#obake speaks

[openly-journaling]

Bobby: 1/22/23

I feel terrible. For so many reasons. Kind of been shutting the body's dad out. He's getting old, his hearing is getting hard and we have to repeat ourselves so much in conversations lately. He's a good dad, and it's not exactly his fault when he has to deal with a lot of loud noises or people trying to talk to him while he's on the phone, but I've been lacking the patience lately.

I don't do well repeating myself or telling him I just said something. He sometimes says he repeats certain things back to confirm what I said which I've even seen counselors do as a technique but it's not exactly the same if that makes sense.

Like I'll say about how I don't like my foster mother because she said this and contradicted herself and then when I explain what the contradiction was he has to chime in with "wow she totally contradicted herself." But it's not that kind of agreement tone where he clearly heard us it's the kind of tone that says this is new news! Or I'm pointing this out to you as if I didn't literally just say that to him.

Or he tries to empathize and does it wrong I guess. We got along so well at first and then I wanted to move. And he slowly seemed more and more disappointed. But it's up to us not him. He knows that and he's still supportive but I know he wanted us to visit him so badly. But it still hurts because I know he was so excited for the idea of visits in person or other things. But I can't stay in a town that hurts me so much, even if there's more opportunity here. Even he wants to get out of this state once he's out of prison. Just not to Louisiana. Like.. that's fine but I'm just trying to enjoy myself along the way. That doesn't mean we'll never see each other again. Will I regret it if something happens and we don't? I don't know. I feel like I would. But I also understand that nothing in life really matters, right? We're all dust in the end anyway. And who knows what I'll do when I reincarnate? What path I choose. But I live this life now to the fullest.

How can I do that if I'm a problem to the people I love and care about? He has every reason to be disappointed or upset. I would be if I were him. Get my hopes up of visits and stuff only to have that taken away from me. He might never see me again and it'll be my fault. But it's too late because I'd never get on that visit list before I move again. Ugh.

Am I a bad person?

Like I have a lot of very specific needs in conversation. I don't like being told I need to do certain things at all because people have been telling us exactly what they think we need to be doing with our life since we were little. And then want to give us options and instead of letting us learn from making the 'wrong' option just chime in and tell us what's better for us despite us literally speaking our needs and wants aloud through the 'option' they've given us.

Our sister does that too, and we tell her all the time we hate when people say need to us and the response is always "well how am I supposed to know?" At least our dad makes an effort to change that and we should be more appreciative of that right? He still slips up occasionally but he really does do his best to respect our boundaries.

He was the only one that gave us attention and love growing up before foster care ripped us away then made me fear him for so long until we started talking again because we weren't allowed contact until we turned 18.

We're the last of the family that still actually actively talks to and cares about him. And I don't want to let him down. I don't want to upset him and I have no intention of cutting him off but I just need a break.

There's nothing interesting to talk about between us much anymore it seems because I'm too wrapped up in moving and bringing it up brings on his worrisome dad mode.

Damn what happened to us just talking about a brighter future and woodworking? Oh that's right! My dreams and interests changed. I mean not exactly. I still really want to learn that stuff but it's so far in the future just constantly talking about the future and not the steps in between becomes a drag and makes it tiring to do those baby steps.

I don't know what's wrong with me? Why can't I be a better person?

I think I should stop talking to him about my problems and issues. He's not my therapist and while he tries to be supportive it's just not how I'd like him to be. Maybe I should try talking to him about woodworking and our future home again. Realistically I don't think we'll ever truly achieve the dream. But keeping the hope, fantasy and imagination alive is nice isn't it? People need fantasy to survive this world. So maybe I should just try that again. The goal isn't even impossible. Just so extremely unlikely due to how the government owns and runs the USA. But yes.. I'll try to just keep dreaming about it with him.

It might get old for me. But it doesn't get old for him. And I just want him to be happy. I want to be a good kid. Not a problem child. I'm tired of being a problem child. I want to be a good kid.

[edit]

I figured it out I think. He's constantly trying to help by saying "you should" "you need to" he's never asking "can you do this" "do you have access to this" or "did you try that?"

And when he tried to be empathetic it's always that he's trying to reassure me by saying something like "I know you're worried but that won't happen." "It won't happen, trust me my gut is always right" "as long as you stay away from this and this you'll be safe but honestly it doesn't happen as much as you think it does"

If it doesn't happen as much as you say it does despite me knowing from keeping up with the news, why are you so worried about me going in the places it supposedly doesn't happen? Why should I trust that a man behind bars knows more about today's society than someone actually living in it and actively dealing with that oppression???

It's never "Your feelings in regards to the situation are understandable. I don't know if it'll help you but what helps me is" "I hear you and you have every right to feel that way."

People seriously don't notice oppression until it's happening to them and he talks to me like he knows it all just because he's lived longer than I have. I mean that's not to say his experiences are invalid or false, but I don't feel like he actually understands what I'm really going through.

[solidwater05]

What's a reasonable number of designs for a character who shapeshifts regularly but sticks to different versions of themself. Asking for a friend.

[cat-and-fox-hub]

[Yōkai AU] Fiend & Menace

Made by Cat, aka Researcher Serif/AW

"I know I'm quite the catch but for you to look at me like that, you trying to tell me something, Master~? You don't need to look from so far, you're free see my true self as close and as often as you please~. Just know you aren't escaping me that easily~."

(The Kitsune no Mado, or "Fox Window", is a Japanese hand technique believed to reveal hidden Yōkai through your fingers as with above.

It's comparable to the Celtic hag-stone or adder stone, a stone found in riverbeds with a naturally formed hole which can reveal witches or faeries through it.)

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Sometimes, I really hate colors. I spent so long agonizing his color palette it ain't funny, I swear. At least I think I did better on colors this time. Not by much but decent enough... (lighting's hard)

Either wae, here's @cosmica-galaxy's Fiend and Menace! They're apart of my Yōkai AU, very much based/inspired on @twstedforyou's own original Yōkai Twisted Wonderland AU.

Below is some lore if you wanna know! I recommend reading up this post for further AU lore if you wish.

Do hope you enjoy either wae!

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For those who don't know what Yōkai are, "Yōkai are a class of supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore."

They can range from your classic demon, in this case Oni, to objects gained spirit and sentience such as Kasa-Obake, a friendly and playful one eyed, one legged sentient umbrella.

So now that that's outta the way...

[Yōkai AU Lore]:

꧁ღ⊱ | Oni!Fiend |

Fiend is an Oni, a kind of yōkai, demon, orc, ogre, or troll in Japanese folklore. They're known to be big, terrifying and having great strength. They're also known for their violent and short temperaments with a hunger for humans and alcohol.

In this AU, since people are pretty much wiped out, skibidi's are the suitable replacement. While not as fun as human prey at times, there's something a bit more satisfying playing with them. (The answer is abundance and the fact no one cares about them. He can be as sadistic and cruel as long as he wants with his food, something he couldn't with humans to avoid getting caught with his pants down so to speak.)

Fiend is a young Oni, reflecting his canon self being a Gen 0 mimic born after the fall of humanity, but he's still quite older than a century at least.

Due to his experience and the fact that the Yōkai District is quite traditional, he's a bit different. A tad wiser and more eloquent in his words for one. Not that he chooses to be, preferring to be a bastard most times. He's still the tsundere little shit who gets turned on when you make the battlefield red with the blood of your enemies.

Due to his heritage, he's quite the alcoholic. Because of that, he's also quite a bit more aggressive with skibidis because there's just some types of alcohol exclusive to the human realm that isn't made or sold in his District.

In this AU, Yōkai can shift forms to disguise themselves as the most dominant species in the human realm via shapeshifting or illusions. For some more humanoid Yōkai like Yuuki-Onna, it shows in their true forms. The believability of a Yōkai's disguise vary between Yōkai and those with skills more inclined to disguise like Tanuki and Kitsune are better at it than most. Fiend has an unusual competence in the art for Oni, Yōkai known to be quite dog shit at their disguises, especially for one as young as him.

With his surprising competence in illusions and Menace being too young to create his own disguise, Fiend extends his own over Menace until he can learn for himself. It also means when his transformation goes, so does the tuggle's.

Before the War, Yōkai had the option of either human or mimic guises but considering mimics themselves mimicked humans, it was mostly human disguises. Now though, the option is either Alliance members or mimics who mimicked them. Fiend in particular chose the mimic option because it gave him more freedoms so to speak. Disguising himself as an Alliance member would've burden him with the role of acting like one which, as apart of a military operation, is a heavy one to play.

Fiend spent most of his time in the human realm. When the fall of humanity came, he was mostly wandering and hunting alone and only rarely going back into his District when bored. Despite the solitude of the empty cities, not even he knew why he stayed in the wasteland as a TV mimic as he did. At least, not until he met you.

In this AU, his meeting with you was much like his canon self. He decided you were interesting at first and pretty much stalked you. Though, he was much more… open, so to say, with his less than mortal nature. He didn't necessarily show off he was of an Other nature but he didn't necessarily bother with blending in too much. Humans are pretty much dead and gone and he only kept a thin veneer up for the Alliance to not get up all over his ass after all.

Let's just say it was quite a surprise when he confronted you for the first time and found out you were his beloved Master all along. (He did not let go for the next week, still closely shadowing you for the rest of the month after. Your presence— no, your existence is simply too much— too intoxicating— for him to simply ignore and leave be.)

Bonus! He'd never admit it but sometimes, he'd head over to his District and find baubles for you that he makes seem like they're old belongings he'd never touched and left to dust. He's always terribly smug when you like it and gloats it over the others with a smirk.

