#and what was up with the way they directed those scenes bro???

[everytimeigetmoody]

me looking back at all my posts about dff saying non was still alive and that jin didn't actually post the video

[nobodyfamousposts]

Scarlet Lady Top 10 Favorite Characters: Number 10

For @zoe-oneesama

Number 9 Here

Okay, I realized as I was writing these that there is way way WAY too much to each of these and why to be able to put them all into one post, so I'm breaking them down into individual essays focusing on each one to keep them palatable.

So without further ado....

Number 10: EVERYONE

Yeah, I know it may be cheating but at this point it was the only choice I could make.

I came to regret making this list, specifically because I couldn’t seem to make up my mind as far as who all would be on it. I reread the entire series. I kept switching people in and out as I was reminded of characters or scenes I loved. And I came to a realization that there is no character in the whole of this series I didn’t enjoy to some extent that they didn't deserve some love in this list and I kind of wish I could have added all of them just to give them all some spotlight.

Yes, it is partly because everyone is vastly improved compared to Canon. But as I reread the series, it came to mind that if Canon didn’t exist and I didn’t have the comparison between the characters, I still very much would have loved this series and everyone in it.

Cause and Effect Exist

It's important to have a setting in which the characters and their actions make sense for the world they live in. When the setting is supposed to be modern day earth, we need the people to be able to show that they are capable of surviving in it on a day to day basis without being so massively incompetent that they would do something like accidentally ingesting poison. Or forgetting how to breathe.

I would think it would be obvious, but sometimes Canon makes me wonder. Which is never a good look for a show that is supposed to have some level of seriousness and involve superheroes.

Here’s the thing Canon can’t seem to get: when a majority of the things that go wrong in a plot are because of everyone having to be stupid to make the plot work, you have a problem with the writing. Changing the material in a story so that younger people can enjoy it does NOT mean dumbing down the characters and throwing in arbitrary lessons with no real reason to them. Even if the show itself is geared towards kids, you can’t treat the audience like they’re stupid.

In Scarlet Lady, the people aren’t stupid.

Silly, yes. Wrong, often. Overdramatic, definitely. But while they may make stupid choices sometimes, they aren’t so dumb that anyone should have concerns about their ability to function at a higher level than an overcaffinated 2 year old.

They’re fooled initially the way many of us would be with a biased story that hits the news first. Oblivious to the problems in a situation that they logically wouldn’t have much direct insight into. Prone to making mistakes and incorrect judgement the way that anyone would. That's normal. That's expected.

But they’re not so incapable as to forget things that happen right in front of them between one day and the next. Or even between one scene and the next.

Things carry over. We see cause and effect. We see consequences—bad and good. And those consequences extend not only for the episode or season but for the entire series.

Aurore KNOWs Alec cheated her before and maintains a tight control over him and prevents more of his antics.

Adrien and Alya maintain a cold attitude towards Lila for some time after her reveal as a liar. And it even remains a point against her as used by Chloe as herself and as Scar to discount what she says.

The boys of the class remember Adrien’s “love letter to Marigold” and try to win him her merch because they’re bros like that. 

Adrien himself remembers the instances of his dad being a massive prick and instead of being surprised and “sad boi uwuwu” each time it happens like it’s supposed to be a surprise that the massive prick would choose to be a prick, he very clearly moves through the stages of grief to the point of a sort of acceptance that involves planning around and even for him.

Gabriel’s horrible parenting and general lack of concern for Adrien or his wellbeing as he ends up a casualty of various akuma attacks was played off for laughs when such incidents occurred. Then they were brutally called out against him in the Finale as a way to counter his claims of doing everything for Adrien’s sake. And the big reveal of the Birthday Scarf…utilized in the last way anyone would have wanted.

And Chloe is perhaps the biggest example as her antics ARE NOT forgotten or ignored by anyone. The classmates still interact with Chloe and are relatively nice to her, but they don’t just forget that she’s treated them horribly. They don’t act surprised when she does anything horrible. Nor does anyone just laugh it off or excuse it as “just who she is”. We see follow up to her behavior—the class fully expecting her to cause trouble and actively try to plan around it. People calling her out on past behaviors. And even bigger consequences as time goes on. Such as Adrien breaking off the friendship. And a blink and you miss it fridge logic moment in Ikari Gozen when you realize that when they said she was banned from all future Gabriel-involved competitions, they meant it.

The fact that by the time the big reveal happened that Chloe was Scarlet Lady, no one was shocked.

Story-wise, this is showing the passage of time and the effect the events of the story are having. It’s showing that there is lasting impact and that what happens to the characters matters.

Meta-wise, this is Zoe rewarding us for paying attention.

Continuity exists in Scarlet Lady. Time exists. The people exist. When anyone does anything, you get the sense that they aren’t operating in a vacuum. The things they do matter. There are consequences. There is an impact. And if there is an impact in the story, there will be an impact on the audience.

Which leads to…

Character Depth/Character Growth

Usually in TV shows of this nature, if there ARE character arcs for the side characters, they only occur over the course of a single episode devoted to focusing on them before moving on elsewhere. 

Canon didn’t give us that much at all in favor of having every episode that should focus on other characters learning and growing instead forcing Marinette to be wrong in some way and learn an arbitrary lesson that often would have better served for someone else.

In Scarlet Lady, the arcs we get are impressive for all that they’re relatively unobtrusive. They aren’t big. They aren’t world-ending. And the thing is, most change in life isn’t. It can just FEEL that way.

Like the way it felt for Kim when he first found out Ondine liked him and then had his confession to her screwed up.

And the way it felt for Kagami when she lost that first match against Adrien.

Then there’s the way it felt for Chloe when she was dismissed by her mother, had her popularity go downhill, and ended up losing her Miraculous.

…or the way it felt for Adrien when he discovered his dad was Hawk Moth.

The reactions we witness are in a great part due to actions outside of the characters’ control, but are ultimately a result of the experiences they have had and the ways they have changed as a result.

The question becomes: are the characters that we meet at the beginning pretty much identical to how they are at the end? Is the world?

The answer in Scarlet Lady is no.

Whether because the characters themselves change or our perception of them does, we can see that they have all undergone some sort of events that create a difference between the start and end points.

Not all of them HAVE to undergo some big emotional arc. Not all of them NEED to. But the characters still mostly go through some sort of growth by the end that I feel make them stronger and healthier people.

You’ve got the big life-altering changes like Lila and Sabrina.

You’ve got the little changes like Nino and Ivan.

You’ve even got the most minuscule, beginning stages of change in Chloe.

You’ve got growth that creates such perfect setup with Mylene when she starts off scared and traumatized by how things went with Stoneheart then is the one who confronts him in the end. And the parallel between the finale and the beginning when she returns him to normal by kissing him just like they did in that first episode to change him back then, too! (Just….GOD, I CANNOT GET OVER THIS!)

You’ve got them reaching out and making friends and relating to people they hadn’t before.

And by the end of it all, we get characters who feel like people rather than props.

They don’t all have to change. They don’t necessarily need to go through an entire emotional arc and back again. They just need to be part of the world they’re in.

Nino doesn’t just pop into existence when Adrien or Alya need someone to interact with. Kagami isn’t just a non-horrible or non-evil love rival for Adrien or a stepping stool for him to “practice“ at being in a relationship before it’s time for him to try the “real thing” with his endgame pairing. Luka isn’t just a decent guy who is the only actual form of support for the female lead and yet only lacking that precious “male lead” title or all around just not “Adrien enough” to fill the role.

Adrien isn’t just a “sad boy” meant to be a main love interest, Villain’s Morality Pet, and the one everyone idolizes and chases after just cuz he’s the male lead and that’s how you show he’s desirable I guess. Marinette isn’t the atlas keeping the story alive because no one else is apparently capable of learning lessons and changing, or even just the bare basics of functioning as individuals. Chloe isn’t just there to be horrible for no reason and get away with it so she can continue to be horrible until the writers suddenly need her to be sympathetic.

And the rest of the classmates aren’t just some Greek chorus there to fill the background.

We see them interact. We see them making jokes or jabs. We see them even…*gasp* having different opinions!

And on something as major and life-controlling as feelings about the “Hero of the City” no less! Why, that’s the sort of thing that would break up friendships and determine who you can sit next to at the cafeteria! The horror! The scandal!

And…oh hey. This puts the characters in different groups. It links them with characters other their Canonically designated pairings and groups. This lets them disagree on things and not need to vilify any of them. This creates implications that add depth to the story and to the people in it.

The characters can disagree without being enemies. They can be wrong without having to be evil. They can make mistakes without having to be stupid. And they can change and grow—both for better and worse.

And we see both and in different ways. SO many different ways.

Adrien goes from excited and impulsive to buckling under the forced responsibility and weight of a partner who hinders more than she helps.

Lila goes from selfishly bad and self-serving to selfish but friendly with better direction of her talents in a less self-serving way.

And Chloe just goes from selfish and bad to selfish and worse..

I mean, it says something that the combination of Lila’s growth and Chloe’s fall from grace resulted in Hawk Moth being unable to use Lila as a tool for his Heroes Day plot like he originally intended.

The key is that whether they necessarily grow or become better people, these characters are still IMPACTED by the events around them and AFFECTED as a natural result of the world they live in. 

You can’t help but feel for them in some way as a result. It’s part of why I love them.

The other part of why I love them is a bit more epic though…

Crowning Moments of Awesome

If there’s one thing I love, it’s seeing characters be awesome. I love it when characters get to be awesome. I would love to see more of it. Especially when the ones involved are characters you wouldn’t normally expect or get to see have a chance to shine.

And it’s when you see these characters be awesome that you really get the sense that yes, this character would work as a hero.

Seeing Max help against Robustus. Seeing Kim help against Odine. Alix stepping in during Pharaoh, calling out her brother’s fan fiction, and helping the heroes escape the security system at the Lourve. Alya stepping in during Copycat to clue Chat in to what’s going on and later keeping Anansi distracted to keep her away from Chat while he’s trapped. Rose kicking Nightmare!Chat in the face to defend Marinette even when she’s dealing with her own nightmares in Sandboy. Luka leading groups twice to stepping in and helping the heroes deal with akumas. Nathaniel standing up for Marinette and Sabrina when they’re accused in Rogercop and then helping the heroes in Reverser. Seeing the entire class step up to try and protect Marinette in Befana. Seeing all the friends working together to compete in the Friendship Contest in order to protect Adrien from a less serious but still potentially terrifying outcome.

These little moments of support make such a big different and really make it make sense that the heroes would trust these people with magical jewelry to help them in battle.

And the little moments of characters being petty or strong or smart or turning the tables or just showing off what they’re capable of. Even without superpowers.

Adrien getting petty revenge for Nino and finding a tactic to counter Gabriel in the future.

The Police Force in Rogercop just saying “Nope” to obeying an obvious akuma. 

Zoe manipulating akumas twice to help the heroes. Her two Reasons You Suck Speeches to her mom and Bustier.

Every instance of payback that Tikki gets against Chloe.

Everyone in the Finale. Just…EVERYONE in the Finale. The characters who manage to avoid akumatization by either spotting the flaws in the illusion or refusing to give in to fear and even protecting others. Nora smacking any akuma that enters the home. Claudie pulling off Power Mom and ordering Max to stop attacking the city then helping to calm him down. Prince Ali and Juleka freeing Rose by kissing her! Chris, Ella, Etta, and Manon saving Mylene! Mylene saving Ivan with a kiss in a direct callback to how they first got together in Stoneheart! (Yes, I am still stuck on that!) Ondine saving Kim! Lila and Sabrina saving Alix! Luka facing Riposte alone and unarmed and then Kitty Section saving Kagami! ALL of the Heroes making a final comeback to help take down Hawk Moth for good! Just—AAAAAH!

How could Miraculous have peaked with this in Season 2 when this is Grand Finale material? Because there are few things more awesome than getting to see ALL the characters the heroes met and befriended and helped throughout the course of the story stepping up at the final battle to help take the Big Bad down!

Like…can we just take a moment to appreciate how everyone gets a chance to stand out in some way? Not all of them necessarily good, exactly (looking at you Andre). But still stand out and be memorable. Even characters who didn’t originally get much focus. Especially characters who were originally functioning as cardboard cutouts to fill a scene.

Anyone remember Aurore? How for the FIRST akuma in the pilot of the series and one who is quite frankly the most interesting and noteworthy, we don’t really get to see her again except in the background.

In Scarlet Lady, we got to actually look in to the contest and how she lost as well as the aftermath. She wasn’t some arrogant showoff who deserved to lose to the “sweet down to earth rival”, she was a girl who legitimately tried her best and had valid reason to be upset. Seeing her get revenge on Alec for cheating and humiliating her on live TV was well worth it.

Or how about the Photographer? Just there to take photos of Adrien in the park for a photo shoot or be the school photographer, but otherwise has no personality and is only remembered for his weird “spaghetti” line.

In Scarlet Lady, his role is two-fold. He acts as a sort of supporter for Adrien in his crush. Taking really good pictures of him being happy with the girl he likes. Taking more class photos at the behest of this girl for the sake of a friend who missed out on the class picture. And then there’s his OTHER role as a sort of antagonist to Chloe. He becomes one of the only ones in the early seasons willing and capable of dismissing her tantrums.

They’re both given more character. They get moments to stand out and BE awesome. So is everyone.

EVERYONE. From the classmates and big named characters we see regularly to the side characters who only appear once or twice. They all get some good scenes and focus that give them their own identities. All of them are memorable. None of them can really be ignored or forgotten. And part of what made making this list so difficult was that I found myself getting attached to pretty much everyone as I came across each of them that I couldn’t quite make up my mind.

Everyone in this fic has done something to make me happy and warrant my approval. Even the characters I normally wouldn’t like at all had their moments to shine and elicit an “okay, that was cool” from me.

Thus I grant this spot to everyone. To all the characters I don’t get the chance to mention. To all the ones I like albeit somewhat less than others. To all the ones I know are horrible but can’t help but like regardless. To all the ones I fought with myself for THREE MONTHS over which one would get this spot.

I love all of them.

[not-freyja]

New Zelda Game!

Okay cool, cool cool cool cool, I am calm, I am so fucking calm. Looks like Nintendo is staying true to their word that Wild is not getting another game, so now the questions are, what Link is this, where are we in the Timeline, and what information about the game itself can we pick out of these crumbs?

Whose Zelda is it anyway?

So two options:

New boy.

Legend. It’s fucking Legend again sucks to suck bro

Case for new Link and Zelda:

Less messy for the Lore

That’s it, that is the only argument

Case for Leggy boy and Fable:

LA animation style! While it can be fun to bring back older styles of animation for nostalgia/artistic reasons, that seems like a poor choice for *LOZ* games, which are always on the edge of what a game can do. Moving “backwards,” so to speak, in any aspect, would be a disservice to the franchise. However, doing it to maintain consistency for a particular character, and to use the animation style to make sure the audience knows this is the same character from LA is a very simple but effective tactic.

The map! So that shot was so BOTW and so fun, but the view we got wasn’t just recognizable as “Hyrule,” is was, down to the relative heights on the mountain cliffs against each other, the map from ALTTP/ALBW. Nintendo has never repeated a map without it being the same Link. So! Checkmate motherfuckers.

The character designs. That… that was just Legend and Fable, come on. Look at the dress. Every Zelda has a slightly different costume design, and that was hers. Look at Link. Baby boy!

I want this. Let me have it.

Timeline positioning

Okay so if we assume that this is in fact Legend, the next question becomes, “When is it?” Leggy boy currently has 5 games that are canonically his. (Triforce Heroes could be a random other Link, so while we like to say 6 we can’t *prove it.*) So. Let’s break it down.

ALTTP: canonically his first game, can’t be before this one.

Oracles: canonically happen after ALTTP, and he is very much still a child in here.

LA: the game this one is artistically modeled after. Narratively this fits nicely right after Oracles, and in the canon timeline, fits between Oracles and ALBW, so I think a whole new game being crowbarred prior to this one would be… not great for the narrative.

ALBW: This is trickier. No canon time between LA and ALBW is given, it could be a week, it could be years. It is entirely possible that Echoes of Wisdom occurs prior to ALBW, which would make it a direct sequel to LA, which makes the art style make even more sense. It could also be after?

…hang on a fucking minute, lets get the fucking map.

Left, ALTTP. Right, ALBW

Basically the same map! Duh, it’s the same Hyrule. But. BUT. Bottom right, in the lake. Do you see that?!

ALTTP: no log bridge. ALBW: Log bridge. Now, let’s look at the pretty picture from the EOW trailer.

NO FUCKING LOG BRIDGE!

This is before ALBW. Therefore, the game order for The Hero of Legend is

ALTTP, OOS, OOA, LA, EOW, ALBW, TH(maybe)

*cue manic laughter*

Lore Implications

Ganon.

There being a Ganon at all actually has me pointing my finger at the Oracle games and screaming. The TL;DR in those is that there was a plot to resurrect Ganon, each game Twinrova gets closer, but Link stops them. Now, there were also supposed to be three of those games, which means that it is entirely possible that the third unseen Oracle plot—please Nintendo let Link and Farore hang out, I am on my knees barking like a dog—could have resulted in his resurrection. This is the only explanation I have that doesn’t break the Lore or involve Time Shenanigans.

Also, Link does KO the bitch in that opening scene in the trailer. His presence is either just that—a set-up plot point—or him and Link are currently duking it out in the hole. Fun!

Link and Zelda

Now this game is going to put their relationship in the front in the “I have to save them because I love them” way that we usually see from Link’s POV.

Getting it from Zelda’s POV is going to be very interesting. We might be getting a look into her head, into her feelings and thoughts about the whole ordeal of the Legend itself. I hope so. But also, this isn’t just Link and Zelda, this is *Fable and Legend* specifically. The two that were meant to be be siblings but the dialogue that established them as such was cut from the final version of ALTTP. So. This game has the possibility to do three things

Canonize the Prince Legend thing, like they were going to do in the nineties.

Not address the topic at all, leave it nebulous.

Zelink.

None of these are bad choices, but option two is definitely the safest. Both options one and three will cause an uproar from part of the fan base. I can already see the ship wars. Please don’t do this people. Please.

The Holes 🕳️

What are they? Where did they come from? Ganon’s Trident Where do they go? No actually, where do they go? The Dark World (doesn’t make sense in the Lore)? Lorule (that would be a choice)? The Twilight Realm (I am convinced that Lorule and the Twilight Realm are the same place actually and you cannot change my mind)? Some new never seen before parallel dimension? A non-place, like a gap between realities (sexiest option)? I have no idea!

