#no icons for my girl yet sadly.......

[musesofthesun]

@hopeful-hugz / leah = one-liner.

"oh, leah! you shouldn't be out here in the rain - " furina reaches out, offering her umbrella to drape over the both of them. "my place isn't too far from here. er - if you don't mind seeing a bit of a mess, i'm in the middle of cleaning..."

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Ruan Lingyu (The Goddess, New Women, Love and Duty)—icon of chinese silent cinema known for her luminous beauty, her exceptional acting talent, and her tragic life story

Barbara Stanwyck (Ball of Fire, The Lady Eve, Double Indemnity)—I hope someone else has submitted better propaganda than I because I don't want my girl's prospects to rest on me just yelling PLEASE VOTE FOR MY TERRIBLE HOT GIRLFRIEND. She is a delight in everything! She is often a sexy jerk! (It's most of the plot of Baby Face!) Even when she plays a "good girl" (as an example, Christmas in Connecticut, which more people should see) she's still kind of a jerk and I love her for it! She won't take men's shit and she sure wouldn't take mine!

This is round 3 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Ruan Lingyu:

silent era chinese actress who had a subtlety in her acting ability that was way ahead of her time. huge star but her career and life was sadly cut short by damaging publicity

Widely considered one of the best actresses of Chinese silent film

Ruan Lingyu had an eight year movie career, starting at 16 and ending with her suicide at only 24. Despite this, she made some of the most widely acclaimed films of early Chinese cinema and the BBC called her "China's Greta Garbo." In "Love and Duty," she plays her character as a teen, a young mother, and an older woman beaten down by life AND her teen daughter in an early application of split-screen technology. Lingyu is absolutely unrecognizable as the older woman, yet emotionally the transition is seamless because she does such a good job. Lingyu had a hard life and killed herself after ination [sic] of media scorn and private problems. Her funeral was three days long, the procession was allegedly four miles long, and three women killed themselves during her funeral. The New York Times called it "the most spectacular funeral of the century." I'm adding this to show what kind of hold she had over the public at the time, much like Rudolph Valentino's raucous funeral. I would rather she had lived.

Barbara Stanwyck:

"THE leading lady of the golden age of hollywood. One of the only actresses to work independent of a studio, making short-term contracts that enabled her to make movies wherever she wanted. She had so much range, and could act in basically any genre. She's been rumored to be a lesbian literally since she was active in Hollywood; most notable is the rumor that she had a long time on-and-off relationship with famously bi Joan Crawford, her "best friend" for decades (They lived right next door to one another). She also lived with Helen Ferguson, her "live-in publicist" for many years. She was the quintessential femme fatale in Double Indemnity, and really pushed sexual boundaries in her pre-code films like Baby Face, and the famous screwball The Lady Eve, where she plays basically a downlow domme. Allegedly, when a journalist asked her if she was a lesbian, she straight up threw him out of her house. She even played a lesbian in Walk on the Wild Side"

"THE queen of screwball comedies. I adore her, I'd kill for her, I will cry if she's not gonna win this poll."

"listen ok she had awful politics she was a mccarthyist right wing wacko BUT she's so incredibly hot that i've deluded myself into believing i could fix her. if you see her onscreen she carries herself in a way that's just so effortlessly sexy AND she has just a stunning face. imo she was at her hottest in the 1940s but even as early as the late 1920s she had a rly captivating screen presence and just a beautiful face, and then post-1950 she was just irresistibly milfy so really she was just always incredibly hot. she was also an incredibly talented actress who was equally stellar in melodrama, film noir, and unhinged screwball comedy. the blonde wig they made her wear in double indemnity is notoriously silly looking but she still looks sexy in it so that's gotta count for something. i've watched so many terrible movies just for a chance at seeing her that i think her estate should be paying me damages."

"Not often thought of for her sultriness, Barbara Stanwyck was incredible in that she could actually choose to be hot if the role called for it, and then have a glow-down to look ordinary for another role. She wasn't the most beautiful or effervescent, but damn did she have rizz. Watch her with Gary Cooper in Ball of Fire teaching him about "yum-yum" or with Henry Fonda in The Lady Eve whispering huskily into his ear."

"She is always the smartest woman in the room. Watching her play Henry Fonda like a befuddled fiddle in The Lady Eve was a highlight of my life. Femme fatale in Double Indemnity, comedy queen in Ball of Fire. She can do anything."

"She was part of my gay awakening"

"SHE'S A PRE-CODE QUEEN. She did everything, drama, comedy. The most beautiful woman in the world to watch weep. Beg for to step on you with those legs. Fun Babs story: Ginger Rogers was offered the role in Ball of Fire but said, “Oh, I would never play that part, she’s too common.” So they called Barbara Stanwyck and they said “We offered this to Ginger Rogers but she’s turned it down, would you be interested?” And she read the script and she said; “You bet! I LOVE playing common broads. [link]"

[galvanizedfriend]

HIII if you don’t mind sharing, what are your fav klaroline fics? New and old, I’m in need of new reads 🙏

I'm probably not the best person to be doing new fic recs. 🥲 I have sadly not been reading that much Klaroline myself these days. When I do read fic, it's for other stuff. So my recs are either old or new-ish. 😂 But hopefully you can find something to your liking that haven't read yet here.

Buckle up because I took my sweet time with this list, nonnie.

. Inertia Overcome by @avari20

The first KC fanfic I remember reading the reason why I finally got pulled into the fandom after years of watching TVD as a reasonable spectator (so rly, if you guys can't stand to see me around anymore after all this time, it's this fic's fault for being so good). Honestly one of this fandom's statement works. If you haven't read it yet, please do.

. Timeless by @marvelouskatie

Same as the above. One of the most iconic KC fics of all time imho. The canon AU to end all canon AU. When I first decided to come out of the shadows and create a tumblr and actually start interacting with folks, this was the first fic that was recced to me. I was very grateful then, and now I'm here to pass this knowledge on.

. Picturesque by @supernutellastuff

Honestly of the sweetest, most heartwarming fics I've ever read! It's a human AU that's a How I Met Your Mother sort of adaptation, and honestly the first time I've ever enjoyed HIMYM. I love a good ensemble fic and this is just it! Supernutella is so talented.

. Quiet Light by @definedareasofuncertainty

This fic was WRITTEN FOR ME because of how much I pestered my friend Luiza about Carolijah and this will forever feel like a trophy to my heart. 🥰 It made me feel ALL THE FEELINGS. I hated Caroline, I loved Caroline, I loved my baby Elijah, I hated him, I also hated Klaus (he's such a fucking asshole omfg), but then the end was just DHAGHDDASAS!! You think you're in for a certain kind of story and it turns out to be so much more. It is, deep down, about the brothers, how selfish they are, how they can hurt each other more than anyone, but how they love one another above anything else, even when they want to kill each other (and fall in love with their brother's girl!!!). It's beautiful, like everything Luiza writes, and it genuinely made me cry.

. long limbs and frozen swim by @definedareasofuncertainty

I saw a discussion the other day about how whoever wrote this fic JUST GOT IT, and I have to say I completely agree with the person who made that comment. Luiza just NAILS Caroline's grief and loneliness after her mother's death, how isolating and gut-wrenching it is. Klaus being the person who finds her, who knows exactly what to say without her ever having to spell it out, the one who can truly see her, is so honest too. This fic is sensitive and absolutely beautiful. Luiza's writing is perfection and this is for sure one of my all-time favorites.

. Whisper to me, Help me remember by @lalainajanes

This story reimagines the plot with the "villains" of TO S3 in a way that proves my point that the premise of that season was good, but execution was absolute crap. All of the potential the De Martels had to be incredible antagonists was completely destroyed at the hands of the show writers - but explored to perfection by Laine's much more capable hands. Klaus is freed after 10 years in captivity to find that Caroline had been working with Tristan this whole time in order to take him down - except something is not quite right about that. While you're at it, please read all of Laine's fics! It's a delight.

. Into the Woods by @jinxedwood

I wept when I read this because it's the post-TO canon fic I didn't even know I needed. Caroline's search for a way to stop her twins' merger ends up leading her to someone who's been watching over her on the Other Side. 😭 I thought I'd always rather live in denial when it came to how TO ended, but this fic made my heart so full! Also, jinxedwood's use of fae mythology here was incredible.

. All I Need by @euvixen

This story is HOT. It taught me things about the werewolf AU universe I was not prepared to learn, but I am a much happier person after reading it. It's a canon mates AU that will leave you 🥵🥵🥵🥵 I speak as though the story was merely about the smut, but it's actually much more than that. A TVD S3 reimagine of sorts that is incredibly satisfying. That's my favorite season of TVD, but this is still even better.

. the birth and death of the day by @little-miss-sunny-daisy

Anyone who's known me for a some time knows how this fic was my entire personality for a while there. I'm obsessed with Kelly's writing, and I have this fic on a freaking pedestal. I first started reading it when it was on a six years hiatus, and I was *so* into it I didn't even bother me that it might never get updated because it was so good I was just happy I'd found it. But then my silly comments inspired Kelly to come back to it, finish it, and it has honestly been my greatest accomplishment as a part of this fandom because this is a masterpiece. It's a TVD/Supernatural crossover where Caroline is a step-sister to the Superbros. It's truly, truly epic, with beautiful writing. This could genuinely be a show. It's amazing, just read it.

. this is a harvest by @highgaarden

This, right here, is the perfect Klaroline-within-canon story. This is the story that put my revolt to rest and gave my spirit some much deserved peace where those two are concerned. This is exactly what canon should've been like. I'm not even joking, this is IT. If you'd asked me what I thought the perfect Klaroline development should be like I probably would've said something very vague because I couldn’t explain it, I’m not that great or creative a writer, but now I can just show you this story and let you bask in the amazingness of a fantastic read that will not only keep you thoroughly entertained, but will also be the answer to all the questions you didn't even know you had.

. Paradise Lost by Borzoi

When i grow up, I want to learn how to write like Borzoi. All of their fics are incredible novella-like reads. It's addictive. And this is probably my favorite (it varies though, sometimes I'm in a Parisian Deal era). What happens after Klaus and Caroline sleep together in 5x11, and how they eventually find their way back to each other. It's just one of those stories that you can't stop reading after you start. It's so rich, so deep, so perfectly IC. One of those fics to end all fics.

. The Stubborn Grace of Being Loved Regardless by @helpless-in-sleep One of the modern day classics, if you will. This fic is such a stunning, vivid and delicate picture of Caroline's mind as she was dealing with the consequences of the abuse she suffered at the hands of Damon. She's still human, but she's probably more IC than we've seen her ever on the show when it comes to this. The bond she forms with Klaus is truly incredible too, and speaks a lot of how the two of them really do have a lot in common (even with Caroline still as a human), but it's really the Caroline study part of the story that touches me. The writing is absolutely beautiful as well.

. it takes a while to settle down by theviolinist

This story is a punch to your stomach, but it is PERFECTION in 8k words. It's hot, it's bittersweet, it's SO in character and, in my head, I kinda like to pretend that this is what happened before Caroline married Stefan. lol

. Wanderlust by @bellemorte180 Anybody who was a part of fandom around the time this story was being published can tell you how much of an EVENT it was. There were discussion groups about the mystery. It was so entertaining. Erica's attention to detail and how she wove the little clues throughout the chapters made this a genuine thriller. I particularly some of the side-characters here. It's honestly another fandom staple I think everyone should read.

--

In terms of newer fics that I can rec you, I have two that are on my TBR. One of them is a WIP that I've been slowly going through, and the other one I know was recently finished.

. make them bow by @stars-and-darkness

This was recced to me by two friends recently and I started reading it a while back and thought it was incredible! I have sadly been awful with keeping up with stuff, but just based on the raving reviews and the five chapters I read, I fully believe it to be just as awesome as it seems to be. The writing was so good, and I was just in love with Klaus' voice in this story. It was so reminescent of early-days TVD Klaus, which is by far my favorite Klaus of all. Sexy and dangerous and so smooth. I loved it! Need to get back to it.

. Wolf Club by @Radioactive79

Listen, if you like kid fics, this is absolutely for you. The whole story is narrated by an eight-year-old OC, the daughter of Ray Sutton, the first werewolf Klaus kills when he's trying to start his mass-production of hybrids. She's a little wolf herself, and a while little thing who was subjected to her fair share of child trauma. Klaus has no idea what to do with her, but ends up taking her with him as continues on his journey, and ends up forging a bond with the little girl. I cannot tell you how delicious this story is. It has Klaroline, yes, but for me the little girl is the absolute star of the company. I usually hate OCs, especially children, in fics, but this one is AMAZING. Seriously. The way this story is written is glorious. I can't recommend it enough.

