#and also seems thematically relevant today

[karinyosa]

there's this boy in writing workshop who gives me the vibe of like we come off very similar in terms of sensibility but if we knew each other better we would be just incongruous enough to be somewhat grating to one another but he is BEAUTIFUL and good at critique so i'm like vaguely ticked by him but i'm also like what if we made out about it. since you are so complicated

[tanoraqui]

Dungeon Meshi Liveblog: Musing on Ages, & Dragon Prep

"Desire" mention - how much does Tensu know of the details of the origin of dungeons? (More than I do, probably...but I know this is thematically important.)

"Us"? Aren't gnomes another long-lived species? Ok this is going to be continuously relevant to the geopolitics so I need to break it down. From the wiki:

Elves: lifespan: 400; adult at 80

Gnomes: lifespan: 240; adult at 40

Dwarves: lifespan: 200; adult at 40

Tallmen: lifespan: 60; adult at 16

Orcs: lifespan: 55; adult at 14

Kobolds: lifespan: 55; adult at 13

Halffoots: lifespan: 50; adult at 14

I see - so really we're dealing with 3 factions: Elves, Gnomes & Dwarves, and Everyone Else. I find it interesting that the longer-lived races reach maturity at 17-20% of their average lifespan, while the younger-lived races all do so at around 25% of their average lifespan. I feel a little like this is a cop-out on the writer's part in trying to keep the ages of maturity a little closer to one another - though of course it's a cultural thing by each race (and, I'm sure, each culture within each race - idk how monolithic the whole comic will treat them, but it would track with the thematic worldbuilding for their to be multiple distinct social groups within each race, even if they do tent to band together against the other races!)

Based on the categories of "long-lived" and "short-lived", the latter seem to view all of the former as much the same - but I'm SURE the Elves have a different view of it, and I'm sure the Dwarves and, as we see here, Gnomes, are very aware of and irritated by the Elves' view.

...and as we see here, and earlier with Chilchuck admitting to being 29 (solidly middle-aged!) and Marcille going, "Aw, so you are a kid!", people rarely make any effort to understand each others relative ages, instead just coasting on their own life-based assumptions.

With reference to above, we can see that Namari at 61 is pretty exactly equivalent to Kaka and Kiki at 20.

Also: this little scene wasn't in the show at all and I love it! Namari in mentor mode!

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ALRIGHT RED DRAGON TIME!! Hey look, literally the 2nd panel in this ghost city is 2/3 winged lions by volume. Hmmm...

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I love how it's explicitly Shuro's job to get the final killshot, presumably because he has Feats for this (ie, cool-looking moments) as a "real" anime character (Easterner). This literally bears up with what we see of him in the future.

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Chilchuck: I will NOT fight!

Chilchuck: I'll totally be dragon bait with you, though.

Chilchuck: Not that I care if you succeed or survive or anything! I'm only here because you paid up front.

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Laios using the Inspiring Leader speech feat! They're all having a Heroes' Feast before fighting the dragon, a classic pre-dragon act for bonus HP and immunity to being Frightened! I know this isn't actually D&D but that post that I think came through my queue earlier today is right: it DOES have the same bones. It's like reading the Locked Tomb and being aware that this author was deep in Homestuck, or Scholomance vis a vis Harry Potter canon and fandom. I know where this writer has been, because I have been there too.

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THE BOY IS HERE! THE MAN THE MYTH THE OVERWORKED* LEGEND!

THIS SISTER-EATING MOTHERFUCKER!!

*Crack AU where the whole dragon fight is averted because it talks and somehow the conversation leads to Chilchuck going, "And the Mage isn't even letting you sleep? Tsk. You've got to start a union." And then Laios gets all starry-eyed, "A Monster Union?!" And then the Mage is eventually defeated by all the monsters of the dungeon, and also the poor sane ghosts as well, unionizing against him, and "king" becomes just the title for the Union Rep, whose main job is to honk an airhorn at presumptuous Elves and tell them to fuck off like a Canadian goose.

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I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 02x22 - The Brave Evolution! XV-mon / Davis Cries Wolfman

Previously on Digimon Adventure: Chimeramon came back for another go but Wormmon killed them with kindness. Unfortunately, in the process, Chimeramon also killed Wormmon with excessive violence. Nonetheless, the Chosen Children completed their mission and the Ken was given a new mission of his own: Go touch grass.

Apparently this is NOT the episode that goes into Ken's past. That will be next episode. So the Dub Narrator was wrong when he said we'd find out today what Ken will do with the Crest of Kindness, and I was a fool to trust him.

Uh, content warning for extensive involvement of urination. If you're squeamish about that, this one's gonna be gross.

With the Digimon Kaiser at last overthrown, we open on another normal day at Odaiba Elementary. Iori's in class reading a thematically relevant passage from a textbook.

Iori: Thus, the country was saved. The king was overthrown and the country was saved. The king was overthrown but a great sadness remained in the people's hearts. The great sadness remaining in the people's hearts became a legend that will never fade.

Each line contains a piece of the previous line and makes a new statement out of it. It's a language exercise, not a literary one. But it's hard not to think of the Digital World when reading it.

Upamon, hiding in Iori's desk, wipes a tear from his eye.

Upamon: Native Language class always makes me want to cry-dagyaa!

Nope. None of that. Iori pushes Upamon deeper into the desk to silence him.

Yes, it's called Native Language class. The word 日本語 Nihongo refers to the Japanese language while 国語 Kokugo means the native language of the region you are in. So, in 日本 Nihon, Japan, the 国語 Kokugo would be 日本語 Nihongo. But if you went to 英国 Eikoku, England, then 国語 Kokugo would be 英語 Eigo, English.

In Japanese schools, the study of Japanese is 国語の授業 Kokugo no Jugyou, Native Language Class. Most places with a robust education system have some form of 国語の授業 Kokugo no Jugyou; It's just that the 国語 Kokugo we study in different regions are different languages.

It's like how Americans sometimes call it "Language Arts class" instead of "English class". It's a better, more universal terminology.

In the dub:

Cody: And so the kingdom was saved. But there was no joy in the land that day for the king had died. In his effort to save his people, he mistakenly stood on the wrong side of the cannon as it was being fired. The people watched in shock as the king flew overhead. Upamon: Gee, Cody, you couldn't be a little more depressing, could ya? Cody: Shhh! (Cody stuffs Upamon in the desk)

Cody is reading a literary textbook. A hilariously morbid one, at that. Holy shit.

"There was no joy in the land that day because of the hilarious Looney Tunes demise of their lord. Royal blood and viscera rained down upon all who came to witness his glory. One man got hit in the face with a femur and let out a yelp."

Obviously, this does not bear any sort of thematic resonance to the recent victory against the Digimon Emperor.

Next, we turn to Miyako in chemistry class, holding up a flask.

Miyako: Take this fluid. Add it to the other chemical in the beaker and then heat them over an alcohol lamp.

She pours the solution in and heats them.

Miyako: There! Now we just have to wait three minutes.

Outside the window, Poromon is watching her. He has concerns.

Poromon: Uhhh, that seems kind of dangerous....

Suddenly, the boiling fluid starts putting out purple smoke.

Poromon: Huh?

The smoke then turns to smoke rings. Miyako stares at the rings, transfixed, but the rest of the class is smart enough to run.

Poromon: EYEEEEEEGH!!! Students: LOOK OUT!!!

The concoction explodes right in Miyako's face, covering her in soot.

Miyako: Errors have been made.

Don't worry, Miyako. It's not your fault. It's the fault of the Coalition of Fictional Chemistry Teachers who make it standard practice to let children mix dangerous chemicals unsupervised.

In the dub:

Yolei: Pay attention, everybody! I take this tube of hydro-something stuff and add it to this beaker of a few things I threw together. I let it simmer for a bit. Now the experiment is almost complete! I'm thinking of doing some tutoring in chemistry after school if any of you boys are interested.... (Beaker starts to smoke) Poromon: Uh-oh! Boy: Is it supposed to smoke that much!? Yolei: Uhhh, of course! It's just the fluorodicarbonate polyethylene. (Smoke rings; Everyone screams and runs, followed by explosion) Yolei: Ehehehe....

I like that they roped in Yolei's love-starved trait. She tries to use her volatile concoction to flirt only for it to literally blow up in her face. I don't think any of those boys will be taking her up on that offer.

So that's what they're doing in 3rd and 6th grade. Time to check in on the 5th-graders. In the gym, Hikari is doing ballet. Chibimon, Patamon, and Tailmon watch from the rafters.

Tailmon: I want to dance too. Patamon: Will you dance with me? Tailmon: Yeah!

Neither of them know how to do ballet but they flop around and have fun. Beneath them, Chibimon feels left out.

Chibimon: You two have fun, then! Hmph!

Here's our first hint at what's going to be a driving source of conflict for this episode. That's right, it's time to talk about the Takeru/Hikari/Daisuke triangle.

The girls' ballet lessons end almost as soon as we get to the gym, though, and now it's time for boys' basketball. We see a few practice shots taken at the basket. Two balls whiff the basket while a third one goes in.

From their body language, it seems Daisuke sunk the successful shot; Takeru and another boy look distraught while Daisuke proudly spins a basketball on his finger. Then the whistle blows.

Daisuke: Hehehe.... Chibimon: (excited) The boys' basketball game is about to start!

The boys square up against each other, with Daisuke and Takeru on opposing teams. The girls file off to the side. Hikari and two other girls watch eagerly as the match begins.

In the dub:

Patamon: Kari is such a graceful dancer! Gatomon: She should be. I taught her everything she knows! Patamon: Teach me! Gatomon: Okay! (They start dancing) DemiVeemon: I forgot my dancing shoes! Hmph!

The dub's take on the ballet scene cuts out the romantic connotation to Patamon asking Tailmon to dance. So it's not really clear why DemiVeemon is suddenly acting so pissy.

The dub uses extra dialogue to clarify that it was Davis who made that shot.

Davis: You guys are lame! Watch me! (Ball sinks) Davis: Nothing but net! Not only am I the best soccer player in school; I'm the best basketball player too! (Davis spins the ball on his finger) Davis: Hehehe.... Chibimon: Is there anything in the real world that Davis isn't the best at? Gatomon: Yeah. Being modest.

All this extra dialogue is setup for the impending match between Davis and T.K. There are other players on the field, but comparing Daisuke/Davis and Takeru/T.K. is the purpose of this scene.

At the serve, Takeru claims the ball and dribbles around the opposing players.

Patamon: Keep it up, Takeru!

Daisuke moves in to stop him, but Takeru's incredible footwork allows him to dart around Daisuke and move in on the basket.

Patamon: SHOOT!!!

Takeru takes the shot and sinks it.

Patamon: YIPPEE!!! Tailmon: NICE SHOT!!! Chibimon: Daisuke could do that too, y'know. Hikari: TAKERU-KUUUUUUN!!!

With everyone cheering him on, Takeru high fives his other teammate.

Takeru: Yes! We did it!

A fantastic play by Takeru. Daisuke may be a strong soccer player but he's in Takeru's thunderdome now.

In the dub, Kari announces the start of the match since they changed DemiVeemon's dialogue.

Kari: The basketball game's about to start. GO T.K.!!! Referee: (whistles) Jump ball! (T.K. claims the ball and dribbles down court) Patamon: Air T.K.! T.K.: Try to stop me, Davis! If you can! (T.K. dribbles around Davis, then goes up for the shot) Patamon: Don't pose for pictures; Shoot it! (The ball goes in) Patamon: Two points! Gatomon: YAY!!! DemiVeemon: I guess anybody can get lucky against Davis once! Kari: NICE SHOT!!! T.K.: Teamwork, baby! (T.K. high fives his partner) T.K.: Yeah!

"Don't pose for pictures" is an Abridged Parody riff on the animation. They hang dramatically on that shot of Takeru preparing to fire, and Dub Patamon accuses him of actually doing that diegetically.

I really like the "Teamwork, baby!" line as he high fives his partner. That's good sportsmanship.

But one person isn't impressed.

Daisuke: That smug Takeru thinks he's so cool. Alright!

Determined to prove himself, Daisuke gets back in the game. He catches the basketball and dribbles past an opposing team member.

Chibimon: DAISUKE, SHOOT!!!

Against an opposing team member, Daisuke finds himself blocked the way he tried to block Takeru. He tries to slip past, trips over his own foot, and crashes face-first into the floor. The ball goes flying.

Tailmon & Patamon: Ahahahahahahaha-- Chibimon: STOP LAUGHING!!!

Daisuke, embarrassed, picks himself up off the court and glances over at the girls, who are all stifling laughter of their own.

Hikari: (snicker) We should go start our dance routine over.

Hikari herds the girls away from Daisuke's shame. Takeru approaches him, offering a hand up.

Takeru: Are you okay, Daisuke-kun?

Daisuke ignores the offered hand and picks himself up.

Daisuke: Obviously, I'm not okay. Takeru: What's wrong? Daisuke: Hmph!

Refusing to answer, Daisuke turns away from Takeru just in time to take a basketball to the face. He's not having a good day.

Yesterday, he vanquished the Digimon Kaiser once and for all. Today, basketball butt monkey. It's not easy being Daisuke.

In the dub:

Davis: Guys, we need to learn to pass the ball! Now let's do it! (Davis catches the ball and dribbles down court) DemiVeemon: GO DAVIS!!! (Davis trips over his own foot and faceplants) Gatomon & Patamon: Ahahahahahahaha-- DemiVeemon: IT'S NOT THAT FUNNY!!! (All the girls are laughing) Kari: Come on, I think Davis needs a little more time to practice. (T.K. offers Davis a hand up) T.K.: Hey Davis, do you need a hand? (Davis picks himself up) Davis: No, I need a team that knows how to pass the ball! T.K.: I think they're starting to learn. Davis: Hm? (Davis turns around and takes a basketball to the face)

This version doesn't have the symmetry of both Patamon and Chibimon respectively cheering for their Partner to shoot.

Hikari tries to spare Daisuke's feelings by driving the girls away, while Kari mocks Davis.

Daisuke is jealous and spiteful of Takeru for outperforming him in basketball. This, again, sets up a significant conflict for this episode. Davis is fine with T.K., but mad at his team over insufficient ball passing. This sets up the gag of the ball hitting him in the face, but is an odd thing for him to complain about in context when what went wrong was him tripping over himself.

So the dub traded out setup for a core theme of the episode to try and make an existing gag funnier.

The ringing of the school bell heralds the end of the day. Time to hit computer club.

Miyako and Iori meet in the stairwell.

Iori: Ah! Miyako-san! Miyako: Iori!

Together, they sprint down the hall and into the clubroom, where the fifth-graders are waiting for them.

Daisuke: You're late! Miyako: Huh? Takeru: Miyako-san, Daisuke-kun's been in a bad mood for a while now. Please just hurry up and open the Gate. Miyako: Hrm.

Miyako goes to the computer and pulls up the Digital Gate.

Miyako: DIGITAL GATE, OPEN!!! CHOSEN CHILDREN, LET'S ROLL!!!

Crossing over, the Chosen Children arrive in a forest in the Digital World.

Iori: (contemplative) Even with the Digimon Kaiser gone, we can still enter the Digital World.... Miyako: What's that supposed to mean? The Digital World is finally at peace! We can just enjoy the Digital World from now on, right? Takeru & Iori: Eh... Well.... Miyako: You're with me, right, Hikari-chan? Hikari: Uh, sure....

Iori raises a valid concern. Last time the Chosen Children were needed, the Digital World basically told them to hit the bricks as soon as the task was complete. So the fact that we can still come and go from the place is a little concerning.

In the dub:

Cody: Oh, I'm late I'm late I'm late! I'm late! I'm late I'm late I'm LATE!!! (Yolei and Cody meet in the hall) Yolei: (cheerfully) We're late.

The dub has the school bell ring here. Which is an odd place to put it. If they were on their way to a class, then this would support how late they are because the bell means class has started. But since it's the end of the school day, doesn't that mean they skipped the last few minutes of their classes and are in fact early?

(Cody and Yolei sprint into the clubroom) Davis: LOOK WHO'S HERE!!! T.K.: Davis is in a bad mood. Let's hope things are better in the Digital World. He's already had one nasty trip today! Yolei: Hrm. Is everybody ready? (Yolei pulls up the Digi-Port) Group: YEAH!!! Yolei: Then let's do it! DIGI-PORT, OPEN!!!

"He's already had one nasty trip today!" Goddammit, that got me. XD Good passive-aggressive burn, T.K.

The dub takes its first commercial break as the kids are crossing over. We return to find them in the woods.

Cody: You know, I'm surprised that now, with the Digimon Emperor gone, we're still able to come to the Digital World. Yolei: Of course we can still come here! I don't know about the rest of you but with the Digimon Emperor gone, I plan on having a little fun in the Digi-Sun! Don't you think we deserve it!? Cody & T.K.: Well, yeah! Yolei: How about you, Kari? Do you agree with me? Kari: Uhhh....

This is almost perfect, but they seem to have missed that Iori and Takeru are not onboard with Miyako's assertion. Cody and T.K. deliver their lines like they're in full agreement, though their faces clearly suggest otherwise. But they did catch that Hikari was only humoring her.

There is one person willing to cast his vote in Miyako's favor, however. And that should probably be reason enough to rethink her stance.

Daisuke: You're right, Miyako. However, we didn't come to the Digital World to play today. Miyako: I know that! We're volunteering to help with the reconstruction. Daisuke: We're partly responsible for the damage that's been done to the Digital World, after all.

