#i mean even the evolution line fits... wait

[lamponellatempesta]

Ben rocking in his van be like:

I mean. Tell me I'm wrong?

[grugruel]

Can you do that for me?

Pairings: ruined!Jayce x f!reader

NSFW/MDNI

Masterlist

Summary: Formerly partners, you've started a new business in Zaun after Jayce's disappearance. One day, after hearing whispers of Victor's apparent evolution, Jayce shows up unannounced.

Wordcount: 4.2 k

Warnings: Some canon stuff (beware spoilers), pinv sex, angst, fluff, fingering, slight handjob, choking, biting, creampie, doggy, missionary, cowgirl (a lot of positions), sub/dom/switch!Jayce, power struggle, fight for dominance, praise (f and m recieving), spanking, overstimulation, "I love you", difficult feelings, hot depraved Jayce.

AN: Not proofread, I intend to make a few changes to it later but wanted to get it out. Might be spelling mistakes. I tried to fit a bit of everything into this. ENJOY GIRLIES🎀

Having pulled the curtains aside, a vigilant man inspects the dark streets below. "He's almost here, ma'am," the man says, eyes following the subject. There's a slight stiffnes to his stance, as if he's readying himself for a fight. "What do you want us to do?"

"Let him in," she smiles at him faintly, attempting to reassure the large man before returning to her paperwork. "Dont give him trouble, there's nothing to fear."

The guard nods slowly and crosses the room to leave, he knows she's right. Yet, he stays in the doorway, shoulders slumped and arms crossed.

Warm light creeps in through the entryway, contrasting the faint light that Zauns streetlights provide for her otherwise gloomy office.

Noticing how the strong wash of light remains, she looks up at her guard to find another question lingering on his lips. "I've know you long enough to tell when something ails you." She leans back in her chair.

He catches her gaze reluctantly, facing away before he speaks. The man clears his throat, he knows he's crossing a line. "He's trouble, if you ask me. The boys and I-"

The woman pulls her glasses of and sighs, done with her work for the evening. "Im a big girl, I can handle myself."

The guard leans against the doorway and shrugs in reluctant recognition. "We're worried for you, ma'am-" but catching himself on his words, his hands gesture to remedy his meaning. "Respectfully, of course," he ads quickly, aversed to insult his employer.

The woman stands slowly, walking around her crammed desk to casually prop herself next to him. "I know," she reassures, placing a soft hand on his chest. "But I'll be fine, send him in."

The large man huffs. "We'll be outside then," he begins, but as the next words begin to form on his tongue, he decides against it, solely out of trust for his employer. If he could, he would've added 'when you need us'.

She doesnt doubt it, nor does she take offence. They're a tight knit family down here, she cares for them as much as they do her. But this would be an interaction no family member should hear. "That won't be necessary, keep to the foyer . . . Now go," she hurries him, careful to keep an understanding smile on her lips lest he changes his mind.

With a heavy breath and one last glance, the guard reluctantly closes the door and heavy footsteps recede.

She sighs, moving to brace her hands against the desktop and preparing herself for whats to come, for what she suspects.

She lights the lantern on her desk and waits. Only a moment later the same warm light creeps into the room. She twitches, unprepared for his arrival inspite of her efforts as the squeaking door slices through the eerily silent space.

In her peripheral, a fallen man stands. He's tired and dirty. Cut up and run down. There's a moment of contemplation between her and the newcomer, she does not move and neither does he. It's been a long time.

Squeak, thump, click . . . Pause. He's locked the door. A heavy thud between metal and wood sounds next, there's a faint sound of coarse skin sliding along fine metal before the familiar vibrations of hextech dies out.

All that exists between them now is heavy breathing in two parts, laboring against their own minds and bodies.

The floorboards begin to creek, irregularly, as if the weight placed upon them has not yet decided it's course of action. She grips the desktop harder, fingernails burrying into fine wood. She can only guess why he has come. "It's Viktor, isn't it?" She breathes, trying hard to keep her voice steady.

She gets no response, the only answer she recieves is the creeking of floorboards as the uncertain weight shifts back and forth. But that is all the answer she needs.

Having seamingly made up his mind, determined footsteps approach her in a sudden haste. Srong arms wrap around her body, pulling her toward a hard chest in a tight, tight embrace. His head collides with her shoulderblade as he burries his face in her scent. Muffled by her body, strained breaths blow welcome warmth onto her skin.

"What's happened?" She whispers, not entirely sure she wants the answer for she can smell him now. Metal and gunpowder. But it's not the type raw metal used for smithing or creating, it's not the metal she's used to. No, this is pungent, corporeal. It's blood. "Jayce, please . . . " She begins, 'talk to me' her lips shape, but no sound comes out. Unable to muster the strength.

"Cant- I cant . . . talk about it. Not now, not yet," he manages, voice rough as if he has fought and damp breath raising goosebumps on her neck. "I just . . . Needed you. I need you."

A strong hand slides higher, knuckles intently brushing the underside of her breast. "Can't think anymore."

And inspite of her better judgement. "Ok," she agrees, whispering, as if her consience wouldnt be able to hear. She's missed him, worried for him. So, her body betrays her.

Laying her hand on top of his, she guides him over the hill of her breast.

His breath hitches while his other hand move downward, tracing her ribs, down her waist, stopping on her thigh and squeezing tenderly. Soft flesh dimpling beneath the force of strong fingers. "I've been lost, " his voice breaks. "Missed you." His hands slide further down to slither under the slit in her dress.

"No feelings right now, Jayce . . . Please, just-"

Two fingers slip inside of her and she gasps. "No feelings," he assures, placing a gentle kiss on her neck.

"Good, good . . . " she moans.

While massaging her breast his thumb finds her clit and tongue her neck, gently nipping and sucking on the crook of her neck. Her body grows to weak to hold itself upright so she puts her weight on her arms. Noticing, he holds her tighter and pushes her weight against the desk. "Already?" He whispers, dragging his teeth along the shell of her ear as his fingers steadily thrusts in and out of her. "You're making it too easy for me."

A breathless chuckle leaves her, crammed between heavy groans. "You work with your hands . . . Mmmh, unfair advantage."

He bites her earlobe, tugging, teasing. "So do you, if I remember correctly." A grin twists her lips as her hand reaches between them and palms his enlarged bulge. He hisses as she begins to stroke it, heat immedietly surfacing as the friction between fabric and skin grows. "Mhhg, that's what I thought," he groans. "Good girl."

He pushes a third finger inside off her, curling them at just the right angle.

"Fuck!" Her free hand curls into a fist, joints having nothing better to do than occupy themselves in anyway they can. He puts more focus on her clit, rubbing dutyful circles into and and finally pushes her over the edge. "Mhh, shit-"

His fingers slow down as she hits her high, gently leading her through it as he supports her weight. "Just breathe, that's right . . . "

Her breathing has become a mixture of moans and wheezes, the pleasure stimulating every nerve in her body. "Did you . . . ?" She asks, suddenly remember her hand on his clothed member.

"No," he whispers and kisses her temple. "Theres time." He tries to turn her around. But fear grips her. "No-" she stops him, gripping the edge of the desk to keep herself in place. Seeing the changes up close would make them real, would make whatever he has come from, real. "I can't look at you . . . not yet." She reaches over her shoulder to cup his jaw, and just like that, their bubble of reminiscence bursts. They arent colleagues anymore and havent been for a long time. Nor is their third party longer there to rationalise with them. A shrap jab strikes her heart. "Give me time, and just," her other hand reaches behind her, grabbing the fabric on his hip to pull him closer, pressing his erection against the curve of her ass. "Like this for now, Jayce. Please . . ."

His head lulls against her back, pushing his forehead firmly into her spine whilst releasing a big, shaky breath. She can feel him bare his teeth, silently working through the consequences of his actions.

He doesn't answer, he only obeys.

It goes silent for a short moment, until the warmth on her hips disappear and the metal clanging of a belt buckle sounds behind her.

Quickly, one hand returns to her thigh to pull her dress over her ass.

"Dont hold back," she says.

There's a pause in his movements. "Are you certain?"

She nods and he wastes no time. Pushing himself against her, his knees spread her legs efficiently, just liked they've practiced many times before. With mo further warning, he sinks into her. One hand crossing over her waist as the other grabs her shoulder, then sets a ruthless pace.

Somehow she knows he needs to get this out of him, the pent of fury and need. But she doesnt complain, he always knew what he was doing.

The sound of slapping fills her office, while the lewd squelching from her previous orgasm further spurs them on. He bends over her, changing his grip. Fingers snaking around her throat as his knee and free hand work together to fish one of her legs onto the desk, hitting her deeper, harder. His thrusts are no longer about speed, but of that one special little spot.

He puts pressure on her throat, almost painstakingly so. But it feels heavenly and she wouldn't have it any other way.

With each rut, his members perfectly fills her. His face is next to hers and he kisses had bites around her neck and ear, making sure she knows how good he makes her fell by grunting and moaning right into her ear. It makes that pulsing in her core worse, and he seems to notice.

"Yeah, you like that?" He groans, kissing her soft skin right behind the ear.

"Mmmhmm," she hums, voice vibrating with the bumping of their bodies. Doing her best to keep silent, afraid that one of her guards suddenly decides to check up on her.

"Let me hear you, use your words," he breathes, flexing the fingers around her throat and biting her shoulder.

"Fuck-" her knuckles and nails take turns in destroying her desk, scratching and denting the expensive wood grain. "I like making you, mmh . . . feel good." She manages, words stuttering between thrusts.

He gently pulls on her ear with his teeth. "Good," he whispers, then releases her throat and places his hand on the back of her neck, pushing her against the desktop.

Slap. His hands comes down on her ass, then gripping the plump flesh hard to lessen some of the stinging. A jolt of electricity shoots through her and her insides clench arouns him.

Jayce whimpers from the sudden, godlike pleasure. "Wanna hear you, honey, don't be shy." His hand comes down again, harder this time.

She squeezes around him, nerves on fire as she feels her second climax building up inside her. She moans as tears run down her face, happy pleasurable tears only Jayce has been able to produce.

"That's it . . ." He slaps her ass a third time, and the wall inside her core crumbles. With a whimper, she comes. "You did so good, lovely, im almost there," he assures her. Tears stream down her face as his thrusts grow irregular, but continues to pleasure her body. "Fuck," she cries, squirming from the drawl iut orgasm. One hand holds her steady at the hip while the other slides up her back, rubbing her tender body until he brushes away stray hair from her profile.

"Hold on a little longer, just breathe, baby," he comforts her, such a stark contrast to the rough thrusts he's been dealing her body. Her fingers are jittery from the overstimulation, they aached to touch him, pull his hair, anything. But she cannot reach, so she presses her palms against the table to keep them occupied.

As he sees her tear streaked face, one last blow lands on her ass and he too, comes. He collapses on top of her, they attempt to regain their strength as their sweaty bodies lie flush against eachother.

After a few moments of breathing heavily together, Jayce wraps an arm around her torso and splays his hand over her rips, pulling her with him as he straightens out.

Taking a deep breath, she closes her eyes and turns around. Hands finding his face, guiding her lips to his.

"Please look at me, my beautiful girl. Look at me," he pleads, murmuring the words against her lips.

She opens her eyes and his breath hitches. Yellow, brown irises meet her won. They're the exact same ones she knew not too long ago. Except . . . Haunted.

His fingers brush along her cheek, jaw and down her throat. She winces at the soft touch and his brows furrow in confusion.

Capturing her chin, he tilts her head back.

"It's fine, I'm fine," she whispers, assuring him as she sees his expression. Pure shock animates them.

"I don't-" his fingers trace the red marks running around her throat and tears begin to form in the corners of his eyes. "Im so sorry." He falls to his knees, hands resting against her chins as he hides his face between them. "I don't know-" he chokes and kisses her legs with remorse. He pecks her delicately, trailing his lips over her knees and up her thighs, hands following behind, tracing the outside of her legs until they reach her waist and encircle her. He hugs her tightly, knees sore against the hard wood. "Im not right," he breathes, head lulling into her lap. She can feel wetness coating her skin, running between her thighs.

She exhales heavily and slides down the desk until the hard wooden floor welcomes her thighs.

They stay like this for a good long while, she's in no rush and neither is he. Over and over again, her fingers comb through his overgrown and unpreened hair while the sensation of his seed drips out of her. Sharp nails gently scratch at the nape of his neck, they trace his bonestructure and play with its halls and valleys. The back of her fingers caress the length of his nose and sharpness of his cheekbone.

All the while Jayce lays wordless, occasionally squeezing her thighs, her hips. Occasionally trailing featherlight touches along her legs, watching with wonder how goosebumps rise and fall.

She chuckles beneath her breath. It's the same expression he used to get when making progress in the lap, just like when they first cracked the hextech runes. "Jayce," she says, attempting to grab his attention.

Crouching beneath her, he looks up from her lap, chin resting on the softness of her flesh. His face glistens and eyes plead. He looks at her with fatigue, wordlessly asking for her forgiveness.

"What happened?" She asks, her voice soft but words demanding. She's not getting dersuled this time, she needs answers.

He shakes his head, reluctantly drawing his lips into a thin line as he breaks away from her gaze.

Her eyebrows twist together. "What have you done?" She asks, anger laces her tone now. But he closes his eyes, the corners of his eyes gleaming again. The fingers burried in his hair curl into a fist and she pulls his head back, forcing him look at her. "What. Have. You. Done?"

His eyes shift between hers, uncertain, unwilling. "He's gone . . . " He begins. "I had to, I had to–the hexcore, it was poisoning him, spreading like a disease." His voice is coarse. "I had to stop him, there was no other choice."

Her eyes grow. Viktor . . . Gone? She could only assume when Jayce suddenly pays her a visit, but never dared believe.

"I never ment to leave you," he says, hand reaching out to grab her waist. "You have to believe me." He rouches the fabric at the waist, white knuckling it out of desperation for an ounce of u derstanding. "Hextech isnt what we thought it was, not anymore. Viktor couldnt see it, he was infecting the undercity, it would've spread to Piltover, the rest of the world if I didn't stop him."

She shakes her head in disbelief. "But he was saving them, freeing them of shimmer."

"No . . . they weren't themselves anymore. I've been away, lost. I've seen–" She waits for him to continue, but he doesn't. "The hexcore mutates them, changes them. I had to stop him. It, the core."

Her eyes drift the Jayce's hammer posted by the door. "Like your hammer?" She studies the now misshapen weapon, once crafted with obsessive precision. Her eyes drift lower along the neck and over its face, blood splatter.

She looks away, closing her eyes to recollect herself. Remembering to strongly the smell of blood Jayce had arrived with.

"Yes," he says. "Like I did." His hand reaches up to loosely cup her face. She notices how the crystal from his old bracelet has fused with his skin. Her fingers run along his arm and slides along the crystal, feeling it, inspecting it. "I didn't chose this," he murmurs. "I didn't chose to leave you . . . I love you." His hand falls back to his side.

She's taken aback. Its not something they've said before, not while still partners, not before all of, this . . . But despite herself, she believes him. They were colleagues for a long time and affection had always kept them together. He wouldn't hurt Viktor without reason.

With hooded eyes and parted lips, he studies her, waiting for her judgement.

"You had to," she nods, seamingly decided.

Relief and disappointment floods his face all at once. He'd expected an 'I love you' back.

She leans in, kissing him for the first time since he disappeared. Finally reunited. "We'll get through this, ok?" her voice is uncertain, what's happened has not been fully processed.

"Ok," he agrees and straightens his back, carefully placing small kisses along her abdomen as he does so, afraid he'll scare her away. "I've missed you so damn much." He levels his head with hers, meeting her gaze head on.

"I've missed you too," she responds. "But I need you now, Jayce. Can you do that for me?" She places a soft kiss on his lips.

"Certainly," he murmurs against them.

She stands, slinding his hand into hers and leads him to the bed. With his back to the bed, she places her hands on his chest and pushes him into sitting at the edge of the bed.

One leg over the other, she straddles him, standing on her knees so he has to look up at her. His she brushes the hair away from his eyes and lowers her lips to ghost over his. Their scared and quivering, needy to be on hers.

His hands slide up her sides and curves around her back, coming to rest in the arch above her ass. Gently, he massages circles into her skin, tickling her intentionaly.

She squirms beneath his touch, luring a satisfied grin from him. "You look good like this." Her fingers run through his beard, tracing his new scars. "Dangerous." Reaching down between them and into his pants, she pulls Jayce's member free and lowers herself just enough to tease his tip.

With a hiss, he locks his thumb over her hipbones and wanting to guide her onto him.

She shakes her head, a smirk playing in the corner of her lips. "My turn," she whispers and pull the straps of her dress down, letting it gather at her hips. Jayce's eyes immeidetly fall as his hands slide up her ribs with a specific destination in mind. "Dont touch," she warns. "Now look at me, Jayce." Her chest is inches from his face, but unallowed to look and unable to touch, his eyes appear like that of a wounded stag.