[codename-adler]

renee walker for the ask game?

ah, the angel!

How I feel about this character

i remember, when i first read the trilogy in like, a week, i really really liked her. she was such a compelling character, and so different from the other Foxes yet still in the right place. her "give her back to me" will forever haunt me.

when i found out about Renison, my heart was overjoyed because it really made sense. however i think that, sadly, the fandom has made me like her a little less because of the ship wars and whatnot. i don't like how she has taken the backseat of her own character, her own past and storyline. to me she is not half of a ship. you could say i see her as acespec, idk.

i just really miss her, yk? as the woman she is.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Allison; Robin (if we fix the timeline); Allison & Robin.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Andrewwwwwwwwww

My unpopular opinion about this character

talked a little about it above, and that includes my queasiness/dislike of Jean/Renee, but otherwise ummmm i personally don't think she is as well-adjusted as everyone (in the books + fandom) believes she is. i think she has lingering trauma that could potentially blow up and create some complications. freaky girl.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon

well, on par with whatever i blurted out above: although i understand and respect why Renison is not canon, i do wish Renee hadn't ended up with anyone at all. i don't like her little future husband from EC...

also i'm so thirsty for Fox Girls content!!! iconic trio we are missing out on!!!

[insertdisc5]

Devlog #14: Big News Incoming and Illustrations

Hello everyone! Welcome to this month’s devlog!

If you just stumbled upon this, I am Adrienne, also known as insertdisc5! I’m the developer, writer, artist, main programmer, etc of the game. The game being In Stars and Time, a timeloop RPG, which is also the next and final game in the START AGAIN series, following START AGAIN: a prologue (available here!).  You can find out more about In Stars and Time here!!! 

LET’S GET TO IT. This month has some Big News about Big News Incoming! And also some illustrations!

The Big News Incoming first: In Stars and Time will be a part of Future of Play Direct on June 10, 8:00am PT | 11:00am ET | 5:00 pm CET! Future of Play is part of the Summer Games Fest and showcases a lot of incredible indie games, so I hope you’ll tune in. There might be a little something for you to see :> And...

In Stars and Time will also be a part of The Mix on June 8th! The Mix is an amazing games showcase over in LA. There will be a lot of press there, so I’m very excited to get some eyes on ISAT! Please stop by the booth and say hi to the lovely people from my publisher, Armor Games Studios, if you get the chance!

Alright! That’s it for the big news. Now for other big news.

Porting the game to Switch seems to be close to done! Currently, the porting team is taking care of optimization thingy things. The game is playable, but tends to drop frames every so often, so the team is optimizing the game to make sure it’s playing smoothly so Switch players can have the best possible experience! And…

The (hopefully) final round of Japanese localization is underway! Last April, the localization team sent back a couple of sentences that should be reworded now that they have further context. Now that those changes are implemented, they are playing it one more time to make sure everything works as intended!

I sadly don’t have a Fun Gamedev Thing to talk about this month (or… last month either…) because I moved elsewhere back in April and have been taking care of many things so my move went smoothly. Did you know that moving and getting used to a new town is hard work? So, here’s some things I posted on social media in the last couple months!

Here’s an illustration I drew a while back but only posted recently! I imagine that during their journey, everyone must’ve shared a bed at least once. This is also an occasion to show everyone’s sleepytimes clothes. Siffrin on that honk shoo honk shoo fit

Like many people, I have seen the Barbie movie trailer. So of course I had to redraw these iconic frames.

And someone over on Tumblr asked me about how I picked everyone’s names! Here it is copy-pasted for your convenience.

Siffrin: i think. i will wait until the game comes out before saying how i picked their name. ask me again later (it’s not a spoiler its just silly)

Mirabelle: her name was actually Prunille for the longest time, but I kept mixing it up and calling her Bonnie… so I went looking for another fruit sounding name (prunille>prune>plum in french) and Mirabelle fit her perfectly :> (Mirabelle is a kind of plum!)

Isabeau: it’s just a nice name. It actually is a girl name but i refuse to accept it because “beau” is the masculine form for “beautiful”, but either way it fits his character pretty well…

Odile: old sounding french name. that’s it. when i was early in preproduction her name was Isabeau actually (and she had a WAY different personality)

Bonnie: it’s a nickname and not their full name. have i said their full name yet? (checks the wiki) i did. Boniface is just a name that I had never heard before, and I could easily imagine Bonnie not liking it because it sounds “old and lame”. i think as they get older they would like it more and more

This is also a reminder that In Stars and Time has a wiki page. I am so grateful that this is a thing someone made. You know you've made it when your game has a wiki page!!!

That’s all I have to say for today! Let me know if you have any questions, or if there’s any aspect of the game development struggle you’d like me to talk about! See you next time!!!

AND DON’T FORGET TO WISHLIST THE GAME ON STEAM ALSO IT REALLY HELPS BECAUSE STEAM’S ALGORITHM IS MORE LIKELY TO SHOW OFF GAMES WITH A HIGH AMOUNT OF WISHLISTS THAT’S THE REASON WHY GAME DEVS ALWAYS ASK TO WISHLIST!!! OKAY BYE!!!!

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x15 - Etemon! Grand Entrance of Evil / The Dark Network of Etemon

Previously on Digimon Adventure: On their way to Server Continent, the kids had a cleaning day after discovering Devimon's been dumping used Black Gears and old lanyards in the ocean. During clean-up, Gomamon got excited and nearly killed everyone.

Drake, meanwhile, regretted blowing that "They completed the tutorial level" crack on the episode's proper rundown. Should'a saved that.

Now, they're about to make landfall and meet the most iconic vocal performance in the entirety of the Adventure 01 dub.

It's been five days since the kids set sail. Now we open on Taichi bristling with anticipation on Whamon's back while the others snooze.

(This would be about Day 12, I believe, since they've been here. The timescale of Day 6 was a little confusing in both versions, but the kids ended Day 6 fighting Devimon. Then they had dinner and a night-time discussion about coming to Server, before building the raft in the daylight of Day 7. Five days later would put us at 12.)

He's so excited, he wakes everyone up even though they're probably still a ways out given how far that appears to be. Rude.

Taichi: Hey! Everyone wake up! It's the tairiku (continent)! We've reached Server Tairiku! Yamato: (waking) What's all the racket? Jou: (waking) What's this about about taiyaki (tasty fish-shaped pastry)? Taichi: Not taiyaki, tairiku! Look! It's Server Tairiku!

That's another one for the untranslatable wordplay pile, so the dub plays it this way.

Tai: Alright, everybody, wake up! Rise and shine! We're landing at Server! Matt: (waking) ...I was only resting my eyes. Joe: (waking) Well, your eyes were snoring pretty loudly. Tai: Come on, we're gonna be there in a few minutes! Gotta make sure we have everything we'll need!

Matt tries to play too cool dude for sleep only for Joe to swiftly undercut him. Hey, look at that; Joe got to be the deliverer of a joke instead of its target!

Not sure what Tai thinks they need to grab, though. I'm not even sure what they've been eating or drinking on this trip, since none of the shots of them riding Whamon have suggested that their oil drum filled with potable water or crates of food survived the raft's destruction. They were last seen floating in the debris, so I guess we'll just have to assume they fished those out offscreen.

(Maybe they've been fishing, providing a supply of tasty fish to both eat and drink somehow like Taichi suggested earlier.)

As they approach, Agumon demonstrates the limits of his worldly knowledge.

Agumon: Wow, what a huge island! Piyomon: It's not an island, it's a continent! Tentomon: This is my first time ever seeing so much land on the horizon!

Sadly, even getting involved with Agumon's ignorance gets Piyomon in trouble with the dub team, who blame her for it.

Agumon: Wow, that island's huge! Biyomon: I've never seen an island so big! Tentomon: It's not an island; It's the continent of Server.

Guess they didn't like the choice to have someone other than Exposition Guy correct Agumon.

Meanwhile, not everyone is quite up and at 'em yet. Palmon eagerly tries to rouse Mimi from a deep slumber.

Palmon: Wake up, Mimi! You can see Server Tairiku from here! It's the Tairiku! TAIRIKU!!! Mimi: (muttering, half-asleep) I prefer keki (cake) to taiyaki.... (rolls over and goes back to sleep) Palmon: (sigh) Oh, Mimi.

Alright, that one got me. I was not prepared for Taiyaki Wordplay 2: The Reckoning. XD

Needing a replacement joke here, the dub goes for the Valley Girl bit.

Palmon: Mimi, you've just gotta wake up and look at this! We're going to land on a BIG CONTINENT!!! Mimi: (muttering, half-asleep) Nooo... I'm getting a pedicure.... (rolls over and goes back to sleep) Palmon: (sigh) Oh, Mimi.

This is a good use for it. We've come a long way from the first couple episodes, where the show would get mad at Mimi over a character trait they made up to have something to get mad at her about. Switching "Mimi won't get up because she likes cake more than continent" to "Mimi won't get up because she's at the dream spa" is a lateral shift. Having her say this retains the goofiness of the moment as best they can and doesn't make her look any worse in the process.

Pulling up to Server, the kids disembark. It's a dangerous process; There's no docking mechanism for a whale, so everyone has to slide down Whamon's side and then kick off and jump to the cliff before they slide too far and fall into the ocean. But they make it. All but one, who remains up top paralyzed with fear.

Sora: Come on, Mimi-chan! Be brave! Mimi: Why do we have to get off here? Aren't there better places to land!? Koushiro: In fact, there is an inlet up north where it would have been easier for us to get off. Jou: That's why we had a group discussion, but decided to land here. You slept through it, though! Mimi: Don't make important decisions like that without me!

I want to feel bad for her, but honestly! Keki over taiyaki? Mimi deserves this.

(I'm really more of a pie person, myself; I can't stand the frosting on cake. I've never actually had taiyaki but I've always been curious. It sounds kinda like a cream-filled donut but made from waffle instead of cake.)

Meanwhile, in the dub:

Sora: Come on, Mimi! Mimi: Uhh, this is a little too extreme sports for me. Is there some way I can be airlifted onto the island? Izzy: Sorry we can't just move the continent for you, Mimi. Now, according to the map, this is the best beach to come ashore. Joe: Just put one foot in front of the other and you'll be fine! Really! It's as easy as falling off a log, Mimi! Mimi: Yeah? Well, I've fallen off plenty of logs and believe me, it's not as easy as it looks!

They cut the context that Mimi could have had a voice in this discussion had she not refused to wake up. That the group settled on a suboptimal landing spot is replaced by an insistence that this was the best place possible, forcing Joe and Mimi to spend their last two lines bantering.

Izzy also calls this cliffside a "beach" for some reason.

In the end, Whamon ends up being the deciding factor here. He sinks suddenly, unbalancing Mimi and sending her tumbling down his side before giving her a bump to throw her up onto the cliff. Trusting one of these lunkheads to break her fall for him.

BAM. Fall broken. Hope his computer's okay; This was probably the worst option for Mimi to land on.

His task complete, Whamon says his farewells and returns to the ocean, leaving the kids on a whole new continent. Fortunately, they're not entirely directionless.

Mimi: Where do we go from here? Palmon: Whamon said that if we continue on, we'll reach a Koromon village in the forests within half a day. Mimi: Koromon? I think I've heard that name before.... Agumon: I used to be a Koromon! Mimi: That's right! Tentomon: The Koromon should be willing to help us. Taichi: Alright! Let's go!

Taichi's so eager to go, he turns away from Agumon to address the group at warp speed. Flipping instantly from one pose to the other with no transitional animation frames between. Super jarring.

Not sure how Whamon knows much about the continent's geography past its edges. Nonetheless, it seems implied that this came up during the talk about where to land. Proximity to the Koromon village may have been the deciding factor in choosing Perilous Cliffside over Easier Inlet.

In the dub:

Mimi: So what are we going to do now? Palmon: While you were asleep, Whamon told us where to go. In the forest, a few miles from here, there's a Koromon village! Mimi: Koromon? Why, that somehow sounds familiar! Agumon: I was a Koromon the day you got here. Mimi: I forgot! Tentomon: The Koromon are a group of Digimon always willing to help out those in need! Tai: Okay, gang! Let's move out!

Tentomon's a bit more verbose and seems to be basing his idea off the biology of Koromon or something rather than a general hope that a kindly village will assist travelers.