Daisuke has a stronger sense of international responsibility than many actual world leaders. We won the war against the Digimon Kaiser and that's great and all. However, we left several places in ruin while we were having fun kicking his ass and knocking down his Dark Towers. So we now have an obligation to help rebuild what our conflict with him destroyed.

That the Kaiser was himself a Chosen Child only heightens that responsibility. If an English general went rogue and annexed Romania and then the English army bulldozed several Romanian cultural sites to drive him out, Romania would reasonably expect some restitution from England.

Iori: Miyako-san, what is the damage report for the Digital World? Miyako: Let's see... I'll check the D-Terminal.

Apparently the D-Terminal can give you sitrep now. That's a new function.

Miyako: There's the mountain region....

Brief cut to a group of Gotsumon knocking down trees and excavating the mountain for materials.

Takeru: We'll go there. Patamon: Sounds good, Takeru. Daisuke: Alright, Takeru will handle the mountain region.

Makes sense to send one of the fliers up that way.

In the dub:

Davis: There'll be plenty of time for rest and relaxation later, Yolei! But that's not why we came to the Digital World today. Yolei: I know, I know. We're here to restore the Digital World to the way it was before the Digimon Emperor took over. Davis: That's right! There's a lot of areas that are in pretty bad shape and we're part of the reason for it. We have to get to work! Cody: Alright, Yolei, give us a damage report on all the different areas. Yolei: Okay, let me pull it up on the D-Terminal. (Yolei takes out her D-Terminal) Yolei: The mountain area is pretty bad. (Brief cut to Gotsumon working) Gotsumon: Let's get back to work, boys! Don't leave any stone unturned even if it's your cousin! (Back to the kids) T.K.: I guess then... We'll take it. Patamon: The Gotsumon rock! Davis: Okay, Patamon and T.K. will handle the mountains.

They add a couple gags with the Gotsumon but they follow the script perfectly. Despite the foul mood he's in, Davis even refrains from the running gag of saying T.K.'s name wrong on purpose; The dub understands that now that we're here, he's in Serious Business mode. There are bigger things happening than his petty rivalry.

What else have you got for us, Miyako?

Miyako: Next up is the city. That place was hit pretty hard.

Cut to a ruined metropolis. Buildings line in rubble, some knocked over entirely or bombed out. RedVegiemon is there running a soup kitchen, providing curry to Gazimon refugees.

Armadimon: AHH LET'S GO LET'S GO LET'S GO-DAGYAA!!! IORI!!!

Armadimon runs off without another word, forcing Iori to run after him.

Iori: Ah, wait up, Armadimon! Daisuke: Aw, crap! They already took that one.

City region is assigned to Iori. Better luck next time, Daisuke.

Miyako: Next up is the rural countryside.

There, we see Gekomon tilling the rice paddies. Otamamon gather around a river, though it's unclear what exactly they're doing. I assume they're irrigating. A group of Bakemon show up carrying a log, adding it to a bridge under construction across the river.

Daisuke: Guess it's our turn now. Hikari: Wait! I want that one too. Tailmon: Yeah. Daisuke: Alright, then let's play Rock-Paper-Scissors for it. Hikari: Sounds good. Daisuke: (chanting) Starting at Rock! JAN KEN PON!!!

最初はグー Saisho wa guu is a customary phrase to begin a match of じゃんけん Janken. Players all begin with the closed fist of Rock. The three syllabic steps of じゃんけんぽん Jan Ken Pon then serve as a rhythmic countdown to when the players will throw their signs, delivered in the same cadence as 最初はグー Saisho wa guu.

English-speakers have similar countdowns with "Rock Paper Scissors!" or "Rock Paper Scissors Shoot!' but the melodic nature of the Japanese language makes their countdown exceptional.

Daisuke throws Rock to Hikari's Paper, so Hikari wins. Daisuke groans while Hikari high fives Tailmon.

Daisuke: Augh, I lost! Hawkmon: Next is the lake, right? Daisuke: V-mon and I will take the lake!

Once that's decided, Hikari, Takeru, and Daisuke scatter in separate directions. There is no glimpse of what's happening at the lake this time.

Miyako: All that's left is the coastal region. Hawkmon: Then I guess that one is ours, Miyako-san.

Similar to the lake, there is no glimpse of the coast. They just take it.

Just like that, the map is divvied up. Again, despite the bad day he's having, we can see how serious Daisuke is about this reconstruction. He loses out on the region he wants twice but he just rolls with the punches and takes what he can get with minimal complaint. This isn't about him.

In the dub:

Yolei: Next is the city. Wow, that looks in pretty bad shape too. (Cut to destroyed city) RedVegiemon: Form a single line, everybody. And no cutting in! Today's entree will be tuna surprise. Unfortunately, we didn't have any tuna. THAT'S THE SURPRISE!!! (Back to the kids) Armadillomon: Didja hear that, Cody? You get a free lunch. Let's go! (Armadillomon runs off with Cody chasing after) Cody: Wait for me! Davis: Aw man, he beat me to it!

Armadillomon doesn't quite match Armadimon's explosive enthusiasm but the idea is still there.

Yolei: Let's take a look at the farmlands. (Cut to farmlands) Gekomon: Alright, you Bakemon, a little to the left! ...now a smidge to the right! That's it! Easy does it! (The Bakemon add their log to the bridge) Gatomon: Haha, yeah! (Back to the kids) Davis: Okay then, we'll take that one. Kari: Wait! I wanted that area. Gatomon: Me too! Davis: The only fair thing to do is Rock-Paper-Scissors. Kari: Let's do it! Davis: Just so you know, I was champion in the fourth grade! HUAAAAGH!!! (Kari wins) Davis: Aggggh! Gatomon: Yay!

Davis does not offer any cadence and just expects Kari to know when to throw. He set himself up for failure with that one.

Hawkmon: The next area is the lake. Davis: Veemon and I will take that one! (Everyone scatters) Yolei: The only area left is the beach. Hawkmon: Alright, it's settled then! You and I are headed to the beach!

Overall, this is another pretty good adaptation. They stay on point and resist the urge to shit on Davis any harder than his No Good Very Bad Day already is.

Just like that, all assignments are divvied up. A map of the region shows us where each Chosen Child is assigned to work.

The map is followed by a montage of Chosen Children working through the day. Takeru and Patamon up in the mountains are helping with crops. Takeru plants while Patamon flies around the field with a watering can.

Over at the coast, Miyako and Hawkmon are helping dredge up debris. A team of Gizamon push a broken canoe up from the water, while Woodmon on shore pull it with a rope. Miyako and Hawkmon have joined in the pulling, though Hawkmon is contributing nothing to this exercise.

Hawkmon: I CAN'T PULL!!!

Miyako is helping. Hawkmon is dangling. But at least he tried.

In the dub, there's more dialogue to the montage.

(T.K. plants a sprout) T.K.: Okay, Patamon. (Patamon waters; Cut to coast) Yolei: Woodmon, you pull, and Gizamon, you push. Get it right this time. Go! (Yolei and Hawkmon help pull)

They take out the gag of Hawkmon lamenting his uselessness and instead blame the Woodmon and Gizamon for some reason. That's just good old-fashioned American nepotism right there.

In the city region, Iori helps RedVeggiemon stir the cookpot. Armadimon shows up with a bundle of kindling tied to his back, collapsing in front of the pot.

Armadimon: Ugh, if you don't work, you don't eat-dagyaa.

At the lake, Daisuke and V-mon help a group of RedVeggiemon carry cut logs. Unfortunately, a group of Numemon have taken up residence on top of the stack.

Daisuke: Move, Numemon! You're in the way!

The Numemon depart from the log pile, but leave poops behind. Thanks. That's great. Assholes.

And finally, Hikari and Tailmon help the Gekomon harvest water from the river.

In the dub:

(Armadillomon collapses in front of the cookpot) Armadillomon: Ugh. This is hard work. So much for a free lunch. (Davis and the others bring a log for the pile) Davis: Come on, Vegiemon! Lift! You've got to put some backbone into it! Oh. I forgot you don't have one.

Again, the dub has the kids chewing out the Digimon they're helping for inadequate work performance. Something about that rubs me the wrong way.

For Davis, it's used as a replacement for the Numemon poop bit, which the dub snips out the footage of. -1 Poop joke, +1 Digimon anatomy joke.

As Hikari and Tailmon pull up the water bucket, they suddenly hear someone calling for them.

Patamon: TAILMON!!! Girls: Huh? Takeru: HIKARI-CHAAAAAAN!!!

Takeru and Patamon come running over the log bridge that the Bakemon recently built. Which is quite a feat given that they were on opposite ends of the map from Hikari and Tailmon. Do we think Takeru Solid Snaked it past Daisuke? Or did he go the long way through Iori or Miyako territory?

Either way, what he's not doing is his fucking job. He and Patamon planted like three crops and then booked it. For shame.

Hikari: Takeru-kun? Tailmon: What's wrong, Patamon? Patamon: Takeru's worried. There's something weighing on his mind. Hikari: What are you worried about? Takeru: That we can still enter the Digital World. Hikari: That's because we're still needed in the Digital World, right? Takeru: That was certainly the case three years ago. Hikari: So how about now? Patamon: Are we still needed here? Tailmon: We're needed to help with reconstruction for the destroyed Digital World, aren't we? Hikari: Ultimately, we're just volunteering for the reconstruction effort.... Takeru: The fact that we can enter the Digital World means that the Digital World still needs us. A crisis is approaching. Hikari: You mean a new enemy? Takeru: I don't know, but I think we should tell the others about it. Hikari: Yeah.

The veterans remember the escalation from the first series and then whoops none of those guys were actually the guy, THIS is the guy.

I'm glad Takeru spent half an hour slowly moving past Daisuke under cover of a cardboard box so he could deliberate with Hikari about whether to tell Daisuke that they're in danger. He didn't even really consult her on anything. He just came here and told her, "This is what I think. Anyways, let's brief the team."

I think he just wanted to get out of planting crops.

In the dub:

Patamon: GATOMON!!! Girls: Huh? T.K.: KARI!!! (T.K. and Patamon come running) Kari: What's wrong? Gatomon: Patamon, is a dog chasing you? Patamon: No! Listen up. T.K. has a theory that I think we should all listen to. Kari: What is it? T.K.: I was thinking about what Cody said about still being able to come to the Digital World. Kari: I thought we figured out that we can come here because we're still needed for something, didn't we?

We did not. I don't know where you got that impression. This is the first mention of us still being needed for something. Figuring that out is the purpose of this conversation we are having right now.

T.K.: That's the reason we were able to come here the first time. Patamon: You're right. There must be a reason this time too. Gatomon: The reason's as plain as the whiskers on my face; We're here to clean up the mess left by the Digimon Emperor. Kari: The only problem with that theory is that we volunteered for the work. It's not like we were drafted. T.K.: Exactly! That's the part that's been bothering me. We're not meant to be here as a cleanup crew. There's something else out there that we don't know about yet. Kari: T.K., you mean... a new enemy!? T.K.: I'm not exactly sure what it is yet but I think we should be prepared for whatever's out there waiting for us. Kari: Mhm.

Apart from Kari bizarrely thinking we've already had this conversation, this is pretty good.

Setting out to collect the others, Takeru and Hikari find the lake region vacant. Daisuke is nowhere to be found.

Patamon: Huh? There's no one here. Hikari: That's weird. Where did they all go? Patamon: HEEEEEEY!!! COME OUT OF HIDING!!! Takeru: DAISUKE-KUUUUUUN!!! Tailmon: V-MOOOOOON!!!

But no answer comes. What dire fate might have befallen--

Oh, no, scratch that. Daisuke and V-mon went for a walk in the bamboo forest. They're fine. Daisuke's just a little out of it.

Daisuke: Hey, V-mon? You've probably noticed already but... why are Takeru and Hikari-chan so tight-knit?

What exactly does Daisuke mean by that? Well, the language used here is あんなに仲がいい an'nani naka ga ii. 仲がいい Naka ga ii means two people who get along very well. They can be friends, lovers, coworkers, peers; The term does not define a particular type of relationship. What matters is that they support each other with minimal conflict.

あんなに An'nani basically means "like that". To that extent.

So Daisuke isn't specifically defining any sort of relationship for them, though he does have suspicions. But with this line, he is questioning how it is that Takeru and Hikari get along that well. They're two peas in a pod. They support each other relentlessly and are totally on the same page all the time, and it's weird.

Daisuke flashes back on the way Hikari cheered for Takeru at the basketball game. This is a rare instance of a flashback with dialogue.

Hikari: TAKERU-KUUUUUUN!!! Takeru: Yes! We did it! (End Flashback) V-mon: Patamon and Tailmon too....

V-mon flashes back on Patamon and Tailmon dancing.

V-mon (V.O.): They get along really well....

The boys let out a mutual sigh.

In the dub:

Patamon: Uh-oh. Everybody's gone.... Kari: That's really strange. They were all here just a minute ago. Patamon: Okay! If you're hiding, we give up! You can come out now! Ollie Ollie Oxenfree! T.K.: DAVIS!!! VEEMON!!! (Cut to bamboo forest) Davis: Hey, Veemon? Have you noticed how chummy T.K. and Kari are together? Why do you think that is? Veemon: Maybe they're identical twins that look completely different! Davis: For example, did you see how Kari was openly rooting for T.K. when we played basketball? Huh.... (Flashback) Kari: I!!! LOVE!!! YOU!!! T.K.!!! T.K.: YEAH!!! (End Flashback) Veemon: Funny, I don't quite remember it like that. (Flashback) Veemon (V.O.): I was too busy watching Gatomon. (End Flashback, collective sigh)

Obviously, Kari didn't say that in the original scene. But for once, that's on purpose. We're seeing Davis's jealous interpretation of that scene rather than a literal flashback.

Daisuke: V-mon! V-mon: What is it, Daisuke?

Daisuke crouches down and grabs V-mon's hands.

Daisuke: We have to work together. V-mon: Work together? Daisuke: We'll come up with something really cool! V-mon: Really cool! Daisuke: And that will bring me closer with Hikari.

Daisuke fantasizes about doing a slam dunk while Hikari cheers for him. Then he front-flips over in front of her and throws up two V for Victories.

V-mon: And I'll get closer with Tailmon.

V-mon fantasizes about waltzing with Tailmon while holding a rose in his mouth.

V-mon: (singsong) TAILMOOO~OOON!!!

With both boys drunk on their fantasy, we return to reality.

Daisuke: The only way this happens, V-mon, is if you evolve into your Adult form. V-mon: Evolve to my Adult form? Daisuke: Something like UltraAngemon.

THAT'S RIGHT, FUCKOS. Remember UltraAngemon? It's an evolution Daisuke pulled straight out of his ass in a jealous fervor. He invented the concept of UltraAngemon way back in episode 7, the Andromon episode, after witnessing Patamon evolve into Angemon for the first time. With the Digimon Kaiser defeated, it's finally time for UltraAngemon to make his debut!

The boys take a moment to picture what UltraAngemon will look like. It's basically Angemon if he flew through a rainbow and got tie-dyed.

V-mon: Got it! Are you ready for me to become UltraAngemon!?

Daisuke laughs and claps at V-mon humoring him. I don't think they're really serious about this UltraAngemon thing; They're just venting some of their stress by goofing around. Daisuke is serious about V-mon evolving to Adult, though.

In the dub:

Davis: Augh.... Veemon: We're not that popular. (Davis crouches down and grabs Veemon's hands) Davis: If we want Kari and Gatomon to like us, we've gotta change. Veemon: What do you have in mind? Davis: We have to be better at the things they like. Veemon: Like what? Davis: I have to learn to become a better basketball player. (Fantasy Davis dunks) Kari: Yay! Davis: KARI LOVES ME!!! YEAH!!! (End Flashback) Veemon: And I have to learn to be a better dancer. (Veemon flashback) Gatomon: (swooning) Veemon.... (End Flashback) Davis: I got it! Just Digivolve into a Champion Digimon who happens to be a great dancer! Veemon: A regular twinkletoes! Davis: Yeah, right? I can just picture it now! (Imagine spot of UltraAngemon) Davis: Angemon would have nothing on you! Veemon: Here goes! VEEMON DIGIVOLVE TO CHAMPION MEGADANCERMON!!!

The dub didn't quite lay the groundwork for UltraAngemon. It sort of did; Davis did tell Veemon to Digivolve into "AngeSomething" in their version of that scene. But it seems they found it easier just to break away from that gag entirely here, inventing the new hypothetical form of MegaDancermon.

In the original, Daisuke just suggests that they need to "do something cool". The fantasies are them expressing their respective jealousies; Daisuke fantasizes about Hikari cheering for his basketball prowess like she did for Takeru and V-mon fantasizes about Tailmon dancing with him instead of with Patamon.

The plan is:

Step 1: Evolve V-mon into a super cool Adult form that impresses the girls so that they like US now!

Step 2: And then we'll be the ones they do these specific things we're salty about with instead of Takeru and Patamon!

The dub tries to merge those into the same step. Davis describes these activities as "things they like", which he and Veemon must improve at. Then they joke around about evolving Veemon into MegaDancermon to achieve that goal for him.

And, for Veemon, that makes sense. But. Uh. I don't think his logic follows for Kari. Kari wasn't cheering for T.K. because he's good at basketball. She was cheering at the basketball game to support T.K. So that's awkward, but in a way that can just be the character's mistake. Daisuke/Davis is meant to be off his rocker here either way.