꧁ღ⊱ | Oni!Menace |

Menace is also an Oni, a very young one

He's pretty much canon Menace but more of a little shit with a nasty temper when really angry

Though, instead of the whole 'parents dying leaving bby orphaned', its more he was orphaned at birth

Unless a hybrid of sorts, Oni are traditionally born from the death of a horrible human's spirit which is why Oni, at their base nature, are cruel and violent. By using the dead spirit of a horrible human to bring them into existence, they're bound to take bits of the violent and cruel parts that make up said spirit. Luckily for Fiend and you, it's something that could be taught to be managed but anger is always something present that'll have to be managed for the rest of his life.

Despite being essentially a toddler, he still has the absurd strength Oni are known to have. He can easily carry you with no problem which is a bit troubling considering he likes get mischievous. Often with Byte at that...

He's also a a bit of a nipper considering human flesh is apart of the natural diet of Oni. He knows better than to harm, Spirits forbid consider you prey and eat you. Adopted Papa Fiend is hovering over his back with a critical eye after all.

Bonus! Menace, underestimating his own strength and your human constitution, had accidentally thrown you once. Luckily, it was at Fiend. Unluckily, it was at Fiend. Possessive shit extraordinaire. (Yōkai won't let any slight against their Master stand, kid or not. Someone boutta get their little ass cooked.)

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Check out my main blog: @researcher-serif

Here's my NSFW blog if that tickles your fancy: @grandfather-of-sin

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[Read under cut for those that can't see the image text or colored text]

Fiend: "Hmm...?"

Fiend: "Oh..."

Fiend: "I see~"

Fiend: "Ahuhu~"

Fiend: "How flattering~"

[riiiane]

KOKORO | 心

OR . . . three inazuman men's voicelines about you as their s/o ! ♡

ft. kaedehara kazuha, kamisato ayato, shikanoin heizou

contains. childhood friends to lovers (ayato), slightly suggestive (ayato, heizou), gn!reader (they/them prns), no y/n, a yokai is mentioned (kazuha), heizou & ayato's s/o's have vague backstories; kazuha's is ambiguous

a/n: hihi ! this is my first time writing for all of these characters, i hope it's ok! kazuha got a third line bc he does not speak much at all in his canon voicelines and i wanted to keep that accurate wghegeh also a lot of this is dialogue practice tbh!!

⠀

◌༉‧About Kaedehara Kazuha: Lover

"'Come torrent or gale / my heart will remain steadfast / with you by my side.' Greetings, Traveler. I was simply penning a haiku for my beloved. Tell me, what do you think?"

◌༉‧When It Rains II

"The grass is already moist. I do hope they found suitable shelter... or at the very least avoided a kasa-obake's mischief."

◌༉‧Something to Share: Homebound

"A rōnin's home lies in his blade and the wind, yet it seems I've found one in another's heart – just as they have in mine."

◌༉‧About Kamisato Ayato: True Love

"I see you've encountered my spouse, Traveler. Fufu, are you surprised? My position as the Yashiro Commissioner and Kamisato Head doesn't mean I haven't the time for romance, you know. We've been close since childhood; why, you could even say they know me best. Hm... It has been quite a while since we last spent time together outside of our duties. Perhaps an outing is in order... or a night in."

◌༉‧Least Favorite Food II: Marital Duties

"Ah, more manjū. My beloved truly is kind. It would be disrespectful to deny food from one's spouse, indeed... Perhaps I could ask Thoma to dispose of the estate's rubbish a day early."

◌༉‧About Shikanoin Heizou: Partner

"Oh-ho? So you've met my partner, though it looks like you've already figured it out. Indeed, my partner does work with me as the Tenryou Commission's head forensic investigator, but they're more than just my partner-in-crime. It's not often I meet someone who can match my diligence and intellect, you know! Naturally, my curiosity was piqued. Even though we see each other every day at work and outside of it, I can't help but wish we could be intimate more often. What? Hey, not like that! ...Though, I'm fine with whatever they want to do. Heh."

◌༉‧When It Rains II: Forensics

"My sun, we must hurry before the culprit's footprints are washed away. Quickly, grab my hand and let us make haste!"

[betasuppe]

Weird that I woke up thinking about Obake & Kei, but I'm not mad about it at all.

Thinking now about a separate end to CTC where before shit goes down, Bake encouraged Kei to go visit her twin sister to get away for a bit & get her out of his hair so that he could get down to business & attempt to destroy San Fransokyo.

So, it goes down like it does in cannon & shit is bad & Obake is presumed dead. Kei returns home to find her villainous life in ruins & broken-hearted that Obake clearly had no interest in involving her in his bigger plans.

Skip to a year later...

Obake survived. He himself didn't understand how he did because he clearly remembered his bunker-base crushing down around him and being gripped by the tight claws of darkness & drowning, and yet... he woke up along the shore, coughing roughly as some strangers pulled him from the wreckage.

He'd lost everything. He had some funds still left to his accounts, but had thoroughly liquidated his every other resource, since he had fully planned on San Fransokyo being no more. No home, no base, no car, NOTHING. Hell, he couldn't even track down Trina or NBB let alone he didn't want to in shame of the disappointment he'd be in his incredible failure of his master plan.

So anyways, all this time later, Obake, as Bob Aken again, is just getting by. Suffering from depleted funds, being deeply depressed, with no plans & no hope, he accidentally passes by Kei in the street & he freezes, though Kei jogs along behind an energetic dark-coated shiba inu on a leash... & she doesn't seem to even realize he existed.

Obake can't help himself but shout her name when the recognition sets in & when she comes to an immediate stop & gapes at him, Obake smiles, feeling things will finally be ok. In his fucked up mind, Kei was his back-up plan to his master plan, after all. This was all meant to be -!

So when she reigns in her doggo, who's growling the whole while, & she stands before her old flame, he smiles, preparing to be pulled into her arms & hugged with all the loving intensity that she always had for him, but instead he's knocked sensless as she socks him hard in the gut with a rough uppercut that pushes the air out of his lungs & nearly makes him lose his footing & crumple down onto his knees.

He likely remained standing out of pure ego, if nothing else.

A few people on the crowded street stop & stare as Kei huffs & puffs but says nothing more, waiting for Obake to apologize or beg for forgiveness or ANYTHING.

When he finally whispers out, "It's good to see you," Kei is at the point of tears, but she manages to fight through her fury & recognize they're not alone. She immediately reacts, grabbing onto the sleeve of his sweatshirt & dragging him off, telling him to shut up & not speak a single fucking word until they were in private... with her dog walking protectively between her owner & the stranger as if WAITING for Obake to do something so the pup could mess him up.

When they're back in her apartment - & Obake notes that it's not her old place just a few blocks away from Good Luck Alley, anymore... it's in the safe, nice part of town with furniture that's surprisingly high quality and just generally much better than what rundown conditions Kei had always called home, & he has to admit he's very impressed -, Kei unleashes her dog & Obake half expects the thing to leap at him. Instead, the pup curls up on a nearby dog bed in the corner & glares daggers his way the whole while.

They talk, with Kei angrily shouting how she had assumed him dead this whole time & how DARE he not let her know he survived - did he even have any idea how much this hurt her to learn about through a news channel, of all the damn things, & the pain she went through realizing she lost him while she was away & unable to help at all. She's pissed & hurt & demands to know why he never told her about this whole "master plan" of his and why she was excluded from it even taking place.

She needs to know if he intentionally wanted her out of the picture? She laughs. His not calling or texting her even a simple "Hey, lol, not dead :P" would've been better than NOTHING after all.

He's silent through it all, nodding & not at all displacing her blame. Obake shoulders it & winces at specific points she makes before going quiet, herself.

Before he can talk about his screw ups, he instead tries his hardest to break his own mold. He asks Kei how she's been doing, since it looks like she's been extremely well. Her new apartment, her new furniture, & just the energy about her - has life been better without him in it?

Kei sighs & tells him that she had to put a stop to her villainy without him & put her entire heart into her music. She'd been doing small tours, selling a huge amount of merch & had become something of a thing in the electronic music scene, especially with her escapades in badassery still following her around town. She's been suffering through it, but she loves it & she's managed switching her whole life around. She's been working on studying her leeches again & using them for helpful research rather than mind control &... it's been weird & different, but she's doing OK, especially with Chocolate Chip Cookie, her newly adopted puppy.

So now, she asks, what is he even doing here?

He struggles to find the words, but puts it very bluntly that he has very little left to his name. After being released from the hospital due to his injuries after the event in question, he roamed around. He'd stay at awful motels with cheap rates so he had a roof over his head. He just shuffled from one place to another, without a purpose or a drive. Just... existing.

Eventually after more silence, Obake quietly admits to himself & Kei both ehat he had tried to ignore the whole time... the reality of his situation was that Obake had hoped he would die in his own failed experiment. He'd fully planned for his own death & had wanted Kei happy & cut out of the picture for her own good, not like his safety net & back up plan like he dreamed it could be, just instead... keeping her out of the mess he'd created.

It makes Kei angrier at first but then the tears start bubbling up in her eyes. She hastily jumps off the couch & pulls him into a hug. Through sobs, she ensures he is aware that he's not at all forgiven, she's just glad he's back & alive.

He hugs her back, his actions disconnected from how he now felt, realizing from Kei's reaction just how badly he fucked up. It's eye opening & the first time he truly recognized he had done wrong.