But the bigger shift is in Palmon's line. Human walking pace generally averages about 2-4 mph. "A few miles from here" is a much shorter distance than half a day's journey.

The kids set off into Server. We join up with them trudging through the desert.

Jou: This really is a continent.... Gomamon: Why are you stating the obvious? Jou: Because we've been walking for so long and the scenery hasn't even changed a single bit! Mimi: I thought, once we reached the shore, I could take a bath.... Palmon: You can, once we reach the village! Mimi: When will we get there, then!? What hour, minute, and second? Palmon: ...uhhh....

Jou calls out that the biomes of Server are significantly larger than the ones on File Island. They've been walking for a good 8-12 hours through dry, dry desert and nothing looks any different from where they started.

In the dub:

Sora: This place is bigger than I thought. Izzy: It's simple physics. The universe is expanding! Joe: I think my feet are expanding. We have been walking all day long and there's no sign of the village yet! Mimi: Oh, I'd give anything to be in a nice clean bathtub with lots of bubble bath in it! Palmon: You can do that once we get to the village. Mimi: You honestly think they have bathtubs, Palmon!? Palmon: ...uhhh....

So much for "a few miles". Sora and Izzy's lines here are delivered in completely casual tones, which makes Joe and Mimi come off more whiny. In the original, everyone just sounds tired and frustrated by their trek.

We lose Jou's point about the size difference between Server and File, and replace it with Izzy's... random derailment? Cosmic expansion has nothing to do with why Server's desert is bigger than the Gear Savannah.

Mimi's bit is also shifted, and in a way that makes Mimi look better. We've come a long ways from changing her lines to give the others reasons to yell at her in the first few episodes. In the original, she's just talking about bathing in general; Palmon tries to be helpful and Mimi snaps at her. In the dub, she's fantasizing about a luxurious bathtub experience, making Palmon's attempt at encouragement more unreasonable.

Suddenly, Agumon smells something. Getting a sniff of Koromon in the distance, he calls Taichi's attention. Through his mini-telescope, Taichi spots the forest they've been looking for in the distance, and the group races off towards salvation.

Following a short march into the woods, they find their destination.

Eager for a chance to take a bath, Mimi races down the hill ahead of the others. While Palmon chases after her, Agumon hesitates. After a moment, he drops a bombshell.

Agumon: This isn't the place.

Dub Agumon isn't quite as certain.

Agumon: Something doesn't feel right.

Reaching the bottom of the hill, Mimi races into the village to find... Koromon?

Mimi: Hey, where are your baths? Koromon?: (They all turn around to face her at once, saying nothing.) Mimi: Huh? Did Koromon always look like this? Palmon: No, these are Pagumon.

Just so we're all on the same page about the chill running down Agumon's spine right now, the narrator cuts in with the rundown. Pagumon is a Baby-stage Virus-type Digimon. They get their names from "pagu", the Japanese word for the "pug" breed of dog. Pugmon.

Narrator: Pagumon. A Baby Digimon who loves to bully the weak and make fools out of others.

For his part, Tentomon seems at a loss for what he can say here.

Tentomon: Hmm, Pagumon. There are[sic] more to them than meets the eye.

Tentomon's rundown is a shrug emoji followed by "IDK Maybe they're Decepticons. Is that the right toy franchise?" He's so utterly at a loss, he even screws up his grammar.

As soon as the rundown's complete, the Pagumon gently knock Palmon over and run off with Mimi.

Great job, Palmon! Solid 10/10 bodyguarding happening right now!

The rest of the group arrives too late to stop them from taking Mimi. Following the sound of her screams, they make their way to a luxurious hut. A trail left behind by her discarded hat and bag lead them to the chamber she's been taken to.

The dub takes this as a perfect opportunity to add some jokes. When they find her hat, Sora picks it up and inspects it.

Sora: There's Mimi's hat! (snatches it up) It's definitely hers.

For the dub, she says:

Sora: Hey, look up there! That's Mimi's hat! (snatches it up) There's the price tag; It's Mimi's.

XD Solid. That got me.

Then, when they find the bag, we get:

Jou: Hey, isn't that Mimi-kun's bag? Koushiro: You're right. That can't be anyone else's but hers. Taichi: Okay, then! (angrily throws back the curtain) She must be in here!

The dub makes this into:

Joe: That's Mimi's purse. She never goes anywhere without! Izzy: Logically, that can mean only one thing: She's missing. Tai: (angrily throws back the front curtain) That's it!

Helpful, Izzy.

However, as Taichi approaches the rear curtain to enter the chamber beyond, Sora makes an alarming discovery.

It's a bath. The Pagumon brought her to the bath she asked for. A revelation that comes much too late for both Taichi and Koushiro, who are swiftly and furiously taken out by a thrown wash basin and shampoo bottle respectively.

Once the two intruders have been slain, Sora closes the curtain to preserve what's left of Mimi's privacy.

(Koushiro is having the worst day. XD This is the second time he's been laid out by Mimi-related projectile attacks.)

The Pagumon lay out a feast and formally welcome everyone to the Pagumon village. Singing a welcoming anthem in the background while the kids discuss.

Gabumon: Apparently this was a Pagumon village. Agumon: That's weird. I'm sure I smelled Koromon here.... Mimi: I feel like Otohime-sama when she arrived at Ryugu-jou! Jou: You're mixing up characters. You mean Urashima. Sora: (picking out apples with Taichi) You don't think these are fake, do you? Taichi: As if something like that would happen twice! (bite) Tasty! It's real!

Mimi and Jou are talking about a Japanese folk tale. The protagonist, a fisherman named Urashima, rescues a turtle. The turtle turns out to be the princess Otohime, daughter of the sea's ruler Ryujin. To repay his kindness, Ryujin grants him an audience in his great palace of Ryugu-jou at the bottom of the ocean. There's a lot more to it than that but the important thing is, as Jou states, Mimi mixed up which one was the main character.

(Imagine that, Mimi likes and relates to the cool sea princess more than the everyman protag. Representation matters, folks.)

In the dub:

Gabumon: This is definitely a Pagumon village. Agumon: Something's wrong here, Gabumon. I know what I smelt was Koromon. I'd bet my nose on it! Mimi: I feel just like a princess in a big, beautiful palace! Joe: I once had a chihuahua named Princess. Sora: Listen, Tai; You don't suppose this could be some kind of trick? Tai: 'Course not! You think I don't know a good Digimon from a bad one?

As far as compensating for untranslatable gags go, "chihuahua named Princess" is one of their weaker attempts. Don't know why they removed the callback to Devimon's feast, though.

In any case, the Digimon from there agree that the Pagumon are much nicer than their reputation.

They're right, too. The Pagumon are eerily nice. Like, they're too nice. They're clearly trying too hard to be accommodating. Comparing to the Pyocomon feast, the Pagumon have their entire population out here practically worshipping the passing travelers. It's weird.

They've crossed the line from "hospitality" to "trying to sell something". It's super suspicious if you're not eleven.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a long-awaited event finally happens.

Poyomon evolves, once more becoming Tokomon. He's back to where he was when he and Takeru met. The kids and Pagumon all applaud, celebrating his achievement.

But then, as Day 12 comes to a close and the kids go to bed inside one of the huts, this happy occasion becomes markedly less so.

The Pagumon kidnap Tokomon, tying him up and jabbing him with sticks.

Tokomon: W-Why are you doing this!? Pagumon: Because you evolved! Tokomon: You aren't nice Digimon!? Pagumon 1: It was an act! Pagumon 2: You're all so stupid for falling for it!

The dub edits the footage to cut out all shots of the Pagumon jabbing sticks into Tokomon. This means Pagumon's first line and Tokomon's second are all cut out.

Tokomon: What'd I do!? Why are you picking on me!? Pagumon 1: Because you Digi-volved! Pagumon 2: You were so easy to fool! What a bunch of losers!

Now, I enjoy beating babies with sticks as much as the next person so obviously the censoring makes me sad. But the dialogue still flows smoothly and hits all the key points. It's a simple enough exchange that it can be easily covered in three lines.

They don't get very far into Tokomon's bullying, however; A trio of Digimon call out to them, demanding to know what's happening here.

These are Gazimon, a Child-stage Virus-type Mammal Digimon. Their name comes from gazigazi, the onomotapoeia for eating.

Narrator: Gazimon. They have a vicious and aggressive temperament. Their special attack, Paralyze Breath, is a mass of electricity that numbs their opponents.

Paralyzing lightning breath. Well, that's fucking ominous. This is not the cavalry here to save Tokomon; These are very bad bunnies.

Tokomon handles the diegetic rundown himself.

Tokomon: Look! Those are Gazimon! On the evil scale of 1 to 10, 10 being bad, these Digimon are 12!

Really? Where would Devimon rank on that scale? Because the Gazimon have steep competition if they're going to trump him in badness. I agree with the sentiment but you may be overselling it a little.

The Gazimon promptly question the Pagumon about all this.

Gazimon: Where'd that Tokomon come from? Pagumon: H-He came with a bunch of humans.... Gazimon: Humans?

They weren't prepared for that answer, exchanging looks among themselves.

The Gazimon have the Pagumon bring Tokomon to a cave behind a waterfall. There, they lock him in a cage.

Pagumon: Stay quiet in here, you!

The dub Pagumon express jealousy for earlier.

Pagumon: Not so special now, are you?

From the cage, Tokomon sees many red eyes light up from deeper within. The sight of it frightens him, but we move perspective to the Gazimon watching from outside.

Gazimon 1: Who would have guessed the Chosen Children would show up here? Gazimon 2: I'll go tell Etemon-sama about this. You guys take care of the rest!

After torturing and imprisoning Tokomon, now seems like a good time for the dub to drop in a tension-lightening gag.

Gazimon 1: One of us has to tell Etemon that the DigiDestined humans are here! Gazimon 2: I'll go. I gotta ask him for time off for a harecut anyway!

While the Pagumon are instructed to keep an eye on the kids and not to let them leave.

We follow that Gazimon as he races across the landscape. On the dawn of Day 13, he reaches his destination. Spotting a Monochromon hauling Etemon's trailer around, he approaches the trailer and we are introduced to this piece of work!

Introducing Etemon-sama! Perfect-stage Virus-type Puppet Digimon and pop star extraordinaire. This guy turns in the single most memorable vocal performance of the entire dub by being a major villain voiced entirely and unapologetically as a full-blown Elvis Impersonator.

For the next season or whatever, we are going to be fighting Evil Monkey J-Pop Elvis. That is the plot. Digimon is wild.

Etemon: YEAH YEAH!!! Who is the strongest in the world!? That's me, ETEMOOOOOOOON!!!

Two things to note here: First, "YEAH YEAH" is in English for added stylishness. Second and more importantly, when Etemon says "strongest in the world", he specifically says "Konoyo de saikyou". That's an interesting choice of words: Konoyo.

We've previously seen the world referred to as Digimon Kai and Digital Sekai. The words there, kai and sekai, are ways of referring to the physical reality around us. It doesn't necessarily mean "Earth", mind you; Dragon Ball for instance uses kaio, "World-King", to refer to godly beings who govern the entire universe. "World" is different from "planet".

Konoyo is more of a spiritual term; It exists in opposition to anoyo, the other world beyond death. Etemon proclaims up-front that he is the strongest Digimon in the world of mortal life. He's our Frieza, um... according to him, anyway.

Meanwhile, the dub gives us our first impression of his Elvis tones.

Etemon: Yeah! The concert sensation of the Server Continent is back! ALRIGHT, it's Etemon the King!

I like that he calls himself "the King" right up front. Not even pretending. Uh-huh-huh.

Yeah, there's no way to actually make his voice come across through text. But if you know it, y'know. In any case, that's not really added; Gazimon calls him King of Digimon right after the narrator's rundown, which is probably where the inspiration to make him Elvis came from. I mean. He's a music sensation called the King, there's only so many directions you can go with that.

Narrator: Etemon. A Digimon who claims to be the strongest. His two powerful attacks, Dark Spirits and Love Serenade, support that claim.

For the rundown, the narrator even centers on the fact that Etemon's status as Strongest in Konoyo cites only a source of like, your opinion, man. While nonetheless stressing that he has the might to back it up.

Tentomon has to warp over to handle the diegetic rundown, because we're now officially at the point where doing it diegetically doesn't always work anymore.

Tentomon: There is nothing entertaining about Etemon. He has the power to control anything electronic through his Dark Network.

Spoilers, Tentomon!