Suddenly, Daisuke and V-mon's jubilation is interrupted by a presence nearby. Alerted by the scattering of birds, they whip around to see a horrifying creature emerging from the bamboo forest.

A creature that is clearly a bunch of Numemon in a trenchcoat but we'll humor them. After a commercial break, the creature lunges forward and reveals itself to be of a colossal height.

They kind of look like they're wearing a makeshift Monzaemon outfit.

Daisuke: HELP ME, V-MON!!!

Daisuke pushes V-mon forward towards the creature and darts to the side, out of the way.

V-mon: DAISUKE!!! Daisuke: V-mon, evolve into your Adult form! V-mon: S-Sure...

V-mon spins in place while trying to call out his evolution phrase.

V-mon: V-MON SHINKAAAAAA-YA-YA-ya-yaaaaa....

He successfully dizzies himself and falls over. Victory for FakeMonzaemon.

Daisuke: Ugh, he can't evolve.

Oh well. Looks like we're doomed by the very real threat bearing down on us. Sucks.

Honestly, it's for the best. This kind of disingenuous shit is how you get SkullGreymons. Do you want SkullGreymons, Daisuke?

The dub also takes its commercial break here before commencing the attack. When we return, Davis and Veemon drop some quips in before starting up the script.

Davis: That Digimon needs a new tailor! Veemon: He must have a hard time finding eyeglasses! Davis: LOOK OUT, A MONSTER!!! (Davis pushes Veemon towards it and runs) Davis: Don't just stand there! Try to Digivolve into a Champion! Veemon: VEEMON DIGIVOLVE TO... Doooyagh....

Even in the context of Davis staging this attack, the way he suddenly jumps from snarking on the creature's design to screaming and running for his life feels really awkward and inorganic.

With V-mon vanquished, it is time for the wrath of the fake Monzaemon thing!

Creature: Um, are we done here? Daisuke: Yeah, we're good. Thanks. Creature: You're welcome.

The monster tilts forward and its head comes off, spilling countless Numemon and RedVeggiemon out into a pile.

Daisuke: And after all the trouble you went to. Sorry about that. Group: Bye.

Daisuke and V-mon wave as the Digimon depart.

In the dub:

Creature: Can we stop now, Davis? It's getting really hot in here. Davis: Yeah, guess so. Nice job, guys. Creature: Gee, thanks, Davis. Everybody out! (Creature comes apart) Davis: Aww, you ripped your costume. And it was really good too. Group: Adios / See you later!

Davis compliments the costume instead of apologizing for the wasted effort.

Once they're gone, Daisuke turns on V-mon.

Daisuke: That was all your fault, V-mon! V-mon: How was that my fault!? Daisuke: It just is!

Daisuke punches V-mon in the top of his head.

V-mon: OW, WHAT THE HELL!?

V-mon breaks a bamboo stalk with a chop and then turns furiously on Daisuke.

V-mon: Now I'm really getting mad.... Daisuke: Uhh, sorry!

Daisuke turns and runs from his infuriated Partner. V-mon chases after him, roaring at him.

V-mon: COME BACK HERE, DAISUKE!!!

No dice. Daisuke flees from V-mon until he reaches a rope bridge. Once there, he stops and waits for V-mon while explaining his plan via internal monologue.

Daisuke: (thinking) Hehe... Next plan: Enrage V-mon and then break this suspension bridge and cause it to fall, thus putting me in a dire situation. Then, as a result of my brilliant plan, V-mon will have to evolve into his Adult form!

Okay, I joked about it earlier, but this is literally the SkullGreymon episode of the first series. Daisuke really is just doing the SkullGreymon plot again.

In the dub:

Davis: This is all your fault, Veemon! If you would have just Digivolved into a Champion, I never would have had to trick you!

The dub removes the part where Daisuke punches V-mon in the head.

Veemon: So that's it! (Veemon breaks a bamboo stalk) Veemon: You tried to scare me! (Davis runs for it and Veemon gives chase) Davis: WAAAAUGH!!! WELL, YOU USUALLY DIGIVOLVE WHEN YOU'RE SCARED!!! AHHHHHHH!!! (Davis reaches the bridge) Davis: Come on, Veemon! You're slower than the U.S. mail! I hope your Champion form runs faster than you do! Davis: (thinking) Hehe... And now it's time for Part 2 of Operation: Make Veemon Digivolve. I make Veemon mad and then, as I'm crossing this bridge, it breaks! And in order to save me from the fall, Veemon has to Digivolve to the Champion level. Perfect!

I would have gone with "Plan B" instead of "Part 2". The phrase "Part 2" implies that Davis intended to fail with the Monzaemon costume earlier. In the original, it's more clearly asserted that the bridge plan is a contingency for if the Monzaemon plan fails.

Additionally, losing the punch to the head makes Veemon's reaction seem more irrational here. He's chasing Davis with clear intent to do violence over what was basically a prank. Still a dick thing to go but not necessarily one that needs to escalate into physical violence.

Daisuke puts his plan into action by ripping the cord holding the bridge together. The now unstable bridge begins to shake.

Daisuke: AHHHHHH!!! SAVE ME, V-MON!!! V-mon: DAISUKE!!!

All thoughts of retaliation gone, Daisuke sprints across the bridge, screaming Daisuke's name with fear in his voice. Unfortunately, the shaking of the bridge proves too much for him and he falls on his face. The bridge snaps in half, forcing V-mon to leap across in order to reach the segment that Daisuke's holding onto.

Daisuke: V-MOOOOOON!!! V-mon: DAISUKEEEEEE!!!

Hanging onto the cord of the now destroyed bridge, Daisuke hits the cliffside hard but keeps a firm grip. V-mon manages to grab onto Daisuke's legs.

Daisuke: V-mon! You have to evolve into your Adult form! V-mon: V-mon... shinka....

Then all of a sudden, like magic....

...V-mon loses his grip and plunges into the river below. Daisuke follows shortly after.

I sure hope that isn't one of the bridges we just rebuilt or else Daisuke's going to have some explaining to do. In fact, just in general he's going to have a hard time explaining why he wandered off from a volunteer reconstruction assignment to go wreck things further.

Forget what I said earlier about Daisuke knowing there are bigger things happening here than his petty rivalry. This is kind of awful, Daisuke.

In the dub:

Davis: AHHHH!!! VEEMON, HELP ME!!! Veemon: Davis, hold on! (The bridge gives way) Davis: WHOAAAA-OHHHH!!! Veemon: DAVIS!!! (The boys end up dangling) Davis: Now, Veemon! You've got to Digivolve! Veemon: Veemon... Digivolve... To.... (The boys fall in the river) Veemon: (floundering) Was! This! Another! Trick!? Davis: (floundering) I would never! Do! Something like that!

The boys get a little extra dialogue at the end over what is, in the original, the both of them gasping for air while struggling to keep their heads afloat.

Washing up on the shore, Daisuke comes clean to V-mon.

V-mon: Huh? This was a practice exercise to get me to evolve into my Adult form? Daisuke: The plan was that if I put myself in danger, you would evolve into your Adult form and save me. V-mon: But it doesn't seem like it worked. Sorry, Daisuke. Daisuke: It's not your fault, V-mon. V-mon: No? Well then, we should probably head back to the others soon! Daisuke: Yeah.

V-mon bounced back from that pretty fast. Daisuke stands up, then offers V-mon a hand and helps him to his feet. Suddenly, they hear the sound of rumbling rocks nearby. Looking up, they see several rocks rolling down the cliff towards them.

Daisuke: Run, V-mon!

Daisuke starts running, but V-mon watches the rockslide curiously.

V-mon: This is another practice exercise to make me evolve into my Adult form, right? Daisuke: IT'S NOT PART OF THE PLAN!!! V-mon: WAAAAAAAUGH!!!

Now appropriately freaked out, V-mon books it before a massive boulder lands where he was standing. The boulder hits the ground rolling, pursuing Daisuke and V-mon.

Honestly, I'm surprised it took V-mon this long to realize something didn't smell right. The fact that Daisuke kept yelling "Evolve to your Adult form!" instead of yelling "DIGIMENTAL UP!!!" is a dead giveaway.

In the dub, Veemon already knows Davis has been trying to trick him so their discussion is a little different.

Veemon: But Davis, why did you want me to Digivolve into a Champion? Davis: Well, I thought that maybe Kari would like me more if my Digimon could reach the Champion level like T.K.'s can. Veemon: That's silly. Gatomon wouldn't like me more if you could Digivolve. Davis: Well, it couldn't hurt; She doesn't like you now! Veemon: Hey! That's not nice. I really wish you wouldn't rub it in. Davis: (conciliatory) Okay.

It feels a little awkward that Veemon's suddenly confused by this when they were just talking about MegaDancermon.

But it actually does make sense; They'd only been talking then about how Digivolving would benefit Veemon. That Davis is actually personally invested in Veemon Digivolving was not a topic of conversation before.

In the original, Daisuke clearly stated that V-mon becoming UltraAngemon would impress Hikari and Tailmon into liking them both more. But that idea had not been conveyed to Veemon in the dub until this moment.

Davis does come out of this conversation looking more like an asshole than Daisuke does, however, due to the "She doesn't like you now!" exchange. For Daisuke and V-mon, this is just a sweet reconciliation scene.

(Rockslide) Davis: RUN, VEEMON!!! (Davis runs) Veemon: This isn't another one of your tricks to get me to Digivolve into the Champion level, is it? Davis: NO!!! THIS TIME IT'S FOR REAL!!! RUN!!! Veemon: Waugh! (Veemon starts running too)

This part's perfect. No notes.

Fleeing from the boulder, Daisuke and V-mon run afoul of a Digimon that is clearly and unambiguously urinating on the ground beside the river.

Sure, that might as well happen. We've had so much poop so I guess it's about time. Thanks, show. Also, the spiky-shelled Digimon is laughing riotously about his pissing. I'm not sure what's so funny.

Digimon: Hehehehehe AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Daisuke and V-mon come running, pursued by the boulder.

Boys: AHHHHHH!!!

Upon reaching this Digimon piss puddle, they screech to a stop and then leap over it. They may be fleeing for their lives but stepping in that would just be gross.

Spotting the incoming boulder, the Digimon headbutts it up into the air. It lands and shatters on their hard shell.

V-mon: Awesome! Daisuke: Yeah, but we just saw them... peeing....

The Digimon whips around, letting out a furious roar.

Daisuke: And they seem mad about it!

Tortomon is an Adult-stage Vaccine-attribute Reptile Digimon. It's technically トータモン Toutamon but it's based on the English word トータス toutasu or "tortoise".

This is another rare instance where I feel like the dub actually gets the name right and the Digimon Reference Book gets it wrong. Officially, this Digimon is called "Tortamon" according to the Reference Book but. Like.

If we're going to correctly interpret トー tou as "tor" in this context then why wouldn't we extend that same leverage to タ ta? Tortomon's name is literally トータス toutasu with the ス su cut off and a モン mon glued on, so it feels arbitrary to interpret トー tou with the original word in mind but then take タ ta literally.

The dub goes with "Tortomon" for the English name, and that feels correct and natural.

In any case, new Digimon! Tortomon is from the Nature Spirits release of the Digimon Pendulum V-Pet. They were the other Vaccine Adult alongside Kabuterimon for Tentomon, Gotsumon, and Otamamon to evolve into.

Narrator: Tortomon! A tortoise-like Reptile Digimon with a sharp spiked shell. Their special attack is Shell Phalanx!

As an aside, their most notable feature is not being what Armadimon evolves into even though that would totally make sense. V-mon, Armadimon, and Hawkmon are all designed in a way that feels like new Child forms to existing Digimon (V-dramon, Tortomon, and Garudamon) but are all going in a separate direction with their Adult evolutions.

Though V-mon did evolve into V-dramon in the V-Tamer manga. And it's worth noting that Garudamon is a Perfect so it would still seem natural for Hawkmon's Perfect form to be that Digimon. Plus, Digimon evolutions being what they are, nothing's stopping them from branching that way, I suppose. Still, point is, it makes sense for them to evolve that way but in this show, they do not.

The dub has some editing to do in order to remove all shots of Tortomon's onscreen urination. As the boys approach, we get a closeup of Tortomon's face looking at them in surprise and then splice in a shot from later of Tortomon rearing up and trying to body slam them.

The impression is that the boulder chased us right into the clutches of an already hostile Digimon. Then, from there, we get the awesome moment of Tortomon destroying the boulder.

Veemon: That was close! Davis: It's a good thing he was here to block it. You were great, pal! (Tortomon turns around and roars) Davis: He doesn't take compliments well! Tortomon: (rundown) I am Tortomon! I'm a turtle-type Digimon but I hide my head from no one. I use my Strong Carapace attack to be hard on my enemies!

Lacking the urination bits, Davis has no reason to suspect Tortomon's hostility. Though you'd think Tortomon trying to body slam him a moment ago would be a clue.

Once the rundown's over, the boys are left having to unpack this awkward situation they've found themselves in.

Daisuke: Ack, I knew he was mad! V-mon: Who wouldn't be upset if someone walked in on them while they were enjoying a good piss? Daisuke: But it's not like we wanted to see that! Do you think they'll forgive us if we apologize, V-mon? Tortomon: NRRRRRRGREEEEEEEGH!!! V-mon: (flatly) Don't apologize. (cheerful) Oh, is this another plan to make me evolve?

Tortomon rears up on their hind legs, roaring furiously.

Tortomon: HRRRRRUUUUUUGH!!! Daisuke: IT'S NOT A PLAN!!! RUN!!!!

The boys bail before Tortomon slams back down onto the ground where they were standing. This is the shot that the dub used for the body slam earlier.

Yes, this really is what the third-act conflict is predicated on. Between Wormmon's death and the backstory of how the Digimon Kaiser came to be, this is a tension-relieving shenanigans episode.

In the dub:

Davis: Wow! This guy looks pretty angry! Veemon: I'd be pretty angry too if I had a boulder come at me like that! Davis: We didn't throw it! Veemon: He doesn't know that! Davis: Well, I'll just explain it to him and everything will be fine. Listen, you seem like a reasonable fellow. Let me tell you what happened. Tortomon: HYRRRRRGH! Veemon: Smooth move. Hey, how do I know that's not some Digimon in disguise trying to scare me? (Tortomon rears up) Tortomon: HRRRRRRUUUUUUGH!!! Veemon: Never mind! Davis: WAAAAAAUGH!!! (The boys bail before the body slam)

For their part, the dub credits the boulder itself as the source of Tortomon's ire. Which, to be fair, is a valid reason to be upset. Dub Tortomon feels under attack and is defending himself.

Back at the lake, all those Numemon and RedVeggiemon explain things to Hikari and Takeru.

Takeru: Huh? Daisuke and V-mon are practicing evolving to the Adult level? Hikari: Oh, Daisuke-kun... What is he thinking? Daisuke & V-mon: HELP US!!! Hikari: Daisuke-kun!? Tailmon: V-mon!

Daisuke and V-mon come running, joining the others before stopping to catch their breath.

Takeru: What has you so freaked out? Tortomon: RRRRRRRUUUUUUGH!!! MRRRRRRRMEEEEEEGH!!!

Despite Tortomon loudly storming through the woods, the embarrassing debrief continues.

Takeru: You said you "saw Tortomon while they were enjoying a good piss"!? Daisuke & V-mon: Yeah.... Hikari: Then this is all your fault, Daisuke-kun and V-mon. Tailmon: I think so too. Patamon: No argument here. V-mon: I knew you guys would say that.... Daisuke: (aside, bitterly) It's not like we could have avoided it! Who would want to see something like that? V-mon: (sigh) If only we hadn't-- Tortomon: RRAAAAAAGH!!!

Time's up. Tortomon's caught up and comes running.

In the dub:

T.K.: Let me get this straight. Davis is trying to trick Veemon so he'll Digivolve to the Champion level? Kari: Why does he always have some hair-brained scheme he's trying to pull off!?

...does he? I'm gonna have to drop a Citation Needed on Davis being a Bugs Bunny-esque troublemaker.

Davis & Veemon: WHOAAAAAA!!! Kari: What's the matter, Davis!? Gatomon: Veemon! (Davis and Veemon stop to catch their breath) T.K.: You guys look like you've seen a monster. Tortomon: NROOOOOOGH!!! HRAGH!!! HRAAAAAAGH!!! T.K.: So you think this Digimon is mad at you because he thinks you threw a boulder at him? Davis & Veemon: Uh-huh.... Kari: Why don't you guys just explain the situation to him? Gatomon: Start with Davis's lame plan. Patamon: And finish by saying you're sorry. Veemon: We tried that already!

They did. Unlike their Japanese counterparts, they have in fact tried that already.

Davis: (aside, bitterly) Of course, if Veemon would have Digivolved to the Champion level in the first place, none of this would have happened! Veemon: Again with the Digivolving thing? Tortomon: HRAAAAAAGH!!!

Here again we see a lot of pragmatic writing around the censored topic of Tortomon's urination. The most notable part is having to come up with a new reason for Davis to look off to the side and gripe.

This has the knock-on effect of again making Davis more of an asshole than Daisuke. After the bridge plan failed, Daisuke came clean to V-mon and dropped it. But here Davis is, dredging it back up to whine about it and shift the blame for his stupid plan.

As the furious Tortomon barrels towards them, Daisuke and V-mon scream and start running again. Hikari and Takeru take cover behind the log pile with the Digimon.

Tortomon: MMMMEEEEEERRRRRRGH!!!

As the creature storms off, Hikari and Takeru emerge.