Fun!

That fucking “Fairy”

Tri? Don’t trust it. Will not trust it. Never trust that a companion in a LOZ game is what they first appear to be. Who does Nintendo take me for? A fucking amateur?!

Anyway, I am about 40% convinced that’s Link. I have evidence, but it is circumstantial.

I AM HANDLING THIS NORMALLY.

[saturnzskyzz]

May I please request some Min-su content,,,preferably with one of his main lers being Thanos and/or Nam-gyu? I just love that silly little guy and think he should be wrecked!! Of course there’s no pressure tho if that’s not ur thing! :]

Why so anxious, boy?

Warning: | anxious descriptions | fear | tickling | intense |

Summary: Min-su is an anxious wreck, so? Why not have his two best bros to help him? Right?

A/N: Of course!!! I'm actually so excited to try and see what I come up with with this trio!! Thank you for the request!!! I made sure to practice on my intensity since you prefer those types of fics!! Let me know how I did :]]

----

Another game, finished. Finally! the screams and horror of the entire mingle game threw Min-su off a loop. Replaying each scene-thinking of ways where he could've possibly not have made it out of there. The only reason he was able to win was because of.. Oh, right..

During the games, his "friends" forced him to be a part of rock-paper-sciccors with Se-mi to see who would go with Thanos and Nam-gyu in a room. Due to the overwhelming situation, Min-su regrettably made himself win, and caused the two to drag him to the room, leaving Se-mi to look at him in disappointment and distrust. Fuck, why did I do that?

As he sat himself at his usual spot, he began to ponder. Really take in the possibilities his mind had ran without his permission. 'What if I did this differently?' "why did I make Se-mi lose? She hates me now' 'now I'm really left with those two lunatics.' it was a never-ending thought process for Min-su.

As he sat there to himself, he noticed two figures approaching. Oh boy. Here they come. What could they possibly be wanting after pulling that cruel stunt?

"What's up, my man!" Thanos said, his voice practically booming with pride. He approached him with an arm to go around his shoulder as he leaned comfortably close to Min-su.

"You were crazy out there! Making stupid Se-mi lose in rock-paper-sciccors was hella cool!" Nam-gyu said, using his hands to immitate what Min-su did earlier.

Min-su felt like he was suffocating within their presence. He wanted to be left alone. He had too many sentences and not so friendly words passing through his brain. It was like it was working a nine-to-five job with how much he thought without really thinking too hard on it. He was starting to zone out, with the presence of those who could've left him for dead without putting much thought to his name.

Thanos noticed this first, reluctantly swaying the both of them to try and see if it would get the shorter to come back to reality. The cruel, cruel reality.

"Hey, man! You good? You stared off into space there." Thanos said, looking at him with what Min-su had thought was a face with fake concern.

He didn't know what to say, he just kept looking in Thanos' direction, seemingly getting more tense by the second. It was like he was going to explode with how fact his mind was pacing, he didn't even care that Nam-gyu was getting closer by now. He just kept thinking.

Thanos grew concerned for the man, now. He brought up his hand infront of Nam-gyu to motion him to stop before coming any closer to the anxious player.

He stopped, eyeing the two confusingly as he saw Thanos unwrap his arm that was on the smaller's shoulder.

"Hey man, just take a deep breath." Thanos said, laying a soft pat to the shoulder. Well this is new? his fast pacing mind let him jot down his new thought of the current situation. Why was Thanos being helpful for once?

Maybe the pill was running out in Thanos' system? Thanos was already such a questionable person, doing this and that whenever and wherever, it's hard to tell what he would do or say next. And that was not what Min-su had thought he would say.

But, he decided to listen, as to not make him mad, and took deep breathes to calm him down. As he did so, Thanos wore his signature smile.

"There you go! Why so anxious, boy?" Thanos suddenly asked, and went to jab an offending finger right on Min-su's side, causing the poor dude to jolt with a surprised "ha!"

That seemed to stop his anxious thoughts quickly. It's like the world had stopped when that action had happened, and he didn't like the faces that Thanos and Nam-gyu wore when the deed was done.

"Hey, Thanos? you heard what I just heard, right?" Nam-gyu broke the silence, eyeing him with a Michivious smile of his own.

Thanos turned his head to look at him. "That was definitely heard, my brother. Hey, maybe you need a good laugh to break free of your anxious self!" Thanos said, jabbing a few more times into Min-su's side to get him to muffle a few giggles that were already betraying him to keep in.

"IhI.. D-don't think that's Necessary." Min-su quietly said, eyeing the both of them with nervous fear. Of course of all times they could find this silly weakness out is right now of all times?

Thanos placed his arm back onto Min-su's shoulder, making him tense up even more as if he already tensed up enough.

"It's time to let loose, my boy!" Thanos said, digging right into Min-su's side, enlightening the shocked giggles to come out of the poor soul.

The most sweet, and gentle sounding giggles was like music to both of the pill popper's ears.

"Wahahait, stohohohop!"Min-su begged, grabbing at the offending hands as Thanos went to town on his sides.

Surprisingly enough, Thanos was light with his touch. He could feel him digging, mainly because of the thick jackets they have been forced in, but nonetheless, his touch was thankfully light and not rough. He silently thanked the Gods for that.

"Awe, look at him! He's smiling~" Nam-gyu cooed, causing the man to blush.

"Look at that, man! Let us tickle your anxieties away, yeah?" Thanos said, even though he's already tickling him to pieces. The fact that this guy was able to notice that he was having an anxiety attack was.. An odd thought, considering with how insensitive the dude can get. But alas, these conversations were normal to Min-su, so he didn't expect any less. Fake empathy from these guys was like a walk to the park, unfortunately.

Assumingly getting bored with his sides, Thanos decided to go for his neck. Totally not because Nam-gyu tickled his tattoo right before going up to Min-su he discovered that Min-su's neck wasn't that affective, but it still caused him to make funny movements, observed from the both of them, along with a few squeaks and huffs.

"C'mon, you gotta do better than that to get him going! Watch. And. Learn!" Nam-gyu said suddenly, walking up to them as he cracked his fingers. Min-su was fucked..

He didn't know whether or not this guys would show him mercy if he started, but he never wanted to find out. He was relieved that it was just Thanos tickling him, but Nam-gyu?? He's digging his own grave now.

"W-wahahait, no! Nohot you toho.. Plehease!" Min-su pleaded, looking at Thanos for help with begging eyes. Thanos looked at him with a smirk.

"Don't worry! He's way more skilled, trust me!" Thanos said, beating his fist in his chest to emphasize the word "trust."

But.. That's exactly why he didn't want Nam-gyu to touch him, because he was skilled. He's seen how he literally dominated Thanos earlier-Thanos was BOOMING with laughter. He grew more nervous by the second as Nam-gyu approached them.

"I'll make your anxieties go away with a single puff of air!" Nam-gyu said as he blew air into his fist to extend his fingers, lastly giving him a wicked smile that told him he had no mercy.

"You see, you gotta really get them laughing-to really make sure that you're releasing all that tension loose, you get me?" Nam-gyu looked at Thanos as he placed his hands on Min-su's shoulders, squeezing them every now and then as a "gifted" massage before all hell broke loose.

Thanos gave him an "aah" sound to let him know that he was following. As he eyed him carefully, Nam-gyu suddenly darted his hands onto Min-su's ribs, using intricate fingers to experiment each crevice and bone like he was some test subject.

Oh, the scream he had released.

Min-su would have told you that you were hearing things if you said he screamed. It was definitely a feeling he has not felt before, or at least in forever. He forgot how badly his ribs were, it was like Nam-gyu was some kind of expert on tickling someone like Min-su. That thought alone sent shivers down his spine as if the tingly sensations weren't already spine crawling enough.

"F-FUHUHUCK.. WAIT! WAHAHAIT!" Min-su used the strength he had to try and pry Nam-gyu's blood thirsty fingers off of him, but with how weak he was quickly becoming from the onslaught had him struggle to get the upper hand.

The two drug addicts laughed at his squeaky retorts. How he could muster up the courage to even speak to them like that was dumfoundingly shocking to the both of them.

"Wow, Min-su! I never thought you had the gut to curse like that! We should do this more often." Nam-gyu teased, bringing the blush to flush all over Min-su's features adorably to the two. He didn't want to use such language in front of them, he didn't know why, but with this sort of thing, he might as well sell his soul for how humiliating this was for him.

"Hey Nam-su!" Thanos said suddenly, wearing an offended look from his new-found friend.

"It's Nam-gyu, Bro." He said, easily irritated at the mispronunciation of his name, never once leaving Min-su's poor ribs alone.

"Why not go for the pits?" ignoring the correction, he stared at Nam-gyu as he asked this.

"You're so right, bro! We gotta try." He said, looking at Min-su now, noticing that he looked at him with widened eyes.

"PLEHEHEASE- NOHOohohot the PIHIHI- WAHAHAIT- AHAHAHA!" With a sharp jolt, almost getting out of Thanos' hold by the reaction, but Nam-gyu kept him in place as he shot his hands into his armpits with determination. He drilled his thumbs into the both of them, causing Min-su to squeal.

He couldn't form words now, realising that the feeling was too much to even speak. He reluctantly squirmed and pulled as he tried desperately to get out of the hold from the agonizing feeling. All together to save his sanity, he looked away from the both of them as he laughed his heart out. He even forgot why they even tickled him in the first place.

"Let it loose, my boy!" Thanos yelled with an amused smile.

"Yeah!" Nam-gyu had suddenly bent down to get close to his ear, "We know you needed this~" he sung with a whisper, causing Min-su to shift his head from the breathy feeling in general, causing his ears to become a bit red now. God, this was awful.

He was alright with Thanos tickling him cause he visibly showed mercy to not go rough, but Nam-gyu? He was ruthless! He wished it was Thanos instead.

"PLEHEAHA- PLEA- PLEEHEASE! W-WAIT!" Min-su used all his strength to muster those words, hoping, praying that the ruthless monster would stop. Thankfully, he relented, but he kept his hands in his armpits to continue his adorable giggles.

"What is it, huh?" Nam-gyu said teasingly, slightly shaking his hands to make him tense. God, what a pain?

"Ihihi.. IhI need ahaha brehehake!" Min-su breathlessly begged, never once looking at the both of them from embarrassment.

Nam-gyu and Thanos looked at each other, and then back at Min-su.

"Hmm... Let me think on that!" Nam-gyu hummed, slowly wiggling his fingers now to surprise the poor man.

"Gohohod dahahamit.. Ehehahaha." Min-su couldn't help his flustered giggles. He shook his head as if that would help his predicament, but it only amused Nam-gyu and Thanos.

"Aren't you have fun, Min-su~?" Nam-gyu asked teasingly in his ear yet again, causing his ears to go redder than before. He didn't know what to say in that moment.

He wanted to say no. He wanted Nam-gyu to lay off. But this was genuinely helping him with his anxiety attack, and it did feel kind of nice when Thanos started the ticklish ambush.. But he wasn't going to ask him to switch with Thanos. Surely not.

"Well? What's it gonna be?" Nam-gyu guickly drilled his thumbs in his armpits again to get him to squeal once more, regrettably deciding to keep quiet.

"WAITWAHAHAIT WAHAHIT! NOHOHOT AHAHAGAIN!"

"Do you want us to continue or not? Not like we'd stop anytime soon, though, HA!" Nam-gyu said, drilling more into him armpits as if the earlier assault wasn't enough.

"THAHAHANOS! LEHEHET THAHANOHOS- AAAH, EHAHAAHAHA!" and he said it... He didn't want to, but if it got Nam-gyu to stop, then so be it, right?

Both of them were shocked, staring at each other with amusement, Nam-gyu finally laid off, holding his hands up as to surrender. "He's all yours, man!" He said.

Heavily breathing in well deserved gulps of air, Min-su was thankful that Nam-gyu actually relented in his attacks. Surely Thanos would go easy on him. He did earlier!

"You're about to experience the new Thanos world, my brother!" Thanos said in a booming voice. Wait what? What did he mean by that?

"Thank Nam-su over there for demonstrating how to get your beers turning!" Thanos said. Again with the nickname, Nam-gyu was ticked off by that.

Oh.

Oh no.

This can't be happening.

Min-su's heart sunk to the floor, as he nervously looked up to Thanos. "W-wahait.. Plehease don't.." he begged.

Thanos only looked at him with a smug look on his face. "Let's give these armpits some more attention." he said, darting his hand into his pits, relishing in new bounts of laughter from the shorter.

"AHAHA- F-FUHUHUCK YOHOHOU!" Min-su regretted his choic of words by the second, noticing how Thanos stopped his attack for a brief moment before going back to really drill his thumps into his Armpits.

"Oh, you're fucked now, Min-su." Nam-gyu said darkly, crossing his arms to watch the scene unfold.

Min-su was going to be humiliated for the rest of that very day. But of course, you never want to mess with Thanos and Nam-gyu if you want your ego untouched that is!

---

oh my goodness, I hope this was good 🫣🫣

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED!!

[writeawayneny]

unspoken

ian hecox x padilla!reader

summary: ian and anthony's little sister have always had a complicated history, but life seemed to pull you in different directions. after she moved back to California, reuniting with ian stirs up old feelings he can't ignore.

word count: 2.6k

warning: so, english isn't my first language.

---------------------------------------

it was supposed to be a regular thursday morning. answer a few emails, review notes on the upcoming videos, maybe sit in on a meeting with the producers and writers, then head into the studio to shoot. just another day in the office.

ian holding a yawn as he heads to the kitchen, hoping a cup of coffee might help him stir alive. but something was off. the kitchen, usually quiet this time of morning, was packed. a group of people crowded by the window, all looking into the lobby.

being the curious person he was, ian approached, mug in hand. “what’s going on?” he asked, leaning in beside angela.

“dude, who's that pretty girl?” she whispered back, eyes wide.

ian’s heart stopped when he saw through the window. standing there was (y/n) padilla. she looked radiant, as always. her signature smile bright up the room as she waited for someone or something.

for a moment, ian forgot where he was. he hadn’t thought he would see her again, not after all these years, not on a random thursday at of nowhere.

(y/n) padilla had always been the popular girl—not just because she was effortlessly gorgeous but because she was genuinely one of the kindest, friendliest souls anyone could meet. since high school, she seemed to have this magnetic pull; every guy who knew her found themself a little bit in love with her. ian was no exception, though he never admits it. his friendship with anthony meant everything, and he always stuck to the “bros before little cute sisters” rule.

ian’s escape to his growing feelings was to ignore them entirely, hoping they fade in time. but as the years went on, those feelings didn’t go away. if anything, they grew stronger. at the beginning of smosh, (y/n) had been so supportive, helping with anything anthony asked. whether it was behind the scenes assistance or even acting in videos, she was always around, bringing her enthusiasm and encouragement.

for ian, her presence was a mixture of comfort and torture. the more he felt drawn to her, the harder he tried to avoid her. he was terrified that once he admitted his crush things would complicate, not just with anthony and him, but with the future they were building.

then, (y/n) left for college, moving to new york to study music. her passion for music was undeniable; she played multiple instruments, composed her own songs, and had a stunning voice. Music was her life’s calling. and for ian, her absence brought relief—no more awkwardly dodging her in the hallway, no more suppressed feelings whenever she flashed that bright smile his way. still, every time anthony mentioned her, ian felt a sting of something he couldn’t shake. but time passed, and he told himself he will get over it.

when anthony eventually left smosh, ian couldn’t help but feel like he was saying goodbye to both padillas. it was a bittersweet farewell, one that left ian wondering if he would ever see them again. to cope, he threw himself into work, keeping smosh alive through determination, working harder than ever. he lost too much to let it all go.

ian's mind raced, flooded by a mix of emotions he thought he left behind. it was surreal—one second, he was expecting nothing more than an ordinary day, and the next, there she was, as if she’d walked right out of his memories and into the lobby.

she didn’t notice him at first, busy looking into her phone, but when she finally glanced up and their eyes met, her expression shifted. she gave him that familiar smile—the one that had always made him feel like he was the only person in the room.

ian watched, his heart pounding, as anthony approached her. they shared a hug, their laughter flowing through the lobby, and ian felt both familiar and deeply uncomfortable. he forced himself to look away, taking a slow sip of his coffee as he tried to steady his nerves.

she looked even more beautiful, more self-assured than he remembered, radiating that same warmth that had drawn him in all those years ago. memories he tried to bury resurfaced: the nights they would all stay late working on smosh videos, the way her laughter filled the room, and, of course, the quiet moments when he’d catch himself watching her, wishing he could say everything.

arasha nudged him, snapping him out of his thoughts. “hey, Ian, you okay?” she asked. “you’re staring.”

ian blinked, trying to pull himself back to the present. “yeah, just… surprised. it’s been a while.”

“she is really pretty.” Amanda murmured beside him; her tone tinged with awe.

angela leaned closer; eyes fixed on (y/n). “but who is she?”

courtney joined, chuckling. “that’s anthony’s little sister.”

“i thought that she was in new york” now, shayne approached, reuniting with everyone else in the window. by now, it seems that every single person in the office was there.

"yeah, she was," ian replied, trying to keep his tone casual, though his heart was the complete opposite. "i mean, last i heard, she was still in new york."

as ian attempted to act like nothing had happened, he noticed (y/n) and anthony glancing toward the crowd gathered in the kitchen. she lifted her hand in a small, tentative wave, her eyes lingering on ian with a hint of surprise and warmth. anthony seemed to chuckle, shaking his head slightly as if already anticipating the reactions.

“guess we weren’t very subtle,” spencer muttered under his breath, smile on his face as he watched the siblings make their way toward the kitchen.

ian's pulse quickened. he hadn’t prepared himself for this moment, for the possibility of (y/n) walking back into his life as if she hadn’t been gone at all.

anthony introduced his sister with a big smile. "for the ones who don’t know her, meet (y/n), my baby sister."

she rolled her eyes, nudging him playfully. “only by a few years, anton. you make it sound like i’m still a kid.”

“you always will be my baby sister.” anthony ruffles her hair.

chanse piped up with a grin. “so, is it true that anthony used to straighten his hair every day?”

(y/n) laughed, looking mischievously. “oh, absolutely! i think mom was thrilled when he finally moved out, she was tired of the whole house smelling like burnt hair.”

“well, but you cried a whole month because you missed me” anthony pointed out.

ian tried to focus on his coffee, keeping his expression neutral as everyone burst into laughter. seeing anthony and (y/n) exchange made his chest tighten. they hadn't been in the same room in years, yet it felt like no time had passed. her laughter, light and musical, filled the kitchen, and ian felt that familiar mix of comfort and unease settle over him.

arasha nudged him with her elbow. "you look like you’ve seen a ghost."

ian took another sip of his coffee, trying to untangle the knot in his throat. "bad night" it was everything that he could mumble

“so, what brings you back?” shayne asked genuinely curious.

