#original tak my beloved

[ramencringequeen]

B  E  H  O  L  D

H. I. M

[imminent-danger-came]

Sun Wukong Knew About MK the Whole Time: A Theory

I am currently hyped up on leftovers and iced coffee, so let's do this!

I've talked about this before, here and here, but I think it's finally time I wrote an official post. You can go and read those posts if you want to (I definitely hit the nail on the head with some of this stuff), but I will be compiling a lot of what I said on those posts here!

So. Let's get the Mr. Elephant out of the room first: The David Breen Tweets. (thread here).

I see this tweet mentioned a lot whenever I bring up SWK knowing about MK, and honestly, this is a far cry from the "it's been confirmed that SWK didn't know" definite answer everyone's been implying.

So let's break it down!

#1: "Monkey King ain't the father"/"Monkey King isn't his dad." Well of course! Being born from a stone means you don't have any parents. I see it like this: Wukong isn't MK's dad, but he's also not NOT MK's dad, it's a secret third thing (creator and creation). Or, perhaps Wukong didn't help create MK at all, but he at the very least was involved in the circumstances that lead to MK being created/being born from the stone. (Aka eldritch abomination MK theory. My Beloved. Okay sorry.)

#2: "Monkey King was ripping his way through memories looking for MK, but kept coming back to the stone. He doesn't know why." So, while Wukong was ripping through memories, he didn't know why the scroll kept spitting him out by the stone. This is not a confirmation that Wukong didn't know about MK and his origins. It also begs the question: how did Wukong know MK was in the scroll to begin with? There's also some speculation to be had about why Wukong was so desperate to find MK to begin with:

MK: "Monkey King did this?" Macaque: "It looks like he's been tearing his way through his past—trying to find his way to.." MK: "Me."

(4x11 A Lifetime of Mistakes)

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What was he so afraid of MK finding? Or, what was he afraid the scroll would force MK to experience? I think these are questions worth asking.

#3: "Wukong's trying real hard to leave the 'not being open with MK' days behind after s3. Problem is he's got lifetimes of info to catch them up on." Well, this one is a DOOZIE. One: we already know MK doesn't know everything about Wukong and his choices because he doesn't know Wukong killed Macaque (thank you 4x11). Two: "trying real hard" and "successfully doing" are very different things. And three: YOU DON'T JUST DROP INFO LIKE "Hey, did you know you're a Monkey Demon?" ON TOP OF SOMEONE RANDOMLY. Especially not MK. You have to prepare them for it.

Wukong is trying to do better and be better for everyone around him, but that still takes work. That still isn't easy. He's still going to make mistakes, which means he's not going to always go about being open with MK in the best way.

Sun Wukong: “Point is, mistakes happen, but so long as you leave the world in better shape than you found it, then it’s all good. Right?”

(4x01 Familiar Tales)

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This scene—to me—feels like Wukong is trying prepare MK for his eventual "Hey did you know you're a Monkey Demon?" conversation he wants (and needs) to have down the line. Yes, SWK is trying to be more open with MK, but he's also just not going to be given that chance before the truth comes out.

MK: "Yeah right, if Monkey King really was my dad don't you think he would have said something by now?" Mei: "Yeah...because he's normally SOOOOO forth coming with information." MK: "Well uh, whatever—when we find Monkey King's stone, then we'll just ask him!"

(4x05 Court of the Yellow Robbed Demon)

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Notice how they never asked Monkey King that question? From a writing standpoint, why bring this up at all if it wasn't to imply that (even if Monkey King isn't MK's dad) he wasn't involved with MK's creation in some way?

ANYWAYS.

NOW THAT THE BREEN TWEET THAT HAS RUINED MY LIFE IS OUT OF THE WAY, let's get into the evidence given to us throughout the entirety of the show. Starting with this:

This isn't a scene that takes place during the "A Hero is Born" special, as I'm sure plenty of people have noticed before now. Of course, this could have just been Monkey King "scouting out a successor", but with everything we know now doesn't that...feel kinda weird?

We were told at the beginning of the show that Monkey King gave MK his powers, but now we know that's not true. MK has had his own powers this whole time—and that's something Wukong, at the very least, knew:

Sun Wukong: "Listen kid: You fought demons, and you didn't die, and you made it here! Not just anyone can lift my staff, but you did." (1x00 A Hero is Born)

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MK: "This whole time, I thought my powers came from the staff! Sun Wukong: "The staff's just a big 'ol stick bud! It takes someone special to lift it." (3x03 Smartie Kid)

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There's also 1x09 Macaque, which I have mentioned before:

Macaque: "Ohohoh no, can't you hold the magic staff anymore? Well, you know what that means—there really isn't anything special about you. You're just a kid with a heavy stick."

This scene is then followed by MK lifting the staff, which only happens because Wukong encourages him.

MK: "Ugh, I can't! I'm not strong enough." Sun Wukong: "Kid! We're definitely going to have words later, but it's time for the Hero Stuff!"

(1x09 Macaque)

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Ultimately, Wukong knows MK can lift the staff again even after Macaque supposedly stole all of MK's powers. He knows MK can beat DBK (more on that later). He does something similar to all this in 3x14, being the one to let MK face the Lady Bone Demon, powered by the Samadhi fire, alone (even after Pigsy tries to stop MK):

Wukong want's to protect MK. That's why he went to face the Lady Bone Demon alone in the first place—but here, he let's MK stop the end of the world all by himself. Why would he let his beloved student face not only LBD, but a reality ending flame alone?

Because he knows how much power MK has. Because he knows MK is capable of doing it.

This all brings me to my main point: If before now we were supposed to believe that Monkey King gave MK his powers, and he so clearly didn't, how would Wukong not know he didn't give MK powers. And because he clearly knew he didn't give MK any powers, why would he not question where this kid's insane level of power came from? He had to have "chosen" MK to be his successor for a reason right?

ESPECIALLY because Wukong never planned on being a mentor in the first place:

Sun Wukong: "I know I can never make it up to you. Honestly, I- I never thought I'd live as long as I have let alone be someone's mentor—turns out I'm not very good at it. I guess what I'm trying to say is...I'm sorry MK. For all of it."

(3x14 Destiny Fulfilled)

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This was also alluded to in 3x05 Amnesia Rules:

Pigsy: "Of COURSE you don't remember the kid—one day you are going to grow up to be a terrible mentor!" Sun Wukong: "Ha! Zhu Bajie, can you imagine me teaching someone? HA!"

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So, Wukong clearly didn't ever want to become a mentor, and this directly contradicts what Wukong says to MK in "A Hero is Born":

Sun Wukong: "You're perfect!" MK: "Perfect for what?" Sun Wukong: "To be...my successor!"

Honestly, think about it: has Wukong ever once actually needed a successor? When given the opportunity, he goes off and tries to handle things on his own anyways (Leaving in s2, wanting to go and reforge the Samadhi Fire on his own, going to stop LBD alone). It's the classic "we're being told one thing and shown another" trick.

Sun Wukong: "No no no- in case you forgot I'M retired, you're the one supposed to be taking care of the bad guys." (1x01 Bad Weather)

Even in 2x01 he's lying:

Sun Wukong: "Aw, come on bud! I promised myself that when I found a successor I'd go see some friends, take a tour of my old stomping grounds, just cut loose you know?" (2x01 Sleep bug)

It's proven in the next episode, and by the fact that all of his friends are dead/gone, that literally nothing he said here is true.

And, it's also note worthy to point out, that by this point Wukong had already disappeared for hundreds of years. Why step in again at all? Why put the effort into getting a successor you definitely were never prepared to have?

MK: "*sigh* You think Monkey King ever felt like this? Maybe that's why he stayed up on this mountain, just having a good time with you guys. You know cause- cause he knew he'd be out of the way where he couldn't hurt anyone he cared about." Macaque: "Or, he was doing his usual Wukong thing and being a lazy peach eating idiot. Ignoring all the worlds problems.

(4x09 Roast of the Monkie Kids)

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So, I don't know about you, but I'm going to trust Macaque's insight on this. I'm not sure Wukong ever planned on coming back. Sealing DBK, he effectively cut off one of his last ties to the world (please go read wlw-wukong's thoughts, they are delightful), and he had already left the world alone for a long time. Why did he feel the need to train a successor now?

The simple answer is this: because he knew he needed to train MK and teach him to control his powers, and DBK's return was the perfect way to do it.

NOW. THE S4 MK VISIONS.

So, the visions MK see's all through out s4 (4x03, 4x04, 4x05, 4x06) are of Wukong ripping through the scroll and going to the stone—David Breen confirmed that himself in the above tweets.

Here's a list of what we see:

(4x03 The Great Tang Man)

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(4x04 Pig Napped)

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(4x05 Court of the Yellow Robbed Demon)

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These are what I would say are the visions of Sun Wukong trying to find MK in the scroll. Yet, they are distinctly different from what Subodhi presses MK to remember ("Tell me of your childhood, your parents." "You do not remember?" "And what else?"):

(4x06 Show Me the Monster)

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Look at that difference!

Every vision MK has includes the same scenes, except this one. That's why I think it's a memory; that and the way it's framed, with MK closing his eyes in focus. The other visions from 4x03, 4x04, and 4x05 all are unprompted, being forced upon MK. Why make this last "vision" so different from the others? Why show our mystery lady making the stone monkey? That would be because it's a memory—be it MK's, something from the scroll, or a mix of both.

There's also the matter of like, why Wukong going to the stone would trigger any sort of vision in MK to begin with. Overall, it just seems like there something more to those visions.

This would be how I imagine the general timeline playing out:

MK is created (through help of Sun Wukong), a beautiful baby boy pops out of the stone, and Sun Wukong "loses" that beautiful boy (if Wukong knew he was born to begin with) with MK finding his way to Pigsy's.

Then it's later Sun Wukong finds MK again, coming up with a plan to make MK his "successor" (still leaving MK with Pigsy, which I think was the right call lol). As Wukong says in 4x01, "You make ONE mistake, and no one ever let's you live it down! Looks like the ghosts of my past have finally caught up with me." That's what I think this parallel in particular is really trying to show off—in some way, MK is part of his past mistakes, just like Macaque is.

AND SO. I WILL CLOSE OFF THIS THEORY POST WITH EVERYTHING WE LEARNED IN THE SPECIAL.

Sun Wukong: "Heh, nothing gets under his skin more than a monkey. Leave Azure to MK and me."

(4x12 The Plan Man)

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Sun Wukong: "Kinda embarrassing for the Jade Emperor to have two little cheeky monkeys running circles around him the first day on the job." MK: "Well, one monkey and one unconfirmed, but *laughs* yeah! I'd be embarrassed for sure!"

(4x13 Rip and Tear)

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Wukong sounds suspiciously confident that MK is a monkey.

Not even MK is sure what he is (which he's probably just in denial, but also "Until I know what I am, what my destiny is?" from 4x08 anyone?), but Sun Wukong is extremely certain about what MK is.

Sun Wukong: "We got this bud. Would have liked to give you some new training with your monkey form, but-" MK: "Oh yeah yeah yeah- uh um- about that— um. I- I was thinking, I've never really needed a scary new monkey form before, so, I just thought maybe I'd use it next time." Sun Wukong: "Next time? Kid, there might not be a next time! This is the time."

MK: "It's be fine! Mei and I have got this awesome new armor and everything! You know, when we look this good? Ain't nothing gonna beat us." Sun Wukong: "Kid. New armor isn't going to cut it! We have to hit Azure with everything we've got! You can't just ignore this whole part of your power because it scares you!"

(4x12 The Plan Man)

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If the writers were trying to highlight the fact that Wukong didn't know, this scene would have gone very differently. Instead of "You can't just ignore this whole part of your power because it scares you!" I think it would have been more along the lines of "I know this is new for all of us, but you've got to accept this part of your power!".

Even this exchange at the end of the special raises some alarm bells for me:

Pigsy: "Heh, don't bother. I've been telling him that for years but he LITERALLY never listens." Sun Wukong: "Yep! That's how we roll."

(4x14 Better Than We Found It)

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That's how "we" roll? As in him and MK, as two monkeys? Again, Wukong is surprisingly chill and okay with this new form for someone whose first interaction with it was supposedly this:

MK, writhing on the ground in pain, completely destroying the world around him, and unable to control his powers.

Sun Wukong: "Yeah! Go MK, go! Just try not to totally wreck up my stuff would ya-"

(4x13 Rip and Tear)

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Overall, it gives me the impression that Wukong already knew what MK was before 4x07. This new form didn't scare him because he always knew that's what MK was. MK, to Wukong, is MK! And MK has always been a Monkey Demon. He has unshakeable faith in his protege, and even while MK is absolutely tearing up the world around flower fruit mountain he can't help but cheer for him.

After all, Wukong knows MK is the only one who could defeat Azure:

MK: "Ne Zha's right—while Azure has the Jade Emperor's power and the scroll, there's NO way we could beat him head on!" Sun Wukong: "I mean, some of us could beat him! *ahem* One of us, specifically-" MK: "Nope! None of us at all."

(4x12 The Plan Man)

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"But Imp!" I hear you say, "Wukong was talking about himself here!". To which I would reply, that's not true! This scene is right after Wukong has already said he only almost beat the Jade Emperor:

Sun Wukong: "But don't worry—I almost beat the Jade Emperor single handed once! Between both of us, Azure doesn't stand a chance." (4x12 The Plan Man)

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Between this and Wukong's pre-fight convo with MK ("We have to hit Azure with everything we've got!"), he's clearly banking on MK using the full extent of his powers to win this fight. Wukong isn't banking on his own—if he were, he would never have left MK to go and collect the scroll pieces during their fight with Azure.

Conclusion

Sun Wukong knew MK was a monkey the whole time, lol—and fate has plans for MK. Great plans, or foul? Time will tell.

And Wukong has done his best to ensure that those plans are great.

[tillythemagpie]

“The Moon has kissed you.”: An analysis into the relationship of Renamon and Impmon from Digimon Tamers, why it possibly has sound basis in the canon, and why they could possibly be one the most layered relationships in all of the Digimon franchise. ART 1]

PART 2 HERE

PART 3 HERE

Well, this project sounds ambitious, but I’m ready for it!

I’ve been a fan of Digimon for years, since I was small, if I’m allowed to speak with honesty, I’ve done it all. Seen the fandom, seen the ships, all good and well. However one couple has always intrigued me, and yet I’ve felt the fandom has either not appreciated them well enough or mischaracterized them. I’ve always been intrigued about their relationship, and I feel they have a little more in common than what sees the eye at first. I saw there wasn’t much written about them out there in the internet, but I’ve been part of the fandom, noticed our passion, and thought “why not? This pairing is ripe for a good analysis”.