Her nimble fingers work on the buttons of his shirt and quickly slides it off of his shoulders. "Ive missed this," she purs, dragging a finger down his torso, her nail leaving a white scratched up mark behind it. "But this is new," she refers to the chest hair she's never seen before. "I like that, too." Her lips meet his jaw as she leaves kisses all the way down to his collarbone and shoulder. Her continues down his abdomen and below his v-line, then there's a sharp intake of breath as she stokes his member, circling the leaking pre-cum around his tip.

"Devil woman," he groans, but there's a twisted smile to his lips.

She returns it and takes a step back, letting the dress fall completely as if wanting to prove his point and oh, how she revels in the desperation on his face.

Her gaze fixes on his hands, clenching and unclencing in his lap, knuckles white from the strain. She bites her lip. "You look good like this," she repeats. "All, fallen apart . . . " She steps closer, placing herself between his legs. "Bloody and broken."

Never has he taken his eyes off of hers, and as she lowers herself onto his lap once more, she finds his member and lines him up. And finally, she sinks onto his thick inches. Still, he does not touch her. There is only a desperate whimper leaving his lips at the much needed pressure. Obedient, or respcetful? Either way, he deserves his praise. "Good boy. Now, touch me," she whispers and topple them over.

He twitches inside her at the words, but before she can react he's upon her. Fitting one breast into his mouth and the other in his hand, he licks and spits and squeezes. Sucking the entierty of her tender, plush flesh into his mouth.

"Ooh," she braces herself, strings of pleasure and heavy breaths return to them. "You liked that didn't you, pretty boy?" All she gets in response is humming between the lewd, obscene slurping.

Alright, then. Putting a hand on his chest for support, she begins to move, rocking back and forth just watching his expression of pleased torture.

Moving his hands to her hips, lips tear free from her breast for some much needed air, only to replace them upon her lips and kiss her with fervour.

She sits up, getting a better vantage and he follows not long thereafter. Unable to sit by and let her do the work. Leaning back on one hand and wrapping the other around her back, he helps her rut against him while he can't softly thrust up to meet her. "Fuck me- Jayce . . . " She gasps, hardly able to get enough air to moan.

He grins against her lips, sharing their breaths. "You liked that didn't you, pretty girl?" He mocks her.

She laughs breathlessly and digs her nails into his biceps. "Naughty," she murmurs and bites his lip, drawing blood. Again, she feels his member twitch amidst all the rocking between them. Their eyes meet and share a knowing glance. She cocks an eyebrow, he blushes. "That's what I thought," she smirks. It's her win, for now.

Unable to let it slide, Jayce takes the reigns. Flipping them over, he pins her beneath him without missing a single thrust. Amidst the confusion, he interlocks their fingers and pulls her arms above her head, stretching her out and limiting her movement.

She squirms against his restrains, testing the limits but he's rock solid. With her legs around his waist, he thrust perfectly into her and she cant help but roll her hips. She can feel the knot tightening in her core and she furrows her brows with displeasure. Missionary always did her in, he'll win. "Unfair," she moans, throwing her head back as waves of pleasure wash over her with every movement of his hips.

He moves one pair of their locked hands down so ha can stroke her throat with his thumb, placing soft kisses on the damage he caused.

His tenderness alone could cause her to crumble. "Put your back into it at least," she whines, realising she only had her pettiness left. Being beneath him, in his control feels way better than any win she could earn.

A breathless chuckle leaves him. "Yes, ma'am," he grunts, releases her and pulls out before he hooks her legs over his shoulders and thrusts back in. Hands finally free, she cups his face and pulls him in for a kiss concealing the cries bubbling up in her throat. For as it stands, he moves expertly and he's deeper–better than any man ever has been. "Fuck me-"

He smirks. "Tell me I'm good, again . . . " Shes uncertain if this is his ego talking or- "Please, please tell me im good," he whimpers, kissing her inbetween every word.

Without warning her third orgasm washes over her, back arching and nails digging into Jayce's cheeks. "You're so good to me," she sobs. "Such a good boy."

His thrusts falter and then he too, comes. Filling her with his seed, once again.

With shaking limbs he falls to her side, one arm draped over her chest. Both breathing heavily as they regain their senses.

"You win," ge admits and kisses her temple.

Yes she does. "I love you, too," she smiles, heart and teeth achingly sweet.

[leeknow-thoughts]

୨୧ BRUTAL

𝝑𝝔 son of Eros!Changbin x mortal!fem!reader

𝝑𝝔 cw : unserious!reader (she is .... interesting for sure!), crude humor, Changbin is a sweetheart :c, fluffy smut, mild angst, Switch(mostly sub)!Changbin, Switch(mostly Dom)!reader, LOTS OF KISSING, mutual masterbation, clit play, no p in v, tit sucking, mommy kink !??!, love spells!!!, lmk if I missed anything!

𝝑𝝔 hyung line m.list | maknae line m.list

Something was off, you didn't know how to describe it.

You sat up in your bed, looking around for a moment. That's when you spot a man in the corner of your dark room and you scream.

You grab the knife you kept in your nightstand, "who are you!?" you scream at him.

"Shhh!" the man tries to hush you.

"Why are you telling me to shh, you broke into my home!" you exclaim.

"Listen, I'm here on business," he starts before you interrupt him.

"What business do you have being in my house? Is the C.I.A trying to take me out because of my theory on the money smuggling because if so I deeply regret questioning my government and I swear I'm a good brainwashed citizen!" you yelp.

"C.I.A? Government? Brainwashing? I swear to Zeus, you mortals get more crazy by the minute!" the man exclaims, "but no, luckily for you, I am not from the government, well not your government."

"So like the United Nations!? That's even fucking worse! I swear I'm a good law abiding citizen who never questions the old hags that we call politicians!"

The man stares at you with a look of mixed shock and terror on his face, "the godly government," he explains.

"That's somehow even worse?! I don't even believe in God! Wait which religion is right? I swear to God, if it's Scientology I'll find the nearest cliff and jump off, I swear you will not take me alive Mr.Secret Scientology Agent Man Thing."

The man's mouth is agape and you can tell he's trying to put the pieces together, "What's Scientology?" he questions.

"They believe in aliens and shit, but they're lowkey a cult, and they're trying to reach Nirvana or whatever, trying to get their brainwaves to vibrate at the same frequency as an alien's or some stupid shit like that," you explain.

"Ok, well aliens aren't real," Changbin starts before you interrupt him.

"Ok science denier, you're telling me you're a- whatever you are- and aliens aren't real. Maybe you're in a cult. What frequency do your brainwaves vibrate at?"

"I'm not in a cult, I'm one of the sons of Eros," he explains.

You burst out into a fit of laughter while the man slaps himself on his forehead, "okay buddy, time to put you back in whatever insane asylum you escaped from," you say as you sit up.

The man turns around and you see the wings poking out from his back. "Maybe evolution did hit the ancient Greeks, you're like Icarus but like evolved and not as crispy and fried as I'd imagine him being," you figure as you admire the man's wings.

"Why are you bringing up Icarus?"

"Well he had wings," you remind him.

"Yeah and you're about to fly too close to the sun," he sighs, "I was assigned to your case. I'm going to help you find your soulmate."

"Ok sure you are buddy," you chuckle.

"Can you at least put down the knife, I feel like you're gonna stab me," he requests.

You sigh and put the knife back in your nightstand. "So how does this whole thing work?" you ask the man.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions, and I'll find a list of potential soulmates for you," he explains.

"So you're like the match maker from Mulan?"

"I'll make sure to look for someone who appreciates your fantastic sense of humor," he retorts sarcastically.

"Boo, you're no fun! Live a little!" you exclaim and sit criss crossed on your bed.

The man pulls up a chair and pulls out a clip board and a pen. "Male or female?" he asks.

"I'm a woman," you say it like it's obvious.

"I mean for a partner, do you want a man or a woman?"

"Either," you shrug.

He scribbles that down in your chart. "What's your name by the way, you know like everything about me and all I know is that you're a Scientologist and mentally impaired and a bird or whatever."

"Changbin," he says while rolling his eyes, "do you have a height preference?"

"Nope," you pop the p.

"Weight preference?"

"Another no."

"Age preference?"

"What do you mean by that because I am not-"

"-I'm going to stop you right there," he glares at you, "you need to take this seriously."

"I am being serious!? I'm not a-"

"Ok! I get it, I'll j-just mark down older."

"Make sure it's not like super old though."

He looks up at you, "excuse me?"

"Like a person who is like- older than my grandma. Unless they're like absolutely loaded."

He rolls his eyes and moves on, "do you have a preference regarding lifestyle?"

"Yeah, I don't want them to be a politician or a Scientologist or mentally insane."

"Ok," he scribbles on the paper, "done, I need you to sign here."

He passes the clipboard to you and hands you the pen.

"Why?" you question.

"Because this is a legally binding contract," he says it like it's obvious.

"So like in Cat in the Hat where two underage kids sign their life away to a six foot tall man in a fur suit? Am I signing my life away?"

"Just sign the fucking paper," he requests.

You sign the paper and hand it back to the winged man.

He flips through more pages in the clipboard before his face falls. "What is it? Don't tell me my soulmate is a politician!" you whine.

"It's worse," he hums, "you need to come to HQ with me."

"Wait so who is it? Is it like a serial killer? I didn't even think of that!"

"Will you shut up and take my hand," he offers his hand out to you.

You hesitantly take it. You're instantly transported to a place you've never seen before. An office building with pink walls and pink tainted glass that over looks above the clouds. Changbin pulls you with him to a desk.

"Eros, I need to speak with him," Changbin says to the person, who also has wings, that is working at the desk.

"I'll tell him you need to see him," the person says.

"Thanks," Changbin mutters.

Changbin lets go of your hand and begins pacing around the waiting room. "So like is it bad?"

"It is me," he mumbles.

"Huh?"

"Your soulmate, it's me."

Your mouth falls agape as you stare at he man. "What?" you question.

"Yeah, tell me about it," he grumbles as he continues his pacing.

"But you're like-" you pause.

"-a matchmaker. And you're a mortal."

"Eros will see you now," the woman at the reception desk announces.

Changbin pulls you by the wrist through the hallway and into a room. The room is large, huge floor to ceiling windows on two of the walls, a huge desk right in the center, and an extremely tall man with strawberry blonde hair sitting at the desk. Changbin lets go of your wrist when he makes eye contact with the man. "Changbin!" the man at the desk says, he stands up and walks over to where Changbin and you were standing, "it's so good to see you, son!"

You look up at the man towering over yourself and Changbin. Easily 8 feet tall with a pair of feathery wings on his back.

The man lifts up Changbin, pulling him into a tight hug. "Dad, it's good to see you too, but listen we have a situation," Changbin says sternly.

"A situation?" the man asks, putting Changbin back on the ground.

"This is Y/n Y/l/n," he introduces you.

"I know of her," he smiles.

He leans down to shake your hand, holding his out for you to take. You hesitate before you do, but you gently shake the tall man's hand, "you know me?" you ask the man.

"Well of course I do! I am a God after all!" he cheerfully booms, "you can just call me Eros!"

"Nice to meet you," you give the man a tight lipped smile.

He lets go of your hand and it falls to your side.

"Listen- Dad," Changbin interrupts, "I think that there was a mistake with y/n's soulmate generator."

"How so?" Eros questions.

"Well, it said that well-" he stammers.

"Does she have a soulmate?" Eros asks.

"Well yes b-but-" Changbin continues to stutter.

"-it's him, sir, Changbin is my soulmate," you explain.

"What?" the man gasps.

"Listen, I'm just as surprised as you are, I specifically said no politicians, Scientologists, or mentally insane people."

"He is, none of those things?" Eros states.

"Yeah well when you wake up in the middle of the night to someone standing in the corner of your bedroom talking about how they're from the 'godly government' and it reminds you of Scientology, and then he tells you he's the son of Eros so obviously you start thinking to yourself that this guy is either seeing something we can't or he's strung out on something, and then he makes you sign your life away like those kids did in the cat in the hat movie, then you can call me picky," you ramble.

Eros glances at Changbin then at you and then back to Changbin, "well were you the only option?"

"Yes," Changbin confirms.

"Well then it is destined to be, she did sign the contract," he points out.

"So wait? Did I sign my life away?" you ask.

"Well not your life," Eros begins before he cuts himself off.

"Dad," Changbin says, "what do we do?"

"I suppose we follow the rules," Eros figures, "you two are soulmates."

Changbin's jaw practically falls to the floor, "there is no way."

So now you find yourself at Changbin's house, well apartment, on Mt.Olympus. The apartment itself is more than just nice. It is beautiful. Floor to ceiling windows with a scenic view, a full kitchen with a separate wine closet, even a balcony overlooking the streets of Olympus which were full of nymphs and muses and Gods and Goddesses alike. Ornate furniture with gold accents, a chandelier that looked like it costed more than a yacht, and 4 luxurious bedrooms. "Make yourself at home," Changbin sighs as he takes off his coat.

"Woah, this is your house?" you exclaim as you ogle at the ornate house.

"Yeah," he blushes, "it's ours now I suppose," he runs a hand on the back of his neck.

"Oh my God, this is straight up like a fairytale," you say as you look through the kitchen.

"Are you hungry?" he asks, opening the fridge.

"Yeah, is there anything I can eat?"

"What do you mean anything you can eat?"

"Well like I don't think I can drink nectar, because I'm like a mortal or whatever," you chuckle as you look at his puzzled expression.

"Well technically you can drink it, but you would like probably pass out from what you mortals call 'alcohol poisoning'," he chuckles as he grabs a soda from the fridge.

"Wait do you have some?" you ask excitedly.

"I mean yeah but like, why?"

"Well I wanna try it!"

"No," he shuts down before you can continue.

"Please! Just once Changbin!" you beg.

"I said no," he says, more firmly this time.

"Ugh fine you're no fun," you cross your arms and take a seat on his kitchen island.

"What do you want for dinner?" he asks, changing the topic.

You hum while you think for a moment, "spaghetti," you decide.

"Okay," he agrees.

He begins pulling ingredients out of the fridge and pantry and you just sit there on the counter and watch as the man prepares dinner. "Soooooo," you speak as Changbin puts a pot of water on the stove, "what's it like being the son of Eros?"

"Well, I think it gives people the wrong impression of me sometimes," he reveals.

"How so?"

"Imagine that your father is known for orgies and sex, prayed to by mortals for him to grant them fertility and true love, doesn't always leave the best impression with people," he explains crossing his arms.

"Why not? Are you not like him?"

"Not at all," he mumbles softly, "I do this job because I like making people happy, to be honest I didn't know it was possible as a matchmaker to match with anyone," he explains, "especially a mortal, like yourself."

"Doesn't Zeus have lots of kids though? Is he matched with someone?" you ask.

"Don't even get me started on how many kids he has, y'know we have a whole department that keeps track of his children," he whispers the last part.

You stifle a laugh and get a good look at the man who is your soulmate. His sharp nose and round face paired with gentle eyes and buff arms have you feeling tingly inside and out. "Zeus does have a soulmate, or well he says she's his soulmate, Hera," he explains.

"Isn't that his sister?"

"I wish you mortals would stop spreading lies like that," Changbin sighs and rubs his eyes.

You giggle and swing your feet back and forth. "So wait, not all of you are like related?" you ask.

"No," he chuckles.

"So like how does the whole soulmates thing work?"

"Well, once you're matched, you're matched, you fall in love with the person, they fall in love with you, some couples get married, some don't," he explains.

"Can we get married? If we get married can we please get married by and Elvis impersonator in Vegas, ooh and I want a pink wedding dress!" you proclaim.

"Yeah, sure," he hums as he adds the noodles to the boiling water, "anything else you want for our wedding?"

"Hmm, maybe a chocolate fountain at the reception and for the reception to be held in a strip club," you half joke.

"That would make our wedding, interesting," he giggles, turning back to face you now.

"Well yeah, you only get married once! May as well enjoy it! Also honeymoon in Paris, or like somewhere in Europe!"

"Yeah," he smirks, "we can do all of that."

God, he looked good. Did he always look this good? Maybe you were too blind to it before, because fuck he was good looking.

"Really?" you ask enthusiastically.

"Really," he smiles softly.

"What about our wedding night?" you ask before you fully think through what you're saying.

"Our wedding night? Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself?" he teases.

"Well- I-I j-just wanna k-know what you like? I mean I-" you stutter as you try to speak.

You freeze when Changbin moves over to where you sit and pulls you in for a kiss, stopping right before his lips touch yours, you feel your heart thumping in your chest and heat rising to your cheeks as you slowly relax into his gentle grasp.

"Kiss me-" you hoarsely whisper.