(y/n) tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “i just got a job teaching music at a high school here. it’s been a crazy few years in new york, but i figured it was about time I annoyed anthony in person instead of just over the phone.”

“annoy me?” anthony quipped, acting offense. “i’m the best brother ever. you’re lucky to have me.”

(y/n) rolled her eyes but smiled fondly. “sure, sure. keep telling yourself that.”

the smosh cast chuckled, already taken in by her charm. ian’s stomach flipped. he wasn’t sure if it was excitement, dread, or some horrible mix of both, he stayed quiet. his mind was racing. a job? here? that meant she was staying. that changed everything.

courtney tilted her head, curious. “what kind of music do you teach?”

“mostly choir and some music theory,” (y/n) replied, her eyes lighting up. “it’s a lot of work, but i love it. high school kids can be a handful, but they’re also so talented and full of potential.”

angela nodded. “that sounds so exciting, i was in a performing middle school and high school. do you play any instruments?”

“a few,” (y/n) said modestly. “piano, guitar, a little violin. i also sing, and i love composing, it helps me to channel myself and understand—” she stopped herself, chuckling. “sorry, i’m rambling. i could talk about music all day.”

“don’t apologize,” amanda said with a grin. “it’s cool to hear about someone who’s actually passionate about their job.”

ian placed his mug down on the counter, the sound barely registering among the chatter and laughter swirling around (y/n). her energy seemed to fill the room, like a warm melody that everyone tuned into. ian tried to act like her presence wasn’t affecting him, like his chest wasn’t tightening with every smile she directed toward the group. he needed an escape.

“i’m gonna… uh, check on something in my office.” ian mumbled, already stepping toward the door.

shayne raised an eyebrow but didn’t press him, offering only a “sure, man.”

ian slipped out into the hallway, the din of voices fading as he made his way toward the quiet office. once inside, he leaned against the wall, exhaling sharply.

“what’s wrong with me?” he muttered, raking a hand through his hair. he worked so hard to push those feelings aside, to move on. and now, with just one smile, one laugh, (y/n) had turned his carefully built defenses into rubble.

he knew he couldn’t avoid her forever. she was here now—back, working nearby, and clearly comfortably slipping back into their world. it was only a matter of time before they had to talk, and he wasn’t sure he could keep his emotions from spilling over when that moment came.

ian stayed in his office longer than he needed to, pacing back and forth as he tried to piece his thoughts together. avoidance had always been his strategy when it came to the younger padilla, but now, it was clear that it wasn’t going to work. they now were adults.

his mind buzzed with questions. did she remember how close they’d been back then? did she notice how he’d pulled away? did she even care? he shook his head, trying to shove those thoughts aside. overthinking wasn’t going to help. But even as he tried to focus, his mind kept drifting back to the way she’d looked at him earlier—like she was genuinely happy to see him.

a knock at the door pulled him out of his spiraling thoughts. he tensed, had (y/n) come looking for him? he wasn’t ready for that.

“ian?” courtney’s voice filtered through the door.

he exhaled, relieved but still on edge. “yeah, come in.”

courtney stepped inside; their usual cheerful attitude now with a trace of concern. “hey, just wanted to check on you. you’ve been mia for a while, and everyone’s starting to wonder if you fell into an emailing black hole or something.”

“I’m fine”

courtney raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. “you sure? you bailed pretty quick back there.”

ian shrugged, trying to play it off. “just needed a break. the crowd was a bit… overwhelming.”

they smirked. “right. overwhelming. had nothing to do with anthony’s sister, huh?”

ian shot them a look. “i don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“sure, you don’t… look, i’m not trying to pry or anything, but… you seemed rattled. if you wanna talk about it—”

“there’s nothing to talk about,” ian interrupted, a little too quickly. he rubbed his eyes, avoiding their gaze. “sorry… it’s just been a while since i’ve seen her, that’s all.”

courtney studied him for a moment, then nodded. “okay. but if you change your mind, you know where to find me, you can talk to me.”

ian managed a small smile. “thanks, court bourt.”

As they left, ian sank into the chair, his thoughts spinning again. he knew courtney meant well, but talking about it wouldn’t help. what could he even say? that he’d been harboring a crush on (y/n) even after all these years? that seeing her again had shaken him more than he cared to admit? yeah, he’d better keep it to himself, just like he always had.

the rest of the day passed in a haze for ian. meetings blurred together, and the words on scripts in front of him seemed to swim. every now and then, he caught quick looks of (y/n) through the office’s glass walls. she was chatting animatedly with courtney and shayne, sharing laughs with arasha and spencer, or exploring the studio as amanda and angela gave her the unofficial tour.

it was almost painful how seamlessly she fit into their world, her energy like a magnet pulling everyone closer. ian stayed out everyone sigh, busying himself with anything he could find to avoid lingering in the same room for too long.

he thought he’d been successful until the end of the day.

as the team began to pack up, ian headed toward the parking lot, hoping to slip out unnoticed. but just as he reached the door, a familiar voice stopped him in his tracks.

“ian, wait!”

he froze, every nerve in his body suddenly hyper-aware. turning slowly, he saw (y/n) jogging toward him, her bag slung over one shoulder and an apologetic smile on her face.

“hey,” she said, slightly out of breath but still radiant. “i feel like i haven’t had a chance to talk to you all day.”

ian swallowed hard, forcing a smile. “yeah, it’s been… a busy day.”

she tilted her head, studying him in that way that always made him feel like she could see right through him. “you’ve been avoiding me, haven’t you?”

the direct way of her question caught him off guard, and he stumbled over his words. “what? no! i’ve just… had a lot going on. you know how it is.”

(y/n) raised an eyebrow, unconvinced but willing to let it slide. “sure. well, i just wanted to say hi properly and… it’s really good to see you again, ian. it’s been too long.”

her sincerity hit him like a punch to the gut. he forced himself to meet her gaze, his heart pounding. “yeah, it has. it’s good to see you too, (y/n).”

she smiled, and for a moment, the years of distance between them seemed to fade. “maybe we can catch up sometime? i’d love to hear about everything you’ve been up to.”

ian hesitated, the words catching in his throat. “yeah, maybe. we’ll see.”

her smile hesitates just slightly, but she nodded. “okay. well, don’t be a stranger, okay?”

“sure,” ian said, his voice quieter than he intended.

she seems to say or do something more, but nothing else happens. as (y/n) turned to leave, ian stood frozen, watching her go. every part of him wanted to stop her, to say something—anything— that would keep her there a little longer. but the knot in his chest kept him silent, and he could only watch as she disappeared into the parking lot.

he let out a shaky breath, running a hand through his hair. this wasn’t going to be easy. for years, he’d convinced himself he could bury his feelings and move on, but now, with her back in his life, he wasn’t sure how long he could keep pretending.

tomorrow, he told himself. tomorrow, he’ll figure out how to handle this.

deep down, ian knew that with (y/n) padilla, nothing would ever be that simple.

[flonbowe]

Yes I will still continue talking about Zokket despite a certain someone becoming common knowledge now thank you very much teehee Not attaching this onto my big analysis post tho, this is kinda unrelated But Zokket has an oddly interesting relationship with Bowser, and I wanna talk about that

So to get the obvious out of the way, Zokket remembers Bowser's name, he doesn't need to be reminded at all about him unlike the bros and even the Corps. Bowser is one of the only names Zokket bothers to remember, with the others being for involuntary and obvious reasons respectively, where as Bowser is of his own volition. Zokket only remembers those important to him, and or oney uses names when they have significance (EX: Him referring to the Corps by their proper names as he threatens them with Glohm, him putting the effort in to remember the Bros names as they finally become important before his boss fight) Now We don't see what Bowser is doing for most of Brothership, and when we finally meet him he's clearly been up to things, conquering Offandon, setting up shop on Wayaway, hunting for lost troops, there's clearly a side story we aren't seeing. Now, this part is baseless but it just makes sense. Zokket is an efficient person. He has precise numbers and plans in mind, and executes them with little to no error, even with us interfering. Hell, when we fight him he states the following

So With this in mind What was the Glohmatic Quad Ray for? Its never used again outside of one instance. Actually What are these for too?

These pincer cannons are only used in a cut scene and nothing more, never again seen. Well if the topic isn't obvious, its for Bowser. Bowser is the priority. For Zokket, Bowser through out 90% of brothership is the bigger priority between The Bros and him. Whatever Bowser has been doing off screen is so disruptive that Zokket has to focus a good chunk of resources onto stopping him. The Glohmatic Quad Ray in particular is a good glimpse at this, as for every Optional Boss we get a little scene between Zok Troops, and as they go on it becomes clear they were made to power up someone who was already strong, to become even stronger. These tests, Glohm Gobblick, Sharpcask and Pipegunk, were the precursors to Zokket's final goal of not just getting rid of Bowser. Now looping this all the way to why I described this as "baseless', why doesn't Zokket just, kill Bowser? He said himself he should have just destroyed the bros, was It just bluffing? Well I personally believe he did try, and failed, thus having to change his goals from "get rid of the thorn in my side" to "how can I direct this brute's wrath towards someone else as well as get rid of him?" Even without this slight leap from canon, Zokket clearly keeps Bowser in his mind And so does Bowser Bowser in the M&L series is a pretty simple guy (no disrespect, I fucking love Bowser in this series), he hates the bros, wants to rule the world yatayatayata. He will gladly put down whatever he's doing to try and beat the bros, this is consistent. What's also consistent in this series, is him carrying this same attitude towards other people who piss him off. So when Bowser, THE nemesis of the Mario Brothers, somewhat brushes them aside to get revenge on Zokket, you know shit's real. The only other time I can really remember Bowser having a similarly intense hate boner for someone was all the way back in Bowser's Inside Story

Which is honestly understandable from Bowser's perspective, this random bone masked guy is taking his minions, his son, HIM, and all while acting high and mighty and for some big dramatic goal? Bowser was ready to beat Midbus to a pulp on their first meeting just for talking funny, Zokket's dry manner of speaking for sure gets under Bowser's skin. Honestly there's a comparison to be made further with Fawful and Zokket in relation to Bowser, both are smarter more technological (and magically in some instances) gifted vs Bowser's raw brawn and bulky physique, both have shaky relationships with their goons vs Bowser's ride or die loyalty, both use Bowser's body for their schemes, and possible other connections. Apparently (I personally don't see It but I should mention it) Zokket and the Corps have a resemblance to Antasma, who also has an interesting deal with Bowser, so bonus points for that.

Not to mention Bowser still clinging onto Zokket when he's long gone, it paints such a fun dynamic that I wish was explored more than the crumbs that I have collected here. TL;DR: Bowser and Zokket fucking hate each other and yet also cannot stop thinking about each other and I demand the toxic yaoi now/hj

[bo0tleg]

GEMS MY FRIEND SAID WATCHING 'TOP GUN: MAVERICK' FOR THE FIRST TIME:

"The jacket! The famous jacket that pulls women, pulls men, pulls the world!"

"Oh look how hot~ he looks on that motorcicle. He's even pracing his ass!"

(Maverick, on screen: "Well... He's not here yet.") The mans madness has begun."

"MAVERICK DON'T DIE YOU STILL NEED TO HAVE YOUR GAY ROMANCE!"

"He lasted two months at Top Gun? HA. He probably was a bigger piece of work than the students."

"From what I can tell, Maverick tamed Iceman. In the first one he was the little annoying bitch and Maverick saw a challenge."

"I mean, at least these two (Penny and Mav) have chemistry. They hooked up in a plane, after all."

"Iceman solves his problems, Iceman keeps his job, what a simp. That's dog behavior."

"Maverick doesn't look likes he's flirting with her, he's just confused. His confused face looks like his flirting face, and people assume. I know this because people do it to me."

"Yeah, he's kinda like that one Olívia Rodrigo song that she gets confused when she sees her ex... What was it again?" ('bad Idea right?' by Olivia Rodrigo)

"I like him (Bob)! He's pathetic like me!"

"Oooohhh they're (Phoenix and Bob) gonna be besties! I can feel it."

(When Phoenix racks Rooster with the cue) "OHOHOHOOOO I LIKE HER ALREADY."

(Didn't notice Hangman taking Bob's cue, I relayed the information) "Aaaahhh don't steal Bob's cue. Bob's cool, Bob's nice."

(After rewinding the scene) "NO, NO, NO! WHO IS THAT? NOBODY CAN STEAL BOB'S CUE! I don't like him (Hangman)."

(Hangman, on screen: Bradshaw! As I live and breathe!) *Slowly turns towards me with dead eyes*

"That's not enemies to lovers, that's just enemies."

"With just this scene, I can tell this guy (Hangman) comes and goes. 'Sometimes I flirt with you, sometimes I hate you.' He's like a tsudere."

"Oh, got it. Phoenix is adopted into the man's group. She's a bro."

"I wouldn't say that they're his support system, but those two are the people that know him the best. Hangman is paying attention because he wants to be the best and needs to defeat Rooster. Phoenix is demonstrating a more sibling like worry."

"Hondo is like Mavericks babysitter."

"Oh. Oh, now Mav's flirting with her."

(Following the 'Baby on Board' comment) "Don't talk shit about Bob! I don't like Hangman."

"Maverick is like a step father to Rooster. Not in the 'HAHA I FUCKED YOUR MOM' kind of way, but in the way that he helped raise him."

"Where is Iceman? I'm here for the two of them, I don't give a fuck about Aeronautics."

"I think Ice and Maverick had a long relationship, but they're not together anymore. They maintained a friendship, but their lives probably went in different directions. I'd say they were together for 10, maybe 20 years."

('I ain't worried' by OneRepublic starts playing) "This song is from 2022? OH MY GOD THE SCENE"

"DON'T PLAY AROUND WITH GRANDPA!"

*Started chanting "BOB! BOB! BOB!" When he got picked up*

*Eeriely quiet during the bird strike, until Maverick starts talking to Rooster* "OH THEY'RE NOT DEAD. THEY COULDN'T HAVE KILLED BOB! IF THEY KILLED BOB I WOULD STOP AND NEVER WATCH TOP GUN EVER AGAIN!"

"Definitely 20 years. Ice is probably the only person Mav actually loved. Like, not a fling?" "Yeah, probably." "He's been with lots of women, and men, but Iceman is the only person he was ever in love with– maybe still is."

"I think his (Ice's) wife knows. That's probably why she recognizes Mav and is kind of friends with him." "That's probably why she just let him go up to see Ice." "YEAH GO AHEAD, FUCK MY HUSBAND!"

"It's pretty easy to notice that Snowman– No, ICEman."

"That is the face of a man who just lost the love of his life."

"Damn, the mans a beast. If It was me I'd already have cried, alone, in a room absolutely destroyed, never to come out again."

"He's got nobody, dude! I just want his step child to come back, because If he doesn't that man's gonna kill himself!"

"Why does it always have to have a romantic ending. Just leave him with his adoptive son. Go away."

"They (Penny and Mav) aren't going to end up together."

"I have a theory! Fanboy is obsessed with women! Cus he's 'Fanboy'." "But wouldn't he be called Simp, then?" "Ah, then he's obsessed with men." "... simp can be for men too."

"There's gonna be a Top Gun Three? Who's it gonna be about? It ain't gonna be Maverick, that man has a foot in the grave already."

"Bob is my favorite in the second movie. I have no favorites in the first one because everybody is very macho and very gay, and that's boring."

[silviakundera]

Does it feel like they're trying to redeem the dickless bore? idk if he's doing a con on her or they're showing he has real feelings for her wasn't the novel different?

One thing I'm really noticing in the Princess Royal (Grand Princess) adaption is that they will 'play it straight' with characters like Su Rongqing and the Emperor: giving the character similar dialogue and facial expressions as they would have in the novel -- except without PWX or LR's internal dialogue of 🙄 why u lying???

🙄 lol ok sure

😒 oh i see, back on your bullshit again

😤 the AUDACITY

😬 oh shit oh shit danger BE COOL

The consequence is that if you take everything at face value, the Emperor seems like a reasonable guy and not up for The Absolute Worst Dad award. Under the surface, the novel reader knows he is acting out a play and coldly calculating every interaction with Li Rong, the Crown Prince, and Consort Ruo. Every single scene with him, Li Rong is in peril and she knows it. She's pretending to be his sweet, obedient 19 year old daughter who believes in him and is following Pei Wenxuan's direction and acting as a puppet, making moves that he has already approved PWX to make. The Emperor's pretending that this play isn't supposed to end with LR and the Crown Prince taken down & the power transferred into Consort Ruo and the other prince's hands.

The viewer can just interpret all the words coming out of a character's mouth as facts & just believe everything they claim about their motives/real agenda as true. Or they recall the implied horrorshow of Life 1 and view all of these interactions with a cynical eye, questioning what else could be under the surface.

With SRQ, that guy is so fucking complicated. I think actually he's portrayed in character. Nothing we have seen isn't .... him. At least so far, as of ep 19 he aligns with the novel.

But 3 different factors: A) The music is romantizing him; B) The audience is given a couple internal-thought voice overs from him, which other antagonists don't get; C) With those voice-overs, the screenwriter has chosen to affirm his love for his brother and LR way earlier than the reader has it confirmed in the novel (where he is intentionally kept a total mystery for far longer, while the reader is the math lady meme, trying to piece together clues to figure him out).

And ultimately, when in SRQ's PoV in the drama, we have to deal with him being the hero of his own story. He is absolutely sincere about himself and, as has been revealed, in his own way he's sincere about wanting LR and his brother to have a good life this time around.

So does that mean the writer intends to do a swerve in the narrative arc and redeem him in the end? It's totally possible. Maybe?

However, not necessarily.

#1 There is a certain refrain from many of the great cnovel/drama villians: I had no choice! You all forced me to this!

We saw it from Shen Yurong in The Double, we saw it from Meng Yao/JGY in The Untamed, and in the novel (and I presume in the drama), we're gonna see it from Su Rongqing.

And it's the reason why they become villians who can't be saved. Because so many people suffer in life or experience unfairness. But they don't turn around and use this as an excuse to enact horrible cruelties on others.

Out of the billions of people in the world, few have no problems but so many of them actively chose to do good, or are willing at least to turn back and be better.