So that’s the project: An essay series about the characters of Renamon and Impmon from Digimon Tamers, their relationship, and why I think they have the potential to possibly be one of the most iconic couples in the series. (Yes those are some big bold statements right there, and I’ve got the receipts for them)

Before we start, a disclaimer to make my points get across and for you all have more context where I’m coming from with this analysis: I’m only familiar with Digimon till Frontier, I haven’t watched later seasons (besides Tri and Kizuna, but again, that won’t add to my analysis), but I’m only taking the Tamers season canon into account, since the writing staff and production can vary so much from season to season (and it can even vary with movies; see the Taiora mixup between Hosoda and Kakudou from Our War Game). I know about the popular couples (Taiora, Takari) in the fandom and so, but I won’t comment on them save for a small preface as to how I see that romance is portrayed in the Digimon franchise. I won’t compare RenaImp to other couples in the series; but I will compare them to common imagery for couples in other media, since their relationship is quite unique in the world of the Digimon franchise. I’m basing my analysis and interpretation off the original Japanese dub, since the form of dialogue can also add a lot to characterization that can get lost in translation. I’m not Japanese, tho, and watched the series with subtitles so forgive me if some points of information or analysis I’ve got are incorrect. While I’m taking into consideration Konaka’s online notes and some trivia I’ve read of the series, I’ll mostly add to my analysis what is presented in the finished product, because production and initial thoughts can vary a lot when creating a piece of media. Lastly, I’m only taken for hints in the original series, since hints in further media might discourage or contradict what is played out in the original series, since outside influences or new writing teams might sway the writing into another direction. Also, when I mention the main characters / mons, I’ll mainly speak of the main 3, their Mons, Culumon, and Impmon; since they have the most parallels and character development in common for the analysis to work. And while I’ll mention some bits of analysis about some other characters here and there (Ruki, Juri, Guilmon, Ai and Makoto etc), since their storylines are so interconnected, I’ll mainly focus on Renamon and Impmon, or how the other characters parallel them, cause otherwise I’ll write a whole bible I feel.

Also, I’ll be using their Japanese terms/names, to further avoid confusion.

Also, my favorite seasons are Adventure / Tamers (like most basics lol), and my favorite characters are Renamon, Impmon (naturally), Jyou, Koushiro, Ken, Daisuke, Sora, Takato, Jen, Gomamon, Guilmon, Terriermon and Tailmon. While I find some other ships cute, RenaImp is the one I’m fully and totally dedicated to.

With all that said, on with the show!

·      Basic ideas about the two of them / Introduction

So if you’re reading about this meta I assume you’re familiar with Digimon Tamers (and if not…then darling this meta ain’t for you hehe), the third season of the Digimon franchise that’s beloved by the community at large for taking bold chances by experimenting with the writing. Characters dying, an introspection into trauma and family issues, the conception of the Digimon, can artificiality grow a human conscience, yes yes. We all know the show, we all praised the show, we’ve all done metas about the show. On with our main players, whom I feel have a lot of untapped potential to write meta about.

Renamon and Impmon are Digital Monsters that are part of the main cast of Digimon Tamers. They are distinguished from the rest by being the two Digimon that go through character development the most this season, something unusual by the standards of the franchise, where the character development is usually reserved for the human characters. While all the main Digimon are given a personality, only Renamon and Impmon are given arcs; so to say, to give them conflict and showcase them to display a complex world and a complex viewpoint of their relationships and of the world.

Renamon is the partner Digimon to Ruki, the only girl of the main cast (Juri’s importance comes along much later). Reading behind the scenes, the writers were asked by the producers to design a different type of female character, since sales pointed out that the “girlier” previous female leads of Digimon didn’t sell so well (I know, it’s not good, but that’s how it went, and I cannot ignore history), so the writers attempted to change the model in a way that would seem more appealing to “stereotypical” boys watching the series. Ruki was based on Trinity from the Matrix, and given a more assertive and cold personality as well, to contrast against the motherly Sora or the perky Mimi of Adventure fame. Similarly, Renamon is also contrasted greatly against the other female-coded Digimon. Whereas most female Digimon beforehand were written to be very affectionate and feminine-coded, Renamon is much more aloof and…agender, so to say (Konaka wrote that idea in his character notes, and she notes it in dialogue as well in the series- Still, the characters use she/her pronouns in the show to refer to her, so I’ll do that here to make the writing easier). At first glance you wouldn’t tell her gender, unlike the previous Digimon, who were written with certain characteristics that would make it easier for audiences to know/assume their intended gender: the very pink Piyomon or Palmon, who carries a flower in her head (flowers often associated with femininity).

Renamon at first is presented as this great warrior, cold and intimidating, utterly devoted to fighting and nothing else. Follows Ruki’s commands without hesitation, even despite the fact that initially, both of them form their comradery based on purely selfish interests. Add to the fact that she barely talks, and she’s rather bizarre when compared to almost all other main partner Digimon we’re used to; who are much chipper, friendlier and cuter. For first-time audiences, she seems rather scary.

However she is not just a destructive killer machine; she’s shown she cares, even before developing into a softer figure. In the third episode, before attacking Guilmon, she hesitates once Takato gets near the newborn creature. If she was just wild and bloodthirsty she wouldn’t hesitate about collateral victims. Just at the end of the episode, she does the same once Terriermon interrupts the fight with Guilmon, urging for him to get out of the way.

While cold and stoic; it’s shown even at the beginning that Renamon has a soft, empathetic side, even if it doesn’t show at first. For one, she’s fiercely devoted to Ruki from the start, even when their relationship is far from ideal. Once Ruki accepts to see her as an equal, she starts blooming into more of the “big sister” role in the group: the cool, mature one to Terriermon’s jokester and Guilmon’s newborn. Even so, she still manages to often be by herself most of the time, not fully ever integrating herself properly into the group. When you finish watching the show, you get the sense that Renamon, aside from fighting, is rather an introverted figure, to the point that even making friendships seems a little hard for her. The narrative implies she’s programmed to have a “servant”-like role originally with Ruki, and even though they mended their bond, there are still parts where it feels like she doesn’t feel an equal to her partner- see in the final episodes, how she eats by herself while Guilmon and Terriermon happily bond over food with the Tamers’ parents.

Incidentally, a lot of her more empathetic moments are displayed when she shows concerns over Impmon’s wellbeing, and manages to listen to his advice, more often than not. Aside from Ruki, he’s the one character she shows the most concern over the course of the series. She gets along fine with Guilmon and Terriermon, eventually, but there isn’t this level of awkward intrigue and fascination like the script implies with Impmon.

Amidst the formidable warrior lies a caring soul, hence why she evolves into Sakuyamon, a Digimon that focuses more on Defense than Attack. Some people think it’s a character regression for Ruki; but seeing how Renamon was also developed in this arc, I think her evolution further showcases her character as well. The elegance and grace and caring nature she always withheld has finally evolved into a comfortable goddess role, where she can defeat the monsters and defend her beloveds as much as her heart desires. It’s a very nice contrast, when she initially started the show in a “subservient” role, to end up basically embodying a Queen/Goddess (Perhaps a subtle nod that her Tamer is the “Digimon Queen”…Heh). Hard and soft power in the same hand; for a queen must know when to fight, and when to care for her people. She cares, she always cared, even if she might struggle to show it at first. That does not mean she must lose her agency, or anything of the like. She still participates in the many battles and defeats the villains alongside her friends.

Now, on to Impmon.

Impmon, Impmon, Impmon. The rogue Digimon. The wild card. The prankster turned hero turned reborn hero. Definitely the break-out star of the series, and the riskiest character as well in my opinion. A Digimon without a tamer, with his own character development? A Digimon that turns basically into one of the main villains at one point in the series? A lot of the series’ success depended on if Impmon ended up being an engaging character for audiences, because otherwise I feel he would’ve come off as too bratty or monstrous for us to root for. Remember, he has his own arc, he doesn’t depend on Ai and Makoto for his character to work. He’s not an “accessory” Digimon, so to say. Audiences wouldn’t have cared too much for him if there wasn’t a human partner for him to bounce off from. For the writing to depend entirely on his shoulders, without relying too much on his partners (they appear pretty much only 3-4 times in the whole series), the writers had to be confident in the character they were writing, knew he had to be engaging on his own. And it worked! How?

Well Impmon goes through an archetypical redemption arc, where he’s conscious of the decisions he makes and tries to make amends for it. But he’s not cruel, or viscous; unlike a lot of typical villains. The best way to explain Impmon’s character arc is seeing it through the eyes of a child learning what true power and responsibility is like, and turning into a man due to it. He’s more selfish and irresponsible than a true villain, which is what makes him stand out against another villain in a similar situation to him. It’s interesting to point out in Tamers that outside of the D-Reaper, none of the villains are evil for evil’s sake; they’re acting for their own preservation and self-benefit. Selfish, yes, but it’s understandable, and the Tamers get to understand Yamaki’s and the Deva’s position once they start openly talking with them.

In episode 8, we have a microcosm of one of Impmon’s main flaw: he can bite more than he can chew. He doesn’t understand that power needs responsibility to work well; otherwise it’s a hose without control. He’s proud and doesn’t admit neither his flaws, nor his true strengths. He picks and teases Devidramon until the Digimon is freed upon the city and unleashes chaos. It’s like a micro of what his actions as Beelzebumon basically amount to in episode 34 onwards. Same thing in episode 19, as well, where not wanting to accept an unfavorable aspect of himself (his weakness) almost has him die by Indiramon’s hand. Only that when he teased Devidramon he ran away, and Indiramon as well. Part of his development is well, accepting his strengths and limits, and working from that point on. Instead of running away or hiding behind pride, he finally accepts how things are, how he is, and works from the ground up. That’s part of his development, accepting what true power is, like an adult would, and using it responsibly.

Of course, tho, one thing to note is that he envies power, he craves power, he admires power. That was his goal at the start, his initial “wants”. Hence why he awed at Devidramon plummeting Guilmon in episode 8, and initially why he was drawn to Renamon first, I believe - she was at the start of the show the most powerful of the main Digimon; no wonder he felt an initial admiration towards her. But it’s a very shallow reading of power- the way a child would admire power, basically. Less about using it to help others and more for the self-benefit. Part of his arc is trying to understand what the true power is and where it lies on (he shares this arc with Renamon, basically; whereas she amended her relationship with Ruki, he got worse to the point that he almost lost himself to the Devil-figure of the show).

So, we know get a good idea of our two characters. Let’s see what their hidden meaning is.

·      Preface: Love in the Digimon franchise

This entry will be short, but I’ll try to explain about how love and romance are often portrayed in the Digimon franchise for us to get a better understanding of how the possible development between Renamon and Impmon could work. I know in the Disclaimer I said I wouldn’t touch upon this, but it’s important to keep in mind to understand the analysis.

(I’m also basing this on the amazing Sorato analysis @jippy-kandi​ does. Seriously, go check them out, their stuff is great)

Usually, in children’s anime, unless the genre is a romance or the show is explicit in its context, the couples usually portrayed in it will have hints, symbolism and elements of foreshadowing, rather than the typical Westernized form of “open interactions and development”. Of course, some anime couples do, as well, but often times, if the romance isn’t a strong focus of the series, it’ll just have little hints and that would be enough to leave viewers pondering.

Case in point? The “main” Digimon couples, in Adventure and 02, follow this structure. Sure, we have many scenes of the couples interacting, but most of their development comes from imagery, hints, symbolism, pictures where they’re standing, etc.

Look at Yamato and Sora, for example. True, they do not share many scenes together, but you look at imagery surrounding them, and you see a connected pattern. Takeru considers Sora “family”; after Jyou, they’re the most caring towards the group, taking on a parental role towards the others; both tend to care for the others to the extent that they end up ignoring their personal needs; and in real life, often the feelings of Love and Friendship are interconnected.

Then, there’s Takeru and Hikari, who are not canon but they are hotly debated about to this day, and even if so, I do find their parallels noteworthy. They are connected not only due to shared interactions, but because of the imagery that surrounds them; their Digimon are the only Holy Beasts of the groups, Hope and Light are often associated in religious texts, Pegasus and Sphinxes are mythological creatures that originated from the same culture (Greek; though Sphinxes also have Egyptian roots), In their 02 outfits they both share yellow in their designs…

We see this as well with Takato and Juri, who are explicitly stated to have a crush on one another. Juri is the first of Takato’s friends who accepts Guilmon as he is and adores him (ea, accepting Takato’s true self), they share a Psychic Link, a Mental Connection, which in the Tamers universe, it’s only seen to exist between a Digimon and their Tamers (and later on, with another example); and later on as the story develops Takato plays the role of Gallant Knight to Juri’s Princess in the Tower-inspired arc.

There’s even a lot of suggestive imagery with other couples who are not as canon. Take Koushiro and Mimi, for instance. Before Digimon Adventure Tri, not many thought to link them together (yet they were very popular in Japanese fanzones), but the imagery of bugs and flowers is strong with them. Even Tailmon, who had little time with Wizarmon, manages to have a symbolic image associated with him; as she mourns the anniversary of his death, in 02, we see her carrying a bouquet of red roses while she’s tearfully remembering him. Red roses are often associated with love, so add to that plus her grieving = she mourns the loss of her best friend / possible first love. (This is rather incidental, but the imagery is quite strong. Plus the association Tailmon and Wizarmon have with wizards and their cat familiars was certainly done on purpose, I think…)

And well, then we see little things like characters holding on to each other and posters and the like. It’s small, but it says a lot.

So, how does this work with Renamon and Impmon? Easy. If the other characters had limited scenes but a lot of imagery, symbolism and foreshadowing, and that eventually lead to them turning into a couple/having romantic imagery, it could be easily applied to Renamon and Impmon’s relationship as well, since they also carry a lot of interactions with a lot of imagery on the side.

·      Interactions

Here is where we point out both the scenes they share together and what they could mean on a larger scale.

I think it’s fascinating to point out that early on, the Renamon focused episodes also tended to feature Impmon prominently as well. It’s something that’s more prominent in the first twelve episodes, but it’s still noticeable that in each Renamon-focused episode of the first arc, Impmon also had a prominent scene in it. Of course, he did appear in other episodes with the other Digimon, but it is interesting how he serves as a sort of “guide” for Renamon early on, where she’s doubting of her strength and her relationship with Ruki.

Their first scene where they meet is in Impmon’s introductory episode, episode 6, which is also the first Renamon-focused episode. What is interesting to note is that while Impmon appears early on in the episode, to the first Digimon he introduces himself to properly is to Renamon, precisely. And instead of being teasing or cruel towards her, like he’d be with Terriermon or Guilmon; at first he seems to try to attempt to start a conversation with her. It’s almost unlike him…At first. But you start to see what he’s trying to do here- he’s attempting to make her understand his world-view; the narrative later on suggests that just recently he ran away from Ai and Makoto, so he’s probably experiencing first time relief in a long while, and he doesn’t want to get rid of this sensation. So he sees her, doubting, and would try to reason with her about why he made the best choice. In a way, it’s misguided compassion, but it’s not outright malice at first. He sees her in in similar doubts and pain, and was probably counseling based on what he thought was the best choice.