He licks his lips before he finally puts his lips on your own, his lips molding against yours in a tantalizing rhythm. You are the one to break away from the hypnotic kisses he is placing on your lips. "Changbin- why I feel so-" you mumble, searching his eyes for an answer for the certain wanting in the bottom of your stomach.

"The love spell, it- well- it makes you," he flushes.

"Horny?" you ask.

"Yeah," he laughs, "makes both parties-y-y'know horny."

"Holy shit," you giggle as you bring him back in for another kiss.

This kiss is passionate and rough, in perfect contrast with the way Changbin holds you close. His hands resting on your waist, gently rubbing feather-light touches on your sides, each one leaving you more breathless than the last. Your arms loop around the back of his neck, reveling in the comfort of his lips on yours.

It's not enough though, you need him inside you, you need him to fuck you. "Changbin-" you moan against his lips.

"Darling," he coos, "tell me what you want-you c-can have it-w-whatever you want."

"Bin- I-I," you whine.

"P-please ma'am wan-wanna be inside," he squeaks.

"Ma'am?" you smirk, pulling apart from the kiss to search Changbin's eyes.

"Ma'am, mommy, mistress, master, whatever you want- I-I d'care, just pl-please, wanna be inside," he searches your face for any apprehension.

"Changbin I-I, get on your knees," you whimper as you notice the way he looks at you.

His hair is messy, his eyes lust blown and lips plump from kissing. You watch the heavenly sight in front of you as Changbin sinks down to his knees in front of you. He gently holds your leg as he kisses your knee, "please," he speaks a confession, "wanna worship you."

His fingers trail up and down your clothed legs, and at this time you curse yourself for wearing plaid pajama pants instead of flimsy sleep shorts.

You quickly stand on two feet and begin walking away, scaring the man on the floor. "Y/n- w-we d'have to!" he yelps.

"Take me to the bedroom, please," you huff.

Changbin leaps onto his feet and shows you to the bedroom, his hand in yours. Like two horny teenagers left unsupervised for more than 30 seconds.

You found yourself making out with him on his soft bed, it was a little awkward with Changbin's wings on his back, but you couldn't seem to mind, especially not when his fingers are cupping your breasts under your shirt and his fingers are tweaking your nipples in his fingers. A soft tune is playing from what you presume is your phone, or it could be the record player in the corner of Changbin's room, but honestly you don't care when Changbin's head moves down your chest, kissing above your waistband. "Honey," he calls out to you.

"Y-yeah," you look at him.

"Wanna watch you get off," he requests, "wanna watch you, please."

You're stripping off your clothes before you can even think of what you're doing, throwing your clothes somewhere in Changbin's room. You watch as his mouth falls open as he stares at your tits. "Like what you see, honey?" you ask as you lay your head back on the pillows.

He nods and you watch the faint blush creep up onto his cheeks. "Wanna see you too, please, please Bin," you hum.

He follows after you, removing his clothes and you ogle at his body. Fuck, he was muscular, and your mouth started watering when you saw his cock.

"It's n-not," he begins before you are spitting in your hand and wrapping it around the base of his cock.

Not very long, but fat in girth, with a pretty flushed tip and nicely trimmed bush surrounding it. Changbin's mouth falls open as you begin jerking his cock, "it's more than okay, baby," you reassure the man whose eyes are rolling to the back of his head from pleasure.

"Y-your," he whimpers, trying to speak.

"Don't worry about anything other than feeling good, just relax my love, let me make you feel good," you hum.

You can see the internal struggle on Changbin's face before he shoves his own hand in between your legs, spreading your wetness around your folds. "Changb-" you begin, going to chastise the boy but his fingers move up to your clit, rubbing in soft circles.

"P-please," he whimpers.

"Hm?" you hum searching his face while his fingers continue playing with your pussy.

"Can I suck on your tits?" he asks with a timid voice.

You can't help but smile as the fingers on your spare hand wrap in the boy's curly black hair and bring his mouth to your chest. You speed up your hand that is playing with his cock, trying to repay how well Changbin is making your pussy gush just with his calloused fingers.

Changbin is sucking on your nipple and his fingers are playing with your clit and it all is becoming too much and just enough at the same time. "Mommy," Changbin moans against your chest.

"Yeah, I know it feels good doesn't it?" you coo to the man who is clearly losing himself in the pleasure of you stroking his chubby cock.

He nods his head into your chest and you watch as his eyes roll to the back of his head before his hips start bucking his cock into your hand. "G-gonna-ngh," Changbin whimpers.

"It's okay my love, let go, there you go honey," you instruct.

Changbin cums with a low groan as his hips keep bucking into your hand, his fingers that were playing with your clit stopping and resting there as you watch his pearly white cum shoot out of his cock and onto his soft stomach.

His legs slightly twitch as he comes down from his orgasm before he looks up at you before remembering he is also supposed to make you cum, you don't let him feel bad about cumming first though. Instead opting to praise him for being good while his fingers resume their movements on your swollen clit while his mouth continues playing with your nipples.

"Ch-changbin," you choke out a whine.

A particular hard swipe to your clit has you tumbling over the edge of your orgasm, clenching Changbin's shoulders as you ride through the high. "Perfect," Changbin praises and presses a kiss between your breasts, "and all mine."

"All yours," you reassure, "all yours Changbin."

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x39 - Two Great Ultimate Evolutions! Push Back the Darkness / The Battle for Earth

Previously on Digimon Adventure: Vamdemon came back in a Biblical way and began destroying Odaiba via rainbow hip thrusts. To stop him from eating everybody, Takeru and Hikari shot their brothers full of arrows. More importantly, PicoDevimon fucking died.

The first full minute of this episode is just replaying the cool CGI Warp-Evolution sequences from the end of the previous. Both because they're fucking cool and to set the stage for the fight to come, with Show Me Your Brave Heart already blaring.

This is immediately followed by their rundowns, before we've even seen any of the kids. WarGreymon is an Ultimate-stage Vaccine-type Dragon Person Digimon. MetalGarurumon is an Ultimate-stage Data-type Cyborg Digimon.

Kinda weird that MetalGarurumon was a Vaccine for his whole evolution chain until now and suddenly becomes Data. That's because these two come from the same evolution tree in the V-Pet, which has one Ultimate for each of the three types.

WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon are from the Metal Empire line - along with the Virus Ultimate Mugendramon, who we'll get to meet shortly. Though the 0.5 rerelease several months after this episode would replace Mugendramon with VenomVamdemon; An obvious bit of tie-in synergy that doesn't really fit the theme of Metal Empire.

Narrator: WarGreymon. An Ultimate-stage Digimon Warp-Evolved from Agumon. His special attack Gaia Force gathers ki from his surrounding area and unleashes it all at once.

I think we all understand the concept of chi or ki but just in case, it's the natural energy that exists in all things but especially living things, which can be harnessed, regulated, and controlled according to certain belief systems. Basically what George Lucas ripped off when he invented the Force.

Gaia Force is basically the Genki-dama/Spirit Bomb from Dragon Ball. Pretty unapologetically, in fact; Wait 'til you see it in action.

Narrator: MetalGarurumon. An Ultimate-stage Digimon Warp-Evolved from Gabumon. His special attack, Cocytus Breath, freezes his enemies solid before he smashes them to pieces!

Oh look, there's another ancient mythology reference from the nerds over at Digimon Adventure. :P Cocytus is a lesser-known one of the five rivers that encircles the Greek underworld, literally named "Lamentation". But it's more likely that this is a reference to Dante's Inferno, whose author borrowed many things from the Greek underworld.

In the Inferno, Cocytus is the ninth and final circle of Hell; A frozen wasteland where betrayers are confined. This is where Satan is found, held captive in the ice at the center. You can see the connection between that and the frosty power MetalGarurumon intends to bring to bear against the (Wiki Article who can Punch You version of the) Beast of Revelations today.

Izzy: (rundown) It's WarGreymon! It says here his attack is Terra Force. Gathering the energy around him and focusing it in the palm of his hand! Izzy: (rundown) MetalGarurumon has his Metal Wolf Claw attack! He shoots a powerful cold blast at his enemies, then blows them to pieces!

Unsurprisingly, Izzy does not have the nerve to reference Dante's Inferno right now.

Koushiro: Ultimate-stage... They've evolved into Ultimate-stage Digimon! Tentomon: Well, I feel less useful now. Yamato: Yeah, you're right. Tentomon: What.

In the wake of the two Ultimate evolutions, Tentomon self-deprecates. To which Yamato hilariously agrees, prompting a short but clearly agitated response. XD Fucking rude, Yamato. Holding Taichi's hand is making his bad habits rub off on you.

In the dub:

Izzy: Mega Digimon! They Digivolved into their Mega Digimon forms! Tentomon: That's great, 'cause we'll need them to beat VenomMyotismon! Matt: Yeah! That's for sure! Tentomon: Good luck! I'll wait here....

Really? Come on, dub team. That joke was right up your alley. You love it when the kids are mean to each other for no good reason.

WarGreymon kicks us off, wreathing himself in energy and launching himself into VenomVamdemon like a bullet.

The attack hits so hard it knocks VenomVamdemon off his feet and sends him crashing down into the rubble. The observation deck from the Fuji broadcasting center rolls by. Remember when we blew up Fuji TV? Remember how cool that was!?

I jest, but there's a narrative purpose to showing us the observation deck again. WarGreymon didn't just hit VenomVamdemon, he shoved him all the way back to the FCG Building. Remember, he's trying to close the distance to Big Sight, and we want him to not do that. There's about a mile of space where, if he finishes crossing it, thousands of people will die.

This big energy tackle of WarGreymon's pushed VenomVamdemon all the way back to his starting point. Which is way more of a hit than anyone's been able to do to him thus far.

The humans hops back in the van because now they have to drive half a mile to get back to the fight.

Taichi: GO, WARGREYMON!!! Hikari: SO POWERFUL!!!

VenomVamdemon climbs back to his feet. MetalGarurumon follows up on the attack, opening up countless panels on his body and firing off missiles in every direction.

(Uh. Hopefully the ones that didn't go in VenomVamdemon's direction are homing missiles or something. Please do not randomly destroy parts of Odaiba, MetalGarurumon. The devastation is bad enough as it is.)

MetalGarurumon's ice missiles slam into VenomVamdemon, exploding and freezing every part of him that they hit. Encasing his whole body in an icy prison.

(Kind of like Satan in Cocytus, yes, I got your reference.)

Takeru: Ah! Yamato: Amazing!

The Yagamis are much more enthusiastic with their cheering than Yamato and Takeru. XD Taichi is hollering his lungs off, while Yamato's in the back seat like, "Pretty cool, yeah."

...wait, why is Yamato in the back seat? His dad is driving; How the hell did Taichi pull shotgun?

In the dub, Izzy joins in the cheering for the sake of silence-breaking.

Izzy: WAY TO GO, WARGREYMON!!! YOU CREAMED HIM!!! ...I think.... Tai: Look! There they go! Get after him, WarGreymon! Kari: Put his lights out! MetalGarurumon: ICE WOLF CLAW!!! (MetalGarurumon follows up with ice missiles) T.K.: Frozen! Matt: Solid!

The missiles aren't called as an attack in the original, but the dub identifies them as MetalGarurumon's signature move. Kind of odd because there's no clawing involved, but Cocytus Breath doesn't sound like it has clawing involved either so I'm not sure what's up with that attack name to begin with.

Unfortunately, VenomVamdemon won't go down that easily. Drawing up his power, he breaks free from the ice holding him.

VenomVamdemon: RAAAAAAAARGH!!! MetalGarurumon: He can't...! WarGreymon: How can he do that!? VenomVamdemon: Now I'm mad... NOW I'M MAD!!! VENOM INFUSE!!!

NO MY CONFIGURATION DATA

Finally unveiling his signature move, VenomVamdemon shoots out his Venom Infuse as rainbow streaks from his eyes. Notably different from the disintegration rainbow streaks from his crotch.

Unfortunately, these attacks do not disintegrate their targets. A stray blast knocks half of a building loose, sending it down almost on top of Hiroaki's van. He swerves to avoid being crushed, but the impact sends him into a rollover. R.I.P. to the party bus; It's been a valuable member of this team.

In the dub, VenomMyotismon continues to be more verbose than his counterpart.

VenomMyotismon: GYAAAAGH!!! MetalGarurumon: It didn't work! VenomMyotismon: Your miserable attempts to destroy me have failed! Now you will pay! Hehe... Hehehehehe... AHAHAHAHA!!! (VenomMyotismon shoots unnamed rainbow beams from his eyes)

The dub does not name Venom Infuse. Instead, VenomMyotismon just... laughs... for five straight seconds. Must have been thinking of something really funny. Consequently, it's not really clear that this is supposed to be the big attack, so it just looks like he's shooting more ambiguous projectiles at them.

The dub also gives Hiroaki a silence-breaker when the car flips over.

Hiroaki: Everybody out! Get clear of the van!

If it seems weird that he's making it sound like the van's a threat, remember those American cultural sensibilities at play. Americans are confident that cars will explode into a fireball at the slightest provocation. It's a miracle they're all not burning to death already.

The humans climb out of the car and run for cover to avoid being hit by the next stray shot. Though Masami, it seems, was injured in the crash; Hiroaki supports him and helps him limp to safety.

Meanwhile, at Big Sight, the others watch the fighting from a distance.

Shin emerges from the convention center to join the three Chosen Children.

Jou: Ah! Shin-niisan! How's Dad doing? Shin: No change. (Jou and the girls all slump in disappointment) Gomamon: We'll have to defeat Vamdemon if we want them to wake up. Mimi: My Papa and Mama.... (face hardens) I want to defeat Vamdemon! Palmon: Mimi! I can still fight! Mimi: (smiling) Palmon....

As seen when Lilimon first evolved, this is what gets Mimi riled up. Mimi fights to end the fighting, so that she won't have to fight again. She does not want to be here, and her power comes from her straightforward and honest desire to reach a conclusion.

Piyomon: Sora? (Sora kneels down to get on Piyomon's level; Piyomon simply nods to her) Sora: Okay! Jou: (affectionately) You guys....

Sora and Piyomon are on the same wavelength, to the point that they don't even need to exchange words. They feel what the other is feeling and agree.

Suddenly, Gomamon jumps onto Jou and then clambers up his body until he reaches Jou's shoulders, draping himself over Jou's head like a hood.

Gomamon: "Let's go, Gomamon!" How come I'm not hearing those words? Jou: Heh... Alright! LET'S GO, GOMAMON!!! Gomamon: YOU GOT IT!!!

And Jou's better learned how to take charge and be bold as a leader from Gomamon. He sprints towards VenomVamdemon without another word, ready to join the fighting.

Sora: (bows to Shin) Please take care of my mother! (Sora runs off after Jou) Mimi: (to Shin, does not bow) My Papa and Mama too! (Mimi runs off after Sora and Jou) Shin: Don't do anything reckless....

In the dub:

Joe: Jim, how's Dad? Is there any improvement yet? Jim: No, still exactly the same. Gomamon: Alright, I'm tired of fooling around! We have to defeat Myotismon once and for all! Mimi: Our parents always protected us. Now it's time we came through for them! Palmon: Mimi! If we do it together, we can beat him! Mimi: Think so? Palmon: Mhm! Biyomon: I'll try! Sora: You will!? Biyomon: Yeah! Mhm! Sora: Okay! Joe: We already tried! Gomamon: So we'll keep on trying, Joe! Because Digimon never give up! (Gomamon climbs up Joe) Gomamon: Like they always say: All for 'mon and 'mon for all! Joe: Hahahaha.... YOU'RE RIGHT!!! WE CAN DO IT!!! LET'S GET 'EM GUYS!!! (Joe runs off into battle) Sora: (bows to Jim) You'll have to excuse Joe; He's a little hyperactive. (Sora runs off after Joe) Mimi: (to Jim, does not bow) Please take care of our parents, Jim! (Mimi runs off after Sora and Joe) Jim: Good luck, you guys.

Doesn't really capture the moment of strength and determination that this is supposed to be for each of these three characters.

Also, why is Sora apologizing to Joe's older brother for the way he behaves? Jim should already know what Joe's like.

At the FCG Building, the humans have somehow managed to separate from one another despite all being together when they exited the van.

While the Digimon fight, the humans run around calling for one another.

Taichi: HIKARI!!! Hikari: ONII-CHAN!!!

Hikari's voice momentarily distracts Angewomon. She looks down at her human on the ground and misses when a large piece of rubble comes flying her way. By the time she notices it, it's too late to avoid.

Yamato: TAKERU!!! Takeru: ONII-CHAN!!!

VenomVamdemon backhands Angemon into a nearby building's wall. He crashes near the three adults, who've somehow managed to stay together while losing track of all five children. Great adulting, guys. A+ job.