Though, in a rare twist, the dub's rundown is more informative and useful than the original's, giving us an early explanation of the way Etemon's abilities work.

Hard disagree about that first line, though. Dub Etemon is amazing.

Once Etemon's intro is out of the way, Gazimon attempts to broach the topic of the kids with him.

Gazimon: HAIL ETEMON-SAMA!!! King of Digimon! Etemon: (punches Gazimon in the skull) Shut up! You're too loud for this early in the morning! Gazimon: ...maybe you should take your own advice.... Etemon: SHUT UP!!! SILENCE!!! According to my calculations, the Chosen Children will be landing here soon. I'll ambush them here and crush them all! A fine plan, if I do say so myself. But if you're too loud, the children will hear you!

He gestures to a map, where a blinking blue light indicates the kids' location. As a nice detail, you can also see the inlet further up north that Mimi would have preferred to disembark at.

(You can see the gears turning in his head here if you think about it. That spot on the map is probably the jagged cliffside. If the GPS places them there and they're on a raft, they're going to need to find somewhere nearby that their raft can actually come aground at. So Etemon's waiting at the nearest beach.)

This is a good plan, thwarted by the circumstances of the sea voyage. The Whamon encounter was a fucking miracle. Due to how much faster he was than the raft, we arrived a full day sooner than expected. And we were able to disembark directly onto the jagged cliff (or inlet) rather than this raft-accessible beach. Whamon single-finnedly made the entire rest of this series possible.

This also sets the tone for the kind of villain Etemon is going to be. Devimon had to be cautious and calculating because a 6v1 Adult-stage dogpile intimidated him. He wasn't confident he could win that.

Etemon is Perfect-stage and allegedly Strongest in Konoyo so his plan is to just tear these kids apart with his bare hands. There is nothing he can throw at them that will be more effective than himself.

Over in the dub, he continues to Elvis.

Gazimon: EVERYONE HAIL ETEMON, THE TRUE KI-- Etemon: (punches Gazimon in the skull) Now, son, you're way too loud for an early morning time like this, understand? Gazimon: But you're the one using the amplifier, sir.... Etemon: Now let's get something straight, sonny-boy; I'm the Monarch of Rock and Roll. Your jives make me happy! The humans will be here soon! You see now, once I start making my fabulous music? Well, those kids are gonna be mine! They'll just have to come over and see what great star is singin' like that!

Without mentioning that they're coming ashore here, it's less clear why he expects them to show up at this spot. I think you can still put it together from context - we got a big shot of the beach on Gazimon's approach - but that threw me as a kid.

I do, however, like the dub's addition to his plan: He was going to rock out and bait them into coming to their doom of their own free will. History suggests this would have gone off without a hitch; Children are gullible and our kids have proven to be no exception.

Overall, Etemon has a solid plan. There's just one problem with it.

Gazimon: The children won't be here. Etemon: Hm!? Gazimon: The Chosen Children arrived yesterday and landed somewhere else. They're at the Pagumon village right now. Etemon: W-What!? HOW!? WHY!? Gazimon: (points to the map) That's not up-to-date.

Etemon slams his fists down on the console, causing the data to refresh. The blinking GPS light changes to a new location on the map. Devimon lets out a hysterical shriek at the sight of it.

Etemon: AHHHHHHH IT'S TRUE!!! My plan is ruined! I'll never forgive them for this! Remember that!

Etemon releases the Monochromon and detaches the harness from his trailer. He then summons his Dark Network, causing a set of cables to emerge from the earth for his trailer to drive along.

Gazimon asks Etemon about his intentions.

Gazimon: Will you gather your subordinates? Etemon: I'll be more than enough for Chosen Children on my own.

But Etemon has no intention of leaving this task to others.

In the dub:

Gazimon: There's just one thing wrong. Etemon: Huh!? Gazimon: Just that those seven kids are already here. They've been at the Pagumon village since yesterday. Etemon: What!? Just what are you saying!? I had it all worked out, kid! My whole plan's flawless! Gazimon: Well, somebody forgot to tell those humans! Etemon: No! It's just not fair! (Etemon slams his fists on the console, causing the light to move) Etemon: I am the King here! They gotta learn the hard way what you already know: They can't be messin' with the royal one! I expect my plans to be followed, uh-huh-huh!

Once he gets his trailer moving, the exchange is:

Gazimon: This will be your greatest performance yet, boss! Etemon: It's not easy being a superstar, little bunny, but somebody's gotta do it!

This exchange conveys so much less information. Etemon doesn't even bring up the movement of the blinking light, and he seems to pound the console out of frustration rather than to refresh the data. Combined with him failing to mention the kids' landing, it's not super clear in the dub what that light even represents.

They also cut the explanation that he a) has subordinates he can bring against the kids but b) is choosing to do this himself. Entertaining as the Elvis persona is, it's replaced much of the plot laid out in this scene.

On the plus side, Etemon being furious with the kids for not following his plan to murder them is a great extrapolation from the original "I'll never forgive them!" moment.

Back at the Pagumon village, the kids search frantically for Takeru's missing Partner.

Mimi: I thought I could finally take a break. I wish he wouldn't make us go to so much trouble! Gomamon: And who do you think's given us the most trouble all this time? Mimi: Jou-senpai. Jou: Ack! He means you! Mimi: EHHHH!?!?

Honestly, I'm with Mimi. I mean, Mimi once threw a tantrum because Koushiro was ignoring her for a long time, but Jou once melted down at the entire group over how they season their eggs. Jou's dogged insistence that there's humans to take care of us just around the next corner has also landed us in trouble multiple times, including being the reason the kids fell for Devimon's trap.

Gomamon's Partner biases are showing. I love Jou, and the way he behaves makes perfect sense when you consider the pressures he's under. But if we're gonna talk "Who keeps getting us into jams?" and "Who's the hardest to be around sometimes?" then the finger should be pointed that-a-way.

The dub takes this as an opportunity for a Valley Girl joke.

Mimi: Can we hurry this up? I'm scheduled for a mud pack and a facial in half an hour. Gomamon: Tokomon should know better than to interrupt your beauty treatments. Mimi: You're so right. Joe: Huh? He's being sarcastic. Mimi: WHA--!?!?

I think the dub version of this flows better because Mimi's the butt of both jokes but here it feels more deserved. There's no ambiguity here; Mimi's being shallow and Gomamon gently ribs her for it.

With everyone searching for Tokomon, Koushiro draws a map of the village in the dirt with a stick so he can mark everywhere they've looked. While the kids are searching the village, the Pagumon check the waterfall and report back that he wasn't there.

However, while everyone else is checking the village, Agumon returns to the forest. He's interested in pursuing that Koromon scent that did not lead in the village's direction earlier.

He follows that smell all the way to the waterfall, where he finds not only Tokomon in a cage but something else.

Agumon: Koromon! Why are you all locked up in here? Koromon 1: This is our home! Koromon 2: Two or three days ago, the Pagumon came here and took over our homes! Agumon: Then those guys are-- Tokomon: Wicked liars! You have to tell everyone!

Over in the dub, Agumon's kneejerk reaction to seeing Koromon in cages is to quip about it.

Agumon: Koromon! Boy, you guys gotta get a bigger apartment; Maybe some place with a few more bedrooms. Koromon 1: The Pagumon came and locked us in these cages! Koromon 2: About three days ago, they came in and took over our whole village. Agumon: Then we were really right after all! Tokomon: I appreciate chatting as much as the next guy, but if you untie me, we could go warn the others.

Dub Agumon and Tokomon are both unsettlingly casual about this predicament. Though the Koromon don't seem amused by any of this.

Agumon tries to free the Koromon, but he doesn't get very far before he's interrupted.

It's the two Gazimon who stayed behind while the third went for Etemon. They've been guarding this waterfall cave.

Agumon: I'll get you out of here quick! Gazimon: Oh, you're not allowed to do that. Agumon: You guys are... Gazimon! Gazimon: We'll be offering the Chosen Children to Etemon-sama! Agumon: Etemon? Gazimon: We'll dispose of you here!

Agumon barely has a chance to defend himself. The Gazimon lunge for him together, shoving him to the ground and raining punches down on him.

In the dub:

Agumon: I'll have you out in just a minute. Gazimon: I really don't think so! Agumon: Hmm? But you're Gazimon! Gazimon: Exactly right. And we're going to be giving those humans of yours to King Etemon. Agumon: No, you're not! Not quite! Gazimon: Why don't we teach the little lizard a lesson?

Between this and the last bit, I think Dub Agumon's high. His lines throughout this waterfall cave scene are atrocious. My favorite part is the way he delivers, "But you're Gazimon!" as if it's abnormal for Gazimon to behave this way.

Back in the village, the kids confer about the disappearances, but one person hasn't shown up to regroup.

Koushiro: Tokomon is still a baby, so he shouldn't have been able to go far.... Taichi: He's late... Where is Agumon searching?

Which the dub plays straight.

Back in the cave, the two Gazimon nail Agumon with their Paralyze Breath. He collapses to the ground, seeming to lose muscle control as we've been told the attack does.

Koromon 1: Two against one isn't fair! Koromon 2: You've got this, Agumon! Agumon: Taichi... let me evolve.... Gazimon: It's useless! No one outside can hear you! Agumon: Damn, if only this waterfall wasn't here... Waterfall... That's it!

The dub calls the Gazimon's move "Electric Stun Blast". Otherwise this is unchanged.

Suddenly, Agumon stands up again and lets off a Baby Flame. The Gazimon sidestep his shot, but he wasn't aiming for him; He hits the waterfall behind them. Then he shoots another Baby Flame. And another. Letting off shot after shot while the Gazimon ridicule him for his bad aim. Sending up steam into the air, which Taichi sees and points out from his scouting position with his mini-telescope.

Seeing the steam in the distance, the kids decide Tokomon must be over there. This sends the Pagumon into a panic.

Taichi: That's weird.... Yamato: What do you see, Taichi? Taichi: (points) I see smoke over there. Jou: What's that? Takeru: It's Tokomon! (All of the Pagumon collectively flinch) Pagumon 1: That can't be true! We just searched that waterfall! Pagumon Group: WE SEARCHED!!! WE SEARCHED!!! Koushiro: But he might have shown up after you finished searching. Taichi: I'll go take a look. Pagumon Group: YOU CAN'T DO THAT!!! Sora: Why not? We're just taking a look. Pagumon: Uhh... Because....

Suddenly, Mimi lets out a horrified scream, pulling everyone's attention away from the rising steam.

Somehow a Botamon has made its way into Mimi's lap.

Mimi: W-What is this thing!? Tentomon: It's a Botamon. Palmon: How would a Botamon be here? Yamato: What do you mean? Gabumon: Botamon is the Digimon that evolves into Koromon. There shouldn't be one in a Pagumon village. Taichi: Then this place is really....

The Pagumon launch into a reprise of their Welcome song, welcoming the kids to Not the Pagumon Village while scurrying away.

Over in the dub:

Mimi: Eww, what is this thing!? Tentomon: It's a Botamon. Palmon: Why would there be a Botamon here? Yamato: What do you mean? Gabumon: Botamon is the small egg form that Digivolves into Koromon and then into Agumon. Taichi: Then the Pagumon lied to us!

The only noteworthy thing is that Gabumon calls Botamon a "small egg form", which is an odd choice of descriptors, and adds that Koromon evolves into Agumon. Technically, due to branching evolution paths, not necessarily always the case. But it's not wrong either, and branching evolutions aren't a thing that's been introduced to the show anyways.

Yet.

Putting those soccer legs to work, Taichi sprints full-speed to the waterfall cave. He arrives much sooner than the rest of his group and their various levels of athleticism, giving Agumon what he needs to fight.

(Sometimes it's nice to sit back and appreciate how big Adult-stage Digimon are. Good news is that the rushing sounds of the waterfall will drown out the Gazimon pissing themselves.)

Sweeping the Gazimon into the river with a single shot of Mega Flame, Greymon quickly puts an end to this. The kids enter the cage, releasing Tokomon and the Koromon from their cages.

Takeru: Thank goodness you're safe! Tokomon: I'm sorry for worrying you, Takeru!

The dub calls back to Tokomon's recent reincarnation.

T.K.: Tokomon! I thought I lost you again! Tokomon: I'm like a boomerang; I keep coming back!

Aww, that's sweet. So far, the original's been unclear about whether Tokomon remembers his past life with Takeru or not. We haven't spent enough time with him yet to know. But the dub's putting it all up-front that this is the same guy and he was just resting. He speaks in longer and more complicated sentences, and now he's quipping about his revival.

