironically, Tai is actually so wrong right now that he comes full circle to being correct. Because the Eighth Child is, in fact, in Odaiba. Odaiba isn't the plan. But it is where she is. So. I guess. He gets a cookie anyway.

Assessment: I wonder what Dokugumon did to get snubbed from the Assault Team? They're not a mercenary. They actually work for Vamdemon, like Tailmon and PicoDevimon. If they really are just the security guard then they've done a terrible job of it, 'cause this is the first we've heard of them after fucking around the castle for two days straight.

I mean. They're dead now, so I guess it doesn't matter. RIP spider who was way too late to this party.

This episode formally introduces Digimon attributes to the series. They've technically been around since the very first rundown but now the kids know about them. Koushiro is becoming more and more capable as the Guy In The Chair.

This is a hard episode to watch only because it comes between the kids nearly making it to Japan and the kids being in Japan, which is arguably the best part of the series. So part of me was just vibrating in my chair wanting to get to Japan for the whole episode. XD

The dub had some unbelievable mistakes this time around. Like. Messing up attack names is one thing but they forgot what they even named the tiers of Digimon stages. They also cut out minor plot points and any mention of Japan or Hikarigaoka.

I wouldn't call this a complete hack job but it's not one of the dub's better episodes.

[hacked-by-jake]

Hi! I wanted to leave this with a comment but I had to send it in multiple parts so I decided to make an ask :)

So SPOILERS!

I wanted to comment about the ask where anon talks about how no one questions us and I totally agree but doesn't Eric call them all before? Like in Duskwood, Thomas just brought everyone in without anyone's consent in a group chat? Eric alerts them and they probably just wait and see what will happen with us? I know if I were one of them I'll be cautious about the new person but I wouldn't ultimately get mad at them without knowing more? And Eric is on his own in the forest, while Adam has disappeared. The settings are different and they are more worried about their friends than about that stranger, especially if Adam had sent my contact to his friend and there was a letter with my name on it. Ash asks about us and the others will probably too at some point but I think they are shocked that their friend is missing. XD

Sorry if I didn't explain myself well and it wasn't a criticism about the previous ask! Because I totally agree with the fact that no one really questions us not even Eric but they just discovered the disappearance of their friend so it's not the most important thing at the moment? Especially at 00h27...

Now that I am reading this, it's not that important I just wanted to say something about the game. :)

Thank you for reading and thank you for giving your opinions

Have a wonderful day/evening

Hey Ho! :D

First of all, thank you a lot for sending the ask, I really appreciate it.

Well, you're absolutely right about the call and I forgot about it.

But I think in Duskwood is was like, they knew the number already and even wanted to go to the police with it. So they all were aware that the number existed and they still were super suspicious. But also not completely in the first chat. Also more like in private chats. Richy and Jessy, for example. Also Richy and Cleo and Thomas and Cleo as well. They all wrote about us. But in the group no one really did. And also not in private chats with the characters. So it's not that different.

I think they just were surprised when Thomas really wrote to us and then started the group. Since Dan says something like "so you really did it, huh?"

And as I said, I forgot about the call in Moonvale. But it's true. And Eric explained everything to them before. I do believe they should be more careful and not trust our opinion right away. But I think another reason is that the other didn't know it Adam was the victim of a crime. He disappeared on his own. That is what we know so far. So there wasn't much time to ask questions. And I can imagine this will become more of a topic in the next episode.

And Charlie doesn't even realise the seriousness in the beginning and Violet didn't say much at all.

I don’t know. With the call it definitely makes more sense gut they should have been a bit more careful, at least. Maybe another thing is because Eric already called the police and if we had something to hide we wouldn't be happy about it.

I don't know, I don’t think it's a huge problem, a bit odd, but nothing too much. And at least Ash questioned us.

And after she told Charlie about it, it's also not a wonder why he's not questioning us. I mean, for these two it's more clear why we're there. Violet is very passive and probably doesn’t say anything about it either.

It feels a little weird, yes, but is not a doomsday that somehow disturbs the course.

Thank you for sharing your opinion and also thank you for the reminder about the call. I think you explained it very well and there's nothing to misunderstand, don't worry. 💚

And I wish you a good day/evening/night, as well! Take care! 💚

[twilightknight17]

"Guys, holy fuck" - Part 2

Hit the image limit on the other post so I broke it up so I could scream more. XD

So where were we?