Izzy: DAD!!! MOM!!! Tentomon: Ah! The others are here!

Birdramon, Ikkakumon, and Togemon all charge aggressively at VenomVamdemon's heel.

Togemon: VAMDEMON!!! WE'RE HERE TO FIGHT TOO!!! Tentomon: I'm going to join in!

Man, that shot really puts into perspective how gigantic he really is.

The dub edits the shot of Angewomon getting struck by the rubble. We see the rock carrying her to the ground, but not her momentary distraction or the moment of impact.

They don't edit Angemon getting backhanded into a wall, though. Only Angewomon getting smashed by a rock is edited to obscure which angel got hit. She doesn't even get to make a pain yelp like in the original; We just hear Vamdemon roaring while a rock smashes a vaguely angelic character.

Weird.

I suspect it's about her visible gender. Creatives, especially back in the day, sometimes get hand-wringy about letting violence happen to female characters. Boys are taught that you shouldn't hit a girl and they grow up thinking that's, like, a universal moral constant that women must never be harmed in any situation ever.

I mean, you shouldn't hit a girl. You also shouldn't hit a boy. You shouldn't hit anyone, except in circumstances that are already violent. But the problem is that boys internalize this not as "Don't do unwarranted violence to people" but as "Women are too weak and fragile for manly roughhousing."

Then they become writers and extend it to mean women can't be recipients of slapstick jokes, male heroes must never strike female villains even if they're actively fighting each other, or even that female heroes can never be shown being struck in combat. Or even go so far as to not let women be heroes because that would involve putting them in combat situations where they might get hit.

We've made a lot of strides since I was a kid in allowing female characters to get hit in both slapstick bits and action scenes. But for this turn-of-the-millennium show, that's the only reason I can think of for censoring Angewomon's rock but not Angemon's backhand. Someone in the office probably got nervous when a visibly humanoid woman was struck with a giant rock onscreen.

As for the kids yelling for one another, uh....

Tai: KARI!!! Kari: WHERE ARE YA, TAI!?!? Matt: TAI!!! T.K.: GET 'EM, ANGEMON!!! Izzy: MOM, DAD, I'M COMING!!! Tentomon: Look, Izzy! All the others have Digivolved too! There's Ikkakumon and Togemon and Birdramon! I'm going in!

Tai and Kari stay on point, but Matt's more interested in hooking back up with Tai than in T.K.'s wellbeing and T.K.'s too focused on the fight to even care that he's lost.

Tentomon offers no surprise whatsoever to see the backup Digimon suddenly enter the battle and instead has evolution envy.

Tentomon evolves into Kabuterimon to join the fighting. With the whole team assembled, the only thing left to do is dogpile on VenomVamdemon's stupid crotch-face.

WarGreymon: Yes! Everyone, attack him together!

The entire team combines their attacks, firing into VenomVamdemon's crotch-face. Once their attacks have all struck, WarGreymon follows up by spinning super-fast and wreathing himself in energy. He launches an attack he calls Brave Tornado straight into the vulnerable spot in VenomVamdemon's crotch that they've opened up.

Ultimately, the attack plan works, penetrating through VenomVamdemon and bringing him to his knees.

Hiroaki: They got him.

The dub calls WarGreymon's attack "Mega Claw", reusing the name they gave to MetalGreymon's extendo-arm.

Too bad it's still not enough.

Out of the hole WarGreymon put in VenomVamdemon comes some sort of dark shadowy gremlin thing. To protect its secret identity, VenomVamdemon's crotch-goblin also wears a mask.

Mimi: KYAAAAHH!!! Taichi: WH-WHAT THE HELL!?!?

In the dub, VenomMyotismon's given dialogue here. In the original, he's just roaring in a bestial rage.

VenomMyotismon: YAAARGH!!! YOU THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT ME!?!? HA!!! YOU'VE ONLY AWAKENED THE BEAST WITHIN!!! (Crotch goblin emerges) Mimi: AHHHHHH!!! Tai: WHAT IS THAT THING!?

Before anyone can get their heads in the game, the crotch goblin attacks.

(Y'all, I am so glad I have screenshots because I don't know how I would even begin describing what is happening right now without illustrations.)

The crotch goblin sprays a burst of dark energy into the ground that explodes out radially, washing over every Digimon. It's a heavy blow to the whole team, knocking them all out of the action and leaving the children defenseless.

VenomVamdemon: I WILL DEVOUR ALL OF YOU!!!

The next half-minute or so is spent cycling through silent reaction shots of each Chosen Child individually. I've selected Hikari's because she hasn't gotten much snapshot screentime yet.

Y'all are lucky Mimi just got a big shared reaction shot with Taichi or this would've been her. YES I AM BIASED AND MY KID DESERVES RESP--

As usual, VenomMyotismon is more verbose than his counterpart. The silent reaction shots are also filled in with silence-breakers.

VenomMyotismon: NOW I'LL DEVOUR ALL OF YOU SO-CALLED DIGIDESTINED!!! YOU'VE STOOD IN MY WAY FOR THE LAST TIME!!! Mimi: (thinking) It can't end like this! Matt: (thinking) I let everyone down again! Sora: (thinking) I wish I could have done more.... Izzy: (thinking) It's impossible he survived that! Joe: (thinking) Maybe we should surrender.... T.K.: (thinking) This is scarier than the movies! Kari: (gasp) Tai: (thinking) I WILL NEVER GIVE UP!!!

Mimi, Matt, Sora, Izzy, and Tai are all pretty much perfect in terms of hopeless situation characterization. Joe's being characterized as a coward again. T.K. is... okay, I guess? They literally didn't even try with Kari.

Just when all seems lost, the Chosen Children's Crests begin to shine brightly.

Beams of holy energy emerge from the Crests, ensnaring VenomVamdemon's limbs and neck. Crotch goblin starts yelling at the kids.

VenomVamdemon (Crotch): RELEASE ME, YOU FILTHY CHOSEN CHILDREN!!! Taichi: It talked? That's it! The disgusting bakemono must be Vamdemon's true form!

That's a leap in....

Oh, hey, no, he's right. That is the weird shadow ghoul thing possessing Vamdemon's mask last episode. I always thought it was weird that VenomVamdemon is supposed to be Vamdemon's "true form" 'cause, like, that implies he could transform like this at any time but allowed himself to be slain earlier for funsies.

But it's the crotch goblin. Vamdemon's true form is a formless undead spirit inhabiting a mask. Both the Dracula man and the Wiki Article Beast of Revelations are just outer shells he forms around him when he's consumed enough energy.

(I kind of love that a bakemono inside the Dracula is the true Vamdemon too because Vamdemon is the evolved form of Devimon and Bakemon, so that makes sense.)

This actually makes sense to me now.

The dub has Tai talk over the Crests glowing.

Tai: Huh!? My Crest! Everybody, look at your Crests! They're all starting to glow!

But once they start grabbing VenomMyotismon, he stays quiet and lets the scene play out until the crotch goblin starts talking.

VenomMyotismon (True Crotch): Curse you, DigiDestined! Curse you and your lousy Crests! Let go! Waugh! Let go! Tai: Look at that! Mega freaky! I wonder if that monster represents Myotismon's actual form?

Tai reaches the same conclusion as Taichi but I guess it just didn't make sense to me as a kid because the only explanation he offers is that it's "mega freaky". To be fair, Taichi's not acting on that much more information.

Crotch goblin sounds way more pathetic in the dub. XD

Taichi has an idea now for how to win this

Taichi: WARGREYMON!!! WarGreymon: Got it! MetalGarurumon: WarGreymon!

MetalGarurumon bops the poor Fuji TV observation deck into the air, passing it to WarGreymon.

Sora: NICE PASS!!! Children: SHOOT!!!

WarGreymon receives the observation deck like a soccer ball, shooting it straight into crotch goblin's dumb face. It lets out a shrill scream like a baby cry, forcing me to take back what I said about VenomMyotismon's crotch goblin being the more pathetic of the two.

The dub leans in on this.

Tai: WARGREYMON!!! WarGreymon: Pass me the ball! (MetalGarurumon silently passes it) Sora: Nice pass. Children: SHOOT!!!

Dub Sora sounds way less invested in the impromptu soccer game.

With VenomVamdemon momentarily stunned by the soccer shot, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon fire up their strongest attacks. Sending Gaia Force and Cocytus Breath straight into VenomVamdemon's vulnerable crotch, they annihilate the little shadow wraith and finally, finally strike the kill-shot.

His true form destroyed by the overwhelming power of soccer hooliganism, VenomVamdemon breaks down, disintegrating into pixels chunk by chunk until nothing is left. The battle for Odaiba is finally, truly over.

With Vamdemon's true death, his spells break. The mesmerized adults at Big Sight wake up, with Tachikawa Keisuke being the first to speak up.

Keisuke: Huh? What happened? Shin: Great job, Jou!

Glad to see Shin knows who the real hero here is. This was a triumph for Jou-senpai. And, to a lesser extent, his crew.

Their energy drained, Koromon and Tsunomon return to Taichi and Yamato. Yamato pets Tsunomon affectionately while Taichi hoists Kunomon aloft and dances.

Koromon: TAICHI!!! Taichi: Great job, Koromon! Yamato: You did well, Tsunomon.

Speaking of drained energy, Mimi notices an unidentified Digimon now among their group.

Mimi: Huh? Who are you? Plotmon: I'm Plotmon. It's nice to meet you.

Plotmon is a Child-stage Data-type Mammal Digimon. I believe we already went over her V-Pet status back in her backstory episode, but she gets her formal rundown here.

Narrator: Plotmon. A Child Digimon with long, floppy ears. She is the degenerated form of Tailmon. Her special attack is Puppy Howling. Hikari: Tailmon must be in her Child form now because she used up all her energy helping Agumon and Gabumon evolve to their Ultimate levels. Jou: Kehhhhh...?

Jou doesn't get it but I do.

In the dub, apparently Mimi's parents know Joe's brother. Don't ask me how.

Keisuke: Hey, what happened, Jim? Jim: IT MUST BE JOE AND THE OTHERS!!! THEY DID IT!!! THEY WON!!! (Cut back to the FCG ruins) Koromon: We did it, Tai! We did it! Tai: Ahahahaha! Tsunomon: Wasn't that cool, Matt? Matt: Great job, Tsunomon! Mimi: Look, a stray Digimon! Salamon: Don't you recognize me? I was Gatomon. Salamon: (rundown) What do I have to do, cough up a furball? Kari: (rundown) That's Salamon, the Rookie form of Gatomon. Isn't she cute? Much more cuddly than her Ultimate form of Angewomon. Kari: But I guess she's back to being a Rookie because she used up all of her energy during the fight. What are we going to do? They don't allow pets at our apartment! Joe: Drag!

Uh. Nobody tell Kari but I'm pretty sure her apartment is a parking lot right now. She's going to be living in a refugee shelter for a few months. They'll probably put people up at Big Sight, now that I think about it. The damage Vamdemon did to Odaiba is catastrophic.

(Also, she has a cat. This bit doesn't work. They clearly do allow pets at her apartment.)

With Vamdemon's spells broken the fog barrier breaks down. At last, we can see the sky again.

Sora: Hey, look! The sky is clearing up!

The final sign of our true victo--what the FUCK is that!?

Sora: (gasp) Mimi: DYAAAAAAH!?!? Takeru: It's not true! Jou: I-It can't be....

At some point during all that nonsense within the fog barrier, the merging of worlds has begun. Strips of reality hang in the sky, on the other side of which lies the Digital World.

Hikari: Onii-chan, I'm scared! Taichi: What is this...?

This is easier to grasp, right off the bat, what's happening in the original. The dub cut the one line where Myotismon mentions that he's "destined" to merge the two worlds and reign over the conjoined reality as its king. He's dead now, but he apparently made some headway into fulfilling his task while we were all trapped in the fog.

But since the dub didn't mention that, this comes more out of left field there.

Sora: Hey, look! The sky's clearing up! (Jubilation slowly turns to horror) Sora: ...what...? Mimi: AAAAAUGH!!! T.K.: HEY!!! NO WAY!!! Joe: That's... not possible.... Matt: Huh!? Joe: There's a... giant island... floating in the sky! Upside-down! Kari: (gasps) Tai: Things... Just keep getting weirder!

Their dialogue isn't really any different than in the original; We just don't have the previous context to make sense of what they're seeing.

Commercial break, then we return to the strange new phenomenon taking place all across the world.

Narrator: The upside-down continent appearing in the sky could be seen all across the world.

We cut to various places across the planet including New York and Antarctica before returning to Big Sight. Yagami Yuuko and Susumu exit the convention center, laying eyes on the strange phenomenon.

Susumu: Is this... a mirage? Shin: (on his moped) No, I think that's real. Yuuko: Um, do you know where our children are? Where are Taichi and Hikari? Shin: They're at Fuji TV station. I'm on my way to check out the situation. I'll meet back up with you afterward!

Shin takes off on his moped before they can ask any further questions.

We then briefly see a ferry finally able to cross the bay into Odaiba. Takaishi Natsuko, Takeru's mom, is on her way. Everybody there is staring up in shock at the ribbons streaked across reality in the sky as well.

Narrator: The mysterious continents floated eerily in the night sky. Strangely enough, none of the radars, satellites, or other electronic equipment on Earth recognized their existence.

Ironically, if you were to ask Google AI, it'd probably have a better grasp of what's hanging in the sky up there than real-world tracking equipment would. There's no way the Digital World hasn't snuck into its training data.

The dub replaces the cold narration with Tai whining.

Tai: Man, why does this have to happen now when we were just feeling good about beating Myotismon!? It's like the world is turning upside-down or something!

This line plays out over the shots of various geographic locations with the reality ribbons above them, which doesn't really connect to Tai's line but isn't entirely unrelated to it either.

Susumu: Hey, what's going on!? Jim: (on his moped) Whatever it is, it doesn't look too good for our side. Yuuko: Oh, Jim! Have you seen my children? Do you know where Tai and Kari are? Jim: No, but I have an educated guess. I'm gonna search where the monsters were fighting. I'll come back when I find them, okay?

Fucking everybody knows Joe's older brother. He's the most popular guy in town, I guess. XD

An interesting change here is that Jim doesn't say they're at the TV station. Which is a good change, I think, 'cause he shouldn't know that. They weren't going to Fuji; They were going to fight VenomVamdemon, who was so big he could be seen from Big Sight. They'll be wherever VenomVamdemon died, which could be anywhere in Odaiba.

That spot is the Fuji broadcasting center, but that's a mile away and all the landmarks have been destroyed. So it's a bit of a leap for Shin to assume that they ended up at Fuji specifically. Jim here is planning to drive in the direction of where the giant monster was and just keep his eyes peeled for children.

The narrator is done away with for the ferry shot as well, with a voice-over from Izzy replacing him.

Izzy (V.O.): This isn't making any sense! It looks like an entire upside-down continent in the sky, but it doesn't show up on radar or on any satellite pictures! In fact, no instruments of any kind can confirm that... Whatever it is, is really even there!

I could be snippy about Izzy somehow possessing all this information but actually the dub did assert in an early episode that he likes to hack into government systems for shits and giggles. So we can assume he's just breaking all kinds of laws right now to bring us this revelation.

As the ferry pulls into Odaiba, it discharges a truly terrified mother. Courtesy of the Fuji building being right on the coast, she's able to quickly reunite with her son.

Both of them.

Natsuko: TAKERU!!! TAKERU!!! Takeru: (turns around, surprised) IT'S MAMA!!! Natsuko: TAKERU!!!

Natsuko sprints out into the ruins to hug her son. She hasn't noticed them yet, but Yamato and Hiroaki watch her arrive. Yamato stares in silence at his mother, while Hiroaki lights up a cigarette.

Natsuko: Thank goodness you're safe! I was so worried about you! Were you scared, Takeru? Takeru: No, Onii-chan was with me!

It's at that moment that Natsuko looks up and sees Yamato. She stands.

Natsuko: (surprised) Yamato.... Yamato: (vulnerable) ...Mom....

This is incredibly awkward and uncomfortable. It's pretty clear at this point that HIroaki and Natsuko don't see very much of the sons the other took. They've basically made a clean break in their divorce, with the brothers sneaking around in secret to remain in contact with each other. This is where a lot of their trauma and separation anxiety throughout the series has come from.

But Takeru's having none of this tense, uncomfortable moment. He grabs Natsuko by the wrist and drags her over to face Yamato.

Natsuko: (smiling warmly) Yamato... You've grown taller again. Yamato: Yeah, a little. Natsuko: You look good. I'm glad. Hiroaki: Natsuko.... (Natsuko looks up from Yamato, finally noticing Hiroaki) Hiroaki: It's been a while. Natsuko: (awkward) ...yeah.... Takeru: (cheerful) Ahaha! It's been a long time since the whole family got together, hasn't it, Onii-chan? Yamato: Yeah, I guess it has....