Takeru: (amused) Everyone has times when they don't want anyone to see them, huh? Hikari: (serious) But are they going to be okay? Takeru: What do you mean? Hikari: We can't just leave them like this! Tailmon: Don't worry about it. They'll be fine! Patamon: Tortomon doesn't seem like such a bad guy.

Smash cut to Tortomon bearing down on Daisuke and V-mon, roaring and snarling all the while.

This conversation. XD Takeru says, "Oh those wacky kids." Hikari looks him dead in the eye and goes, "THEY'RE GOING TO DIE." And then the Digimon cut in like, "Nah, I like the cut of Tortomon's jib!"

Tortomon is going to trample Daisuke to death and Hikari is the only person who has a problem with that. XD

In the dub:

Tortomon: HRAAAAAAGH!!! (T.K. and Kari take cover while Tortomon stomps through) T.K.: Have you ever noticed that Davis always gets himself into these things?

I have not. What are you talking about?

Kari: Should we help them? T.K.: Nah. Kari: But how do we know that they'll be okay? Gatomon: Somehow, Davis always lands on his feet. Patamon: Besides, I don't think Tortomon is really that angry with them anyway.

Nonetheless, this conversation is just as hilariously unreasonable as in the original. T.K.'s short and simple "Nah" sent me.

In the city region, Iori's teaching kendo to the Gazimon because of course that's what he's doing.

Armed with sticks, Iori demonstrates an overhead strike, which the Gazimon then repeat.

Iori: MEN!!! Gazimon: MEN!!!

They repeat, calling out their strike and swinging a total of four times before they hear Daisuke's voice.

Daisuke: IORIIIIII!!! Iori: Daisuke-san and V-mon? Daisuke & V-mon: SAVE US!!!

Daisuke and V-mon take cover behind Iori, who brandishes his makeshift shinai.

Iori: I see! Tortomon: HROOOAAAAAAGH!!!

Then Iori actually sees what he's committed to fighting off. The Gazimon scream and scatter.

Iori: AHHHHHH!!! I... I don't think my kendo skills are up to this task. I'M SORRY!!!

Iori throws his stick on the ground and runs for it, abandoning Daisuke and V-mon to their fate. Tortomon crushes the stick underfoot while Iori and the Gazimon take cover inside a nearby stack of culverts. Armadimon cowers atop the culverts making his best attempt to just not be noticed; It works.

As Daisuke and V-mon flee with their pursuer once more, Iori peeks out from the culvert.

Iori: It's a good thing I backed down. There's no way I could have won that. Armadimon: No argument here-dagyaa!

Sorry, guys! Good luck!

In the dub:

Cody: Ready, 1! And 2! And 3! And 4! Davis: CODY!!! Cody: Huh? Hey Davis, what's the big hurry? Davis: We need help! (Cody brandishes his makeshift shinai) Cody: Ha! Hiyah!!! Tortomon: HRAGH!!! HOORAAAAAAGH!!! (Gazimon scatter) Cody: I've just remembered I've got to study for a big math test next Monday! Seeya! (Cody throws the stick down and hides until Tortomon passes) Cody: Boy, Davis sure has some strange ideas about how to have fun. Armadillomon: You can say that again!

The gag is the same in both versions. Iori/Cody initially acts tough and commits to defending Daisuke/Davis only to instantly fold once he lays eyes on the adversary. But the dub presents it in a quippier fashion.

At the coastal region, Miyako and Hawkmon are on a break. Miyako's checking her D-Terminal while Hawkmon knocks back some bottled water.

V-mon: SAVE US, HAWKMON!!! Daisuke: MIYAKOOOOOO!!!

Looking down the beach, Miyako holds up her D-Terminal.

Miyako: Iori sent me an email! Hawkmon: We don't have time to mess around! Daisuke: WE'RE NOT MESSING AROUND!!! V-mon: NO MESSING AROUND HERE!!! Miyako: (eyeroll) You guys are in the way so BUZZ OFF--ACK!!!

It's at that moment that the boys and Tortomon come into view. Upon recognizing the severity of the situation, Miyako and Hawkmon hide in one of the canoes they dredged up. Daisuke, V-mon, and Tortomon pass by.

Daisuke: "Buzz off"!? V-mon: That's so mean! Tortomon: HRAURGH!!!

As Tortomon passes, their size causes their heavy footfalls to slam down into the surf, drenching the boat Miyako and Hawkmon are hiding in. Once they're gone, Miyako and Hawkmon peek back out of the canoe, completely soaked and utterly speechless.

This scene's a little difficult to parse because when Miyako turns and looks at them, holding up her D-Terminal, and then Hawkmon berates them? It feels like they're supposed to be able to see the boys at that point. But then she clearly lays eyes on them and Tortomon for the first time at "Buzz off", when she suddenly reacts and hides.

In the dub:

Veemon: HAWKMON, YOLEI, HELP!!! Yolei: Cody sent me an email and said you had a small problem! Hawkmon: I. Would. Not. Call that. Small. Davis: YOLEI, QUICK!!! DO SOMETHING PLEASE!!! Veemon: YEAH!!! HELP US!!! HURRY!!! Yolei: While you guys are running around playing games, some of us are working. Now--ACK!!! (Yolei and Hawkmon hide) Davis: WE'RE NOT PLAYING GAMES!!! Tortomon: HRARGH!!!

The dub is just as awkward. Hawkmon explicitly sees Tortomon only for Yolei to suddenly notice a few lines later and for the pair to hide.

Continuing onward, Tortomon chases Daisuke and V-mon up a hill.

Daisuke/V-mon: HEEEEEELP!!! / STOP CHASING US!!!

Their luck finally runs out as they reach the edge of a cliff. With nowhere left for Daisuke and V-mon to run, Tortomon stops and catches their breath.

Daisuke & V-mon: Ugh, no more! Tortomon: RRRRRRG-- Daisuke: Wait, Tortomon! Tortomon: Hrm? Daisuke: Before you attack us, there's something I want to say. V-mon: What, our last requests?

Daisuke bows down low to Tortomon. V-mon quickly does the same.

Daisuke: We apologize for seeing you pee. V-mon: It's too late to apologize now! Daisuke: But before you attack us.... V-mon: Before? Daisuke: ...you should wash your hands. V-mon: WHAT!?!? Tortomon: NYRRGH!?

Goddammit, Daisuke. XD

Tortomon's as taken aback as V-mon at that. They rear back and look at their front paws in shock.

Daisuke: If you're going to attack us, wash your hands first. V-mon: WHAT ARE YOU SAYING, DAISUKE!?!? Daisuke: It's more hygienic that way, don't you think? V-mon: I do. But this isn't the time to be worrying about hygiene! Tortomon: MRRRRAAAAAAGH!!! V-mon: LOOK, YOU MADE THEM ANGRIER!!!

Good job, Daisuke. Way to further embarrass the furious murder turtle.

Anyways, that's the story of what ever became of Daisuke. He was never seen again after this point. Only Hikari missed him.

The dub adds some lines as they're running up the hillside.

Veemon: Davis! Please tell me this is just another trick! Davis: Do you think I'm smart enough to think up something like this!? Veemon: Good point!

V-mon/Veemon has brought up the possibility of Tortomon being another trick before, but only Daisuke answered that question definitively. Veemon retracted the question, so this is the first time Davis has actually answered it.

Davis/Veemon: Help! Please! Anybody! / SOMEONE HELP US!!! (Tortomon corners them on the cliff's edge) Davis: This is the end of the line, pal. (Tortomon gasps for breath) Davis & Veemon: He's got bad breath! Tortomon: RRRRRRGH!!!

Right where Daisuke interrupted Tortomon's attack, the dub takes its third commercial break. They roll back the footage on return and we start again from Davis and Veemon delivering their mutual line.

Davis & Veemon: Goodbye old friend! Tortomon: RRRRRRG-- Davis: Hold on! Tortomon, let me just say one thing. Tortomon: Hrm? Davis: I have one final request. Veemon: (hisses) What are you doing, Davis!? (Davis kneels in supplication) Davis: Shut up and get down here! Veemon: Oh boy. (Veemon does the same) Davis: I-I've always considered myself a very clean person. Veemon: Oh, really? It's a good thing he's never seen your room! Davis: Before you destroy us, could you do me a bit favor? Veemon: What? Davis: Would you mind washing your hands? Veemon: HUH!?!? Tortomon: NYRRGH!? (Tortomon looks at their hands) Davis: I don't want to get any bad germs or anything. Veemon: I wouldn't be worried about germs right now! Davis: If you've got a better idea, I'd be glad to hear it right about now! Veemon: Uh, Davis is right! Germs can be very dangerous, especially right-- Tortomon: MRRRRAAAAAAGH!!! Veemon: (flatly) I don't think he buys the whole germ theory.

Without the context that Tortomon was draining the lizard a moment ago, Davis asking him to wash his hands comes right out of left field. The dub plays it off by recontextualizing it; If you read between the lines, Davis is clearly attempting to trick Tortomon as a last-ditch plan to get away.

Whereas for Daisuke, this moment is pure comedic absurdity. He is entirely sincere. Yeah, we're gonna fight, but your hands are icky so can you wash up first?

It's also worth noting that Davis says Tortomon is going to "destroy" them while Daisuke only admits as much as 襲う osou, which means to attack or strike or assault. Davis says "Before you kill us" and Daisuke says "Before you try". He has two Digimentals in his back pocket and he's seen uglier.

Infuriated, Tortomon finally attacks.

Tortomon rears up and slams their left front paw down. Daisuke and V-mon split up, Daisuke breaking left while V-mon goes right. Tortomon turns to follow Daisuke, exposing their flank to V-mon.

Though he doesn't call the attack, V-mon dives in with a headbutt. Tortomon thwacks him with their tail, knocking the wind out of him as he hits the ground.

Daisuke: (worried) V-mon.... V-mon: (pained) Daisuke...!

Once they're satisfied that V-mon is down, Tortomon turns their attention to Daisuke.

Tortomon: RRRGH!!! Daisuke: V-mon! You have to evolve, V-mon!

When Daisuke holds up his D-3, holy light emanates from its screen. Getting his second wind, V-mon climbs back to his feet.

V-mon: Daisuke!

This time, it's sincere. Daisuke has the power now only because he genuinely means it.

In the dub, Veemon calls the attack.

Veemon: VEE HEADB--OOF!!! (Tortomon tail whips Veemon to the ground) Davis: VEEMON!!! Veemon: Why do I have a headache...? (Tortomon turns his attention on Davis) Tortomon: RRRGH!!! Davis: Teach this guy a lesson, Veemon! (Davis holds up his D-3) Veemon: Wow!

The difference is minor, but Davis sounds just a little too secure in his ability to do something that has not successfully worked before.

In any case, despite Daisuke's false starts before, it is now finally time. V-MON SHINKAAAAAA!!! And the first ever instance of Show Me Your Brave Heart playing for one of the three new kids.

Daisuke: V-MON EVOLVED TO THE ADULT LEVEL!!!

XV-mon is an Adult-stage Free-attribute Mythical Dragon Digimon. Like the letter V, the letter X is not a sound that comes naturally to the Japanese language and has to be phonetically spelled out. This means that the relatively simple XV-mon has to be named, in katakana, エクスブイモン Ekusubuimon.

Narrator: XV-mon! An Adult-stage Mythical Dragon Digimon that V-mon evolved into using his own innate power. His special attack is X Laser!

The narrator specifies that this evolution comes from V-mon's own power, as opposed to the Digimentals which borrow on the power of the others. This isn't Daisuke walking in the shadow of Taichi or Yamato; This is Daisuke, pure and unfiltered.

As XV-mon charges into battle, Tortomon lands the first hit. A headbutt to XV-mon's gut knocks him on his back. Tortomon follows up by stomping on his gut.

Before another stomp can be delivered, XV-mon counters with a kick to the head. His kick knocks Tortomon over onto their back. XV-mon scrambles to his feet and grabs Tortomon's tail, spinning him in the air before tossing him.

Tortomon hits the ground hard but recovers quickly and turns back around towards XV-mon.

Tortomon: SHELL PHALANX!!!

Yep! Despite being largely non-verbal, this Digimon actually does call attacks in the Japanese version! That's rare.

Shell Phalanx sounds like it'd be a defensive move but it's not. It's a rapid-fire spike shot from Tortomon's shell. But XV-mon's ready for it. He punches any spikes that come too close out of the air, ending with a side kick for the last spike.

In the dub:

Davis: YOU DID IT, VEEMON!!! YOU REACHED THE CHAMPION LEVEL!!! ExVeemon: (rundown) I feel like a new 'mon! Davis, wait 'til you see my Vee Laser attack! It'll make my Vee Headbutt look like a tap on the shoulder!

I don't know why they spell it like that. Or why they decided X Laser should be Vee Laser. He is no longer Vee. By the dub's admission, he is an ex-Vee.

The dub uses Let's Kick It Up for their insert song here. When ExVeemon kicks Tortomon to get him off, he calls that as an attack.

ExVeemon: EXVEE PUNCH!!! (ExVeemon gets Tortomon off and then throws him) Tortomon: STRONG CARAPACE!!!

Strong Carapace also sounds like a defensive move to me, so both versions are equal on that. ExVee Punch is a weird name for a kick.

When Shell Phalanx fails, Tortomon charges in for another tackle.

XV-mon leaps over the incoming Tortomon, kicking them in the back of the neck before hopping entirely over them. Tortomon crashes down on their face into the dirt.

Capitalizing on this opportunity, XV-mon whips around and lets loose with his special attack.

XV-mon: X LASER!!!

Exactly what it sounds like, the attack is an X-shaped beam emanating from the X/V symbol on XV-mon's chest. It hits Tortomon dead on. Tortomon pulls into their shell and tries to resist it, but the beam picks them up and carries them off the clifff. Tortomon plunges helplessly onto the beach far below. This battle is over.

In the dub, ExVeemon calls the kick he delivers to the back of Tortomon's neck.

ExVeemon: EXVEE KICK!!! (ExVeemon bounds off Tortomon) ExVeemon: VEE LASER!!!

At least this kick was an ExVee Kick and not another ExVee Punch. Though the existence of ExVee Kick and ExVee Punch only make the naming of Vee Laser all the more confusing.

With Tortomon bested, Daisuke takes a moment to celebrate.

Daisuke: YES!!! You're the best, XV-mon!

I love that Daisuke doesn't care even for a second that this is not UltraAngemon. That was a jealous whim. XV-mon is real, and that makes him a million times cooler than UltraAngemon could have ever been.

Suddenly, Tortomon down below starts rapidly spinning and charging up something.

Tortomon: hroooooAAAAAAUUUUUURGH!!!

And then they stop, emerge from their shell, and start giggling and pissing again. Daisuke and XV-mon quickly cover their eyes.

Daisuke: Don't look! Tortomon: Ehehehehe! AHAHAHAHA!!! Daisuke: We're not looking--huh?

Daisuke peeks through his fingers only to realize that Tortomon's finished. Tortomon washes their hands in the ocean.

Tortomon: Ehehehe! Daisuke: Tortomon properly washed their hands! They're not such a bad person when you get to know them. XV-mon: Yeah.

Okay, Daisuke. At least we know that Daisuke takes bathroom hygiene very seriously.

Tortomon departs, laughing to themself all the while. I wish I enjoyed anything half as much as they enjoy peeing.

In the dub, Davis trades Daisuke's unapologetic praise of XV-mon for a punny quip.

Davis: Tortomon has got to learn to come out of his shell! Tortomon: SPINNING ATTACK!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAA!!

Obviously, this footage of Tortomon peeing is removed too. We go straight to Davis and ExVeemon covering their eyes.

Davis: I can't watch! ...do I hear splashing? (Tortomon washes his hands) Davis: What do ya know? The big lug washed his hands after all! That's a good habit to get into!

This rapid spinning right before peeing isn't really explained. The dub compounds the confusion by having him call it as an attack only to never launch the attack.

Again, without the urination context, this resolution lacks any sort of rationale for why this would be how the fight ends. Though the original only makes marginally more sense.

With that settled, Daisuke and XV-mon return to the others. Daisuke rides on XV-mon's shoulder as they approach the team.

Hawkmon: So, are you done goofing off yet? Daisuke: I told you we weren't goofing off. Check it out! V-mon evolved into his Adult form XV-mon! Iori: That means we can rebuild much faster now. Miyako: We can work XV-mon and Daisuke extra hard! Team: YEAH!!! Daisuke: EH!?!?

Daisuke's so startled by this response, he slips off of XV-mon's shoulder and lands hard on his butt. We close on the team laughing merrily at Daisuke's expense! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

In the dub, Davis and ExVeemon get extra dialogue as the scene transitions.

ExVeemon: So this is what it feels like to be a Champion! Davis: Kinda like a great boxer, huh? Only with all your teeth.

OUCH. That was fucking harsh, Davis. XD

Davis: Everybody, I'd like you to meet ExVeemon! Champion Digimon Extraordinaire! Cody: I've always been fond of Veemon and I'm sure I'll like you as well. Yolei: Now our cleanup of the Digital World will go a lot faster! Let's put them to work! Team: ALRIGHT!!! Davis: HUH!?!? (Davis falls off and everyone laughs) Group: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Davis: Ha... haha... ha... What are you laughing at, ExVeemon!? Just because you're a Champion now, doesn't mean you know how to dance yet! Narrator: Is T.K. right about the DigiDestined having a new enemy? Find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

We might. I know next episode is Ken's big backstory reveal but I don't remember if we meet the new enemies there or not. I dunno. Gonna hold you to that one, Narrator.