At the end of the episode it’s also implied he was witness to her evolution into Kyuubimon, which, while he sees with initial sneer, it can be read as disappointment that she followed Ruki instead of his advice. Maybe also a little hidden envy, since she achieved evolution before he did? Who knows.

Next time, in episode 10, they meet in a Shinto temple (foreshadowing to Sakuyamon, I might add), and he seems excited to meet her at first. But then it turns into nothing once Impmon starts urging Renamon to fight with Terriermon. It leads to nothing, of course, except for Impmon to think to get a reaction out of Terriermon, but it does suggest that he looks forward to seeing her again.

Again, their next scene together is in a Renamon focus episode, ep. 12, again; where we’re also subject to Impmon’s past for the first time. She’s absolutely curious about his point of view regarding evolution and strength, since, again, she’s at odds with Ruki. And while we’re witness to his past, she isn’t, since it’s shown in a flashback, but I think she’s perceptive enough to have linked his shuddering with the crying children in the window below. Still, she follows him, not to judge or criticize, but to further gets answers; Impmon seems the most knowledgeable about the subject matter, so maybe he can give her answers.

A subtle one occurs in the episode where the Snake deva attacks in the subway (ep. 15). Beforehand, Renamon finds Impmon staring with jealousy at Guilmon playing with the kids in the park, and although he shows disdain, Renamon carefully points out that he seems too “heavily involved” to just despise them. He got mad, of course, but that’s typical of him, he tries too hard to deny and his true feelings, of how jealous and envious he is of the other Digimon just getting along with the kids so well…But at this moment he’s too proud to ever admit he probably committed a mistake by running, or even admit help from the other Digimon.

And of course, I must remember that this episode, a hint was shown coming from him (often it’s Renamon who displays a lot of their most affectionate actions); when Kyuubimon and Galgomon are beaten hard by the Deva in the subway, Impmon notices and immediately goes to alert Takato and Guilmon, who were completely unaware by having fun in the park. He might try to act like he doesn’t care or is too cool, but again, if he was truly wicked or cruel he wouldn’t have gone out of his way to alert the others to come save the day, I think. Actions speak louder than words.

Of course a big source of their interactions comes in ep. 19, where it’s the first time Impmon gets a fully character-focused episode. In it we see him endangering himself in front of Indramon and later on with the police, and it’s up to Renamon to save him (this is a recurring pattern; she’s always saving him when he does something reckless or stupid); in it Renamon gets the closest of all the characters to understand his psyche properly, to get there’s more to him than just the pathetic Imp harassing the playground. That yes, all the prankster bully persona is an act, and he’s very vulnerable and pitiful without a partner and without the means to evolve. Yet even as she knows it’s desperate to fight Indramon, he pleads her to let him fight; without any scorn or mockery in his voice. Renamon, unused to that side, respected his wishes that time, even if she knew it was suicidal. Yet it still that at this episode, Renamon has gotten to understand Impmon’s character much much more than the rest of the cast, and like I stated before; she’s an observant person; I reckon she probably already how initially she felt hunting for data with Ruki and can see parallels with Impmon- he’s obsessed with power but due to his circumstances he’s pathetically weak. I think she sees a side of herself in him, hence why she wants to help him so much.

Later on, in episode 20, amidst the chaos of the Deva, the kids also try to look around for Impmon. Even Renamon searches for him on her own in the abandoned place she took him in ep. 19; it’s a small scene but it says leagues about them, that she can find him and connect with him without getting the rest of the kids into their dilemma. Shows she’s mature enough to understand he would prefer having his own space, too.

After their incursion in the Digital World they don’t have many prominent scenes together for a long while…Until they meet again in ep. 30. This is important, since while they do not interact for a while, their characters follow similar scenes and patterns later on (and I’ll discuss this later on).

And I do love how in ep. 30, their scenes are followed by one another. Just after a Renamon scene ends, Beelzebumon’s first true scene is immediately showcased. And fascinatingly, in the same episode where it’s established Cyberdramon has need for fighting and gaining power to control, it’s also the episode where we have a first display of Beelzebumon’s power, completely unleashed and unrestrained. Yes, he’s happier than he’s ever been, but we know that power comes with red strings.

Aaand and and…Kyuubimon is the one that recognizes Beelzebumon, not the others. She doesn’t even need to be lead on by a witty remark, she senses his presence enough (either that, or the bandana was a clue), but again, this is recalled later on, where two times later, she can hear him or notice him when nobody else can.

Later on, here comes the big one; ep. 34. Impmon has absolutely fully engulfed himself into his power and completely believed the Devas’ crap about killing the children, so he goes as planned. It’s fascinating because he’s not even acting out like how when he previously killed other Digimon, in a careless manner, again, similar to a child playing with a dangerous objetc. He’s clearly seething and throwing his bile at the Tamers here, all the hurt, all the resentment, the feeling of “betrayal” since he never properly bonded with them (they tried to be friendly but heee…uuh…he’s also not good at making friends) and how he felt humiliated after Indramon beat him (but again, he forgets that the others were ready to save him, too). And of course, it’s interesting to point out how he’s insisting on killing Kyuubimon first, once the whole gang is reunited. He beats the crap out of Rapidmon and Growlmon when they jump at him, but he even points out he’ll “guard them for later”. No, it’s Kyuubimon whom he’s interested in killing first, even though she’s injured and unwilling at the moment to fight back. And frankly, even Kyuubimon is willing to talk first, even when Rapidmon and Growlmon have already given up. She pleads for him, in all dubs, to open his eyes, even while she’s bleeding on the floor. Why is this? Maybe he felt if he killed her first it’d be easier, since he would never kill her if she was kept for last, or maybe just his conscience just asking him to retain a little bit- remember, he’s at his Ultimate/Mega level, and a very powerful form at that; and he could easily kill all of them without pause. However, the fact that Growlmon and Kyuubimon keep him at bay a little while makes me think that he’s still subconsciously holding back (babe, no, you’ve started caring, no, babe, leave your friends alone, hahahah…)

It’s only in the next episode, ep. 35, after he’s killed Leomon that Kyuubimon accepts, resigned, admitting that he’s turned into a demon. It kinda really shows that she still held back, still believed in his inherent, internal goodness and potential (and as I mentioned in ep. 15, he had it there), but after how brutal he murdered Leomon and beat the others, she has come to accept that her odd friend has basically turned into the monster they must defeat. (The show LOOOVes the whole “give in to the monster” narrative so I’ll talk about it later)

And episode 40! Once again, it’s Renamon who notes Beelzebumon’s in distress, she hears his cry from afar, and she’s the one willing to give him a chance once again, even after all the horrible things he’s done, when the rest of the gang has given up on him. And they’re running out of time, they know it, if they miss the Arc they can’t go back home, and anyone less forgiving would be in favor of leaving him behind (Hirokazu even points out to Ruki how it’s crazy to bring him “after all the evil he’s done”)…But she can’t. Again, her gentle nature resurfaces. And considering this is the episode after Renamon evolved into Sakuyamon, I think the Mega is starting to influence her. (“A good Queen puts her people first”). 

Also…Ruki and Renamon find Impmon, abandoned and worn in the desert…it’s the first time he calls her by her name instead of a demeaning nickname or “you”…And this is IN ALL THE DUBS. Japanese, German, Engl, Both Spanish, etc etc etc. And Renamon always always always, no matter the dub, sounds very concerned when she reaches for him and asks him if he can stand. There’s only 3 times she ever sounds super worried throughout the whole series, and two times concerned Impmon/Beelzebumon’s being. She was worried, y’all.

I just noticed how the pattern kinda breaks mid show but then forms a new pattern; while in the first Renamon focused episodes impmon played a prominent part, once we get to Taomon’s and Sakuyamon’s evolutions he doesn’t feature in at all…YEEEET the episodes afterwards do feature him prominently, and Renamon worried for his well-being. Probably just a coincidence, but again, to me it shows how the two of them really are interconnected and really, their influence has rubbed on each other.

Ep. 41, nothing really big happens, but Renamon carries him in the Ark on the way back home while he’s sleeping. Again, nothing really big, but it’s a cute moment (even Jen smiles at it ;)) -It’s even stated by dialogue (from Jen, no less) that it was Renamon’s wish through and through to see him safe, while the other kids are going on about Ruki’s crazy fantasies instead- Jen was always the “big brother” of the group, and he has bonded with Rena earlier, so I like to imagine he can sorta infer there’s something bigger there, without having Rena or Ruki openly telling him it.  And uff, she’s the one that sees him vanish amidst the crowd once they return to the real world…! Ruki manages to raise her eyes to see him but Renamon, Renamon never left her sight from Impmon…!

Ep. 43 is a big one for Impmon, for he reconciles with his Tamers and starts aiding the older Kids with defeating the D-Reaper. Note how initially, the only one who doesn’t reject him is Taomon; she’s surprised at his sight, while Rapidmon and Wargrowlmon are just skeptical. And once his attacks makes an effect on the Reaper, SHE is the one who supports his attack, making the others follow suit. (Incidentally, it’s also the episode where he admits he feels Blast Mode is his true form after all…JP language only, but it seems to suggest that really, being Beelze feels more true to Impmon than being stuck in his Child form).

In ep. 48, it’s Renamon who recognizes his figure, tied inside the Reaper. It’s also interesting cause it’s the climax of Impmon’s whole character development, where he has accepted the crimes he has committed, and instead of asking forgiveness, he will just right the wrongs, even if it costs him his life.

And episode 49! Goodness it has so many moments. After Beelzemon falls, Sakuyamon is the first to rush to his rescue (see? She’s always saving him); and gosh darn she sounds desperate, this is nuts to hear because Renamon/her evos, no matter the dub, always keeps her cool, so to again; hear her voice just scream and tremble urging him to fly and get up… And then once Grani saves Impmon, he lends Impmon for Sakuyamon to carry. Rather it’s the most practical choice, since she’s the only one who can carry him, since SaintGalgomon is too big and Dukemon is kept busy with his shield and lance, but still…She sounds so relieved when she urges to rest in her arms, as they keep battling the Reaper…

And of course, like almost every other plot point, their relationship is also resolved in ep. 51. When the whole team is relaxing at the park, relieved after they defeated the D-Reaper, Impmon appears, and once again, who notices him first? That’s right, our favorite fox. And again, her usual monotone breaks just to show relief to see him safe and sound. Even he, before he addresses Juri, seems to reassure her over the rest. I like how it’s a little moment, but I love that in the last episode, the writers managed to give a wink to their little relationship that carried on throughout the whole show. The writers knew they had to tell their story (his story), and they knew how important it was to see it to a satisfying conclusion.

·      Similarities / opposites

Ok, so we’ve gone over why their scenes together matter. Big deal, what else is there?

Well, it’s not only the fact that they share many scenes together, is the fact that their characters are written to be eerily similar in many aspects.

They both initially look up to power, believe in the ideal that Digimon are only made for fighting. Later on we discover that is pretty much the law in the Digital World, but for us, the audience, they’re the two that bring up this idea the most when we first start seeing properly the series.

She’s stated at first to be the strongest Digimon in the main cast, while he’s the weakest. That’s a parallel, keep that up in mind.

They’re also the two Digimon to have a proper arc and character development, something that the others really don’t. And incidentally, they carry a similar arc- both initially are mistreated by their Tamers which makes their relationship and views of humanspoor; but while Renamon manages to get better with Ruki, and therefore stronger; Impmon just denies himself and goes on a self-destructive path.

Also, his proper introduction in the series is in the same first episode where Renamon gets focus. I know I said it before, but it bears repeating. And he presents himself to her first of the whole group! It’s also implied he witnessed the whole battle and Renamon’s first evolution into Kyuubimon, too… I tell you, it’s there. These stories aren’t written by bots, it’s a bunch of people that decide what element is added here and there to make certain things work.

When the series called Impmon a child…They were not far-off, for, as I wrote before, he’s written to act similar to a teenage kid- bratty, irresponsible, selfish…But not cruel, not truly, just undisciplined. Funny enough, it contrasts nicely with Renamon, for as “mature” as she seems, she lacks a lot of knowledge in things, but due to her nature, she’s not to go around asking as much. (See, in comparison, Guilmon and Terriermon, who are much more confident in their placement in the world and their relationship with their Tamers; and Guilmon is written to be seen as a baby /little dog for most of the series). If she was as “grown-up” as we imagined, she wouldn’t have initial hang-ups and doubts about her placement as Ruki’s partner.

The episode with Vajramon is also fascinating to consider because, much Like Impmon, he first appears to Renamon with a similar vocabulary: to abandon the humans to create their own destiny. Vajramon’s crush on Renamon is much more openly displayed, and yet he seems to try to impress her with the same talking points as Impmon did earlier. Remember that Impmon only tried to suggest Renamon to join his side, yet with Terriermon and Guilmon he was just tricky and antagonistic. Also remember the Devas at this point are just cruel and menacing to the Digimon, but Vajramon…Well, he takes a liking to Renamon, and it’s pretty obvious (calling her “beautiful” many times and such).- We’ll get to Vajramon’s crush later, but I wanna pinpoint this as a parallel to Impmon’s development with Rena.

Vajramon: We weren’t meant to serve humans. Come with us, to serve our god, and you’ll discover your true purpose! (paraphrasing but that’s what his dialogue basically amounts to)

So, if the villain who openly crushes on Renamon has the same talking points as Impmon, then...

Similarly, episode 24 is the one where both allude to their deaths. It’s the episode where the children decide to go to the Digital World to find Culumon, and each of them prepare in their own way to say their goodbyes. Ruki is about to tell her grandmother as she discovers It by her own by finding Renamon, and isn’t surprised at all at the giant furry fox. She even confides in Ruki that she thought Renamon was a spirit sent to protect her granddaughter.

(Sidenote, but that makes Renamon’s design make so much sense, since I have this theory that each Digimon/their evo were chosen to reflect the development of their Trainer; hear me out. Takato was originally written to be a self-insert for kids in the audience, so he gets the Digimon that evolves into stereotypically things that little boys like: dinosaurs, robots and superheroic figures (Dukemon has a red cape probably as an allusion to Superman). Jen is the most tech-savy of the three and his father aided in the creation of the Digimon in this verse, so it makes sense for Terriermon to mechanize more and more with each evolution. Finally, Ruki is Japanese ethnically, of course, yet her behavior and style of dress seems more…uhm, Western, so to say; until you see what type of house she lives – a fancy old Japanese style mansion; in comparison to Takato and Jen who live in humbler flats. Considering that Ruki’s arc was meant to discourage her loneliness and bring her closer to friends and family, it makes sense that Renamon -her humanity, her heart, her character development- is the Digimon with most Japanese callbacks in her design: she’s linking Ruki back to her family.  Something similar happens in Adventure; Piyomon is pink to call back to Sora’s love, motherly nature, and connection to her mother).