But then an ominous voice calls out over loudspeaker.

Etemon: Chosen Children, can you hear me? Koromon Group: IT'S ETEMON!!! Etemon: How dare you make a fool of me!? Since you pissed me off, I'm going to destroy everything in this village! Taichi: Everything in the village!? Koushiro: There's no way he can do that!

In the dub:

Etemon: You measly little DigiDestined humans, thank-you-very-much! Hello! Koromon Group: IT'S ETEMON!!! OH NO!!! Etemon: You little bratty kids messed up all my big, beautiful plans so now I'm gonna have to punish you all by playing a little number that I just wrote. It's called "Wrecking the Whole Place". Taichi: "Wrecking the Whole Place"!? Izzy: Do you think he can actually do that?

What, play the song? Sure, he seems talented eno-- OH, you mean, can he wreck the place? Dunno. We just met him right now, and the nature of his threat's a bit harder to follow than when he said in no uncertain terms, "I'm going to destroy this village."

Etemon puts his Dark Network where his mouth is, raising cables from the ground to form a network in the sky above the Koromon village.

The Network sends jolts of destructive energy down into the various huts, obliterating them one by one. In the original, he simply calls out "Dark Network!" to summon the cables, but the dub calls it Dark Network Concert Crush.

The Digimon evolve to resist Etemon, but he's ready for them.

Etemon: I won't let you do that! LOVE SERENADE!!!

Jamming on his guitar, Etemon plays a killer beat that forces the Digimon back into their Child-states. As long as he's playing his Love Serenade, evolution is impossible.

In the dub:

Etemon: Well, you say you want a Digivolution? Guess what, the answer's ~noooooo! Dark Network Concert Crush!

I guess this, too, is Dark Network Concert Crush. Versatile move, that.

Taichi: What's wrong with you guys!? Agumon: I-I can't feel any power! Tentomon: His Love Serenade drains you of your abililty to fight! Koushiro: Is there any other way to fight against him? Tentomon: Not while we're in this state. If we could evolve to a higher level.... Yamato: If Garurumon evolved to a higher level, it would be possible? Sora: So this is why Gennai-san told us to find the Tags and Crests. Jou: It's too late to realize that now!

Tentomon speculates that evolving to Perfect-stage would give them the ability to fight back against Love Serenade, but as Jou points out, it's a little late to start looking for Crests now.

The dub needs to squeeze a commercial break here, so they cut up the footage just a bit. The commercial lands after Tai's initial line, at which point they splice in footage of Etemon's Concert Crush to re-establish context upon return.

Tai: Something strange is going on! (Commercial) Etemon: Dark Network, YEAH!!! (A bolt of dark energy blasts the river just outside the cave) Agumon: Concert Crush took our power! Tentomon: Does rock and roll have that effect in your world? Sora: Only on our parents. Izzy: So there's no way for us to fight this monster? Tentomon: As we are? No. If only we could Digivolve a step further. Matt: A step further? Sora: That must be what Gennai was referring to when he told us about finding the Crests and Tags! Joe: I think it's just a little late for that now, Sora.

Nice rock & roll quip, Sora. Hahaha we're going to die in here.

Out of options, the Koromon lead the kids deeper into the cave. Unfortunately, they run right into a dead end.

Taichi: What's this? Koromon: There's a legend that says if anything were to happen to our village, we should escape from here!

In the dub, it's more of a hidey-hole.

Taichi: Huh!? What's this? Koromon: This is a safe place where we hide when anything bad happens to our village!

Oh, y'all get attacked a lot, I take it?

This wall presents a problem for our escape. Fortunately, Taichi's Tag begins to react to it. A bright orange light surrounds everyone, and the wall with the symbol shrinks, forming into a Crest to slot into Taichi's Tag.

Taichi: This is a Crest! Yamato: What? Taichi: I have a Crest! Yamato: Alright!

The dub delivers the same idea, but is slightly awkward in its delivery.

Tai: I think I know what this is! Matt: Okay, what? Tai: A Crest! Sora: A Crest? Tai: Exactly! Now we've got a Crest! Matt: How awesome!

The way Tai delivers "Now we've got a Crest!" makes it sound like Etemon's drowning in Crests and we're just now picking up our first to even the playing field. We are, and it is to even the playing field, but not because we're trying to match Etemon in Crest count.

Not only do we acquire a Crest, but when the glow recedes, we're in a different cave entirely.

Jou: Th-This is.... Koromon: We're in the mountains far, far away from where our village is. Jou: Then we're saved! Yamato: Looks that way. Mimi: I'm so glad! Taichi: A Crest... I finally have one! As long as I have this, Etemon is no threat at all!

Careful of that cockiness, Taichi. It might lead you into trouble.

In the dub:

Joe: ...didn't this used to be a wall? Koromon: Yeah, but the Crest must have brought us here! These mountains are a long way from our village! Joe: Alright! Frequent flier miles! Matt: This place is the bomb! Mimi: It's beautiful! Tai: Hmm... With this Crest, we can do anything we want! You know, guys, I think this is the first step on our trip home!

I like how Tai is overselling the Crest's capabilities but in a completely different way. Ironically, he'll actually be right about that prediction while Taichi's in for a rude awakening.

This is the second time frequent flier miles have been brought up. These preteens care an awful lot about thrifty cross-country transit. It's almost like middle-aged adults are writing their dialogue or something.

(Back in the 90's, frequent flier miles were all over cartoons and sitcoms. Writers were certain that worrying about thrifty cross-country transit was a universal concern. I knew that frequent flier miles were desirable before I even knew what planes were.)

However, as the kids discuss their newfound safety, a cable of Etemon's Dark Network feeds their location back to Etemon's trailer.

Gazimon: AUGH!!! Etemon-sama, the Chosen Children-- Etemon: The Chosen Children have been torn to pieces by now. Gazimon: They were suddenly sent somewhere else. Etemon: WHAT!?!? (Etemon turns and looks at the map) Etemon: You're right... How strange to see them over there. I'll need to stay on my guard with these children. But that's what makes defeating them worthwhile!

Etemon is surprisingly chill about the kids' teleportation. At least, after the initial shock, anyways.

In the dub:

Gazimon: Um, Etemon? About the human children-- Etemon: Yes, little bunny, trapping them all in that cave is more fun than learning how to lip sync! Gazimon: Maybe not, boss; They're missing! Etemon: HOW COULD YOU LOSE THEM!?!? Let me see! (Etemon turns and looks at the map) Etemon: They got away! This bunch is a whole lot more clever than I thought they were. I'm gonna have to think about this one, then defeatin' those kids is gonna earn me a standin' ovation!

Etemon was trying to blast them into bits and pieces? Nuh nuh nuh, the plan was to trap them in the cave the whole time. Nobody ever went in after them and it's not like there's any bars to prevent them from leaving, but he's still shocked they left the cave.

We close here, with Etemon plotting his next move against the Chosen Children while they flee into the mountains of Server. Both Etemon and Taichi anticipating a chance to meet again.

Assessment: This is a strong intro for Etemon. Like Devimon and the mansion trick, Etemon is given a powerful introduction to set him up as a force to be reckoned with. He brings tremendous peril to the table, which the kids only narrowly escape with their lives.

There but for the grace of Whamon, he would have had them. He nearly did anyway; Much of the back half of this epsiode is spent showing off what his pet project the Dark Network can do. Its effects are creatively distinct from Devimon's Black Gears, and menacing in a variety of ways.

And yet Etemon himself is a lovable goofball. Rather than trying to match Devimon in calculating chessmaster menace, Etemon keeps things light and fun. He's a silly villain with big reactions who is no less threatening for it, and he makes this section of the show a lot of fun.

The dub, unfortunately, cuts a lot of the Why's in this episode. Context is being stripped away left and right from various scenes which is a hard negative. Their jokes are hit-or-miss, but there's a higher saturation of jokes that work than ones that don't. And Etemon... is Etemon. So the dub of this one is lesser, but entertainingly so.

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

Well look at you!!! Are you dressed as Wirt from Over the Garden Wall!!??? I really love that show, although I really don’t watch it as often as I should. I first watched it like any old kid does, pirated through YouTube with the actual episode in the corner as a tiny square and the rest of the screen filled with other nonsense! Boy, you really haven’t lived if you haven’t done that at least once in your life. Once watched someone’s upload of the entire Toy Story 4 movie like that — can you believe it? Someone posting the entire Toy Story 4 movie on YouTube! The best part is, it stayed on there for like four weeks! What a fun time.. now, fortunately nowadays with me being on the interwebs more often I know some peeps have posted the whole OtGW series on Google docs which they’ve then shared around, which is pretty nifty indeed! Really appreciate folks doing stuff like that, because otherwise digital media can just vanish into the air with the way streaming is nowadays. Rotten stuff.

Oh, anyway, Over the Garden Wall! Yes, I remember when I first started watching that show. I remember watching the very opening, thinking, “Scenes of the past? No, scenes of fantasy? No… perhaps passing memories, fleeting dreams and thoughts?” I like to think I was pretty right, personally! I like that we’re shown… well, I won’t say much, but with such a simple opening everything happens in plain sight. Even moreso when you look at the Easter eggs, like the intro of each episode!!! Gosh, I felt amazed when I learned all the things it hides!!! I used to gobble down theory videos one after the other about the show! A good show really has you thinking and looking at things with a keen eye and ear, doesn’t it? Over the Garden Wall is such eye candy too, it’s funny how a show can have a simple style like that and yet so detailed too, I’m sure the art style took a while to brew and develop.

My very favourite character was Wirt, no doubt you can guess, when I watched OtGW I was but an insecure teenager myself and as an oldest sibling who plays clarinet, well, it was like a match made in the Unknown! Now that I’m more grown Wirt comes across more silly to me now, ha. Funny how that is you know? When you grow up, you can see the same story at different points in your life, but relate to different characters. That happened to me once with this book about a primary school age girl in foster care. When I was a younger kid, I related a bunch to the main character and her frustrations and struggles, but when I later read the book again as a… teen maybe? I found myself relating more to the adults in her life. It was a strange kind of thing to experience. It helps me remember that to children, things that may seem small to adults, can be really major and big! Children’s concerns should be taken into account all the same, they shouldn’t be simply brushed off as nonsense. Teenagers’ too!

Actually, hey! Speaking of Over the Garden Wall, this I hope you’ll like, I put a little reference to it in my most recent tumblr fake dashboard post! I haven’t seen anyone point it out at all!?? It is none other than fishblr user burgle-the-turts! Their icon no doubt confirms it: a teapot, similar to the kettle Greg wears — I mean, sorry, his elephant costume. The “burgle the turts” line lives in my brain, what can I say. I dropped many other fun references to media in the post, for example, fishblr user greenXD is a reference to that funny thing Master Wu says in the Lego Ninjago movie. THAT’S RIGHT I WATCHED NINJAGO but I haven’t sadly seen the movie and I kind of fell of the show when Zane was kidnapped..?? I did watch the snake stuff, and the whole season where…..

(I proceed to elaborate at length. You never receive your candy.)

trick :)

[leighlew3]

Are you open to giving your opinion on The Girls On The Bus?

IMHO take away the swearing and the occasional s*x scene, you can tell people of the CW were involved. And so many other things that I don’t want to spoil in case not everyone has see it but I wonder how you (a professional) sees it.

Okie dokie. So.

I've had this Anon/Answer as a draft for a while. Was torn on whether to discuss it. But now that it's cancelled, I don't feel like this would be discouraging anybody from tuning in and thus harming the show or those involved in any way.

Keep in mind, I'm entitled to my opinions -- yes even without having watched it (yet?) because it's all tied into why I ultimately didn't watch it in the first place.

Early on, I remember being... wary about the creative direction of the show overall and saying to somebody what I bet each character would wind up being about/representing, what the show would likely focus on and the various dynamics between the characters, and how the representation would be treated. I'd hoped to be wrong in terms of the predictability factor, alas...

From what I read of reviews and saw in fan-posted clips, it turned out that I was (unfortunately) pretty spot on. For me personally -- that makes a show difficult to tune into if something else doesn't outweigh it. If I already know exactly what to expect and it involves less than flattering predictions regarding superficial feminism + overdone tropes and cliches + an overall concept that feels like a beat down with IRL non-stop coverage of political insanity the last 8 damn years? Thaaat's a hard one for me.