Right, right, Shadow Toshiro.

Once the shadow goes down the first time, he goes one-winged angel and turns into a god damn horror monster version of Eri that is GIANT. And that, my dudes, was a fight. That thing had so much health. It was great. :D

Now for some info:

Okay, that makes sense.

Yep, all that, we’ve seen and understood already. Still good.

But why, though? What makes her different? Why can she switch forms? Why is she still basically a separate entity from him? Did you just not want to lose your new character? I almost feel like I’d rather have had a P4 boss fight that ended with Toshiro getting his persona, and have Erina just be his cognitive Eri, based on his memories. Because this is… confusing. Nothing has worked like this in the past, unless I seriously overlooked something.

Yeah, I know, Aki and Mai and Ideal Maki were a thing, but Maki was a Wild Card and also had the DEVA system bolstering her cognition. No one else’s persona has been able to turn into a person and just chill with everyone after their awakening. Erina is basically her own fully-formed person. Like… I don’t know. It’s weird. I’m having trouble wrapping my head around it.

All right, yeah, let’s go with that for now.

There’s like, a slight implication here that Toshiro’s shadow wasn’t actually his shadow, but just something pretending to be his shadow? Especially since he never like, reconciled with it. After the giant Eri, it just disappeared. But I only pinged that after the fact, because while we’re just standing here trying to figure out what the hell is going on with Erina, god shows up to yell at us.

“Be not afraid” and all.

I kid you not, I was internally screaming, “YALDABAOTH? IS HE POSSESSED BY THE REMNANTS OF YALDABAOTH TRYING TO SEIZE POWER AGAIN?” But no, doesn't have Yald's stupid feet. This is:

Who the fuck is you, and why does it look like your head exploded off your neck? Are you sure you’re not Yald?

Anyway, this bitch keeps calling us “children” and “lambs” and “pathetic” while it explains who the fuck it is.

I don’t like it, and it doesn’t like our persona abilities. It calls them a “mask of madness, one which will assuredly drive man to ruin.” So it offers a deal: It can remove our powers, and along with them, our memories of this whole horrible adventure, and in exchange, it will put us safely back in the real world. It’s nice like that, even though we’re “infidels who had the audacity to defy a god.”

Hey. You. Got some bad news about all the other gods I’ve met. Wanna know what happened to them? :3

But we shouldn’t answer now! We’re high off a lucky win and our emotions are compromised. We should think it over and tell it our answer when we’re ready. And then Salmael fucks off into the sky. Are we sure that’s not a weird misspelling of Samael? Are you connected to Shido somehow?

Toshiro gets like a thousand points for being completely chill about a god falling out of the sky to tell us we suck. Zenkichi was a lot less calm about the whole thing. XDDD The Thieves, Toshiro, and Erina agree that they’re not giving up their powers, so we’re gonna have to kill god again. But how? How do we follow god into the sky? Whatever shall we do?

Oh, guys. Do you hear that noise?

CHOO CHOO, MOTHERFUCKERS.

Lavenza is here in the Velvet Room Train to pick us up and take us to the sky. No, she doesn’t know why it’s like that all of a sudden. We DO NOT CARE. THIS IS GREAT. Toshiro almost manages to offend her, but we’ve got things to do, so we just put another pin in that.

And that is where I had to stop. It asked me if I wanted to save and I was like “yes, I cannot handle any more Epic right now.” My GOD. I’m so excited Lavenza gets to be more involved, because that’s how I tend to characterize her. She wants to be more hands-on than her siblings or Igor. And she’s not afraid to snark at the others. It’s nice to have the whole team in the Velvet Room again. ^_^

Never change, Yusuke. :P

Actually, isn't this a good thing? If Akira's Velvet Room is now manifesting as a train, maybe that symbolizes him moving forward into the future? Scramble put him back in prison, but this game hasn't. Maybe this is the Velvet Room's final form for him?

Next time: Into the goddamn abyss to once again dethrone god, I guess????

Final note: I’m constantly amused by the one-off poses the sprites have. One single use of the sprite where Makoto’s hugging Morgana. One of Toshiro holding Erina/Yuki. And now apparently one of Makoto throttling Ryuji so he can’t interrupt Futaba and Toshiro. X’D Wow. Pls stop picking on Ryuji, Atlus.