Kei eventually breaks her hold on him & wipes her tears, asking where he's staying now. He admits it's a terrible dive in a rough neighborhood. She grabs her jacket and her keys, telling him that he'll be staying with her till he's back on his feet. She decides they're going to pick up his few belongings and move him in with her for the time being.

Obake starts telling her "thank you," but she cuts him off before he can finish, letting him know that he still has to make up to hell & back for ditching her in all this. Things aren't magically fixed & she still can't help but dispise him a bit at the moment... but she still cares about him and is going to set him right.

No big evil villain mastermind plans, just her friend / her ex - not even boyfriend lol - crashing on her couch until he can figure himself out.

She knows he needs actual medical attention for his brain trauma & a lot a lot a lot of therapy that she's inclined to sign him up, even if it's against his will, but... he even admits he's broken now. It's a rough step in the right direction, at least.

She hates herself for still adoring him but despite him being the way he is & all, she cares for him deeply & intends to see him out of this darkness, if she can help in doing so at all.

[toastypockets]

"Obake, You look like a mess..."

...

lots of words below concerning these sobbing sods

they allow themselves to be vulnerable around each other, or at least that's what i believe

when it comes to this pairing i usually can't figure out who's taking on what role in the relationship because i enjoy going off the rails with their canon identities a bit too much

my (very shaky) foundation is that they've realized they appreciate each other's company a lot more than they initially thought because they connect with each other in so many ways that "regular people" could never get

(generally speaking that is a positive thing since Momakase is, respectfully, a crazy knife lady constantly loading her pockets with unrighteous dollar bills, and Obake is, respectfully, a deranged mad scientist who almost wiped out a population and thought he was in the right for doing so)

the most obvious reason they even show interest in each other is the fact that they are both certified powerful supervillains, but i need there to be more going on because i'm a wreck for this particular ship and i don't know what to do about it

Momakase loses her temper and has become aggressive (← that's putting it lightly) when she can't keep herself in check, but she is still able to feel the emotions she hides from others so well, like compassion, for example. she doesn't feel that stuff often but that doesn't mean she can't feel it. Obake came into her life with a flimsy little replica of her signature graphene material and that smug expression of his only for her to fall for it later on because he didn't just break out a prisoner that night, he broke out these emotions that were in need of light after being kept in the dark for so long (and hey would you look at that- here is a light that occasionally glows a colorful purple/pink hue)

Obake, on the other hand, believed he was content with the solitude he built for himself because he never thought he would be trying to look out for anyone but himself and his aspirations for the future. he never thought he would even consider such a thing because who can really understand the ingenuity of a dark mastermind like him? could anyone even appreciate it? Momakase unexpectedly reveals that she is more than a henchwoman and throws him off his mark by being this unexplainable outlier in his comprehension of the world. after that, she provides an answer to his question, but it's not what he anticipated. furthermore, he realizes that the person he released from captivity is dangerous, conniving, and sharp, like himself, but displayed in a way he's never seen before. it's what he would define as beautiful. things are no longer as straightforward as he knew it so now he's brainstorming a plethora of questions, most of them concerning the ninja and the rest concerning his state of being when he's around her

[dubioushonour]

Every time I see people talking about the Pandemonium Tsukasa card they're like "oh, he's a kitsune!!! He's a tanuki!!!"

Which, like, is true and important and relevant, but I haven't seen anyone point out, very notably,

He's a kasa-obake. Also called karakasa-obake and karakasa kozo, they're classed typically as tsukumogami (tools that have become self aware when they turn 100 years old) (there is debate about this classification but for the sake of it, I'm not getting into it). They only have one eye, which is likely why Tsukasa above has one of his shadowed (besides the usual spooky supernatural hidden motives reasons). Karakasa are usually best known for being tricksters who like to jumpscare and prank people, but are ultimately fairly harmless and just enjoy the attention. They are most notable for being a yokai that isn't attached to any particular legend or folktales; people just started drawing them around the Edo period and they started showing up everywhere, with more people making stories about them. Nowadays they are pretty much a staple yokai for haunted houses, like a bedsheet ghost that will lick you.

(Karakasa also share a lot of similarities to hitotsume-kozo (or One Eyed Brat), they are functionally the same type of ghost but one is just a child.)

I couldn't tell you how relevant this is to his character, or if they just did it for the pun, but I mostly just thought it was unfortunate people didn't seem to realize there was a third, very neat yokai influence in this picture (or just weren't acknowledging it because it's not as a trendy as the other two in English speaking circles)

[lilyginnyblackv2]

Social, Cultural, & Political Things to Help Understand Buddy Daddies - Part 2

Hey there, everyone! Since my first post covering topics like these went over so well, and since I found a few more things I can talk about in these first four episodes that involve a social, cultural, and/or political aspect of Japan, I decided to make a second post. 

I type these posts up on my desktop, since that is easier, but after posting, I will go back on mobile and edit in ALT text for the photos. This post is also likely to be very lengthy and image heavy, but I hope you all enjoy the information provided. Also, if anyone has any extra insights, please feel free to share that information. I love learning, and always am learning, so any corrections or further info is always appreciated.

We are going to be starting off with a few simple, quick, and “easy” topics, so to speak. Now, let’s get started!

1. Rock - Paper - Scissors

In Ep.3, we see Kazuki and Rei decide who will go and purchase the sweet potato for Miri. In order to decide this, they use Rock-Paper-Scissors. In Japan, the game is called janken and is used in classrooms to decde everything: which row or group in class will go first? Janken. There is a tie, who will win the game? Janken. A student or students are out of class today so there is some extra food left over, who will get it? Janken.

In many cases, this will be use to decide orders as well (like the winner goes first or last and then it goes in ascending or descending order from there). And it won’t just be between two people, they’ll do huge groups. When I worked as an ALT, I would often just trust my students or the JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) or Homeroom Teacher to figure out who won and lost, because I would always lose track... ^ ^;

Anyway, this way of deciding things is viewed as unbiased and a sort of “third-party” decision maker. A nice way to have a decision made without ruffling any feathers. And, we sometimes see using Rock-Paper-Scissors to decide things within the workplace and business world.

Some examples of this are provided on the website Japan Daily, which will be linked below. The website does lean a bit into Orentialism, imo, but it also has some good history and info on Rock-Paper-Scissors in Japan and these real life examples of it being used in a business/work environment are great:

2. Baked Sweet Potato - Street Food

Baked sweet potato is a very common street food in Japan in the fall and winter months. They are cheap, smell delicious, are delicious, and are a great way to warm up cold hands. Nowadays, many are sold out of small, white vans like the one shown in Buddy Daddies. 

(Image from Asahi Imports).

They are usually eaten plain and the inside tends to be a light, off-set white. Like ice cream trucks, the sweet potato vendors will usually set up shop around playgrounds, school areas, parks, etc. basically any place where a large crowd is likely, and they will usually shout out that they have sweet potatoes. In a similar way to the vendors walking around selling food, drinks, and peanuts at a baseball game or something.

You can read more about this winter time snack over at Asahi Imports, which will be linked below (they also make mention of daigaku imo, which is a dish you’ll see in Japanese school lunches in the fall and winter months, and which is very yummy!).

3. Obake - Ghosts 

I was watching a reaction video to episode 3 of Buddy Daddies, and the reactor was like, “Isn’t she afraid of ghosts?” And, well, that made me think of a very popular song and book in Japan called おばけなんてないさ (Obake Nante Nai sa). It is a very famous children’s song and (later) picture book in Japan. The song was first broadcast on an NHK program called “Minna no Uta” in 1966. This info is from the website Hello Project Lyrics Wiki, and will be linked in the comments below.

When I worked at a Japanese cram school back here in the States, we had a bunch of copies of the books, and all the teachers had the book and song memorized. All the parents were familiar with it too, and it was taught in the youngest class, since the book and song is for the 0 - 2 year old age range.

Here is a Youtube video with the book and the song being sung to it. Warning: This song WILL get stuck in your head. The beat is very simple and easy to remember, so you’ll definitely end up humming it, even if you don’t know the lyrics.

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I’ll link to English lyrics that I found for this song in the comments. But the general gist is that there is no such things as ghosts, they aren’t real, but if they were, I (a child) would be afraid of them. So the song goes on to tell of how you can befriend a ghost instead, and not be afraid of them anymore. 

Miri is 4 years old, and can write her name, speak and understand well, and has good coordination skills. So there has been some level of education, so she has likely heard this song before. And therefore probably isn’t afraid of ghosts on a more conceptual level, though she still equates them with “bad guys,” lol. If she hasn’t learned it or heard it yet, she probably will now that she is in daycare.

There are four more issues/aspects that I plan on discussing, so I’ll put those under a Read More due to length and them being slightly less lighthearted.

4. Animal Rights

When I watched reaction videos to the first episode, many people were upset at the cat being returned to the box (and the cat even just being in a box to begin with). I was too, of course, but I also knew where this scene was coming from. For this section, I will be citing the article: Challenging, inadequate animal welfare in Japan, which I will link to below. Though, I also came across the article Why You Shouldn’t Buy a Pet in Japan, which I will also be linking below, since I think it is worth the read. 

Basically, Japan has laws in place, and they get revised every 5 or so years, however, they are very vague and the general public knowledge of animal rights is farther behind than in other industrialized nations. In the other article that I will be linking below, they mention that about 90% of pets in Japan are bought through pet stores, rather than through adoptions or rescues. So, as the other article states, abandonment of pets is rather high, especially because of how trend-based pet ownership is in Japan.