So, we were where Ruki is planning to say goodbye to her family, like the other kids, since they’re determined to go to the Digital World to rescue Culumon. Grandma seems untroubled, and finds Renamon charming as well (even says she’s “beautiful”); but just asks our foxy to protect her grandchild.

Renamon declares that she’ll protect Ruki no matter what, even if it comes to her death. Ruki is seen openly touched at hearing that.

Meanwhile, Impmon has pretty much given up at this point. Defeated and humiliated by Indramon, he’s hidden in the sewers and expects nothing to come at this point. He feels hurt, betrayed, lost, without anyone at his side (but that’s mostly due to his actions; since he left his kids on his own accord, and the Tamers were ready to welcome him with open arms, as long as he behaved, yet he just didn’t know how to make a stable friendship with them) The Digital World calls to him, but he reacts less like an adventure, and more like a release. He sees no point in going forward, in going back…He’s given up on everything. And once Catsuramon calls to him, in the little portal to the Digital World, he goes there less because of adventure, and more because well…What else is there?

So while the other Digimon look forward to the Digital World as an adventure, Renamon and Impmon are the only ones that allude to it in a deadly manner…

And there’s also the matter of which when they both evolve to Mega…Which I’ll further address in other points in the meta, but I’ll comment that they’re dark parallels / opposites between them. While he evolves to Mega for selfish gains, for purely his self-interests, even if means he’ll have to kill innocent children for it; Renamon obtains her Mega after sacrificing herself to the D-Reaper, saving Culumon and giving time for the other kids to flee. Selfish desire vs selfless action. It’s at the apex of their character: his darkest hour vs her brightest time. While he goes to the point of no return, this is the climax of her character development.

The two of them tend to be loners by nature, and while they both do crave friends, they’re kinda awkward about gaining friends. Impmon initially doesn’t know how to make friendships outside of pranking and teasing; and the last episodes, while the whole team is together, Renamon maintains her distance from the others more often than not. Even if she’s at her most compassionate self, she still feels a little off, never fully a part of them. No wonder they connected, tbh, if even at a subconscious level.

Before I forget, it’s good I talk about the Psychic Link, because otherwise I would’ve forgotten about it. In the Digimon canon, it’s often established that Digimon have really strong bonds with their humans, so it’s natural for them in a way to share their minds and thoughts together. Ruki and Renamon at times early on had psychic conversations together. So, nothing wrong with that, of course, makes sense for the canon of the series and strengthens the bond between human and tamer.

So, it’s interesting to consider that Renamon and Impmon also have a slight connection; so to say. Renamon recognizes him before anyone else does, Renamon hears Beelzebumon’s cries of despair from afar; and she’s always aware of wherever  he is or whether he’s in trouble.

You could say it’s a simple connection between the Digimon, since in Tamers it’s established the Digimon can sense each other by instinct, since the Tamer Mons can notice whenever a rogue Digimon is nearby by scent or instinct…Yet neither Guilmon nor Terriermon show this attitude when it comes to Impmon.

And of course, note, nobody else in the series has this connection, aside from the tamers and their respective mons...It would be an anomaly, maybe just a Digimon thing…BUT…A couple also does:

Takato and Juri, who are the main “couple” in the series. From the first episodes it’s stated Takato has a crush on Juri, which seems to be reciprocated from her side. And in the final episodes, as the whole team attempts to save Juri from the Reaper’s center; Juri is able to hear Takato’s voice, even when the others technically couldn’t since he’s fused into Dukemon (clarification for the Eng Dub only viewers: in the original JP and other dubs, the Mega Digimon have their own voices instead of the “Two-voice” thing the Eng. Dub attempted. So we hear Dukemon/Guilmon, SaintGalgomon/Terriermon, Renamon/Sakuyamon speaking when they’re talking in public (ea their usual voices, except Dukemon who got a different voice actor, since Guilmon’s childish voice wouldn’t fit the heroic knight character Dukemon represents). We only hear Takato, Jen and Ruki when we’re privy to their insides (inside the Digimonn basically)- so ea, Hirokazu or Kenta can’t hear Takato if they’re talking to Dukemon directly.

Yet Juri can listen to him, even if the others can’t, even if they’re far away. So, to reiterate- the humans and their Digimons’ bond is so strong that they can feel each other’s thoughts and pain. This is what allows them to fuse in the first place, and it’s something special that no other characters have. Except for the main romantic couple of the series, Takato and Juri…And Renamon and Impmon, naturally. Which...Means a lot more than one thinks.

More on Part 2! Then stuff gets juicy...

[amyisherenowitsokay]

LEAVES.

Pipes my beloved hello

Originally I was going to use Dead Weight, but since it's still in progress, and I want to avoid having to spoiler my files, I'll use Re: MHNY as my example. 'Behind the scenes' previews incoming.

Long answer below the cut. You hath been warned.

Since my tweens I've gotten a LOT more organized about my writing and editing, both because I want a better output quality of story, and because my memory is way more shit than it used to be, and I don't want to lose any ideas simply because I can't remember my train of thought. So I tend to jump between just word-vomiting, a bulleted list of major events, and then go in and organize whatever I just wrote into a coherent timeline. I would say 90% of my editing actually starts with the prep work.

For example, and for starters, this is what the original bullet draft looked like for Re: MHNY. Since I knew I wanted to mimic the original MHNY, but still incorporate the necessary revisions, I wanted to keep in mind the completely necessary parallels while writing so I didn't miss anything.

From there, I start making revisions and throwing darts at the wall for ideas.

Here's an example of some of the revisions. Anything with a (?) next to it was an idea I wasn't firm on. Although realistically, the entirety of this section was just spit balling, and nothing was really firmly in place. You'll note that this isn't in chronological order at all, lmao. The order was essentially what I felt most immediately needed clarification.

You'll also notice some elements were unclear. A lot of it was asking myself questions that needed narrative, sensible solutions. Also, some details changed! Skoodge originally was hanging out with the Resisty during his capture. I had a loose idea of them being in a community cell, such as is shown in Enter the Florpus's Moo-Ping 10, but then felt like it'd create too many problems with why the Resisty wouldn't just kill some Irkens for vengeance. I also felt like Tak probably would've caused too many problems with any budding friendships between them, so obviously, in the final version, they're separated, and Skoodge's reasons for joining end up being far more personal than just because he's kind of dumb and friendly.

For Re, because I needed/wanted the chapters to run so closely in parallel with the original MHNY, I also had chapter summaries. I don't usually do this, but for this iteration, and in this context, I felt it was necessary.

Here's an example for Ch 3. Notice the highlighted portion emphasizes that I hadn't yet made the decision on who was doing what at this point. I wrote/started versions for both. In the end, it ended up being Zim of course who comes up with the lie, but this decision I remember actually was made with a LOT of debate for/against Gaz and/or Zim being the instigator.

Here's another example of some of more major revisions that happened from the original plot. I actually have a ton of deleted scenes from ch 9 + 10 that used this original plot. However, as I started writing, I didn't like it anymore. So in the middle of writing 9, and some major chunks of 10 started, I scrapped the whole thing and wrote and wrote and wrote until I got something I was satisfied with. I thought Dib being there for support was a lot more meaningful to his and Gaz's relationship than him just showing up to one-up Zim.

At some point I may release those deleted scenes the way I did with MHNY 3, as I did keep them all, but for now, they are safely stowed away in my google drive for me to scowl at and berate for not being good enough. A quick glance shows me I have about 5505 words in that file (aka about as much as a chapter's worth of deleted or unused content). Some of it was actually even shifted into Re:MHNY2, as I felt the dialogue was more appropriate for a more mature relationship. As a fun fact, there's deleted scenes for Ch 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17 (pt 1), and 18.

The reason I kept all these is because I am deranged, and deleting them from existence hurt my feelings, but I also didn't want to publish them. So I hoard them like the little emotionally attached dragon I am.

Finally, sometime before, during, or after all this drafting happens, I actually just start writing. I write in whatever order I want. I have and will jump from the last chapter to the first, to the middle, to the semi-middle-beginning-ish with no concern whatsoever about chronology. A lot of times I will write an interaction between two characters that I feel fits better during a different timeline and just copy it over to that chapters document.

Each chapter gets it's own document. If I want to write something where I'm not sure of its position, it goes into a document labeled Random, Blank Document, or something else to emphasize that it's not a chapter and just random blurbs that need to be sorted at a later time. Those documents each get headings inside that I can jump to if/when they get sorted into the story, and are ready to be placed.

Since this is a competed story, all the scenes have been placed, so I'll use Dead Weight's current random blurb document (one of several) as an example (barely any spoilers)

If you're familiar with Google Docs, you'll know you can make headers within your document to jump to. It's super convenient for me, as a person who just likes to do the equivalent of throw pages on my floor and then painstakingly order them at a later time.

Just for fun, here's just how many documents I have dedicated solely to written scenes that are to be sorted at a later time for Paradorx:

You'll also see there's a calendar and a plot outline in that screenshot that was definitely on purpose and not the result of me just being too lazy to crop it out.

Once the actual draft is written, with words and paragraphs and everything, it gets revised.

Paragraphs get moved. Dialogue is taken out, revised, or thrown somewhere else that I feel fits it more appropriately. Grammar is changed. I reread every chapter about as much as I can stand to, take a break (ideally) and then read it again. I have deleted entire chapters, started entire chapters over, left a chapter halfway finished and decided it will pop up later in the story, etc. Dead Weight's next chapter for example has been restarted 4 or 5 times at this point, and I've only just now stumbled this week stumbled into what the next chapter is actually about.

Once it's been read, reread, reorganized, and picked apart until I hate it, it's deemed ready. Then I sit on it another week or so (depending on my deadline), read it again, and decide whether or not I want to add in any extra tidbits of foreshadowing for some later event that I've already written. At that point I'm just skimming for errors, grammatical fumbles, or anything that seems out of place. Finally, from there, publication!

An incredibly long answer that I hope really scopes out what I'm doing lmao.

As a spoiler/teaser for reading all of this, I can say that Re:MHNY2 is currently past the drafting phase, and is now in the "I throw words at the screen" phase. Not yet at the phase where I actually start ordering them into coherent chapters, but still developmentally in a good area.

[mustwatchkoreandramas]

Popular K-drama filming locations in South Korea

1)     Namsan Tower –

Also known as N Seoul Tower, it is one of the most popular landmarks of Seoul, originally a communication and observation tower on top of Nam Mountain. This tower is the second highest point in Seoul. One can enjoy the Namsan cable car ride and walk to the top, where awaits a breath-taking view of the Seoul skyline. The Roof Terrace is home to the “Locks of Love” where people hang locks symbolizing eternal love.

Featured in series – Boys Over Flowers, Hotel del Luna, School 2015, The Legend of the Blue Sea, My Love from Another Star, The Last Empress, and more.

2)     Yonsei University -

One of the SKY universities - the top three most universities of South Korea, situated in Seoul. It is a popular location for most high school k-dramas, owing to its spectacular architecture.

Featured in series – Extraordinary You, True Beauty, Age of Youth, Romance is a Bonus Book, Snowdrop, Our Beloved Summer, Reply 1994, The Sound of Magic, and more.

3) Gyeongbokgung Palace -

Situated in Seoul, it is the main royal palace of the Joseon Dynasty - the last dynasty of Korea. The National Palace Museum and the National Folk Museum is located inside its premises. It is a popular filming site for K-dramas. Major events held here includes the royal changing of the guards at the Gwanghwamun main gate and ‘nigh-time viewing’ sessions.

Featured in series – Goblin, Kingdom, The Moon Embracing the Sun, When My Love Blooms, Temperature of Love, My Sassy Girl, Goong, Chicago Typewriter and more.

4)     Bukchon Hanok Village -

Hanok means a ‘traditional house’ in Korean. Bukchon Hanok village is a residential neighborhood in the heart of Seoul where traditional Korean houses are restored making it rich in history, culture and architecture.

Featured in series – Goblin, The Heirs, Personal Taste, Flower of Evil, Hotel Del Luna, Touch Your Heart, True Beauty, Run On, Ghost doctor, My Roommate Is A Gumiho and more.

5) Lotte World -

Situated in Seoul, it consists of an indoor theme park, outdoor amusement park called “Magic Island’, an artificial island, shopping malls, movie theatre and more.

Featured in series – King The Land, Business Proposal, True Beauty, Love Alarm, Stairway to Heaven, and more.

6)     Paradise City Hotel -  This luxurious hotel situated close to Incheon airport can boast of being featured in popular K-dramas.

Featured in series – Hotel Del Luna, The King- The Eternal Monarch, Vincenzo, When My Love Blooms and more.

7)     Yeouido Hangang Park - A beautiful large park along the Han river in Seoul where one can enjoy bike rides, picnics and the serene beauty will soothe the mind. Seoul’s biggest cherry blossom festival is held here every year.

Featured in series – Squid Game, One Ordinary Day, The Penthouse S2, Navillera, The King: The Eternal Monarch, and more.

8)     Cheonggyecheon Stream -  A unique stream architecture created on the basis of traditional Korean Bojagi design and consisting of 22 bridges, enchants with its tranquil beauty.

Featured in series – True Beauty, Flower of Evil, Vincenzo, Do You Like Brahms, My Mister, and more.

9)     Jumunjin Beach Breakwater – Originally created to cushion the coastline against erosion and longshore drift, this place now holds the eternal memory of the iconic red-scarf scene from k-drama Goblin, where the Goblin gives Eun Tak buckwheat flowers on her birthday.

Featured in series – Goblin, More Than Friends and more.

10)  Sinchon Graffiti Tunnel - Located in Sinchon-dong, this tunnel showcases graffiti on its walls.

Featured in series – Goblin, While You Were Sleeping, Touch Your Heart, Record of Youth, and more.

To know more, click here

[felixcarlucci]

TAKESHI KOVACS | 1.07 “Nora Inu”

[sxfik]

Why is hanseok considered the greater evil, and vincenzo the lesser evil?? I genuinely dont understand, can you explain it to me please??

hiii thank you so much for sending me an ask!! i'm not going to lie, i saw this ask a long while ago when you originally sent it but it took me a long while to answer it because i really had to think about it and also it's kind of a hard question for me to answer. but, i will attempt my best to kinda give my thoughts on why we consider vincenzo as the "lesser evil."

first, i need to say that both vincenzo nor han seok are good people and i am not saying that either of them are good people. i am simply comparing their evil levels and explaining why we as viewers often find vincenzo to be the lesser evil than han seok.

second, we need to define what evil means in this context (which is kinda hard because it depends on each person's perception but aaa) if we're considering someone evil for purely their actions, excluding motivations, then both vincenzo and han seok are the same level of evil. han seok brutally murders, and psychologically and physically abuses people. vincenzo's actions (aka setting people on fire, abusing and murdering people, torturing people, etc.) also makes him evil.