[kiwiwinjindouche]

haiii! 8 for Aldina and 9 for anyone because im interested in general!

(also i'd like to know about Marisol and Ivanoe 👁👁)

Yippee!!! :D

Thank you for your interest!!!! <3

8. Would your OC ostensibly be able to get away with murder?

Yes. Aldina could probably talk her way out of it, or if things get worse, ask for help from her fathers.

9. Do you have a specific lyric or quote which you associate with your OC?

I can answer to that with a few of them. I have to think about this for the newer OCs (aka young Kirin's "crew", mostly).

For Vincent, I decided to go with the last line from The Sands Of Serkonos: "We'll slip onto a whaler and maybe we'll escape".

He's been in Karnaca for a few years now, and that song might be one of his favorites. I think he likes to listen to the songs people sing in the streets.

To stay with the whole 'whaler' thing, Aldina's one is simply from The Drunken Whaler: "What will we do with a drunken whaler…"

I like to think they kind of respond to each other, in some way. Also Aldina loves to creep people and to sing slow, disturbing lullabies while behind the walls, at the mansion.

Now, less lyrics and more quotes.

For Sybill, it had to be a Sherlock one, obviously, and I went with one from BBC Sherlock (which I love a lot): "What is it like in your funny little brains? It must be so boring."

I think it suits her and is a good sum up on which kind of person she can be!

And I've got one for Caleb (the grumpy man in the navy). It's from Niccolò Machiavelli: "It is not titles that honor men but men that honor titles."

He has a strong sense of honor and puts a lot of importance to this kind of things. If it wasn't for that one, I would probably have chose another lyric but from Honor For All.

And that's it for the asks! As for Marisol and Ivanoe!! :D

I still have to do better references for them, I only have a small sketch of their heads.

Both are from Karnaca. Ivanoe was a very kind soul, living with his mother. He was 3 years older than Kirin. He liked to take care of the stray animals, the ones even more easily forgotten by Karnaca's cruelty. Always hurt somewhere, too many lights scars on the body, taking care of the unwanted.

He really, really hated Kirin. For his lack of empathy, for that time he killed a cat out of curiosity. Why would anyone in the group let him stay? he's dangerous. But he's Adrian's little brother and the others were fine with his presence.

Unfortunately, one day, Ivanoe disappeared, only to be found by the group few days later. He's been killed by bloodflies. That left a mark on them (except for Kirin, he didn't care much, said it was his own fault).

Marisol's parents were whalers, and they died at sea. She's 4 years older than Kirin, and was in love with Adrian. Young Kirin was a tiny bit jealous, but Marisol had interesting things to say - sometimes - so m'okay you can stay with my brother I suppose? (more or less)

She's always love to draw and had an artistic soul. So, when Kirin was still in Dunwall, at the Academy, and Adrian died in the mines, she decided to leave for Morley. She wanted to stay away from Karnaca, to take a break from the city that ruined her life (Ivan's death didn't help either). She'll have a hard start, but will eventually get a renown there and finally marry another man, Octave (I've talked about him before I think!) Octave is also a very artistic one, interested by animation.

When Octave heard more about Kirin's silvergraphs, and his will to animate things too with them, he wanted to go to Karnaca and meet him, and Marisol followed him, thinking it was finally time for her to go back there and fight her demons. And so, they meet again, after all those years, and start to talk about their life, the changes, and the past.

I'm really too invested into young Kirin's life for some reasons xD Kirin was lonely, but his brother wasn't, so in my headcanons Kirin was squatting (I lack a more proper word lmao) Adrian's group mostly, because Adrian cared about him and didn't want him to stay alone and the such. And (almost) everyone was fine with it.

And I'm adding some interludes with them in my fanfic! I NEED TO FINISH THAT DAMN FANFIC

[ichika27]

OnS Chapter 131

Okay, not gonna lie, I was too lazy and then stuff happened and I ended up having to read this chapter in another site cause I was too late to read it in mangaplus. (;-;)

Yuu-chan and Mika are hunting bears to eat. I don't know how to feel about this at all since it feels weird to think about people eating bears but I'm just gonna ignore it.

They took down 3 bears, by the way.