Things like pet cafes can really influence pet trends. I’ve been to two myself, an Owl Cafe in Osaka and a Hedgehog Cafe in Tokyo. 

That was a number of years ago now. And while those experiences were AMAZING! I do think about the ethics of it all and think, if I were to return to Japan some day for a visit, those kinds of cafes wouldn’t be on my To Do list.

However, there are groups and organizations to help fight for animal rights in Japan. Since this section of the post was inspired by the scene with the cat in the box, I’ll highlight the cat based one mentioned in the article:

So that’s good to hear!

5. Parenting Style

Another thing I noticed during reaction videos were the responses to scenes like the above, where Miri is kicking at the back of Rei’s car seat and whining, “I wanna go swing!” As well as to scenes like below, where Miri caused all of Kazuki’s food supplies and materials to spill all over the ground. 

All of them have made mentioned that moments like those require strict discipline. But, Japanese parenting style differs a bit when it comes to things like this. In an article entitled: Japanese Parenting Style - And Differences From the West, which will be linked to below, we get this bit on discipline:

Basically, it is saying that Japan isn’t really big on punishment because Japanese children learn to behave by learning the importance of cooperation and harmony through other social groups like school and sports. This is definitely true. What I’ve seen is that the expectation is that the children still don’t fully understand the ins-and-outs of society yet.

I worked at a Japanese daycare, so our job was to take a gentle parenting approach, to help explain to the child why what they did was hurtful or harmful or dangerous. And one of our goals was to help the children learn how to play amicably with each other. 

That’s not to say that I haven’t seen children be yelled at or anything like that. I have. But it is usually the teachers that take on that mantel, especially at the junior high school level. That’s when you get stuff like students have to practice bowing during an assembly over and over and over again until they get it just right, especially if that assembly is a rehearsal for an important event, like graduation ceremonies.

Bringing this back to Miri though. Now that she is in daycare, she will start to receive this gentle parenting approach to learning how to co-exist with others, which will eventually result in more positive behaviors (or, that is the ultimate goal, anyway). Miss Anna will likely provide a lot of that guidance as the head daycare teacher.

6. Snack Bars

Miri’s mother works at a Snack Bar and, over on the official website, it states that her job is as both the Mama and singer at the Snack Bar and that she is 34 years old. But what is a Snack Bar and what is a Mama?

Snack Bars were started in 1964 to work around government laws that prevented adult entertainment establishments from staying open after midnight, by offering light snacks, that changed the category that they fell under, thus they could stay open. The Mama of the Snack Bar is basically the one in charge of the Snack Bar.

They are similar in ways to Hostess Bars, but on the cheaper side. You can read about more of the details about how they run and what not at the website Metropolis Japan, which I will link to in the comments.

Another thing about Snack Bars is that, while they don’t sell sex, they sell the fantasy and illusion of sex:

They are also a outdated nowadays (with their peak being back in the 80s), so there is a general seedy vibe about them. It may seem like an okay place to take kids from the name alone, but they are very much so adult-only spaces. Also, as we saw with Miri’s mother, likely a place and setting where the exploitation of women happens.

7. Casinos and Gambling in Japan

We saw Kazuki do some gambling in Ep. 1. Something you may have noticed, however, was who lured him in:

And what the outside of the establishment looked like:

Two young and sexy women and a bright, sparkling pink building named “FAIRY LIPS.” You probably guessed that this isn’t a legal gambling establishment. Casinos and gambling are still largely illegal in Japan, with some exceptions like lottery. The ones that are illegal are likely being run by Yakuza. 

However, some changes have gone into affect in more recent years, especially as a way to attract tourists. 

Over on the Wikipedia page about Gambling in Japan (which will be linked below in the comments), it talks about how Japanese lawmakers approved a bill in July 2018 that officially allows casinos in the country. However, they come with a lot of restrictions, such as Japanese locals only being able to visit them three times per week or ten times a month, and Japanese visitors will be charged 6,000 yen entrance fees to discourage addiction. 

And...that’s it for this post! Thank you all for reading this far and for all the love and support you’ve all shown to my previous post (and other meta posts I’ve made). I really and truly appreciate it! I’ll be keeping an eye out for topics like these in future episodes. Though, those posts should be a lot shorter, since I’ll be going on an episode-by-episode basis, instead of in bulk like this.

Until next time! 

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x14 - Set Sail! To a New Continent! / Departure for a New Continent

Previously on Digimon Adventure: Takeru's Partner Digimon finally evolved! And then he exploded, giving Takeru a story that he'll be telling his therapist well into his forties. Fortunately for him, when your Tamagotchi shits itself to death, you can always start over from scratch. But it's just not the same.

Now, with Devimon defeated and File Island restored, a strange hologram of a man has revealed himself to the seven children.

At long last, someone who understands what's going on is here to explain the plot to the gathered children.

Old Man: So you are the Chosen Children. Very impressive, given that you've defeated Devimon. Taichi: Who are you!? Yamato: An ally of Devimon!? Old Man: Don't worry; I'm on your side. Sora: It's amazing to finally see another human besides us in this world. Old Man: Well, although I am human, at the same time, I am not. Mimi: Are you obake? Old Man: --hrmph!?

As previously discussed in episode 12, bakemono is an umbrella term for a variety of shapeshifting yokai who take on other forms, often to deceive humans. Obake is another word for bakemono; Mimi's accusing the old man of being the same sort of creature as those "worshippers" that Jou and Sora encountered.

Mimi's question takes Gennai completely offguard, causing him to verbally flinch and turn to look at her. He picks back up like that didn't happen a moment later, but it seems she rattled him.

Over in the dub:

Old Man: So, you children are the DigiDestined. You must be strong to have defeated Devimon. Tai: Who are you? Matt: Are you a friend of Devimon's? Old Man: Fear not, for I am a friend to all! And yet, I am a friend to none. Sora: I can't believe it! There are actually other humans besides us in this world. Old Man: I am human! And yet, I am not human. Mimi: This is confusing. Old Man: HRM!!!

"Okay, am I the only one who finds these sayings just a little bit formulaic? 'If you want to push something down, you have to pull it up. If you want to go left, you have to go right.'" ~Mystery Men

This bit might have been screwed out of the gate. We don't have a similar concept to obake in American reference pools common enough for children to pick up on. Even the subtitlers had to go with "ghost", which doesn't quite convey the right idea.

Unfortunately, that leaves him grunting aggressively at Mimi for what seems like no reason. Since the obake line is untranslatable, this may have been a good spot to insert a Valley Girl Mimi quip instead. Give him something to react negatively to.

Old Man: ...My name is Gennai. Because of Devimon's interference, I couldn't contact you sooner. I'm glad to finally meet all of you. Koushiro: Contacting us from where, exactly? Gennai: I'm on Server Continent, which is pretty far away from File Island. Sora: How long have you been there, Gennai-san? Gennai: I've always been in this world. Mimi: Were you the one who brought us here? Gennai: ...no, I'm not. Mimi: Then who did? Gennai: Well... (long pause) ...I don't know. Takeru: Do you at least know what we have to do to return to our world? Gennai: I don't know that either. Takeru: What the hell, Grandpa!? We can't depend on you at all!

Mimi is acing this interrogation. She has destroyed Gennai's mystique. Poking all sorts of buttons he doesn't want poked. He's trying so hard to present himself as the kindly old mentor figure and she's just like "Ohhh you're an Imposter who did this to us, gotcha."

Old Man: Now, my name is Gennai. I couldn't send you this transmission during your battle with Devimon but now the lines are clearer and only ten cents a minute! Izzy: Well, who are you? And just where are you? Gennai: I am speaking to you far away from File Island, across the ocean on the continent of Server. Sora: Talk about a long-distance call! How long have you been here? Gennai: Since before the beginning, until after the end. Mimi: Are you the one who got us stuck here in the Digital World? Gennai: ...it was not I. Mimi: Then who was it? Gennai: It was... (long pause) I dunno. T.K.: But Mr. Gennai, sir, do you know what we need to do so that we can all get back home again? Gennai: No, I don't. Tai: Boy, you're a regular fountain of information, aren't you!?

With the exception of the phone service jokes inserted to break up the conversation, this dialogue is almost completely identical.

Though it's worth noting that Gennai's name is said differently. In Japanese, it's pronounced "Gen-nye" with a hard 'g'. In English, it's "Jen-nye" with a soft 'g'.

Gennai: But I'm depending on you. You must come to Server Continent and defeat the enemy here. As the Chosen Children, you should be able to do this. Koushiro: But we don't know how to get there. Gennai: You're right. I'll send you a map through your laptop. Jou: But there's no way we can defeat an enemy that's more powerful than Devimon! Gennai: Not so. You can, if your Digimon evolve to an even higher stage. Agumon: We can evolve further!? Gennai: You will need these in order to do so. By inserting a Crest into this Tag, you Digimon can achieve higher evolution. Gabumon: Where can we find these Tags and Crests? Gennai: Well... The Crests are scattered across Server Continent. As for the Tags, Devimon gathered them up and hid them somewhe-- (Suddenly, Gennai's hologram fritzes out) Gennai: Oh no... ...Devi--... ...interference....

The device shuts down from there, leaving the kids to make do with the information they got. The dub covers this part practically verbatim.

Koushiro checks his laptop and, sure enough, Gennai sent the map. File Island is a pinprick compared to Server Continent.

(Japan's actually pretty huge but in terms of relative position to the continent, it makes me think of Japan's position in the sea relative to Asia. I wonder if that's deliberate?)