BUT if you define evil through motivation, then vincenzo and han seok are still evil but not on the same level of evil. yes, both characters commit bad actions but their motivations are different. vincenzo kills only when given a reason to. for example, we know that a robber killed his foster parents so when he joined the mafia he both psychologically and physically tortured him for almost a year (now whether the method of killing is a justifiable or an equal punishment for the crime is an entirely different question and i just won't be able to answer that because it's just so hard and complex of a question.) he sets the warehouse on fire to get revenge on behalf of the victims of the drug produced in said factory. he kills the two people who killed cha young's father and he kills the people who set up the family of the dead researchers to look like a suicide. he only kills or tortures people who have done a wrong against him or the people he cares about.

on the other hand, han seok kills and tortures for his own amusement and gain. he kills the prosecutor with the hockey stick because he didn't get his way and they annoyed him. he allows and gives the resources to choi myung hee to kill or maim anyone that gets in the way of his plans. han seok murdered his classmates for no reason other than he didn't get what he wanted. and most of all, he tortured and abused han seo just for his amusement. han seo was his punching bag, where he would belittle and abuse him in order for han seok to get his anger out. he does bad actions without a given or justifiable reason. he would play with han seo and keep him on the edge at all times, because he got a power rush from it. so when you compare vincenzo and han seok's motivations for their actions, i don't think you can say that vincenzo is the same level of evil as han seok.

we also don't see vincenzo attacking someone beloved to the person who has done wrong in order to get revenge. for example, in order to hurt vincenzo, han seok kills vin's mother, who has not done anything wrong this situation. but with vincenzo, we never see that happening. even though we see vincenzo hanging out with prosecutor jung's family after he betrays them, there's not a moment that he actively threatens or attacks prosecutor jung's family. he doesn't threaten prosecutor jung or tell him he will kill his family because in his mind, it's not justifiable to take the life on another person who hasn't done wrongdoing in order to hurt the person who has. for han seok this is not true, he has killed or attacked innocent people to make his enemy hurt.

another reason we are bound to consider vincenzo 'a lesser evil' is because of remorse. despite vincenzo's motivations or actions, he displays remorse and regret for the killing he has done. han seok, on the other hand, does not. Vincenzo is haunted by the killings he has done, by the blood he has spilled and we don't ever see that ending even when he gains a family and gains love. even if he can justify his actions, he is still regretful of what he had to do. han seok does not show the same remorse as him, only feeling bad when it is his life that's under threat in the very last scene. not to mention that he brags about killing, he gets power and happiness from his killings both when he killed his classmates as well as when he killed the prosecutor. han seok takes pleasure in his actions, as he is shown dancing and being gleeful as he kills vincenzo's mother and many others. he has no regret or shame in what he has done.

in so many law and crime shows we see a "morally" good hero who "spares" the villain in the end because it is the "right thing to do" despite a) killing all their side minions that helped the villain and b) all of the villains evil actions and harm they have caused the victims. we, as viewers, often aren't satisfied at the end because we're not seeing the punishment match up to the crime. this show's main thesis is showing that han seok is so evil that no law or justice system can properly punish him for the pain and abuse he has inflicted on his victims AND because this system that is supposed to punish him is just as cruel and corrupt as he is. it's highlighting the injustice to the victims of babel as a corporation, victims of the justice and law system and victims of han seok himself. vincenzo is showing that he is the best punishment for han seok because vincenzo is a mirror to him and han seok in the end is getting a taste of his own medicine.

all of this is why that last monologue of the show is important. we, as viewers, are watching a show that frames vincenzo as the main protagonist. his actions and him are framed in a way to make us root for him, with the music and the cinematography. but we're also given small reminders of who he actually is throughout the show: through the nightmares he faces, through mr. tak telling him not to change into a lighter person, through the scene where he faces han seok in jail. and finally, that ending monologue is showing that no, he is still a bad person. he is still an evil person who is committing bad actions and us rooting for him to punish the villains in this show does not change the badness of his actions. really, that last line in vincenzo is making us question whether his actions are justifiable and can we actually root for him.

feel free to disagree with me or start a conversation below because i feel like this is a really interesting question but the answer to this changes based on each person's perception of morality and what constitutes a good person and a bad person. i feel like this is such a deep question and there's so many ways and angles that you can look at this from so i don't think i've done a great job in explaining everything but this was just what i came up with for today. there's also every chance that my line of reasoning or logic is flawed so i'm open to any criticisms to this so i can acknowledge and correct it!

(also if you want a good kdrama that asks these same questions and has that same energy as vincenzo then please watch taxi driver! it’s a great show and it really makes you think about the earlier questions of “does the punishment given out by vigilante justice match the crime committed by these people? to what extent is vigilante justice justifiable? where does the law draw the line between giving the victims of brutal crime justice vs protecting the criminal from cruel and unusual punishments?”)

[keichanz]

Safe

i realize that moroha doesn't have a human night/period of weakness or whatever. for the sake of this oneshot, let's pretend she does.

written for my dear friend @mamabearcat ​ ❤️❤️❤️i know it's a rough day for you and i hope this brings a smile to your face. love you!

Read on AO3

@lavendertwilight89 @born-for-eachother @mandirox89 @arcprz @bluejay785 @malditamigs @xfangheartx @bluehawaiicat @zelink-inukag @clearwillow @wenchster @anabananaxq @superpixie42 @midnightsilver16830 @heathersmusings @theinuyashareader @danycontreras90 @liz8080 @blairex @lordofthechips @itzatakahashi @sailorbabydoll92 @raisinraven @sticky-llama-perfection @dangerouspompadour @digital-art-monster @joaniemae @boostyourmind-blog @anxietyaardvark @simply-zerah @nsr0716 @caribmiko @witchygirl99 @mamabearcat @redflamesofpassion @tuxedochevaleresse @umacaking @hnn-wnchstr @juliatheanimelover7 @lemonlushff @eringobroke @youarenotmyhomelandanymore @hikaruwrites @horriblehowl @lady-dark-69 @sssuperbartola @eternalnight8806-3 @morganashimi83 @shnuggletea @pinkpigeonstudio @memusicmuse @cyncyn981 @yurawiththegoodhair @kagometaishostory @chickpow @ladyphoenix0711 @the-rebel-alchemist @nartista @soliska @cammysansstuff @karina-inuphantom

“Mama?” 

“Hm?”

Pausing in the task of cutting up the behemoth fish gifted to her courtesy of the village headman for the successful delivery of his second grandchild she’d overseen just that afternoon, Kagome cast a brief glance at the four-year-old sitting by the fire before continuing to prepare that night’s dinner. And several other dinners thereafter. 

“What is it, baby?” she asked, a little distracted as she pushed aside one section of freshly chopped up meat and started on the next as a small frown furrowed her brow. The thing really was huge. Where the hell had Kinso gotten it? Had to be some kind of mutant from freakin’ outer space or something...

“Where’s Papa?”

Kagome’s thoughts were immediately derailed from mutant alien fish at her daughter’s question and for the second time her hands stilled what they were doing. The softness of her tone coupled with a hint of something Kagome couldn’t quite place prompted her to lay down the knife and give the child her full attention, grabbing a damp rag to wipe her hands with as she turned around with a gentle smile.

Sitting on the floor with her knees to her chest, surrounded by toys both gifted by Shippou and handmade by her father, Moroha’s gaze was fixed on the fire as she idly poked at it with a stick. When she noticed her mother’s gaze on her, however, she lifted her head and turned her attention to the older woman, wide eyes meeting identical brown. 

Kagome resisted the urge to frown as she answered, “Papa’s away with Uncle Miroku getting rid of some bad youkai that are causing problems in another village, sweetheart. They left early this morning.” Her smile widened and she tilted her head. “Did you forget because you were still half-asleep when he said goodbye?”

Moroha wrinkled her nose and stared back into the fire. “I remember,” she murmured with a slight pout. “I just...thought he’d be back by now.”

Realization dawned. Ahh, so that’s where this was coming from. Kagome’s expression softened in understanding and she moved forward to kneel down and tenderly sweep her daughter’s hair away from her eyes. Moroha looked up at her again, dark eyes wide and pleading for something Kagome was unable to provide.

“Well,” Kagome started softly, gathering her words carefully. “Sometimes these trips can take a long time, or even longer than what was originally planned. Remember that time we went to visit Kouga and his sons, but we arrived a day late because of that unexpected snow storm?”

Moroha blinked and then nodded.

“It’s the same thing,” she continued. “Maybe something unexpected happened that’s making Papa be a little later than normal. You never know.” 

The four-year-old digested that in silence and then gave a single nod of acceptance a minute later. She still looked troubled, though, and Kagome smiled a little sadly as she ran a hand through her daughter’s hair.

“Are you missing Papa?” she asked, her voice soft. 

Biting her lip, Moroha hesitated before giving another short nod. It was obvious she was trying not to cry and Kagome’s smile widened just a little. Her tiny tough girl, wanting to be just like her papa. 

“I miss him, too,” Kagome revealed and tucked a strand of ebony hair behind her daughter’s small ear. “I miss him every time he has to leave, but you know what?” She waited until Moroha blinked up at her in silent inquiry before assuring, “I bet he’s on his way home right now. He knows what tonight is, baby, and we both know that he’ll do anything in his power to make it in time. He hasn’t missed a single one yet; I doubt today will be the time he does.”

She smoothed back Moroha’s bangs and smiled again, hopping to assuage her lingering doubts, but when there was no change in Moroha’s expression, Kagome was starting to wonder if this went a little deeper than she’d originally thought. Her smile dimmed and her brow furrowed with concern as her eyes roved her cherubic face.

“Moroha? What’s wrong, sweetie?” Kagome settled down beside her and dropped her hand to rub up and down her back. 

Moroha squirmed a bit, worried her bottom lip, and when she lifted her head once again to meet her gaze, Kagome abruptly sucked in a sharp breath at the look on her daughter’s face. There was genuine worry etched clearly on those dear features, her little brow furrowed as she continued to bite down on her lip. But what truly broke her heart was the honest to god fear that swam in those beloved eyes, so like her own, and Kagome’s chest constricted.

If she hadn’t already accurately guessed the true reason for her upset, Moroha’s next words solidified her suspicions.

“If Papa’s not here,” her little girl began and the audible tremble in her voice had a very real ache developing in Kagome’s chest. “T-then who’s gonna protect me? It’s not safe without Papa here...right?”

With every word that Moroha said, the knife dug a little deeper into her heart and Kagome felt the burn of tears prickling the back of her eyes. Her throat suddenly felt tight and she swallowed several times to dislodge the lump that had formed there, but to no avail. God, their little girl really thought she wasn’t safe without her father here to defend them, and while Kagome should have felt a little offended and insulted that she apparently couldn't rely on her mother to protect her, she also understood where she was coming from. Out of the two of them, Inuyasha was obviously the strongest and Moroha had witnessed him on numerous occasions effortlessly dispatching some rogue youkai that had the balls big enough to enter the village, or when they were traveling and they were unexpectedly attacked. Kagome herself contributed with arrows if necessary, but tasked with keeping their daughter safe from harm, she hardly assisted most of the time and let her more than capable husband deal with the threat himself. 

So it stood to reason at her young age Moroha would believe if her strong papa wasn’t around to protect her, she wasn’t safe. So no, Kagome didn't fault her one bit. If anything she blamed herself for allowing her to think she wasn’t safe with her own mother, but she sought to rectify that right now. 

“Oh, Moroha,” Kagome murmured and swallowed again as she reached for her daughter and pulled her into her lap. “Oh, baby, no. No, don’t ever think that you’re not safe, okay? Mama will protect you, no matter what.”

Small hands fisted in her robes as Moroha curled herself up against her with a quiet sniffle. Kagome held her close, crossing her legs and settling her daughter into the cradle of them as she gently rocked her, pressing her face into her hair and kissing her head.

“Sweetheart,” Kagome began and pulled back enough to gently cup Moroha’s face in her hands, urging her gaze to meet her own. Her heart nearly broke at the tear tracks on her cheeks and tenderly Kagome wiped them away with her thumbs as she offered a trembling but reassuring smile. 

“Moroha, just because your father’s not here doesn’t mean that you’re not safe, okay? I’m here, and I promise I will always protect you. I’ll never let anything happen to you, ever. And you have Aunt Sango, Uncle Miroku, Kohaku, and even Grandma Kaede. They all love you just as much as your father and I and I know they would protect you too, if something were to happen when your father isn’t here. So don’t ever doubt that you’re not safe, okay, my love? I’ll protect you. I promise.”

She sealed her promise with a kiss to her daughter’s forehead, as much an act of comfort as it was to hide her cracking facade. Kagome closed her eyes and took several deep breaths to stave off the tears she could feel building behind her eyes, her arms tightening around her precious little girl.  

“Promise?” Moroha whispered a minute later and Kagome’s heart constricted again. 

“I promise,” Kagome repeated and rained kisses upon her daughter’s face until soft, watery giggles reached her ears. Smiling in relief, Kagome leaned back and smoothed a wayward strand of raven hair away from Moroha’s face. 

“Do you understand?” Kagome gently pressed, needing to hear her say it. “You’re always safe here, Moroha. No matter what. Okay?”

Sniffling once, Moroha looked up at her with great brown eyes, nodded, and Kagome was gratified to see that the fear and worry had left her face. She heaved a mental sigh of relief and couldn't stop herself from pressing one last kiss to her forehead.

“Okay, Mama,” the quarter-youkai said. “I understand.” She paused. “Does that mean Papa will be back soon?”

Kagome could have laughed. “I’m sure Papa will be back before you know it,” she assured and tapped her daughter’s nose. She was rewarded with another giggle. “Now there’s still a couple hours until dinner time, so why don’t you go outside and find the twins to play? They were here looking for you earlier when you were taking a nap.”

Finally, finally her little girl gifted her with a brilliant smile and several enthusiastic nods of her head. “Okay!” 

Hopping to her feet, Moroha placed a wet kiss on her mother’s cheek before bounding out of their home, shouting for Kin’u and Gyokuto at the top of her lungs. 

Blowing out a breath, Kagome slumped back onto her hands and let her head fall back onto her shoulders as she closed her eyes now that that crisis was averted. 

“Alright, dogboy,” Kagome muttered a minute later as she climbed to her feet. “You’d better be on your way here right this second or so help me god…”

Sighing, Kagome wrinkled her nose, shook her head, and got back to cutting up the gargantuan fish for that night’s dinner, however this time her thoughts centered around her hanyou husband and their daughter rather than alien fish from outer space.