Assessment: Like I said earlier, this is a breather episode. Shit was just very real for the last five episodes and it's going to go right back to being very real next episode, so this was an opportunity to dial it back and get into some low-stakes shenanigans.

Daisuke unlocks the first evolution that truly belongs to him of the series and it's oddly fitting that it's in such a goofball of an episode. I've said it before but Daisuke could totally rock the Digimental of Purity. For better and for worse, he wears his heart on his sleeve.

[onesnoopyaday]

Hi, welcome to my blog!

I'm going to be posting one drawing of Snoopy every day for a whole year, starting from October 2nd 2024 until October 2nd 2025. This may seem like a totally random date, but it is in fact the 74th anniversary of Peanuts today, and if I successfully keep this up for a whole year, this project will take me right up to the 75th anniversary. Feel free to follow along for the journey!

Here is the first Peanuts strip, published October 2nd 1950 :D

I'm super out of practice with drawing, so part of why I'm doing this is to start drawing again on a regular basis, like I used to do as a kid. I chose Snoopy as my muse because:

He is cute

In addition to drawing, I also spent a lot of time reading Peanuts as a kid, so it holds a very special place it my heart <3 It seemed like a thematically relevant thing to base this project around.

Did I mention he is cute?

This is inspired by onetigeraday, which in turn was inspired by 1coweveryday. Also inspired by ms-paint-garfield!

Snoopy #1

2/10/2024

[txttletale]

bundletober #13: blazing hymn

alright i've fallen behind on bundletober (the series of blog posts where i review and talk about a ttrpg i got in a bundle every day) and am hoping to make up the difference by putting out two entries today. this is the first one, and i'm looking at the mecha-piloting, synthetic-armour wearing, blaspheming-against-God-and-his-angels game blazing hymn by peach garden games.

now sadly this game is not a lyric/blackout poetry game about rewriting church hymns to be about gay sex. someone should make that btw. no it's just about wearing highly advanced battlesuits powered by the song of your heart to kill aliens with weapons of pure energy. which is about as cool.

first off, the layout of this game is unique and stylish. there are hexagons everywhere:

the game puts sparse splashes of dreamy pastel colours amid a constantly shifting set of black and white hexagons. it gives the book a visual identity that is at once both visually distinct and also changing massively from page to page. it's a really cool way to mix things up and keep you wanting to turn the page if just to keep seeing what the next one even looks like.

what's the game about? simple. angels have come to earth to destroy it badly. with the power of song, young people can power specially designed battlesuits, called Hymnals, that when not activated collapse down into crystal necklaces. it's a pretty anime concept--the game is pretty open about being inspired by Evangelion and Symphogear, neither of which i've actually seen--but it's cool as hell. the aesthetics of the layout really help bring the aesthetics of the game itself, of technology and ethereal mysticism merged into one thing, to life.

the game uses a pretty simple three-stat system where you build dice pools with a state relevant to an action and can get a full success, mixed success, or failure, depending on what you roll. your characters have two resources, Health, which is what it sounds like, and Gain, which is essentially magical power. because you can swap Health for Gain and Gain for Health at a 1-1 ratio with no restrictions, i'm not really sure why they're separate things--seems like a missed opportunity to not only simplify the mechanics but also create a strong mechanical narrative element by making Gain the only thing that keeps you going--once your song is silenced, you're out.

to create a character, you pick from one of six unit classes--here's where i'd describe the six classes, but honestly, they don't quite feel distinct enough. a lot of the powers you can pick for each hymnal class feel very similar, or are outright overlapping in a lot of cases. this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the descriptions of the hymnals, while trying to clarify their combat roles, all end up seeming to repeat themselves or say contradictory things. i think some direct ties between those descriptions and their mechanics would have helped--i'd find it a lot easier to remember that, for example, the 05 Xyston type "brutal in combat" if that flavour text was followed by a direct reference to one or more of its abilities. they do all have pretty different stats--which, in a game with a very simple and elegant combat system, means i'm confident they play very differently once you hit the table. but just looking at them, as a prospective player, i struggle to tell the difference.

i don't have that problem with the next character creation mechanic, though, which is choosing the songs you sing to power your hymnal. each song, as well as a thematically appropriate set of stat boosts, also prompts a pair of revealing character questions. they're the kind of mechanic that i want to get my hands on because they make it fun to create characters, giving real mechanical expression to the emotional fundamentals of who they are.

the combat system itself seems really, really good. it's astoundingly simple--you're encouraged to use a map, but there's no fiddly grid or distance tracking, just the ability to move between being Close, Near, or Far from an enemy. it keeps the numbers low to keep it getting silly and doesn't bother with any of the unecessary bookkeeping and fiddliness that plagues TTRPG combat as a whole. no initiative, no separate turns--there's a 'player' turn and a GM turn, and during the GM turn the GM picks from enemy's listed actions until they've done two for each player. players can use their abilities on the GM turn, and the game encourages the GM to take enemy actions that wil lforce them to--so nobody's ever standing around twiddling their thumbs waiting for the whole table to rotate back to them, and having a lot of enemies doesn't mean the players listen to the GM talk for fifteen minutes.

there's two unique mechanics that i think are very interesting-- Civilians and Condemnation. Civilians are--well, exactly what they sound like. on their turn, players can use an action to evacutate up to 5 of them. this extremely small and simple mechanic is fucking genius. so many games tell you they're about saving innocent people, but yet the only mechanical verbs you have to interact with anyone are violent ones. as elaine scarry says in the body in pain:

so in a way i think blazing hymn puts its money where its mouth is in a way very few combat rpgs with emancipatory or heroic aspirations bother. angels are said to attack populated areas--you're sent to preserve life as well as destroy the enemy. it makes the game feel fundamentally different, like despite the questionable ethics of hymnals (after all, they only work on young people, who then have to be sent into deadly combat situations) there is something heroic you can do.

the second cool mechanic is condemnation, a reality-warping toxin that angels use to destroy the places they're sent to. this rocks because it adds a ticking timer to the battlefield, a passive threat that forces the player characters to be proactive. if condemnation gets too high, not only is the fight going to get harder, but civilians are going to die en masse. it's a great piece of game design that gives the GM a great lever to pull for pacing and urgency.

i also really like that one of the steps of the GM turn is to 'change the situation', whether that means something happens in the narrative or something on the map changes (a train arriving is the example the book gives) or more angels attack. in general, one of my biggest complaitns about d&d is that unless a DM takes it upon themselves to design additional mechanics and encounters outside of anything the game actually gives them, combat inevitably turns into two lines of people hitting each other with sticks until one of them dies. i love dynamic, progressing combat, combat where the stakes change moment to moment. and blazing hymn delivers.

anything else? oh yeah, the angel designs are cool as fuck.

god damn. anyway despite a few minor issues with the hymnals themselves, the core of blazing hymnal is fucking good, a nice tight and razor-sharp combat system wrapped up in pulsing pastel crystalline aesthetics. if you like cool anime fights and like having the rules to back it up but hate complexity, crunch, and tedium, this might be the perfect game for you. it's certainly given me a lot of cool design ideas to take foreward into my own projects.

blazing hymn is available for purchase as a digital download through itch.io

[dappled-sunlight-dap]

I GOT MY DISSERTATION BACK AND IT'S A 70!! THAT'S A FIRST-CLASS GRADE! GOD I'M SO HAPPY I PUT SO MUCH BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS INTO A TOPIC THAT WAS REALLY FUCKING HARD AND IT. PAID. OFF!!! ALL OF MY EFFORT BORE FRUIT AND I'M ON TOP OF THE FUCKING WORLD RIGHT NOW! ALL OF THE MIND-MELTING READING ON THE NATURE OF A DEITY, ALL OF THE HOURS SITTING AT THAT TABLE WRITING EVERY DAY, ALL OF THE SCAVENGER HUNTING FOR RELEVANT BOOKS ON AN OBSCURE TOPIC IN THE LIBRARY - THIS WAS WORTH EVERY SINGLE MINUTE, EVEN WHEN IT STARTED TO SUCK OUT MY GODDAMN SOUL! WE'RE GONNA EAT DOMINO'S PIZZA TO CELEBRATE AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO THE CINEMA (THAT WAS ALREADY BOOKED, WASN'T EXPECTING MY MARK TO APPEAR TODAY) AND I'M GONNA SEE HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON WITH MY DAD!

Whoo, calming down now... I'm just so damn happy about this. I can't count how many hours I spent reading and writing. There's a reason we were advised to pick a topic we like - after a while, especially close to the end, it becomes tedious and mind-numbing and it feels like it'll never end. I'm glad I followed that advice, because I thoroughly enjoyed my subject and STILL felt worn down and bored during the final 2000-word stretch. At times, it felt like I'd never get there. It felt impossible. But I pushed through and came out on the other side.

The fact that we're seeing HTTYD today is pure coincidence, I had no idea when I'd see my grade and it just happened to be the same day. Somehow, it just seems thematically appropriate. I remember seeing the original film in the cinema 15 years ago, as a kid who was trying to find their way in the world and experiencing struggles at school and at home, feeling quite lost and hating myself (my autism was undiagnosed at the time, so I hadn't received the help I'd get later and felt that there was something fundamentally wrong with me, but I couldn't figure out why). I came out of that cinema changed forever, utterly fascinated by dragons, which later expanded to a special interest in all things mythological. I was already an avid writer, but the things I wrote about were definitely flavoured by this - I later wrote 7 books between the ages of 10 and 13 (ranging from 20k to 70k words, never published), all of which featured dragons in some capacity. Dragons also continue to appear in all of my longfics to this day, and even my Tumblr profile pic is a dragon!

Now, 15 years later, I'm going back to see HTTYD again. I'm an adult finding their way in the world, just discovering a niche industry I fit perfectly into, like I was made for it. I'm about to graduate with an Ancient History degree (still waiting on an exam and assignment mark, but I have faith in myself). I've found a volunteer job in my chosen field and am searching for a paid one. I just got my dissertation back with a fantastic grade. I've known about and been managing my autism for almost ten years, learning to regulate myself and harness the skillset that came with it. School and home troubles are far in the past, and those involved are no longer in my life. I have friends who support and encourage me to be who I want to be. I know who I am. Nothing was ever wrong with me. I'm proud of who I am, and I can proudly say I love myself and have never been happier than I have in these past six months. It all came full circle. A sad, lost child went to see a film that changed them forever. Now, an adult who is finding their place in the world is going to see it again, having come out on the other side of multiple struggles and become stronger. If I could go back in time and talk to my younger self, Lil Dap would be stoked to know they have a bright future ahead of them - that they're going to make it, no matter how hopeless life feels for them.

Wow, that all got a little deep there. Today is just a huge day for me. It feels like my whole life has built up to this moment, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

EDIT: Literally the second I posted this, I got one of my remaining marks back - another 70! Now I'm waiting on only one more mark to confirm I'll be graduating!

[lotus-tower]

okay so. i've always thought it was obvious that yoshiwara in flames arc's main relevance to gintama's overall narrative is as the prelude to rakuyou. like it's not thematically very interesting on its own, right? but it exists mainly for kagura and kamui's sake, establishing the sort of parallelism that gintama lives off of. it isn't really that connected to the red spider arc even though at first it might seem to be.

but i had no idea about the meaning of the name "rakuyou" until i saw @suchira 's post about it earlier today. and before that i also hadn't thought about utsuro's connection to the sun, which they've also talked about.

given everything that happens in rakuyou, this has expanded my thoughts quite a bit! i'm going be thinking through this as i go, so this is going to be me rambling.

housen is one of the few big arc villains who don't feel related to gintoki. jirocho, jiraia, oboro, takasugi--these kinds are obviously meant to be foils to gintoki. isaburo functions differently as a character, but even he gets directly compared to gintoki by nobume. but housen isn't really there for gintoki--he's there for kamui. he isn't a particularly interesting character, nor is his death very satisfying because of the wishywashy writing about hinowa showing kindness to him at the end. previously i'd thought that his thing with the sun was just a weaker example of craving something that would destroy you, and/or running away from one's weaknesses and vulnerabilities to the point that you become a sort of husk.

that's probably still a thing, but the introduction of the sun motif on the much more meaning-dense end of gintama adds so much more. because now the pre-existing thematic framework of gintama can do the heavy lifting for housen (who is, again, a pretty uninteresting character), hinowa (who is cool, but suffers from both Woman and Mom in shounen), and tsukuyo (who is very cool, but suffers egregiously from Woman in shounen).

so what is housen, really? he's the guy kamui chose to go with when making his very bad life decisions, the end result of the path he decided to pursue. for simplicity let's call him kamui bad end, though they aren't very comparable in canon itself because housen doesn't come across as nearly self-destructive enough. but the basic logic is that housen is one of those characters who gave up everything in single-minded pursuit of power--he's a flat character because he already "emptied himself out", as kamui says, before the series started. (but then he got scared and lonely, and all that.)

what's funny is that if housen is a bad end, then the guy who he considers his rival automatically comes to mind as an opposed route. i think it would be a serious stretch to call umibouzu the "good end" for kamui, and that's definitely part of the point in how the yato are written. but in any case, kamui clearly looked both ways (insert roads leading to two castles meme) and saw housen stereotypical villain bad end on one side, and his dad on the other. so obviously he chose housen.

rakuyou is a planet where it's always overcast. you could say that kamui chose to leave that "safety" in order to pursue something that shone much brighter to him, even if it would disintegrate him in the end. or, since rakuyou's name invokes the sun, you could say that he chose to flee the place of his weakness and pain, where his family was, like housen deciding to flee the sun and build an underground paradise.

when i go over my gintama cast tarot assignments, i always hesitate over hinowa. is she the Sun? or the Empress? how can i choose? and i think this is essentially the same conundrum. and i think the fact that she's both (thankfully, actual gintama storytelling isn't restricted to 1 character = 1 arcana) also provides us with the best answer here. hinowa is the object of yearning of both housen (as the sun) and of seita (as a mother). obviously, as i said before, the whole seita-hinowa thing is meant to lay the groundwork for kamui's motivations, and is also why he's introduced in this arc in the particular way that he is. but kamui is both seita and housen. he's the child yearning for his mother, but also the warlord who fears the sun so much he'll lock not only himself but countless others into the dark forever. but housen also desperately longed for the sun. kamui looks down on seita for being weak, and he looks down on housen for choosing to drown himself in vices at the end of his life. in the end, he doesn't kill either one of them.

if the sun is what kamui yearns for, he wants to leave rainy "rakuyou" behind--and/or he misses his home, his childhood, his family, even if these things feel like they will destroy him. or, if the sun is what kamui seeks to avoid, he wants to turn away from "rakuyou", all the things that hold him down so that he can throw himself into single-minded pursuit of self-destruction--and/or he's afraid of the weakness and pain that the sun inflicts on him, and desires to be strong enough that he won't feel them. see, a whole lot of words to say the same thing over and over.

i've always assigned housen the Emperor arcana. and i've often wondered, should it be umibouzu instead? should it be utsuro? and that, i think, is another illumination. thank you tarot for being an icon. it's so effective here because gintama is predictably built on parallels, and overlapping arcana assignments are bound to make you think: why?

in the end, housen builds a city underground in order to avoid the sun, but he also severs hinowa's ankles so that he can hold her, the sun proxy, captive in his grasp. he can't bear to feel sunlight, but he can't bear to let it go either. kamui is much the same, but he's young--he thinks he can let it go, his fears and regrets haven't caught up to him yet, because he still has so much to reach for. housen attained the peak of his strength and notoriety, and then there was little left for him.

what else happens in rakuyou? well, oboro and takasugi fight. oboro is sort of a seita figure in his own right, if seita had burned down yoshiwara in hopes that it would drive hinowa running to him. of course, seita didn't know that hinowa couldn't run; and oboro didn't know that shouyou couldn't, either.

but aside from seita and housen, there's another character in yoshiwara who yearns for the sun--not to possess it, but to protect it, to serve it. tsukuyo is an interesting character heavily let down by the realities of living in shounen jump. from my own understanding of sorachi's character, i don't think the following was intentional on his part. but i do think there are real reasons why these parallels are textually present (mainly through gintoki).

tsukuyo is the closest oboro has in this series to someone similar to him. not in the sense of a reflection in the mirror or hole-sided adjacency, but as in someone who sort of has a similar job and background to him. or had, anyway. as i implied earlier, the few, specific, clearly intentional similarities she has with gintoki (hello red spider) bleed over into her similarities with oboro, of course, because gintoki and oboro are... you know. just look at them.

tsukuyo swore herself to hinowa, but technically she was working under housen. she led housen's paramilitary force--fortunately, the hyakka loved her a lot more than the naraku were probably ever able to have an opinion about oboro. i don't think tsukuyo and oboro would ever get along--but they did have the same job. oboro did it in the heavens, tsukuyo did it underground. anyway, hinowa "saved" tsukuyo by teaching her about fighting from inside one's cage, and so tsukuyo gladly walked into the cage, just like oboro returning to the naraku without shouyou. because they thought it would be worth it. and also because tsukuyo had been groomed from a young age for the Hole (apologies to those who haven't read my ouroboros essay), to give up on her selfhood, and also to kill her sensei (hello gintoki). but hinowa remained around, unlike shouyou. tsukuyo never thought she could really free her--but protecting her, being able to see her, was enough.

oboro's life problem is a bit like if hinowa and housen were the same person. but kamui would see in that pairing only a reflection of his parents. and also, kouka is a bit like if hinowa and utsuro were the same person. but utsuro is already like if shouyou and utsuro were the same person--because oboro's actual life problem is that shouyou and utsuro are the same person.

i've spoken a lot about tarot, but the moon in gintama has little to do with the Moon arcana. in gintama it's the backdrop, the symbol of promises--promises made, promises fulfilled, promises held on to dearly whether they can be fulfilled or not. i don't truly think that the sun as represented by hinowa interacts directly with this. but tsukuyo and oboro share moon-related names, and their promises (or rather, their vows of devotion) towards hinowa/shouyou are one-sided. one-sided promises aren't a problem in gintama--our silver-haired protagonist wouldn't be alive if it weren't for them.

if the naraku, if utsuro, if oboro under utsuro is associated with the sun through the yatagarasu, perhaps it's because of the evaporation of the promise through the eclipsing of the moon. shouka sonjuku, after all, burned down, and utsuro emerged from a pyre. and though i think that the sun is overall a motif much more strongly associated with the yato--that which they avoid, are weak to, and secretly long for--i don't think that's incompatible with the crow-meaning.

rabbits can die of loneliness, you know--or they can die from overheating in the sun. i think the question here is, is this a trick question? are those two the same thing?