While the two are getting ready to cook, they reminisce on the past on the last day Mika was human. Specifically, the day of their failed escape from Sanguinem. Mika wasn't at dinner time with them, if you guys remember, as he was at Ferid's gathering items and so they ate without him.

Yuu-chan tells him the kids wished that Mika was there to enjoy the food with them and Mika teases him that of course the others wouldn't enjoy it as much without the main character lol.

Mika is surprisingly being optimistic now, as Yuu-chan have noticed. He says once they bring the kids back to life and he's back to being human they can all eat curry together again.

Yuu-chan asks for help in butchering the meat and Mika declines as he has some strategizing to do haha.

The two talk over dinner about what they know. Their plan is to get all the sinful keys and bring back to life angel Mikaela. Guren and Ferid have the same plans but instead, Guren just wants to just bring everyone else back except Mikaela.

lol I needed to save this screenshot here. They're wondering what Ferid's plan is and Yuu-chan says nobody knows what goes on in Ferid's head and it might be something really weird. XD

They also discuss the reality of the situation that the Mikaela that Guren wants to keep dead is actually Yuu-chan cause he and homonculus Yuu just switched places before. It means if Guren wins, Yuu-chan might have to die.

With those information in mind, things have changed. Mika is no lon ger hesitant about what he should do and no longer thinking of sacrificing himself since the one the others need to sacrifice is actually Yuu-chan. Mika says he doesn't really care about anything else except protecting Yuu-chan so it's all good.

Mika has become the happy, not-giving-up guy now between the two of them and the one who has to reassure Yuu-chan that he'd be protecting him. Previously, this was Yuu-chan's attitude in convincing Mika back when they didn't know the truth. Mika is acting more like himself when he was a kid.

Mika was surprised Yuu-chan didn't offer to sacrifice himself and Yuu-chan replies that he's still confused about which of them is which. They also noticed that angel Mikaela was smart back then but Yuu-chan is-

Yuu-chan cuts of Mika and says he's smarter now. Mika sacrcastically agreed lol. Come on, we all know he lost braincells when he locked away his memories as angel Mikaela but to be fair, he was in a hurry at the time and probably didn't have enough time to keep some important stuff.

The confusion keeps going and so are these two's identity crisis. Who is who and which one dies when they finally get their goal? Is Yuu-chan gonna keep being himself once he's back to being angel Mikaela? Yuu-chan doesn't mind but Mika doesn't want to lose his Yuu-chan. And Yuu-chan wouldn't want Mika to disappear either if it's the other way around.

The First Progenitor's goal is to bring all of the angels back. Guren's goal is to bring all of humanity back. Angel Mikaela's goal was to save the First Progenitor which means they have to help the guy with his goal as well. And it would all end with someone getting punished by God.

Yuu-chan's new goal: not let that happen. Yes, like an rpg protagonist, he'd be opposing God now.

Of course, Mika has to get the reassurance that Yuu-chan is counting himself in the people he's planning to save. Yuu-chan says he's not going to sacrifice himself and he knows Mika could find a way to make things work out.

It'd be very hypocritical of Yuu-chan if he decides to die for everyone's sake when several chapter ago, he's the one trying to convince Mika to not do that exact thing.

Anyways, the two of them make a promise to each other that no matter what happens, neither of them would sacrifice themselves for everyone else. At least, Yuu-chan is making it sound like that. He's letting Mika do all the talking and when it comes to his part in making the promise, he changes subjects and Mika doesn't notice...

Yuu-chan asks if Mika could come up with a plan since all of their enemies are pretty smart: there's Guren, Mahiru, Shika Madu, Saito and Ferid (I'm surprised they knew exactly which other people are leading their own little operation). Mika says it's fine since they have someone smart on their side, too! And Yuu-chan says that would be him lol.

Since angel Mika gave his memories to homonculus Yuu to keep up the ruse, he probably also gave away his braincells. Yuu-chan should just accept that Mika has them now lol.

They know that right now, they're the only two who knows of the switch. They need to sacrifice angel Mikaela and none of them knows that Yuu-chan is the real one. Mika and Yuu-chan have to use this to their advantage.

What would the first part of their plan be, you ask? Going to the Demon Army HQ to talk to Saito, it seems.

