Random Acts of Derp

A collection of things that amuse or interest me, ranging from fandom derp to roleplaying concepts/techniques to some social justice stuffs. 

[discount-supervillain]

[effseedee]

"You might be wondering how I got into this situation. Well, I fucking love punching."

[batshaped]

poké-relics

bsky mirror

(for make a terrible comic day 2026)

[lickingandsuckingchristmascoins]

come over

[trangoldin]

American diet and "healthy living" culture is insane and runs DEEP

[jennamoran]

who the heck is eating dice, cards, and pool

[aniseandspearmint]

WHAT is the first one supposed to be? It looks like 'piecing between meals' to me, but that can't be what it says, right?

[prfury-lavaca]

It does in fact say “piecing between meals” and it refers to snacking

[prokopetz]

I'm more struck by the fact that the progression set forth here implies that laudanum and cocaine are less concerning that spicing your food.

[justalurkr]

Truncated text of tweet from MrPitBull, Mar 11, 2026:

She kept finding women in laboratory photographs from the 1800s. Then she read the published papers—and every single woman had vanished. Someone had erased them from history.

Yale University, 1969.

Margaret Rossiter was a graduate student studying the history of science. She was one of very few women in her program.

Every Friday afternoon, students and faculty gathered for beers and informal conversation. One week, Margaret asked a simple question: "Were there ever any women scientists?"

The faculty answered firmly: No.

Someone mentioned Marie Curie. The group dismissed it—her husband Pierre really deserved the credit.

Margaret didn't argue. But she also didn't believe them.

So she started looking.

She found a reference book called "American Men of Science"—essentially a Who's Who of scientific achievement. Despite the title, she was shocked to discover it contained entries about women. Botanists trained at Wellesley. Geologists from Vermont.

There were names. There were credentials. There were careers.

The professors had been wrong.

But Margaret's discovery was just the beginning. Because as she dug deeper into archives across the country, she found something far more disturbing.

Photograph after photograph showed women standing at laboratory benches, working with equipment, listed on research teams.

But when she read the published papers, the award citations, the official histories—those same women had disappeared. Their names were missing. Their contributions erased.

It wasn't random. It was systematic.

Women who designed experiments watched male colleagues publish results without giving them credit. Women whose discoveries were assigned to supervisors. Women listed in acknowledgments instead of as authors. Women passed over for awards that went to male collaborators who contributed far less.

Margaret realized she was witnessing a pattern that stretched across centuries.

Women had always been present in science. The record had simply pushed them aside.

She needed a name for what she was documenting.

In the early 1990s, she found it in the work of Matilda Joslyn Gage—a 19th-century suffragist who had written about this exact phenomenon in 1870.

In 1993, Margaret published a paper formally naming it: The Matilda Effect.

The term captured something that had been hidden in plain sight for generations. Once you knew the term, you saw it everywhere.

Her dissertation became a lifelong mission.

For more than 30 years, Margaret researched and wrote her landmark three-volume series: Women Scientists in America. She examined letters, institutional policies, individual careers. She gathered undeniable evidence that women in science had been consistently under-credited and structurally excluded.

Her work faced resistance. Many dismissed women's history as political rather than academic. Others insisted she was exaggerating.

Margaret didn't argue emotionally. She presented data. Documented cases. Patterns repeated across decades and institutions.

Eventually, the evidence became undeniable.

Her research helped restore recognition to scientists who had been erased:

Rosalind Franklin, whose X-ray work revealed DNA's structure—credit went to Watson and Crick.

Lise Meitner, who explained nuclear fission—omitted from the Nobel Prize.

Nettie Stevens, who discovered sex chromosomes—received little credit.

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, who discovered stars are made of hydrogen—initially dismissed.

And countless others whose names had nearly vanished.

Margaret changed the narrative. Science was no longer just the story of solitary male geniuses. It became a story of collaboration that included women who had been written out.

The Matilda Effect became standard terminology. Scholars used it to examine how credit is assigned, how authors are listed, who receives awards, who gets left out.

[thecryptkeeper]

i know the way people talk about their pets now is probably how we’ve been doing it for all of history. a cat owner in ancient rome saw their cat lounging on the dining pillows and commented “he thinks himself to be the senator claudius 🤣”

[library-seraph]

The first attested cat in Japan was given to a young 9th century emperor and his diary about it includes such gems as 'I affixed a bow about its neck, but it did not remain for long.", "The color of the fur is peerless. None could find the words to describe it, although one said it was reminiscent of the deepest ink.", "When it lies down, it curls in a circle like a coin. You cannot see its feet. It’s as if it were circular Bi disk." and "I am convinced it is superior to all other cats.” Basically posting about how his void is the best little void and so good at getting really round

[robot-roadtrip-rants]

[psychic-waffles]

We're at the "JK Rowling is personally funding litigation to try and destroy AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL" stage of rabid UK terf brain.