Meanwhile, the kids break for dinner.

Koushiro: It looks like he was at least able to send the map. Sora: What should we do now? Taichi: Let's get off this mountain first. We can decide on something after we eat!

I love how the dub presents this exchange.

Tentomon: Gennai's transmission ended rather abruptly. Izzy: Well, at least he was able to send the map through before he got cut off. Sora: I hope he's alright. What's our next move going to be? Tai: Huh. I've got a foolproof plan: First we'll eat something, and after that I'm open to suggestions!

XD Foolproof indeed. Never change, Tai.

Given that they've had a long day, the kids decide to break here. They head back down the mountain and forage up dinner so they can decide what to do on full stomachs.

During this time, Yamato finds Takeru sitting by the water with his Digitama.

Yamato: Takeru? Takeru: It's nothing. I was just hoping my Digitama would hatch soon and grow. Yamato: Your Digimon will join everyone here soon enough. Takeru: Yeah! You're right!

It's a small moment, but a sweet opportunity for Yamato to be Takeru's big brother.

Over in the dub, Matt may be confused about how this works.

Matt: T.K.? T.K.: Ohh, I was just wishing my Digi-Egg would hurry up and hatch already so it can grow up! Matt: Don't sweat it, lil' bro! When your Digimon hatches, it'll be the coolest one yet! T.K.: Egg-xactly!

They just wanted to make that pun. But also, uh, no, Matt. It'll be the same one he had before.

Once dinner's out of the way, it's time for the kids to decide on next steps. We all heard what Gennai said. But. What do we do with his request?

Taichi: Now that we're all nice and fed, let's figure out what we should do next. Sora: Gennai-san told us to go to Server Continent, but.... Koushiro: If this map is right, then it's a far distance from here. Mimi: I can't swim more than 25 meters. It's impossible for me. Jou: Do we have to go? Devimon is gone from this island. The Black Gears are gone too. This last week we've been here has made us more or less familiar with the landmarks. There's plenty of water and food, too. Sora: What are you trying to say? Jou: Can we even trust what this Gennai said? Is there really even a Server Continent? Taichi: Hey, what's all this about!? We can't get back to our own world if we just sit here! Sora: It took everything we had to defeat Devimon. But there's going to be even stronger enemies waiting for us. Koushiro: Besides, how would we even cross the ocean to reach the continent? Mimi: There might be weird Digimon over there too! Jou: Uh-huh. Yamato: Maybe we should look around here a little longer. Taichi: What the hell, guys!? Takeru: Let's go! Yamato: Takeru? Takeru: I don't know what enemies are waiting for us, but let's try! I'm sure that's what Angemon would have said. That's why I.... Agumon: We'll come too! We can evolve further if you have the Tags and Crests, right?

I'm glad this comes up because it's worth debating. These kids, now aware of what they've been drafted into, are being asked to risk drowning in the ocean for the sake of going to a foreign land and fighting a war. And without even the barest smidge of hope that this will actually connect to sending them home, which is still only Koushiro's speculation.

And if there is no reason to believe we'll ever return home, then "What if we just stay here and build our lives on this tropical island?" is a question worth discussing. If they're lost forever, there are worse places to be lost than File Island.

But once the Digimon begin to cast their votes, the tide of the conversation changes completely. One by one, each of the Digimon implores their kid, and each of the kids relents and agrees to go to Server. Even Jou puts up little fuss.

Once again, the dialogue here is near completely identical in the dub. With two notable differences, both of which center on Mimi. Her first line about only swimming 25 meters is changed out to:

Mimi: I can't even swim across the bathtub! It's impossible for me.

While her second line about weird Digimon is replaced with:

Mimi: We don't even know what the fashions are like on Server!

To be fair, worrying about weird Digimon is a redundant complaint to raise when we've already been told there's going to be far more powerful enemies over there waiting for us. Though, given that Mimi's been harassed twice in the last week, it's possible she means "weird" in more of a gross way.

But if that's the case, I wouldn't expect the 90's localization team to actually translate this as, "We might run into more Digi-Perverts!"

So begins the greatest logistical undertaking the kids have had to do since arriving on this island. They're going to need to build a raft capable of taking all thirteen-plus-egg across the ocean.

Koushiro: It looks like it'll take a long time just to cut down the trees. Sora: There's no point in rushing. Let's not be hasty.

It's at that moment that Sora notices the sound of heavy footfalls coming their way. Turning around, she spots Leomon on approach. Given their history with Mr. Kill the Children, it's natural that she has a kneejerk panic response.

Sora: WAUGH!!! Koushiro: Leomon!? Leomon: I've heard you're leaving for Server Continent. Sora: How did you know that? Leomon: Some of us monsters love to gossip. I was wondering if you needed any help with anything. Sora: (excited) You'll really help us? Leomon: There's more than enough helping hands.

As he says, more Digimon begin to arrive. Kentarumon, Mojamon, and Elecmon are next to show up, followed by Monzaemon and Yukidarumon. Then Meramon and countless villager Pyocomon.

Before long, the residents of File Island have assembled an impressive raft to send the children off.

Before long, they have a seaworthy vessel for crossing the ocean.

Taichi: It's done! Koushiro: Looks like it has good balance, too! Jou: Can we really cross the ocean with this? Taichi: We've already decided to go! We'll have to use this. Leomon: With your abilities, I'm sure you can cross the ocean safely. Taichi: Thank you, Leomon! We couldn't have done this without you!

Meanwhile, in the dub, Joe has a different concern.

Tai: Alright! Izzy: It's hydrodynamically designed! Joe: I think I'm getting seasick already.... Tai: Get a grip, Joe; It'll have to do! Leomon: Believe me, that raft is strong enough to get you across the ocean. Tai: Thanks, Leomon! We never could have done it without your help!

Notably, Leomon's line is different between versions. In the original, he puts faith in the children to be able to make this journey, while Dub Leomon puts his faith in the raft he just made. Rude.

As soon as the raft is finished, there's even more good news!

Poyomon hatches from his Digitama to greet the world! This little newborn goop ball can't even speak words beyond reciting his name like a Pokemon. "Poyo! Poyomon!" Surprisingly, the narrator chimes in to give us a rundown. Poyomon is a Baby-stage Digimon with no type.

(To my understanding, Baby I-stage Digimon never have a type. They have to get to Baby II before they develop one.)

Narrator: Poyomon! A slimy Digimon shaped like a jellyfish. It is said to be the most primitive of lifeforms. Its vitality and adaptability are greater than you might expect from its unassuming appearance.

Tentomon takes care of this in the dub.

Tentomon: Poyomon is a jellyfish-type Digimon of few words. But, if his friends are in trouble, he's ready for action!

Trying really hard to sell Baby Jelly as a badass there, Tentomon. Gritty 90's Americana at work?

At last, the kids shout their farewells to the denizens of File Islands and set sail for Server.

Narrator: The seven children learned how to survive using their own strength, by fighting Digimon, and by forming friendships with Digimon. And so the children left File Island behind.

Tai takes care of this bit of narration over in the dub.

Tai: So we sailed away from File Island where we had some really cool adventures! When we had to survive on our own, we grew up very fast. Except Joe; He just threw up very fast, ha! But he came around too! We don't know what's waiting for us on the other side of the ocean but we'll face it as a team!

XD Poor Joe. Rude to call him out like that, Tai.

Meanwhile, my ass is over here like,

Drake: And so the kids... completed the tutorial level. Now that they're in the open world sandbox, the real game can begin. Holy crap.

Once the kids are out on open ocean, it doesn't take long to start talking about the survival logistics of their journey.

Taichi: (looking through telescope) I can't see anything. Jou: I wonder how long it will take? Taichi: We just set sail! Jou: But even if we ration our food and water supplies to bare minimum, they'll only last us half a month. Taichi: Then we can fish or something! Sora: All we need to hope for right now is good weather.

Jou's right to be concerned here. Catching fish won't solve their problems if they run out of water.

(While we're all traveling by raft, this would probably be a great time to bring back the compass from Mimi's dad's survival kit. But I think the show's forgotten she had that.)

The dub tweaks Joe's line to add onto his concerns.

Joe: The salt air is killing my sinuses and we've only got enough food for two weeks.

They also remove his mention of water supplies. Without that concern, Tai's plan to supplement their supplies with freshly-caught fish seems more effective.

Despite the dub giving Joe so much shit for seasickness, it's actually the young'uns Koushiro and Mimi getting queasy at the back of the raft. Though Takeru seems to be handling himself okay.

Apart from nearly losing Poyomon to the waves, that is.

Suddenly, a colossal wave nearly capsizes their raft. They make it through, but struggle for a moment to discern where it could have come from.

Yamato: Where did that come from!? Koushiro: There's no wind here that could be causing these waves! Jou: Maybe a ship is passing nearby? Taichi: There's no ship here!

I want to say that was a silly guess by Jou, but given how many random human things are scattered about File Island, human ships freely wandering the ocean is entirely plausible. There are no rules here.

The cause of the wave, however, is something much more frightening.

Their raft is caught in the wake of a colossal Whamon. A frankly confusing Digimon, Whamon is a Vaccine-type Aquatic Digimon whose stage is... complicated. Due to what I can only assume are creative inconsistencies, Whamon are either Adult-stage or Perfect-stage depending on the media.

Adventure's rundown pegs them as Adult-stage in its data boxes.

Narrator: Whamon. An enormous Digimon who lives in the Digital World's deep seas. The giant tidal waves he causes and his Jet Arrow blasting through his blowhole are fiercer than you might expect.

