#that is for me to see tamers in the wild ??? i feel like the world is ending

[ohposhers]

finally finally got the chance to watch the FREAKIN DEATH OF TWILIGHT MOTHERFUCKING SPARKLE and i had to draw this little freak immediately smh smh smh

[kissoulie]

𓈒ㅤׂㅤ𓇼 ࣪ 𓈒ㅤׂㅤ⭒

𓆡 ⭒ㅤ𓈒ㅤׂ 🫧

— NSFW. tags under the cut!

a/n: kissoulie debut day!! (⁠๑⁠•⁠﹏⁠•⁠) i wrote all of these for myself mainly but finally decided to post themmmm i wanted to post a full fic for my debut but work is busy :( i don't have enough free time </3 please do read the cws!!! they are very relevant haha my brain went a little wild with jiung so soulseob's are short ☹️ i will feed u soon sho stans u have my word 🙏 i normally don't write for jiung or keeho but the ideas were too inticing 😭

cws: fem reader, petnames (baby, princess, pretty girl), degrading (just once, "whore"), overstim, edging, breeding, daddy kink (kyo), brat taming (kyo), choking (kyo), exaggerated size kink (intak), pregnancy mention lol meandom!theo, dub-con (jiung), slight somno (jiung), squirting (soul), slight degrading, voice kink (seob), please lmk if i missed anything!!!

brat tamer!keeho who loves your cries of “daddy daddy daddy- slow down, daddy-!” followed by broken moans and whimpers from your swollen lips. he loves how you claw at him, eyes faded from how hard he's choking you, but still sobbing and slicking up more for him to fuck you stupid. he loves how you beg him to let you cum, “please please please daddy, please- can't hold it, please just let me ‘m so close daddy please just let me-” he knows you can't hold it. that's why he smacks your clit to send you over the edge. he loves how your hands try to pull his hips back, but he's determined to ruin the orgasm you don't deserve. it just makes you that much sweeter when he finally lets you cum on his cock.

meandom!theo who won't stick his dick in you until you're a crying overstimulated mess. he’ll use toys on you, stuff his pretty fingers inside you, eat you out until you're pulling on his hair so hard it hurts, but he won't fuck you until you're crying. he loves how your tears soak the pillowcase, how you cling to him like he's the only person left in the entire world. he loves feeling so special to you, to the point where he loses himself in your body when he finally does fuck you. his hips stutter, and he's cumming with a soft “fuck..” before he can stop himself.

best friend!jiung who humps you in your sleep. it’s not his fault you sleep on your stomach, your ass so.. soft and enticing. at first he did it with both your clothes on, but he realized that regardless, if he woke you up you would know what he’s doing to you. so he slowly pulls down your sleep shorts, pushing his dick between your panties and your skin. he snakes a hand under your lower stomach, pressing you to him. at first he doesn’t notice how you slick up for him, but then your hips jolt back to press against him and he’s almost clamoring off of you when he hears your whiny voice, “ji, don’t stop” who is he to deny such a needy, pretty girl? he practically rips your panties off, rubbing himself between your folds, pressing just the tip in as you moan, “‘s so big, ji, ‘s big..” “fuck, princess, that was just the tip,” you’re squeezing around him, pulling him deeper into your tight cunt. he groans, bottoming out in one sharp thrust as he loses control. you yelp, but your eyes roll back and he can feel you squirting around him, “cumming, ji, fuck” he knows you are. his eyes are shut tight as he struggles to hold back, fucking into you deeply and then speeding up. you push back against him, helping him along as he presses his hand against your stomach, feeling how his dick knocks up against it. you keep moaning and creaming all over him, and he loses control, pressed against your cervix as he paints your insides white.

size kink!intak who's so desperate for you. he wants to make love to you so bad, but you're just too small to take him properly. there's always that last couple of inches where he hits a wall, and you're sniffling out his name and holding his hands so sweetly. he can't bear to see you cry. the more he makes love to you the more he wants to breed you. and before he knows it, those last two inches are slipping past your sensitive walls while you cum all over him. you yelp in surprise but he's too far gone, fucking into you while pressing against your tummy, “gonna let me get you pregnant, baby? please- oh fuck, please”

munch!soul who’s obsessed with making you squirt. he spends precious hours between your thighs, flicking his tongue over your sensitive little clit, fingers buried inside your sopping wet cunt. he praises you, too. telling you how pretty you are for him, how good you taste, how much he needs to get his dick inside you when he's done using his mouth. he loves it when you squirt all over his cock, it makes his head empty.

voice kink!jongseob who whispers in your ear to get you off. he won't touch you until he knows you're close from just his voice, whispering filth into your ear. he wants to breed you. he wants to fuck you until you cry for him, until you squirt all over him, until you tell him you love him. that's what he's working you up for. he kisses your sensitive clit, eyes peering up at you innocently while your hiccuped cries turn to sobs. “all this from just my voice, baby? cmon, you know what you have to say so i’ll let you cum.”

[uh-oh-its-bird]

There are so many naruto time travel fics out there but what I need SPECIFICALLY is an ANBU era team of Kakashi, Tenzo, Itachi, and Shisui getting flung into the founders era.

Like. Ok just looking from the political side of it that's;

A) 2 very young and VERY powerful Uchiha's (one of which is the future clan head!! Politics!!)

B) A very fucked up baby mokuton user who's still in the middle of being deprogrammed and can totally pass for Senju

C) The free wild card that is Hatake clan lore on top of having a stolen sharingan. On top of *that* him being the team leader of a team of kids who, in the time period context, should both be at eachothers throats and probably not be expected to obey the commands of someone not only from another clan but a way smaller one

Theres SO much potential there!! So many political implications in virtually ALL of the directions!!!!

Yk what as I'm typing this out I'm having ✨️ideas✨️ so let's make some story points to sort those out:

• I think itd be neat to have this happen like. A year? Ish? Before the massacre? So age wise, and full disclaimer I'm referencing Google and Wikipedia rn so I could totally be wrong, I think that's :

Kakashi (18)

Tenzo (17)

Itachi (12)

Shisui (15)

Could be wrong about the ages but honestly it's my world you're just living in it, so.

Then me going totally purely off of my own headcannons, were going to say they came in a about a year before Izuna died and place the founders ages as:

Madara (23)

Hashirama (23)

Izuna (19)

Tobirama (18)

Big fan of Tobirama being the youngest between the 4 but projecting the aura of someone as old as like. Idk, however old Madara is. Very funny to me, 10/10

• I'm personally a big fan of dogteeth kakashi so we're running with that all the way home. Also a huge fan of the "Hatake's are a distant, more feral cousin of Inuzuka clan" hc along with some sprinklings of "back in the day they had a bit of a Reputation(tm) for being a 'lill wild, and everyone generally tries to avoid them. Which isn't too much of a problem because theyre a very small out of the way clan from Iron, they just have a big reputation in contrast to their size.

In more modern times tho, along with (obviously) having dwindled down to a single depressed teenager, they've become a lot tamer over the years due to village life. Kakashi is a Hatake, 100%, but he is NOT up to the standards of this time. Which becomes a bit funny when people see him, go "oh FUCK it's a Hatake" and then start edging slowly towards the door like he's about to rip their throat out with his teeth. Meanwhile he's standing there like 🧍‍♂️"am I that ugly."

Give me a scene where, finally used to this reaction to him from the general shinobi population, the team starts to use it to their advantage.

"Give us the scroll or we'll let the Hatake off the leash to have his fun with you. He's been awfully hungry latley you know, hasn't had fresh meat in days"

Kakashi, feeling kind of stupid, gave his best growl.

It caused an almost immediate, embaressed flush to rise to his face, but he didn't let up. It sounded more like an almost pathetic puppy growl than anything to his ears, but apparently it was enough to convince the trembling enemy nin because he slowly lifted the scroll up in offering.

Wow. Now he couldn't tell if he was embaressed for himself or for this guy.

Probably both to be honest.

• So like. Itachi is the clan heir. That's big. That's important. Let's do something with that.

First off, I had a great time reading this one fic (tho I don't even remember what the fic itself was about now, oops) where a plot point of it was how Sasuke is just a walking stereotype of main house Uchiha. Like people look at him and they don't just go "oh that's an Uchiha." They go "oh fuck that's an UCHIHA Uchiha." He's so fucking painfully, obviously related to the very tippy top of the clan that anyone not blind can tell. It's in the way he looks, it's in the way he talks and treats those around him, it's in the way he fucking holds himself. You look at him and every other stereotype about the Uchiha clan is there in big, bold letters. (On top of that he's also a dead wringer for Izuna, which I'm such a sucker for and desperatley wish people would do more with)

So like let's give that to Itachi here because it's so fun for several reasons.

First off; Sasuke in this is like. Straight up a doppelganger of Izuna, just a few generations apart. They could be twins. Itachi, as I'm sure you are aware, is Sasuke's big brother. So let's take some liberties and say that Itachi could absoloutley pass as a blood sibling to Izuna and Madara.

He is however 12, so we're also going to say that the only people who get to make this connection is anyone who's seen the siblings when they were also at a similar age.

On top of that however he has the 'walking amalgamation of all the stereotypes of the main Uchiha house' so anyone who isn't blind will look at him and assume he's somewhere in the sphere of 'important main house person' tho who really knows how distant the relation may be exactly. No one !! That's who !!!

Second; He's the fucking clan heir!! What the fuck!! This bit would have the most impact after all the messy time travel reveals when things have settled down a bit, so it'll sit in the back pocket for a bit. Save it for some fun shaking up later down the line so we don't run out of all the fun reveals too fast and bore the readers, yk?

When it is brought up tho it'd be fun to maybe have some fucky Itachi and Madara mutual understandings of the way things work.