Screenshot via Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net on bluesky

Tldr Amnesty International, global human rights organisation, published a report called 'A growing threat: the anti-rights movement in the UK'. In it is detailed, amongst others, a whole bunch of transphobic groups and organisations, including Beira's Place, JK Rowling's trans exclusionary sexual violence support service. JK Rowling threw a shit fit and got Amnesty to take the report down by threatening libel. This was obviously not enough, because you can't appease a fascist, so now she's going to bankroll a bunch of lawsuits anyway through the JK Rowling Women's Fund.*

You can read an archived version of the report here, please save it and share it.

*Not so friendly reminder there is no way to engage in the wizard books without enabling this shit.

[jayalaw]

This is Dolores Umbridge-level bullshit

[tobiasdrake]

Finished episode 10 of Magic Knight Rayearth and oh my god.

Oh my god.

魔神 Mashin. The Mashin is a giant robot.

The Mashin.

is a giant robot.

Goddammit, Japan, you puntastic assholes. XD

[jcogginsa]

I think my pun skills are failing me here

[jcogginsa]

Oh God dammit I just got it XD

[tobiasdrake]

Yeah, they call them "Rune-God" in English according to the subtitles which is an accurate translation but one that ruins the joke.

魔 Ma = Magic, sorcery, demons, witchcraft 神 Shin = Gods, deities, spirits

"Rune-God" is an accurate translation. "Rune" is a little prosaic but they probably wanted to avoid saying that the "Magic Knights" must awaken the "Magic Gods". Bit redundant.

But no matter how you translate it, you ruin the joke: 魔神 Mashin is a homonym of the loanword マシン Mashin, taken from the English "Machine".

[dalniente]

it is honestly amazing how much of writing and editing is just. logistics. like... do i use a name here or a pronoun? if i move this dialogue tag to the middle of this line and break it in half, does the end of the line hit harder that way? what if i move the tag to the front? what if i remove it entirely? ...wait, whose point of view am i in; can i reasonably say this character is appalled, or must i say they look or seem or sound appalled? is this a deliberate action or a step-removed one; is her hand closing on his shoulder, or is she closing her hand on his shoulder? environment environment environment, we need to break all this dialogue up with some narration, the scene is coming untethered. what! are! they doing! with! the rest of their bodies that are not hands! fuck fuck fuck FUCK i forgot we covered this two chapters ago and now i either need to cut this whole chunk or find a reason to reprise the conversation from earlier. name or pronoun? name or pronoun? name or pronoun? move this clause around in this sentence? oh i'll add this phrase-- nope, never mind, past!me added the same phrase two lines down. okay, if i add too much environmental narration it's going to take away from this bit, but not enough and it won't feel grounded. what if i move this to its own line? where the FUCK are their hands?

[angelumcaedis]

couldn’t not preserve this tag @spottedenchants

[ironmyrmidon]

Two figures arguing on my shoulders, except instead of an angel and a devil, it's an architect and an engineer.

[lesbianmarrow]

free use is kind of a funny kink bc it relies on the idea that everybody wants to touch you and have sex with you but what if they don't. what if you tell everybody at the party you're free use but they all ignore you and mind their own business

[adamtotscomix]

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Tamers 10 - Renamon is My Friend! Ruki's Hesitation / The Icemon Cometh

Previously on Digimon Tamers: Guilmon tried to grow up too fast but it just made everything awkward and uncomfortable for everyone.

Now it's time for a Ruki Episode. Let's all be normal and fine about this.

RUKI EPISODE RUKI EPISODE RUKI EPISODE RUKI EPISODE

We open with the Hypnos crew tracking something coming through. A Tracer is already deployed but as it approaches the mark, it encounters a strange field of floating ice crystals.

Redhead: Wh-What is this? I've never seen anything like it. Yamaki: It seems to be trying to Realize not only itself, but also the environment around it. Redhead: Is that even possible?

Suddenly, a freeze blast destroys the Tracer and the viewscreen plays nothing but static. Yamaki and Redhead exchange silent looks.

Whatever's happening here, it's clearly not as simple as a Wild One. It's carrying a chunk of the Digital World with it across the boundary, and it's alert enough to notice and destroy the Tracer long before they ever even get into range for a visual.

This is going to get ugly.

On that note, I still find it really interesting the way Evilmon never even tripped their radar. I think it's because Culumon's sigil opened something from our side, so Evilmon just passed straight across rather than having to go through the process of Realizing.

In the dub:

Riley: It's a Wild One but I've never seen anything like it. Yamaki: It's trying to Bio-Emerge. I don't know what it's bringing along but it's bigger than a breadbox. Riley: Unbelievable! (Tracer destroyed) Riley: ...sir, it succeeded.