As far as cast though? Benoist is an exceptional, underrated, incredible talent. And some of the clips of her performance seemed Emmy-worthy (though sadly that didn't happen for her this time). Gugino is also fantastic, and an icon. Meanwhile Elmore is profusely enjoyable and talented and Behnam is such a break out and refreshing energy. And all together, they seemed to have amazing chemistry on screen and formed bonds IRL that are lovely.

Sadly though, the show's feminism seemed to be the equivalent of a "girl boss" tote bag. Superficial at best. Characters and the show constantly ragging on men and the double standards of men vs women, yet ultimately still centering men and the influence of men in and even over their lives when it gets down to brass tacks. My whole thing is: everything doesn't have to be a feminist statement. But don't yell about how your show is all about "girl power" and then -- do the opposite, in many ways. SGCW used to do that all the time. And since many of the same people were involved here creatively... well...

The show even hung a huge focus of its initial marketing on "omg we have a shirtless 50 year old white man that white millennial women were in love with in the early 2000s hehehe" -- which was so utterly bizarre and cringe. And having their invited influencer group for the screening be a group of privileged, mostly straight, cis, white Millennials and Gen Z women from TikTok was a red flag.

Yes, straight cis white Millennial and Gen Z women deserve to see themselves too, 100%. But, c'mon. And yes, not everything is always for everybody. And that’s fine! But then they should’ve better considered the casting and what audience they were automatically bringing in from day one. Between Benoist, Gugino and Tala — that’s built in queer wlw fandoms right off the bat that would (and tried to) show up and champion the series if they had true reason to. Instead the show had limited, and as always ancillary, queer rep that apparently goes nowhere and ends rather badly, from what other fans have indicated. Drop me a line if that's incorrect though.

Look, yes, many queer fans were making jokes and expressing valid frustrations about the lead character giving QUEER AS HELL vibes all over the place yet being presented as seemingly straight, but what else is new from some of the creatives involved here.

It was further disappointing to see TPTB do a group interview where they said how they a.) tried to figure out who should get pregnant while on the campaign trail and need the abortion pills and ultimately decided on Sadie and b.) joked that they then debated "Well, Sadie HAS to sleep with SOMEBODY." to get there. Which just means the core "love story" they attempt to create for Sadie around not liking the guy at first other than as a hookup and then suddenly expressing deep feelings for him and bearing her soul a few episodes later wasn't exactly organic nor earned in conception nor execution.

It sounds like they just had a checklist of "issues" to address and then wrote around that, shaping characters to fit the story, instead of the other way around. So what might've worked better for the characters was pushed aside to complete the 'statements' they wanted to make. SGCW used to do that also. They were always trying so hard to make the characters fit the plot rather than the plot work alongside or even due to the characters -- which is why it so often fell flat, felt empty and had characters being poorly written, contradictory, etc.

On this front btw, someone had complained to me that for one big ep, Sadie was going through it, and whereas one would think she would normally go to her mentor and friend Grace (or one of the other girls on the damn bus, hello), the ep kept 'em apart so she could open up to a guy she previously rejected and it further their relationship. Once again, it's always a tiresome tactic when you have to keep women apart to prop up a man or a male/female dynamic because you know a character would have been more likely to go have that breakdown and emotional moment elsewhere, but you've gotta forcibly shove in the "development" of a hetero relationship at the expense of so much else.

Next, having a Black woman represent a political party that has built itself upon racism, homophobia and sexism and then using her and those arcs to play up the "both sides have good people" angle right now is tough to stomach for the kind of fans who were tuning in for Benoist, Gugino and others. It's not "enlightened" to say "Let's be pals with a bigot who wants women's rights stripped away because -- humanity!" I mean, we're all human and can't just quick and easy cut people out of our lives who have different beliefs, even if those beliefs are absolutely painfully awful -- but I don't think anyone is really exploring these issue deeply and appropriately enough yet.

I mean, "Aw, Kimberlyn drove Sadie to her abortion, thus showing that even if she personally didn't agree with it, she still cares and they can still be friends." is a sweet sentiment, in theory. Until you dig a little deeper and remember that Kimberlyn is not only voting for but actively helping promote and put power in the hands of people who stripped Sadie of her rights to have that abortion in that state in the first place! Stuff like this is so irritatingly disingenuous... or else just tone deaf and clueless. Pick whichever.

I will say, in closing, that it seemed a big portion of the apparently limited audience that was tuning in -- were queer fans who followed Benoist from Supergirl, and Tala from LoT, and who love Gugino, etc. And this is where it is so damn important know your audience based on who you're casting and what fans they're bringing to the table. Most discussion of the show on Twitter for instance, had been around queer Sadie edits and even a crackship with someone from another show + fans thirsting after Sadie's queer vibes and outfits, etc -- and those fans generated more interest around the show / buzz than anybody, yet there had been no direct acknowledgment nor gratitude by anyone involved with the show for tuning in and creating fan content and edits and art and gifs and hyping a show that otherwise has very little interest. And all that told those fans is: this show isn't for you, and we don't care if you're our only audience, we were aiming for something else. And hey -- aim for whomever you want! Tell your stories! But then don't be surprised when no one cares in this climate. I mean, LGBTQ fans and creators have to deal with this constantly when trying to "appeal to mass audiences", so, welcome to our world.

Additionally, TPTB were not even hyping the canon rep they did have, in Lola, ffs! Instead, everyone just focused the occasional praise from mostly straight white journalists giving it the obscure positive review, or family and friends pushing the show out of personal support.

It was so exhausting to see, because it involved a lot of the same creatives who previously also ignored LGBTQ fans carrying other previous shows with organic marketing in the past. Ignoring what limited audience you have will never be a recipe for long-term success. And with many of the people involved coming from The CW, and many at the top actually part of the LGBTQ community themselves -- you'd think they'd get that by now. Alas.

Anyway, I think most people involved in this show meant well, and worked hard on this one. And I hear they did do a couple great things -- like with Lola's family dynamic and background exploration, some of the humorous moments, etc. And kudos on getting a show made and on air -- because now more than even that is a damn near miracle. But because it's so hard to make happen now, that's really why I tend to be a little more discerning as well as having heightened expectations that representation be as fully developed and organic and self-aware as possible, and that talent not be wasted on cliches and superficiality. Audiences and actors deserve better, IMO.

In closing, I'm sure in the future I'll break my own standards on a project, whether by accident or by order from above, and people will feel I've flopped or been hypocritical given my current and past takes, and that's fine. I'll try to hear people out, adapt and grow and/or fight harder, where needed. But to see the same people get the same opportunities to make the same kind of things that get the same disappointed reactions/flop -- and never learn? Is tiresome.

Especially when the cast, fans, etc deserve better.

The end.

[tohjwcc]

Who am I? INTRODUCTION

Alright, so I've been here for like..half a year now? I actually don't entirely know, but ish 6 months. But I feel like I want to introduce myself. Idk why.

- So. Hi. I'm tohjwcc.. I honestly wanna change it, but I'm scared people won't recognize me if I do so haha. So, I guess I'm stuck with it for a lil while longer. Guess I'm just a "normal" (heck I'm not, I'm weird as f-) teenager...ehm, well, going to highschool after summer. Yasammy/cc/ct nerd, basically.

- My personality is complicated. For any camp cretaceous fan, I can easily describe myself as a softer version of Yaz. I have a strong Yaz side, but another big piece of my personality is just quirky and weird and funny (people say I'm funny.. so I hope they're telling the truth lol). But also, I've been told... SO. MANY. TIMES.... That I'm too nice for my own good. I'm kind and nice to everyone. I can't be mean to anyone. At least not on purpose. That is one thing that separates me and Yaz from being completely identical (personalitywise) (which again isn't entirely true, my quirky and weird side is bigger than my serious/Yaz side. I'm basically the yasammy icon. That quirky side could be referred to as Sammy lol.) But ofc there are other small stuff that also separates us two a little but yeah. (Tbh idk... I haven't really figured myself out yet. Idk what I am like, I just wanna be like Yaz cuz I love her so deeply and I can really relate to her in so many different ways. Idk, maybe I'm just not like her at all. Maybe I just wanna be like her...? Ugh, I don't know, I don't know myself. Dang it. My dream is to be cool. Like my girl Yaz. Okay, enough rambling).

- English is sadly not my first/native language, so any bad grammar or wrong wording could appear, so I apologize for that. I also like to make up new words, so if there's a word you've never heard before, it's probably one of my new creations. Confusion can appear, you've been warned.

- On this blog.. is it a blog? I don't even know. Anyways, on this account thingy I mostly post about camp cretaceous/chaos theory. That is where my main interest is. That leads us to my next.. ugh, me and words. I don't even know what it's called in my language. Paragraph, maybe? Let's go with that. That leads us to my next paragraph.

- Favorite shows. I've got a LOT, but the ones that might appear on this account are probably just Jwct/jwcc and the owl house. There's a chance like stranger things and heartstopper could be joining us too. I know nothing. I could be posting/reblogging random crap as well, so nothing is for sure.

- I started watching camp cretaceous when season 3 had been released. I was in my "Jurassic world era", so I had been watching all the Jurassic world movies (ish), so I guess I just wanted to rewatch some of them again, and then I saw it. "Jurassic world camp cretaceous". I was like "OoO". I began to watch it, and fell in love with it IMMEDIATELY. Also, a funny fun fact, I started watching it when I was 12. And now I'm 15. This means I was as old as the youngest character when I started watching it, and I am NOW as old as the OLDEST characters are in the show. This show has been with me through all my teenage years so far. I'm so greatful for this show and these campers. They helped me through so much, and I could never thank them enough.

-The jwcc character i can relate most to is Yaz. 10000%. Like I said before, she is so me. My friend says I'm a Yaz, and she once said I even looked like Yaz, which is cool, but idk how cuz I'm not a brunette haha. But these are the bestest compliments I've ever gotten.

Shoutout to anyone who even bothers to read this lmao. I might add stuff to this later, who knows.

Have a great day ^^

[broadwaycouchpotato]

Leaving Avis here- I do t know, inspiration hit and I kinda like this one!

But this quote hits deep to be honest. Antisemitism is on the rise,. Jewish actors/actresses are being erased from the scene by non Jewish actors who play roles of Jewish characters. It’s disappointing…

Yes, Patti LuPone is absolutely amazing as Avis Amberg, I LOVE her in this character! Avis is Iconic!!!!!

But still, there are so many women who are actually Jewish, like Avis. They weren’t given a chance to break through in this roll. Even when they’d be able to add an aspect to the character that a non jewish actress wouldn’t be able to do. There are aspects to Avis’s character that could have been enhanced by the personal experiences of Jewish women. (Sorry- wording reads a little weird here. I am not words today)

The character of Avis faces death threats, hate crimes, being looked over in the acting industry, being left behind and abandoned by society due to physical features that were not in her control. Also for being a part of a minority ethnic group.

Jewish women have struggled with these things relentlessly for generations. Jewish women have wrested antisemitism and hate and have been targeted because of their Jewish heritage.

Now I do know that Patti has experience with hate, abuse and bullying in the industry. I acknowledge her struggle and the pain it causes her. It’s valid! No one should be treated in such terrible ways! People need to respect others no matter what!

Yet she hasn’t faced what many Jewish women have gone through for generations.

Sadly, we carry so much generational trauma from such acts of pure violence.

Many women in my community have first hand experience with all of this. Go up to any woman/girl at any synagogue and they’ll have at least one story about an act of antisemitic hate, violate, comment, joke, micro aggressions- made towards them.

Patti hasn’t experienced these acts of hate in this specific situation and circumstance. She can’t. Because she’s not a Jewish woman.

Jewish women shouldn’t be facing violence or hate. No one should.

We can start making the entertainment industry more accessible to Jewish people, by giving Jewish people the spotlight for the characters who are written as being Jews!

[creativecuteness]

Just a little Fic I'm working on

This is a sneak peek for a fanfiction that I'm posting this Friday. Inspired by Island of the slaughter AU by @Evaee-ry on both Tumblr and Tiktok.

The fresh ocean breeze left a salty taste in her mouth and nostrils as the bow rocked to and fro. She stared at her reflection in the clear blue water with purpose, with the cloudless sky, orbiting sea gals, and cool breeze it was a perfect summer day. Perfect for swimming, fishing, and cold creamy treats but it wasn’t perfect to her in fact; the last thirty days couldn’t have been more stressful.