@_@ All of the family drama in this arc is hitting me way harder than the scary Dracula monster. It's amazing how age changes context.

In the dub:

Nancy: T.K.!!! T.K.!!! WHERE ARE YOU!?!? T.K.: (turns around, surprised) MAMA!!! Nancy: Oh! Ohhh, T.K.! I was so afraid I'd never see you again! (Nancy runs over and hugs T.K.) Nancy: You must have been terrified, T.K. T.K.: Nuh-uh! Matt was with me the whole time! (Nancy stands up) Nancy: (surprised) Matt.... Matt: (vulnerable) ...Hey, Mom.... T.K.: C'mon! (T.K. grabs Nancy by the wrist and drags her over to Matt) T.K.: Come see Matt! And Daddy too! Nancy: Oh, Matt. I'm so proud of you! Thank you, son! Matt: (surly) Yeah, whatever. Nancy: Don't be like that. Please, Matt. Hiroaki: Nancy. (Nancy looks up from Matt, finally noticing Hiroaki) Hiroaki: It's... been a long time, hasn't it? Nancy: (awkward) Yes, it has. T.K.: (cheerful) Ahaha! It's been a really long time since all of us were together, huh, Matt? Matt: (surly) Yeah, I guess so.

I don't think the dub liked the implication that Natsuko hasn't seen Yamato in months or even years. Enough for him to physically change to a noteworthy degree.

In their version, Nancy tries to congratulate him for... I guess, for taking good care of T.K.? It's not like she knows anything else that happened after T.K. disappeared on a giant wooly monster. There's a lot of accolades he deserves but that's the only one I think she'd be able to deliver.

In any case, she gives him a thumbs up and he decides to be surly about it. The awkward discomfort of this whole situation is replaced by Matt emotionally stonewalling his mom. Which is still awkward and uncomfortable, just differently so.

While Yamato and Takeru's family are having this moment, the Americans make bad choices.

Narrator: Could the strange continents be an optical illusion? An American reconnaissance plane headed off at once to find out.

The plane crosses through the boundary between worlds, then freezes up as it crosses over and falls out of the sky.

Pilot: NOOOOOOO!!!

I'm sorry but the pilot's over-the-top scream of "No" killed me. XD About as hard as this tailspin is about to kill him!

We should probably do something about this before the Americans' next plan is to shoot missiles at it. We're about thirty minutes away from fearfully carpet-bombing the Digital World. Bombs that will probably come right back to us if what happened to that plane is anything to go by.

In the dub, Izzy pitches in for the narrator again.

Izzy: Check this out, guys. I've been monitoring the news reports. The Air Force is sending in everything they've got to figure out what this continent in the sky really is. They don't know anything so far! But they're assuming it's dangerous. (Plane crosses the boundary and freezes) Pilot: This is Hawkeye One MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY!!!

Americans have a better grasp on American military lingo. Can't imagine why. Though I admit, I'm sad to see the hilarious "NOOOOOO" go.

No mention of the plane being American. Also, apparently this one plane was everything the Air Force has. Yeah, they haven't been getting the funding they need since the election of Japanese Bill Clinton. Some costs needed to get cut.

R.I.P. to the one remaining aircraft we had left.

Mimi: I hope my Mama and Papa are okay.... Sora: I'm sure they are.

Suddenly, the kids hear the sound of a honking horn. It's Shin's moped closing in on them.

Palmon: Someone's coming! Jou: Ah! That's...! (Shin pulls up) Jou: SHIN-NIISAN!!! Mimi: ONII-SAN!!! Shin: All of your families back at Big Sight are safe! Everyone's recovered! Hikari: YAY!!! Mimi: (grabs Sora's hands) Isn't that great, Sora-san? (Sora withdraws one of her hands to wipe a tear from her eye) Sora: Yeah!

Mimi calls Shin "Onii-san" because it's fairly common in Japan to use familial terms as a polite way for young people to address older people. You might call an older man "father" or "grandfather", for example, even if he's not related to you. Addressing people in Japanese is very complicated.

The dub lets Mimi start talking sooner so she can have a longer line.

Mimi: I have to admit that I'm a little jealous that Matt and T.K. found their parents, and Izzy too! I just hope my Mom and Dad are alright! Sora: I know how you feel. Me too. ...huh? (headlights approach) Sora: Someone's coming! Joe: Alright! My brother! ...hey, I didn't tell him he could ride my scooter! (Jim pulls up) Mimi: JIM!!! Joe: JIM!!! Mimi: Have you seen my Mom and Dad!? Jim: All the other families that were at the convention center are fine! They're all back to normal! Kari: AWESOME!!! Koromon: YAY!!! Mimi: (grabs Sora's hands) Sora, they're safe! (Sora withdraws one of her hands to wipe a tear from her eye) Sora: Great!

I love the way this scene plays Mimi. The longer line stays on-point and works super well, and I also like her frantic interrogation of Jim when he pulls up. This was a good one.

For a quick gag, the dub also claims that the moped belongs to Joe, actually. Which. Raises. A tremendous amount of questions given that he's fucking 12.

Shin takes out a small pocket TV, turning on the news.

Reporter: Those continents in the sky are not an illusion! They really exist! No one knows what the cause of this might be, but many are fearful that these strange continents will forever replace the blue sky of our world! Jou: W-What is happening!? Yamato: Is this part of Vamdemon's plan too!? Tsunomon: That's impossible! We killed Vamdemon for good this time! Koromon: Yeah, no doubt about that!

Koushiro disassociates from the conversation, his attention locked on something in the sky. The others talk around him while the camera fixes on his curious expression.

Taichi: Then what are they? Takeru: What's going to happen to us? Jou: Whatever the case, we need to figure out what's causing it first.

Brief cut to the target of Koushiro's attention. One particular mountain sticks out among all the others in the sky landmass. There's something about that mountain. Something he recognizes.

Koushiro: (thinking) That mountain... It looks exactly like Infinity Mountain! But that's impossible....

It does seem pretty impossible on account of that mountain being part of a continuous landmass. There's no ocean in sight. And yet.

In the dub:

Jim: Let's check the news. (Jim opens his pocket TV) Reporter: The latest report we have from the Air Force Chief of Staff confirms that the mysterious landmass in the sky is not an illusion of any kind. It is very real and, after several confrontations, apparently very dangerous. Joe: It's covering the whole sky! Matt: It has to be Myotismon's work again. Tsunomon: But that's impossible, isn't it? We defeated Myotismon for good this time! Koromon: Yeah, we kicked booty! (Closeup on Izzy disassociating) Joe: Well, you heard the news report. It's definitely dangerous. Who else could be doing it? Tai: What does it matter who's doing it!? We just have to stop it! Izzy: (thinking) There's something familiar about that mountain... It looks like Infinity Mountain!

"After several confrontations" WTF? XD We sent more planes. We just. We kept feeding planes into it one after another. Hahaha.

"It's apparently very dangerous" WELL MAYBE IT WOULDN'T BE IF WE DIDN'T KEEP CRASHING PLANES INTO IT. XD Japanamericans!

Jou and Taichi have their lines rearranged so that Tai can be the one trying to take charge instead of Joe. Their leadership styles are wildly different.

Having found a point of interest, Koushiro decides to confirm his suspicions.

Koushiro: Taichi-san! (points) Can you use your mini telescope to take a closer look at that? Taichi: (takes out his telescope) Where? Koushiro: Look, that mountain over there. Taichi: Which one? There are too many mountains. I can't tell which one you're pointing at. Koushiro: That one! Look! Taichi: Saying 'that one' isn't much help. Where is it--AH!!! Koushiro: What is it? Taichi: A plane. There's an airplane up there!

Koushiro looks up and can just barely make out the blinking of three lights, signifying a plane passing overhead.

In the dub:

Izzy: Hey, Tai! (points) Grab your telescope and get us a closer look at that peak right there! Tai: Huh? (takes out his telescope) Which one? Izzy: There! The big one I'm pointing to. Tai: Oh, like that helps me. Alright, I'm looking. Man, there are dozens of mountains up there! Which one? Izzy: The big one! Tai: The big o--WHAAA!!! Izzy: Did you find it? Tai: What I found is a jetliner! Izzy: Wha!?

Pretty faithful, little difference of note.

Up in the air, the pilot tries desperately to reach someone over the radio, but there's no response.

Pilot: Control Tower, please respond, over. Control Tower! Shit, what's going on.... Copilot: Sir, we're going to have to make an emergency landing. There's no fuel left in the tank. Pilot: I know that! If we only had someone to guide us down the runway.... Copilot: Our prospects aren't looking good! An American military base could--AHHHH!!!

Instruments on the plane begin to flash.

Pilot: What's happening!? Copilot: The fuel gauge is at empty! We can't control the plane anymore! We're going to crash! Pilot: That's impossible!

The plane tilts out of the sky, beginning its long descent.

Taichi: Ah! The plane's falling! It's going to crash! Sora: Piyomon! (Cut back to the cockpit) Pilot: We have to... make it somewhere.... Copilot: AHHHHHHH!!!

In the dub:

Pilot: Ground Control, this is Flight 224. We have lost our vector. Over. ...Strange. Why don't they answer? (tries again) This is 224 to Ground Control. Control, do you copy? Repeat, we have lost our landing vector. Come in, Ground control. Copilot: We can't land here now and we can't turn back with the fuel we have left onboard. (Lights start flashing suddenly) Copilot: What!? Pilot: The alarm! All systems failure! We've got about two seconds to figure out what's wrong here! Copilot: No use! Nothing's responding! We're going down! (Cut to the kids below) Tai: Oh no! The airplane reached the edge of that thing in the sky and just headed straight down! Sora: Biyomon! (Back to the cockpit) Pilot: Got to... pull out... We'll break up at this speed! Copilot: AHHHHHHH!!!

In the original, the plane ran out of fuel. They've been flying well below the reality ribbons so they didn't run afoul of what happened to the recon plane. But they haven't been able to land because telecommunications down in Tokyo have been going haywire since this all began, something we've been shown repeatedly.

The dub makes this about the reality ribbons. They briefly mention that they're low on fuel, but what kills the plane is that they accidentally flew into the boundary between worlds despite it being shown to be well above them, and despite the plane not freezing up like the recon plane did.

Birdramon rises into the air to try and catch the plane, but she spots something. A stray Kuwagamon is in their airspace. It buzzes past the plane, freezing one of the plane's wings as it passes, just like what passing through the boundary does. The plain goes into a spin.

Birdramon flies up underneath the plain to stabilize it, but can't deal with its weight. They're still going down.

Jou: BIRDRAMON!!! Birdramon: Hrrrrrrrgh! Sora: GANBATTE, BIRDRAMON!!!

Ahhh, ganbaru. Overcoming tremendous hardship through hard work and perseverance.

Sora's Crest shines, Super-Evolving Birdramon into Garudamon to give her the strength she needs.

The dub gives Birdramon some silence-breakers here, since this scene doesn't have a lot of dialogue but Birdramon doesn't need lip flaps either.

Birdramon: If I can just get there in time! (Kuwagamon flies in) Birdramon: It's Kuwagamon! Where did he come from!? (Kuwagamon buzzes the plane, freezing the wing. Birdramon moves in to catch the plane) Birdramon: (screeching) Joe: DO IT, BIRDRAMON!!! Birdramon: (more screeching) Sora: BIRDRAMON, DIGIVOLVE!!!

The original treats the mystery of Kuwagamon's appearance as self-evidently mysterious while Dub Birdramon calls it out and demands to know WTF. Nothing wrong with either approach in my opinion.

Seeing Garudamon struggling, Kabuterimon flies up to lend a hand.

Kabuterimon: I'll help y--WAUGH!!!

Kabuterimon has to swerve, narrowly missing the Kuwagamon he didn't realize was up here too. Without missing a beat, he fires up his Mega Blaster.

Kabuterimon: TAKE THIS!!!

His shot passes straight through Kuwagamon as if it wasn't there.

Kabuterimon: What the hell!? Garudamon: Pull back, Kabuterimon! DON'T TOUCH IT!!!

Kabuterimon jerks aside as Kuwagamon comes back around for another pass. Heeding Garudamon's warning, he lets this strange phantom Kuwagamon fly off. The creature heads across the bay into Tokyo proper. I'm sure that's fine.

From there, they guide the plane down into the bay, setting it down in the water so the people inside can escape in life rafts. I think they set the plane down just outside Shibaura, across what used to be the Rainbow Bridge from Odaiba. It looks like the Shibaura harbor to me.

This act of heroism leaves them so exhausted that they stop being animated, and the people below watch them levitate off into the distance as still frames.

Though AtlurKabuterimon's still-frame reveals he had to Super-Evolve for this too between scenes.

In the dub:

Kabuterimon: I'll help too! (Kuwagamon flies by) Kabuterimon: Huh!? Kuwagamon!? ELECTRO SHOCKER!!! (The shot passes through Kuwagamon) Kabuterimon: HUH!?!? IT WENT RIGHT THROUGH!!! Garudamon: Kabuterimon, get away! Don't touch him! (They let Kuwagamon go and set the plane down.) Tai: Nice going, Birdramon. You brought the plane down safely.

Tai's silence-breaker at the end there doesn't seem to make much sense at all. Somehow he's talking to Garudamon from Odaiba while addressing the wrong evolutionary form and completely snubbing AtlurKabuterimon's contribution. Why do you have to use your psychic powers for evil, Tai?

Once Garudamon and AtlurKabuterimon degenerate into Pyokomon and Mochimon respectively, the kids debrief them on what happened.

Taichi: Hey, was that Kuwagamon? Pyokomon: He flew here from those continents! Koushiro: I knew it. Group: Huh/Eh!? Taichi: What do you mean? Koushiro: That place up there is the Digimon World. Jou: EHHH!?!? Taichi: What did you say!? Yamato: That's the Digimon World!? Mimi: Now that you mention it, it does look kind of familiar.... Shin: Hey! Take a look at this!

In today's linguistic adventure, the other world is "Digimon World" in English.

The kids don't get a chance to process what Koushiro said, because Shin pulls their attention to his little TV.

Reporter: Please watch this. These images are not special effects!

The report shows various places around the globe under attack by Digimon. Gorillamon, Airdramon, Tyranomon, and Kuwagamon are all seen attacking various cities and places around the globe. Everywhere they go, things around them freeze over like the planes.

Pyokomon: We can't touch those Digimon! If we do, we'll freeze up like that plane wing! Mochimon: My Mega Blaster went right through them, too. Taichi: Damn it, what the hell is going on!? Hikari: Is that where you live, Plotmon? Plotmon: No. That is no longer the Digimon World that I knew. Koushiro: Oh, that's right. It's been several days since we came here, which means several years would have passed in the Digimon World. Koromon: We came here without fixing the distortions in the Digimon World, so it must be in pretty bad shape now. Sora: Which would then started to affect our world too.

Realizing the grim truth of what they're seeing now, the kids stare up in horror at these reality strips crossing the sky.

In the dub:

Tai: You guys, how'd Kuwagamon get here? Yokomon: He came out of that land in the sky! Izzy: I was right all along! Group: Huh!? Izzy: That giant continent... is actually the Digital World! Joe: WHAAAAT!?!? Matt: That's why you recognized that mountain! Mimi: Yeah! You know, it does look sort of familiar. Sora: What's it doing here? Jim: Guys, you'd better have a look at this! Reporter: We bring you now new footage of some truly bizarre scenes. (Digimon attacks around the world) Reporter: No official explanation has yet been given for what you are seeing here. Yokomon: Kuwagamon again! And if we touch these Digimon, we'll freeze, just like the airplane's wing! Motimon: And when I fired my Electro Shocker, it passed right through. Tai: Man! What's going on here! Kari: Salamon, is that your world up there? Salamon: I think so, but the last time I was there, it was definitely right-side up. Izzy: Just a minute. We've been back in the real world for only a few days, but up there, time is much faster. Years and years have passed by. Koromon: And since we left the Digi-World when it was such a mess, it had years and years to just get worse! I can only imagine what the place looks like now! Sora: And all the problems in the Digital World have become our problem here in the real world!

The dub usually struggles with expository scenes but here, they actually do a pretty good job of it. They're held back by the fact that they've always talked around the kids needing to "correct distortions", so they have to compensate by saying they "left the Digi-World when it was such a mess".

It's a little awkward but it still gets the point across: The Chosen Children were called to fix the Digital World before the growing instability became apocalyptic for both worlds. But because Vamdemon's side-quest back to the human world made them fuck off for years, time has run out and the worst-case scenario has begun.

Taichi: Let's go! Back to the Digimon World. Mimi: But how? Jou: When we first went to the Digimon World, our Digivices led us there. That should work again! Koushiro: It's worth a try. Taichi: Yes! Gather your Digivices, everyone.