• So. Madara is like a bit of a scary bed time story to Uchiha children, right? Like. "Ooo make sure you don't get too obsessive or fall too deep into your grief and always stay loyal to the village or you'll end up just like Madara!!"

Something something Uchiha-Village relationships are tense as hell, something something Madara fucking over a lot of the clan with his whole. Everything., Something something scapegoat and old stories, something something 'people have probably been talking a lot more about how "god dammit this all started with Madara" in recent years.'

Now with that in mind let's take a look of what our time travelers think of Madara:

Itachi is a good Konoha soldier. Itachi (as has been very much fucking proven) would rather beat a possible problem before it even exists with a hammer till it dies an ugly bloody death than even RISK it blossoming into a proper problem. Itachi does not like Madara. Itachi personally, quietly thinks they should maybe wait till the village is formed then carefully arrange a little accident for him before he goes off the rails. He, even more quietly, maybe even thinks it would be a kindness. Allow him to be remembered well by the village instead of scorned.

Shisui I think is cautiously optimistic about him. He's the kind of guy who gives the benefit of the doubt, who weighs the options, risk and reward, but includes things like hope and compassion in his calculations. Yes, Madara was a uhh. Thing. That happened. But in every story his big blow up always come from one specific event; Izuna's death. So if they stop that from happening, wouldn't it secure both a better future for them and Madara? The history books never went into detail about Izuna, he doesn't know what he's like, but maybe his involvement in the future, on Konoha's side, could lead to even more profits for them long term. At the end of the day he's not against killing Madara (though to be clear, they are at first operating on trying to avoid all interactions with historical events and return home without touching things) but it'd be nice, to manage to get a happy ending for everyone. Unrealistic maybe, but nice.

Mmmm hear me out actually, maybe Shisui, after interacting with him a bit, finds that Madara reminds him of Itachi too. They definatley both have that "I would do unspeakable things to even dream of my loved just one more time" energy, if you know what I mean

Anyways; Kakashi and Tenzo are both neutral on Madara. Yes, they learned about how he betrayed the village when young just like everyone else, but they weren't getting the bed time stories and "do this and you'll end up just like him" warnings like the Uchiha's. They're possibly leaning into negative but are detached from the situation enough to just go "well he hasn't done it yet and his brother is still alive so he won't any time soon" and be done with it

• Now, on the the total opposite side of the spectrum you have Hashirama and Tobirama. People are brought up in Konoha to fucking IDOLIZE these guys. You can not tell me our team of time travelers wouldn't be at least a little awed to speak with them.

I think Tenzo would be the most wide eyed about Hashirama, both for the baseline "holy shit that's the Shodai Hokage" and also that fun juicy mokuton user imposter syndrome he has going on for him. That guys DNA is inside his body!!! Holy shit wait does that mean if someone did a blood relation test with them he might read as being related to him?? Fuck were gonna pocket that for now but like. Mmmmm potential.

I'd say Itachi is the most hesitant about Tobirama but again, village loyalist, so.

You know what tho maybe Shisui is the most hesitant about him (though still largely positive) he both def grew up looking up to him but can also see the anti-Uchiha policies people inact now with the implications that Tobirama would have approved of it. He doesn't know if he would, but like, he has to wonder.

Kakashi is probably the most normal about them (and also has experience in being close to a hokage (Minato) to know that at the end of the day they are painfully human) Don't get me wrong, he's still in some sort of awe! He might get a little lightheaded at the thought of seeing the God of Shinobi in proper battle, or the possibility to see the famed genius of Tobirama with all the different jutsu's he's invented. You can't tell me Kakashi didn't spend a little extra time reading about him when he was trying to make Chidori. Honestly I'm gonna roll with that and say he had a bit of a phase as a kid where he was a total fan boy. Maybe sprinkle in the good old HalfHatake!Tobirama hc to add some faint daydreams a lonley babykashi had after his father's death, about getting to meet him as family. Like cmon, little genius idolizing and projecting on some big history figure only to find out they're actually related? Can you say potential?

Anyways he did eventually grow out of the phase, probably got unattached to it all and lost interest after the whole "losing everything he loved" bit of his life. And at the end of the day, he doesn't have any real complex personal hang ups on the founders like the others do. Thus, most normal.

• And then my favorite most special boy, Izuna !! He's for sure the one they're all most neutral about. He's not actually taught about in the academy? There's probably some throw away line about him in some history books somewhere, but he died young and was quickly buried by the looming shadow of Konoha. The only real knowledge had about him in modern times is just a vague "Yeah he got killed by Tobirama which lead to peace being made but also lead to Madara losing his shit"

Poor Izuna he's the linchpin for it all but was left an unremarkable footnote of history. My boy deserves so much better

Tenzo doesn't actually even know who he is, that boy got bare minimum education under Danzo and Izuna was NOT included.

Itachi and Shisui mmmaybe have some small little fun fact here or there buried in stories from the older members of the clans but like. It's gonna amount to just "yeah he had a great katon" and thats about it.

I WILL SAY HOWEVER. Itachi sees him and instantly is that one PTSD dog meme. Sasuke is a BABY but holy shit Izuna looks exactly like he'd expect him to grow up as and it's making him FEEL THINGS. Also he's so bratty little brother coded !! He's an entire 7 years older than Itachi but Ifachi keeps fucking up and trying to big brother him it's embaressing.

And ofc Itachi didn't go into the first meeting thinking he'd see some weird older mirror version of his beloved baby brother who he misses and worries about very very much. So like. There's for sure going to be some conflict there. If their first meeting is a scuffle (which it probably will be) I think Itachi would keep hesitating to attack. On full run away mode. Which is probably for the best bc he shouldn't try to fight Izuna anyways honey he's like double your bodyweight and you're strong but you aren't THAT strong.

• Pointing back at both the 'Itachi does not like Madara and has quiet thoughts about how it'd possibly be in everyone's interest to just kill him' and the 'Itachi and Madara quietly bond over being clain head/heir during stressful times (w pressure from the elders especially)

I can see 2 outcomes of a potential bonding conversation with them:

1) They come to understand eachother better.

Madara wants to be on good terms, he looks at this kid and sees one of his brothers eyes and the others quiet determination. He can tell Itachi doesn't like him for some reason, and it's frustrating because he doesn't know why. He wants him to like him. He wants to be able to offer his hand and have it taken. It hurts, to be looked at with such suspicion from a face that has traces of Izuna's.

Meanwhile Itachi . . . Itachi looks at Madara and he sees someone who gets it. Gets it like no one ever has. It scares him. He looks up at this man, this horror story he's been told to fear becoming, and he sees himself. And this realization shakes him. It makes him think, makes him wonder. He's so, so sure of his loyalty to Konoha. More sure than he is of anything else in the world. But . . . But if something happened to Sasuke, if he had to choose—

And maybe it softens something in him too, along with the (honestly healthy) dose of fear. It forms a little crack in his shell, just enough to maybe, maybe let Madara through. Just a hair.

Or 2) we pull one of those "The conversation ends with them agreeing verbally but mentally they're on 2 VERY different notes."

Madara, nodding and looking at Itachi meaningfully: "Yeah it can be hard, but all we can really do is try to make the world a safer place for the ones we love. (To create Konoha, to keep my clan safe. Izuna safe. And now to keep you safe too.)

Itachi, nodding slowly: "Yeah. No matter how hard it is (even though I think I understand you more than anyone else Ive ever met) we have to try to make the world a safer place (by killing you in your sleep once Konoha is formed) for the ones we love (My clan. My village. Sasuke.)"

• Also pointing back at the 'Hatake warring clan era reputation,' the 'Tobirama is half Hatake' and also now pointing at Tobirama's title as the White Demon. Small thing but it'd be neat if there was some small throw away line that the nickname lowkey started in part because of the absoloutley terrifying reputation of the Hatake combined with Tobirama's own Everything(tm) like it just had some influence on how some view him. Give me Uchiha's making dog jokes ab him it'll be funny

• Ok but now the actual plot thoughts. Yeah I know I kept you waiting sorry about that.

So time travel! Probably due to a mission gone wrong. Some ruins or some ancient crumbling scroll that wasn't even supposed to do fucking time travel but was so old and corroded that it somehow managed to transform into a whole other seal by pure bad luck. Or good luck I guess, considering it could have just turned into a nuke.

Our favorite team of disasters are very very alarmed !!! What the fuck !!! Obviously they don't default to thinking time travel, but they immediatley know something is wrong. The landscape has changed, though the big landmarks are still there. The mission was complete anyways with no injuries so they just retreat to Konoha. Only oops !! It's not fucking there!!!

Queue alarm.

Shisui is the first one to suggest time travel because he's quirky like that. And there's a very easy way to confirm this theory.

(Also we're going to say that Konoha's location is a valley a few miles out from the Naka River that borders the Senju / Uchiha territories.)

This is convenient because that verification method involves checking in on where Itachi and Shisui know the old Uchiha compound should rest.

They do it in full stealth mode, the second they saw Konoha was missing Kakashi as team leader decided they'd treat the land as enemy territory. They all agreed ofc, for all they knew this WAS enemy territory now.

And, ofc, yeah!! There's the old Uchiha compound!! Being active!!! There are people there!!!

"What are the odds Fugaku-sama decided to have the clan return to their homeland for ahh, cultural enrichment?" Kakashi asked weakly.

"Time travel." Was the only reply he got from Shisui, whispered reverently as the boy vibrated with excitement on the branch.

Itachi just gave him a look, radiating a level of dissaproving disbelief that no normal 12 year old should be able to make. Kakashi would know, he was that not-normal 12 year old once.

From there they decide a no interference policy. Hands off guys!! They probably debate it tho, like, a good amount. They all have ✨️opinions✨️ except maybe Tenzo who's lowkey still in the middle of trying to learn how to be a person and is following Kakashi's lead 99% of the time. Especially since they're still in mission mode and this is like a super serious discussion and he really does know the least ab the founders overall.