She glanced at her associate out of the corner of her eye. The sun always had a way of hitting his handsome features just right his short black hair, subtle beard, and brown eyes. He was wearing a white T-shirt with a teal green one over it, dark shoes, and brown khakis. his sorry excuse for a signature outfit.

To many Christopher McLean was the Canadian equivalent of a Hollywood icon, he has appeared in countless movies, was a host for serval radio shows, podcasts, and reality tv shows (Put a pin in for that last one) And he was handsome to boot especially when the light hits him just right. But to her it wasn’t endearing as much as it was annoying.

Dakota Natalie (Age 16) knew full well that Chris’s nice guy act was nothing more than that. His quote-on-quote acts of selflessness was just a way to paint himself as a humble chivalrous not your average celebrity kind of guy. But below the surface the countless fangirls and mutual respect were the many ways he stroked his own ego. In actuality Chris was an egomaniac, narcissistic, and overall insufferable and any brave fool who tried to call him out on it would be fired on the spot and taken to court for ludicrous charges. Only a fool would work for Chirs and sadly Dakota, their captain manning the boat, and two junior high schoolers were those fools.

She turned herself fully to get a better look at Chris as he smoked his cigarette, he truly had no care in the world and that just added to the young girl’s disgust. How could he be so nonchalant about this? Were his staff and actors just that disposable to him? Or maybe he was starting to feel an ounce of regret and couldn’t risk showing that vulnerability. Dakota liked to think it was the second option but the logical side of her knew what was going on in his twisted brain.

Chris lowed his cigarette and puffed out smoke all of which hitting the brunette square in the face making her start hacking as she fanned the air as the smoke stung her eyes and lungs.

“Ugh, yet another reason why I shouldn’t start smoking.”  She prayed; the repulsive stench wouldn’t linger on her clothes. A brown skinned girl with purple hair in a braid handed her some water which she gladly drank. Once her coughing fit ended, she gave Chis the best death glare she could muster.

“Watch were you’re blowing that stuff are you trying to kill me too.” She spat, a small part of her wanting to throw the tv host overboard.

“Hey, I gave you a warning, but you were so lost in my beauty I guess you didn’t hear me.” He remarked teasingly, even in her observation she didn’t see his lips moving once he hadn’t said anything to her, and he knew she knew that. Barely anything gets past her.

“Pfft as if.” She scuffed crossing her arms and leaning back on the railing, “I’m just seeing if you regret leaving twenty-two teenagers on a deserted island while you left to save your own hide.”

Chris’s featured softened for once letting his ego deflate as he gave his assistant an affectionate pat on the head. She had the urge to push it away but moments like this were rare and far between, so she let it slide (Just this once.)

“Look, as much as I hate admitting my wrong doings you have a point.” He sighed, taking another drag from his cigarette this time blowing in the direction of the wind (And out of her face.) “I shouldn’t have left those kids on the island with a crazy killer.” He spoke, “It’s just seeing Ezekiel’s head and severed body parts I panicked. I didn’t know what to do, what was I supposed to do?”

“Uh, bring them with you!” She snapped banging her fist on the metal railing, startling their other two helpers who were playing Go Fish using a barrel as a makeshift table, “Call authorities and let them handle the rest! But no, you had to selfishly leave giving those kids no way out and all of which could be dead thanks to you. How do we tell their parents they’ll sue you from here to Timbuktu, your reputation will be ruined, and you have yourself to blame for this McLean!” She yelled, giving him another hateful glare.

Chris had to hand it to her, just like Hearther her looks could kill, and it left him regretting waiting this long to rescue them.

A Hispanic teenager with short brown hair watched the scene unfold, he thanked his lucky stars he wasn’t chosen for the show. As Chris and Dakota argued back and forth on the morality of their situation; he eyed the purple haired girl and motioned her to invite Dakota to play with them.

She nodded in understanding not wanting this short-term alliance to be the end of them before their search even began. “Hey Dakota!” She spoke waving to her, “Why don’t you play with us? We need a third player to even the playing ground.”

Dakota thought for a moment, giving a small glance at Chris wondering if he had any final words on their conversation, but figured it’d be better to just end it now. “Fine deal me in.” She agreed, not giving the former host a second glance as she joined the two acquaintances, her expression still stormy and didn’t even make small talk. The only time she did was to ask for a card.

When you realize there's another Dakota in Total Drama and need to specify this is a completely different character and by that, I mean this is my main OC. Fully chapter will be out on ao3, fanfiction.net, and Tumblr Friday February 2nd.

[mysunshine-youremoonlight]

ok FINALLY

most iconic twitter layout tbh before my fucking account got nuked (opened it up during a religion lesson thought god suspended me . it was actually copyright violations . right when i almost hit 4.4k) . that girlie is jean grey shes a fucking icon idk if you heard of her . one of the og xmen (token girl) she is insanely powerful she goes nuts several times over the course of her comics career . icon . thats from the new xmen (2000) run, its actually really good if you ever want to get into comics you should definitiely read it

my BESTEST girl im sure youve seen me rave about her before . i think that pic is from uncanny avengers . good enough comic . had my favourite love interest of hers in it (jericho aka doctor voodoo . hes cool) . i had this one for agessss

yet another bestest girl . this is daisy johnson she is perfect in every concievable way . shes bisexual (not canonically but the actress did say oh absolutely when someone asked about it . her ass is so fruity though she looks like she kisses men and women) . shes a hacker . she has fucking awesome earthquake superpowers . shes so mentally ill . i love her . also her mum . number one evil milf .

MY GIRL LENNYYY shes such an icon canon lesbian played by aubrey plaza you dont really get too much better than that . she gets possessed at one point and goes nuts as you can see in this image . that whole sequence is great . the whole show is really fucking trippy and its actually really good andddd i gotta finish it i got chucked into a new hyperfixation around the time i was trying to finish it sadly . its so good tho .

also this is the longest time i had a none marvel pfp i think . this is laurits . from a show called ragnarok idk if youve watched it but they are the best and i fucking love laurits . reincarnation of loki if im remembering how that all worked correctly . very queer as most lokis tend to be (excluding that useless piece of shit sylvie)

anyway sorry for all that this turned into less of a favourite layouts and more of an annoy you about all my faves

you are never annoying friend i love hearing abt ur blorbos

[sirjuggles]

Worm Reading - Part 1, Insinuation 2.6

So I've heard the series Worm thrown around peripherally over the years but I've never sat down and read it. Lately some folks I follow on Tumblr have been talking about it more, and I do love me a good web serial (shoutout to Astielle and Velveteen Vs. and, uh... Tales of MU but we don't talk about that). With that in mind, I figure I'll dive in and share my experience reading Worm for the first time.

Up front, what I know about Worm before beginning: I know it's yet another take on the reality of a world where some people have superhuman powers. I know the initial main character has bug powers. I'm pretty sure that somewhere along the way there's a massive spike in power level, where we go from dealing with street fights to dealing with civilization-level threats. I think there's some investigation of how people get powers, and experiments with trying to give people powers (that, inevitably for the genre, probably go awry). I also think there might be some shenanigans with the focus of the story, like a primary viewpoint character dies or becomes someone else? I'm hazy on that part.

With that in mind, I began reading this morning. I'm currently up to Insinuation 2.6. I will admit it's a little bit of a struggle to not skim over the school bullying portions. I know this is a story written twelve years ago by an amateur author, but the initial descriptions of all the pretty popular girl bullies and the focus on what they wear and what their hair looks like is definitely the weakest part. Not that this isn't sadly a legitimate depiction of how awful high school can be for many people, but at least for me it's the least interesting thing to read about.

So far it seems that Taylor hasn't really fully thought through how reality on the streets might differ from the Good Superhero VS. Evil Supervillain narrative put out by an organization with a name like THE PROTECTORATE. We've gotten some interesting glimpses into the street-level struggle between gangs led by powered individuals, I'm a little fascinated by this idea of non-powered mooks as basically gang members who rally around a powered leader. I'm gonna slide right over the characterization of the gang led by Lung and chalk that one up 2011 being a different time.

I am SO INTRUIGED by the Undersiders. Specifically it has been established that they have a somewhat diverse mix of powers and have been able to take on or shake off any attempts at suppression from officially authorized teams.

Hellhound: Seems to be general muscle for the team. We have yet to actually speak to her, but I kinda like her? Seems like she looked after herself while homeless for many years, and I can't really begrudge her for being standoffish or abrasive.

Grue: "Darkness Generation" is such a vague power, but I suspect it could be very handy in battlefield control and breaking contact after a fight, which makes their crew substantially more slippery. Deeper implications to how this could be weaponized?

Regent: Vague hero name doesn't seem to indicate any particular power, I'm curious what his deal is.

Tattletale: I'm sorry, I've only known this character for five minutes and I already LOVE her. Her power seems to be information-related, something like she knows the answer to any question asked? If her power is anything like what I think it is, she is CRAZY powerful and is absolutely being underestimated by the narrative at the moment. Can't wait to find out what her deal is.

Only other character we've met so far has been Armsmaster. He seems... fine. Generic corporate superhero. Nifty iconic weapon, not clear what actual powers he might have. He seems nice enough, I was a little surprised that he didn't put more pressure on Taylor to get registered and go legit in their initial interaction. I did feel a brief pang of "oh god I'm old" when the clearly Responsible Adult-coded character is estimated to be about my age or younger.

I'm curious to meet this elusive "Boss" the Undersiders have mentioned, that seems to be a critical part to this story that I suspect will be a central part of which way this story goes. Onward from here!

[saleintothe90s]

482. Seventeen Magazine, March 1996

(see also: 1994, 1995)

Two things that are sightly upsetting: 1. I barely remember looking through this issue when I was 12. 2. I had to pay $30 for this issue off eBay.

Unfortunately, the Tendrecils line from Lancome is discontinued. Doesn't stop me from misreading it as "tendrils" though.

Does Kate know what magazine she's reading. This was Seventeen in 1995/1996, not 'Teen. 'Teen was the girly magazine back then. I don't know about Y/M, never read that one.

Those Hush Puppies the girl in blue is wearing.

South Coast Today [archive]

A similar green pair with laces seemed to be everywhere in my magazines for a brief time in 1996. I never saw anybody wearing 'em though. Never saw them at Kinney. I don't see 'em on eBay either, Joel sold 6,000 pairs at his store in 1995, wherearethey. 1

'Y'all know Cover Girl still makes this?!

Remember this beautiful "great" packaging Maybelline had. If I had money to throw around to collect old makeup, this would definitely be in the collection.

The fuzzy trim dress was a classic prom dress (or, at least the teen magazines made it seem that way) for the mid to late 90s.

Anna's dress is #1. I love the short sequin Hawaiian print dress. That is 1996.

There's those black and white dresses again! The Chanteuse girls will kick all of our butts.

I saw a lot more of these pastel dresses in my 1997 issues, which sadly yes, I'm trying to find on eBay right now. No luck.

If I was allowed to have makeup back then, you better believe I would have worn this look at school the next day.

I honestly had no clue that self tanner was a thing yet, or maybe just a thing that was sold at like, Saks in the glass case.

Slick straight hair. That was the thing. I had hair down to my waist back then so suffice to say I was not sporting this look

I used to get my Sanrio stuff from the My Doll and Toy Shoppe in downtown Hampton, Virginia. If you said the name of the store quick, it almost sounded like "MIDOL toy shop".

Every time I would see this ad for Kaepa shoes, naive 12 year old me thought "oh my god is that girl going to burn her school down?"

I had that lava lamp keychain and the 8 ball! I used to get them from either Claire's or Spencers. I had a Cracker Jack keychain too around this time that will just randomly show up in my dreams.

Did people really have scanners to scan in their handwriting back then? I imagine they were a small fortune back then. I tried doing some research on this software, but nothing came up.

Mickey was still stuck in 1995.

Oh, these were SO GOOD in the waining days of the low fat craze.

I remember when the Backstreet Boys got real big when I was in high school, I thought back to the ad and wondered "wait, haven't they been around for a while?" In 1996, they didn't even have an album in the U.S. yet.

"our internet address is.."

Some of these look more like pageant dresses.

I adore all the short dresses in this issue.

Is this a freshman dance? They look like freshmen.

Sharon Stone is a not-g0ing-to-prom icon.

Man, what happened to Finesse? It's like once 2000 hit, it became bottom shelf stuff.

There's always one dress that makes me sad in the prom issues, and I think it's this one. It looks so ... mature.

School Zone time, real pics of real kids from a school in Las Vegas:

The shiny, silky shirts!