#2 imo the reason LR has historically been bad at reading people's hearts but has an exquisite read of SRQ, his flaws & darkness, is THAT'S HER FUCKING MOM. And I do think ep 16-18 put that out there in the text, if you're looking for it. He and the empress are the same sophisticated aristocrat who is clever & educated but with a narrow perspective limited by their privilege and desperate need to maintain the status quo. So sorry bro, but no wonder she might have settled for marrying you in the first life if you wanted to, but she was never gonna fall in love with you 💀.

PWX can see that SRQ loves her and he thinks that matters, so it scares him. LR has tender nostalgia for her empress mother and her former companion but she's all too aware that their love for her will not necessarily get in the way of stepping on her to protect the social structure of a powerful aristocracy class operating at a higher level above the peasants and restraining the throne. To them, this is safety and stability that guards the realm.

(ofc both those characters are complex and when it comes to LR's life & death we can't be confident on what they will always choose. that's part of what made all the palace drama aspects of the novel incredibly suspenseful. So many of the suppporting characters are layered and tho everything they do makes sense when it happens, you can't often predict people's hard choices when their back is up against the wall)

Story of Kunning Palace and The Grand Princess say that caring about people and trying your best to understand them, wanting what's best for them by listening to what's best for them, can make a huge difference. But not everyone is willing to change.

[racke7]

I was thinking about nazis in internet-spaces today.

Like, we say that they've "infiltrated the language" or whatever, but that makes them sound like they were doing cool spy-shit. What they actually did was walk into the scene wearing nazi-paraphenlia and shouting about evil jews, and people just... assumed that they were joking.

Like, there's an old graph about "the sexiness of women, according to 4chan" that starts off really high up until "age 10" at which point it bottoms out until death at which point it shoots right back up again. Implying that 4chan's sexual identity is made up out of pedophiles and necrophiliacs.

Considering how vanishingly small those specific preferences are in the global population, it can be safely assumed that they're trolling.

And the whole point of being a troll is to do and say outrageous shit that nobody can take seriously, and make some dude (who does take it seriously) big-time mad about it.

So when the nazis showed up and spouted their uncensored bullshit, people just... kind of shrugged, because trolls are just like that.

Except fascism doesn't allow for itself to be "just a joke, bro". It's kind of like commercials. It's not about convincing people to "buy your shit", it's about reminding people that you exist, so when people are suddenly in a position where they're looking for something to buy your name pops up.

Basically, it's easy to scoff at nazis until you lose your job because your company outsourced it to some foreigners who're paid half of your salary. Then, in the desperation of a failing personal economy and with the rage and betrayal of being tossed aside by your employer? Then you suddenly remember that nazis said "fuck those foreigners" and you pivot.

You don't pivot because of a good reason, you pivot because it's a readily available solution that doesn't actually ask you to do anything. If it's your employer's fault then you need to campaign against it with lots of protests, and if it's your own fault then you need to work hard to do your job "better" somehow.

But if it's the foreigners' fault? Then you can just... agree with a few policies about curbing immigrants. Nice and easy.

So. Nazis showed up and were treated like trolls (and some of them were), and then the seed of their ideology sprung roots in the hardships of economic down-turns, and now here we are.

Which leads to the question of "how do we stop this from happening again". And like... we could try to police red-flag talk and censor people talking about this shit, but the extent of that is probably never going to be enough.

Not helped by the fact that people will see that censorship and decry it, because any censorship is a red-flag to them (which is also fair, there's a reason why AO3 works the way it does, for example).

So uhh... to make a long story short, I tried to think of some way to stop a nazi/troll in their tracks. You can't shut them down with "that's inappropriate" or whatever, because then you'll just be a stick-in-the-mud with "no sense of humor". But I feel like you can probably derail them with a troll of your own.

"Hi Mr Shmitler, I've got a bunker and a pistol to sell to you."

And if they keep trying to continue:

"The pistol only has one bullet, but I figure that's all you'll really need."

It's an acknowledgment of what kind of shit they're spouting, and a reminder that the "cool guy" that they admired was a pathetic loser who killed himself. Along with the implication that we'd like you to join him.

It's not a threat. It's not even really a direct "kill yourself"-message. It can easily be said to be "just a joke, bro" (hiding ourselves under the same defense as the other trolls). And I feel like it's very difficult to "re-appropriate" for the nazis, because it will always lead back to Hitler being a coward and a loser.

I can't say that this is "perfect" because it's something that I thought up in the span of half-an-hour of distraction. But like... it's something? Maybe?

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x40 - The Four Heavenly Kings of the Mountain of Evil! Dark Masters / Enter the Dark Masters

Previously on Digimon Adventure: The Chosen Children discovered Vamdemon's ultimate weakness: Forceful, repeated nut shots. After wailing on his vulnerable point until he fell over and died, they bid farewell to their loved ones and fucked off via rainbow magic without explaining anything to most of their confused, scared parents.

It's cool, they'll be back in like a minute. Thanks, time dilation!

The Four Heavenly Kings are a quartet of Buddhist devas who preside over the cardinal directions. They're kind of a big deal in Buddhist mythology and they come up a lot in Japanese pop culture. Anime and video games love the Four Heavenly Kings.

They're the Kais and the Supreme Kais in Dragon Ball. They're the Saint Beasts in Yu Yu Hakusho. The Elite Four in Pokemon. The Four Giants that must be rescued in Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. They're all over the place.

Notably, despite being called "kings", they are rarely the top of the hierarchy and typically serve a single master who stands above them all. The Heavenly Kings bend their knees to Taishakuten, supreme ruler over all devas. He governs from the peak of a great mountain at the center of all directions.

So where you find Four Heavenly Kings in media, you will often find a supreme lord of the center who sits above them. (Though not necessarily always; Yu Yu Hakusho, for instance, omitted that part.)

Digimon, too, has its Four Heavenly Kings. In fact, like Dragon Ball, it has multiple sets - with the penultimate villains of Adventure 01 being a corrupt and evil version of the concept, which is also not uncommon with Heavenly King portrayals.

They were not the first to come up with "Four Heavenly Kings BUT EVIL" and they will not be the last. Heavenly King references are a fun and easy way to fill in the top-dog super-elite enforcers for your primary bad guy.

So, without further adieu, we open this episode on the introduction of the titular Dark Masters, who govern four of the five traditional elements: Water, wood, metal, and slapstick comedy.

Spoiling their names a bit but I'm not gonna spend this whole scene calling them Clown Bro and Gatling Puppet. Piemon, pronounced "Pee-eh-mon" and not "Pie-mon", kicks us off. He's secretly monitoring the humans back in Japan, observing the Chosen Children preparing to return.

He's doing this through the truly ingenious method of pointing a giant-ass telescope at the reality tear in the sky and looking at Japan with his eyes.

Piemon: Those fools wear masks of fear, waiting in futility for peace to return. Such a wonderful sight to behold! MetalSeadramon: (bursts from the water) This is stupid! We should attack! Pinochimon: Their flow of time moves differently from ours. We should take our time and pick them off one by one. Like him! Mugendramon: (silent, but for heavy breathing)

The camera slowly pans up Mugendramon's metal body. I'm not 100% certain on what Pinochimon is suggesting here, but I think he wants to use Mugendramon's cannons to, like, shoot up into the sky rifts and snipe humans while they're frozen in the glacially-moving time of the other world.

A horrifying thought. We should probably close those rifts.

The dub understood the assignment with Piedmon.

Piedmon: Hahaha! Those bit players are frozen with stage fright! Hopelessly waiting for the moment they'll be saved! And yet, there's an unseen twist to the plot! MetalSeadramon: I say we cut to the punchline and go straight for the action! Puppetmon: Oh please, that would be boring! I want to play this drama to the hilt! Let's pull out all the stops and give 'em what they paid for.

Piedmon's voice is basically perfect. He's being performed as an overenthusiastic virtuoso. For Puppetmon, they go a different direction; Pinocchimon is voiced like a young boy, while Puppetmon has this scratchy sneering voice like a little weasel man.

Far from the bestial roar of the original, the dub's MetalSeadramon sounds like a twenty-something young man with a southern twang in his voice. Interesting choice. That could get annoying or be hilarious. We'll see where that goes.

Machinedramon does not get to breathe heavily into the mic because they cut the part of Pinocchimon's line that calls him out and puts attention on him. So now the camera pans over him for no apparent reason while Puppetmon is talking.

Depending on whether my understanding is right, I could see them changing his line because holy shit that's violent and dark or because they, like me, weren't exactly sure what he was saying. Might be censorship, might be "Huh?"

Piemon: The Chosen Children will return soon. Our boredom is at its end. Now! Let us leave the dressing room! The stage curtains are rising!

Spotlights shine on each of the Dark Masters to punctuate his words.

Piemon: The title is: The End of the Chosen Children!

In the dub, Piedmon continues off of Puppetmon's changed line.

Piedmon: I'm in complete agreement! A quick victory would be a letdown. The DigiDestined will be on Spiral Mountain soon; We must rehearse before they get here. It will be their FINAL PERFORMANCE!!!

As a silence-breaker, he introduces them each individually to the audience when the spotlights come in.

Piedmon: MetalSeadramon! Puppetmon! And Machinedramon! I present to you the downfall of the DigiDestined!

The dub's front-loading a lot of proper nouns, though they never have a chance to name Piedmon. They even name-drop Spiral Mountain early.

While the Dark Masters make their plans, the children arrive in the Digital World and take stock of their surroundings.

Taichi: Are we back? Mimi: I think so.... Koushiro: We should be. Takeru: Is it night-time? Yamato: Looks like.

Sora looks up and suddenly lets out a shriek.

Sora: EHHHHH!?!? EVERYONE, LOOK!!!

Looking up into the sky above, they can see the island of Hokkaido floating in the sky above, as if the blue sky were the ocean. Hokkaido is one of the biggest parts of Japan, so this is very much like looking up and seeing Texas distantly floating upside-down in the air.

Group: WHUUUUUUH!?!? Taichi: H-HOKKAIDO!?!? Yamato: IS THAT EARTH!?!? Koushiro: We're able to see Earth from here, the same way we could see the DIgimon World from Earth earlier.

Poor Koushiro having to explain the obvious to his shocked colleagues. Sitting there like, "Come on, guys. We already know this is happening."

As a small microaggression towards my kid, Taichi's uncertainty and Mimi's confirmation is flip-flopped in the dub so that Tai's certain and Mimi's confused.

Tai: Well, it looks like we're back. Mimi: Back where? in the Digital World? Izzy: That's affirmative. T.K.: It's dark. Matt: Yeah! It's kind of weird!

The resulting line doesn't make a lot of sense. Where do you think we went back to, Mimi? The McDonalds we bullied Joe at? Not to be outdone, however, Matt promptly forgets how night works to take the pressure off of Mimi's dumb question. XD

I think they all have cosmic jet-lag.

Sora does not shriek when she notices the sky.

Sora: HEY!!! LOOK UP THERE!!! Group: WHUUUUUUH!?!? Tai: Talk about weird! Matt: Could that be Earth!? Izzy: It's merely speculation but it seems to be a reasonable facsimile. We see Earth from here like we saw the Digital World from Earth.

They cut the regional reference to Hokkaido which I actually think was a bad call. Japanese kids could reasonably recognize that island in the sky but Americans have no idea what they're looking at. It just looks like an ink blot.

So when the kids are like, "IS THAT EARTH!?!?"

Like.

Is it? Doesn't look like Earth to me. That is a weird dark shape in the clouds, not a planet. This is a confusing moment in the dub.

This might have been a good time to have, say, Joe chime in with a line like "I recognize that island; It's one of the biggest islands in Japan!" That way, the kids watching would understand what they're supposed to be seeing, because it is not clear at a glance with zero comprehension of Japanese geography.

Suddenly, Jou hears something rustling around in the brush.

Jou: Hm? Gomamon? What are you doing down there, Gomamon?

He walks over to where the sound's coming from, sifting through the grass. Gomamon pops out of Jou's duffel bag nearby.

Gomamon: Jou! I'm over here! Jou: Eh? Then who's this--GYAAAAAGH!!!

Chuumon erupts from the grass, attacking Jou and clawing at his face while screaming in a panic. The ground shifts, opening up a chasm beneath Jou, and Chuumon leaps away to safety.

Gomamon: JOU!!!

Jou grabs onto the newly created cliffside for dear life.

In the dub:

Joe: Hm? Gomamon? Hey, where are you? (Joe follows the sound, but Gomamon pops out of Joe's duffel) Gomamon: Joe, I've been snoozing over here! Joe: Huh? Oh, well we'll just save the world without you then-- (Joe gets attacked, then falls off a cliff) Gomamon: JOE!!! Joe: Wh-whoa! ...I didn't need this.

Again, weird scripting choice here. They replace his last line with a snarky gag, but visually Joe returns his attention to the spot he was investigating (and gets attacked for it) without indicating why he's still poking around that patch of grass.

Joe's understated whine of a silence-breaker is fantastic, though. He's so used to peril at this point that his reaction to falling off a cliff is basically a stone-faced, "Really. Okay." XD

Koromon, Tsunomon, Mochimon, Tokomon, and Pyocomon all take Jou getting attacked as encouragement to evolve into their Child-stages, ending their recovery periods. Plotmon remains Plotmon and Palmon trips, falling on her face in a funny moment in the middle of the dramatic charge.

Agumon, Gabumon, Patamon, and Palmon all move in on the attacker in the grass, but Hikari calls out.

Hikari: STOP!!!

Approaching the grass, Hikari crouches down and gently, softly addresses the terrified Digimon hiding in it.

Hikari: Don't be scared. You don't have to be scared. I'm not going to hurt you. You can come out.

Trembling in fear, Chuumon slowly emerges from the grass, then collapses in front of the kids.

Palmon: It's Chuumon! Mimi: You're right! That's Chuumon from File Island! (Chuumon opens his eyes at the sound of their voices.) Chuumon: Mimi-chan? Palmon?

We briefly flash back on better, or at least less despondent days, when Scumon and Chuumon met Mimi way back when.

Chuumon: I'm glad... you came back....

That's all Chuumon manages to get out before passing out.

In the dub:

Kari: HOLD ON!!! (Kari approaches the grass and crouches down) Kari: Come out! You're among friends. We won't hurt you. Don't be afraid. (Chuumon emerges) Palmon: Oh my goodness! It's Chuumon! Mimi: He looks terrible; What he needs is a complete makeover. (Chuumon opens his eyes at the sound of their voices.) Chuumon: Mimi? Palmon? (Brief flashback of meeting Mimi) Mimi (V.O.): Something bad happened. Sukamon and Chuumon used to be inseparable! (Flashback ends) Chuumon: I'm so glad you came back to save us....

They remove the part where Mimi ID's Chuumon as specifically the one from File Island, which is kind of important because there was a separate Scumon and Chuumon among PicoDevimon's shitty recruits earlier. Then again, the dub might not know those are different Digimon, given the confusion they had about Kuwagamon "following us from File Island" during the Etemon arc.

It's fine, though, because the flashback that follows does the job anyway. Plus she still calls them out in her silence-breaking flashback narration, so nothing is lost by the replacement of this line with a signature Mimi Quip.

It's actually Kari's dialogue that I take issue with. Not for the lines she says but the tone of voice. Rather than the soft, gentle tones that the original uses, she talks to Chuumon in her normal speaking voice. It's a small thing but it dampens the emotional impact of the moment and its demonstration of Hikari's sensitive empathy.

It doesn't ruin the scene, though; It just means the tone of the moment isn't as strong as it would otherwise be.

Suddenly Jou calls out, reminding everyone that he's still dangling off a cliff.

Jou: HEEEEEY SOMEONE HELP!!! Gomamon: Oops, I forgot!

Gomamon bounds over to the edge of the cliff to help Jou, only to be stymied by his biological limitations.

Gomamon: Waugh!? Jou: Gomamon, give me your hand! I can't climb back up on my own! Gomamon: (looks down at his flipper) Now, when you say to give you my 'hand'....

This is a callback to the Unimon episode way back on File Island; Jou's first spotlight episode. There, he'd ribbed Gomamon for offering to lend a "hand".

Taichi and Yamato arrive, looking at the ravine beyond Jou.

Taichi: This is...! Yamato: AH! Taichi: Jou, climb back up!

Jou briefly looks down, seeing that the ravine is deep beneath him, and shrieks. He scrambles to pull himself up, while Taichi and Yamato grab him and help pull him back onto the grass.

Jou: Help me! Yamato: Come on, hurry! Taichi: Grab on!

Once Jou's safely back on the ground, the three boys look into the deepening ravine, watching chunks of the landscape crumble and fall into it.

Yamato: What is happening here...?

In the dub:

Joe: Would somebody mind helping me!? Gomamon: Whoops, I forgot all about ya! (Gomamon runs over to Joe) Joe: You forgot. I'm hanging here by my elbows and you're off in la-la land! Gomamon: (looks down at his flipper) Gee, I wonder what it's like to have elbows? (Tai and Matt arrive) Tai: Joe!? Figures. Matt: Huh!? Tai: Hey, quit fooling around! (Joe looks down and shrieks; The boys pull him up.) Joe: Just help me, will ya!? Matt: Work with us! (Matt looks at the collapsing landscape) Matt: What's happening!? Everything's gone wacko!

The "hand" bit is replaced with Gomamon getting distracted by a non sequitur. Tai's dialogue is rewritten to be mean to Joe.

While everyone's dealing with Jou and Chuumon, Koushiro tries to contact Gennai.

Tentomon: Have you found Gennai-han? Koushiro: No, I haven't been able to get through.

Meanwhile, Mimi cradles Chuumon in her lap while the group gathers around him.

Palmon: He looks a lot less scared after seeing your face, Mimi. Piyomon: He must have been running on pure adrenaline. Sora: The poor thing.

Chuumon wakes up in Mimi's lap.

Mimi: Chuumon? Chuumon: Mimi-chan? You're really Mimi-chan! Mimi: That's right. What happened to you? Chuumon: (silently flinches away from the question) Palmon: Where's your pal Scumon? Chuumon: He's... He's dead!

Making that admission, Chuumon starts bawling. We cut to a flashback of Scumon and Chuumon living carefree lives on File Island.

Chuumon (V.O.): After Mimi-chan and the others left File Island, we spent our days peacefully like usual. Then, one day out of nowhere....

A huge earthquake rips through the island. Scumon and Chuumon run for their lives, but Scumon falls into a massive chasm that opens up. Chuumon calls after him, but a wave of darkness ushers up from the chasm, blowing him away.

Chuumon (V.O.): The powers of darkness enveloped the world. Then, to make it easier for darkness to rule, they reshaped the entire world....