They probably debate the merits of going to Uzushiogakure bc seal help but it's really far and they don't actually have like, just any leverage with them. They already decided not to fuck with the future so it isn't like they can trade secrets and warnings. At least if shit happens here they have some plausible deniability, being, yk, 2 uchiha's and a senju-passing guy with Mokuton. Kakashi's kinda fucked tho in that regard but he isn't going to be doing the party ANY favors with his clan heritage.

Which means it's time to potentially get desperate enough to interact with Tobirama !!! Which will inevitably lead to them bumping into a Uchiha patrol or something!!! I don't know honestly

• Anyways want Hashirama and Tenzo to interact. He has so many issues like holy shit. Let Hashirama give him the hug he deserves. I want him to violently adopt him. New brother acquired!!!

I said before but Tenzo is still reprogramming from ROOT. Let Hashirama impact that! Let him help! They can make flower crowns and photosynthesize together idk

Hashirama would be so happy to have another mokuton user, I think they should be able to sense eachother extra strong and like 'ping' off of eachothers chakra, it'll be fun

▪��� I'm not thinking toooo hard about power scaling and this is fanfiction so a) don't quote me on this and b) for the love of all that is holy don't take my words as gospel

But for this fic specifically I'm ranking the founders and Team Ro, weakest to strongest (in a clean, fair fight head on w no time to prepare) :

Itachi (he's fucking 12 guys. But also he is like. FRACTIONS under Tenzo and Shisui. If he were 13 I'd let him be above or at the same level but like. He's 12. Cmon.)

Tenzo - Shisui (they're like JUST under the next 2 tho like seconds behind)

Izuna - Tobirama

Kakashi ( by the skin of his fucking teeth and the advantage that is his stupid amount of jutsu's and lack of self preservation)

Madara - Hashirama

And again that's not counting like. The specific situations, time given to prepare, potential dirty tricks they could play (I think the Konoha tricks would play a fraction dirtier than the others, who are slightly more used to big open battles vs the ANBU squad who does all sorts of shit in all sorts of places) plus like. Mental state and team ups.

Tenzo or Shisui couldn't take down Izuna or Tobirama but if they teamed up I'd allow it. Kakashi would get his ass kicked by Hashirama or Madara but he could survive a minutes longer than the others would

Itachi is doing his best

But like

He's 12 guys

I love him and he is terrifyingly competent but he won't win 1 on 1 with anyone unless he has some sort of advantage. Minus Shisui and Tenzo who he does have the advantage of regularly fighting, so.

• I think they do get to go back home in the end. It takes a ton of work tho and they probably do need to get Mito's help with it, Kakashi can show them the seal they got brought here with but it's an ACTUAL one in a trillion miracle it didn't fucking atomize them. So it needs a lot of touch ups

Anyways !!!

I have a little more rattling around in my brain but I'm really tired and also starting to think about other things now so I'm gonna stop here. Might come back and add to it later so stay tuned if you're into that

Full disclaimer I'm not gonna write this. I don't have the proper energy and it'd probably end up being too ambitious of a project if I tried. I'd love to see it happen tho, so like !! Big open invitation to absoloutley anyone who might want to take even a fraction of the ideas I've listed.

@ me if you do tho I wanna see the final product

[faerievampling]

i'm having a brainrot so i've come to share- modern au astarion that makes you pretty dresses and decks you out in jewels

(im thinking in terms of him having a lot of wealth just because of the way he dresses/is- bastard son of cazdor or sum)

he dresses you to match him in beautiful regal clothes with frills, bows, elegant patterns, and ofc slits above the hip. loves to do your hair and accessorize it

ask and he'll deliver - straight up spoiled reader <3

YES this. Im sorry but this totally turned lighty NSFW but you inspired me: This is just my stream of consciousness and I'm sorry if it's wild lmao

pairing: astarion x fem reader

Astarion who knows your body so well, inside and out, that he has your measurements memorized, and he knows exactly what type of clothes that look most flattering on you, whatever your body shape may be.

I think Astarion would likely love to see his partner, you, look absolutely devastating in something salacious, revealing, knowing only he can touch you.

Learning how to do your hair is something that would comfort him, something intimate between the two of you. I have a feeling Astarion would just be really good at it, and would pick up styling quickly. He just knows what enhances your natural beauty.

He knows how to make himself look good, and he knows how to make his beloved look even better (if that's even possible, because gods is he pretty).

I think modern Astarion would love seeing your nails done. Nothing too wild, I think, because he would appreciate something soft, feminine, to enhance those features about you that he loves so much. I imagine Tav with pink or nude nails, or something close to her skin color, that are mature, down-to-earth, pretty.

You're his darling, the person he loves and trusts most in the world, and he is just desperate to spoil you. I also think he would love taking photos of you, and he would have a ton of prints/polaroid pictures of you, or an entire album on his phone.

^^This applies to lewd pictures - I think he would totally have a spank bank on his phone but it's just pictures of Tav (you) lol. Probably in all different types of lingerie, outfits, poses.

He would be very much into buying lingerie for you both. I personally love seeing Astarion in feminine lingerie but that's just me lol anything that would make him look beautiful to Tav, I think he would like and desire.

Also Astarion is a total brat tamer. He loves when you act spoiled rotten, because he can take the opportunity to prove his dominance to you.

One day, you're mad at him about something, and you make sure to wear all the beautiful diamond and gem necklaces he's bought you, so that when you ride him next, the necklaces bother him, bouncing in his pretty face, covering his view of your breasts. You know this would totally frustrate him, just so he'll ravage you further.

[betterbemeta]

I feel like some things in the Jurassic World movies are actually a step backward in the science-fiction zone from Jurassic Park III. I think that was the one where it was revealed that the raptors had a 'language' and complex communication that implied not just 'intelligence' but 'sapience'-- and I understand that some people felt this jumped the shark a little.

(yes I know its a dream sequence, SHUT UP, they went there,)

But I remember seeing it when I was little and it made perfect sense to follow the original beats of how the raptors were scary in previous movies because they could interact with human environments like doors. They could use deception, 'tactics' and could not easily be contained.

If you're implying that these are beings that can reason, and further acting as if this reasoning ability is more threatening than the reasoning ability of a chimpanzee or something, then you're not afraid of 'what' is hunting you, but 'who.'

And that they could have reasons beyond being hungry bloodthirsty animals to be aggressive toward you.

That you have imprisoned 'people' and not 'animals' or even 'beneath animals' (creatures that have no natural existence, creations, toys, etc.)

But there's something disappointing to me about the stuff with Blue and Chris Pratt and all of that. It feels more like the fantasy of an animal tamer at a circus who has mastery of dangerous creatures (something that most modern circuses have cut) than it feels like a relationship with an intelligent creature capable of complex communication.

(Tell me how this is different from the image of a 'lion tamer' with a chair between him and his 'beasts?')

It doesn't even feel like the level of communication that you should be having with your dog, or cat. But the raptors of course obey Chris Pratt's fantasy expertise and fantasy rules surrounding their social behaviors because the point is to depict Chris's character as skillful. 'The right way to approach raptors' is whatever the writers want it to be, unlike real dogs, cats, horses, bears, big cats, etc.

In reality, there are a lot of failed 'animal whisperers' out there, hucksters that fake being an animal behaviorist to impose fantasy-like rules on animals while abusing them, and dominance-based trainers who get sued for animal abuse if they aren't attacked by the animals first.

The Jurassic World movies seem to mitigate this idea with that the raptors are not natural creatures (but living 'in the wild' seems to be a conclusion for at least one of them?) and that they vary in intelligence level, with Blue being the most intelligent. My issue with this is that complex communication required for coordination also requires multiple parties that understand it. Why aren't the raptors basically having constant misunderstandings between their differing mentalities, or misunderstanding their handler who doesn't seem to vary his approach between them?

Basically my point is. The place Jurassic Park was going, it was fine. You made Frankenstein's Monsters, classic sci-fi dilemma. It kind of sucks that they downgraded Dinosaur Frankensteins into... the emotional replacement for circus animals in the modern day when we know dancing bears and elephants aren't ethical. However 'cool' they are on their own, that type of creature in a narrative is there to demonstrate the bravery of their 'tamer' and any 'trust' the animal has with that tamer is just the same. It's not about any creature actually making its own decisions, let alone a highly intelligent one.

It doesn't really matter that Jurassic World movies try to have it both ways, with some lip service to 'respecting' the raptors, and sometimes other dinosaurs, showing the antagonists being 'disrespectful' by contrast. If we continued the themes from JPIII, the type of 'respect' that is supposedly the 'good' position, is not the kind of respect you'd want to give to a person.

[come-down-that-tree]

Prologue Previous

Come Down That Tree! (An aftermare story)

Epilogue

Deep inside a forest, if you follow a thin river south for a while, you may fall on rocks positioned in special ways, creating zones for different uses.

If you walk through bushes and trees, following a path that was paved by feet over years of walking on the dirt, you may find a circular clearing with a young tree bearing peculiar fruits, a strawberry plant with a barrier surrounding it and one old wooden house.

And there, you may encounter a family of four, happily living their day isolated from most of the world.

Not that they did not engage with people once in a while.

In fact they often exchanged goods and services with traveling merchants that had the habit of setting up their camp just outside that particular forest.

They came carrying foreign objects and exotic food and stories that sounded like made up legends that animated talks around the fire during long nights of rest before they all scattered again to do their job.

“Did you hear about the village in the east, the one just 4 days away if you walk fast?” one would whisper over shared drinks and salted meat.

“That one? Someone told me an ancient evil burned their joy away and stole their knowledge for the faes. No business to have there, they’re barelly capable of living without someone holding their hand.” would answer another.

“I heard it was a punishment for chasing out the queen of the fireflies, she was noisy and they threw her out!” would add a third.