Notably, I believe this is the very first mention of the world they're in as Digital Sekai or "The Digital World" rather than Digimon Kai or "Digimon World".

Fortunately for the dub, Tentomon quickly asserts in the original that we're still close enough to File Island for him to recognize this Digimon.

Gabumon: W-Why is he doing this!? Tentomon: Whamon is a powerful monster, but he always keeps to the bottom of the ocean!

The Partner Digimon knowing nothing beyond the borders of File Island is a factor that has not kicked in yet.

Tentomon: Whamon is a giant Digimon who lives in the deep oceans of the Digital World. Its Jet Arrows are unbelievable! Gabumon: It was massive! Tentomon: A Whamon can sometimes be fierce but I've never seen one act this aggressive!

Whew! The diegetic rundowns are still in the clear! No time to worry about that now, though! We're under attack!

In case there was any doubt over whether Whamon is purposely harassing us or not, he quickly clarifies his intentions by devouring the raft whole.

Koushiro: This must be Whamon's shokudou (either 'esophagus' or 'restaurant' depending on the kanji)! And by that, I don't mean the 'restaurant' version of shokudou! Jou: We're aware! Mimi: He ate us after all! Sora: How far until the exit!? Koushiro: The exit is his butt! Mimi: I don't want to leave that way! Palmon: Like poop. Mimi: Don't say that!

So here we have more fun with Japanese linguistics and also talking about poop. Obviously some changes were going to happen here, but not as many as you might expect.

Sora: I hope we don't give him a sore throat! Izzy: Technically, it's not the throat! It's the esophagus that leads to the stomach! Joe: He thinks we're fast food! Mimi: So he really did eat us! Sora: Sooner or later, this has to lead to an exit! Izzy: It does, but you don't wanna go there! Mimi: This is damaging my hair all the way to the roots! Palmon: Use my roots. Mimi: You're a plant!

They still tie in the esophagus, even if they have to recontextualize it to get away from Koushiro frantically babbling about linguistics. They also keep the butt joke by implying it instead of outright stating it.

Also, the roots/"You're a plant!" bit got a big laugh out of me. I don't say this a lot but this is one time I think the dub greatly improved this scene.

The kids quickly find themselves under attack by the least effective antibodies in history, which throw themselves haplessly into the water and miss the raft by a wide margin despite the kids doing nothing but screaming and cowering.

Then, at the end of their journey, they spill out into Whamon's stomach. Fitting his strange cyborg whale design, his stomach is a machine. Red lights around the edge suddenly light up with a loud activation tone, releasing gastric juice into the stomach for digestion.

After Koushiro briefly explains gastric acid for the kids at home, we get this exchange.

Taichi: Don't fall in! Jou: We've got to get out of here quickly before things get worse!

Which the dub edits to:

Tai: Don't let it get on you! Joe: We'd better get out of here before we give him a major ulcer!

Similar to Sora's line about the sore throat, the dub kids seem more worried that being in here might hurt Whamon than for their own safety.

Speaking of ulcers, it's at that moment that Sora notices something directly above them.

Whoops! Looks like Devimon missed one when he was recalling all the Black Gears to Infinity Mountain.

Taichi: A Black Gear! Agumon: So that's why Whamon was running wild! Gomamon: Let's help him! Jou: How? Palmon: Climb up there using my vines!

Over in the dub, poor Joe gets called out again.

Tai: It's a Black Gear! Agumon: That's why Whamon was acting so aggressive! Gomamon: Joe, do something to help! Joe: Why me? Palmon: Someone can climb on these!

Man, it really is Pick On Joe Day over at American Digimon.

Dangerous as this is, Palmon ensnares the Black Gear with her Poison Ivy. Then Taichi makes the ascent, climbing hand-over-hand to reach it. Once he's close enough, the light from his Digivice shines and harmlessly disintegrates the Gear. Palmon pulls Taichi back towards the raft before he can land somewhere else.

As soon as the Gear's destroyed, Whamon's stomach glows with a strange light. The raft ascends and, before long, the kids are all ejected from Whamon's blowhole.

The good news is, they emerged from his stomach unscathed. The bad news....

So much for that raft. The kids are unharmed, but their means of transportation is totaled and their supplies are now floating in the sea.

However, Whamon isn't done with them yet.

Mimi: DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!!! Whamon: I'm sorry for my outrageous behavior. Piyomon: It's not your fault, Whamon! Sora: It was because of the Black Gear! Taichi: That must have been the last one! Jou: Are you sure about that? Whamon: My head is clear now, thanks to you. Taichi: Whamon, do you know how far Server Continent is from here? Whamon: Yes. It would take me about five days to get there. Yamato: That means it's pretty far. Takeru: This is bad. Our raft is broken. Whamon: Are you trying to reach Server Continent? Agumon: That's right. Whamon: Allow me to take you as thanks for disposing of the Black Gear. Sora: Really? Mimi: LUCKY!!!

Mimi throws up her arms in celebration. In the process letting go of the log she's floating on and nearly drowning herself. Palmon has to pull her out of the water and reattach her to the log.

XD She got excited.

The dub dialogue is the same, save for some gags added to Whamon's dialogue.

Tai: By the way, do you know how far it is to Server? Whamon: Yes. It would take me five days. Uh, make that three and a half without traffic. T.K.: Great, our raft's broken! Whamon: Are you going to Server? Agumon: Yeah, we were trying to! Whamon: I'll take you there myself. It's not every day your lunch saves your life!

The promise of Whamon-sized traffic sure makes me glad we're not on a raft anymore!

Swimming and bouncing from the water, Whamon makes his way to Server with the kids safely nestled on his back.

Sora: Feels great! Koushiro: This is a much more pleasant experience than the raft. Mimi: I won't get seasick from this! Taichi: Now all that's left is to find the Crests and Tags that Devimon sealed away! Whamon: Did you say Devimon? Taichi: Do you know something? Whamon: I'm not quite sure what you mean by Tags and Crests but I do remember Devimon hiding something under the waves. Taichi: Where!? Whamon: It's on the way to Server Continent. Please take shelter inside my body while I go there.

Dub Whamon adds a particular stipulation.

Whamon: It's on the way to Server. You can all ride inside me and I'll take you there. But no tickling!

That's fair. The last thing we need him to do is sneeze or cough us out at the bottom of the ocean.

Whamon takes the kids down to a secret cave at the bottom of the ocean, where an air pocket exists. He lets them out there and they enter the cave to explore.

Whamon: Since I can't go any farther, I will wait for you here.

Seems fair, being a whale and all. The dub has other ideas for why he can't come with.

Whamon: I'm so out-of-shape, I have to rest here for a while. I gotta drop a couple of thousand pounds!

He can't come into the cave because he's too fat, I guess. Also. Y'know. Marine life.

Before long, they find their destination.

Deji Mart, your one-stop shop for all consumer goods! The "Deji" is how Japan romanizes the word "Digi".

Unfortunately, DigiMart was not left unguarded.

Drimogemon, an Adult-stage Data-type Beast Digimon. His name is a conjunction of "drill" and "mogera", meaning "mole". Drillmolemon.

Narrator: Drimogemon. Living deep underground, he uses his drill to move at high speed. His sharp Drill Spin and Crusher Bone attacks devastate his enemies.

Over in the dub:

Tentomon: Drimogemon lives deep inside the earth drilling tunnels. He uses his iron Drill Spin and Crusher Bone to wipe out his enemies!

Practically verbatim.

He's not just any passing drill mole, either.

Sora: He has a Black Gear! Jou: I knew there were still more of them! Drimogemon: No one may enter here, by order of Devimon-sama! Leave at once!

See, Taichi? Assuming makes an ass out of u and ming.

Gomamon evolves to Ikkakumon so he can hold off Drimgemon. Everyone else makes their way into DigiMart to find those Tags. While Almost immediately after the kids are inside, Ikkakumon hurls Drimogemon through the storefront. The impact shakes the store.

Jou: Ikkakumon, go easy on the attacks!

At this point, Ikkakumon is as much a threat to us as Drimogemon is.

Dub Joe, on the other hand, has a thirst for blood.

Joe: Ikkakumon! You've got him down! Get him!

Joe's going to see Drimogemon go down if it's the last thing he does. Which it may be.

Apparently not listening to Jou, Ikkakumon fires off a Harpoon Vulcan instead of listening. The missile slams into Drimogemon and explodes, rattling the store inside.

It's at this point that Tentomon evolves to join the fight.

(They don't say Ikkakumon is fired from engaging Drimogemon for being too reckless, but there's an implication there.)

Drimogemon tries throwing his signature Crusher Bone at Kabuterimon, but you know how those flying Digimon are with projectile attacks.

With three dimensions of evasion, Kabuterimon maneuvers around Drimogemon and takes out his Black Gear with a precisely-aimed Mega Blaster.

(Was that so hard, Ikkakumon?)

Amid all the friendly fire-inflicted carnage at the DigiMart, Takeru loses track of Poyomon. When he finds him again, Poyomon's found the loot!

Mission complete! Drimogemon apologizes for the fight and disappears underground.

Drimogemon: I-I'm very sorry! Gabumon: Wait! Where are the Tags? Drimogemon: Th-They should be in the store. Good luck finding them!

Dub Drimogemon offers more specific directions.

Drimogemon: The Tags should be in the convenience store next to the jerky.

Oh, sweet. We have five days of whale-riding to do so we should stock up on jerky while we have the chance.

Inside the store, the kids open the box to find the Tags they'll need. Setting sail for Server, we close on a reminder of the next stage of this journey.