[chloeangelic]

Why does it seem like everything you've put out lately is just trying to rip off netherfeildren? Like the art, the plots, the aesthetics... Especially weird since you used to seem to always hype them up

I went back and forth on responding to this but I’ve decided to because I don’t appreciate having my integrity questioned. I kind of expected that I'd get something like this because there are some thematic similarities between Seeking and SWITBOSH. However, I won’t respond publicly to anything else like this cause I think we’re all very over The Discourse, and tbh it’s a massive fucking insult to accuse me of ripping someone off when I’ve spent seven months writing ca 200k words of fic and developing my own unique style of writing. If you can’t see the difference between two writers, just because they write emotional depth and full sentences, then please read an actual book and not just brainrot fic. I’m gonna properly address everything under the cut - anon domming is back on the menu today. 

That being said, because this feels weird and uncomfortable for me and likely for Vic, I’m turning off anons for the time being and I’m taking a posting break to decide whether I want to continue posting here at all or continue posting purely on AO3. I post there anyways under the same name. If you still have a bone to pick with me or my writing, please message me directly. Please do NOT pester Vic about this, I know very well that she does not enjoy The Discourse or any sort of drama. Everyone is sick of the copying discourse - please have some trust in writers’ self awareness. 

Firstly, the words “recently” and “plots” should be defined here - I personally don’t see how stepdaddy Joel, pornstar Tim, sex addict Dieter, baby daddy Javi or any of Love Me back is similar to her works at all. The Seeking teaser I posted yesterday was similar to her Pink teasers purely because it had text on a photo - my text wasn’t even from the fic, it was a quote that represented the series as a whole and the quote that finally made the series crystallize in my head. It’s the quote I want people to have in the back of their mind when they go into reading it - it’s from the song that I consider the series theme. Our formatting is not the same. Yes, I have quotes at the beginning of the chapters - my friend sent me a bunch of poems and a couple, I felt were relevant to the story so I wanted to add them somehow. Several writers do this. I stopped putting in previews above the cut cause it was making it difficult for me to write the beginning of the chapters. My masterlist art is the same as, like.. Everyone’s else’s masterlist post - the norm on here is to have an artwork from Pinterest, the title slapped on top and the writer’s name. I literally just loved Pascalisbaby’s masterlist art so much I decided to do it too. 

When you say plots, I’m assuming you’re drawing parallels between Seeking what is desirable and Someone’s Wife in the Boat of Someone’s Husband because cheater!Joel (or maybe even Pink cause DDLG, but I’m literally in a DDLG-type dynamic irl and I decided to incorporate it into a fic for once - there were CLEAR ddlg undertones in Love Me Back, it just wasn’t explicit. I also wrote several chapters of Seeking before Pink even came out, and I wrote a cheating + father in law oneshot this summer). 

The MC in Seeking is based on myself and my own life, moving away from my parents in order to live with my boyfriend at the time very far away, who ended up being extremely absent and shitty. MC+Jeremiah relationship is based on Adam and Hermine from EXIT, Jeremiah is based on Tony Soprano, Gwen is based on Janice Soprano + a story I heard from my cousin about how his wife let him do all the childcare while she went on a women’s retreat. They are not in a marriage of convenience, the MC doesn’t feel bad about the affair at all, she never pushes him away, and Gwen has no plans on leaving. Sarah and Ellie are both 16 and living with Joel in Seeking. The MC does not have similarities to Sarah like she does in Love Me Back (which was also literally based on my own life) or Someone’s.

MC is a teacher who cheats with Joel - so is the MC in my post outbreak series I wrote many months ago. They're drawn to each other immediately cause I hate slow burn fics and I didn't feel like writing two chapters of him fucking someone else this time around. She goes out intending to cheat, and he thinks it'll sustain him for the next several years. The first thing I thought up in this entire series was Jeremiah - I had his character crystallized in my head for weeks before I planned anything else.

Of course Joel is unhappy in his marriage - neither Vic or myself would write a Joel who cheats for fun, that’s just not something either of us finds interesting. It actually started as a Sopranos AU, but I decided against going that route cause I don’t know enough about white collar crime. Also, if you are familiar with my writing you’ll know I love writing infidelity - it shouldn’t be a surprise that I’m writing a series with this as the central theme. The central question for Seeking is when is it okay to cheat? That’s what the entire fic is about. It’s not about him finding the love of his life after marrying someone else (like the summary of Someone’s), it’s about two instances of cheating and how we justify those two scenarios. Of course it has a happy ending - I’ve used up my non-happy ending quota for the year. 

I’m not sure what you mean by aesthetics - Vic actually edits really nice graphics for all of her Mando chapters. She spends a bunch of time on those, and you’re doing a disservice to her by overlooking how unique her artwork is and how much effort it takes. She also made really cool teasers for Pink. I’m way too lazy for any of that, I just slam a moodboard together. I started doing 3 slot moodboards cause the 6-7 slot ones were a hassle. The fact that only art pieces are used in this series is half coincidence, half me being sick of trying to fit Pedro pics into the moodboards when the colors are often wrong. 

I literally texted with her when I planned this series, saying I was afraid people would accuse it of being a ripoff of Someone’s, purely due to the Joel infidelity + uninterested wife factor, and she did not think the overall plot was similar enough to be of concern. I still hype her up, she just doesn’t post as often now so I don’t reblog as often, that’s pretty simple. I’ve also asked Iris, my editor, SEVERAL TIMES if it reads too similar to Someone’s or anything Vic has written - she is extremely familiar with both of our works and she did not think so. What exactly am I supposed to do when I’ve gotten the green light from everyone? 

This specific anon didn’t mention the actual writing, though, which is funny and it makes sense because I don’t write like Vic and I don’t try to. Her vocabulary is way larger than mine, the diction and syntax are not similar at all. She actually uses metaphors, I use them very rarely and only when it’s super dramatic. My writing isn’t poetic, it’s not flowery, it’s not formal - it’s literally just how I think inside my own head. When I read my own writing, I imagine Charles Gross doing a dramatic reading. I learn like one new word every month and eventually I’ll add it to my writing when it’s something I’m confident using irl. She has a lot of depth to her fics, I also try to write with emotional depth - I’m sorry if that’s unfamiliar in a landscape of dbf porn with no plot and 5 word sentences (I’m shading my own first series here). Seeking reads more similar to the first series I ever wrote, which I never posted, than anything else I’ve written. Half of Seeking is also straight up daydreaming sequences cause that’s literally how I think - the MC lives a boring life and daydreams, so do I. 

I’ve learned a ton from reading Vic’s stuff - I don’t read that much irl cause I rarely find English novels captivating, but her writing has really made an impression on me. I talk constantly about how much her writing makes me cry, and it really does. Reading her stuff has absolutely influenced me to be more confident about weaving in actions and little plot points that are more vulnerable and personal to myself, and that adds a lot of depth it otherwise wouldn’t. I’m very inspired by her, of course I am - but I know the difference between being inspired and trying to leech. 

I’m sorry my writing style has developed. I’m sorry I no longer write like I did in April, with matter-of-factly short sentences and little emotional depth. I have short series and long series because some plots deserve more emotional depth and some don’t need it. I wouldn’t bother writing anymore if all I did was shady lawyer Joel or Father Joel and I never improved. 

If you don’t enjoy my writing, please just unfollow. I’ve seen other fics on this platform that read similar to mine, some that have exactly the same plot points/origin stories, and at no point have I thought they were ripping me off. At some point, this specific fandom needs to realize that it’s possible for two writers to have similar ideas without it being one person copying the other. My personal opinion is that if you copy someone’s plot, you won’t be able to execute it well because you don’t have the ideas necessary to actually flesh it out. If you’re familiar with my writing, you know damn well I’m capable of coming up with my own ideas and plots. I feel zero need to rip other people's in order to gain traction - I have enough followers and idgaf how many notes anything gets. Please don’t overestimate my ability to give a fuck about my popularity in this fandom. 

Anyways, thanks for making me want to vomit, anon, you truly made me feel like shit today and I hope you have a great night! I’m not sure how much I’ll be checking tumblr for a while so feel free to message me on discord under the same name.

[crusherthedoctor]

Get a Load of Traits - PART 1: Sonic the Hedgehog

Way back during my Tumblr infancy, I made a series by the mouthful of What Makes For A Good Incarnation, in which I listed the main noteworthy traits that I consider integral for crafting, at the very worst, a still above-average portrayal of the character in question. By "series", I meant I did exactly three of them, then forgot all about it. In the words of Moneybags, I seemed to have temporarily forgotten.

In the years since however, I've went back and forth on going back and redoing them - as well as providing entries for those who didn't get one the first time around - because shall we say, a few recent portrayals have caused me to believe they're in need of some additional points or further elaboration. So now here I am to actually do it.

For the DX: Director's Cut, and for the sake of not dragging them out too much, I've decided to keep it all thematically consistent by sticking with 9 main points per character, in terms of what I personally consider the highest priorities for each of them. These will usually not be listed in any particular order of importance or relevance unless stated otherwise, and while there may be other major traits that might not get mentioned (in which case, feel free to bring them up yourself if you see fit), this keeps things simple and focuses on the points that have the most flexibility with how much of the character they encapsulate.

It should also be noted that these posts will be made with the game portrayals in mind, because the games mark the core of the franchise, and as such, they objectively contain the purest essence of the cast. Adaptations generally like to play by their own rules, some more gratuitously and inexcusably than others, and this will inevitably crop up with certain entries. All that being said however, I'll attempt to stay focused rather than devolve into another rant about this adaptation or that adaptation, only directly referring to them if I feel it's necessary for the point being made.

So without further ado, for today's installment, we're jumping right into the main Crush 40 enthusiast himself: Sonic.

Since Sonic was one of the characters covered in the past, much of this will be retreading old ground. If you know me well though, I'm sure you'll be able to tell which of it is new or expanded upon.

He's meant to be fun.

"Psst, the mandates don't exist."

We'll start with one so easy to get that you'd have to be purposefully contemptuous of the franchise and the character to suggest otherwise: Sonic is a fun character. He's all about having fun. He looks at virtually everything, no matter how precarious, as a thrill ride first and foremost. He is perpetually filled with a carefree love for all that life has to offer, has never been shy about it, and is known to enjoy fighting the baddies as well. Nothing keeps him down.

It's a large factor into why the franchise itself commonly boasts a sense of energy and wonder. If you don't acknowledge this aspect of Sonic's character... what are you even doing here? Why are you writing for him? What character are you seeing?

But he also knows when it's time to get serious.

Oh look, Super Sonic when it still had milk left in it.

Sonic's knack for making snarky quips of debatable quality can lead some into thinking he's incapable of taking anything seriously at all. This is how we get writers who seek to humble him for it... but unfortunately for them, they're not breaking any new ground: Sonic does get down to business when the situation calls for it, and even when he's joking around with whatever villain he's currently facing, he's always got his wits sharp, never going out of his way to be sloppy. And no, this isn't limited to the one-off villains and Godzilla-type Pokemon we know and begrudgingly tolerate: he more than acknowledges the very serious threat and crimes of the deceptively jovial Eggman's actions as well.

After all, do we not recall some of the near-death situations that Eggman has found himself in upon defeat, and how Sonic usually shows no concern over whether he survives or not? Do we not recall Sonic interrogating Zor over what happened to Tails? Do we not recall what he did to the Erazor Djinn when he refused to YouTube Apologise for abusing his former lover?

Sonic takes a lot of things quite seriously. More than he tends to let on. He just also likes to have fun at the same time.

He does not loathe technology.

"You're telling me this board was made with... SCIENCE...?"

Yes, Sonic is the nature foil to Eggman's scientific scheming. It's been a constant with the franchise since its inception, all the way to modern entries like Colours. But if Sonic hated technology itself, he wouldn't be best friends with a tinkerer. Nor would he own a plane.

The series as a whole has always been sensible about the matter compared to other green aesop-spewing media of the 90's. Rather than demonize technology outright, it understood the strengths it had, and how it could be used for nature's benefit rather than its detriment. Sonic CD visualized this wonderfully, as the Good Futures were fond of showing them side-by-side, in perfect harmony, with no cost to the land's health and beauty.

So with Sonic, he doesn't oppose technology. He opposes Eggman, whose methods involve technology. If you want Sonic to preach about the evils of tech as he drops a mahogany log in the woods and scrambles for a leaf to wipe his ass with, just go on DeviantART. Or watch SatAM.

He has selfish needs, but he's not a selfish person.

"Shit, I forgot the third paragraph of my principle monologue."

Sonic knows what he wants, and that something is his freedom. He's not going to be anchored down, he's not going to live a mundane life, and he's going to adventure and explore the world and beyond for as long as he can. This goes both ways: it's further reason why he confronts oppressive sorts like Eggman, but on the other hand, it can be hard to keep up with him at times, and since Amy has a clear vision on how she would want their future lives to be like as a couple, it's no wonder Sonic hasn't shown much serious interest in his friend in that particular way.

Don't get the wrong idea though; this doesn't mean Sonic is a selfish person full stop. In part thanks to several adaptations, a common misconception with the Blue Blur is mistaking him for a pure egotist through and through, who only cares about his adrenaline-fueled ecstasy and nothing else. Cause y'know, he's firm about his needs, and he has a cocky side, therefore he's full of himself, right?

Well no, not at all: his opposition to big bad villains would surely be enough on its own to confirm that he cares about everyone else's freedom too, so long as said people aren't doing anything malicious themselves. Yes, he fights villains because it's fun to him, but he also has a genuine hatred for injustice. He doesn't think like a typical superhero, where he fights evil and saves lives because he feels he has an obligation to do so, he does it simply because he wants to. How is that not selfless?

But it's even more than that: he's proven himself to be humble in spite of his cockiness, right down to dismissing any and all formal terms for himself when others use them. Half the time he tells the people he's saved to not sweat it, and the other half, he's already bolted before they can even thank him. Sonic largely doesn't care about the fame and attention that comes with being a repeated world saviour, and in more intimate situations, he's full of compassion there too. Hell, even in Black Knight, despite initially intending to slice Merlina in half in a furious response to her betrayal, he was later willing to show empathy to her defeated self, recognizing that she was an extremist, but not like the other villains he had faced.

Also, he doesn't have a history of treating his friends and accomplices like garbage. He might not see them all that often due to his globe trotting ways ("Long time no see!"), but he clearly values each of them. Even the ones he pokes light fun at on occasion, like Knuckles and Shadow.

He's impulsive, but intelligent.

Remember when Eggman had a conch? Starline didn't.

Like any character, Sonic does indeed have faults. Sonic is a guy who, when he sets out to do something, he'll do it, no questions asked. If Sonic thinks he knows the solution to sorting everything out, then that's all there is to it. This has worked in his favor more often than not, but it can also just as easily lead to mishaps, like the moment pictured above from Lost World. His cockiness has also been taken advantage of on several occasions, like in SA2 and Unleashed. Both of those were by Eggman, by the way. Just wanted to throw that out there.

However, Sonic is not an idiot. Just because he's a speedster doesn't mean he can't think straight, and his moments of recklessness are often born out of not knowing the full story rather than blindly charging in after already knowing better. If he makes a mistake, he'll acknowledge it and attempt to rectify it as soon as possible, and if he thinks someone else has good advice, then he'll be willing to hear them out, especially if it's coming from his life-long buddy, Tails.

To put it generously, Sonic's intelligence is prone to be heavily downplayed in certain adaptations, most notably in SatAM and Prime. This is usually done for the sake of forcing him to learn a lesson that a character like him doesn't really need to learn, or to prop up another character as the brains behind his operation. Or because Hurr Hurr Vroom Vroom Character Dumb. In reality though, Sonic is actually very intelligent: certainly not a super-genius like Tails or Eggman, but he's quick to pick up on details, and experience has taught him how to optimize his speed and acrobatics effectively and gracefully, while making it look completely effortless. He's also emotionally intelligent, being able to read a room with little issue, and when placed in a new situation, it doesn't take long for him to adapt.

So Sonic is a very bright person who just so happens to occasionally make impulsive decisions, for better or for worse. This does not translate to him being a Funny Penis Man. That's a vast simplification that tends to come from people who take the archetype that describes him at face value.

He only cares about how others perceive him when it's based on deception.