“So many people left the place, it made room for ghosts and if you stand under the moonlight you may have the honor of watching their monarchs dancing together around a fountain made of stone so white you can go blind from just watching it,” would exclaim the last one.

And then they would turn their heads to their guests, the two of them, sometimes one, never the three at the same time, and ask “you, who live not so far away, do you know which is true?”

One would answer a different one each time.

The second would smile politely and divert the conversation.

The last one would argue they all were wrong and tell a tale that was so preposterous that the travelers would all laugh so hard, some would always fall from their seats from the sheer absurdity.

And after, they would part ways, without ceremony, confident they would see the residents again, next time they roamed in the region.

And the family would go back home, sort their newly acquired supplies and go to sleep.

During the day, shouts and laughter sometimes tore apart the tranquility of the wood, disturbing the wild life who despite the ruckus stayed close.

One particular shout could be heard at any hour. Be it day, be it night. It seemed that it was used at least once a day and bore no real effectiveness on the matter it addressed.

Open your ear and you might hear it.

Here it is.

“VIVID! COME DOWN THAT TREE!”

The true end-

@dragon-tamer-1 @shinechermont <3

mmmmm Here it is... CDTT ends here...

I, uh, dunno how to feel about it XDc

I posted the prologue the 3rd of june 2021, 3 years ago.

But if we go by when I first wrote the whole plot (and posted it, there was no surprise for who was around and read it at the time XDc), it was in february of this same year I went down the rabbit hole (with some great company ;3).

And if we talk about the day I got interested by the ship? The 31st of january 2021 because of one ask from Cyan anon (everybody claps for Cyan without this fic would not have existed). I was not even supposed to be online XDc I was on a study hiatus but I kinda broke it down to talk about the rarepair pfffft uwu

My reason I latched that hard on the ship? I feel like it's a chill one and I liked that. They're quiet and just vibing for me.

I'm not much of a ship person in fact, contrary to some of my online friends (simps all of you), a story only focusing on romance tend to bore me so writing a shipfic? A challenge.

I also never finished a longfic before. Be it original of fanfic.

Only one-shots or short stuff (3-4 chaps) have been ended somewhat properly.

The doc containing CDTT is 112 pages long, removing the summary and other worldbuilding stuff would only shrink it down to like 110.

I think that's pretty big.

Not huge, I've seen far longer.

But big.

I would not have managed that without you all' comments and tags pushing me forward.

So, truly, thank you for reading :D

(special thanks to AC and Drag')

Goodbye (for now)

[otakween]

Digimon Tamers - Episode 1

Dear God...the vibes are immaculate. THIS WAS SO GOOD! So cinematic! So atmospheric! What a fabulous pilot episode. I'm definitely hooked. I'm trying not to overhype this show because the internet has sung its praises to the high heavens and I don't want to be let down. Let's take it one episode at a time and see how it goes :) (so far, so good).

Notes:

-So many thoughts, so many questions. Firstly, I'm getting the vibe that this is a parallel universe to the worlds of Digimon Adventure and Digimon Adventure 02. In those worlds digimon weren't a fictional concept (as far as I know) before they became real. In this world Takato knows digimon from video games and TCG before he meets one in person. Also. the world isn't aware that digimon are real, so this wouldn't be in the 02 world post-epilogue.

-A very small cast in this one! Only 3 kids (so far). I think this could be a very good thing. Tighter writing and more developed characters. These kids have barely said anything but they already feel more 3 dimensional than the 02 kids lol. Also, their designs are a lot more subdued which I think helps with the realistic feel.

-Culumon was...a little annoying, but cute at the same time. I love his retractable ears and that he asks a zillion questions like a toddler. Just wish he didn't say "culu" ever 2 seconds lol. He looks like a magical girl companion.

-We're still in Tokyo, Shinjuku this time around. Will we ever get a Digimon MC who's a country bumpkin? That could be fun.

-The gamer in me shudders at all of the new digimon that are about to be introduced. Good thing I'm not a "raise them all" kind of completionist.

-Digimon TCG anime debut! When they were like "Option card!" I was like "omg! I know that! I know the rules!" I wonder if the TCG will show up again or if they just used it to kickstart the plot?

-Takato's school DOESN'T have uniforms!? What kind of anime school is this!? (No seriously, I thought that was more of a rural school thing).

-I can relate to Takato designing his own digimon during class. I totally did that in elementary school too (with Pokemon as my inspo tho)

-I'm not in love with the new digivice design (a little bulky), but I like that it has a keychain strap. How practical!

-I'm not sure where Takato is getting the "tamers" vocab from. I don't think that would be referenced too much in the TCG, so he must be getting it from the video games.

-Love that Takato lives above his family's bakery. Give me ALL the anime food!

-I just googled this, but apparently the "guil" in "Guilmon" comes from "guilty." Didn't see that coming. I thought it might be Gila monster lol. Of course we get another stinkin' dinosaur-like digimon for the MC. Oh well. I guess that's what the little boys like. He's kinda cute, I suppose

-I don't know the main girl's name yet, but damn, what a badass! I feel like we haven't gotten this kind of female character yet. Closest would be maybe Hikari in her edgier moments, but she's more on the sweet side. I know that the furries like her partner digimon lol (Renamon, I believe?) To be honest, I'm not sold on her design yet. I think it's a little weird looking. Maybe she'll grow on me.

-When Guilmon's egg hatched I thought he died lol. I forgot that an egg cracked in half can be a good thing too.

-I was kind of giggling when they kept showing the scientists in their cyberpunk chairs and wearing VR headsets. Very 2000s sci-fi vibes (still looks cool, don't get me wrong). When they kept saying "wild one" I was just thinking "hey I heard you were a wild one oooooh~"

-When Jianliang's sister dropped Terriermon on his face I died lol. Why was that so funny? I'm so making a gif later...

-My guy (Takato) really saw a rat infested tunnel and just crawled right through it. I hope you have a good immune system because Jesus...

-The concept of Takato meeting a digimon and then immediately realizing "oh wait, a fire breathing dinosaur IRL is maybe not a good thing" was great. And of course they had to use it as a cliff hanger! I'm wondering if Guilmon will be able to speak or if he'll be more baby-like.

-Guilmon's existence raises many questions. I guess we technically already knew that people can create digimon, we've seen that happen. However, we haven't seen it happen so casually/easily. Does Takato have some sort of special power or can multiple people do this? Also, if Guilmon was born at child level, what happened to the previous 2 levels. Did Takato draw those in his notebook so they're just coded in there?

(My questions are all rhetorical...I shall wait for the show to answer them, so no spoilers please).

[ultravioart]

This is so frustrating for me because I just want to play a fun open world monster tamer with cutsey visuals online, it is wild that the genre has so many immoral companies/games.

Pokemon has let me down tremendously (last mainline i bought was moon, i tried ultra moon day 1 and returned ultra moon the next day bc it was way too similar), I have tried pokemon sword (yarhar) and pokemon Scarlet (friend let me play it) and the quality is not where it should be, too much is rushed, buggy, laggy, and the cut content is so obvious.

SV dropped the ball with the story plot in later DLCs which stinks bc the initial eldritch horror Area Zero set up they had in the base game was amazing. I also really loved what the devs were able to get done with the character development bc it felt like World Ends Club character depth... but with the unethical deadlines the Pokemon game devs face, I can't see myself purchasing new pokemon games. It feels gross. I also haven't liked most mon designs these past gens, they lack the sharp angles with curves artstyle i adored in earlier gens. Think Scizor, Charmeleon, Luxray, Deoxys, Jiratchi, etc. Pokemon have become more rounded/obviously plushie-fiable and overdesigned. And the art was the main draw to pokemon for me, not the battles.

And then there was Ni no kuni mobile (I had not played the main games but I did watch playthrus, I saw the mobile game launch announcement, and was excited to try-- only for Ni no Kuni mobile to announce it was going to add a blockchain play to earn model. I instantly uninstalled it.)

And now Palworld (Pocketpair without permission lifting from a Mega Delphox fan design, company previously published an unethical ai generator party game, and the Pocketpair social medias flirted with NFTs.)

At this point I might just give up trying to financially support games. Watching youtube playthrus is free and if it's really that interesting I can try demos or yarhar.

Free to play games are probably the only games I'll be playing, but there's a whole unethical monetization practice that is common with that model too. :( i am autistic and have OCD so i take offense to games that encourages unlimited micro transactions, as it's often ppl with ocd and autism that are preyed on by these predatory monetization systems. Whales should never be normalized, Whales are gambling addicts and need help. I am really hoping Overwatch 2's monetization changes due to the recent buyout but I don't have my hopes up.

Like, I am so jaded i might just make a pokemon fangame or hobby into making my own monster tamer at this point fr lol. I have ideas for both a pokemon fangame and an original ip, I would just need to set a schedule to making it.

Pokemon fangame would be easiest I imagine, 2d game pixel sprite work is much easier than 3d modeling and I can use pre-made assets.

Original monster taming IP would be harder, probably a 2d game, bc 3d is much harder to make due to how long it takes to model and rig and animate everything.

Idk tho. Might just remain a world building hobby tbh.

[maiji]

I'll request a reading if you're still doing them! why not. for my little guy Hana. what is he afraid of with regards to... his own history? 🤔 numbers.. 11 and 23. and if you're not still doing readings.. i hope you have a great day regardless!

I am absolutely delighted to do a reading for Hana from the webcomic Kings of Sorts! Hana seems like such a sweetie but from his very first appearance it's clear there's so much more to him than meets the eye. I'm nowhere near caught up on webcomic so this will be interesting, to see whether any patterns/interpretations we pull out manage to touch on anything that readers can already experience, or whether it just veers off into another direction of far-off general speculation. So if there somehow manage to be spoilers in this reading, I'm sorry, I had no idea either. lol

#11 was The Whip (which, by the way, is actually the eleventh card in Lenormand as well, interestingly enough), and #23 was The House. This combination actually made me gasp in light of the question. Kind of an "oh! / ohhh??" gasp. I think there's a lot of potential in terms of delving deeply into creative writing inspiration or character analysis!