In media, it's generally agreed that if you don't see a body, the character's going to come back. Digimon don't leave bodies behind, however, so just take my assurance that there's no trick here.

Scumon is actually dead. We will not see him again until 02, after he's had a chance to reincarnate at Primary Village. He was one of probably many casualties unluckily caught up in the Dark Masters' upheaval of the landscape.

In the dub:

Tentomon: Are you trying to get a hold of Gennai? Izzy: Well, I'm not playing Solitaire! (Cut to the kids gathered around Chuumon in Mimi's lap) Palmon: Chuumon's a mess! I wonder what happened to him. Biyomon: Well, whatever it was, it wasn't very pretty! Sora: Poor thing! (Chuumon wakes up) Mimi: Ah! Chuumon! Chuumon: Mimi.... I wasn't dreaming; It's really you after all! Mimi: Poor thing. Why don't you tell Mimi all about it?

I had issues earlier with Kari's voice but Mimi's tone here is perfect. I love the way she uses her own name as an emotional prybar to get Chuumon to open up, having recognized the unique influence she has in this moment.

Palmon: What happened to your friend Sukamon? Chuumon: I-I... I'm afraid I lost him.... (Chuumon starts bawling and goes into flashback) Chuumon (V.O.): After you guys left File Island, Sukamon and I went on with life as usual. You know, eating, eating, and more eating! When suddenly.... (The chasm rips apart File Island and Sukamon falls into the darkness below) Chuumon: I never saw him again! A powerful evil force took over the land, causing all kinds of bad things to happen! Then it rebuilt the Digital World so it would be easier to conquer! I've been hiding ever since.

The dub doesn't directly state that Sukamon's dead, but they don't unwrite his death either. They leave Sukamon's fate up in the air.

The kids have some questions about that last thing Chuumon mentioned.

Taichi: They reshaped the world? Koushiro: Into what?

Cut to an ambiguous length of time later; The sun's risen, so they must have been traveling a while to get here. Still carried in Mimi's arms, Chuumon shows the kids to the base of a colossal, twisting landmass composed of various biomes streaked up from the earth below.

Chuumon: Some places here or there are ruins of what they used to be, but most of it has been twisted up into that mountain. It's called Spiral Mountain.

Like many proper nouns in the Digital World, the name "Spiral Mountain" is in English.

Yamato: Spiral Mountain? Joe: I can't believe the Digimon World has changed so much....

Yeah, the Dark Masters reshaped the world into their own literally twisted version of the compass center Shumisen; The great mountain at the center of the universe upon which sits the heaven of the devas.

In the dub:

Tai: You mean the Digital World is completely changed from what it was? Izzy: How is it different? (Chuumon shows them to Spiral Mountain) Chuumon: Everything's been discombobulated and taken apart! The Digital World has been relocated way up there! It's called Spiral Mountain! There's nothing left here of the old world except some ruins! Matt: So you're saying it's all up there. Huh. Joe: Color me cynical but nothing surprises me about this place.

"The Digital World has been relocated way up there" is an awkward way to explain this. The Digital World hasn't been relocated; It's been reshaped, with most of its geographic mass twisted up into Spiral Mountain.

We are, right now, standing in the Digital World. We're just in the scant non-mountain bits that were left over.

As an aside, I like Joe's parting quip at the end of this exchange. XD

Taichi has more questions for the traumatized Chuumon.

Taichi: What happened to the other Digimon? Like Leomon? Chuumon: I don't know. But I've heard that everyone who's gone against them has been destroyed.... Sora: Against who? Chuumon: (hushed whisper) ...the Dark Masters....

The phrase "Dark Masters" is also in English.

Taichi: So then we have to fight these Dark Masters. Chuumon: FIGHT!?!? YOU'LL NEVER WIN!!! NEVER EVER!!! Taichi: Hey, we brought down Vamdemon! Mimi: It will be okay! As long as all eight of the Chosen Children are together, we can save the world!

Mimi's trying so hard to reassure Chuumon, but the very thought of these kids trying to resist the Dark Masters chills him to his bones.

In the dub:

Tai: Where did all the other Digimon go? Are they up there too? Where's Leomon? Chuumon: I don't know. But from what I've been told, they'll destroy anything that tries to get in their way! Sora: Who will? Chuumon: Who? The Dark Masters! Tai: Well, they couldn't be too much tougher than anybody else we've wrestled with before. Chuumon: No way! They'll beat the pants right off of you! Tai: We got rid of Myotismon, so we can get rid of them too! Mimi: Don't worry about it. As long as the eight of us are together, we'll keep those big bullies away from you!

This whole exchange is semantically very different, particularly when Chuumon gets in a pissing contest with Tai about how tough the Dark Masters are rather than panicking and screaming. But it's all lateral changes, I think. Same ideas expressed differently, nothing objectionable or especially noteworthy.

Suddenly, a deep, bestial laugh fills the air around the kids.

MetalSeadramon: HUHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! CHOSEN CHILDREN!!! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU!!!

The ground in front of them explodes into smoke and debris, then MetalSeadramon's titanic body erupts upwards from the smoke.

Chuumon: IT'S METALSEADRAMON!!!

Alright! Go ahead, Taichi. Go fight him. We'll wait here. :P

(In seriousness, Taichi's assessment was fair. The Dark Masters are each on the same level as VenomVamdemon. Chuumon has a different frame of reference because Ultimate-stage Digimon are so rare and mythical as to basically be unheard of.)

In any case, it's time for MetalSeadramon's rundown. He's an Ultimate-stage Data-type Cyborg Digimon; The Data Ultimate for the Deep Savers evolution tree, evolved from MegaSeadramon.

Narrator: MetalSeadramon. An Ultimate-stage Digimon whose entire body is covered in Chrome Digizoid, the strongest metal. He boasts colossal power and tremendous speed.

"Chrome Digizoid" is English. Well, Digizoid is a made-up word, but "Chrome" is English and Digizoid is English-like.

The kids run for it. MetalSeadramon moves quickly, swooping through the woods and smashing through the group. Though he fails to get a solid hit on anyone, he sends the kids tumbling to the ground in his wake.

Yamato: (trying to get up; pained) How can he move so fast with a body that huge!?

Over in the dub:

MetalSeadramon: HEEEHEHEHAHAHA!!! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU, DIGIDESTINED!!! (MetalSeadramon erupts from the ground) Chuumon: OH NO, IT'S METALSEADRAMON!!! Chuumon: (rundown) This guy is one real hard nose! And I mean hard nose! Take my advice: This is one train that you would rather miss. (MetalSeadramon attacks, knocking the kids down) Matt: (trying to get up; pained) Okay, if that's the way you want it, we can play rough too!

Another instance of the dub swapping out dialogue to make the kids look stronger and more battle-hungry.

Chuumon's diegetic rundown sucks. The original rundown gives salient explanations for why MetalSeadramon is a force to be reckoned with. Dub Chuumon just says "He's really tough, trust me."

Getting up, the kids and their Partner Digimon prepare to fight back.

Taichi: Let's go, Agumon! Agumon: Got it! Yamato: Gabumon! Sora: I'm counting on you, Piyomon!

All eight Partner Digimon evolve to their Adult forms to throw down with MetalSeadramon.

It does not go well.

In fact, it goes tremendously unwell. Fighting him at -2 stages was a terrible idea.

Tailmon does manage to jerk aside before he can fucking eat her but they're still losing this fight badly. And embarrassing themselves in front of Chuumon who was already convinced the kids were screwed.

In the dub:

Tai: Let's go, Agumon! Agumon: Gotcha! Matt: Now it's our turn!

Sora's line gets snubbed. Rude.

Love the confidence on Matt, though. "Now it's OUR turn!" exclaimed while basically whipping out a switchblade to face down a gatling gun.

The dub makes minor edits to MetalSeadramon's brutal beatdown. The shot where his tail slams into Togemon is cut down; We see her go flying but we don't see the hit that threw her.

Dub Angemon inexplicably calls his Hand of Fate attack while getting bodied like the rest. They got to do their stock animation attacks and then get bodied, but he didn't get to do a stock animation attack first so I guess he got jealous.

Similarly, when Gatomon lunges at MetalSeadramon's face and immediately has regrets, she calls Lightning Paw in the dub. The original Tailmon was just... trying to tackle him in the face. Which is a terrible idea, so having her at least call an attack there makes sense.

Flying overhead, MegaSeadramon makes victory loopies in the sky.

Takeru: ANGEMON!!! Hikari: Tailmon.... MetalSeadramon: HUHAHAHAHA!!! As if you could win against me! Mimi: Why is this happening!? It's eight against one! (Koushiro suddenly looks up from his laptop with alarm) Koushiro: MetalSeadramon is an Ultimate-stage Digimon! Adult-stages can't win against him no matter how many there are! Taichi: He's Ultimate-stage!? Jou: Why does our first opponent have to be such a powerful one!? MetalSeadramon: You're finished. ULTIMATE STREAM!!!

MetalSeadramon's Ultimate Stream fires from the cannon on his nose, annihilating the landscape around the Chosen Children in a massive energy explosion. The eight Partner Digimon all wrap themselves around their partnered children to shield them from the blast.

Seriously, though, I said it for dub Matt earlier but I'll say it again here. You gotta love the sheer cockiness. Riding high on their victory against Vamdemon, they thought they could stroll in here, throw a few Meteor Wings and Mega Flames around, and the Dark Masters would roll over and die for them.

They thought VenomVamdemon was as bad as it gets. They were not prepared for more Ultimate Digimon.

In the dub:

T.K.: Angemon! Kari: Oh no! MetalSeadramon: (loopies) YOU SHOULD KNOW YOUR POWERS AREN'T STRONG ENOUGH!!! Mimi: How come he's beating us so badly!? (Izzy suddenly looks up from his laptop with alarm) Izzy: Ah! It's because he's a Mega Digimon, and even eight Champions can't overtake one Mega! He's stronger than all of us combined! Tai: Then we're lost without more power! Joe: Ever notice we're always in the wrong place at just the wrong time? MetalSeadramon: Now it's time to take one nasty ride!

Dub MetalSeadramon does not call his attack.

We go to commercial following MetalSeadramon's attack and come back to the kids recovering in a dark place.

Angemon: (cradling Takeru) Takeru, are you hurt? Takeru: I'm okay. Thank you, Angemon.

Angemon nods, but then they hear a low, bestial growling. Angemon whips his head around. There's something out there in the mists that he can't make out. He sets down Takeru and picks up his Holy Rod.

Takeru: What is it? Angemon: There's something here. I'll go take a look.

In the dub:

Angemon: (cradling T.K.) T.K., are you alright? T.K.: I thought I was broken, but I guess I must be okay!

The dub frequently misses sound cues for plot points that are strictly auditory, but they do capture the bestial growling that sets off Angemon here. Points for that.

T.K.: What's the matter? Angemon: Wait. I'll be back.

Angemon takes to the air, trying to scout ahead. In the distance, a metallic whirring sound revs up, and two bolts of light begin to glow in the mist.

Then they fire.

Before he knows what hit him, Angemon's pummeled by twin cannon shots.

Takeru: ANGEMON!!!

Regressing into Patamon, he flops helplessly across the grass, landing in front of Takeru.

Takeru: Patamon! Patamon, hang in there!

Mugendramon wheels forward out of the mist. And I do mean wheels; He doesn't actually walk, but rolls forward motionlessly like his feet have roller skates under them or something.

He roars aggressively, saying nothing. Koushiro checks his laptop, bringing us into our second Dark Master rundown.

Mugendramon is an Ultimate-stage Virus-type Machine Digimon. The Virus Ultimate from Metal Empire, completing the set with WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon. His name is derived from the Japanese word mugen, meaning infinite, and of course dramon/dragon. Mugendramon is the Infinite Dragon.

Koushiro: (laptop) Ah! That's another Ultimate-stage Digimon! Narrator: Mugendramon. An Ultimate-stage Digimon who wields unbelievable power. His special attack is Mugen Cannon.

Angemon took two shots from the Infinite Dragon's Infinite Cannon. It's a wonder he's even alive.

Over in the dub:

T.K.: ANGEMON!!! (Angemon reverts to Patamon and flops on the ground) T.K.: Oh no! Poor Patamon! (Machinedramon emerges) Izzy: (laptop) Ah! Be prepared for another Mega Digimon! Izzy: (rundown) He's called Machinedramon. This metallic mutant can blow out a Digimon just like a birthday candle!

The original rundown for this wasn't exactly super explanatory. It just said "Fucker strong." Izzy says the same but in the weirdest way possible. He's trying to make a quip out of it but, sorry Izzy, they can't all be winners.

Everybody Super-Evolves to face Mugendramon, except Angemon who is still slacking. Once in their Perfect stages, they have a plan. The plan is "Get him".

Not a great plan. Taichi endorses it because of course he does.

Taichi: Get him! Beat him up! Hikari: But we can't win.... Taichi: Eh?

Rushing Mugendramon in a mob, the Digimon try in vain to close distance. Mugendramon kicks back, enjoys his firing position, and mows them all down in a barrage of Mugen Cannon fire. This was a terrible plan of attack.

In the dub:

Tai: Come on, guys! Show him what you're made of! Kari: Hope they're made of something strong enough! Tai: Huh!?

Kari seems more onboard with this plan than Hikari was, though still more realistic than Tai about their chances.

Mugendramon keeps up the assault. One of his shots hits Angewomon, knocking her out of the sky. Hikari tries to catch her but her tiny child body gets crushed under Angewomon's larger bulk.

Good effort, Hikari. Eyes were a little bigger than your arms, though.

Mugendramon's assault destroys the landscape beneath the kids, and they fall deeper into the dark place. Then they gradually drift to a stop, still floating in the air.

Koushiro: We stopped. Mimi: Where are we? What's going on?

Mimi's question goes unanswered as more pressing priorities emerge. WereGarurumon suddenly, out of nowhere, throws a punch at Garudamon and clocks her across the face. Garudamon recovers and comes back with a right hook.

Yamato: What are you doing, WereGarurumon!? Sora: Stop it, Garudamon! You're on the same side!

Garudamon and WereGarurumon continue fistfighting.

Garudamon: I'm not doing it on purpose! WereGarurumon: My body... It's moving by itself! Sora: (confused) Your body's moving by itself?

An unseen force suddenly jerks Sora's arms up into an odd pose. Cut to Jou, hanging from Zudomon's horn, who's jogging in place.

Jou: W-What's going on!?

In the dub, Mimi makes a salient point about their odd predicament.

Izzy: We stopped! Mimi: I can't complain. It's sure a lot better than falling on our heads. (Digimon start fighting) Matt: Hey, can't you two take a break for one minute!? Sora: Yeah, come on! We're all supposed to be on the same side! Garudamon: I can't control it! WereGarurumon: That's right! Our bodies are doing this all by themselves! Sora: (skeptically) All by themselves, huh? OH! (arm pose) Joe: (forced to jog in place) I've always hated any form of exercise; What's happening to me!?

Dub Sora straight-up doesn't believe them when they explain they're being controlled. XD

It's Koushiro who finally notices the thin strings connected to each of them.

Koushiro: Ah! There are strings attached to us! We're being controlled! Pinochimon: Hehehehe... You finally figured it out. Koushiro: Who are you!? Pinochimon: Why don't you use your special little computer to find out? Here.

Using Koushiro's strings, Pinochimon manipulates him into typing at his computer to pull up Pinochimon's profile. Pinochimon is an Ultimate-stage Virus-type Puppet Digimon. He's the Virus Ultimate from the Wind Guardians line, sharing space with Piyomon and Palmon's evolutionary paths. His name and design are obviously based on Pinocchio.

Koushiro: Ah! He's Ultimate-stage! Narrator: Pinochimon. An Ultimate Digimon who places Number One in awful personalities! His special attack is Bullet Hammer.

Number One with a bullet, you say? A loaded god complex, cock it and pull it?

Gotta love the gradual decline in the these rundowns.

MetalSeadramon - He's ultra fast and powerful not to mention gigantic! Plus his armor is made from the strongest metal in the Digital World! Mugendramon - He's unbelievably powerful. So powerful, you guys. Pinochimon - ...he's very mean.

At this point, Piemon's rundown will just be "Piemon. (long silence) What a dick!"

The dub changes Pinochimon's name to Puppetmon.

Izzy: We've become string puppets! And someone's operating us! Puppetmon: (mocking) Hah hahaha hah! Well, aren't we a little smarty pants!? Izzy: Who are you!? Puppetmon: Wanna know? How about if I help you look up my profile on your special computer? Watch! (Puppetmon manipulates Izzy into typing) Izzy: (gasp) He's also a Mega Digimon! Izzy: (rundown) Puppetmon has a controlling personality and a rotten temper! Get him mad and he'll bop you with his hammer!

He'll probably shoot you with his hammer, actually, but the dub may be trying to avoid saying "Bullet Hammer". Though you can still clearly see that the head of his hammer is the cylinder of a revolver.

Snerk. Good, uh... good luck with that, dub team. I cannot wait 'til we get to his episode.

Upon meeting Pinochimon, Mimi wants to file a complaint.

Mimi: (furious) Again!? Why do these Ultimate-stage Digimon keep appearing one after another!? Lilimon: Mimi.... Pinochimon: Now, fly to the Last Stage!

Pinochimon yanks the kids' strings, sending them flying through the void. Then he addresses the Digimon left behind.

Pinochimon: You guys should hurry after them. BULLET HAMMER!!!

The revolver cylinder on his hammer fires off like a minigun, spraying the Partner Digimon and knocking them all out of their Perfect forms. Most regress to their baby forms, save for Agumon, Gabumon, and Tailmon as usual.

In the dub, Mimi's complaint to the management turns into her firing off a fantastic Mimi Quip.

Mimi: If you have to hit something, you should bop yourself for how you look in that stupid helmet! Lillymon: MIMI!?!?

Savage. Even Lillymon's shocked by Mimi's ferocity.

Puppetmon: I'm gonna have to let you go for now! (Puppetmon sends the kids away) Puppetmon: But I promise to destroy you! PUPPET PUMMEL!!!

Though they censor out the name of Pinochimon's Bullet Hammer, the footage of it firing remains unedited.

The children wake up at a Greco-Roman coliseum, groaning in pain. Based on the surrounding area, we seem to be in the desert from the Etemon arc, or what it's become in the reconfigured world.

A jovial clown balancing on a ball rolls out onto the stage.

Clown: Hello, good children! I'm here today to tell you all a funny story!

The clown holds up crudely-drawn crayon pictures to illustrate his story.