______

Holy shit what the fuck is happening in the end there? Are they collaborating? Yuu-chan and Mika's goal have a bit more in common with Saito's and the Progenitor team so this kinda makes sense? They plan to save humanity, kill all vampires (the progenitors just want to die right now after all), and not let Shika Madu do exactly as he pleases.

I am excited to see where this would be going. Mika and Yuu-chan don't plan on letting anyone know the truth after all.

Aaaah!! Mika's acting like his happy and mischevious kid self again. His depression seem to have left since he found out that he's not the real angel Mikaela and therefore not the reason all of this shit is happening. Yuu-chan on the other hand doesn't smile as much anymore. Kind of sad this is how things are going as I want both of them to be happy. I'm glad they still have their silly moments and stupid banter though. They're so cute!

Knowing the switch doesn't confuse me but these two and their discussion made things seem so complicated. I'm now feeling half as confused as I was when I watched Patema Inverted and couldn't tell which is up and down anymore hahaha.

Yuu-chan's goal was to bring back everyone who died and then he adds bringing Mika back to life as a human, and then saving everyone, and now he's fighting God. It's escalating! It sounds so ridiculous but this is how it be. Yuu-chan is not Yuu-chan if he doesn't aim for a miracle.

Angel Mika's switch with Homonculus Yuu makes Yuu-chan and Mika's personalities feel trippy. The happy and smart angel Mika locked his memories away and sort of gave a copy of them to homonculus Yuu so they could properly act out their new roles. Purposely reincarnated to who they are now, Mika as a child was happy and smart and you really would think he's the real angel. The failed escape happens and Mika as a vampire is just quietly observing things and just wants to be with Yuu - just like how his past self as a homunculus was. Now that the truth is known, he's back to having the persoanlity of hius younger self which is a sort of copy of the real angel Mika's personality.

Putting all that in text made me understand why those two are confused.

Excited for the next chapter! I'm so glad there's another site I could read these on and they have the chapters I could backread as well! I'm still gonna read the new chapters in mangaplus to support the original creators and official release but at least I don't have to worry about missing anything just in case something happens and I miss a month.

[true-blue-sonic]

1. 9. 10. + Sonic and Amy

Sonic

Why do you like or dislike this character?

Oof, this is a hard question to answer for Sonic, actually. I appreciate him because he's... Well, he's an ideal to strive towards. He inspires me! He's kindhearted, incredibly heroic and brave... People adore him because he gives them a reason to adore him. Seeing him just puts a smile on my face, basically. He encourages me to improve and be more kind and open towards other people, and to be less shy and clammed up: it's not strange to me that when I discovered Sonic at 14 I became a lot more outgoing in a surprisingly short amount of time, as noted by my high school teachers. Plus, this is basically the franchise that single-handedly taught me English better than six years of bilingual education ever did. So yes, he's just inspiring!

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

Sonic would be the best roommate because he's rarely home so I would live in peaceful bliss and quiet and then have fun with him around the one day a month he does appear XD

10. Could you be best friends with this character?

*looks at Sonic Forces* yes absolutely <3 Hmm, I wonder if he's the kind of person I'd want to be best friends with in real life; on the one hand, he's incredibly kind and gold-hearted, but on the other he does have traits like hotheadedness, stubbornness, impulsivity, and the fact he apparently just sometimes disappears for ages on top... I have all of that as well (except the last one lol), so two people with that combined might not be such a good idea, haha. But I think his positive traits far outweigh his negative ones, so that's a good start already! And he's always encouraging, which I appreciate as well <3

Amy

Why do you like or dislike this character?

I like Amy! I appreciate that she's both someone with a huge crush on the main character, while simultaneously being a heroine in her own right. Amy's the heart of the team, and thus I'd say she's incredibly friendly and welcoming, never gives up hope, always has a kind word of encouragement ready, and so on. At the same time, she's strong and capable of fighting as well. That's a combination of traits I enjoy seeing!

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

Maybe! In line with Amy being so friendly, I figure we could hit it off well, certainly. She strikes me as someone who's got a rigorous cleaning schedule around the house and also one for exercising, which I could use XD

10. Could you be best friends with this character?

Also maybe to this one as well! I guess most of the Sonic cast is just made of characters who'd be nice to be close/best friends with, really. And since Amy is kind and supportive, I'd enjoy spending time with her for sure!