Hours later, just before sunset, Kagome was outside hanging up laundry on the clothes line she’d had Inuyasha construct for her and there was still no sign of said hanyou anywhere. Of course it wasn’t particularly unusual for him to be so late, but she was more worried about Moroha when she’d come inside for dinner and discover that her father still had not returned. 

With a frown and unable to shake off the anxious feeling that had taken root in her gut, Kagome pinned one of Moroha’s tiny kosodes to the line and worried her bottom lip as she straightened out the fabric. She knew her husband, knew he’d made a silent vow to himself to always be here during this particular night because he never wanted his daughter to feel as he had in his own youth. She was positive he’d do everything in his power to make it in time, just as she’d claimed to Moroha hours earlier, so she refused to entertain the thought that he was lying in a ditch somewhere, bleeding and unconscious and helpless--

“When I get my hands on you dogboy…” Kagome muttered darkly to herself as she just a little viciously tossed one said dogboy’s kosodes onto the line.

“Sounds promising,” a familiar voice rumbled in her ear as strong arms circled her waist from behind and Kagome gasped. 

Dropping the pair of hakama in her hand, Kagome spun around and was greeted with the sight of warm amber eyes and a fanged grin. Momentarily forgetting her ire toward her husband, Kagome beamed and threw her arms around his neck to pull him into a long welcome-home kiss that he eagerly reciprocated. 

“Mmm,” Inuyasha hummed against her lips and stole another kiss. “Miss me, wench?”

“Hmm…” Nuzzling his nose with hers, Kagome smiled and dug her fingers into his hair to cup the back of his neck. “Maybe. You had me worried for a minute there, dogboy. You’re late.”

“Mm.” Inuyasha grunted and buried his face in his wife’s neck, inhaling her scent and holding her for a minute, relishing the feel of her in his arms. Granted, it had only been just that morning when he left his family, but he hated being apart from them for any stretch of time. 

Happy to have her beloved hanyou home, safe and in one piece, Kagome sighed and simply held her husband, letting him breath her in, relax, and wind down after what she assumed was a successful slaying mission and the long journey home. She smiled; she knew he’d make it.

Even if he was cutting it a little close this time and giving her premature gray hairs.

“What happened?” she questioned after another minute or so, knowing he had to have some explanation as to why he got back so late.

Heaving a sigh, Inuyasha reluctantly pulled away but kept his arms wrapped loosely around her waist. “It was definitely unexpected. The ‘youkai’ that was terrorizing the village actually turned out to be a forest deity trapped in a curse and after finding this out, me and the monk had to travel all over hell just to find out what happened. Long story short, we talked to about twenty different people to find out how to break it, used a boat to get to some small ass island in the middle of nowhere, uncovered a buried artifact, and smashed it to bits.”

Kagome stared up at him with wide eyes, not expecting such a turn of events. “Wow.”

“Yeah.”

“Was the deity freed?”

He shrugged. “Assume so. When we got back to the village to collect the payment - the monk’s insistence, not mine - it was nowhere to be seen, and a few miles away there was a large area with blown back trees and scorched earth.”

Shaking her head, Kagome nonetheless accepted the explanation and tipped him a smile, lifting a hand to seize a furry ear and rub the soft flesh. She was immediately rewarded with a low rumble of approval and her smile widened.

“Well, I’m just glad you’re home,” she said and Inuyasha gave her one of his rare smiles, the one he reserved only for her and his daughter. And speaking of…

“She missed you,” Kagome murmured. Then she paused, and Inuyasha must have seen something in her expression because he frowned slightly.

“What happened?” he prodded and Kagome sighed before giving him a condensed version of what had happened earlier.

Predictably Inuyasha did not react well to the news, his ears flattening into his hair and the guilt was writ clear as day on his face. He grimaced and Kagome smiled a little wryly as she switched to his other ear, seeking to comfort him. 

“Stop,” she said before his thoughts could get away from him and was expecting the scowl that crossed his features. She shook her head. “You’re here now. You didn’t break your promise and that’s what matters.”

As she continued to massage his ear, Inuyasha’s scowl gradually lessened until he was glaring a tad mulishly at his wife and her cheeky grin told him she knew exactly what she was doing.

“I hate it when you do that,” he grumbled and then sighed, his expression relaxing. 

“No you don’t,” Kagome chirped and Inuyasha snorted. Laughing softly, she released his ear and reluctantly stepped out of his embrace. 

“She outback?” he asked as he let his arms drop to his sides, his nose confirming what he'd just asked seconds before his wife answered him.

“Last I checked on her,” Kagome replied and stooped to pick up the hakama she’d dropped. 

Inuyasha grunted his acknowledgment then caught her chin to pull her into one last lingering kiss. And another. And another. Until finally Kagome giggled and had to push him away and he brushed by her with a low chuckle. 

Walking around their home toward what could be considered a backyard of sorts, Inuyasha found his daughter as he knew he would, kneeling barefoot in the dirt and constructing...something out of rocks, sticks, and what looked like several of Sango’s missing dishware. 

He withheld a snort of amusement and crossed his arms as he leaned against their hut, a smile lifting the corners of his lips despite himself. His child was a little thief and he wasn’t sure if he should be proud of her apparent stealth or disappointed at her...well, thievery. 

Oblivious to her father’s presence behind her - unsurprising given the time of day - Moroha continued to build whatever it was she was making, humming quietly to herself as she stacked the clay bowls, now covered in dirt, on top of the rocks and filled them with pebbles. She muttered something about bugs having somewhere to sleep and now Inuyasha wondered if he should be worried instead of proud or disappointed. 

He was content to watch her for another few minutes as the sun sank lower into the sky until finally he decided to make his presence known.

“Whatcha buildin’ there, kiddo?”

Gasping, Moroha shot to her feet and spun around so fast she knocked down her rock, bowl, and stock formation but she hardly noticed. Spotting the figure clad in red cleaning casually against the wall of their home, grinning at her with warm honey eyes, the quarter-youkai released a squeal of pure delight and darted towards him with a mile-wide smile spreading across her face.

“Papa!” she shrieked and Inuyasha knelt down just in time to catch her in his arms as she barreled into them.

Holding her tight against him, Inuyasha stood with her in his arms and buried his nose in her hair, breathing in his little girl’s scent and letting it wash away the last of the tension that seized his muscles. Kagome’s soothing scent was only half of what he needed; his Moroha completed him in ways he hadn't even known he needed until she was born.

“I missed you,” Moroha murmured into his shoulder, her small arms locked tight around his neck and Inuyasha closed his eyes as he tightened his arms around her. 

“Missed you too, babygirl,” he rumbled and kissed her temple. “Sorry I’m late. Forgive me?”

She nodded against his shoulder, refusing to relinquish her hold or pull away even an inch. 

“I’ll always be here to protect you, Moroha,” Inuyasha vowed, his voice a low, earnest rumble. “No matter what, I’ll keep you and your mom safe. Now I need you to do something for me, okay?”

Moroha shifted against him and turned her head so she could peer up at his face with wide eyes, dark and beautiful just like her mother’s. She nodded once, always happy to do something for her papa whenever he asked.

Inuyasha nodded in approval. “If there ever comes a time that I’m not here and the village is in danger, I need you to trust your mom to keep you safe. She’ll do anything to protect you, just like I will, so you never have to worry about not being safe. Okay? Can you do that for me?”

His daughter blinked up at him, her eyes wide and slightly awed, but then her little face grew solemn and she nodded again, lifting a wee hand to gently pat his cheek.

“Okay, Papa,” Moroha agreed and he caught her small hand in his own. “I can do that. I know Mama will protect me, just like you do, and Aunt Sango, and Uncle Miroku, and Kohaku, and Gramma Kaede.”

Inuyasha smiled down at his little girl and pressed a kiss to her hand. “That’s my girl,” he murmured and Moroha gifted him with a brilliant smile, happy that she made her papa happy. 

“Alright,” he said, sniffing the air once, twice. “I think your mama’s got dinner ready, so how about we go inside and get some grub? Dunno about you, but I’m starving.” 

He tried to eat her hand to prove just how starving he was and Moroha’s gleeful laughter echoed into the night as the sun finally sank below the horizon.

Kagome looked up as her husband walked into their home with their fully human child in his arms and she smiled at them both before walking over to smother her daughter in kisses just to hear her laugh. Inuyasha took the opportunity to steal another kiss of his own from his wife before all three of them settled down by the fire to eat the seasoned fish and rice and the parents were content to listen to their daughter fabricate a story about the humongous fish the headman had given them.

Later, dinner put away, the fire crackling softly below a gently bubbling kettle for tea, Inuyasha sat against the wall with his daughter fast asleep in his arms and wrapped securely in his suikan. The only noticeable difference of the loss of her youkai blood was the lack of claws and fangs, but otherwise she looked completely the same. 

Clawed fingers tenderly brushed away tendrils of onyx hair as golden eyes stared down at the slumbering child, wondering, soft, the love he felt for her so obvious it nearly put Kagome in tears. She didn’t bother offering to put her to bed; if he’d wanted, Inuyasha could have done that himself so she knew he was content to sit there holding their sleeping daughter and honestly, she couldn't blame him. Kagome loved holding her, too, but watching her husband as he caressed their daughter’s face, brushing back her hair, staring so lovingly at her as she slept on...it was truly an experience and she had to wonder if Inuyasha felt similarly when watching her hold their daughter. 

Abandoning the cup of tea she was in the middle of making, Kagome crawled over to them and cozied up against her husband’s side. Inuyasha shifted and tugged her closer with an arm around her shoulders, dropping a kiss to her head as Kagome let it rest on his shoulder with a content sigh. 

Together they watched the steady rise and fall of Moroha’s chest, listened to her even breathing, reveled in the powerful, overwhelming love they had for her and for each other as they sat in their home, warm, happy, and most importantly, safe. 

[dibothy]

OOOOOOO YES HUNGER GAMES AUS MY BELOVEDS

So does Gaz ever become a tribute? Or is she like Dib's Prim? And does Tak ever become a tribute? If so, from what district? And how far do Zim and Dib get? Does it end up like Katniss and Peeta in the first book, or do they kill each other? And does it follow the plot of the Hunger Games series or just the concept? Also sorry I just really really really love the Hunger Games they're like my favorite books

YOU'RE FINE I LOVE QUESTIONS I'LL ANSWER THEM AS BEST AS I CAN The au doesn't follow the exact plot of the series, some things are similar but overall some world rules have been changed and there are no direct character affiliations Gaz is chosen as a tribute in the next hunger games/quarter quell in a rigged drawing as a punishment to Dib for surviving the original games, but he volunteers for her. Zim volunteers in his district to try and protect Dib in turn. Gaz gets a different role later on. Tak also becomes a tribute in the quarter quell alongside Zim, and becomes a very grumpy and unlikely ally in the games, she's from Zim's district and was actually groomed for the games, but ultimately turns against the capitol Zim and Dib are the overall protagonists of the au. They survive the first games because Zim kills Tenn (the other tribute from his own district) to protect Dib, which is considered an act of betrayal to his district because two people from the same district Can win together, but he chose a boy from District 5 over her. Zim and Dib offer to kill each other to make the games end, but neither of them can bring themselves to kill the rival/ally who's been by their side the whole time, and the gamemakers can't let them both die anyway, so they get called as joint winners. At first they're marketed as a pair of rivals, bold and proud, and that's their schtick, but after Dib holds Zim's hand in an interview in front of District 2, their image starts to shift to a star crossed lovers narrative. This au has a lot of focus on patriotism to not only Panem but also to one's own District, so their love is considered scandalous, but the public eats it up.

[tatyana-dreaming]

Eugene Onegin: Finale Analysis

*apologies in advance for a LONG POST! any TYPOS! and also that the Russian has been latinized (is that what we say?)*

I have often read opinions and observations about the finale of Eugene Onegin along the lines of “there’s no new theme;” it’s “not as intense as the Letter scene;” it’s “anticlimactic...” etc. (those last two comments are found in Eugene Onegin: The Opera Lively Guide by Luiz Gazzola).

Clearly, these are just opinions and I’m not here to disprove anything... but I am here to retaliate with a whole lot of love for this particular 14 minutes of music so buckle up :) I’m going to try to mainly be objective here and just offer my observations/analysis. Maybe you’ll find some newfound appreciation along the way...and please pitch in if you have your own comments or have noticed things I haven’t necessarily picked up on!

Before we start, you may want to pull a recording of the finale (this one is my favorite of course), and potentially your favorite CD/recording of Eugene Onegin, if you want to listen along and compare. If I had more time and skills I would have done this for you in a video or added trimmed audio bits throughout this post but alas. Maybe one day! For now, enjoy these screencaps from the 2007 Carsen production at the Met with Fleming and Hvorostovsky.

1. Gazzola points this out in his book - and thank goodness, because I’m not sure I would have made the connection myself. The final scene opens with a motif that is more or less a repetition of Gremin’s theme (in rhythm, at the very least), “Lyubvi Vsye Rozrasti Pokorni/Love conquers all ages,’” foreshadowing Tatyana’s decision/steadfastness to the mature, stable love or contement, or whatever we want to call this - we can have an analysis of ‘love’ in Eugene Onegin in another post! Already I’m thinking back to the opening of the opera when Larina and Filipyevna sing in unison “Privichka svishe name dana, zamyena shchastiyu ona / Habit is sent us from above in place of happiness.” Tatyana’s mother used to read and dream like Tayana herself and was even in love, but eventually had to marry someone else and “became resigned and settled down.”

And as @lizlensky​ recently reminded me, of course Filipyevna did not get to marry for love either, not that Tatyana was really listening to her story. In fact, maybe I’m looking far into deeply, but it seems to me the strings underneath this “Gremin motif” at the opening of the finale and also when Tatyana eventually sings to that tune “Onegin, ya togda molozhe/Onegin, I was younger then”  are also mimicking the strings underneath Filipyevna when she sings the morning after the Letter Scene, explaining how her mind is getting older and reflecting upon her youth (I’m generalizing a bit - Tatyana certainly isn’t complaining about having an old brain but she is thinking of the past). Make of that what you will! But it gave me chills.

2. Oh no, I’m already getting ahead of myself though. Before Onegin even comes on the scene, we also hear what some call the “Fate motif” but what I prefer to call the “Dream motif” (if it is fate, why does it follow Tatyana all over dreamy Act I but disappears except for this tiny reminiscence? But of course, up for discussion as it’s the prelude/introduction to the opera, and it comes back when Yevgeni does, haunting her like a ghost, which I suppose is fate-y). Here it is again when Tatyana sings “Kak budto snova dyevochkoi ya stala/It’s as if I’m a young girl again” - which is then followed by what I might personally call the fate theme, since it foreshadows the anguish Tatyana will face when she is rejected in Act I, and before she rejects Onegin in Act III.