The Whip is a card associated with many things that can cause pain: conflict, violence, shame, anger. And The House has already come up before, so we know it's used to represent a lot of things that seem like the exact opposite of The Whip - warmth, stability, things that make you feel cozy and happy and comfortable. But it's also associated with private matters. In other words, the exterior facade presented to the world may be brightness and cheer but there may be something much darker happening behind closed doors. I am reminded of when we first meet Hana in his home, and the scene where he talks about wanting to be able to help the people in his community in some way, any way...

In short, looking for a connection between the two cards that could be a cause for fear in Hana's history seems like we have a plethora of options. If we're being super dark - was there past punishment and suffering that separated him from things he considered home or family? Did they hurt, or were they caused by, people he would consider family? And whips are also things used to control - there's a lot of symbolism for a whip as not only a weapon and instrument of torture, but also a stereotype of a tool used to manage things seen as dangerous, wild and/or "other", like some kind of beast tamer. It has a lot of cruelty associated with it.

We don't have to go down the path of only super dark places, by the way. The Whip doesn't have to be interpreted in an extreme fashion - though I suppose with creative writing/inspiration we can often feel like that's an obvious or exciting and dramatic route to go down. It can also represent an argument, a physical activity (an injury?), something much less overtly traumatic but still play a major role in a core memory/event. Also, this Whip has flags added to it for greater control and sound effects - there's a sense that it can be for show, engineered as part of a performance.

I hope this was helpful! Thank you for the opportunity to read for Hana. Please don't be too mean to him!

---

Thanks for requesting a limited time free reading to celebrate the new edition of the Fortune Lenormand oracle/art deck!

Want to dive deeper?

Fortune Lenormand oracle/art deck - there's a free downloadable overview of card meanings!

humangray.com/lenormand - more info and resources/links!

(Note: these readings are being done with my old card deck from the original printing. There's not much difference with the new edition available in the link above - the biggest one is that the new edition has a custom box ooh ahh!)

[myimaginedcorner]

A TUMBLR STORY: TORN PAGE (p.3)

Your image is reflected on distorted glass. In bottles of all colours, you distinguish eyes and lips, soft features sharpened into dignified edges. Ears, pointy, stick sidewards in magnitude not quite proportional to skull, their features giving out your affiliation.

“Ah, what a silly question, silly me,” giggles the bartender, adjusting their wild locks. “Unique is how elves are the only ones with ears like that.”

Yes, you are an elf. You remember now. Your thoughts are turned towards your home – the beautiful, eternal Celest. What a sight, your homeland! The envy of all elves, peak to the architectural dream. Magnificent, it stands as radiant fortress on the highest hill, with waves of a tormented sea barely scratching silver walls. It mimics sky, aiming to be its equal, mirror to clouds and stars that float in turquoise.

A curved cylinder forms its barrier, no doors nor windows serving as main entrance. Inside, no sides exist, all flowing into one another. One building is a river splashing over serpentines of roads, a waterfall in form of a new house becoming waves that serve as roof for someone else’s lake. Towers, reaching for suns and moons, hurls the stone water up, where magic fog surrounds their ceiling, hiding them from human eyes. A stone ode to the mighty sea, Celest is both a storm and an unshaken stream, chaos and order tribute to Time’s indescribable flow.

You take one pan. The blue for you is of a darker tone, sea-green calling recollections of a boundless landscape. Each day, you saw the sea glow under the sun’s rays, and watched it dance to the moon’s movement. The stars you learned first to name all could be seen from your small balcony.

You drink. The taste reminds you of that one occasion, that you were dared to taste the lab’s residual waters. Odd that it brings a smile upon your lips.

“Happy you’ve liked it,” says the bartender, who has been observing you in silence as you shuffled memories.

You nod. Indeed, you’ve liked it a lot.

“An elf, huh…” behind, Ralph seems uneasy. Settling in his chair with trepidation, a deep sigh escapes his mouth as a long hiss. “No wonder…”

“All good, Ralph? You don’t seem particularly happy for you friend here,” the bartender points out.

“Happy? Damn me if I’d be happy for this. You know who they’ll be – we both know.”

“What do you mean, Ralph?”

“It’s obvious. There’s only one tale worth telling among the elves.”

“Many are the legends told about the elven kind,” you frown, for that is certainly not true. “We’ve spread from Therania onto other worlds, coming to be one of the most diverse kind in the Cosmos; we’ve lived with dragons, some becoming priests, others – tamers; we’ve found most secrets to our magic, and built one of the strongest nations to our world. Many are our heroes – many will be whose name is recognised from simple whispers.”

“How flowery…” you hear someone mutter in the corner.

“Perhaps our guest here was an orator,” smiles the bartender, washing up your used pan. “Certainly, I now feel inspired by their people.”

“They sound so majestic!” a fairy of silver locks sighs, dreamy eyes shining behind a hookah she shares with a genie.

“Only two names are so remembered as you say,” however, Ralph seems not to get besotted by your speech. As his old gaze meets yours, chills run down your spine. Celest’s image becomes blurry, darker – it’s pure glow faints, dark paint spattered over your most treasured landscape.

“Truly?” tilting their head, the bartender looks at you, too. “And who were they?”

You wish not to remember, but memories dredge up your brain, their ugly claws shown to surface.  

“It’s elven’s most known story,” Ralph’s insistence comes in defeated voice, his suspicions finally confirmed by your lost gaze. “Of course they are.”

“Oh, you’re now keeping me in the dark! What story is it, what is it?”

Perhaps, you don’t want to tell it. Not out loud. But there’s no stop to what you are recalling – you see it on distorted glass, on twisted furniture and variegated walls.

THERANIA'S CHEAT SHEET:

HERO - According to Fate's Faithful Encyclopaedia (Alse, T. 2.31, 45th Edition (2.750), p.71), a 'hero' is someone recognised by Seers, in whose life destiny has written an important task. They are meant to fulfill such task, regardless of difficulty, in order to preserve Hero's peace and save Therania from a great calamity.

VILLAIN - According to Fate's Faithful Encyclopaedia (Alse, T. 2.31, 45th Edition (2.750), p.72), a 'villain' is that one who - even if given a written prophecy - refuses to fulfill their duty and acts defiantly against Fate's chosen path, threatening the peace of Therania with an unforeseen calamity no hero is prepared to stop.

[gerogerigaogaigar]

Wire - Pink Flag

This one is revolutionary. Wire were doing things in 77 that most bands wouldn't be trying for at least a couple of years. Punk moved so fast I. The 70s that it's a blur to track the evolution of the genre. By the time the first punk albums were being released in 76 the genre had already peaked for many first adopters and by 77 we were already seeing the first wave of post punk. Wire were definitely amongst those bands Ex Lion Tamer, Three Girl Rhumba, are very post punk. But they weren't content with just doing one thing where a lot of the album is very traditionally punk there are also a lot of songs that would hearken towards hardcore punk like Pink Flag and 12XU. 106 Beats That feels like a prototype noise rock song, Strange could easily be mistaken for some sort of British grunge, Fragile is basically the blueprint for alternative rock. I feel like you can divine a person's preferred punk subgenre based on their favorite track from this album.

Joy Division - Closer

Slightly more gothic than Unknown Pleasures and no less bleak. The more obviously personal a project becomes the closer it gets to unreviewable. This is Ian Curtis's suicide note. It sounds like a suicide note. Reading interviews about the recording sessions is harrowing. "We'd go to rehearsals and sit around and talk about really banal things. We'd do that until we couldn't talk about banal things any more, then we'd pick up our instruments and record into a little cassette player. We didn't talk about the music or the lyrics very much. We never analysed it." Bernard Sumner once recalled. This album is amazing but thinking too hard about it kinda terrifies me. I don't want to review Closer.

Brian Eno - Here Come The Warm Jets

After departing from Roxy Music Brian Eno decided to make the weirdest, most unpredictable piece of art glam he could. By far the most theatrical thing in his discography and one of few that is still tethered to the rock idiom, if only barely. Here Comes The Warm Jets is full of off beat vocal delivery and wild guitar tones. It will flit between rock n roll riffs, manic guitar solos courtesy of Robert Fripp, and hazy droning bits that are early predictors of shoegaze. And through it all Eno delivers vocals in the most off kilter cadence possible shifting from Frankie Valli falsetto to warbled crooning. This is kind of the final form of glam rock, you can't come back from it only move forward.

Sam Cooke - Portrait Of A Legend 1951-1964

Okay, I've been pretty hard on greatest hits so far but I'm gonna give this one a pass because most of Cooke's best works were originally released as non album singles. Sam Cooke's ability to absolutely nail the doo wop sound while also amassing a rock and roll fan base is amazing. He may be the crossover artist of all time. Cooke's biggest hits are without a doubt some of the catchiest songs of all time, I don't know whether I'm gonna have Cupid, Chain Gang, (What A) Wonderful World, or Another Saturday Night stuck in my head, but tomorrow morning imma be living with one or more of those on repeat.

Al Green - I'm Still In Love With You

I've talked about Al Green before and things haven't changed. He's one of, if not the, greatest vocalists of all time. Like all of his albums from this era it shows off his incredible range, going from low to falsetto with an ease that baffles me. It's unfortunately sandwiched between my two favorite Al Green albums so I definitely overlook it, but it's definitely worthwhile.

KISS - Alive!

KISS is potato chips. Is it high quality? Is it good for you? Who cares that's not why you eat potato chips. If you want some extremely stupid music about drinking, fucking, and the vague concept of 'rocking out' then this is the best your gonna get. It's high energy fun. It's camp. The best part is that this was released before their smash hit album Destroyer so you get all the early songs with good blues riffs and guitar solos instead of the dreadfully boring Detroit Rock City or, god forbid, Beth. This is so obviously the best KISS album.