"Surrounded by evil knights and a girl I've never met before... better inhale the worst cuisine they've ever seen with my goatse mouth."

To paraphrase the hedgehog himself, he doesn't mind having to play the bad guy if it's necessary to do what he thinks is right. This doesn't apply in a meta sense - WE know he's doing the right thing - but what it means is that in-universe, he understands that some people might think he's the villain due to their perspective on the situation. And he accepts that, because he doesn't care about how his true blue self is perceived by strangers one way or the other. He doesn't expect or demand the rest of the world to live by his own personal beliefs unlike some iterations, but since they're his own, he holds no shame in sticking with them personally. He can only be who he truly is, and if some people have a problem with that, then he'll just have to take it smoothly with a Winston break.

But, as proven with Shadow inadvertently framing him in SA2, he does care when it involves Shit That Isn't True. Because if you're going to judge him, it better be for stuff he's actually done, and for who he actually is. Sonic doesn't care about attention, but he does evidently care about his identity.

The real super power of teamwork.

"Because... we're Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric!"

Sonic Heroes is a game that frequently gets referenced in side-material, which is an impressive feat considering it condemned itself by dressing Metal Sonic like a wanker. Yet for some curious reason, despite all the Heroes referencing, writers have trouble remembering the entire theme of the game, because their idea of Sonic needing to learn the benefits of teamwork and friendship is... lol...? Lmao...? Dare I even say... rofl...?

Sonic is the last person on the goddamn planet who needs to learn this, and you'd know that even if you weren't familiar with Heroes. Other games have shown time and time again that he appreciates the contributions of his allies, and gives them the appropriate kudos with no shred of reluctance, all without placing himself above them in the process. And while he may not be quick to ask for help, he's usually willing to accept it when it's offered to him. Like in '06, in which he casually allowed Trunks the Hedgehog to help out despite his attempting to kill him when they last met.

Sonic knows the super power of teamwork just fine. It's in his business card. Him of all people needing to learn this aesop is a non-development, a cheap way to make it seem like the writers are doing something ~deep~ with him. Giving back something he should have had to begin with is not character development.

His thing about emotions.

"A tall girl. My weakness."

Despite his outward demeanour, Sonic has a lot of introversion deep down, what with showing himself a contemplative side on a regular basis, and most of his dialogue being fairly straight and to-the-point. As it happens, this extends to how he manages his emotions, aside from his alleged temper. Sonic is obviously not stoic, but you're not likely to see him break down in hysterics, or publicly show tears at all unless it's in private.

Some writers and artists - or should I say, certain writers and artists - consider this an abominable sin that must be rectified. They'll get it into their heads that Sonic shows no emotion at all, but never fear boys and girls, they'll fix that pronto. They'll give him the emotions that SEGA couldn't. And what do you know, the end results end up looking absolutely ridiculous, and simply not in-line with who and what our hero is. Fact of the matter is, not everyone wears their emotions on their sleeve, and not breaking out the waterworks is not the same as being an unfeeling machine altogether. As it applies to real life, it applies as well to fictional characters. Because they're not all going to be the same.

His introversion doesn't just relate to himself though. It also seeps into his visible discomfort in dealing with the complex emotions of others, especially those who can't shake themselves off as easily as he can. Notice how, during moments where someone else is upset by something he can't easily fix - such as Tails lamenting Emerl's demise, or Shahra grieving over Majin Ganondorf despite him being a terminal shithead - he often finds himself at a loss, needing a moment or two to think of what he should say or do to console them.

It's possible that, with his canonical tendency to not be all that open about whatever might be troubling him, under the belief of not wanting to make his problem their problem by extension, he might not consider himself the most well-equipped for someone else's anguish. Or maybe that's just a Game Theory. Either way, whatever awkwardness there may be on his part, he always does his best regardless, as he would for any other situation.

...unless it involves one-sided sadness. Then he's not as sympathetic.

He's an ideal.

"Fuck sake, another argument over voice actors."

Sonic is a static character. Deliberately so. He is also not meant to be a relatable character, at least not in the sense of what Twitter members who have never played a Sonic game in their life consider relatable, which is basically making the character exactly the same as them, beat for beat, including the mismatched haircut, announcing their pronouns every three sentences, and the compulsive thirst to speak to the manager.

Needless to say, this doesn't work with the fastest thing alive. Everything about Sonic - his refusal to give up, his refusal to let distress overwhelm him, his freedom to go where the wind takes him - all of it, and more, serves to make him an inspiration. And guess what? Characters are allowed to be that. Inspirational characters are just as important as relatable ones, because by seeing what they can accomplish, we can strive to become our best selves. Why would you want to take that away?

Every character, the good ones anyway, have a defined purpose. Sonic has his. Other characters in the series might be considered relatable, but that's not where Sonic himself lies. It's better to leave that occupation for others, such as those who were inspired in-universe by Sonic himself, like Tails and Amy.

------

If you understand all of these points, and if you can take to them, then I believe you should have what it takes to write a good, or even great, portrayal of Say Yes to the Dress the Hedgehog. No portrayal is going to be one-and-one with that of another, there'll always be subtle distinctions depending on the writer, but you'll be fine as long as he's not a holier-than-thou dipshit who speaks more words than The Great Gatsby.

[staringdownabarrel]

So I just saw Spaceman. It's just really good science fiction: it's thought provoking and relevant to current social issues.

I think it's also like the anti-Adam Sandler movie in some ways, despite having him in it. In a lot of his other movies, especially his early ones from the '90s, there was this thing where the leading woman would end up falling in love with him despite his character being a loser and her character having her shit together. The alternative was that she'd reject him in some way, but have a comeuppance at the end.

This wasn't really the case here. While not as much of a loser as in some of his other movies, Adam Sandler's character in Spaceman was still a loser. Like, he had this wife that he coveted, who was clearly into him, but in a lot of ways, he barely knew her. When he was in space, he wanted nothing but her; when he was on Earth, he couldn't wait to be gone again.

It also wasn't a given that Lenka would stay with Jakub at the end. She could have left. She wanted to leave. Even at the end, after his personal growth, it was an open question if she actually would leave or if she'd give their marriage one last try.

When I say that Spaceman is relevant to current social issues, this is exactly what I mean. There are so many men going around today that are just like Jakub. They have all kinds of trauma they haven't dealt with and are refusing to look at, and they spend their entire lives finding new and interesting ways to run from it. Relationship after relationship fails, and they never quite seem to pick up that they're the problem.

The thought provoking angle comes from how Jakub comes to acknowledge that he needs to start dealing with his trauma, though. While on his mission to this mysterious cloud in the solar system, he finds that this spider-like alien is also onboard. The spider, Hanus, ends up becoming his therapist.

I'm sure most people reading this will have seen that post where it's the screenshot of the Antarctica base website where it says, "Antarctica is not the answer." In a lot of ways, Spaceman is the movie version of that post. Jakub was clearly doing this kind of thing over and over, looking for the resolution to his trauma out in the void the same way an alcoholic might look for it at the bottom of a bottle, and wondering why it never came.

But also, because this is the one time Hanus was there, it also becomes the inverse of that as well. As much as this pattern was clearly destructive for him on a personal level, a kind of unintentional self harm, it also ended up being what saved him. He needed someone to be there and say, "Hey, you need to deal with this, and one way or another, you will deal with it."

It also clearly had to happen in this exact way to some extent. One of the people working for the space agency on Earth offered him the chance to speak to a psychiatrist over the radio, but he declined. So while Jakub was the kind of person who would have benefited from some level of professional help, he also wasn't going to accept that. His ego wouldn't allow it.

This is an aspect that I think is very true to life. There's a lot of people who are kind of like this, where they clearly need some kind of professional help, but they won't accept it until some very specific circumstances have been met.

Depending on what kind of cult following this movie gets in the long term, I think this could end up being the "Was Deckard a replicant?" point for Spaceman. I think Hanus was very clearly a figment of Jakub's imagination brought on by social isolation and a lack of sleep. The movie was also very clear about the ship starting to break apart, so the broken toilet that was keeping him awake and driving him mad was clearly literally driving him mad.

Ordinarily, this kind of thing where there is some level of interpretation available as to whether the thing is real or fake annoys me. Usually it seems like there isn't really any thematic reason why that ambiguity has to be there. Here, it makes sense though. While Hanus was likely a figment of Jakub's imagination, the ambiguity is necessary--if there was an explicit denial of his existence in the plot, he would have been sent to a padded room and that'd be that. With the ambiguity, although small, it allows for the statement to actually be that it doesn't really matter if Hanus wasn't real. What mattered is that he was there when Jakub needed him.

This aspect also ties into what COVID lockdowns ended up doing to a lot of people. It wasn't really to this extreme, but a lot of people did end up going a little bit mad during lockdown isolation.

I don't think Spaceman was necessarily the deepest movie ever made, but I think it is a lot better than most people are giving it credit for. There's a lot happening here, and I think it lands more often than it doesn't.

[woodsfae]

B5 s03e07 Exogenesis table of contents • previous episode

I try to pay attention to ships' names because they can give hints to the nature of a character or a thematic element, but today's is pretty oblique. The shuttle Dyson. Is it for Dyson physics? The interactions of quantum elements with physical matter from a quick wikipedia romp. Or is it another dyson that I don't know the reference for? Fun theorizing.

This newly minted Lieutenant seems plot-relevant!

Marcus the Ranger is hanging out on B5, it seems. I wonder if it's one of those times they talk about someone to remind the audience they exist, but they don't show up in the episode.

Yikes! The Dyson people are doing weird alien bugs melding into humans shit. Dr Franklin's probably gonna do more coke-fueled medical work.

Corwin the new Lieutenant is going to get Susan Ivanova's best subtle grilling as to his allegiances. Can't wait. But till then, some Marcus harassing a sleeping vendor by quoting the Scottish play to him.

And then a meeting with another Ranger who gives him the funniest information report imaginable. Not so much sharing information as making sly allusions to what may be. Funny and dramatic. It is interesting seeing Marcus work. He's like a local liaison, coordinator, recruiter, and information gathered all at once. I guess you have to wear a lot of different hats when you're in a small start-up with limited staff and a ever-widening scope.

I love the sheer medical garb and ppe, and also like the new mesh arm and shoulder layer Dr Franklin is modeling. Also like the 3d imager! The alien bug is now wrapped around the dead guy's spinal column and is imaged like criss-crossing threads. I enjoy this medical mystery for Dr Franklin. He could use some enrichment, and if there aren't mass causalities it might be almost relaxing for him.

Looks like Marcus's absent colleague/contact has fallen in with a new crowd. A crowd of people all infected with this new-to-Stephen parasite? What would a parasite's agenda even be? And the vendor who wasn't feeling well is missing as well.

Listen new Lieutenant. Listen to me closely. Susan Ivanova is not hitting on you right now. She is the second in command of Babylon 5. Obviously she wants to informally assess a new Lieutenant under her command!

Funny that Garibaldi was enthused about the idea of hanging with Marcus and inviting him to things, but now that Marcus himself is asking him to do something, he doesn't wanna hang. And I actually laughed at Marcus's clever wordplay. He didn't lie at all, but strongly suggested that Garibaldi cares a lot about the issue and is asking Dr Franklin to help Marcus. He must have studied at the same Aes Sedai school as Delenn!

Shenanigans are afoot at the old vendor's quarters! His shirt is all jacked up and his back is pulsing! I don't like that! Or all the parasite-distributers with guns.

Stephen and Marcus are asking the same questions I am. What are the parasites' motives? What are their aims? What are their actual effects on the humans?

Dr Franklin thinks the parasite takes control of their neural system. I wonder if they are trying to transport themselves somewhere, or survive somehow. Garibaldi's point about why they would be targeting people from Down Below is a good one.

Marcus is sassy! I like him. He's very roguish. He and Dr Franklin will be fine. I hope they enjoy their field trip together!

I hope Susan is fucking with this guy right now. Just tormenting him over the roses because he panicked and lied and said he found them lying on her doorstep.

An unsettling conversation with the person who says he "was once Duncan, but is now Vindrizi." And he says they are just trying to survive. dun dun! This still has the potential to be a mostly enriching field trip for Dr Franklin. And it's a great further introduction to Marcus. I like him tremendously.

Susan's testing the insubordinate waters is kinda sorta subtle. But she does get the necessary information. He would report another officer whom he say speaking or acting against Earthdome. They will have to work around him!

Oooooh, gossiping about Susan Ivanova! Franklin likes her. Marcus is concerned that she seems more distant now than when he first came on board.

Marcus: "I sense in her a key as yet unturned." Dr Franklin: "What does that mean?" Marcus: "I don't know, but I think it will be fascinating to find out."

dude is just saying allegorical things and then admitting he doesn't even know why he thinks that. Lol. But somehow it's charming?? What a little smartass (affectionate). Dr Franklin thinks so, too. And I love that they're failing the reverse bechdel test (I jest, I jest).

Stephen is right that Marcus is not Ivanova's type. We all her know her type is blond and telepathic with a tortured backstory.

This has been a very fun plot. Stephen has two patients in one, and Marcus just took out two guards in one plot! And got Stephen's Link and triggered a security protocol! Finally, some backup is on the way. There's just enough time for Marcus and Stephen to discover the aliens' tragic backstory and suddenly be required to negotiate for their safe passage to the recently-arrived security team. But they do have wrap up their little prison break first!

Aha! Information sharing! The person who was once Duncan says that all the humans there volunteered, and that they will all have a better life this way.

Aww, and they have a hell of a backstory! Less tragic, and more epic. Living histories. Less parasites, and more a holy order of record-keepers.

This is a wonderful little story. Very epic. Another of those cool details of worldbuilding. Also it's fucking hilarious how Stephen Franklin is like "I will only allow this if I get to medically oversee it every step of the way."

Oh, and here does come the tragedy. Duncan's…symbiote? left him so Duncan could convince Marcus and Stephen they were telling the truth, but the separation caused damage and he wouldn't be able to rejoin without permanent damage. But at least he feels inspired to go really live and see some amazing things with the rest of his life. And I think he's wise to say that we should all wake up and decide to be special.

Lol, Susan wasn't fucking with the Lieutenant Corwin about the roses. Inadvertently, that guy has played a hell of a prank on both her and Marcus! Hah!

Ivanova, throwing the roses on the bar: "Keep em!" Marcus, beaming and picking them up: "Thanks! I will!"

Really laughed hard at that one.

Alright, I'm starting to see where some of you acquired your crushes on Marcus! He's cute and charming! And very nonthreatening. I wouldn't mind being buds with him. He seems genuinely really an entertaining person to hang out with.

This was overall an interesting and fun episode. I enjoyed theorizing about it. I can't discern a connection between the name of the shuttle the symbiote record keepers arrived in and any plot. If you have thoughts on that let me know! It also isn't often you see symbiotic relationships with bug-like critters. I know now that DS9 was accused of lifting a lot of details from the original B5 pitch, but I wonder if this isn't a nod back the other way, especially since Trill symbiotes were introduced in TNG, which predated the B5 pitch if I'm not mistaken.

next episode

[zeeckz]

sorry for compliment bombing you, just wanted to say again that your drawings are amazing (especially pencil ones). after discovering your profile a few days ago i scrolled it all night long until dawn, and today i was thinking about your sketches again and it urged me to do few hours of sketching from photos myself (i'm not an artist, just do it sometimes to keep my friends company or for fun). your drawings of characters are neatly composed of shapes and the poses are so lively it really excites me, also i like the face expressions and the shoulders, on any gender. i came for mgs fan art but now i like even still life pics (which i'm indifferent to as a genre). also thank you for posting english translation for spanish texts. your posting frequency is impressive too! i hope a message this long isn't creepy or smth, and have a nice day. looking forward to seeing more from you (no pressure though)!

Hi anon! I'm glad to see my art has gotten you to do more art yourself!

It surprises me to see what calls your attention about my style are the shapes, 'lively' poses and expressions, because my impression of them is rather the opposite (except the shoulders, I like the shoulders), but regardless of this it's nice to know that I've even gotten you interested in still lifes! Wouldn't say it's one of my favorite topics, but I invite you to have a look at more art of it, you can find a lot of interesting pieces whether technically or thematically (as it more often than not is embedded with symbolism) ^_^

No probs! Spanish doesn't seem to be much of a tumblr language (I swear I've seen ×100 more posts in Russian than in Spanish in all the years I've been here, and most of said time I lacked any knowledge of Russian), so I try to translate the somewhat relevant nonsense I write for the people

I do post rather often! So much that I've been referred to as Sonic or Flash by my friends several times, and they (jokingly) bully me for how much I draw

And don't worry - I don't find this creepy at all, I find it cute actually, that you wanted to share these thoughts and feelings with me) thanks again! have a wonderful day! <3

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Rereading The Fellowship of the Ring for the First Time in Fifteen Years

Ok, NGL, I was not entirely sure what to do with this chapter. Like...Tom Bombadil is cool and all, but like...this chapter literally grounds the plot to a screeching halt and while there is thematic nuance and foreshadowing here, it's...it's a weird little chapter, y'all. It would absolutely get cut from a book being published today, and frankly I can see why. But let's just jump on in and talk about "In the House of Tom Bombadil."