Clown: A long, long time ago, there were eight Chosen Children and their Digimon. The Eight Children and their Digimon were foolish enough to climb Spiral Mountain, where they all met a tragic fate at the hands of the Dark Masters. The end. Takeru: (angry) What was that!? That wasn't funny at all! Clown: I just told you what sort of destiny awaits you. You should be grateful. ^_^

Poor Takeru totally fumbled his Sense Motive check when the random clown arrived. XD He was actually expecting to be entertained. Did not catch the vibe of this conversation at all.

In the dub:

Clown: Well, hello there, boys and girls! And welcome! Today, I'm going to tell you an amazing story! (The clown holds out his crayon sketches) Clown: Once upon a time, there was eight DigiDestined. They went with their Digimon companions to try to save the world. The children and their Digimon discovered that in order for them to do it, they had to climb up to the top of Spiral Mountain. But to their dismay, the Dark Masters defeated them. So sad! T.K.: Hey, Clowny! Nobody's laughing at your story! Clown: Oh dear, I'm so sorry. Did I happen to mention the story is true? I wanted to give you a preview of the plot!

Pretty faithful, I'd say.

Suddenly, the clown's guise fades away and reveals him to be Piemon.

Piemon leaps to the top of a nearby column, laughing as he goes. From here, we go into our final rundown for the Dark Masters.

Piemon is an Ultimate-stage Virus-type Demon Person Digimon. Fittingly, he's the Virus Ultimate of the Nightmare Soldiers and the original Ultimate evolution for Vamdemon, as well as Phantomon.

Yes, over the course of this show the kids have had to fight their way through the entire Nightmare Soldiers evolution branch of Devimon -> Vamdemon -> Piemon while also taking a break to punch it out with Monkey Elvis.

As I mentioned before, Piemon's name is not "Pie-mon". It's pronounced Pee-eh-mon, because it's a reference to the comedic character Pierrot from traditional European pantomime performances.

His dub name Piedmon, however, is "Pied-mon", a reference to clowns being hit with pies. This is because the dub didn't trust American nine-year-olds to be familiar with Victorian-Era European Mime Lore. XD

Mimi: Wha--!? Chuumon: WAAAAAUGH!!! IT'S PIEMON!!! Narrator: Piemon. A phantasmal Ultimate-stage Digimon who comes and goes unexpectedly. His true nature is shrouded in mystery.

What a dick!

No, like MetalSeadramon, that is a pretty solid infodump. It tells us to expect Piemon to be a walking WTF.

To summarize what we've learned here: MetalSeadramon is huge, fast, and invulnerable. Mugendramon is unbelievably powerful. Pinochimon is unpleasant at parties. And Piemon has bizarre and esoteric abilities.

This all serves to set up the conflicts to come. Yes, even Pinochimon.

Over in the dub:

Piedmon: Hahahahahaha! Fools! Mimi: (gasp) Chuumon: AHHHHHHHHHH!!! IT'S PIEDMON!!! Chuumon: (rundown) He's a Mega Phantom Digimon of the worst kind! You never know what he's going to look like next!

This is the closest a Dark Master rundown gets to relaying the original information. Good job, Chuumon.

Just once, can we run into a Phantom Digimon of the best kind? Where's Ghost of Christmas Presentmon? That guy seems like he'd be fun to hang out with.

Finally, Taichi and Yamato are at their wit's end with all these Ultimate Digimon and decide to match power with power.

Taichi: We won't lose to you guys! Agumon! Yamato: Gabumon, I'm counting on you!

Agumon and Gabumon Warp-Evolve to face Piemon Ultimate to Ultimate.

Taichi: Go, WarGreymon! Show him what we're made of! Yamato: MetalGarurumon! Take him down and save the world!

WarGreymon leads with Gaia Force. Piemon sidesteps the attack. MetalGarurumon follows up with Cocytus Breath, but Piemon breaks out one of his swords and slices through the slushie onslaught.

In the dub, Tai kicks us off with a retort to Piedmon's story earlier.

Tai: Well, I think your plot needs a few rewrites! Agumon! Matt: Gabumon, you can do it! (Warp evolutions) Tai: Yeah! Let him know we mean business, WarGreymon! Matt: MetalGarurumon! Teach that joker a lesson he'll never forget!

Pretty snappy comeback for Tai there, especially to a thespian like Pie(d)mon. It's one thing to call him a dick but shit-talking his craft is really throwing down the gauntlet.

Too bad about those whiffed attacks, though.

After maneuvering through the pair's offense, Piemon comes back with his own signature move: Trump Sword.

It's sword-throwing. He throws swords.

Direct hits on WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon score instant KOs, reverting them back to Agumon and Gabumon.

Jou: I-It can't be! Sora: We can't win even with two Ultimates on our side? Mimi: He's just an Ultimate too, right? Piemon: Even though we are on the same level, you have only recently acquired your new power. You're mistaken if you think that is all it takes to win. Agumon: (pained) I'm sorry, Taichi....

Piemon was able to outfight WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon simultaneously, not because he's stronger than them but because he has much more experience in the Ultimate state. As a natural Ultimate who achieved this level the hard way, by rising through the ranks of Perfect and Ultimate evolution, he simply has them outmatched in skill and experience.

From there, Piemon goes on to give his team their formal introductions, despite Koushiro having already identified each of them. He's a showman; Let him have this moment.

Piemon: Permit me now to introduce the members that make up the Dark Masters. MetalSeadramon! (MetalSeadramon explodes from the ground, roaring) Piemon: Mugendramon! (Mugendramon smashes through columns to enter the coliseum, also roaring) Piemon: Pinochimon! (Pinochimon just sort of appears) Pinochimon: Personally, I wish I could have had some more fun with you. Piemon: And myself, Piemon. (Piemon remains a dick.) Piemon: Time flies in the blink of an eye when you're having fun. Now then. Who should die first?

In the dub:

Joe: This is bad news. Sora: Even two Mega Digimon couldn't put him down! That's really bad news! Mimi: Not to mention he's a fashion disaster! Piedmon: Your two Megas are newly Digivolved. How can you expect them to compete against an experienced and, might I boast, superior Digimon? Agumon: (pained) Tai... Sorry....

Mimi's question is replaced with a Mimi Quip. Fortunately, Piedmon still delivers the important information anyway and we get a Mimi Quip out of it so it's cool.

Piedmon: Please permit me to present my fellow actors in this captivating and charming comedy of errors! MetalSeadramon! (MetalSeadramon explodes from the ground, roaring) Piedmon: Machinedramon! (Machinedramon smashes through columns to enter the coliseum, also roaring) Piedmon: Puppetmon! (Puppetmon just sort of appears) Puppetmon: You thought you were through with me, but I wanted to have some more fun! Piedmon: And myself, Piedmon. (Such a dick.) Piedmon: We'd like to begin by asking for audience volunteers. Who would like to be the first to be destroyed? Oh come now, don't tell me you have stage fright!

No lie, I am loving the dub performance for Piedmon. They understood the assignment.

Piemon's eyes scan the group before falling on Mimi.

The moment she realizes he's looking at her, Mimi bursts out into tears, screaming and crying at the top of her lungs.

Mimi: No... NO!!! I'M JUST AN ORDINARY GRADE SCHOOL STUDENT!!! WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO DIE HERE!?!? Sora: (gently) Mimi-chan.... Mimi: I WANTED TO DRESS UP IN FASHIONABLE CLOTHES AND EAT MORE YUMMY THINGS AND GO ON A TRIP ABROAD AND-- Piedmon: Your whining is starting to hurt my ears! I'm going to start with you.

Just like that, Piemon gets target lock.

Mimi melts down in both versions, but the dub's meltdown is a bit different.

Mimi: I didn't even want to go to camp in the first place! I just wanted to go to the mall! Can't somebody else save this silly world besides me!? Sora: (surprised) Mimi!? Mimi: I want to be a normal kid and not have any big responsibilities! I mean, come on, is that too much to ask!? It's not fair! Piedmon: Ack! Your incessant whining is getting on my nerves! You will be the first one to go!

Original Mimi's meltdown is about the unfairness of having to die at such a young age with so much of her life still ahead of her. Dub Mimi's meltdown is about how much she doesn't want to be a child soldier which is valid but contextually off.

It feels like the dub team is trying to fill in a Mimi meltdown from scratch to avoid going as dark as the original subject matter. They do a fair job; It doesn't feel like it came out of nowhere. But lines like "Can't someone else save the world?" and "I don't want responsibilities!" still seem divorced from the specific grim predicament she's actually in right now.

Having made up his mind Piemon swiftly draws a hidden dagger from his sleeve and tosses it at Mimi.

Without hesitation, Chuumon leaps out of Mimi's arms, taking Piemon's knife to his chest. Chuumon falls prone on the ground, the knife disintegrating as quickly as it appeared. Weeping, Mimi scoops him back up in her arms.

Mimi: Chuumon! You have to hold on! Chuumon: Mimi-chan... When I reincarnate... Go on a date with me.... Mimi: CHUUMON!!!

With that utterly inappropriate yet entirely in-character bit of emotional blackmail, Chuumon disintegrates into pixels and joins his friend Scumon in death.

(So far as we know, she does not honor his last request, nor should she.)

The dub cuts the shot where the knife plunges into Chuumon, but keeps the shot of Chuumon falling to the ground with the knife stabbed into him.

Mimi: Chuumon! Speak to me, you poor thing! Chuumon: Mimi... It's time for me... to be deleted.... Mimi: CHUUMON!!!

His last request doesn't make it in; No surprise there. But they pull no punches about the fact that Chuumon definitely and without question died violently.

Someone, however, is not impressed by Chuumon's sacrifice.

Piemon: What a stupid Digimon. There's no reason to protect each other when you're all going to die here anyway. Taichi: We won't let you get away with this! Dark Masters: (all laugh together) Piemon: So, who's next?

Before he can pick his next target, another old friend suddenly cuts in.

Piccolomon's Pit Bomb does no damage whatsoever but flashbangs the Dark Masters, allowing him to make off with the Chosen Children. He carries them to safety within a cloaked invisibility sphere.

Takeru: Piccolomon! We were hoping to see you again! Piccolomon: So was I pi! Koushiro: You were able to reach us by creating a barrier that the enemy couldn't see? Piccolomon: That's right pi! Taichi: Piccolomon, we made it this way believing that as long as the eight of us were together, we could save both worlds. But-- Piccolomon: It's true that the eight of you are together pi but that alone isn't enough to win pi. Sora: What are we missing? Jou: Tell us! Piccolomon: (somberly) Unfortunately, we don't have time for that pi.

A wave of energy suddenly hits the barrier. What little time Piccolomon's trick bought them has run its course.

In the dub:

Piedmon: Chuumon was a fool!

The dub inserts a commercial break after Chuumon's death, then we return and watch him die again.

Mimi: T_T Oh, Chuumon! Piedmon: So, now that he's out of the way, who would like to be the next one to make their grand exit? Tai: Piedmon, you're gonna be washed up when we're through with you! Dark Masters: (all laugh together) Piedmon: Be my guest. Piximon: PIT BOMB!!! (Piximon takes the kids and bails) T.K.: Hey, Piximon! Perfect timing! Piximon: I missed ya! Izzy: Prodigious! You cleverly used a barrier to avoid detection. Piximon: I sure did! Tai: But you said it was possible to save the planet if the eight of us were all together! How come it's not happening, huh? What's up, Piximon!? Piximon: The truth is, being together is not enough. There's something else that you need to do to beat 'em. Sora: How are we going to find out if you won't help? Joe: Yeah, enough riddles! Piximon: This is something you will discover on your own.

The dub's gotten its wires crossed about the plot again. Piximon never said anything about the eight of them; His episode was well behind us when the Eighth Child plot point was introduced. Tai's beef should, as always, be with Gennai.

In the original, Piccolomon's like "Look you need more than just being physically present but I don't have time to explain because we are seconds away from getting murdered."

Piximon, on the other hand, is being cryptic for funsies.

Pursuing Piccolomon's invisibility shimmer, the Dark Masters gain ground. There is no escape.

MetalSeadramon: Found you. Piccolomon: I'm going to stop them pi! Make your way to Spiral Mountain while I hold them off pi! Yamato: You're going to stop them!? They're all Ultimate-stage! Piccolomon: I know that pi! Even if I can't win, I can still put up a fight pi! Taichi: I'll fight with you! Piccolomon: ARE YOU STUPID!? You're the last hope for the world pi!

MetalSeadramon hits Piccolomon's barrier with a direct shot from his Ultimate Stream. Piccolomon waits and lets the barrier absorb MetalSeadramon's shot, then emerges to fight the Dark Masters.

Piccolomon: I'm sure you can find pi what you're missing! When you do, you'll be unstoppable pi! Now go, Chosen Children!

Piccolomon smacks the barrier with his spear, sending it flying off much faster than before.

In the dub:

MetalSeadramon: Aha! Here you are! Eheheheheheha! Piximon: I'll try to stop them. Meanwhile, make a run for it and climb to the top of Spiral Mountain. But you better move it! Matt: You can't stop them! They're all Mega Digimon! Piximon: I know I can't win, but I should be able to distract them long enough for you to get away! Tai: I'll stay with you! Piximon: No way! Besides, we need you on Spiral Mountain; We're counting on you to beat 'em!

Though MetalSeadramon's nose beam went unnamed last time he used it, this time he calls the attack.

MetalSeadramon: RIVER OF POWER!!! (MetalSeadramon blasts the barrier bubble) Piximon: (emerges) Please go now. You have a very important task ahead of you. Once you succeed, no one will ever be able to stop you again. I know you will make me proud of you!

Strong parting words for what will be their final meeting.

As an aside, I love the name "River of Power". That is a fantastic "not-touching-you" name-like to Ultimate Stream. Well punned.

Sad that we lose Piccolomon calling Taichi a moron to his face. "I'm gonna sacrifice myself for you." "And I'll help you do--" "NO."

No sooner has Piccolomon sent the Children away than he hears Piemon call out to him.

Piemon: Piccolomon, is it? Do you honestly believe that you, a Perfect-stage, could win against us? Piccolomon: Say whatever you want pi!

From the barrier bubble, the children see a bright flash of light illuminate the coliseum once more.

Hikari: Piccolomon is dead. Narrator: After paying a heavy sacrifice, the children finally arrive at Spiral Mountain. But their fight with the Dark Masters has only just begun.

Boy, what a fun and joyous final adventure we've embarked on!

The dub changes things up here. They add some silence breakers as the bubble flies away.

Matt: He's stronger than he looks! Gabumon: He'll have to be!

Then they cut straight to the final shot of everyone watching from the barrier.

Kari: Do you think it's possible he can do it? Gabumon: I don't know, Kari! I hope so!

From there, we cut back to Piximon confronting the Dark Masters.

Piximon: Rrrgh! Piedmon: How can such a powerless Digimon even think about defeating us, hmm!? Piximon: Just call me a crazy little Digimon! Narrator: Will Piximon hold off the Dark Masters long enough for the DigiDestined to reach Spiral Mountain? Watch the next Digimon: Digital Monsters.

The explosion that indicated Piximon's death has been cut, as has the shot of the kids' bubble arriving at Spiral Mountain. But don't worry, they're planning to remix the shit out of this last scene at the start of the next episode. We'll see what became of Piximon; You just got to wait a week with hope and anticipation in your heart before coming back to watch him brutally die.

Weird choice but okay.

Assessment: I remembered this arc being dark but I forgot how quickly it gets dark. Remember the "goofy" harassers from File Island THEY FUCKING DIED. But don't worry, the virtuous trainer who helped Taichi figure his shit out is here and he ALSO FUCKING DIED.

To set the tone, this episode is a bloodbath right out of the starting gate. They want you to know that nobody outside our core eight is safe anymore. This is war and people are going to die.

The dub keeps up and handles itself pretty well. It even manages to keep up with the darkening tone using euphemistic language but refraining from talking around the deaths happening onscreen. Yes, that includes Piximon's, even if they did kick it out to next episode.

Even down to the execution scene, there's none of that "Capture them, put them in a cage!" stuff that previous arcs would have employed. "Who would like to make their grand exit?" is flowery but unambiguous in its meaning, especially after explicitly killing someone onscreen.

We're in for a fucking ride.

[fishbrainboy]

secret relations

summary: you and Jenna have something going on behind the scenes but she's not as committed as you might think

a/n: bro idk what this is ima go make noodles have a good read

word count 939

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You watch the scene Infront of you with an amused smirk on your face as Jenna drums her fingers impatiently on the desk, the interviewer directs yet another crude question your way “so y/n a lot of the fans have been blown away by your latest sex scene” she turns to Jenna's a gleam in her eye “Jenna what's it like to be in such an intimate scene with someone as attractive as y/n I think everyone wants to know what it's like to be under her” Jenna's hand clenches in the soft fabric of the table cloth eyes going dark for a split second before the professional face came over “the more intimate scenes are a lot easier with someone who can stay as in character as y/n especially with how kind she is when someone makes a mistake on set” she took a deep breath “I do believe that's all the time we have, busy schedule and all”

before you know it she's up and dragging you out of the room you stumble over your feet she may be small but god that girl moves fast you giggle as she pushes you into the supply closet you bump into the shelves “ah fuck Jen” the rest of your complaint is quickly silenced by her lips on yours her fists clenching in your jacket pulling you as close to her tiny frame as possible your hands find their way to her hips as you Mold together perfectly she pulls away that dark look back in her eye “I hate when people ask those questions I mean first of all how un professional and second of all do you have no shame? Practically eye fucking what's mine right Infront of me” “what's yours? Careful there Ortega your starting to sound sentimental over there” oh that was the wrong thing to say and you know it as soon as the cursed words leave your mouth, her face falls flat void of all emotion, god you detest that look you watch not even bothering to say anything as she straightens out her shirt and tie Jenna gives you a once over before she leaves muttering a goodbye you don't catch, you slump to the wall mind reeling, how stupid can one person get I mean she finally starts showing possession and you open your big mouth and put your foot in it again, you smack yourself on the forehead “stupid fucking idiot” you let out a groan as you pull yourself up and start your long drive back to your apartment.

You manage to get yourself lost 3 times on the way out of the random building your manager had sent you too for the onslaught of interviews You'd had that day, and you could deal with all that but as soon as your keys slipped right through your fingers and hitting the floor with a rough clang the noise echoing in your eardrums you officially declared this the worst day ever you throw your door open and it lets out a defiant squeal thumping into your apartment and throwing yourself down on the sofa you call the only person on your mind her tone is clipped obviously still mad about your previous comment “y/n its half 10 at night why are you not in bed?” the sound of her voice breaks you down fingers trembling gripping the phone in an iron grip as the tears start to fall “I'm sorry Jen it's just” she cuts you off her demeanour doing a 180 from the cold and distant person she was moments ago “oh honey don't cry or apologise I'll be round in half an hour yeah?” this makes. ire tears fall you choke out a yes and the call is over before its even started, you pull a blanket over your shoulders and snuggle in wondering what version of Jenna you're going it have stood at your apartment door today.