Bill Withers - Just As I Am

Withers' debut leans more towards a folksy gospel feel than Still Bill's funk soul flavor. While I think it's less dynamic overall Just As I Am has plenty to offer. The hit, Ain't No Sunshine is a classic, and Withers turns the mediocre Beatles hit Let It Be into an amazing gospel number. But to me the biggest things this album has going for it is Grandma's Hands, a song that is just so beautiful.

ABBA - The Definitive Collection

Oh wow another greatest hits. I don't know if this is a hot take or not but I really like ABBA. I think they have like six albums that would be great choices for this list spot. At the very least ABBA, Arrival, Voulez-Vouz, and The Visitors are all fantastic albums start to finish. No need to pick out the hits and package them all together.

Neil Young - Tonight's The Night

When Young made On The Beach he poured despair into it, but only seemingly as a distraction from the even more profound despair that was Tonight's The Night. While recorded before On The Beach it was not released until after. The album is entirely about the death of two friends of Young's, Crazy Horse member Danny Whitten, and roadie Bruce Berry. The intensely personal nature of this album is apparent from the bleak lyrics, stripped down production, Young's constantly faltering voice, and even the album liner notes which state "I'm sorry. You don't know these people. This means nothing to you." When I was dismissive of On The Beach that was because this album exists. All the melancholy and anguish of On The Beach is just residue from Tonight's The Night. This is one of music most sincere and pure expressions. The fact that the entire rest of Young's discography is not rendered irrelevant by this album is nothing short of a miracle.

New York Dolls - s/t

I am once again positing a potential starting point for punk rock. The combination of glam aesthetics with the 50s rock and roll musicianship is one of the more obvious influences on the evolution of punk. Very extremely silly lyrics are coupled with riffs that are basically all ripped from Chuck Berry songs. The result is an album with a constant manic energy that's as fun as it is infectious.

[slapplebees]

This Is Me Throwing Up: A Shitfucked Dissertation on Matt Demon, UPS, and the Detrimental Effects of What I Now Call Canon

I am on Mr. Bones' Wild Ride, the Isekai of a Lifetime, and I am pulling over on the side and spilling my guts, which is to say I am writing this for you to understand what I am going through.

As per your dissertation, your gunshot through my chest if you will, I gathered the following big boy major points:

1) Matt's previous lives haunt the narrative. It's the death symbol, it's the propaganda machine, it's the Came Back Wrong, it's causing the kitsunes (Louis included) a lot of distress.

2) Matt is a people pleaser and has to act totally normal to lessen their worry. He lives a lie, acting for his LIFE and feeling trapped in it.

3) Dan is his salvation. It is through Dan that Matt is able to find joy in acting and be himself. He also finds a familiarity in Dan, for he sees that Dan is running away from something and finding solace in his art. Matt falls in love.

Sick wonderful awesome, tasty spicy finger-lickin, I wanted to put screenshots but the bitches got blurry. We trudge forward.

Ok, so Matt is a big major liar because of the people around him. Totally their fault, and his personality is a product of him fitting his personhood to their wants. The only exception to this rule is Dan, but what happens when he stops being that exception?

Here's where "post-Chapter 3 isn't real" comes in. Or rather, you can split the narrative or the timeline in two and have the dividing line be the ending of Chapter 3. You can divide the narrative between what I now call Canon and whatever comes after, the forever epilogue, the fix-it, the Rest of It.

Pre-Ch3 and the most relevant things that lead up to it (TGD / Mafia / the 1980s???) are the Canon that gets wrapped up kind of neatly in Chapter 3. Mafia Matt's death, Olive Garden (minus Olive)'s final confrontation/s (Ch2, Basement) with that monster that killed Olive, Dan's first comeuppance, the multiple Earth Gang therapy arcs, the aftermath and resolution of the Bunny Boys' drama all happen on or before Ch3.

Post-Ch3 has many arcs that are important (and fun and really good don't get me wrong) but are noticeably a different flavor to pre-Ch3. Matt's final life, the Beach Arc, Dan's Death Loop, Atty. Louis and the Reformed Tamers arc, The ENTIRE Revolution, UPS, Downs Canon and Candy Crush Canon, and of course ARMAGEDDON.

(Also, not in the list above is the assumed eternal Slice of Life story of the Earth Gang because they are allowed to exist and have basically no drama post-Ch3.

I have nowhere else to put it but here, BUT I think their storyline stops being written and has a whole different vibe, because the "story" is just the Rest of their Lives. Someday it will end, the humans will age, and I will NEVER be able to confront that. So their story does not exist and I am not looking at it, nosiree-)

So, these arcs post-Ch3 are the extension of Ch3. I think we MAYBE told a perfectly good story throughout Canon, like if we made a show, we could end it at Ch3 and have a solid fuckin show.

Post-Ch3 is like the really well-written fix-it fan fiction that follows (/pos!!!). Except it's by us, and it's everything we could ever want, and it's why we can end the world and lose our minds and feel happy and have all the pairings and KILL people and REALLY let lose.

A lot of post-Ch3 is like a whole new thing on its own I feel, and a lot of it isn't set in stone and it has no timestamps on the timeline and has a brainrot headcanonny feel because that's exactly what it is. I say this out of love: post-Ch3 is us looking at Canon, the thing we've made and we start thinking long and hard about the implications.

Back to Matt.

The Matt you talked about in your fucked up little dissertation is a product of the Canon. The Matt who is haunted by himself, the Matt who plays a character as an escape, the Matt who was born for the stage and lives for the stage and loved Dan because of the freedom Dan allowed Matt, which seemed to stem from Dan's understanding of what Matt was going through.

Dan was a breath of fresh air to Matt because he never brought up Matt's past lives.

In the Renaissance, Dan is first confronted with Matt's amnesia and the idea that he isn't who he was in his past life, and Dan inadvertedly does the kindest thing he possibly could. Dan is distraught for the duration of their initial bar conversation, before he decides to move on and write a new play. He buries the OSHA script (for a whole host of reasons), then shifts his focus to protecting the Matt he has in front of him, rather than digging up the previous Matt from his fucking grave and making him do a little dance.

As a result, it's their longest life together. For a minute there, it's the happiest either of them ever are. And then it ends, Matt dies, and what does Dan IMMEDIATELY follow it up with?

The Mafia Era. Without knowing it, Dan not only brings up Matt's past life, but the piece of shit does a whole revenge plot about it.

It's really funny whenever we talk about how Mafia Dan alludes to the Renaissance as if they both remember it, but with the knowledge that Matt believed Dan was special and loved him and felt safe with him because He Never Did That, it's suddenly a change in the script that chills Matt to his fucking bones.

Imagine their initial meeting. It starts off small with Dan chatting up Matt in the bar, courting him with this fucked up drug plan, telling him to quit his job and join his emo band (drug empire). Dan acts like they knew each other, something Matt is familiar with considering everyone in his theatre group did the same, recognizing him for his past self's Oscar wins, acting like they know him, and making him retreat to his stupid acting defense mechanism he learned in kitsune college. However, Dan of all people doing this to him feels wrong, but Matt has this inkling that it will pass. That he can trust Dan to drop it eventually and treat him like a normal person.

Imagine the safety of the kitchen. When Dan (as expected) forgot about his anger for a moment because Matt was in his home again, cooking with him again, as if the world outside Dan's home did not exist. It was the escapism of the stage, but there was no audience. Dan and Matt were free, yet they were not performing for anyone. Matt was content and happy, safe enough to tell Dan he wants this (the kitchen, the co-existence, the intimacy) for them forever.

Imagine the switch-up, when Dan remembers his fucking revenge plot. Imagine Matt wondering what the hell he did wrong, throwing anything at all at Dan to be allowed into his home again, and Dan outright refusing to because he's fucking petty. It's acting all over again, it's Matt trying to do what he does best, attune his personality to whatever the other person wants to make them feel comfortable with him. Acting to make them less disgusted with him. Acting in a way that makes them stop Looking At Him Like That. But Dan doesn't budge. He responds to nothing that Matt does and Matt has no idea what to do or how to act. He's acting because it's all he knows how to do, but this time he doesn't have the script.

Dan used to give him that script. Write Matt his plays and give him a role he can breathe in. Do that thing that Matt loves him for. But Dan's left that life behind. He is still running away from something (running from his brother, the Renaissance; awfully running from, Matt ), and Matt can SEE that, but he's doing it with THIS. This isn't art. It's malice, it's violence, it's becoming that bloodstreaked little thing Dan disappears into when he plays Mafia Dan, in which his words aren't his own and his steps are clumsier than they should be, unrehearsed and unfamiliar. Because he's fucking lying.

This isn't the honest, true Dan who Matt fell in love with in a life (in lives) he does not remember. And yet he is. He is the same Dan, in the way he walks in front of Matt during their raids of rival groups in the black market. He's the same Dan in the way he protects Matt by instinct alone. Matt can see the way Dan does not hesitate, his body and mind agreeing on something for once, suddenly gaining a practiced precision they did not previously have. But so what? It's wrong. Dan's tapping into old habits, the habit of keeping Matt alive, something he learned in the Renaissance, their happiest days, only to crush him. Only for the satisfaction of pushing Matt to the brink, of killing Matt himself.