This is where I wish I had an audio clip but I think you know what I mean; it’s the really dramatic climax that comes right when Tatyana enters the stage in Scene 3 of Act III (before “Zdyez on, zdyes on, Yevgeni!”) and right before Onegin comes onstage in Act III, Scene 2. Or ha, maybe this is just “Onegin’s Arrival Theme” since there’s a similar kind of orchestral panic before he arrives in Act I (though of course, not in Scene 1 of Act III since it is Tatyana who enters rather than Onegin who was in the room already, at least in the productions I’ve seen.)

3. Okay, so now Onegin’s here, what does he have to say for himself? We hear a bit of the Onegin aria theme -  “Mechtam i godom nyet vazvrata, nye obnovlyu dushi moyei/Dreams and years cannot return, I cannot renew my soul!” as he (in some versions) falls to Tatyana’s feet, exclaiming “O, szhaltes, szhaltes nado mnoyu!/ Have mercy on me!”  Clearly has some srs regerts. But also perhaps Tchaikovsky foreshadowing what is to come... not only that we shouldn’t expect Tatyana to act with any less honor (or prudence/reason) towards Onegin as he did towards her in Act I, and that indeed she sings “proshlogo nye vorotit/you cannot bring back the past.”  I know I’m grinding a lot out of this particular moment, but... would you expect anything less from me? Or (thinks of Petya) HIM? :)

4. As Tatyana reminds Onegin how he rejected her and begins to question why he is suddenly in love with her now, we get to revisit some of the music from the Letter Scene - at least in the orchestra. Tatyana’s line differs slightly than her original melody in the Letter Scene when she sings “Togda, nye pravda li pustine, vdali ot suyetnoi molvi/There in that backwater, far from vain society” - and just so, as it is far from its dreamy, romantic parallel in her letter - “Y v eto samoye mgnovyenye ne ti li, miloye vidyenye/And in that very moment, wasn’t it you, beloved vision [...who whispered to me words of hope].” I find this throwback incredibly clever and gutwrenching, as I believe it’s clearly a bitter and ironic jab at the hope that Onegin crushed, even honorably as he did, and now the two of them have changed positions. Whose dreamy hopes (which are... questionable at best at the moment) are getting schooled now? Cmon’ Onegin, “learn to control yourself....”

5. Let me take a moment to admit and agree with many analyses/critics (although Tchaikovsky knows what he is doing, convince me otherwise) that Onegin is pretty fragmented and lacks a coherent theme, and certainly has no original “love theme” of his own to offer Tatyana  - after all, Onegin as a character, especially in the book, is pretty hollow, someone who isn’t so much a “self’ as a person who knows how to go through the motions of life... He’s intelligent but not creative, full of potential but lacking any real direction. (Ohhh I am going to cry because that’s so sad but also so relatable, but crying is coming up next so I’ll hold off). The opposite of Lensky’s “poet spirit” that lives life romantically, and is in love with life itself, seeing the infinite everywhere rather than seeing life so pessmistically (with the mask of pragmatism/”maturity”) as Onegin does, a mask that keeps Onegin from truly engaging with life or his own sense of self.

So as Onegin sings, we hear that lack of originality, though I will pull a Valery Gergiev here and say one “cannot be impartial” to Onegin’s music here (*clutches chest - that’s Tchaikovsky, even though I think it’s clear Onegin is not his fav) - Onegin may not be original, but there is no less truth or heartfelt emotion in what comes through. Luckily, Tatyana knows that it’s still not a good choice... he’s still not very substantial, at best, and at worst truly is only infatuated with her because of her reputation. It would mean ruin for her either way so :( (read: Anna Karenina) (here are some sad Onegin pictures just for fun because it’s all been Tatyana mainly but also: sorry this is Tatyana’s big moment so)

6. Time for tears! Do you hear a familiar theme when Tatyana sings “Ya plachu/I’m weeping?” It’s Lensky’s aria theme making a comeback- what!??! And particularly, the same melody as these two phrases, when Lensky sings: “Shto dyen gradushchi mnye gotovit/What does this day hold for me?” and perhaps more salient to this moment: “Pridyosh li, dveya krasoti, slezu prolit nad rannei urmoi/ Will you come, maiden, to shed a tear over my untimely urn?” Ahhh, I see what you did there, Petya.

But wait, Onegin hates crying! This isn’t explicitly in the opera of course, but Onegin in the novel all but tells Tatyana that her tears (as he rejects her) only vex him - another reason marriage would be a torment for them (not a bad reason and look, we always respected his honesty, right?). But now? I think it’s a crucial moment; it shows there has indeed been some development on Onegin’s part and uh oh, he’s actually in love (ironically in a very Lensky - that is, poetic - way)  even if it’s not for the best of reasons.

7. Fun (pain) pact: “Tak blizhko! [happiness was] so close!” is the only time Onegin and Tatyana sing together or are on the same page, so to say. Nice. (*cries*) The only other times people sing completely lined up together like this in this opera, choruses aside, are when:

Larina and Filipyevna sing “Privichka svishe name dana, zamyena shchastiyu ona /Habit is sent to us from above in place of happiness”  in the opening scene

Onegin and Lensky sing “Nye zasmeyatsa l nam, poka ne obagrilasa ruka, ne razoitis li polyubovno? Nyet... /Shouldn’t we burst out laughing, rather than staining our hands with blood, shouldn’t we part as friends? No...”  before the duel

Moments of truth. And mostly pain. :) Again, please chime in if there are others, I’m sure I’ve missed something.

8. Time for Tatyana to refuse! This is where I completely disagree that there is “no new major theme” in the Finale; Tatyana’s “rejection theme” holds its own in my books. Interestingly, it’s in D-flat major, just like the main themes in her Letter Scene (”Puskai pogibnu ya/Let me perish,” and “Kto ti? Moi angel/ Who are you? my [guardian] angel..” aka the descending/Russian 6th theme). Tatyana is just as earnest/decided/resigned* (yes, all three of those adjectives) in her decision in the finale as in the Letter Scene, so maybe that has something to do with it. (I always remember her words in the Letter scene: “Uvi, nye v silakh ya vladyet svoyei dushoi!/Alas, I am unable to subdue my soul!” but just like Onegin learning to be endeared by tears - she has indeed learned to subdue her soul, or perhaps she has simply matured and her priorities have changed. (And of course, who lectured her to subdue her soul in the first place, even though he meant well? Yours truly!)

*resigned might seem an interesting way to describe the Letter Scene, but don’t forget “No, tak i bit! Sudbo moyu otnine ya tebye vruchayu/So be it. Henceforth my fate belongs to you....”  I tend to interpret that as Tatyana actually taking her fate into her own hands and deciding to go all in with her decision, despite the words that seem to make her position passive. In the finale, she is ‘resigned’ in a similarly active manner - this is not a passive resignation. But I still would use the term resigned, if only to draw the parallel between Tatyana and her mother....  “I became resigned and settled down.”  And so she has, even if she has to struggle to push Onegin away from the settled life she has, loving him all the same.

And in comes some of my favorite music of all time - Onegin’s desperate, even malicious pleas and a good dose of mansplaining how Tatyana “can’t” abandon him, quoting back her letter. Extra ouch, because do you remember in Tatyana’s letter when she tells Onegin if he has any pity, “vi nye ostavite menya/you won’t abandon me.” And what does she have to beg him to do over and over until she finally runs offstage? “Ostav menya!/Leave me!” heheheheh *laugh-cries*  everything is fine.

9. And we’ve nearly reached the very end. Almost a year into listening to this particular piece of music and I only recently realized what was going on - yeah, I know. When things get really heated at the end and pain reaches a maximum, Tatyana sings “Gluboko v syerdsta pronikayet, yevo otchayanni priziv no, pil prestupni podaviv/His anguished cries penetrate my heart, but the fire of passion has been extinguished” (well, I’m still not quite sure on the ‘correct’ English translation but it doesn’t sound good for Yevgeni regardless...)

That melody in that last line calls us back to its twin sister at the end of Scene 1 in Act I when Onegin is talking about how bored he was with his uncle, waiting for him to die. So a) I hear this as Tatyana “ending things once and for all” (parallels between the death of Onegin’s uncle, and the death of their relationship), as well as possibly (again I read 10,000% too much into things) b) Tatyana realizing that Onegin’s words to her back in the garden were true - habit [routine] would kill their love; they would become bored (or at least he would). The passion would burn out.

Which brings us back to c) heaven sends us habit in place of happiness [=passion?]- which, OH, RIGHT, OF COURSE has the same rhythm of the aforementioned “boredom” theme and “the fire of passion has been extinguished.” But you all probably already realized that because oF COURSE.. that’s how the opera OPENS... and now how it is CLOSING... AHHHH!!!

I know I’m not original or anything for realizing that parallel, but yeah. I’m pretty happy about it.

Tchaikovsky is absolutely genius. Unbelievable. And paired with Pushkin? I’m not surprised I’ve clearly lost my mind over this masterpiece.

Anyways, this was an extremely long post but I hope you enjoyed it immensely, especially if you read this far!! Please chime in with your own comments! I LOVE THIS PIECE OF MUSIC!

[terramythos]

TerraMythos 2021 Reading Challenge - Book 19 of 26

Title: A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers #2) (2016)

Author: Becky Chambers

Genre/Tags: Science Fiction, Third-Person, Female Protagonists

Rating: 9/10

Date Began: 7/25/2021

Date Finished: 8/5/2021

��Lovelace” is an AI system aboard the Wayfarer, a wormhole tunneling ship. Following a critical error, she awakens as a fresh installation, overwriting the beloved version everyone knew and loved. Faced with a distraught crew, she accepts a strange offer: upload her consciousness to a humanlike “body kit” and live with an independent tech on Port Coriol. She renames herself Sidra and moves in with Pepper and her partner Blue. Despite their support, Sidra struggles to figure out who she really is, and the type of person she wants to be. To complicate matters, her existence as an AI in a body kit is strictly illegal… and discovery means certain death. 

Pepper has her own shaky past. Once “Jane 23”, a genetically engineered slave from a fringe colony, she escapes from a scrap processing factory. Amid the continent-spanning junk heap, she discovers a trapped, functional AI named Owl. Owl saves her life and teaches her about the galaxy beyond. As Jane struggles to survive in a harsh and desolate wasteland, she resolves to fix Owl’s broken ship and escape the planet together. But such a feat is easier said than done. 

“Just because someone goes away doesn’t mean you stop loving them.”

Content warnings and minor spoilers below the cut.  

Content warnings for the book: Slavery, child abuse, child death, animal death. Depictions of PTSD/panic attacks. Traumatic injury and severe malnutrition. Recreational drug use. 

I enjoyed A Closed and Common Orbit much more than The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. From what I understand, all the books in the Wayfarers series are standalones, but this one does have a direct connection to the previous story. It stars two minor characters from the last book— Pepper, a genetically engineered technician who escaped from slavery on a fringe colony, and Sidra (i.e. Lovelace), an AI installed in an illegal, humanlike body. While A Closed and Common Orbit can be read on its own, the last book is helpful for some context and worldbuilding.

Official descriptions for the book don’t do it justice. Common Orbit follows two narrative threads. There’s a “current” story that follows Sidra as she adjusts to her new body and learns how to be a person. This storyline doesn’t  contain much action, but there is some tension with Sidra hiding her true identity. With Pepper and her partner Blue’s help, Sidra gradually accepts/overcomes her unique abilities, challenges, and limitations. Sidra’s story functions as a scifi flavored coming-of-age story. It’s not all fluffy and heartwarming, containing realistic interpersonal conflicts and a rocky friendship with an Aeluon tattoo artist named Tak (who is awesome—a genderfluid character whose pronouns change throughout the book, and no one sees it as weird or a big deal. Hell yeah). I like seeing fictional friendships that take work to develop, but become genuine as both characters grow.

But in my opinion, the meat of the narrative lies in the “past” thread, which serves as Pepper’s origin story. It details her childhood as a slave called “Jane 23”, her escape into a continent-sized scrapyard, and her chance meeting with Owl, an abandoned AI trapped in a junk ship. Owl takes on the role of a parent and does her best to raise Jane. This story is excellent for many reasons. It’s a parallel coming-of-age story. Like Sidra, Jane learns to become a person, but hers are bleak circumstances; isolated from other humans, eking out an existence hunting feral dogs, and slowly patching up the shuttle. Jane struggles with PTSD and the grim reality of survival in a world that wants her dead. This culminates when she resolves to repair Owl’s ship and escape the planet. The simplistic, childish language in the early chapters gives way to more nuanced prose as Jane learns more about the galaxy. There’s a heavy focus on the close, familial relationship between her and Owl. As the story progresses, the reader naturally questions what happened to Owl, and why she’s absent in the Sidra storyline. Both stories converge in the third act to resolve this. 

One thing that’s really nice about parallel narratives is when they complement and add context to each other. It’s such a basic thing, but I love when writers do it well, and Chambers is no exception. Pepper’s “past” story provides the context for her motivation to help Sidra. Pepper sees AIs as fully sapient and deserving of the same rights, treatment, and dignity as any other person. Owl saved Pepper’s life and raised her because it was the right thing to do… so Pepper fulfills a similar role for Sidra. Another great detail is Pepper’s obsession with a children’s media franchise, Big Bug. Initially it comes of as geeky and a little silly. But when we see the reason for her attachment in the Jane storyline, it hits like a gutpunch. There’s lots of other similarities between the stories, but we’d be here all day if I went into them. 

In general, many of my complaints about the last book don’t apply to this one. I think fewer leads helps, as there is more focus on individual character arcs. To me, many of the characters in the last book felt tacked on, to the point I didn’t feel any investment in them. But here, the focus on Sidra and Pepper feels deeper and more intimate. I’m apprehensive about the next two books, as they both have broad ensemble casts. I hope they avoid the problems present in The Long Way, but I’ll be optimistic. Common Orbit also has lasting conflict and consequence, something severely lacking in the last book. It’s nice to see that characters who like each other and consider each other family still have arguments and conflicting motivations. This sounds basic, but again, it’s something the last book either didn’t convey or resolved right away. 

While I enjoyed this book, I have a few criticisms. Several key scenes are missing, to the story’s detriment. A big one is Owl’s “introduction” to Sidra’s storyline. As I mentioned earlier, it’s clear that Pepper’s motivation to help Sidra stems from her relationship with Owl. When Owl suddenly becomes relevant, it’s hand-waved that Pepper told Sidra about her at some point. Yet we never actually see Pepper do this. Considering the narrative setup between these characters, it seems like a huge missed opportunity to skip a critical scene that ties the three together. I also wanted to see more development with Blue; while I like him, he doesn’t have much narrative impact. He’s present in both stories but mostly serves as a passive, emotional support character. It would have been nice to see him take an active role at some point. 

I gave this book the benefit of the doubt, and it paid off. I have to say I’m impressed with the level of improvement between The Long Way and Common Orbit. While I am nervous to see what the last two books hold, I hope I like them. As mentioned, each book is a standalone story. I’m reading them in order, but from what I can tell, you can start with any of them. I certainly recommend this one!