The team puts their Digivices together in a ring.

Taichi: Please! Take us back to the Digimon World!

Hardened and made ready by their experiences, this time the eight Chosen Children make the choice for themselves to re-enter the Digital World. They're ready to complete the work they were once drafted against their will to do.

In the dub:

Tai: That's that! We've all got to go back! Mimi: But how? How are we supposed to get there? Joe: The first time we went to the Digital World, our Digivices led us. You guys try it again. Izzy: You're coming too, Joe. We're all in this together. Tai: Alright, everybody! Hold out your Digivices! We're going back! (The team puts their Digivices together) Tai: Next stop: The Digital World! Keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times!

In a break from tradition, Tai calls it the Digital World in the dub, rather than the usual phrasing of Digi-World.

Joe's dub-induced cowardice makes me want to throw things. Trying to chicken out and let the others go without him is one of those gags that isn't just annoying but goes all the way to the "He would not fucking say that" extreme.

Kido Jou-senpai would not fucking say that.

The eight Digivices glow brightly, sending a rainbow of light up into the sky and creating the way forward.

Jou: This path of light will transport us to the Digimon World! Taichi: Yeah. I'm sure we'll make it safely. Sora: Our Digivices will guide us.

The dub picks the moment before the Digivices start to glow as a good time for a commercial break. That's fair. Upon return, Tai brings us back up to speed with a quick line.

Tai: Here we go, everybody! (The Digivices create a different kind of Rainbow Bridge) Izzy: i think it's working, Tai. This light must be here to guide us. Joe: Now all we have to do is follow it. T.K.: Back to the Digital World! Hahaha!

They change who's talking and it's a lot drier but nothing objectionable.

Unfortunately, before they can go, some people have concerns with what the kids are doing right now.

Natsuko: TAKERU!!! Takeru: I'm sorry we have to leave just when all of us were together again, Mama. But we'll be back soo-- Natsuko: You can't! Hiroaki: Let him go. We made a few selfish decisions of our own too, remember?

Flashback to the separation of the boys in the divorce. Natsuko's eyes fill with tears.

Yamato: If we don't do something, the Earth will be doomed. That's Why I... We're going to protect you and everyone else, Mom! Natsuko: (quietly, crying) ...Yamato....

Hiroaki's logic here doesn't really track. We selfishly broke the kids up therefore we should let them go to an alien world and fight monsters. I don't think fairness is really the concern here. But to be fair to Hiroaki, he's spent more time with the Chosen Children than anyone and knows firsthand how fucky all this shit is and how unique they are.

He isn't happy about sending the children into danger but he kinda gets it. Natsuko, meanwhile, was trapped outside the fog barrier this whole time and has seen none of it. So her Reasonable Parent Opinions are very Reasonable Parent Opinions, and it's heartbreaking that she has to let this happen to her babies anyway.

In the dub:

Nancy: T.K. T.K.: Huh? Mom! Oh, I'm sorry we have to leave now that we're finally back together again. Nancy: You can't! Hiroaki: Let him go. We've made some selfish decisions of our own, remember? (Flashback) Hiroaki: We have to let them do this. This could be more important than we realize. Matt: The whole world is doomed if we don't do something, Mom! You know we have to go back! We're doing this to protect you! Nancy: (quietly, crying) ...Matt....

Mostly the same, but Hiroaki's given a silence-breaker to let him make a more salient argument than "We have to let the boys be child soldiers because we divorced."

Though Nancy's first line is pretty funny. Natsuko calls out to Takeru in a panic. Nancy just... sternly says his voice, like she caught him with his hand in the cookie jar. Not exactly the right tone here, but not necessarily wrong either. XD

But moooooom, you don't understaaaaaand!

Shin chimes in to support the children's decision.

Shin: We're counting on you. We've always taken for granted that morning comes after nightfall, but now we can't be sure we'll ever see the sun again.

Poetic, but Koushiro's mom takes issue with that, looking affronted about halfway through when she realizes where he's going with that.

Kae: DON'T BE SO MORBID!!! I believe in these children. Shin: No no, I do too! Jou: It will be fine, Nii-san. (sudden burst of confidence) We'll make certain that the sun does come up again!

A powerful moment for Jou! That the girls promptly bully him for.

Sora: Ooooh, Jou-senpai is so cool! Mimi: It's so unlike you!

The kids all laugh at Jou's expense while he hangs his head in defeat - Accidentally backing into the portal in the process and getting picked up by the ass.

Mimi: Wha--!? Sora: Jou-senpai! Jou: AAAAAUGH!!!

Well, the nakama must be back together because we're back to tormenting our poor, put-upon senpai. XD

The kids quickly join Jou in the rainbow portal, rising towards the Digimon World together.

Taichi: Ittekimasu! Natsuko: Takeru! Yamato!

Right now's a good time to talk about that word Taichi just said. Ittekimasu is a customary Japanese phrase for when you are leaving a place with intent to return. It's a kind of ritualistic phrase, said almost automatically when leaving the home, for example. Like saying Itadakimasu before eating. I am stepping out for a bit but I will be back later and will see you then.

There's a lot of ways it can be translated. I'm heading out! See you later. Back in a bit! Etc. etc. But I've opted to leave it untranslated here and instead explain the intent because this is a highly emotional moment, and the mundane yet heartwarming domesticity of the phrase's usage in this scene doesn't really come through with its more cavalier-sounding translations.

Takeru and Yamato wave farewell to their mother, but Yamato feels self-conscious after a moment and stops waving.

In the dub:

Jim: You guys better get crankin'! Although it's hard to believe the fate of the world's in the hands of a bunch of kids like you. I guess if the sun doesn't come up tomorrow, we'll know you messed up! Kae: Stop it! You've got to have faith in your brother and his friends! What they're doing is incredibly brave! Jim: Whoa! Sorry, Lady. I didn't mean anything. Joe: It's okay. He was only kidding. And besides... (sudden burst of confidence) I'm gonna make darn sure the sun does come up! Sora: Joe! I didn't know you had it in you! Mimi: Ahahaha, what a man! (All the kids laugh at Joe; he hangs his head and backs into the portal) Sora & Mimi: What's happening? Joe: AAAAUGH!!! (Everyone jumps in the portal) Tai: Alright, here we go! Nancy: Matt! T.K.! Take care of each other!

Sora and Mimi are still making fun of Joe in this version, they're just subtler about it.

Finally met someone in this city that Jim doesn't know.

While Yamato and Takeru get to say goodbye to their loved ones, we pan over to Sora who looks disappointed that they have to leave so quickly. Suddenly:

Toshiko: SORA!!!

The adults from Big Sight have all arrived, at the last possible second, to the sight of their children rising into the sky in a column of rainbow light.

Sora: Mom... MOM!!! Mimi: PAPA!!! MAMA!!! Taichi: DAD!!! Hikari: MOM!!! Yuuko: TAICHI!!! HIKARI!!!

The column rises, taking the children further from their parents.

Hikari: DON'T WORRY ABOUT US!!! WE'LL COME BACK SOON!!!

Cutting silently to their frightened parents, watching the children go. First Yagami Yuuko and Susumu. Then Tachikawa Satoe and Keisuke. And then finally Takenouchi Toshiko.

Children: (all together) ITTEKIMASU!!!

Vanishing into the other world, the Chosen Children leave behind only that one familiar word. I'm going out for a bit. I'll be back soon. I'll see you when I come home.

The dub uses all the silent panning shots of this scene to fill in dialogue.

Toshiko: SORA!!! I love you, Sora! Please come home soon! I'll be waiting here for you! Sora: Bye, Mama.... BYE, MAMA!!! Mimi: MAMA!!! PAPA!!! Tai: BYE, DAD!!! Kari: BYE, MAMA!!! Yuuko: OH, TAI!!! BE CAREFUL!!! Susumu: AND TAKE CARE OF YOUR SISTER, SON!!! Kari: I'LL BE ALRIGHT!!! DON'T WORRY, WE'LL ALL BE BACK!!! Tai (V.O.): I never thought we'd volunteer to leave our families behind. It's weird. I'm not sure if we'll ever see them again. But I'm not afraid! It's like, just knowing that they love us gives us the power that we need. Kids: (Miscellaneous farewells, such as "Bye Bye" and "We'll be alright") Narrator: What powerful new enemy waits for the DigiDestined in the Digital World? Find out on the next Digimon: Digital Monsters.

Neither of the Kamiya parents says goodbye to Kari and I'm kinda mad about it.

Tai's voiceover there is to try and hit the same emotional chords that the team's collective Ittekimasu hit for the original. The word doesn't translate well in this particular context so they had to come up with their own emotional heartstring-tug.

The sudden ominous narrator, however, is a total mood-killer. Jerk.

Assessment: On the one hand, how quickly we go from defeating VenomVamdemon to returning to the Digital World feels a little rushed. But on the other hand, it's supposed to feel rushed. Because we're in a rush.

It sucks that we couldn't see the kids properly meet back up with their families and say real farewells to them. But it's supposed to suck. It sucks for them too. Every minute we spend out here is another, like, week where the situation in the Digital World is further destabilizing. There's no time for drawn-out goodbyes.

So we move into the final arc of Adventure 01. Shit's about to get real from here. @.@ I am not ready.

I think the dub on this one was hit-or-miss. It had some genuinely great moments, even parts where it added onto the original in good and interesting ways, and some other clunky bits. To their credit, they nailed the big Plot Exposition scene which is where they often struggle.

[the-lemonaut]

Random and strange question, but what are your thoughts on the other smarter animals (i.e. elephants, cetaceans, crows, the other apes) and how they could specifically fit into a solarpunk world?

As a fan of both a solarpunk and speculative evolution, I've often wondered if there was anyway to "make contact" or somehow find ways to enter into mutualistic relationships with them (without enslaving them or turning them into pets or beasts of burden). Maybe a solarpunk society could be a multi-species one, where multiple intelligent species could share the planet together and work to cultivate it!

I'm not much of an animal expert, I'm afraid ':) I have heard of an anthology called Multispecies Cities that imagines an urban environment that humans and animals share on equal terms. At least that's what I understand from the blurb, because I haven't read it unfortunately and can't say how good it is.

I have read a book called Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains though, and it has a whole separate chapter on elephants and some discussion of crows, but also coyotes, raccoons, pigeons, rats and such. It's a very interesting read and talks about the issue of coexisting with animals that we see as "invading" our urban environments and what it means to live in harmony with them, if it's at all possible. Here's an excerpt from it:

The word “coexistence” conjures up pretty images of people having a picnic under a blue sky in a park while raccoons and deer romp peacefully nearby. The lion lies down with the lamb, for good measure. More important, the people are doing exactly what they like, and the animals are behaving exactly as we think they should. If that’s what we think coexistence is, we will never, ever get there.

[...]

We behave in predictable ways—stopping at stoplights, moving to one side so someone can pass. We wait in line at the store. In exceptionally busy cities, we even give people the courtesy of not seeing them—of walking right past someone walking the other way, giving someone privacy in public. We do this because we don’t exist in conflict with other humans (most of the time). We coexist with them. There’s no one silver bullet here. No one thing that will make all pests, or even a single pest, leave us alone. Instead, what’s needed is a network of changes that acknowledge that animals live with us, instead of viewing them as constant interlopers on our world.

It's maybe not the exact thing you asked for, but I hope you still find it useful 💛

[clonerightsagenda]

Time to finish off Scavengers Reign!

Hey Kris, you look kind of… scared. Thought fear was for the weak. Thought you'd mastered it and left it behind. What happened to all that?

Oh hey Mia's still alive in there

I'm not sure that shuttle looked big enough to fit everyone in cryostasis. What are its air scrubbers rated for? How close are they to a liveable station?

Azi don't let her manipulate you, "are you really going to kill me in cold blood?" she legit just said she wanted to kill you in cold blood.

Psychic baby has the incredible diabolus ex machina power to appear whenever it would be most inconvenient

Woo, Barry standing up for himself!

A few details suggests Kris might be from a colony that was abandoned or cut off (maybe their corporate sponsor fell through? they stopped making payments?) which would explain why she is so desperate to get more supplies, but you'd think it would make her sympathetic to other people who are trapped. Unfortunately though looking at a lot of human history, being the victim of suffering does not make you more likely to treat other people better. There's no guaranteed ~silver lining~. It just means you went through something shitty.

"When did you become so selfish?" God her exact brand of transparent manipulation really gets on my nerves. Maybe she's so twisted up inside and fixated on her goals that she genuinely sees anyone else having feelings/motivations that make her life harder as being selfish because how dare they get in the way of what is important (what she wants)

Oh shit that's right Azi worked in cargo!! Your fave IS forklift certified!!!

A shot of the death lily fungus in the escape pod… what died in there? (Also wonder if the lily resemblance is because of lilies being a flower of the dead/representing the soul leaving the body, etc.)

This would be the nightmare scenario for me… waking up all my cryopreserved crewmates who are probably suffocating and it's all up to my abysmal upper arm strength. I'd be tugging ineffectually on those levers until everyone died.

What does the psychic baby think it's accomplishing here? Why go after these humans so hard? It doesn't appear to be about food, does some association with Kamen make it see them all as a cause of pain that needs to be destroyed? What level of intelligence does it have, and how much is instinct?

Honestly surprised Kris got out of there without the baby wrecking the shuttle, but I'm still waiting for that lily to come into play somehow. There's wildlife on there.

Azi you should've played dead

The baby was trying to feed her? It wanted Azi to belong to it? That's true, it tried to break Barry's neck and didn't for her… does this come from Kamen recognizing her as crew?

Levi to the rescue! They recognize Azi even if they still seem a bit checked out

This is getting really trippy. Are we watching the development of the planet from gas cloud to evolution?

Not entirely sure how Levi psychic blasted the baby. Was it that the slime allows it to psychically connect to lifeforms, and since Levi is connected to the whole planet, it overloaded it and… exploded?

Going to assume this species molts naturally given that Levi blasted its outside off and there's another one inside. It's so cute and little <3

Poor Mia waking up in a crashed ship with a bunch of corpses, Kamen (catatonic), a strange kid, and a sentient planet robot: uHH. Azi it's kind of you to be there for her but I don't think the sight of her one night stand is enough to get her through this calmly.

Ursula is THRIVING with her alien garden.

Is Kamen nonverbal now? And hanging out with one of the creatures that is often parasitized by the psychic babies… interesting.

Levi is growing baby Levis?? Admitting to be baffled by this. How does that work

uhhhhhhhhhh space death cult?? Did Kris get picked up by the Nine Houses?

Wow she actually survived even though the shuttle was infested. So that's their season 2 hook if they want one, Kris leads the space death cult back to Vesta assuming everyone's been eaten and she can grab the cargo. Was kind of hoping she'd get attacked by wildlife and have no one to help her (because she ditched Barry) but ah well we can't have everything

And that's the show! I will ponder and then do a full show thoughts post later.

[fantomette22]

Triad of Laurences!

I rarely do this (draw people’s versions of a character) but i feel motivated for once to do my besties versions! As well as my own once again. Maybe one day i will try out other versions or even other characters!

Anyway that’s the cool thing with Laurence Bloodborne and the many versions the fans created of him! They are all unique, yet can all fit very well into the lore depending how each person imagined him and the story! Each one will be different but perfectly adapt to what people wish to create and tell.

First @katyspersonal ‘s Laurence! The guy with the biggest drip and beautiful attires x) (seriously with his complex personality he got the best detailed and fancy clothes! Still waiting for his entire evolution line xD)

Second @heraldofcrow ‘s Laurence aka Laurence Yagami Rhapsodos ok sorry xD the charismatic scholar! (Still waiting when you will draw him as Vicar! And can’t wait to read more of him in action! I’m sure he will fit so well in the role you gave him).

They are both really smug too u_u i love them.

They both have cool designs, great personality and headcanons, intriguing backstories and are unique yet familiar! I could go on but my friends know how amazing i found them already x)

And well there’s mine (old hunter/ beginning of the healing church design). Well i think i talk about him enough on my blog already x) i like him. It’s Laurence i mean. It’s one of the most important characters of the lore after all! I like what i created on him. (Yeah that’s it i don’t wanna throw myself flowers..)

I did a mini from @fareehaandspaniards too

He’s supposed to look a bit more smug too x) can’t wait to know more on your ver too.

Well there’s so many other headcanons and versions of Laurence i could talk about! There so much good things indeed ! But it will be way too long so for now it will suffise xD. But you can be sure i keep an attentive eye and will sure share what I see around as encouragement and to share with others what i felt worth it!