Can you imagine the betrayal? Imagine the immense confusion Matt felt holding Dan's body as it went cold, as he muttered so much fucking NOTHING into Matt's ear, talking about things Matt doesn't remember. At this point, I don't know what he says. Neither does Matt. Dan could've said, "I've won," "I'm sorry," "where did you go?" and Matt wouldn't understand a single word. Because what the fuck is he talking about? Who the fuck is he talking to? Because it isn't Matt. It isn't anyone Matt identifies with, it isn't a person Matt knows how to be. And it fucking sucks, it fucking hurts how Matt can feel Dan trying to stay awake to get it all out, talk honestly for once in this life, and Matt can't respond. Dan kept him in the dark, in the same way everyone else made him feel, and Matt has no idea who he's holding anymore because he's become just like everyone else. And yet, he doesn't know why it hurts to lose Dan, and he doesn't know why he's grieving this fucking asshole.

But his soul knows.

His cursed kitsune soul still Loves Dan, still Loves the fading thing in his arms, and his soul knows that the person Matt Loved (the person he is anchored to) is dead.

You know when Louis went through something similar? When Louis realized the Matt he Loved is dead? And he broke up with him and broke his bond to him and fell ill for like a week?

Is that what Matt went through? When he lost the safety he found in Mafia Dan, maybe he felt something break in him and he felt himself get sick. Except Matt was a drug lord, so he had access to his awful fucking Demon drugs. So, he tried to self-medicate, and it made everything worse, and a long time passed,

enough time that Dan made his way back to him, carefree as ever, mostly healed, sure of himself again,

and Dan looked at Matt across the basement, with this blank expression as if he's burying something, weighing his options,

and then, Dan smiled at him like they didn't know each other.

And Matt feels a tug in his heart because it felt right. Dan felt familiar again. Matt could feel the anchor between their souls mending.

But Matt didn't fucking trust him anymore.

Matt kills Dan in the basement to silence his own stupid heart. He refuses to hope that they can be together again. He refuses to give Dan the chance to one day hurt him in a way Matt can't describe, to hurt him in a manner only possible if he knew Matt in a previous life and used that knowledge maliciously.

Because holy fuck it's terrifying when other people know something you don't. Matt feels terrified that the kitsunes, Louis, and Dan know him better than he does. It's something Matt has grappled with his entire existence. When he stops broadcasting to the world that he's lost his memories haha, he's pretending that he isn't vulnerable.

Matt has a blind spot, and it's his past life. It's a blind spot anyone can take advantage of. Matt knows anyone could lie to him; they could say they knew Matt in his old life and do whatever they want to hurt him and Matt fears this is the case for everyone he encounters.

Louis knew Matt for all his past lives, down to his very first one. If Louis was a little less kind, he could tell Matt they were friends in his old life, and that he saved Matt's life. He could have trapped Matt to Love him by making Matt feel indebted to him. It's not like Matt could refute his claims. And yet, Louis was kind, and did not pressure Matt into anything he didn't want.

If Jack and Benjy were a little less kind, they could arrest Matt on the spot the second he arrives at the beach. They could lie and pin any crime they wanted on him because they know he's the Tamer Boss, they could have the one of the greatest criminals in Hell's history in custody and he (Matt) would have no idea how to defend himself in court. But they were kind, and called a lawyer to consult with them on his case. Hell, they didn't even arrest Dan.

Even so, Matt can't simply believe in the kindness of the people around him. Not everyone is going to be like Louis or Jack or Benjy, and it really stings that Dan was the one who proved that.

From Matt's perspective, Dan was his greatest fear. Dan clearly knew him from a previous life, with the way Dan treated Matt and spoke to him in the bar. While everyone else who knew Renaissance Matt (his theatre company, the kitsunes) were all just a bit annoying (asking him for an autograph, asking him what happened between him and his previous director, looking at him sadly from across the room or like you said chatting him up as if he didn't have amnesia), Dan was Out To Get Him. Matt just barely got out of that unscathed, but when he sees Dan in the basement, acting like everything he did in the Mafia Era didn't happen? It raises alarm bells in Matt's head.

This is exactly what Matt wanted from Dan. Maybe Dan knows this. Maybe he's trying to earn Matt's trust. Maybe he's manipulating Matt. Maybe this is what he wants. Maybe he's going to do it all over again.

I have to fucking kill him.

And Matt dies.

And he forgets.

(And here is where I initially began my dissertation,)

And when he returns, the story is a little different.

It's post-Ch3 or post-Canon, and the world that molded Matt into the recluse theatre kid he used to be, has been slowly changing since the early 70s. The kitsunes in the college ask Matt about Louis, Dan has long since retired from producing plays, Louis is a lawyer and boss of the Demon Tamers, and revolution is brewing.

And Matt remakes himself.

Because when Matt respawns in the college, the kitsunes ask him about Louis instead of giving him an unhealthy dose of Came Back Wrong Syndrome.

Because when Matt meets Dan, who has long since retired from producing plays, he's avoiding Matt's gaze and walking into the sea. (And, Matt feels a tug in his heart when he sees that orange piece of shit go.)

Because when Matt meets Louis, who has loved Matt for basically all of his life, he's a lawyer and the guy Matt was looking for, and they date and He breaks things off with Matt.

Because when Matt meets Jack and Benjy, who have been trying to catch Matt since Ch3, they don't fucking arrest Matt on the urging of Atty. Louis, thereby releasing Matt from the legal repercussions of his previous life.

Because Mafia Matt still haunts the narrative. Dan is scared to death by him, Louis loved him, Jack Daniels wanted to catch him, but one by one each of those people let that go.

Matt is free, and as the single lucky person who does not remember the dreadful Canon, he is able to simply exist.

Yes, everything comes back to him eventually. At the end of the end of the world, he remembers everything Dan did to him, all the time he spent lying, all the millennia Louis was at his side.

But in that moment, by virtue of remembering everything, he knows himself fully, and his fear is abated. His blind spot dissolves, and he is able to confront his whole self.

Also, it super helps he has a psych degree at this point, like major plus points, big ups, that thing saves his life and helps him be ready to understand who he is ok bye happy 2024 @schmoft <333333

[celestialpotat0]

white sands

felt like i was walking through Frank Herbert's Arrakis and any minute i'd see a sandworm. i was so exposed to the elements. it was awesome feeling transported to a different planet. it was extremely windy and the wind whipped the grains of sand forcefully against my exposed skin at all times. constant yet dynamic painful stinging against my bare legs and face. despite wearing sunglasses, lots of sand got into my eyes and scratched them and the next day my right eyeball had become red from the enlarged vessels from excessive irritation. it felt wrong to be out there because it was so hostile; everywhere you looked was blurry because there was so much sand flying around in the air, no shade, dry. i hiked decently far out and 100% wouldve gotten lost without the trail markers.

it's the world's largest gypsum dunefield. the regularity of vast numbers of undisturbed ripples in the sand enchanted me. sand so soft underneath my feet. the geology of white sands is very interesting, but i wont go into details here. the dunes shift rapidly and can travel many feet per year.

waxed the bottom of my sled in the same direction as the sledding motion to get more speed. climbing up tall dunes of loose sand and feeling my feet sink deep into the sand and the sand crumbling away from each step was fun because it was a calf-burner. worked hard with each climb for the reward of sledding down dunes. i was definitely nervous before my first sled, then when i chose an even taller dune nervous again, and for an even taller dune i was nervous again. but each time the dune was not nearly as scary sledding down than when standing at the top of the ridge looking down. i enjoy the thrill, similar to cliff diving when it's scary at the top.

there have been times cliff diving where i need someone to count down 3-2-1 because that helps me jump; will never feel ready, just have to jump without thinking about it.

also reminds me of the time i was peering over the raft mentally preparing myself to jump into the river in costa rica. the thought of just letting the current take me and not knowing what dangerous creatures lurked beneath the waters scared me. before i knew it, all of a sudden i was submerged in water with a giant splash. my guide had pushed me over the raft and into the river.

mostly, he just got a kick out of trolling me because when i broke the surface of the water gasping for air and spitting water out, he grinned and joked that it wasn't him. he thought it'd be fun if i were the only person from our raft fallen into the river and everyone else still dry and on board. and once i was floating down the river and embraced my fears and how anything that happened to me then was more or less out of my control, it became one of my favorite experiences in my entire life and i never wanted it to end. also you wont find a guide who will surprise push you overboard in the states thanks to our litigious society, but the authenticity of costa rica was so refreshing. the interactions were more authentic than strictly professional. i enjoyed it. we did some truly dangerous spelunking another time and didn't sign shit. love that.

so appreciate memories like these. floating freely along the river current with nothing tethering me. ive gone multiple times since then but costa rica was my first time, and ill never forget the bliss of being submerged in clear waters exposed to the dangers of the river current and creatures in the wild.

anyway, dune sledding is on a much much tamer level but still provides a thrill. choose the steepest sand dune you can find.

[strangerofunova]

Hey, I’m aiming to be a trainer like Lance or Cynthia, and I want to get a dragon type as my first partner. Any suggestions?

I’ve been asked this question in one form or another by roughly half of all aspiring trainers I’ve met, and have never really been sure how to answer it. The answer to all of them is none of course, no novice should be trying to raise a dragon type, but the reason why is complicated enough that it's hard to fit into a single response. But I suppose seeing as the storm has me trapped indoors for the time being, and I have some rather good coffee on hand, now is as good a time as any to explain it. In short, there’s a very good reason why there aren’t more dragon tamers in the world, and it has nothing to do with their rarity.

The basic answer, that I’m sure you’ve all heard countless times, is that dragon types are hard to raise. But I know this isn’t enough for you, otherwise you wouldn’t’ve contacted me. And while this answer is straightforward, it isn’t complete either. If you plan to approach this the same way you approach any other potential partner, then your attempt has been doomed from the start. An axew will not connect with you in the same way a zigzagoon will. In fact from the moment of it’s birth, a dragon type’s goal in life is to abandon it’s trainer.