Your answer comes quicker than expected, she must have sped her whole way over, you open the door eyes puffy from crying you stare at each other for a moment deep brown eyes meeting y/e/c orbs your lips part in anticipation but she breaks your normal sex driven cycle and throws herself into your chest arms wrapping tight around you stumbling back in Suprise you regain your balance leaning forward to swing your creaky door shut lacing your fingers in her hair and breathing her in you feel the waterworks start again, she pulls you gently to your sofa sitting you down and wrapping you in her arms “talk to me sweetie, what's going on” her voice is soft and it curls around you making you open your mouth without a second thought “it's all just so overwhelming the interviews the flying god last month I didn't even know what fucking day it was Jenna and you, don't even get me started on you one second you love me and I'm yours the next moment I'm just your coworker you shrug me off then have sex with mw in some random closet” your eyes widen as it dawns on you what you've just said, her eyes gleam with something you can't quite make out she hushes you pulling you into her chest “you need rest darling we will talk when you wake up” you hum in response suddenly feeling as if you hadn't slept in weeks, you stay like that a while Jenna's hands running through your hair listening to the steady thrum of her heartbeat you're not sure when you fell asleep, but when you wake up Shes gone.  

[saladmix]

can we discuss totmnt? we get a bit more insight into them as characters which is great! i like that donnie & mikey got a bunch more moments to shine! also! leo saying hes nothing without his brothers, raph's insecurities being touched on with the whole "your bros are in danger because *you* couldn't protect them and aren't strong enough" DUDE its the best. i like how this show added some aspects of their rise versions in that way & i enjoy it bc i liked how they were represented there. leo being anxious & insecure as his role of leader, raph's tough/aggressive veneer bc he feels like its his job to be the protector. + those little chunks of info we got from their character descriptions where they say raph is sensitive and "wants someone to talk to." more realistic & less one note for them!

ugh YES! we sure can it's all I want to talk about anyway I sit at my little corporate job answering my little corporate emails but inside I am like DO YOU PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES.

Anyway, that's embarrassing! Thoughts below the cut so I don't clog up a dash with spoilers and rambles <3

I'm going to address these in (as Jenny Nicholson says) an internet-friendly numbered list! And also adding that these are just my opinions, as I am but a nobody on a rock floating through space.

Also these thoughts are SO HALF BAKED this is like stream of consciousness if you ask me what I said here I may not remember I'm just living a turtle life.

Leo saying he's nothing without his brothers ugh you are so right that was such good content! This strikes me as such a core Leo trait, maybe not shared across iterations in 100% the same way but I really do see that sentiment under the surface frequently. I found it so charming that in Leo's little re-telling of what happened with Bishop and the ambush, he basically made all of his brother's seem like these useless side fools, bolstering up his own role (even lying and saying he was the one to check out the hologram), but then we quickly see that he doesn't at all feel that way. In fact he feels the opposite, and it just felt like such a young growing teen thing to do, try to make yourself the hero. It's also my personal interpretation of why specifically this version of Leo wants to be a leader so badly! He's not the muscle, he's not the brains, he's not the charm. So what is he? He has to find a way to make himself feel important when he feels like maybe he has no other stand out qualities to contribute. But I also happen to think it's the right role for him! He shows his bravery again and again, and his ability to put together a plan, when other people are in need. He can't seem to muster that same courage for himself yet, that's part of his growth, but for the people he loves he comes out in front. I think TotTMNT did a great job with that aspect. <3

Raph! Raphael! What a lad! I really latched onto Raph in this iteration more than I have in previous ones, I really enjoy how he's written. I've always found Raph's anger across iterations to actually really make sense. Of course he's angry, he's a mutant turtle living in the sewers with no real sense of place in this world and no way to interact directly with it! And Rise Raph, while not displaying that direct explosive rage that Raph is known for, kind of showcases it in the stress and responsibility he feels for his family. Anyway, all this is to say we get both of those aspects here in this version along with the flavoring of what appears to me as some real teenage excitement for a little bit of chaos. And that scene was extremely telling I super agree with you!! I mean Raph sees all of his brothers as little shaking chihuahuas, particularly Leo which was VERY charming to me. He definitely sees himself as the protector, but even more, honestly, I think they do to. I mean Leo basically assumes Raph can handle four mechazoids on his own, he's got a lot of faith in his brother's ability to be that brick wall for them. And even though Leo is still the oldest, I do feel like they brought some Rise Raph energy to his character with how responsible he feels. Typically we see Leo as the character who is two seconds away from blowing his top off with all he takes on, but I see that a lot in Raph here too.

Donnie's interpretation of the ambush actually made me so so sad. Like it was basically how he thinks his family views him, as the one who has to save the day but gets no respect of it and doesn't have the tools to do it. He thinks they view him as this megamind that should be able to handle it because what else is he good for? All the others had flashback sequences that kind of center them as a hero, and while Donnie's did have him the last one standing, it didn't have that same kind of vibe. And in all the brother's flashbacks, we see that while they do see him as this dorky nerd, it's never said with any anger or annoyance. I'd call it more of a silly little fondness. But I think this insecurity is an important aspect of Donnie's character that we see in a lot of iterations. The big change here is that Donnie really does feel like just a kid. He's not out here ready to build high tech weaponry or distill medication. He's just a kid who is into coding! He's still learning! And I really enjoyed that. And in that second arc, we get another taste of how level-headed Donnie can be in a crisis situation, which for me tied back to how in the Mutant Mayhem movie, Leo kept looking to Donnie for help and answers. Leo is a frazzled lil man, and Donnie seems to be his source of stability. So it really did break my heart that this poor sassy and sweet boy thinks his family doesn't value him. It's a different flavor from Raph's and Leo's, both of whom have insecurities but they're mostly internal reflections. Donnie seems to feel that coming from the outside, and has twisted that into his own self-image.

Mikey is such a fun character like what a scene-stealer he's so funny in every part of this show, his VA is K I L L I N G it I find his voice acting so charming as Mikey and it brings such life to the character. But I really love how this version of Mikey is so dynamic. Mikey has always, always been a really dynamic character but I think it was a little more hidden, if you know what I mean. Rise Mikey flipped a big script and I like how this version really feels like a true combo from the rise version of Mikey to the traditional core Mikey energy, if that makes sense. I LOVE....this Mikey. He might be my favorite Mikey ever and I am a huge Mikey fan I am probably the only 2007 Mikey Super Fan out here in the world. Anyway, I love how his episodes had him forcibly shaken out of his comfort zone as lil bro. In the first arc he's suddenly in charge of a whole new mutant and Useless Man of the Year Rod. In the second arc he's got to save a whole store of people and a cat! It's A LOT of responsibility for this lil child! And he does a great job! All while expressing the whole time that he doesn't really know what he's doing, and he's afraid he's going to mess it up. It reminds me a lot of how other version of Mikey were often thought of as the weak spots by their respective families (intentionally or not). It was always Mikey the goof. TotTMNT Mikey is a HUGE goof but he's also got this energy to him that PROVES how I always felt about Mikey: I CHOOSE to be a goof, but I can and will step up if I need to! And it makes sense that he looks up to his big brother, that Leo is the one he tries to emulate in times of stress. When the going gets tough, Mikey has to get going, and Leo is his framework for how to do that.

boy was this a ramble and a half. I just had a lot of thoughts. Was any of this coherent? Jury is still out. Thank you so much for sending this in!! And listening to me ramble. I really agree that this show did a good job of bringing in a lot of different traits from different iterations it's so much fun and leads to really dynamic versions!

[autistic-crypt1d]

X-Files Live Blogging:

Season 1

Ok so I'm like 90% sure I've tried to watch the first episode before and bailed but I'm gonna try again. I see so much stuff about this show on here and I wanna be a part of it so you're gonna join me in experiencing it for the first time!

Updates:

- ok so far this is not at all what I remembered so high hopes

- Scully!!

- I've seen these two in so many drawingssss

- man this show is old old

- they're both so pretty

- why is bro so mad, if he's so confident he didn't miss anything why is he mad they're taking a second look? Not a good look my guy

- OOP

- oh wowie that is grossss

- ok this is cool I like this show

- why is it always POURING in old ass shows. Like it's dumping BUCKETS.

- ah man not a damn shower scene

- oh ok, valid reason

- THEY'RE SO CUTE

- THE HUG

- ooooo backstory timeeee

- this is getting good oh wow

- yikes, Scully don't call people vegetables

- I really hope this show doesn't have tooo much yikes stuff. I know it's old but still some shows are a bajillion times worse than others.

- holy shit that subconscious movement towards her???? AHHHHH

- the produce section???? Good fucking god people

- if he knew it was Billy why wouldn't he cuff him to the bed or have him in a secure room or some shit???

- wtf just happened

- alright wtf is up with tall lanky man he's weirding me out

- yoooo they have more of those implant things!!

- ok I still don't understand some things about the case. Why were all the other kids killed when Billy brought them to the woods but not the last girl? Why was she spared and both her and Billy's marks removed?

- Deep Throat, hate that title omfg

- pffft those MIP outfits look ridiculous, and so are their momements omfg

- long ass intro geez

- pffft the way Mulder just drags her out of the car

- that little smile!!!

- it's so weird seeing seatbelts attached to car doors

- is that Colonel Makepeace from Stargate???

- Mulderrrr don't go without Scully you dumb dumb!!

- please don't step on a landmine

- oh shit alien ship

- see this is why you need Scully, who's gonna verify what you saw now

- ah yes, run along the road where the cars can follow you, definitely not back into the grass where it would be difficult to follow

- Scully is gonna kick your asses for kidnapping him

- OH SHIT

- GET HIS ASS SCULLY

- HERE SHE COMES, PREPARE TO BE WHOOPED

- aw Mulder :(

- she's trying so hard to protect him

- damn I really like this show

- Squeeze

- oh wow hate that, creepy eyeballs in a sewer

- I recognize that business guy, he's been in another show I've watched, Psych maybe?

- not the ketchup blood XD

- sorry I gotta skip the into, that shit is so long

- that's where the "spooky? Do you think I'm spooky?" audio came from?????

- boy howdy vent guy is creepy

- the necklace grab??? HELLO????

- YEEESH those damn eyes dude

- oh boy he stretchin

- YOU TELL HIM DANA

- woah they just mentioned 2023 as the distant future that's wild to hear in 2024 haha

- that brown pantsuit Scully is wearing??? WOW

- hey now, don't be grabbing Scully you slithery fuck

- Colton you suck

- DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT SLITHERY BASTARD

- LEAVE THE HOUSE SCULLY WHAT'RE YOU DOING

- nice work team

- aww the retired guy finally got closure 😭

- THE SOFT ARM TOUCH

- uhhhhh idk that that cell is good enough y'all

- I don't like that grin he's got, he's gonna escape isn't he

- Conduit

- sleeping outside with no tent??? Girl what about snakes and ants and things???

- she put her children out there while she slept in there camper??? Wtf???

- THE LEAN INNNN

- man that lake is gorgeous

- did the sherriff really just scratch his damn chin with evidence

- intense Mulder, oof!

- wooooaaaah that code page thing of Ruby is so cool

- ahhhh I love Mulder lore

- that tackleeee, nice moves Mulder

- why is she doing CPR if she's just unconscious??

- AHHHH dude the way Mulder gently directs Scully with a soft touch, BRO

- I can't get over the fact that his first name is Fox

- Dana has looked fantastic in literally every outfit so far, she's so cool

- geez y'all the tape is so sad wtf

- "I want to believe" OW OW OW OW OW

- Jersey Devil

- oh wow I haven't heard Bingo in a long ass time

- is that Bill Lee from Stargate??

- oop, Bill Lee hath been taken

- y'all, the way these two look at eachother??? And how close they get?? CONSTANTLY?? BRUH

- aha! She thinks he's cute!

- oh hey it's that asshole scientist from Eureka

- I recognize the guy who plays the homeless man helping Mulder but idk where from

- Mulder. Mulder please why do you always do these things alone

- I'm sorry I cannot take you seriously handing that guy that goofy ass drawing

- good god dude it's a first date why are you talking about her meeting your kids

- not the bigfoot with tits picture 😂

- ya know, I really appreciate the ranger being on their side in this

- ah it's those damn MIP guys again

- Anthropologist dude rules for not selling them out

- damn he really just leapt out that window

- oh she did too damn!

- run!!

- OOP

- so they're just cannibals? Nothing supernatural?

- THE GRAB AS SHE LAYS HIM BACK OMFG

- oh boy it's gettin wild now!

- that poor actress having to climb all over rocks while naked

- aw man :(

- I would've expected long nails considering she's been clawing into people

- the red plaid suit??? Hello??? GORGEOUS

- why would that Rob dude ask her to get her friend's kid to go hang out with him and his kid???? Bro is weird

- uhhhh that's the dude from the beginning, didn't his leg get chewed off my the male?? I'm confused because that was most definitely the guy from the beginning.

- Shadows

- the woman packing up the office looks really familiar too

- ooo, ghost??

- there's no ads on this episode, weird

- eew I do noooooot like the twitching

- why tf are they all blank facing them

- the way he leans in to speak to her heeeeeellllpppp

- ok so the woman who got attacked is alive

- AHHHHHHH CREEPY CREEPY CREEPY

- hell yeah ghost, stop that creepy perv!!

- did Mulder just look at her ass when she sat down?? He did a whole ass lean and everything!

- awww Mulder wanting to go to the liberty bell with Scully 😭

- Ghost in the Machine

- Brad dude is from Eureka!! Funnily enough the company is called Eurisko, really close

- Mulder. Buddy. You did not just call and elevator politically correct for being accessible to the visually impaired. That's just accessibility, nothing political about that (or at least there shouldn't be).

- Lamana, you suck

- yeah Mulder you tell him!!

- noooo don't back down :(

- is that Harrison Well's house from The Flash???? Am I imagining this??

- oh my god no I just googled images of it, that's the same house!!!

- uh oh, he's gonna die isn't he

- ah crap Mulder thinks Brian did it doesn't he

- he doesn't!!! Phew

- GEKDJDJS I THOUGHT THAT WAS GONNA BE SO MUCH WORSE OMFG

- secret agents Scully and Mulder let's goooo

- uh oh

- why tf is there debris in the vent system. Whose receipts are those???

- OH NO

- MULDER DO SOMETHING

- BRUH

- LET'S GO SCULLY

- biiiiiiiitch nooooooooo

- Ice

- why does bro have 2 identical boob cuts, 1 on each. They also look very unrealistic.

- what in the fresh hell is happening

- the duo is goin to Alaska!

- there's some funky virus in the ice isn't there. Reminds me of that one Eureka episode

- GET HIM SCULLY

- he is so not gonna be ok

- EEW

- oh yeah he dead

- nooooo sports guy 😭

- man I hate Scully and Mulder being on opposing sides :(

- AHHHHH NOOOOOO

- this isn't gonna be the end of it is it

- this show really doesn't do closure closure does it, every episode is just like, welp it could 1000% come back

- Space

- ooooo spaceeeee

- I recognize the ex astronaut security guy from something

- MAYBOURNE??? YUCK. Hopefully he's not a jackass in this show

- again with the damn buckets of water on the windshield

- wtf was that????

- aaaaand it's magically not raining anymore. It's not even wet!!!!

- yeeesh him looking in the mirror like that was so creepy

- oh what in the fresh hell is happening to his face

- y'all this is intense!!!

- HELL YEAH

- I don't really understand why the space thing wanted to kill the astronauts

- Fallen Angel

- Mulder in a leather jacket???

- Mulder hiding under a truck and sneaking around a military base like a secret agent while wearing a leather jacket???

- see this is what happens when you go investigating without Scully

- I'm sorry I cannot take Mulder seriously as mr tough guy, he's just so baby

- ah here comes Scully to rescue his ass

- uhhhh is that an invisibility thing

- ow I hate those flashing lights

- ok immune to laser fence thing

- "it won't get away" already did my guy

- or maybe it didn't?

- the face that soldier Jackson is making is rage inducing, please stop

- welp, the entity made my wish come true I guess

- Mulder is so sweet 😭

- y'all the lenses they're using as the pov for the entity is making me sick

- Scully is so sick of this shit XD

- wtf is it doing to him??

- seems like a lot of trouble to go through just to take one human, I wonder why they're doing it

- I wish we got more insight into Scully's thoughts through all this. She's been seeing a loooot of stuff since she got paired with Mulder and given her skepticism, I'd just really like to know what's going through her head in all this.

- Eve

- ooooo, vampire??

- CLONES???

- well, I'm a little confused as to why they're killing them by draining their blood still

- ah ok so the little girls DID do it

- why tf would she try again knowing what the other Eves were like. Why are people obsessed with making perfect humans, what's the point of life if not to learn and grow?

- man they are playing them like a damn fiddle!!

- uh oh

- WHY WOULD YOU LICK IT

- hey now, that better not be who I think it is

- god damn it, it is

- yeesh what an episode

- this show is nothing but cliff hangers wtf!!!

- Fire

- OH

- who tf is that and why is she smooching Mulder

- yes she does hate you, your smooching her weirdo

- where tf do I know her from?

- is that Crowley????

- I couldn't tell with the facial hair before I thought he just looked similar, but without it yeah!

- ahhhhhh I don't like these zoom inssss

- ah yes smoke a cigarette when you have a cough, that'll help

- interesting

- you tell him Michael!!!

- seriously? They can't drive themselves even once??

- I REMEMBER WHERE I KNOW HER FROM. She played the woman that chief Vick set Henry Spencer up with in Psych!!

- BRUH, DO NOT HOOK UP WITH HER

- Scully came anyway 😭

- maybe if y'all weren't MAKING OUT AT WORK, you would've noticed!!!

- you got this Mulder come on

- come on Mulder!!!!

- damn it dude

- so she's been hitting on Mulder the entire time while having an affair with the husband???

- man this guy really gets typecasted huh, first this pyrokinetic serial killer, then the king of hell!

- yes Mulder!! Face your fears!!!

- welp, looks like his cockiness killed him. Do we finally get an actual ending???

- nope he's alive, great

- a hyperbaric chamber?? You mean the thing filled with a fuck ton of oxygen??? So smart, definitely not INCREDIBLY FLAMMABLE.