These are the only two things I remember from this issue when I was 12: MaryBeth's amazing outfit--I wanted it so bad--and Jennaia's cat shirt.

A baby Tobey Maguire.

Baby Eliza Dushku. Did anybody else other than me think it was totally the norm for a guy to want to wear a bright tuxedo like this to prom?

I wish my scanner app on my phone got a better picture of this amazing Betsey Johnson dress Kathleen Robertson is wearing.

ok, a lot going on here on page 230.

-When I was attending Mary Baldwin College, there was this really cheezy store downtown that sold mostly cutesy poo gag gifts. Very cringe store. I'm sure if that store existed in 1996, they would have sold PMS Crunch.

-We're still in the waining days of the low fat craze here, so here are some "healthy" chips. Garden of Eatin' is still around! I think Guiltless Gourmet went out of business?

-I want to see photos and or footage of the Creamette Pasta Party at Tavern on the Green. All I I found was a blip on the New York Times:

On Saturday, about 17,000 carbo-loaders at the annual pre-marathon pasta party at Tavern on the Green will dig into five dishes created by New Yorkers, one from each borough. The dishes were the winners in a contest sponsored by Creamette pasta. The judges included as many weathermen (Storm Field and Mr. G) and sportswriters (David Kaplan of The Daily News) as food experts (Patrick Clark, Bob Lape and Robin Leach).

The meals, which will be served from 4:30 to 8:30 P.M., are free to runners in the New York City Marathon, which will be held on Sunday. The dishes are: baked ziti and vegetables by Martha Katzeff of the Bronx, rigatoni with beef and cheese by Mike Boyd of Brooklyn, spinach-rotini toss by Barbara Shields of Staten Island, creamy macaroni and basil salad by Karin Mackin of Queens and sweet nutmeg kugel by Diane Girer of Manhattan. All the recipes are by runners. 2

Remember when these Y-Necklaces were popular for about a minute?

1.Parnes, Francine . “Old Dog Trots Out in Trendy Places.” New Bedford Standard-Times, December 25, 1995. https://www.southcoasttoday.com/story/news/1995/12/26/old-dog-trots-out-in/50652285007/. 2.Fabricant, Florence. “Food Notes.” The New York Times, November 8, 1995, sec. Home & Garden. https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/08/garden/food-notes-021709.html.

[m4ndysk4nkovich]

I desperately need to know ur opinion on Holly and Debbie/just Holly in general

LOL OK

so holly has always been a character that has stood out to me just because she wasn’t one of those random characters (like sandy or megan, for example) who a character has supposedly known for so long yet is never mentioned until then. she was mentioned in 1x02 and was apparently a girl in debbie’s class who had basically got it into her head that frank was dead (and clearly offered her no comfort). that doesn’t seem like a great friend, and we know based off of fiona’s reaction that she doesn’t really like holly. holly was apparently held back four times, but by season four they changed that and i think she’s either debbie’s age or a year older.

then in season two we actually meet holly and she’s played by dove cameron (iconic!! i liked danika yarosh as her better but stil), and she is clearly the bad influence i had envisioned her to be in season one. she agrees to go to debbie’s sleepover only if lip is there, and then tries to have sex with lip. of course, lip rejects her, and she runs out, absolutely heartbroken in typical mandy milkovich fashion. then we see her episodes later still trying with lip. season two holly is what i believe truly started debbie’s downfall. it really started around season one, and it was obvious around season three, but i think the “how do i look?” “like you’re going to be a virgin for the rest of your life” part really caused season four, five, and seven debbie to start. debbie’s biggest fear, especially in season two, is dying alone or just loneliness in general. she desperately wants to make herself prettier and more desired so that she will be loved and never lonely. sadly, it doesn’t work.

season four is when debbie went through dramatic changes and we see holly again. holly is someone debbie envies and looks up to. she and ellie, debbie’s other friend who is pregnant, help debbie because she wants to lose her virginity. they end up teaching her to lie about her age and then literally tell her that she likes a boy for her, like, she doesn’t say that she does they decide that she does (did somebody say comphet?). her friends don’t want what’s best for her, and when she gets a boy they want the boy, and when it ends up all being an elaborate joke to humiliate debbie, they aren’t there to comfort her.

by season five she and ellie stop liking her for no apparent reason, and holly is interested in carl. they’re fake bitches. then, the whole matty situation happens (which i talk about multiple times on my blog, fyi) and they ridicule her and debbie starts a fight. she loses, of course, because it’s four against one and she was yet to learn how to fight. the odd thing about this is that holly and ellie were the ones who made debbie go after matty and were the ones who taught debbie that it’s okay to do that to a guy. they get this shit in her brain and then leave her. and on top of that, they’re still talking to matty for some reason. debbie later beats up holly, and almost does it twice, and holly feels threatened and stays away. we see ellie again in season six, but never holly. i would’ve liked it if they had shown her again, but they didn’t.

i think that holly was debbie’s first crush. she was willing to do whatever holly said and found her so pretty. i know that it could just be friendship but knowing debbie and knowing what it’s like growing up lesbian it seemed like a crush. i think that she was definitely into holly, then mandy, then holly again, then svetlana, then idk, then alexandra, then kelly, then julia, then sandy. that’s how i view her love life. no matty or derek or neil, just those girls (however- i did find neil and debbie cute at times like in that bath scene even if it was bad and she was just using him, sue me).

i think that holly was probably a very hurt girl. we know that at one point her mom has a new creepy boyfriend, and by the way that sounds her mom moves from relationship to relationship often, which, speaking from expierence, fucks you up. something definitely happened to make her mature so quickly, just like what happened with debbie and karen. i don’t know what, but something bad. i found her character very interesting despite how little screentime she had.

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Eye of the World! Chapter 29: Eyes Without Pity

Hello and welcome to my rewatch of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds! Despite being entirely about Alfred Hitchcock and not fantasy novels, this post contains massive spoilers for the series The Wheel of Time, from book 0 to book 14. If I could spoil books -2, -1, and 15 through 17 I would, but spoiler alert: They're never going to happen. Very sad.

This chapter starts with a wolf icon, which is a reflection of all of the new wolf powers that Perrin is going to be unwillingly developing this chapter. It's pretty straightforward.

Perrin exchanged glances with Egwene. She stuck her tongue out at Elyas’s back. Neither of them said anything. The one time Egwene had protested that Elyas was the one who wanted to go around the hills and he should not blame them, it got her a lecture on how sound carried, delivered in a growl that could have been heard a mile off.

Elyas is going above and beyond in terms of trying to keep these two kids safe, but he's yet another dude who is completely biting Egwene's head off. Girl puts up with way too much crap in this first book. And way worse in the next book. Thank goodness it'll be her turn to be awful in book three I guess.

“We’re wasting time,” he said, starting to stand, and a flock of ravens burst out of the trees below, fifty, a hundred black birds, spiraling into the sky. He froze in a crouch as they milled over the trees. The Dark One’s Eyes. Did they see me? Sweat trickled down his face.

More corvid slander, but I'll take it because they're about to be genuinely terrifying in a book filled with a lot of competition.

Elyas shook his head. “In the Borderlands I’ve seen sweeps with a thousand ravens to the flock. Not too often—there’s a bounty on ravens there—but it has happened.” He was still looking north. “Hush, now.”

It would be absolutely hilarious if one of the reasons that the Blightborder was constantly expanding was that the removal of carrion eaters from the ecosystem encouraged the exact kind of unnatural ecologies that thrive in the Blight.

Abruptly a fox burst out of the trees, running hard. Ravens poured from the branches after it. The beat of their wings almost drowned out a desperate whining from the fox. A black whirlwind dove and swirled around it. The fox’s jaws snapped at them, but they darted in, and darted away untouched, black beaks glistening wetly. The fox turned back toward the trees, seeking the safety of its den. It ran awkwardly now, head low, fur dark and bloody, and the ravens flapped around it, more and more of them at once, the fluttering mass thickening until it hid the fox completely. As suddenly as they had descended the ravens rose, wheeled, and vanished over the next rise to the south. A misshapen lump of torn fur marked what had been the fox.

A list of the Shadows' most competent servants:

Semirhage, for sending a super continent into civil war and coming closest to making Rand undo existence

Graendal, for almost winning the Last Battle single-handedly

These ravens

A second-to-last-place tie between virtually everyone else

Belal

Thank you I will not be taking notes.

Think, if you want to stay alive. Fear will kill you if you don’t control it.

Good advice, Elyas. Sadly, completely wasted on these two, as Perrin's fears never come close to killing him and Egwene's uncontrolled ones are entirely post-traumatic and not really her fault.

Moving in a stumbling trot, Perrin exchanged a glance with Elyas. The man’s yellow eyes were expressionless, but he knew. He said nothing, just watched Perrin and waited, all the while maintaining that effortless lope.

On the one hand, Elyas really doesn't seem to appreciate that this isn't the time. On the other hand, he's the only person who makes Perrin take any steps towards his personal growth, so it's hard to be that mad at him for it.

The wolves had no notions of time the way men did, no reasons to divide a day into hours. The seasons were time enough for them, and the light and the dark. No need for more. Finally Perrin worked out an image of where the sun would stand in the sky when the ravens overran them from behind. He glanced over his shoulder at the setting sun, and licked his lips with a dry tongue. In an hour the ravens would be on them, maybe less. An hour, and it was a good two hours to sunset, at least two to full dark.

I just love stuff this whole sequence. I don't have much to say about it, it's all just... grim and tense. Everything feels hopeless and I know for a fact that things are going to be all right.

Perrin looked at Egwene again and blinked away hot tears. He touched his axe and wondered if he had the courage. In the last minutes, when the ravens descended on them, when all hope was gone, would he have the courage to spare her the death the fox had died?

This is an interesting semi-recurring issue in Perrin's arc, one that kinda steps on Rand's toes and clashes with a few things; his having to learn the things that aren't his calls to make, whether it's marrying off his staff or deciding when to put someone out of their misery. It's something that could have been a better character beat if it had been focused on instead of his refusal to take responsibility, but like I said it's just weirdly clashing with that instead.

I think it's an artifact of the fact that the three ta'veren boys were originally going to be one character, maybe? Perrin was clearly the grab bag choice for overflow, either because Jordan had an intermediate step of trying to do two ta'veren before realizing even that was too much or because once he did the split he wanted to do three and didn't notice how the third leg of the tripod was shorter than the others.

Safety, that’s what. We made it, you bloody fools. No raven will cross that line . . . not one that carries the Dark One’s eyes, anyways. A Trolloc would have to be driven across, and there’d need to be something fierce pushing the Myrddraal to make him do the driving. 

Thanks for telling them that salvation was on the way, Elyas. The terror they felt being completely unnecessary is clearly very funny to you!

“A stedding,” Elyas roared. “You never listen to stories? Of course, there hasn’t been an Ogier here in three thousand odd years, not since the Breaking of the World, but it’s the stedding makes the Ogier, not the Ogier make the stedding.”

I believe this claim of Elyas's, since this particular stedding probably has the best documented history of the uninhabited one. It does make me wonder though why this one was overlooked the whole time. It was empty in Hawkwing's day when the population crisis wasn't anywhere near what it is now, and it's good enough land for the Ogier to work.

No questions. Not now. No explanations. Not ever. But a small voice taunted him. But you would have done it, wouldn’t you?

I'm trying so hard to not be unfair to Perrin, so let's just leave things at "Dude obviously cracked under the stress of their situation", but like... Jeez bro. It's a fucked up thing to think, even under the stress.

Artur Paendrag Tanreall, Artur Hawkwing, the High King, united all the lands from the Great Blight to the Sea of Storms, from the Aryth Ocean to the Aiel Waste, and even some beyond the Waste. He even sent armies the other side of the Aryth Ocean. The stories say he ruled the whole world, but what he really did rule was enough for any man outside of a story.

Is this another story having grown in the telling or early installment weirdness? In the established canon, the fleet that Artur sent to Shara never accomplished anything, which is really the more sensible outcome of a naval assault on an incredibly defensive nation. But it's been a thousand years and Shara's such a mystery that people definitely could believe it. I'm just not sure if Jordan believed it at the time too.

Artur Hawkwing died the very day the statue was finished, and his sons and the rest of his blood fought over who would sit on Hawkwing’s throne. The statue stood alone in the midst of these hills. The sons and the nephews and the cousins died, and the last of the Hawkwing’s blood vanished from the earth—except maybe for some of those who went over the Aryth Ocean.

Ishamael must really love these cruel ironies. He can be a real Bysshe!