How a pokemon relates to it’s trainer can be extrapolated from how they act in the wild. Lets start with some background on the types of common partner trainer relationships. The first is the most basic one; the trainer speaks, and the partner listens. There is no divide of power here, the partner is fully aware that no matter how incapable their trainer is, being with them will always be infinitely better than being in the wild. Pokemon that display this behavior are usually prey species, most commonly bug types such as caterpie or pineco. They tend to be eager to please, hoping to make you proud so you will continue protecting them, and provide the idyllic platonic vision of what being a trainer should be.

Then we get to the more headstrong types. These are pokemon located squarely in the middle of their respective biospheres, or on occasion herbivores with no natural predators. They show no hostility towards humans, but don’t feel that having a trainer boosts their odds of survival either. In most cases they’re indifferent towards you until you give them a reason to care, such as through a show of strength or compassion. Torkoal and meganium are common examples of this type of relationship, not necessarily easy to get along with, but usually easy to coexist with. Anyone who partners up with one of them will find that it’s closer to a relationship of equals than what you get with bug types. Neither partner necessarily needs the other to survive, but the relationship is maintained as both believe it will make them better.

Down to the real issue at hand; why are some species, including most dragon types, generally seen as rebellious? Mightyena for example frequently surprises unsuspecting trainers. They adopt one as a pup thinking it will be as docile as any other common species, only to be surprised and overwhelmed once it evolves. So what happened, what aspect of their minds makes them so difficult to live with?

You see, mightyena in the wild live in packs. Their pups don’t get any say in matters until they evolve, leading them to happily work with anyone who can help them get closer to that goal. Once evolved, each member of the pack is constantly in a struggle to be the leader, as having the strongest possible leader gives the group the best chance at survival. Trainers partner with one and see this combative nature as a sign they’re doing something wrong, while in fact it’s just their way of testing the waters.

In the same vein, Dragon types naturally live in a hierarchy. The only fundamental difference is the range of their groups is much wider, and a trainer encountering one for the first time might not realize there are others looking out for them. By taking it as your partner, you are forcefully installing yourself as the leader in their hierarchy. They will always be trying to prove that they don’t need you, that they deserve to be in charge, and as trainer it’s your job to prove them wrong time and time again.

So returning to the original question, what dragon type is the best first partner? The answer is simple; none. I know that isn’t what many of you want to hear, but it’s the only answer you will ever get.

But I knew deep down that wouldn't convince any of you, and that if I ended it there, I would likely spend all of next week sifting through tear stained letters explaining the excruciating details of why I was wrong. So I went to the man himself, Lance. He proceed to leave my email unread and unopened. So instead I caught unova champion Iris on her way to visit Burgh, her haxorus close by her side, and asked her what advice she would give you.

“They [dragon types] are the most wonderful friends I’ve ever had. They’re bright, exciting, and make every day an adventure.”

She looked off in the distance, lost in thought with eyes more wistful than I’d ever seen.

“But there’s a reason why every dragon tamer you meet will make sure you know they’re a dragon tamer. Once you start raising one, you’ll never have time to be anything else. But if that’s what you really want, and I mean what you know with all your heart is what you really want, then nothing else will ever compare.”

And as she walked away, arm wrapped around her partner and a smile on her face that held no regrets, I looked down at all the notes I’d gathered with disgust. I am a pragmatic person by nature, sometimes to a fault. But there are times in life when it’s best to tell your pragmatic side to just shut up, and in that moment I couldn’t help but feel I’d somehow missed one.

[mathewryf]

At the moment my brain is stuck on something I said earlier in the week.

The whole "Pokemon are domesticated, Digimon are not" thing.

The more I get into Digimon now that I'm actively trying to do so, the more that root difference is kind of refreshing!

I love Pokemon, don't get me wrong. It's just that Pokemon has lost a LOT of its edge as far as the Pokemon themselves are concerned. Even the wildest of wild Pokemon can still become acclimated to living around or with humans. Especially with how much newer Pokemon regions are acclimated and accommodating of Pokemon in their concept and design.

It's cool too, to see Humans and Pokemon co-existing in harmony on a grand scale! I just feel like every pokemon treads too close to being a house pet.

So when I finally got back into Digimon, and it's been consistently thrown in my face that Digimon are absolutely NOT suited to being a house pet, and in fact it would be incredibly dangerous to have even anything more than literal BABY digimon around the house? Like!!!!!

It makes Digimon as a whole feel much more like Digital MONSTERS. They're not house pets! Treating them like a house pet would in fact be incredibly irresponsible!

That little difference fills Digimon with so much life on its own like! They have their own needs! Needs that couldn't be met by just anyone! Hell most Digimon aren't even habituated to being around Humans! Those Digimon that ARE used to human interaction generally have to be around them from early life or as far back as literally HATCHING. It makes the world feel a lot bigger by proxy of imagining what day to day life is like for a Digimon.

Hell that lack of domestication is even present in the way that humans who regularly interact with Digimon are regarded!

Pokemon can generally be cared for by normal people, but people who are serious about having their Pokemon battle are called Pokemon Trainers. Of course with how Pokemon are so habituated to being around humans, literally anybody can become a trainer if they work at it even a little bit! They might not be the best trainer, but they'd still be a trainer!

Digimon on the other hand? For those that are comited to caring for, raising, and training a Digimon are called Digimon TAMERS. That "Tame" part is important because it implies that even Digimon that are used to Human interaction, or even LIKE human interaction, still aren't domesticated! They're tamed! That adds a layer of unpredictability to them!

I know I'm kinda rambling about this but I just find it so interesting ^^

[otakween]

Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01 - Volume 1

I'm doing things slightly out of order here, but I'd like to get to all the side stuff that came out prior to Tamers before I move on from Adventure. This is the first Digimon manga that came out (aside from C'mon Digimon which is contained within this release) so it'll be interesting to see those humble beginnings.

Ch.1

-So I guess this is some alternate universe version of season 1? (Or maybe like a beta version?) The plot feels a little similar to Digimon World where digimon are a battling v-pet IRL and the main character gets sucked into the digital world solo.

-In this version of the story, Taichi has a V-dramon. Unclear so far what level digivolution a V-dramon is or if it's related to Veemon. Zeromaru is a dumb name...

-Goggles AND a cape? That's a bit much Taichi...

-I like how doofy Gabumon looks in this. The digimon are way more cartoony and expressive so far.

-Full color and actual, red blood!? This manga looks fabulous on my tablet <3

Ch. 2

-More Digimon World vibes. The Holy Angel Castle looks a lot like the ice castle that you can only enter if you have a vaccine digimon in the PSX game...

-There's a "should digimon have human partners?" element here that we haven't really seen in the show yet. I feel like this question is inevitable for most mon series.

Ch. 3

-Okay, I'll admit, I didn't see the pun in "Zeromaru" (maru is another way to say zero) until this chapter. I hate the name slightly less now.

-A Tonosama Gekomon and a HolyAngemon are a pretty bizarre combo lol

-I really love the art style in this actually. Chibi-mode Taichi was adorable in this chapter and the colors are really nice as well. I wish we got more full-color manga releases like this one!

-So Demon is gonna be the big bad in this? That's kinda nice actually cuz he got majorly short shrifted in 02. Seems like his design is completely different here. Kinda looks like Ogremon...

Ch. 4

-I kinda like how the wild digimon get names in this. Since every digimon from the same species seems to be pretty much identical, giving them names allows me to become more attached to them.

-Only just realized that I don't really know why Etemon is called Etemon. I tried googling it and the Digimon wiki's explanation didn't really help...

-Pretty wild that Gabo said "God is gone" lol. Also, Digi-world creation myth confirmed.

-The manga's McGuffin was introduced: V-tags. I'm guessing the "V" is for "Virtual," but if you're going to call everything "digi" that seems to go against the branding a bit...

Ch. 5

-Okay Gabo's incessant "You guys need to act more concerned!!" gag is getting really annoying. He says it like every 3 pages!

-I had no memory of Deltamon so I thought he was new, but I guess he appeared in an 02 episode? He's really ugly. Also, how many samey dino digimon designs do we need!?

Ch. 6

-These chapters are super short and since a lot of them are battles, they take like 2 minutes to read. Perfect for young kids I guess!

-That triceratops with pecs was pretty cursed.

Ch. 7

-When the digimon are hurt their skin cracks like they're made of plastic or something. Kind of a weird choice...

-Another thing that differs between the manga and anime is that we see Taichi perform first-aid care after fights. The anime doesn't really show a lot of wounds in the first place and usually the digimon just rest to heal.

Ch. 8

-I was surprised to see MarineDevimon who doesn't appear in the anime until 02. I wish I knew more about which chapters of this came out when because it apparently came out over the course of 5 years (1998-2003) -- Edit: this info is thankfully on the wiki

-In this chapter Gomamon says that Triceramon being a data-type means he's a "good" digimon. In the anime they said that even virus-types can be good. So maybe that's more of a prejudice than a fact? (Or it's just different in the manga).

-Gomamon is so baby in this!

Ch. 9

-This manga reminds me of Yu-Gi-Oh! season 0 where everything is just slightly off.

-The digimon are more blatantly programs and apparently if you go inside them it's just a neon void? Also, I guess the 01 in the manga's title is a reference to binary.

-Let's see how much random stuff the digivice can do in the manga. So far it allows you to scan digimon for their HP and to communicate telepathically.

Ch. 10

-Already 2 out of 5 tags collected which means that this tag collecting thing is probably just one out of many arcs.

-For some reason the official release goes up to chapter 10 for volume 1 but the fan scans go beyond that? I'm going to stick to the official release because 10 is a nice clean end point.

This manga seems pretty typical for a game/anime-tie in for young boys. The chapters are very easily digestible and nothing too deep happens. The magazine it was serialized in, V-Jump was also home to things like Yu-Gi-Oh!, Dragon Ball and Dragon Quest, so the demographic is pretty clear. I'm really enjoying the artwork mostly. I wish there were more character moments but the reoccurring cast is pretty dinky at the moment. Let's see where this goes!