[krizaland]

You keep referencing your old fear of IZ but will we ever hear the whole story?

Alrighty! In honor of the spooky season, I think it’s time I told you all the full story of how my fear of Invader Zim came to be and how I conquered it!

When Invader Zim first came out I was at the ripe old age of 5 years old. I never saw the first episode but still enjoyed watching cartoons off all kinds. Except Ahh! Real Monsters which I’m still afraid of to this day 

My first encounter with Invader Zim was when I was 6 years old. I was watching Tv at my cousin’s house when an episode (I believe it was Door to Door but they memory’s kinda foggy) popped on. 

I never knew Zim was an alien but my goodness he was the cutest boy I had ever seen! I didn’t even care that his skin was green I just thought he was cute! 

“Wow! I love Zim!” I remember giggling.

“Really? I think Dib’s better” My cousin countered.

Now, she was like a few years older than me so I really looked up to her and wanted to be like her.

So I took back my love for Zim and pretended to like Dib. I never really understood why she preferred Dib as I always thought he was mean.

I did catch a few pieces of episodes here and there on my own and did see Zim’s alien form. However, my child brain was quite stupid so I always thought he was just an oversized bug who liked to talk to his cousins. (Yes. I thought that the Tallest were Zim’s cousins. I was that stupid y’all.) I never once considered that this oversized bug and the cute green skinned boy were the same person.

Now, I should probably note that I had an insanely overreactive imagination growing up. (This is part of what inspires me to write lol)

So Zim sorta became an imaginary friend of sorts. Because I had fallen in love with him, I assumed that meant we had to get married (Curse you Disney for your unrealistic expectations!)

So Zim and I had a cute little imaginary wedding.

Everything seemed fine until the day I found out about the harsh truth.

I remember going upstairs to my room when I heard Tallest Purple’s voice coming from the upstairs TV.

“I thought you were trying to destroy the Earth?”

I gasped! Who was trying to destroy the Earth?!

Sure enough I looked up and saw the oversized bug once more.

“Ah yes! You heard wrong! My original plan was to destroy Mars! Just a little warm up before I destroy the humans! I’m an unstoppable death machine you know! Well, Invader Zim signing off!”

I felt a pang of fear in my gut. Zim?! The cute green skinned boy I called my imaginary husband was really an evil alien out to destroy the Earth?!

I ‘confronted’ him and he owned up to being an alien. 

I felt my heart shatter into a thousand bite sized pieces. I never felt so betrayed! So bamboozled! So smeckledwarfed!

I let out a scream and ran into my bedroom. I spent the rest of the day sobbing and cuddling my Scooby Doo plushie.

I remember going to see a ‘friend’ of mine. (She was a pretty shitty friend but I still liked her.) 

I brought up Invader Zim and we chatted for a bit. She begun to tell me about a girl in the show.

“Are you talking about Gaz?” I asked as I tilted my head.

“No. No. She was a beautiful girl and she was also an alien.” My friend explained.

I realize now that she was probably referring to Tak.

However, my foolish child brain was convinced that Zim had somehow turned a girl into an Irken!

Needless to say, this did not help my fears.

So after talking to my friend I kept having nightmares about Zim turning me into a half human half Irken hybrid.

I got so scared that I had to sleep in my parent’s room for a week.

After that, I would run screaming at the mere mention of the show.

My brother used to watch Nicktoons a lot and would often torment me by referencing Invader Zim (as well as Ahh! Real Monsters.) 

As I got older, a lot of middle schoolers would walk around wearing brightly colored GIR shirts. I would always cringe in fear and avoid them.

I couldn’t even walk past a Hot Topic without my stomach churning.

Eventually, the day came where I could take my fear of Invader Zim no longer!

I was 13 going on 14 and there was an Invader Zim marathon on Nicktoons.

There used to be a large TV right in front of the kitchen table, so my brother decided to watch the marathon there.

Unfortunately, I wanted to eat my snack and my mom refused to let us eat in our bedrooms.

My brother was being nice for once and offered to change the channel. 

I was about to say yes but something in me snapped.

I was so sick and tired of hiding in my room whenever the show came on. I was tired of gasping at the sight of GIR shirts. 

I was so done with living in fear.

“No. Leave it on. I can handle it.” I said as I sat down with my snack.

“Are you sure? I can always change it.” My brother offered.

“It’s ok. I can handle it.” I insisted as I started to eat.

And with that, I stared straight ahead and decided to give it a watch.

The episode was Hamstergeddon, and the moment Zim started screaming about Pipi, I felt a change in me.

In that moment, Zim no longer seemed so scary. In fact he was funny!

Soon I found myself laughing instead of screaming. 

Why was I so scared of this show? It was comedy gold!

When I finished eating, I went to the upstairs and grabbed both my Kirby and Scooby Doo plushies. I sat down in front of the upstairs Tv and turned on Nicktoons.

The opening theme song used to sound like nails on a chalkboard but not anymore.

Now it sounded like music to my ears! Soon, Invader Zim went from one of my greatest fears to one of my most beloved special interests.

And it was just in time for my scene phase!

I rushed to Hot Topic and bought every piece of GIR merch I could get my angsty scene paws on.

When my 14th birthday rolled around I asked for a plushie of Zim off of eBay. The seller was an asshole and he charged us an arm and a leg but it was well worth it.

My Zim plushie went everywhere and I mean everywhere with me. To the park, to my brother’s soccer games! Even to renaissance fairs! Hell there’s said to be an ad for some autism organization that has footage of me holding Zim. 

I let myself fall in love with Zim all over again (Only this time I didn’t marry him like an idiot.)

I delved into the Invader Zim fandom and begun to churn out OCs and extremely cringey fanfiction ideas. 

When my scene phase wore off, I realized that Zim wasn’t very nice so I kept him away from my other stuffies for a little while.

However, I was no longer afraid of Zim but I still cringed when I looked back on my old ideas.

Fast forward to August of 2019.  Rise of the Teeange Mutant Ninja Turtles was on a massive hiatus and I was slowly going insane on the world’s worst cruise.

As I suffered aboard the SS Retirement home, I scrolled through tumblr and noticed that Netflix had just released Enter the Florpus. 

Maybe, I had gone completely insane on that boat or maybe I was just excited to see Invader Zim make a comeback.

Either way, I felt my special interest in Invader Zim reawaken

The first thing I did when I got home was dig out my Zim plushie, log into Netflix and turn on Enter the Florpus.

In that moment, I fell in love with Invader Zim all over again. 

I soon wrote up my first Reader insert fic and now here we are.

Now, I love Zim free of fear and cringe! 

[novastarlyght]

NOVA SCREAMS ABOUT ENTER THE FLORPUS

In six words:  "Children sing. People rejoice. Fatalities minimal."

In much more than six words and featuring a BUTT LOAD OF SPOILERS, continue on....

Biggest takeaway: Membrane is a badass DILF 10/10 would marry especially to have Dib and Gaz as stepchildren.... even if he is the poster boy for the Flat Earth Atheist trope (ALSO HE SQUISHY NOW!!!!!)

okay thirst joking aside THIS WAS WORTH WAITING 17 YEARS FOR!!! I MEAN IT!!!!!! IT'S EVERYTHING I COULD'VE WANTED AND MORE FROM AN IZ REVIVAL and honestly an IZ movie in general??? like the fandom used to talk about the whole “Invader Dib” TV movie idea thing the crew tossed around back during the show's run, if it ever ran for so long that a TV movie could happen, but I don't know if it would've been or felt as satisfying as this. Maybe that's just due to again, this being the first animated IZ related thing in SEVENTEEN YEARS but you can just feel how much Jhonen went all out with this, probably because it has been so long. I feel how much love went into this, how much Jhonen and crew and put that same love that fans have had for IZ for the past nearly 2 decades back into this. He wanted to give us something really truly special, something to thank us for loving his show for so long despite how short lived it was, and I don't think he could've succeeded more. This was his gift to the fans and I wish I could tell him how grateful I am for it in person. Maybe I'll get to someday. ;u; Regardless, thank you Jhonen for giving all of us who loved your show all these years this wonderful thing that's everything we loved, and still do love, about IZ and more ❤︎

Gosh all the things from little fanservice moments to answering questions and addressing things fans have wondered about for years... Dib and Gaz confirmed to have Membrane as their last names, Gaz's full name being Gazlene, Dib established as being 12 years old, Tak's ship playing a big part, DIB'S ENTIRE ARC WITH MEMBRANE and of course “What would happen if Zim actually thought the Tallest didn't respect him?” And the answer is, of course, continuing to never give up and do whatever it takes to try and win their admiration because Zim is the ultimate determinator and will literally never accept failure ever. Even though failing is all he does. And that's why we love him Though apparently he was legitimately depressed before Dib told him about the Membracelets which is like... oh no.... baby.... my heart......... ;~;

SPEAKING OF HEART SHATTERING, THESE LINES!!!! JUST THESE LINES!!!!!!:

“Son, you don't have to prove anything. I'm always proud of you.”

IZ has never had anything resembling a genuinely heartfelt moment before which made it pack even more of a punch. The fact that, unlike the original series, this movie wasn’t afraid to take itself just seriously enough to be able to have a moment like this, is what really drove it home to me as not only a faithful return but an evolution - the series modernized and grown up, as though it matured along with its audience. And it’s a reward to all of us who genuinely love and care about these characters. It knows how beloved IZ is and not only celebrates that but also gives us something new and special that wasn’t in the original. That is what makes a perfect reboot.

AND DUDE THE ANIMATION WAS INCREDIBLE?????? just... so unbelievably gorgeous I was floored by every frame.... the original IZ series was, and to my knowledge still is/was, the most expensive show Nick ever produced so I can't even IMAGINE, even with how much technology has advanced since '01-'02, how much money Nick must've thrown at this. And it's ALL on the screen. ESPECIALLY THE FLORPUS SEQUENCE ITSELF SWEET UNHOLY CTHULHU I AM GONNA HAVE TO GO BACK AND WATCH IT FRAME BY FRAME FOR EVERY SINGLE LAST PIECE OF MIND-BLOWING AMAZINGNESS THAT SEQUENCE WAS MAN just... legitimately, phenomenally astounding.

Enter the Florpus is flawless. Or as close to flawless as something can probably be, since I genuinely can’t think of anything in this movie that didn’t work spectacularly or that I didn’t irrevocably adore. The only thing that maybe, possibly could have made it better was having some more of the minor characters make a return or appearance, like Tak herself or the Resisty, but I can understand not having them since that wouldn't have exactly fit into the story all that well. And I prefer a solid story over just seeing something cool or fanservicey for coolness/fanservice's sake. This movie had everything it needed to have and that's what made it so great. I couldn't be happier. And now I’m going to go rewatch the entire original series again for the 777th billion time. And then watch the movie again right after. And then cry. A lot.

[2wnikiangel]

I’m writing Enjoltaire fanfic where Grantaire is half-French + half-Czech university student living in Prague and his theater class decided to do musical this year. I started to think what original czech musical they’ll do (I mostly thinked about the popular ones) and then: “Oh my freaking God, did I forgot we have The Picture of Dorian Gray musical here?!”. Opened my folders with musicals and here we are! Awesome nostalgy!

I replayed all the songs (sang to each of them, the brain doesn't forget) and I was just like: “Why every Dorian’s and Basil’s song makes me think about Enjolras and Grantaire?!”. A small example:

In second act when Grantaire Basil try to do another work without Dorian (who already knows what his painting does) and he sang about his feelings in “Není snadné stát” / “It’s not easy to stand*” (*stand = like a model for artist). You can play this song above! It’s one of my favorite song (and even a scene) in this whole musical. Sadly, it’s his last scene before death...

Original czech lyric + (very fast) english translation

(Basil pracuje s modelkami na jednom obrazu. Basil works with models for another painting.)

O to jde, to je úchvatná póza, tvoříme dílo, tak zkus to líp. Hlavu drž, jsi jak víla a múza, ani hnout! Tohle musíme mít. That’s the point, that’s a stunning pose, we creating an art, so try it better. Hold your head, you’re like a fairy and a muse, do not move! We must have it.

Není snadné stát. Když má všechno hrát. It’s not easy to stand, when everything needs to be just right.

O to jde, žádné znavené klišé! Zkus to víc - z očí září ti hv��zdy! Ruku výš, kouzlo přichází tiše, ani hnout! Tohle musíme mít. That’s the point, no weary cliché! Try it more - there’s shining stars in your eyes! Hand up, the magic comes quietly, do not move! We must have it.

Není snadné stát. Když má všechno hrát. It’s not easy to stand, when everything needs to be just right.

(Basil ničí svou rozdělanou práci a vyhazuje modelky z ateliéru. Basil destroys his work and throws out models from his atelier.)

Ne! Ne, to nejde! Vše stejné, špatné je! Ne! Přijďte zítra! Dnes končím! Adié! No! No I can’t! Everything’s all the same, bad! No! Come tomorrow! I quitting today! Adié!

Zázrak je tentam, zas vysmívá se rám... Miracle is gone, the frame laughs again...

(Basil se dívá na skicy na kterých namaloval Doriana. Basil looks at all the sketches of Dorian he made.)

Šílenství k mání mám, ze snu není kam dál. Jen jeden mám a ten jsem chtěl, jen jednu z duší a jedno z těl. Jen jeden mám a ten jsem chtěl, jen jednu z duší a jedno z těl! I have insanity in me for you, there’s nowhere to go from this dream. I have only one and I wanted it, only one of the souls and only one of the bodies. I have only one and I wanted it, only one of the souls and only one of the bodies.

Můj řád se vzdává, chaosem se stává! My honor surrenders, turn into chaos!

(Basil zapaluje svíčkou všechny Dorianovy skicy. Basil lights up all Dorian’s sketches by candle.)

Šílenství k mání, šílenství k mání mám! Madness absorbs me, The madness it’s grabbing me now!

And who the heck can’t forget about this awesome angel man who played Dorian? His name is Miloslav Könning and he was 2 freaking 1 years old that time he played our beloved angel with no soul. I have a little crush on him because of this, but don’t tell my boyfriend. He was an alternative for David Kraus, but I don’t really like his Dorian (His voice isn’t so pleasurable for me. Nor his face.).

Just, watch and listen!

You can’t watch the musical anywhere, it’s only on DVD, and songs are somewhere on the internet, but not all of them. I have the musical on DVD and even all of the songs from it. The musical it’s just a small part for the fanfic, but I’m so obsses with details (and with this musical too actually), that I wanted to ask:

Would anyone be interested in full english translation for the musical?

I never translated czech lyrics into english (I have few fanfics in english now, but I have betareader), but there’s always time to start! :)

[oblivionspeakk]

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[bentonboswell23]

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