[mirtola87]

"Tale as old as time", or how Good Omens planted a seed in my soul that's growing more and more (bettah) [1/2]

Hi everyone, I'm new here, and I just wanted to share my totally-personal-maybe-relatable experience with Good Omens, trying to figure out why it became sort of an obsession for me. This is a 9-years story so far, and - spoiler alert! - the passage of time played a major role in the evolution of my perception. (English is not my native language, so please forgive my faults!) I first read the book about nine years ago. I was in a public library in Bologna doing research for my PhD in literature, when I stumbled upon the Italian edition. I was driven by the funny title, which was translated as "Buona Apocalisse a tutti!" (we could back-translate it to English as something like "Merry Apocalypse!" or "Happy Armageddon Everyone!"). I was Christian raised, and among all the books of the Bible, St. John's Apocalypse had always fascinated me, I guess because it was the one that most resembled a fantasy book. So I took the book from the shelf and started reading it. Soon I realized that I didn't need it for my thesis because it didn't fit the topic (I did use Coraline, Mirror Mask and Sandman, instead!), but it bewitched me right from the first lines, so I decided to put the library copy back on the shelf, purchase a copy in English and read it for pure pleasure. I enjoyed it so much that it became one of my favourite books ever. I was young and bold and had no idea that almost ten years later that story was going to mean so much to me and tear me apart. Time passed by, and my life went on. In 2019, when the show came out, I was eager to watch it. The book was a masterpiece, and the show proved to live up to it. David Tennant and Michael Sheen were absolutely perfect in their interpretations and made me love the characters even more. While reading the book, I had found the relationship between Aziraphale and Crowley fascinating and irresistibly funny, but I didn't sense any love vibrations between them (and apparently they weren't supposed to be there yet, as we know from Neil that the love story is canon for the series but not for the book). I didn't read anything about the show before watching it, so I was quite surprised when I realized that there was something between the angel and the demon that I hadn't noticed 5 years before. I didn't see it coming at all, and I was all like, "Wait a sec... are they FLIRTING? I didn't remember that..." It was as in one of my all-time favourite songs: "Barely even friends, then somebody bends, unexpectedly". This unexpected twist left me somewhat bewildered: it was like I had suddenly realized that two long-time friends of mine were having a crush on each other. It was a bit odd as I was totally clueless about it before that moment, but then the season ended more or less like the book did, the way I already knew. That was cozy and reassuring, and all those longing glances between Crowley and Aziraphale were just an extra icing on the cake. At the end of the story, their love hadn't been named (yet), just suggested. That happy ending was nice, gentle and romantic, leaving their relationship open to interpretation and imagination. I turned off my TV with a deep sense of amusement and satisfaction, and kept on with my life. Four more years passed, then a friend of mine told me that S2 was out (I'm not very good at keeping up with news myself, I admit). I knew that there wasn't any sequel of the book, so I was surprised and really didn't know what to expect, but I knew Neil Gaiman himself wrote the script, so I was confident it had to be good. And of course it was. Since my partner hadn't watched S1, I decided to rewatch it with him before starting S2. This time I KNEW that there was something going on between Aziraphale and Crowley, and the bewilderment of the first watch gave way to something different, a sort of complicity. I found myself shipping them fondly and smiling at every little clue of their untold love. "Ever just the same / Ever a surprise / Ever as before / Ever just as sure / As the sun will rise." Life was good. [Continues in Part 2]

[shoujomangathoughts]

Chihayafuru Thoughts - Random Moments

The return of my Chihayafuru thoughts! This time I’m gonna focus on a couple random scenes that either stuck out to me in some way or that I don't really have another post or larger topic to fit them into. This may become a series for me to talk about moments I enjoy but I don't really have a larger narrative through line to talk about in regards to them. There will be light spoilers for essentially the whole series so here's your warning.

This scene has always fascinated and lowkey amused me. This comes right after the chapter where Taichi wouldn't allow Chihaya to go to his room and when he ate the cake off her spoon, and for Chihaya to notice that he's acting strange is interesting to me. I say this mostly because it's so early on and yet she just kind of forgets or gets used to it because she doesn't ever really mention it again. Technically Taichi still had a girlfriend at this point and I don't think he'd fully figured out his feelings either, but the fact that she seemed to be noticing and then later was completely blindsided by his feelings has always made this moment stay in my mind. It's also fascinating because so many others noticed his feelings too; Kana, Sumire, Harada, Tsuboguchi, Desktomu (he wasn't surprised Taichi liked Chihaya, only that he was turned down), hell even Chitose called it out and she was hardly ever around them.

//Also as a sidenote, while I love many of the different art styles and the evolution of the manga's art, something about the art early on hits different.//

I know this chapter and Chihaya's "answer" ruffled some feathers, especially when the author seemed to say Arata was soft-rejected here (some people seem to think of that as "damage control", but with this among some other things she's said, I think it's worth noting when an author who writes so many things in interpretable or relatively vague ways actually comes right out and clarifies what she meant). My reading of this scene (even before knowing what Suetsugu said) was that Arata was indeed soft-rejected, and that him saying "I'll work on getting closer to you" is an acknowledgement of the fact that outside of karuta, he and Chihaya don't have all that much of a bond. I think this is interesting since I can't think of many instances where he did truly work on that, but I always thought that he was becoming more aware of the fact that he and Chihaya weren't as close as he probably wanted them to be. I've seen the blushing get brought up as a defense of her "not actually rejecting" him but I think in general, they're both awkward and talking about love and his romantic feelings which can be a bit embarrassing and awkward. The most important thing here for me was that Chihaya herself never really gave an indication that she was telling him to wait or that she'd have more to say at a later time. She said how she was feeling in that moment; doesn't mean it'd never change, but to me she very clearly didn't reciprocate his feelings in this chapter despite having every chance to say it if she had.

I think, on a whole, Shinobu is one of the most fascinating characters in the series. Seeing how isolated she is and how much the game means to her, and seeing how dejected and outright frustrated she gets that she can't make a career out of it is one of my favorite parts of her arc. This line about creating a profession being the reason she's using social media (rather than reaching some level of celebrity) has always stood out to me. She realizes that she can't make money from the one thing she has the most interest and passion in, and resolves herself to carve a place out for herself instead of accepting that no such place exists. I've also always found her relationship with her mother interesting as Shinobu very clearly sees certain things in her mother that she doesn't want for herself (there's a line about being a leech off her grandmother that particularly drives this home). And similarly her mother is clumsy in communicating with Shinobu and is at times almost vicariously living through her and her accomplishments in karuta, yet here we get a moment of her mother starting to see her in another light. After this is when we start seeing her mom try a little harder to support and watch over her because she sees her daughter fighting for her future in a way that she seemingly stopped doing (if she ever did). Shinobu on a whole is quite independent at the start of the series, in part due to her isolation, but I loved watching her gradually gain more people around her and how she opened up.

This is a small moment but one that I really like. Taichi and Chihaya seem to have mostly gotten past the awkwardness of some of their previous post-Taichi confession interactions and seem comfortable again. But then when Taichi mentions the fact that Chihaya covered for Hanano when they took a picture at the queen match, we get a panel where she just stares at him. I've always seen this as a moment where it's reiterated to Chihaya how well Taichi knows her and how easily he reads her. In a way it seems like she feels she can't hide things from him, which makes sense as this is right before she confesses her feelings. It almost feels reminiscent of the "he's the guy who's always been working hard with me" line and the "Taichi's always been by my side" line. She's entirely focused on him.

Though she's by no means a super prominent character in the series, I really like Miyauchi-sensei. From going to a teacher who thought of Chihaya as only being an eccentric girl to seeing how much passion and effort the karuta club was putting into practicing and playing. There are a lot of small but great moments with her throughout. Making the team tasukis and later headbands, supporting the students even at tournaments unrelated to the school (Yoshino and the Queen match come to mind); she really ended up attached to and inspired by these kids. That's why I picked these panels to talk about her. It's a full circle moment where she thinks about the end of the first generation of the karuta club, and the fact that she's emotional is proof that this club has become something special to her as well something she will likely protect in the future.

Another relatively brief moment but one that I think encapsulates one of my favorite themes in the series: youth. This moment where Tsuboguchi talks about youth describes a lot of the commentary the series makes on the topic. We see primarily high schoolers but also characters like Harada, Inokuma, Sakurazawa, Tsuboguchi himself, Sakura, etc. all be examples of players who continue playing despite varying life circumstances. We see people carry passion way further into life than just during their high school years and I feel as though that's an important thing communicated in the series, especially given how karuta and its tournaments work. Having something you're passionate about and continuing down that path or finding new ways to reach people with a similar interest is a beautiful thing. It's reiterated throughout the series how important the time they have in high school is because life will get more complicated when they graduate, but this panel of Tsuboguchi talking to his team and telling them that he enjoys the game even more now is a great reminder that life doesn't end with graduating high school. As someone who was already out of high school when I read this series for the first time, I really enjoyed moments like this that remind younger people to value time in high school while not letting it be their peak (though in some physical aspects like Chihaya's hearing, it might be the peak lol).

This one is based almost solely on Taichi's line "sorry for standing in your way". I've always been intrigued by the author's choice of using this line because it comes across as somewhat more negative and direct than I expected when reading this part. I know sometimes this is the result of fan translation (still unbelievably grateful for the work they put in to help make things accessible though!), but for sake of analyzing this, I'll refer to this translation. To me, Taichi says this probably for a couple reasons. One of which is that it's the end of the match where Arata truly saw him as a proper rival for the first time, and just as Arata could tell that Taichi "loathed him", Taichi could also tell that Arata viewed him as a nuisance. I think this just kind of slipped out after Taichi lost which makes sense because no one is happy to lose to their closest rival. I think another reason that he specifically uses "standing in your way" is because as we essentially know (but it's confirmed later), Taichi feels left behind after watching Arata and Chihaya announce their goals to be Meijin and Queen as kids. They both have been chasing that dream the whole time whereas Taichi has been unsure of himself. He probably doesn't think he is as "deserving" of facing the Meijin because that hasn't been his goal the entire time and he knows that's always been Arata's goal. Either way, even if it was said only out of bitterness, Taichi and Arata hug it out afterwards and Taichi is able to encourage Arata to win. Just always been an interesting choice of dialogue to me.

One of the best parts of Arata's arc for me is when he finally realizes that as much as he loves his late grandpa and his karuta, there is a certain pressure that comes from following a prominent player. Realizing that he's been hypocritical about playing your "own" karuta and that he's tried to avoid nervousness for important matches by leaning on his grandpa's style are truly great moments for him. I also love how this is explicitly communicated by his dad, who turned away from the game because his father was so extraordinary at it. Watching Arata use things that he learned from practicing with his grandpa as well as playing in a way that suits him is genuine growth. He's taking the time they spent together and using it as a push to help him continue down the road to become Meijin himself. I also really like the support that he feels from Chihaya and Taichi in these moments as well; a nice reminder of some of the other people most instrumental in who he is in the present. The moment when Taichi walks in and Arata realizes that he "crushed his dream" is a nice way of showing Arata getting out of his head and just playing in a way that feels the most natural to him. He realizes that to get to where he was, other people have had dreams trampled and that this was a match he shouldn't waste by getting mentally blocked. At the end, when he describes playing Suou as being similar to playing his grandpa, it's nice to see him acknowledging that in order to be himself, he had to feel as though he'd surpassed his grandpa in some way. Reminds me of the times throughout the series where students are afraid of playing their teachers because of the fear of "acting like a student" rather than a rival. Arata came a long way as a player and the Meijin matches provided a lot of good insight into a character who was so confident most of the time.

This was something that's been in my drafts for a bit as a space to put some ideas down for another Chihayafuru post, but I didn't really feel the need to make long posts about each so I just kind of put them all together. Thanks for reading if you made it this far!

[rollercoasterwords]

ok i'm back at a desk for 8 hours w nothing 2 do so here's the longer post re: nwlnw (nonwoman loving nonwoman) + nmlnm (nonman loving nonman). i think my issue with these terms as labels is that. i see their origin + use coming from this urge to draw really clear + distinct lines around labels in a way that ultimately reinforces gender essentialism. like here i'll trace it:

people use "gay" and "lesbian" as umbrella terms to broadly describe relationships involving two men or two women. so, in the context of fiction + fandom, people will talk about gay + lesbian fics/ships etc

some people decide that "gay" and "lesbian" aren't inclusive enough as labels, because what if one of the partners is bi/pan/identifies as something other than gay or lesbian??

ok, so we need a more inclusive term! let's use words like "sapphic" and "achillean," or "wlw" (woman loving woman) and "mlm" (men loving men)

wlw + mlm start to become more popular as umbrella terms

but wait!!!!! what about nonbinary people?!?!?!?!?!?!!??!

once again, people decide that mlm + wlw are not inclusive enough umbrella terms, because they do not encompass every possible label that someone might identify with

"nmlnm" and "nwlnw" are introduced as even more inclusive umbrella terms

so here are the issues i'm seeing in the evolution of these umbrella terms:

1. hyper-focusing on labels in this way is not productive

like. let's go back to "gay" and "lesbian." let's say, for example, that two women are in a relationship. even if both id as bi, there's nothing wrong with calling that a lesbian relationship, because functionally, that relationship is going to be treated as lesbian by society. like, if we are focusing on experiences and not labels, then gay + lesbian work perfectly fine as umbrella terms. their purpose is not to encompass every single possible configuration of identity that two people in a relationship might hold; their purpose is to communicate to people looking at the label that this relationship falls under a broad category of relationships that are received a certain way by the world at large. y'know?

no umbrella term is ever going to encompass every specific experience that falls beneath it, because that isn't the point of umbrella terms. umbrella terms are useful for grouping broad categories of people who share experiences, even if they don't necessarily share specific identities.

furthermore, both "lesbian" and "gay" are, in and of themselves, somewhat nebulous terms that not everybody is going to use in the same way, and they are also culturally + historically specific terms that have changed over time. if we start to try and draw really clear lines around them, or set firm rules around who does + doesn't get to identify a certain way, eventually you're going to encounter someone who doesn't fit the rules you've created, and that's how you get stupid fucking online debates about shit like whether or not trans men are "allowed" to identify as lesbian.

the utility in labels is in identifying shared experiences. ok? what matters isn't nitpicking each other's language, it's looking at the way we're treated by the world as queers and finding sites of solidarity. so somebody referring to categories of relationships as "lesbian" and "gay" isn't excluding anyone, unless you're hyper-focused on labels rather than experiences. it's like fucking.....vampire rules. like i'm throwing a party, and the door is wide open, and then u come up to the door and ur like "umm u need to invite me in." and i'm like ??? the door's wide open if u want to come in u should just come in....and ur like "no u don't understand i have to follow VAMPIRE RULES and that means u need to follow them too or ur excluding me!!!"

like. ur not a fucking vampire babe. just come inside.

2. feels like....a weird conceptualization of "nonbinary." to me.

because "nmlnm" and "nwlnw" have basically just become interchangable with "wlw" and "mlm," it kinda just feels like....people grouping whatever they consider women and Women Lite, and then men and Men Lite. y'know? like babe i'm sorry but if u are actually trying to break down all gender binaries here to include every single possible nonbinary person...well where is a boydyke like me supposed to go between ur little labeled "nonman" and "nonwoman" boxes hmm?? sorry but ur gonna have 2 get rid of the "man" and "woman" from ur labels altogether i fear. which leads into...

3. saying "non-man" and "non-woman" still ultimately leads back to gender essentialism bc it requires u to define "man" and "woman"

like. either we accept that umbrella terms have leaky borders and will never fully encompass every possible identity, but that's okay because, again, the borders aren't these clearly drawn lines but rather porous and amorphous and shifting--or we insist that labels must exist within clearly delineated boxes so that we can Categorize Every Identity, in which case you end up with labels like "non-man" and "non-woman" which, though supposedly inclusive, require you to provide a set definition of both "woman" and "man" in order to explain what you are defining your category against. and once you start trying to find set definitions to categorize "men" and "women"....well guess what's gonna happen babes!!!!!! that's right!!! we're gonna stray back into the territory of gender essentialism.

like. at the end of the day i basically just see "nwlnw" and "nmlnm" labels as an extension of this exhausting tendency to try and draw really clear borders around every identity in the queer community, which is antithetical to what queerness even is and ultimately leads to a bunch of useless in-fighting. i'm sure the people using these terms are just trying to be inclusive, but the issue is that your "inclusivity" relies on exclusivity in the first place by treating labels as strict borders that are exclusive to anyone who doesn't fit the criteria you've decided they need to fit to claim them. y'know?

in conclusion: i will be sticking with lesbian + gay + dyke + fag for my umbrella terms thank u very much <3

[ecargmura]

Pokemon Horizons Episode 40 Review - Sprigatito's Origins

Wow, Sprigatito’s origins are revealed! It’s interesting how Sprigatito knew where she came from and even came back to visit. It’s also nice to learn how these starters come to be and how they get sent off to schools and labs for beginning trainers. In Sprigatito’s case, she came from a breeder who specializes in breeding feline Pokemon. This is also the episode where I learn that the Sneasel line are felines. I don’t know how to feel about this considering I’ve thought of them as weasels until now.