Yamato: He mentioned the Crests are spread throughout Server Continent, right? Gabumon: Right. If we combine the Tag and Crest.... Agumon: We can evolve further! Taichi: Yeah! We'll definitely find those Crests!

A new adventure begins here.

Assessment: What stands out to me about the Tags and Crests is how Toyetic they are. Digimon as a franchise started its life as an offshoot of Tamagotchi. That's what the Digivices are; They're a way to incorporate the little handheld Tamagotchi device into the anime.

This is a toy-driven series, like Transformers or My Little Pony. It's just a different kind of toy.

Considering that, I am curious if the whole "Use this merchandise sold separately NEW MACGUFFIN to reach Perfect-stage!" thing, like... Is this a thing? A real-world thing being incorporated into the anime, like the Digivice? I dunno. It's certainly peculiar.

In any case, this episode goes strong at the start with the farewell from File Island, but slows down once they're on the ocean.

I'm not a big fan of the DigiMart mission. Having to go on a fetch quest to unlock the ability to go on the next set of fetch quests feels like it's just killing time. Also, it's bloody convenient that the very next person we happened to meet after learning about Devimon's secret stash happens to know where Devimon's secret stash is!

Can you imagine if the stash was somewhere on File Island and we left without even checking? Boy would our faces be red!

This is a bridging episode between the Devimon and Etemon arcs, and the main interesting thing that happens concerns how the cast moves across the ocean. So, for me, it feels like the Tags were just thrown in so we have an excuse to wander off-course and beat up a Bad Guy for the third act climax.

For the dub, it's weird that they put so much emphasis on Joe getting seasick when it's Mimi and Koushiro who spend the episode wrestling with that. It's probably meant as a callback to the Bakemon episode, when he was throwing up over the side of his bed. But he never gets seasick once in this one.

Still, while their characterization choices stumble in a few places, they're able to lay down most of the important plot points with few deviations. We've seen better dubs than this episode, but we've seen worse too.

[openly-journaling]

Bobby: 12/6/22

I keep thinking back to the body's birthday on Nov 28th. How our foster parents took us out for dinner.

We struck up conversation about how when I move down south I want to get our GED and go to college to be an architect. The didn't even respond or congratulate me on the decision. Or praise me for it. I asked

"So...?"

"So what?"

"Well.. don't you have anything to say on it?"

"You change your mind a lot. If that's what you want to do, then good for you."

Well.. I kept trying to chat on about it, conversation turned to talking about college and college dorms.

College dorms went into conversation about a guy I knew who um.. yeah I'll spare those details. But he got drunk a lot couldn't remember a lot. Tried to clean up and failed.

Foster dad goes: "yeah well it's hard to stop bad habits without god"

HE WAS A CHRISTIAN YOU FUCKING ABLEIST SHIT

He was very much that and tried to what he could. Back when WE were Christian it didn't stop us from picking at our skin or being forgetful all the damn time. It didn't "fix" us goddamit.

We have worked so hard on ourselves for years. Maybe Christianity pulled you from drugs then good for you, but don't project your experiences onto everyone else like that's how they can solve everything!!

Okay, I fixed our picking issue by wearing a fucking dog collar because it's the only thing we can wear 24/7 without allergic reactions or discomfort and the ring acts like a fidget.

We're still forgetful as all hell but we've learned ways of managing it by doing one thing at a time instead of trying to remember five tasks at once. Do one thing that leads to doing the next and leads into the next, everything is along the way.

We get exhausted going out and doing a bunch of big tasks after work that we need to do; bills, rent, picking things up/dropping things off, cleaning the house so every day we do ONE of those tasks. It's not much, but it works for us and gets everything done bit by bit and we're never behind on anything because of it.

WE DID THAT NOT YOUR ABLEIST SHIT GOD. WE PUT IN THE WORK FUCKFACE.

Ugh..

[violin100]

Comedy and Tragedy in Japan Meeting fellow artist, Greensquid01.

Hey everyone,

So, I am a big fan of DeviantART artist, greensquid01. I love her pictures and drawings she posts of her character and herself. As a token of gratitude for being awesome, I decided to make a drawing of her meeting Comedy and Tragedy in Japan. She wanted her belly to be over-inflated through stuffing food in her mouth. At first, I thought about adding the Japanese movie monsters and ghosts in the picture, but she insisted for me to use three Yokai's: Hitotsume kozo or Kasa-obake, to be used in the picture stuffing her mouth with mochi's. Comedy and Tragedy are enjoying the show. I took the liberty to have Comedy speak Japanese, since the characters are fluent in many languages.

[edogawa-division]

Ding-dong! A package for Shinozaki Kaoru!

It’s a package containing… a whole jar of caffeine powder! (Not to be mistaken for crack)

On top of the lid is a note written with a green marker.

HAPPY HOLIDAYSSSSS!!!! Getting banned from cafes doesn’t sound fun at all!

Here’s as much caffeine I could get wwww

—(the ‘signature’ is just a doodle of a kasa-obake with a spider crawling on its edge)

*BOOM*

A loud explosion came from deep within the Kuromiya household, though to be more specific, the explosion had come from Kaoru’s lab. The noise immediately sent Yuriko and Kanra rushing throughout the house, down the stairs, and into the main portion of the lab.

Kaoru was in front of them and was literally bouncing off the walls of her lab. She was speaking so fast as well that no one could understand what she was saying as well. However, Yuriko and Kanra managed to get a few things like “Oh that hit the spot” and “I’ve never felt so alive!”, before she descended into uncontrollable maniacal laughter. A.D.A. was there as well, trying her hardest to stop the crazed hacker but was unsuccessful. 

“Kaoru please calm down!” A.D.A begged, looking extremely frazzled. 

“I got her A.D.A!” Kanra yelled, rushing over to help the blue haired android. 

“HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” 

“Kaoru no! Put down the explosive!” 

“She’s gone full supervillain!” 

Yuriko, who in this whole mess noticed A.R.K and A.M.U off to the side watching this entire thing, rushed over to question them. 

“A.R.K.! A.M.U! What the hell is going on!?” Yuriko demanded the two androids. 

“Kaoru’s Secret Santa gift got delivered, and well, let’s just say she really enjoyed it.” A.R.K lazily answered back. 

“She used a lot of it, too.” 

“That doesn’t explain why she’s like that?” 

A.R.K in response, only pointed to Kaoru’s desk area, and that’s when Yuriko noticed the huge container of caffeine powder that was still open with the lid on the table.  

“Fuck.”

Thank for the Christmas Gift!

[fallen-symphony]

(Continued from here.)

"Scourge..."

"Hey, before you say anything, I wasn't over there to fight Prince Key-for-Brains this time!"

"I'm aware. And I agree to this truce."

"Wait, seriously?"

"Of course. That CEO Mickey would make ruling the Multiverse quite difficult. Much more difficult than RiFT and his team. We both have a common enemy, so until he's dealt with, the best course of action is to team up."

"Glad you think so, Slur. Cuz if we let CEO Mickey and his team continue with their plans, we'll lose Obake and Ultron Sigma..."

"That blasted mouse would put me in the vault?!"

"Do not worry, Master Obake! I won't let him get anywhere near you!"

"Speaking of which, if CEO Mickey ever got his hands on Ultron Sigma and takes Obake's control chip out of him, the entire Multiverse might be done for..."

"That's just scratching the surface of the kinds of problems that CEO rat will cause us. So, starting today, we focus on putting a stop to him and his lackeys. Once he's dealt with, we'll get back to our war against RiFT and his team."

[valorianknights]

W.I.P. For My BH6:The Series Rewrite Fanfic

"See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil".

I originally was going to post some Savisnow art, but... I needed to get this out of my system.

I'm still plotting out the storylines for my fanfic.

My original fanfic on Wattpad is, BH6 : Avengers Protocol and it's an x reader and I SWEAR I'M NOT ABANDONING IT but it's still going to be in hiatus while I'm writing this rewrite for the series.

So I'm doing the 3 seasons, but I'm going to focus on a more serious tone that will have some moments of levity. I never liked how the show carried this unbalanced tone. I don't want serious moments to be undercut by ill timed humor.

Season 1 will still have Obake as the main overarching villain, but will have an episodic format with the overarching plot in the background.

The gang, Hiro, Aunt Cass and even Tadashi will be more developed. I'm still upset that there was never an episode that explored how everyone met Tadashi and why they became friends. Flashback episodes will happen of course, that way we can actually learn more about Tadashi and have his passing be more heartbreaking. We only hung out with the guy for like 20 MINUTES! Also, I'm gonna introduce Megan in season 1, to act as both a friend for Hiro to have and a tchaikov's gun for events in season 2. Trina and Obake will have more Development.

Season 2 Will deal with the consequences of vigilantism. Chief Cruz will act as the main Antagonist (not villain, there's a difference).

I'm using a quote from Civil War as my main inspiration/motivation for this season.

"Our very presence invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict, and Conflict breeds catastrophe."

I didn't like how season 2 was essentially two story arcs smashed together. I think they probably thought that the show was gonna be cancelled after season 2.

I decided to focus on the Fugitive arc, but rework it into something actually good. Like the potential is there it just needs some adjustments.

The vigilante arc will deal with consequences of vigilantism and deal with the aftermath of battles. So the morality of vigilantism will be questioned here, especially since the team are rookies to being heroes.