- Beyond the Sea

- GENERAL HAMMOND????

- Scully's dad is General fuckin Hammond????

- he died :(

- THE FACE TOUCH

- oh shit, is the death of her father gonna be the thing that gets her to believe?

- "he was your father" that really does not answer her question

- I feel like I recognize Boggs from somewhere

- how tf is a prisoner allowed to have earrings. Also, he only had 1 in the first couple shots but now he has 2.

- now he has 1 again? Maybe they just had that one shot flipped so it looked like the other ear

- OOOO MULDER YOU SLY DOG

- OH FUCK

- Scully please don't go in there alooooone what is with these two!!!

- OH FUUUUCK

- dude the guy playing Boggs can fucking ACT like DAMN

- BERNIE, the dude that plays Boggs also played Bernie in Psych!!!

- HELL YEAH SCULLY

- it's so compelling to see what Mulders limits are in his belief, that he can blind himself to things he would ordinarily fight for others to see because of his history with the person

- she didn't go??

- he's trying to convince her to believe now? He's been denying it the whole episode!!!

- weird episode

- Genderbender

- uhhh I'm a bit scared of what this is gonna be about by that title, fingers crossed it's not transphobic shit and just a shapeshifter 🤞

- ok so yes a shapeshifter, and like, a succubus?

- uh oh

- so I'm guessing these people adopted this way of life to prevent hurting people? And this other one that's killing people has gone rogue?

- ah yes Mulder, crumple the map up instead of trying to find a land mark and reorient yourself

- what in the fresh hell

- AHHHHH I HATE THE GOOPY STUFF

- NO NO NO YOU LEAVE SCULLY ALONE

- YOU BASTARD HOW COULD YOU SHE WAS NICE TO YOU

- ok so they each have a male and female form?

- hope that damn farm boy perishes painfully for trying to do that shit

- ah yep, there's the transphobic comment ok.

- SHOOT HIS ASS

- damn it

- rapist aliens, hate it. I'll be skipping this one if I rewatch the series in the future

- Lazarus

- yeesh, I wonder if Scully will end up believing that the guy who came back isn't him anymore

- man they really fell into that pink blood trap from old shows didn't they

- idk how she could deny that that isn't him after this

- damn, that was dark

- Mulder not lushing her to believe either way ahhhhh ouchyyy

- Young at Heart

- uhhhh, what is a prisoner doing roaming around

- UHHHHH WTF

- y'all, Scully is so little 😭 I know Mulder is like super tall but even compared to other women she's little, much less when standing in a room of Mulder height people XD

- oof more Mulder lore, man cannot catch a break

- damn, seeing old fashioned hand writing analysis be done is so cool, even in NCIS, a fairly old crime show, they still use tech for it. Hearing her talk about the markers and indicators is so so neat

- BITCH YOU BETTER NOT HURT SCULLY

- I recognize Dr. Ridley from something...

- it's the time loop guy from Stargate SG-1!!!

- the way young Barnette speaks is rage inducing

- E.B.E.

- oh wow that's quite a ship

- what's with the blue light thing?

- "Mulder you're the only one I trust" BROOOOOOO

- oh hey it's the woman who plays the tech on the Daedalus in Stargate who works with Hermiod!!

- HIS CODENAME IS DEEP THROAT????

- LET HIM LOOK ANYWAYYYY

- of course it's gone

- Miracle Man

- ah man a religious episode

- who tf subjects a child to that

- ughhhhhh

- yeah that's not creepy at all!!!

- gross gross gross I hate it

- the burned guy is the problem right? He's like channeling the boy and taking the lives of those that die? And maybe he's super against the autopsies because "desecrating" the body will undo it or something? Idk I'm guessing here cuz I'm confused

- oh shit Scully is doing the autopsy? Intense, aw man and Mulder is trying his best to be there

- oh ok so that's not what's happening

- uh oh

- ok it was the burned guy I was right!! He just wasn't doing it supernaturally

- oh wow

- Shapes

- oooo cryptid??

- ok so if you get scratched you get infected. It went from Joe to Lyle

- I wonder what triggers a new one once it's killed, cuz there was a distance between the killings in the past

- oh, so it's dormant until a night after the person gets too blood lusty?

- damn it, why is Scully always being left alone with the monsters or bad guys and Mulder is always chasing them alone

- how is she not hearing the loud ass growling sounds

- also, why is there a random ass cougar in a cage

- "something" jumped you?? Really Scully?? There was only one thing in that bathroom

- Darkness Falls

- wow those woods are gorgeous

- I'm very intrigued

- wtf was that shit

- oh my god Scully in that neon coat 😭 she's pretty in everything!!!

- I recognize the sherriff from somewhere

- Castle! He's in Castle

- oh boy, that creepy

- I recognize the Doug guy too

- holy crap it's THAT guy! Man he's like big time now

- ah so they got themselves killed by chopping down an ancient tree, karma

- Steve is the worst, hope he gets taken by bugs

- oh yeah he's done for

- OH HELL

- Tooms

- not the lizard bitch again

- AUGH THE EYESSSS

- who tf left his slot open!! Fools!!!

- Colonel Caldwell?!?!?

- do not release this mf

- Mulder, I hate to say it but that was never gonna fly

- welp, someone is gonna die now

- THAT MUCH SLURPING AND LICKING WAS SO UNNECESSARY AHHHHH

- nice work sheriff, nice work

- OH HELL NO

- bro is not about to come out of a toilet come on

- ok he didn't but he is disgusting anyway

- "Mulder, I wouldn't put myself on the line for anyone but you" BROOOOO "if there's an ice tea in that bag, could be love" "must be fate, Mulder. Root beer" THEY'RE SO IN LOVE OMFG

- black car, red interior, so cool

- Mulder's turn to be attacked by lizard guy

- wtf is he doing

- oh

- YEESH

- OH

- oh that is gross, but hey he's finally dead

- Born Again

- psychic kid?

- ok so dead guy is involved? Girl is a medium then? Like ghost whisperer?

- I recognize the Tony guy from something

- oh shit they murdered that dude

- I looked him up, he's been in a lot of stuff I've seen apparently, NCIS, Supernatural, Psych, SG-1, and I haven't seen Law and Order really but I think I recognize him from trailers and stuff

- maybe the girl witnessed the first dude's murder or was nearby? And she could see his spirit or something? Or maybe he just latched onto her?

- oh reincarnation, that makes more sense

- bro really helped murder his partner and then got with his wife

- wtf is that

- honestly this episode is really uninteresting to me

- interesting we got a report by Mulder instead of Scully at the end though

- Roland

- well fuck you ableist scientist dude

- he killed the not mean one :(

- I recognize Roland from something, probably Stargate

- alright well the era is showing here. They're talking about Autistic people like they're inherently stupid, that savants are human calculators who can't even understand what they're doing. I hope everyone who reads this and has or plans to watch this show understands that that is severely false. Autism is a spectrum and being autistic doesn't make you stupid, "unusual" speech and movement aren't indicative of intelligence. And having high support needs isn't indicative of intelligence either!

- poor guy, he doesn't wanna hurt anyone :(

- good riddance Arthur, some brother, taking him over and making him murder people

- He gave her his stars 😭 guysssss

- Erlenmeyer Flask

- wow that is quite a title

- the chase scene and the dude being semi invisible reminds me so much of the Replicator on Earth episode from SGA

- some sort of superhuman project maybe?

- god DAMN Mulder leapt that fence like it was nothing!!

- oooooo Scully is reaching the point of belief!!!!

- yeah a sort of superhuman project! Alien human hybrids

- oh shit they killed the doctor who helped them :(

- ah yes Mulder, go into the darm attic without a flashlight

- OOP

- oh god his face, poor Mulder 😭

- help him Scullyyyyy

- CONFIDENCE SCULLY, CONFIDENCE

- Dana, responsible, rule following, FBI agent Scully breaking a billion laws all for Fox Spooky Mulder

- how tf did she sneak that out of there

- are they gonna shoot him

- YEP

- Scully is never gonna be the same after this, at least she got Mulder back though

- you can't seperate the duo!!!! No!!!

Holy crap Season one was amazing, I'm gonna start season 2 immediately and I'll link it here once it's posted!

Season 2

[kittyball23]

Before you saw Trolls Band Together, what were your predictions when you first saw the trailers??

Ohhhhh boy, I had a lot of predictions! 😆

Most of them were compiled as oneshots in my Trolls 3.0 fic (posted on AO3, Fanfiction.net, and Wattpad) Some of them never made the cut and stayed living in my head, but I’ll be glad to share the ideas from both right here 😊

At the beginning of the movie, I knew there was most likely going to be a prologue, since Trolls and Trolls World Tour both started off this way. I had figured it would either start with Velvet and Veneer actually kidnapping Floyd, or with a musical number by the band (which of course is what ended up happening)

I had thought that the argument/breakup was a result of everybody getting on each others’ nerves, instead of their anger directed towards one of them in particular, in that case, John Dory

I thought that perhaps John Dory and Floyd had reunited at the time that Velvet and Veneer had captured Floyd. Like, say JD and Floyd were singing, the duo heard them, and intended to catch them both so they could have one Troll each, but only managed to swipe Floyd, where JD escaped, promising his bro that he would come back with the other bros as backup to save him (Kinda think along the lines of Toy Story 4, where Forky and Woody tried to make their escape from Gabby Gabby)

I thought that there would be little flashbacks and stuff of the bros in their teenage years scattered throughout the movie (in particular, Floyd and Branch flashbacks, and further their bonding)

I was hoping there would be almost-kisses between Branch and Poppy also scattered throughout the movie (I would’ve been going bonkers collecting screencaps of those) and maybe a scene where Broppy had a mini-date or something and the bros (JD, Bruce, and Clay) harmonized and set the mood for them (think along the lines of Rio’s bus ride scene)

I thought that maybe there would be a scene where Branch chose to give himself up to save Floyd, switching places with him so that his bro could be free of the diamond, but he would be trapped there instead

I thought that maybe the fight scene would be this magical, song-battle thing with Velvet and Veneer’s negative energy battling against the Trolls’ positive energy (think Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks’ climax)

I hoped that there would be an implication to Viva getting together with one of the bros (particularly, Clay, since she has already known him for years and they seem to have a good friendship)

One of my BIGGEST wishes was for the Broppy wedding! Like I have mentioned in a couple other posts, Branch’s “let’s go get married!” is what – as Bruce put it – created a seismic shift in my brain 😂 I was pining so much of my hope for them to finally hook up with the marriage and the reception and the kisses and possibly even kiddos… but, I suppose we shall have to wait and see what the franchise’s future will bring us. I guess I’ll just way that I don’t think a Broppy wedding is ruled out completely

Anyway, those were some of the wild things I thought up 😆

[mostdisconcerting]

Bad Day=Binging ScarNash

I had an interesting day today. Not in a good way. So as one does in such a situation, I went back to rewatch ScarNash. Cuz they’re my comfort ship.

This is just me reviewing almost every scene of the episode so I can forget that life exists for a little while🙃

Today I picked 4x04. And goodness I do not regret it one bit.

Starting with Patrick and the fat goose line. I’m sorry but why did that have to be so damn funny. “My fellow punters…” and “copious amounts of whiskey”, with his very Frank expression shifted my mood from stressed to joyful immediately. And I only now noticed that as Patrick and Eliza leave to meet Carter, Eliza yeets a paper in Clarence’s direction (or at least she tried).

I applaud Clarence’s “shit the parents are gonna argue if I don’t step in” senses. We love him for them.

I’m gonna make a rare mention of William, but I felt so bad for him when Ivy started talking about her mom’s gout. If I was eating anything resembling her description, I would gag to no end. Ruined the poor dudes snack.

Watching Patrick panic is probably my favorite part of this episode. Bros just pacing up, down, round and round, trying to think of what to do. (He’s literally just me but toned down and with an adult brain 😂)

That scene at Fallons was perfect. That unanimous “who?”, and the cover up that “we do love a little gossip now and then.”. It’s adorable and funny to see these to be in such sync and in such odds as they are.

Also, idk if anyone else noticed but she’s holding his ARM in the stables scene?! How-wha-why did I not notice that?

Poor Fitzroy. He could’ve had a much nicer career with his father out of the way. He’s known for being his father’s son, this way he could learn to be his own man.

We gotta talk about that cab scene. Literally, Patrick was trying to make things better by saying “it’s not your fault they left”, and just made it worse by adding “it’s mine, I should’ve never left you in charge”. She looked so genuinely offended by what he said, only to be shut down cuz they were literally in the middle of investigating.

Then they just break into Fallon’s office like it’s nothing and start bickering about the resignations again. She said she didn’t fire any of them. And then she admitted to firing multiple. Which is great I guess. So… we have that. Then they just hop through the office when someone comes in. Like. They have no right to be this adorable. Why are they literally my grandparents on steroids.

Turns out the lines about Eliza sulking started in this episode, which clearly adds to why she’s pissed when he spends the entirety of 4x05 just telling her she’s sulking and she should not sulk.

Then we have scene where Patrick’s pacing again. And I don’t blame him for making Eliza nervous too. Like he said “good I don’t see why I should suffer alone” (which is a quote I’ve been using way to much in real life recently lol)

Clarence makes his grand entry with some food and the info that Gibson is here. 🙃

And I’m finally going to end on those last two scenes of them together (cuz I skipped William kissing Eliza)

Them blackmailing Carter was hilarious. I mean, we know both of them were hella nervous cuz he could’ve just gunned both of them down there but that’s whatever. I love the little voice moderations and the expressions Eliza and Patrick pass each other basically saying “he’s agreed, now let’s get the hell out of here before he changes his mind and kills us”

Then we got Patrick praising Eliza. That could’ve played out to be an even more heartfelt scene had Eliza not seen the time and ran off. He looked disappointed, but he seemed to let it go (unlike William would’ve as we know) , understanding she probably forgot to do something .

Makes me sad seeing potential like this being flushed down a toilet.

They’re an old married couple and I love that for them🙃

[tigris-types]

I watched the latest Shiloh and Bros video before going to bed last night, the one with the phantom imposter, and I had a crazy dream last night because of it!

It was also crazy because it mixed with some of the Void stuff from Neopets.

Okay so, I was inside the HQ touring the place as a new employee, and I saw the living areas, study rooms, all sprts of places, like a research lab mixed eith a collage. But as we were walking through the library, alarms started to go off and walls started to come down and doors started to shut!

There was an air leak and this base is sort of in space, so you have to be able to section places off. Mary and I were helping to get everyone out of the library before us, and unfortunately we're trapped there. But we saw through the windows that other people were trapped in the room across from us too. The phantom went by and we were quiet, but we still needed to find a way out before we ran out of oxygen.

I started leaning on the walls, and discovered they were actually made of cardboard! It took some effort, but we were able to break through the walls and help the others free too. We then made our way to the main evacuation bay as that's where everyone is supposed to meet in an emergency.

The POV then shifted to Shiloh, who I was, you know how dreams are. I was now a different person but the dream was still first person. Turns out, Shiloh was exploring different abandoned and closed off Raylos to try to understand what had happened to them, as well as tried to figured out what happened to their mom.

There was a huge tunnels of locked Raylo portals that no one was supposed to go in, but triggering so many of them caused the alarms to go off, and it was discovered that I/Shiloh wasn't the only thing coming back from those trips.

A quarantine team had been set up outside the portals, and prevented my reentry into the base. They wouldn't let me cross as I had been corrupted with void energy and they weren't sure how it would react. They also didn't want me exploring any more Raylos as the void energy could also corrupt those Raylos.

But I had to flee, I had to escape, I had to keep searching. Without meaning to, I blasted them with Void particles and drove into the nearest Raylo portal, it was a Victorian scene during the winter. It was hard to tell if it was new years of Christmas, but some big event was going on.

This wasn't the right place, and the quarantine team was still behind me, so I jumped to another Raylo, but I appeared just where I was. Something was preventing me from leaving. I looked at the void particles that were slowing growing up my arm, and they were indicating a direction to go in, so I followed.

There was a collection of voidlings, near an underground entrance, but they didn't seem aggressive at my approach. Did they think I was one of them? Was I one of them? Was I going to become one of them?

I couldn't dwell on it. If I became a part of the void, it would be very hard to return. I crept through the caves and found someone in control of the voidlings, they wanted control of me too. I could feel it. And they realized I wasn't as far gone as they had hoped.

I couldn't see their face, but they had a top hat, a cloak and a cane, like so many others in the Raylo. They tried to coax the void to consume more of me, they tried to get me to give in, but I wouldn't let it. I had a mission. I had to return. It hurt to resist the void, but I knew I had to. I also noticed they were using a device to control the void.

When they got close, I attacked them, the void particles turning into sharpened claws as I tried to tear the device off their arm and from their neck. I could tell the void wanted this. The void disliked this person. The void wanted them gone. I didn't know if it was right, and I tried to do minim damage, but with the device gone, I tried to redirect the attacks to their hat and their cloak, but there was nothing left. Was the device the oy thing hiding them together.

It didn't matter, I need it control my own void particles so I wouldn't dissappear. I attached it to myself, and the void particles started to receed.

With the device around me, and with a clearer head, I realized I could use the void particles to power up the telephoned to get out of this Raylo. I would have to report back and do research if this voidlings were native to this Raylo of if they too needed to be cured in some way.

I was able to jump back to the Raylo Portal tunnel, and things seemed to have calmed down. While I was gone, they ran tests on the particles. They are connected to something, and the device I brought back holds the key to what and who is behind this.

As they were fiddling with the device (which now has to be on at all times so the void particles don't spread) I received a vision who was at the other end. A void dragon who spread chaos, destruction, and death by breathing out corrupting void particles. This might be the beast that is destroying Raylos. This might be the beast that is responsible for everything! But the vision zoomed in on the dragon's eyes as the rest of the vision shifted to a woman in a green dress sitting at a bar. Her eyes shifted to green as well, and she looked like an older Shiloh. Around her neck was also the flat stone that powered the void device. Was she the dragon? Did she capture it? And was this mom? In that moment, before I could wonder too much, I realized, I could see this because she was looking through a mirror and I could see through her eyes, and she could also seen through mine. As I had this thought, both of the rocks glowed and the scientists fiddling with it were pushed back. No one would be allowed to touch this again. No one could know what I had just seen.

Mom's disappearance, the void particles corrupting raylos, the end of universe, it was all connected, and could just be my family's fault...

I mean, isn't that a wild dream! It helped that I had such terrible cramps last night and kept waking up in the middle of it! Otherwise I don't think I would had remembered so much of it!