The title is definitely bait, as Sprigatito doesn’t actually leave Liko but just wants some time away from her because of her actions. She loves Liko a lot, but she worries about her strength. It turns out that Liko’s Sprigatito is a bit different from the rest. She’s a lot stronger than her siblings, and when she was trying to protect them from a Spidops that tried to attack her siblings, her Leafage had hurt them in the process, causing them to avoid her. It turns out that while she was a bit wary of Liko, she saw her in the interview screen at Indigo Academy by chance and felt as if they were destined to be partners; imagine a story where Liko didn’t get Sprigatito as a partner…

I do like the growth that Liko shows here. If this was Liko in the beginning, she’d be wallowing with self-doubt and wonder if she would fit as Sprigatito’s partner. However, Liko has changed. Instead of wallowing in the past, she tries to understand her partner’s feeling by trying to communicate with her. I like that! She even said to Sprigatito that she didn’t mind if she scratches her because she did that when they first met. I also like Sprigatito’s growth too! She learned Magical Leaf, meaning no more Leafage spam, hopefully.

Speaking of growth, Hatenna seems to be growing too! Liko told her to look after Terapagos and she got all excited like a big sister finally getting responsibilities from her mother! If Liko’s party were a family, Liko would be the mom, Sprigatito would be the eldest, Hatenna would be the middle child and Terapagos would be the baby (despite it being the oldest). She even chased after Terapagos when it ran off, showing that she’s not afraid to leave the ship to search for it! Such a big change for a timid Pokemon!

The breeder who raised Sprigatito, Manya, is a very nice lady. She feels like she is what Liko could be if she was older as she’s someone who read Liko and Sprigatito’s feelings very well. I do like how she’s the one explaining Sprigatito’s backstory and how she was there when Liko was being interviewed by Indigo Academy. I think it’s so cool to see the person who brought Sprigatito into the world; I don’t think we had an instance where a partner Pokemon knew who brought them to this world. Please correct me if I am wrong. My only gripe is that I’d like to learn a bit more about Manya, but it makes sense to not learn too much about her as Sprigatito is the star. Manya is voiced by Mie Sonozaki, who voices Cynthia in Masters and voiced Lusamine in Pokemon Evolutions. I feel like Horizons really like bringing in voice actors who have done roles in different media or in past works relating to Pokemon.

I like how Roy is such a nice boy. When Liko sprained her wrist, he immediately helped her up and took her to see Mollie and even waited at the clinic with her. He’s a good friend. Though, it does seem like Fuecoco hasn’t forgotten Ember. Now that Liko has beaten Roy in a battle, it should be time for him stop spamming Ember.

Right now, my only concern for Sprigatito is her future. The Sprigatito line primarily focuses on Speed and Attack stats. She rarely uses her physical moves and prefers to use Leafage and now Magical Leaf, which are special moves. Either Sprigatito needs more development in order to bring out her true potential or she’s going to be a very weak Meowscarada if she focuses only on Special moves. But those are just my thoughts. What are your thoughts on this episode?

[iruludavare]

(( ✘ is there someone you really truly hate? ))

Truth asks || Accepting

(1/10)

          "I try not to hate anyone. I... I don't think it is a productive use of my time or energy. If someone does wrong by me or others, if someone hurts me in a way I cannot forgive... I don't want them to have the satisfaction of seeing it. Some people say the opposite to love isn't hate but indifference... and to a certain degree, I believe that. So, that's what I do. Or try to. They don't deserve to derive any pleasure from seeing anything of me— not my thoughts, not my emotions. Nothing,"

          "...I've tried not to hate him. I don't know why— by all means, I should hate him. He offered me kindness and understanding when I was most vulnerable. But he wasn't being kind or understanding. It was nothing more than a farce. To slowly chip away at my beliefs, my very core, until I was pliable enough to convince me to join his cause. Have someone who could wield Mega Evolution, or a trainer who showed promise, likely to carry out dirty work and force people into line. That's... what I think now, anyway. He had asked a few times, throughout my journey. Even as I actively stood against him after the announcement, he still kept telling me to reconsider. Thankfully, even when I was left for dead, outnumbered and fading, I never succumbed to the offer. I held my ground."

          "Part of me still hopes that even the slightest bit of his act was real— that him being a mentor of mine wasn't all just... just a massive waste of time that's only left behind memories I now have to call into question every time they surface. For a long while, I could not tell what were my own thoughts and values, and what had been influenced by him. I... still doubt myself, every now and then."

          "What's more... I cannot forgive him for his plans. To wipe the world of life, but immortalise the things that fit his twisted definition of beauty. I don't care how many times in his life he was slighted— a few bad actors does not mean the world is beyond saving or in a state of absolute disrepair. He was at the forefront of society, with enough power to make a change at a fundamental level— change the actions of those in charge and exploiting the everyday person—, but instead... he chose the most selfish option of them all. An 'ugly' one, as he would have put it. He was a coward. He became the very thing he claimed to despise and think to be the lowest form of humanity, but placed the blame on everyone else."

          "He hurt the professor. He hurt several families. He hurt me. He hurt everyone around him. For someone constantly pontificating about how people ought to give more than take... he took more than anyone else I have ever known, or ever will. I would not be surprised if investigations into his life find that he is guilty of everything he said others did. That they were never accusations, but confessions he thought could vanish if he pawned them off onto others."

          "I think... it speaks far too much about his true character when instead of killing me when he had the chance, he inflicted on me what he considers to be the most excruciating, worst form of existence— endlessly waiting for a 'beautiful' world to be built. That is why I try to not hate him. If he can see me angry, if he can see me cry, if he can hear me doubt myself... he's won. And I take no greater pleasure in doing what I know would annoy him the most— pretending he never existed."

          "...Lysandre. I hate Lysandre. I truly hate him and everything he stood for."

[pathos-logical]

i would like to hear about the and per se ands! personally a big fan of the E with a line in the middle variety

Hello anon!! Thank you for being so patient with me while I waited to find the time to respond!! (Here's the context for this incredibly sweet ask, since it was sent two days ago and y'all might've missed the post)

Basically: the English alphabet is chock-full of the ghosts of dropped letters, and one of those letters, improbably to modern speakers and readers of the language, is the twisty but understated ampersand (& <- this guy)!! The modern English alphabet is the product of the Germanic language Old English and Latin, and it's undergone a lot of work: for example, letters like thorn (þ) and wynn (ƿ)—respectively the "th" sound in "that" and what later became "w"—phased out over time while "j" and "u" were relatively late additions

The ampersand has existed since 1 CE, where Roman scribes combined the letters of "et," the Latin word for "and," to form the ligature (a character formed by two combined letters!) which morphed into today's typographical ampersand! (Anon's favored ampersand reflects this origin!! Personally, though, I prefer the one you get on your keyboard :) )

The end point of this is relatively simple, but I honestly just couldn't resist throwing in the thorn and some historical context for fun :) Ampersands were considered by some sources* part of the alphabet into the early 19th century, and the alphabet song ended as X, Y, Z, &."

But that would've sounded weird out loud, right? So this was remedied with... more Latin! "Per se" is a Latin phrase which means "by itself," so people said "and per se and" to distinguish that they meant the character "&" itself! Over time, the words blurred together to make a new one: "ampersand," which became the name for our storied ligature! I hope you all enjoyed me getting way way too excited about what I could have easily boiled down to two sentences and chose not to <3

*I say "by some sources" because everything I cited was exceedingly vague about when the ampersand STOPPED being included in the alphabet, or even how common this was as a practice—and I do doubt it was widely regarded as an actual letter, since to my understanding it doesn't fit the dictionary definition of a letter at all. Always be wary of a good story, folks, especially a linguistics one!

Any inaccuracies here are solely my own!! I used these sources to fact-check myself and learned a bunch! I could've sworn I initially learned about this on a site like aeon.co with a fun narration style, but now that I think about it, it sounds exactly right to fifth-grade me to have learned about ampersands having once belonged to the alphabet from a dictionary.com article. Hm.

Source 1

Source 2

Source 3

Bonus: I found this article as soon as I finished typing this up, and it exactly fits the bill of what I mentioned above, not to mention includes a diagram for the evolution of the &!

[spatio-rift]

Hiya there! I see a lot of your saiki k content, and I love it sm lol. Now, I'm curious as to what your fave ships are besides kubometo. >.< Considering your recent ask which encouraged me to do this, may I also ask what your least faves are? Also, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the takahashi squad with metori so much, mwa mwa kudos to you.

Hiii im glad u enjoy my stuff even when theres not much of it going around lately😢 when summer break comes i will make more.💓(maybe)

i will answer that question about my other fave pairings with an additional condition which is that they cannot include saiko ^_^ i wont have a looot to say about them because i have really bad tunnel vision but lets try.

i think the one i probably like the most after kbmt is kaiyume ^_^ not in a way where like the situationship is so hilarious that it compels me to write 15 posts in a row about them but i think they have a special kind of really funny like. early 2010s cringe highschool couple vibe. or something. embarrassing couple on the internet. blurry grainy matching profile pics. couple cosplay. the chuunibyou. LOL i do genuinely love their relationship and its evolution from the moment kaidou defended chiyo in okinawa to chiyos confession and the way chiyos feelings for him are so consistent despite being the 'girl who falls in love super easily all the time' archetype and shes so considerate in liking him and i think they fit really well together but most importantly the idea of their romance is so weird and embarrassing to me meaning theyll never be boring (which is as weve established a capital offense for a gag manga). i think it brings out so many fun parts of their character. chiyos unhinged but shes so caring. kaidous so pathetic but hes so brave and gentlemany. its great! 👍

wait hold on i just remembered i have a relationship chart. i couldnt for the life of me remember what else i liked LMFAO. lets see whats on there.

oh my god right i love satou and hii together. i dont care much for that whole thing about helping her guardian spirit so that shes not life-threateningly unlucky anymore i thought it was hilarious how satous normal powers cancelled her bad luck and they were very cute for the like 2 or 3 chapters they were around. <3 ive got a soft spot for them for real.

lets do a quick round. midori and chouno altered my brain chemistry in a way that i find a little embarrassing to talk about HAHA but its a dynamic i quietly Really enjoy the chapters that touch on it are favorites of mine regardless of the note on which it ends for them. lately ive been really enjoying imu and arisu together for completely baseless reasons i just think theres potential there for real funniness w both thinking the other is a creep. and of course you will always find me fighting on the front lines for kurumi and kuniharu.

as for my least favorite pairings.... i really dont want to be on peoples dash bashing stuff they enjoy so i will just let the chart speak for itself :') its just not for me!

and Lastly. im so happy my $quad awareness campaign is working <3 (gives u a big wet peck on the forehead) saiko and his idiots forever. peace &love.

[pokemon-poll-party]

Press X to open up your Lil Guy Dex!

Here's the promised breakdown of all our Lil Guy Data:

Within Round 1:

We have 11 Pokémon from Gen 1, 9 from Gen 2, 10 from Gen 3, 11 from Gen 4, 6 from Gen 5, 4 from Gen 6, 4 from Gen 7, 11 from Gen 8, and 6 from Gen 9, so every generation is represented in the Lil Guy Pokémon poll!

As for type, we have 8 Normal type, 3 Fighting type, 4 Flying type, 8 Water type, 5 Fire type, 6 Rock type, 6 Electric type, 5 Ghost type, 7 Psychic type, 3 Dark type, 5 Bug type, 8 Poison type, 7 Ground type, 3 Fairy type, 5 Ice type, and 3 Dragon type!

The least? We've got just one steel type!

(It's this lil guy)

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we started out with a whopping 15 Grass types! Guess Grass has a Lil Guy subtyping!

Most of our lil guys are the first of their evolutionary line, with 22 being the first in a line of 3 and 43 being the first in a line of 2. Only 6 of our lil guys don't evolve at all, and just one lil guy is an evolved form!

(Coincidentally, Maushold also wins for the most lil guys in your lil guy.)

Our biggest lil guys by height are: Smeargle and both variations of Slowpoke, coming in at 47" or 1.2m. Since Slowpoke might be length, I think we can crown Smeargle as our tallest lil guy; I'm sure the crown will fit great on their hat.

The biggest lil guy by weight, by far, is of course our snacking friend, Munchlax, at 231.5lbs or 105kg. So if you ever need a friend to help you bench press, I'm sure Munchlax would be happy to help!

Our littlest of lil guys? When it comes to height, that would be Joltik and roaming form Gimmighoul, at a teeny-tiny 4" or 0.1m. Notably, we do have a lot of tiny lil guys, with Morelull, Applin, Wishiwashi, Shroodle, Natu, and Shaymin's land form all coming in just a smidge taller at 8" or 0.2m.

Roaming form Gimmighoul wins once again for smallest weight, coming in at 0.2lbs or 0.1kg. Our next smallest is our fishy friend, Wishiwashi at 0.7lbs or 0.3kg.

Within Round 2:

When it comes to generations in Round 2, we have a clear mode: 5! We have 5 Pokémon each from Gens 1-5, 3 from Gen 6, 4 from Gen 7, 3 from Gen 8, and just 2 from Gen 9!

As for types, we've knocked out Steel type entirely this round (sorry, Alolan Sandshrew!). Fighting, Dark, and Dragon types are all hanging in there with one Pokémon each- Riolu, Galarian Zigzagoon, and Goomy! Then we have 2 Flying; 3 each of Normal, Water, Ghost, Electric, Poison, Fairy, and Ice; 4 of Rock, Psychic, Bug, and Ground; and lastly Grass type's previous lead is now shared with Fire type, with 5 Pokémon each.

All but one of our Pokémon are now full of potential and waiting for evolution. The exception is Shuckle, who is just full of potential

(I mean, look at them.)

Our remaining lil guys are also even littler! Currently holding the title for tallest Pokémon in the competition are Snover and Kantonian Ponyta (whose Galarian counterpart is just a smidge smaller), both at 39" or 1m. As a tree, it should come as no surprise that Snover is the heaviest Pokemon in competition at 111.3lbs or 50.5kg.

With Gimmighoul out, Joltik is now the only 4"/0.1m Pokémon left in the running (but oh that 8 foot vertical leap, right?). It's also the smallest by weight at 1.3lbs or 0.6kg.

Thanks for reading, folks! We've got just over a day and half before Round 2 draws to a close, so if you haven't already, get voting and tell your friends! If you're anxiously trying to drum up support for your preferred lil guy, I'll happily reblog propaganda posts!

Links to all polls may be found here

[coachella-sucks-this-year]

I don't mean to be obstructive or condescending or something. This is not divisiveness as to who owns ad who owns not. Some people will twist it to that end but let's not get confused: this post is not about how the 400k's are fucking everyone over. It's about how the middle class is shrinking.

You don't define "middle class" as to who comparatively owns the "middle amount" between the "rich" and the "poor". The middle class is, put simply, the class that exists at the middle of the class conflict between those who are truly rich (who you could call bourgeois) and those who own not much more than their labor (you could call them the proletariat). The middle class is the gray area, the small owners, the managers, those who own or administrate means of production, have significant disposable income, and hold no significant or insurmountable debts (you could call them the petty bourgeois).

This post, to my understanding, isn't claiming that the middle class is having it so bad that those ones who fit the criteria for it are now comparatively "rich"; neither is it seeking to opportunistically and self-righteously redefine people who were rich in the past as "middle class" (doing so would be moving the goalposts and would be as divisive as you claim).

Rather, its central claim is that the evolution of the economic situation is such that less and less people fit that criteria, of having a significant disposable income, a dign quality of life, access to housing, education, and healthcare, in such a way that it truly becomes mind boggling when you say it out loud: we have culturally come to see the ones with access to the money needed to have all of those things as "rich" when in truth, they barely qualify – if at all.

So we witness a cultural "moving of the goalposts" in which "middle class" now means "having food and a roof, and not wanting to kill yourself that urgently" instead of its original class meaning.

Many people nowadays view themselves as middle class even though they certainly do not qualify – they do not own or administrate, they are up to the neck in debt in a way that essentially cancels out any ownership they may have of anything, they live paycheck to paycheck in a proletarian job that is very much their lifeline – simply because they have medical insurance – albeit the most accesible and therefore the worst one – and they do not live in a slum or a trailer park – even though their house is rented, mortgaged, or still not fully paid for.

Tl;dr: My point is that this class analysis is absolutely needed in order to be able to perform actual, tangible change in the way that people live. Else, we will just keep moving the goalposts until we are all convinced that you are rich if you own a TV, without addressing any of the actual underlying conditions that lead to the current state of affairs.

And part of it is admitting that if the proletariat is the cannon fodder of capitalism, the middle class are those who are essentially waiting in line to join their ranks. Because the rich will keep getting richer, and fewer. And the middle class are not rich.