Since in the BH6 movie's universe, according to the director's during a 2014 interview, the team is their world's Avengers. Which means there are no other heroes. The show contradicts this and introduced stan Lee as a superhero from the 70's, so I'll just adjust this and say that there were superheroes in this world, but they all worked in secret during WW2 and most of them died during the war. The ones that survived continued to work under the radar, but separate from the government. Stan decided to create S.W.O.R.D and the remaining active heroes joined him.

As for season 3 I want to expand on the world's criminal underbelly to better explore the technological and supernatural side of this world. I'll be doing research on Japanese folklore and also include the Silver Samurai as the main villain. I thought about the city of monsters arc and... Idk. I'll probably do something for that, but... That's for another time. I'll also have the Fujitas be in here somewhere. Mary from the comics will be in this season.

So... Basically:

Season 1: Identity and Development

Season 2: Actions and Consequences

Season 3: Experience and Expansion

I'll do more art for this later. Sorry for the long spiel.

[shan-bunbun]

My BH6 OC :D

INFO

Name: Bonnie

Nickname(s): Bon, Boni, Bon Bon

Last Name: Rivera (Aken)

Gender: Female

Pronounce: She/Her

Sexuality: Asexual Bisexual (doesn't know her sexuality)

Ethnicity: Philippine/American

Birthplace: Out of the town of San Fransokyo

Birth: October 10th

Zodiac: Libra

Age: 13

Height: 5'½

Family: Jasmine Rivera (Single mother), Bob Aken (Adoptive father), Trina Aken (Adoptive sister)

Friends/Allies: Hiro Hamada (very close), Baymax (second close), Megan Cruz, Aunt Cass, Honey Lemon, GoGo Tomago, Fred, Mini Max, Wasabi No Ginger, Professor Granville, Karmi (soon)

Enemies: All the villains, Bob Aken, Trina Aken, Karmi (kinda)

Personality: Kind, Generous, Gentle, Intelligent, Independent, Loyal, Supportive, Caring, Hardworking, Easygoing, Patient, Empathetic, Mature, Selfless, Innocent, Shy, Quiet, Calm, Clumsy, Honest, Stubborn, Emotional, soft, Cold, Harsh, Mean, Childish side, gullible, Very good at lying

Likes: Chocolate chips cookies, Pancakes from Aunt Cass, Spending time with friends, Math, Playing chess, Learning/trying new things, Beaches, Cute things, Helping people's

Dislikes: Herself (sometimes), Her mother, Getting bullied, Being clumsy, People being nosy, Rude/jerk people, out of control emotions, Attachment with someone

Phobias: Claustrophobia & proditiophobia

Hobby: Chessboard

Occupation: SFIT Student, Mathematics, Superhero

Hometown: Lucky Cat Café, San Fransokyo

Weapons: Telekinesis & Backup weapon

Voice claim: Changing a voice (in the future)

Short Backstory: (4/9/24)

-Bonnie was born out the town of San Fransokyo.

-Both them (bonnie & mother jasmine) staying over Jasmine's parents house until she find a job and apartment.

-Bonnie found out that she have power at the age 3 when she shaked of her grandparents house.

-Jasmine finally found a job and apartment.

-They go to the park, then Cass saw Jasmine, they were so happy to see each other again since college (they were good friends).

-Cass introduces her nephews, Hiro and Tadashi.

-Jasmine and Bonnie always visiting Cass, Hiro, and Tadashi.

-Bonnie used to be shy around them but slowly opened up with them and also Tadashi teaching her to speaking English since English isn't her first language.

-Jazmine takes Bonnie to the beach for the first time.

-But then Jasmine and Bonnie stop visiting them, they have no clue what happened to Jasmine and Bonnie.

-Few months later, Jasmine sent Bonnie to adoption place, for Bonnie to have a better parents, but she refuses to have new parents, Jasmine explains why but she promised she'll get her.

-Obake adopted Bonnie, he introduced himself and Trina.

-Everything was perfect until Bon gets bullied, her bsf betrayed her and Obake found out her power.

-Obake lied to Bon that he'll help her how to control her power but unfortunately he was only using her power and also manipulated her (idk how to explain it but it's toxic way).

-The bullies throw bubbles gum on her hair, it was so bad that Trina needs to cut Bon hair off, it wasn't a perfect haircut it's pretty short.

-One day, Bonnie goes to the library and saw the year book of SFIT, Obake very upset at Bonnie looking his stuff without the permission (even tho he gonna say no).

-Bonnie tells Obake that's her dream to go SFIT, but Obake refuses to let Bonnie to go there because that school wasn't match for her (reason her power).

-Obake want's Bonnie to feel down and not capable to achieve her dream college.

-Bonnie didn't listen to him, she's gonna prove him wrong, so once she a senior, she will application to go SFIT college.

-Trina found out Bon getting bullied by popular girls, Trina tells the bullied to leave Bonnie and threaten them.

-Trina teaches Bonnie how to defend herself and be very rude to them.

-One month later, Bonnie became a rebel and changes her outfits.

-Bon has been doing illegal things, which is: shoplifting, theft, assault, attempted murder, trespassing, running from the police, nearly arrested, and homicide.

-Bonnie knows that she's doing wrong but she's doesn't have a choice because she's a child and they won't listen to her.

-3 years has past, graudation was almost near, so this popular/rich guy throw a party at his house everyone is invited. Trina forces Bonnie they should go, Trina doesn't care what Bonnie gonna to say.

-The popular guy and other guys was bully geek student, Bonnie saw what's happening she couldn't keep the business to herself.

-Bonnie joins in and standing up to geek student, tell them to quit it and leave him alone.

-They push Bonnie to the floor with geek student, the popular students laughing so hard, Bonnie gets up.

-Everything changes after that.

-Bonnie left the party and running away to go home.

-Trina gets mad at her by Bonnie using her power to kill a student.

-They both have a big argument.

-Obake gets annoyed hearing the arguments telling them to stop argument and tell Trina to leave so he have private conversations with Bon.

-When Obake tell how disappointed what Bonnie did and break a rule not using power around the people, Bonnie tries to explain what happened but Obake just ingore her and cut her off.

-After the conversations, when Obake almost to leave he tell her that she grounded.

-As Obake closed the door, Bonnie felt rage, throwing things, hitting things, and other things, after she do that she felt tired and start to crying to herself.

-Few days later, Bonnie goes on her jellypop flip phone and got notifcation from SFIT college saying they accepted her.

-Bonnie was so happy and excited that they accepted her, Trina comes to her room asking her why the excitement, Bonnie said nothing she just in good mood, Trina doesn't say anything so she left.

-Graudation from High school is over and now the school started, Bonnie tells herself that she's not gonna tell Obake and Trina so she keep this a secret.

-A week later, everything turns out very well..When Bonnie goes to her second period this is where Bonnie meet Hiro and soon she'll meet other friends aka Baymax, Honey Lemon, GoGo, Fred, and Wasabi.

It's was really fun created my oc, it took me 1 year and I think I'm satisfied my oc is.(❁´◡`❁)

[drkineildwicks]

BH6 Snippets--2/24/2024

More work on the sequel to (Not So) Hated by Life Itself today, still poking the name idea for the sequel to see if I like it...in the meantime, been folding a couple of different episodes together, including "Fan-Friction" from season 1, since the team is running around in costume finally:

“Well Karmi and I got to talking earlier,” Honey Lemon said brightly, putting a hand on Karmi’s shoulder.  “Mostly about her fanfic, still think maybe Tall Girl should be called Chem Girl—anyway, really think we bonded over bio stuff Karmi you should sit with us.” Hiro grimaced, kind of glad that Karmi at least looked horrified at that notion as well, although the cake definitely went to Obake with his face buried in his hands.  “Uhhh I’d love to but…I had an excuse and I really need to go be with the excuse.” “Nah we can budge up,” Tadashi said, giving Hiro one of those pointed looks—probably the play nice suggestion he had hit Obake with earlier. Speaking of, Obake had apparently had enough—stood up abruptly.  “No need, she can have my seat.”  Turned on his heel and left, pausing only to grab his bag. “Uhhh I’d better go with him,” Hiro said, packing everything up and shouldering his backpack.  “Make sure he doesn’t blow up the labs—”  Did pause to give Karmi a raised eyebrow.  “’Kid Sidekick’?  Seriously?” “I don’t take slander from nerds still struggling with homophones,” Karmi said, returning the eyebrow raise. “Whatever.”  Run after Obake, leaving Tadashi nursing a migraine while Fred peppered Karmi with questions about her fanfic.  Did eventually find him in the labs, busy screaming into Baymax’s vinyl. “Seriously?” Hiro questioned. “Obake: is upset,” Baymax offered, standing in his charger. “That’s putting it mildly,” Obake muttered, voice muffled from having his face buried in Baymax’s chest. “Yeah but I’m used to you avoiding Baymax,” Hiro pointed out. Obake finally pushed himself away from Baymax.  “Usually I’d scream into a couch cushion, but the robot volunteered after explaining to me about all the wonderful germs I’d be smearing all over my face.” “Should I be concerned?” “Apparently Wasabi has a point when it comes to deep-cleaning the various surfaces.”

So technically we have bits of "Fan-Friction" from season one, "The Hyper-Potamus Pizza-Party-Torium" from season three, and "Nega-Globby" from season two--under severest technicalities "Nega-Globby" and "The Globby Within" both got nixed due to no chem-purse in "Big Roommates 2" to steal, and a couple of episodes are getting shuffled around to try to repair the mess that season three was and shake some of the executive meddling off of season two. Does that mean I have entirely different plans for season three? Yes, yes it does.