So one thing writers Philippa Boynes, Peter Jackson, and Fran Walsh were absolutely clear on is that their film adaptation is the story of Frodo taking the ring to Mordor. And in that context, it makes absolute sense to lose Tom Bombadil from the story. He is important (in my read) for two key reasons:

First, he is here to clearly show that there are greater powers in the world than those of Mordor, Men, Elves, and Wizards. Tom is so OP that literally none of that matters to him, and the One Ring is just...kinda there. It has zero effect on him, it doesn't factor into his life in any meaningful way, and he has zero skin in the "yeet the jewelry into the volcano" game. The fact is, he's worldbuilding and a reminder to readers that no matter how grand or life-and-death their struggles are, there are greater powers and the natural world has been here long before you and will be here long after you. It's a way to contextualize and comfort when the world seems on the brink of ending. ...I would be lying if I said I found that personally terribly comforting, because if you zoom out to that scale, literally nothing matters, but then I live in 2024 and I'm not carrying any rings around. I think there's a better balance point between "the world exists and you don't matter on that scale" and "this ring is the only thing in existence that matters" but I haven't written a three-book epic fantasy to sort it out yet, so I'm just spitballing.

Second, and this might just be a crack theory on my part, Tom is to the hobbits after their first real encounter with evil what Tetris is to soldiers trying to avoid PTSD. Tom literally hijacks the hobbits' brains, offers them comfort, and addresses any potential fears and triggers that almost getting murdered to death by a tree might spark in the hobbits. They are safe, they are secure, they have the things that make hobbits happy, and Tom literally does not give them an environment in which any fears or trauma can fester into PTSD (that's for LATER in the trilogy, I guess). He is a distraction in a safe space, and he gives them context and information that should help them navigate the next little leg of their journey.

That second reason might have been enough to keep Tom in the film adaptation if they kept Old Man Willow, but frankly something had to go and this is pretty easy to lift out, because the next thing that is overarching plot relevant is the Prancing Pony. So we have to leave Merry, Pippin, and Frodo not getting PTSD this early in the trip on the cutting room floor.

Sam was fine though. Literally he slept like a log and did not dream. No trauma for Sam "I will take this tree down with my teeth if I have to" Gamgee.

This is probably a good moment to talk about the dreams though. I find it interesting that while Frodo was the one Old Man Willow tried to drown, Merry is the one who gets the dream of drowning, not Frodo. Pippin is over here flashing back to being inside Old Man Willow. Both of these dreams absolutely suck, and I empathize with them. I also point out the sensory grounding they get before Tom's repeated words of comfort in their ears, because the body needs to feel safe before the mind will believe reassurances.

Frodo's dream though, is less a trauma dream from attempted tree homicide, and more a vision that tells us what is happening with Gandalf. This is kind of cool, so I'm just going to let Tolkien tell it:

In the dead night, Frodo lay in a dream without light. There he saw the young moon rising; under its thin light there loomed before him a black wall of rock, pierced by a dark arch like a great gate. It seemed to Frodo that he was lifted up, and passing over her say that the rock-wall was a circle of hills, and that within in was a plain, and in the midst of the plain stood a pinnacle of stone, like a vast tower but not made by hands. On its top stood the figure of a man. The moon as it rose seemed to hang for a moment above his head and glistened in his white hair as the wind stirred it. Up from the dark plain below came the crying of fell voices, and the howling of many wolves. Suddenly a shadow, like the shape of great wings, passed across the moon. The figure lifted his arm and a light flashed from the staff that he wielded. A mighty eagle swept down and bore him away.

So yeah, Frodo is having dream visions again, and he NOTABLY does not get comforted by Tom's words as Merry and Pippin do, which seems like a hell of a raw deal. Frodo literally wakes up questioning whether he will be brave enough to leave Tom's house, and I feel like a little comforting wouldn't go amiss here. But at least us readers in the know get a Gandalf update, I guess?

The chapter closes out with Tom offering some advice about crossing the Barrow Downs that feels like it should be important:

Keep to the green grass. Don't you go a-meddling with old stone or cold Wights or prying in their houses, unless you be strong folk with hearts that never falter!

I feel like the "unless" did more harm than good, but Tom also gives them a rescue rhyme so they can call him if they get really into trouble. As a former theatre major, I am unspeakably grateful that Tolkien skipped over the memorizing session, because I was taught how to learn a monologue by ear with a partner, and while it is DAMN effective, it's not a fast process and it is tedious as all hell. So thank you Tolkien, for just handwaving the memorization homework the hobbits got.

We're going to leave it there for now, and pick up next time with what I'm calling now is Pippin staying off the green grass, fucking around and finding out with old stone and cold Wights, and poking his nose into a barrow after being explicitly told not to.

[verdammtwirlebennoch]

A while ago I was playing around with what name I wanted to give a minor character in a story I’m working on and I had settled on one I liked.

Today, inspiration struck. Initially they were gonna be a man, but I decided no, they will be a woman named Eva. Now, I didn’t remember anymore what name I had settled on before (as I said, minor character that hasn’t entered the story yet). All I knew, is that it was also something biblical, because she has a more relevant sister with a biblical name, and I always go for some sort of thematic cohesion when naming siblings. Was it David? No, I’d scrapped that, because they are a rather unsympathetic character and I didn’t want to put shame on Solid Snake’s name like that. Maybe Gabriel? Doesn’t seem right either…

No matter I‘d find out as soon as I change the name in my trusty character doc where I keep a list of everyone that plays a role in the story, since, as demonstrated above, I’m prone to forgetting them sometimes.

So, I go to do that. And lo and behold, the name I had chosen for Eva before was… Adam

[italonews22-blog]

New paths to multipolarity

Russia continues to find and activate reference points of the multipolar world. The new centres of power that have emerged on the geopolitical atlas of the planet are being filled with fresh meanings and relevant content.

On 19 April, the first World Forum "New Era - New Ways" was held in Moscow. It was organised by the International Organisation for Eurasian Cooperation (IOEC).

The ambitious objectives of the new Forum were emphasised by the stated theme of the event: "The Greater Eurasian Partnership (GEP) - an initiative capable of uniting states and integration entities for equal and fair co-operation". The theme of the first meeting of the World Forum participants, "A New Era - New Paths", refers to the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin to form the Greater Eurasian Partnership.

The Moscow event was attended by over 600 delegates from 35 countries, including China, India, Turkey, Hungary and Bulgaria. We are witnessing new trends and interesting processes. Countries for which multipolarity is synonymous with a just world order, today not only do not share the collective West's desire to isolate Russia, but also place certain hopes on Moscow. This large-scale Eurasian project has considerable expectations. It is also of interest to those countries that are not part of the Eurasian space. But the very idea of a Greater Eurasian Partnership seems to all these countries to be a serious alternative to the state of affairs in which the collective West is trying to dictate the laws of global political and economic processes and claims to be the sole spokesman and distributor of civilisational values.

Dmitry Stasiulis, President of the World Forum "New Era - New Ways", emphasised that Vladimir Putin's strategic initiative to create a Greater Eurasian Partnership was echoed by the participating countries of the largest interstate associations. This is evidenced by the wide representation of the event participants. "Today at the Forum, my foreign colleagues and I discussed the practical vector of this integration movement," D. Stasiulis said.

The organisers of the event note that the World Forum "New Era - New Ways" brought together "representatives of international organisations, government bodies, business, expert community, representatives of traditional confessions, cultural figures of various states, who set common goals and share common principles". These common principles include: respect for the sovereignty of all participants in the dialogue; non-proliferation of the jurisdiction of some states over the territory of others; respect for the right of peoples to independent and democratic choice of ways of political and socio-economic development; respect for traditional values and cultural and historical characteristics of all participants in the dialogue; and not directing the activities of the World Forum against any states, international, public organizations and individuals who are not participants in the dialogue.

Marat Berdyev, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry, welcomed the participants of the plenary session of the World Forum "New Era - New Ways" on behalf of Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin. The Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry also emphasised the peculiarities of the Forum, which works at the junctions of the state, public and business. "This is especially important because today many tasks are of a complex nature and cannot be solved solely by the government," M. Berdyev emphasised.

Many Forum participants spoke about the important role of people-to-people diplomacy in shaping the Greater Eurasian Partnership and harmonious relations in the world. One of the sessions of the event was also devoted to this topic: "People's diplomacy as an instrument of co-operation in a multipolar world". In addition, the Forum participants worked in such thematic sessions as "In search of new tools for the development of Eurasian integration", "Scientific and educational cooperation in Greater Eurasia", "Strategic nature of Russia-Asia multi-sectoral cooperation: status, prospects, risks", "Eurasian Bar Association as a new format for interaction between legal communities of different countries".

Initiatives to create the Greater Eurasian Space are attractive in many integration aspects, such as: the formation of common Eurasian markets that claim strategic independence, the construction of "seamless" transport corridors; joint development of the digital economy; industrial cooperation; legal, cultural, scientific, educational and social co-operation. Therefore, the geography of the participants of the next World Forum "New Era - New Ways" will certainly be expanded. After all, for many countries, the Eurasian space is the most open and friendly, where they are ready to co-operate with them on an equal footing.

And some countries that gained sovereignty as a result of the collapse of the USSR still feel phantom pains over the lost economic opportunities of the Eurasian space. Vasily Tarlev, former head of the Moldovan government, speaking at the Forum, said: "No one will replace the traditional, historical market of the former Soviet Union and especially Russia for Moldovan goods - neither the European nor the international market".

Important international agreements were signed during the Forum. For example, documents on cooperation between the International Organisation for Eurasian Cooperation (IOEC) and the international non-governmental organisation Euro-Asian Alliance, the Moscow Bar Association "Dictatorship of Law" and YOUSIF ZAINAL LAW FIRM.

It is noteworthy that on 20 April, as part of the New Era - New Ways World Forum, the OIEU headquarters hosted a Business Breakfast "Russia-Africa: Horizons of Cooperation" with business representatives from the African region. The delegation of African countries interested in the broad opportunities of the Greater Eurasian Partnership included representatives from Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon.

Victor Kusiani, a political scientist, chairman of the International Non-Governmental Organisation "Euro-Asian Alliance" and member of the General Council of the Assembly of Peoples of Eurasia, shared his impressions about the work of the World Forum "New Era - New Ways" with us:

"The Eurasian platform is becoming important for the whole world. Deputy ministers of justice and economy have come from some countries. And it is probably not for nothing that these people were sent by their leadership. I think the representatives of 35 countries did not come for nothing. Probably, some foundation for the future and forms of active co-operation are being laid already now. Indeed, as stated in the Forum's title, a new era opens new paths. The world is changing rapidly, and the Forum has already presented a new view of these changes and new challenges. We talk about Eurasian co-operation, but here we also see Africa, India and China. The topics of the Forum were equally interesting to the deputy from Azerbaijan, as well as to the representatives of Bulgaria and Bahrain... Everyone is looking for something new. The International Non-Governmental Organisation Euro-Asian Alliance, which I head, also signed an important agreement at the Forum. Everyone is looking for new ways and approaches".

Indeed, Forum participants from different countries agreed that the old ways and approaches, formed under the dictates of the unipolar world, have now lost their attractiveness. Because the unreliability and vague prospects of the old ways cannot be attractive for any small country participating in the big geopolitical game of the West.

Victor Kusiani explains this on the example of the problems of Transcaucasia:

"We are at the junction of Europe and Asia. We are not going to Europe. The country is sliding into a swamp. Young people are leaving Georgia. We as representatives of public diplomacy can only inform about the threats, warn, prepare the society for this conversation, while the governments of Georgia and Armenia close their eyes to these threats and do not want to hear about them. This is what is happening with the problem of American biolaboratories in Georgia and Armenia. These are, in fact, American military bases. And our governments do not want to talk about this topic. They are not the ones who rule. They are ruled by the West. And we, non-governmental organisations, representatives of people's diplomacy, should communicate to know what is really going on in our countries, to see common problems. At such forums, we meet new and old friends, identify priority projects. Now everything was beautifully organised and the questions were correctly posed. When we start working in these directions, it will become clearer for Georgia, for Armenia, for Azerbaijan, for Eurasia as a whole, which paths are promising and which are dead ends.

Public diplomacy has become very active all over the world. We, its representatives, are taking the first steps to restore lost ties and meanings, charting new ways of cooperation between countries - everything that is necessary for their good-neighbourliness".

[ecsundance]

What is Independent Cinema?

In preparation for our long-awaited trip to the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, my fellow film enthusiasts, and I learned a lot about independent films. So, what exactly are independent films, you ask? Let me try to explain what I have learned so far.

When I think of indie films, I think of films that are different from the normal Hollywood style films, those produced by major studios speaking to mainstream ideas. Indie films are more realistic and less escapist and focus on niche subject matter addressing more relevant thematic topics that are important to the filmmaker and important for the world to see. Arbitrage (2012) is such an example, portraying the pitfalls that can come with wealth, power, and privilege. Indie films also use stylistic features. For example, Stranger Than Paradise (1984) was filmed only in black and white, and its scene transitions always cut to black. From an economic perspective, often, these films are low budget as they do not have access to the money the major studios have. An example of this is The Blair Witch Project (1999) which was filmed in eight days costing less than sixty thousand dollars and with only three characters. Also, early indie films did not have much star power but currently, you can find major actors in many of these films like Richard Gere in Arbitrage. This can be for many reasons. Often it is because they believe in the film and its message and so are willing to reduce their salaries to take part in a film that is important for the world to see.

All of this is indeed true. However, in Michael Z. Newman’s Indie: An American Film Culture, he claims that indie films cannot simply be defined in economic, stylistic, or thematic terms but rather, needs to be understood culturally. He states, “It [independent cinema] is most centrally a cluster of interpretive strategies and expectations that are shared among filmmakers; their support personnel, including distributors and publicists; the staffers of independent cinema institutions such as film festivals; critics and other writers; and audiences. All of these different people are audiences who employ these strategies, and it is only because filmmakers are also film spectators that they are able to craft their works to elicit particular responses from the audience. Indie constitutes a film culture: it includes texts, institutions, and audiences. Indie audiences share viewing strategies for thinking about and engaging with the texts—they have in common knowledge and competence—which are products of indie community networks” (Newman 11).

Newman developed three strategies for viewing indie films which relate to three important aspects of independent cinema: character-focused realism, formal play, and oppositionality (Newman 15). “These strategies often overlap with each other and often in mutually reinforcing ways” (Newman 29).

The three strategies are characters are emblems, form is a game, and when in doubt, read as anti-Hollywood (Newman 29).

Characters Are Emblems

This refers to characters representing a segment of the values of society.

An example of this can be found in the film Arbitrage directed by Nicholas Jarecki. Two of the main characters represent the current state of societal behavior today. The main character, Robert Miller, signifies much of what is wrong with today’s society. He uses people to get what he wants. To stay out of prison, he was willing to throw his own daughter under the bus for things that he was responsible for. He likes to be well thought of, however, he is lacking in character.

Contrasting him is Jimmy Grant who is held out as a beacon of hope compared to Miller. He believes in keeping his word. He is not willing to betray Robert to save himself even though the legal threat he faces is entirely Robert’s doing. He has trouble believing that the police would tamper with evidence to convince him to talk. Jimmy is the opposite of Robert and seems to be outnumbered in society. Later in the film when he decides to accept the two million dollars from Robert, he does it with the acknowledgement that his debt is repaid and that he will do something good with the money.

Form is a game

This is defined as how the viewer experiences the film. Here the viewer becomes a player in the movie helping to work through the puzzles.

Both The Blair Witch Project and Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) created films where the viewer is more of a player trying to understand what is happening.

Through Myrick and Sanchez’ immersive style in The Blair Witch Project, the viewer uses their imagination to determine what is really happening throughout the film as the three protagonists pursue their investigation of the reality of the Blair Witch. It is up to the viewer to determine if it is all real or not. The missing map, the piled-up stones, and the stick bundles that the protagonists find all contribute to the thinking that there is something wrong going on. It is a mystery and the viewer, along with the protagonists, is trying to figure it out.

When in doubt, read as anti-Hollywood

This references movies that appear to lack the usual attributes of what we are accustomed to seeing in a movie and therefore, can be considered as anti-Hollywood. Some of these attributes in a typical Hollywood movie include: a happy ending, special effects, background music, more complex camera work, and editing to name a few.

An example of this can be found in Stranger Than Paradise directed by Jim Jarmusch. Here the cinematography is as basic as you can get. Per Winters, the film was “shot on location in purposely drab black-and-white” (Winter 123). The film is shot using one camera. It does not move around in scenes, nor is it repositioned. There is some tilting or zooming but for the most part they are static shots and there is no repositioning of the camera for different angles in the scene. There is no sophisticated editing. The ending of all scenes is cut to black.

The Blair Witch Project written and directed by University of Central Florida film school classmates, Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez is another good example. It is evidently lacking in camera setup and what would be considered normal scene shots. The resulting effect makes it seem that the film is unplanned, and it is being shot live as the actors experience it. This is true in the minimal direction the directors have given the actors. Contrast this to the detail and planning of all scenes shot in what we would consider a normal Hollywood movie that has storyboards detailing the proposed shots made up prior to the filming.

These three strategies help us differentiate between mainstream Hollywood movies and independent films.

All in all, I agree with Newman’s claim that indie films cannot simply be defined in economic, stylistic, or thematic terms but rather, need to be understood culturally. Identifying these films requires the use of his methods as it is not as simple as checking off a list of criteria that qualifies a film as indie. How films are accepted culturally compared to mainstream Hollywood movies identifies it as indie.

Hope this has provided you with some insight into what independent cinema is and how you can evaluate it.

Referenced Texts links:

Newman, Michael Z. Indie: An American Film Culture. Columbia University Press, 2011.

Winter, “Stranger Than Paradise,” pp. 121-123.

-Ryan McCormick