Riley calls it a Wild One but I don't think that's correct. They don't use that terminology in the original, and what we're going to see from this Digimon is a fully self-aware, thinking, intelligent creature. So this is probably a true Digimon coming through, not a Wild One.

The dub, however, has no such distinction. All Wild Ones are treated as self-aware, thinking, intelligent creatures, and the term is reduced to just a cool fantasy term for any sort of Digimon. So she's not wrong in this version.

Her line, however, pulls attention away from the ice field and towards the Digimon itself when she says "i've never seen anything like it." As if what's unusual here is the Digimon. They're exceptionally powerful or something. Which is valid; They are exceptionally powerful.

Yamaki's follow-up line also downplays the ice field with snark.

But the focus here is supposed to be on the ice field. The ice field is what Hypnos has never seen anything like. They've never seen a chunk of the Digital World itself cross over and Realize into our world. But that's what this Digimon is doing; They're bringing part of their world with them.

Riley gets an extra line at the end to say that the Digimon has succeeded in Bio-Emerging, but that's not what happened there. What happened is that the Digimon destroyed the Tracer. That said, at what point this particular Digimon can be considered to "Realize" or "Bio-Emerge" is honestly pretty ambiguous, so it still works.

After the Title Card, we find Ruki walking down the street with her headphones on while she thinks about evolution.

She flashes back on Guilmon's evolution into Growmon.

Takato: GUILMOOOOOON!!! (Guilmon evolves into Growmon; End Flashback) Ruki: A Digimon with very little exprience and that had not Loaded any data was able to evolve. ...come to think of it, there was also that other time.... (Flashback to Terriermon's evolution) Jianliang: Terriermon! (Terriermon evolves into Galgomon; End Flashback) Ruki: And even in my case.... (Flashback to Renamon's evolution) Ruki: RENAMON!!! (Renamon evolves into Kyūbimon; End Flashback) Ruki: I thought they evolved by growing stronger. But....

Then she flashes back on last episode in Central Park, watching the rain wash away Growmon's camouflage.

Ruki: What even is evolution?

That seems to be the big question on everybody's minds right now.

In the dub:

Rika: (thinking) Digivolving... I don't understand it. (Flashback to Guilmon's Digivolution) Takato: GUILMOOOOOON!!! (Guilmon Digivolves to Growlmon, End Flashback) Rika: I've seen hamsters with more battle experience than Guilmon but still, he could Digivolve. And so could that weenie little rabbit. (Flashback to Terriermon's Digivolution) Henry: NO!!! (Terriermon Digivolves to Gargomon, End Flashback) Rika: And when it happened to Renamon.... (Flashback to Renamon's Digivolution) Renamon: Please... go.... Rika: RENAMOOOOOON!!! (Renamon Digivolves to Kyubimon, End Flashback) Rika: It's what I've wanted for the longest time; I should be satisfied. Still.... (Flashback to rain in the park, then back to Rika) Rika: I feel like there's something I'm missing.

Both Ruki and Rika bring up Guilmon's inexperience but Ruki also brings up the fact that he's never Loaded data from a slain Digimon before. That, specifically, is going to be thematically relevant to things to come so it's worth introducing here; Guilmon isn't on Renamon's level.

But Rika leaves it out.

For Ruki, the whole purpose of this stroll down memory lane is because even though Renamon evolved that one time, the whole concept of evolution is eluding her. She's mulling over the three evolutions she's witnessed to try and make sense of why they happened and how they contradict her understanding of evolution.

But Rika's a few steps behind. She doesn't really know why she's even thinking about this at all. She's confused by her own inability to just take her victory lap and wash her hands of it. Haunted by something, but not able to put a finger on why it's all bothering her the way Ruki has.

Suddenly, a shadow passes beneath Ruki's feet. She's isolated in a strange space where the air looks like frosted glass, similar to the eerie extradimensional space she talked to Renamon in back in episode 3.

Ruki: Ah!

Ruki realizes what's happening right as an ominous white hand the size of her body reaches up to grasp her. But when she whips around, the space collapses and there's nothing there.

Ruki stares behind her at the ordinary sidewalk adjoining an ordinary street for a couple seconds. Then, when she turns back around, she's suddenly startled by a presence!

Ruki: Whoa! Culumon: Culu?

But it's just Culumon.

Meanwhile, Impmon peeks through the balcony door of the Lee Residence, watching Jianliang and Terriermon read books on the couch together.

Impmon: Oh, that's so gross! Digimon who live with humans start acting like they're human too! I can't believe this!

I mean, you're the one creeping around spying on them, my guy. Who's more foolish? The fool, or the person who has nothing better to do than keep up with every update in the fool's life?

In the dub:

(Big shadow) Rika: Ah!? (Claw appears, then fades when she turns around) Rika: Ah... What was that!?

The dub uses this eerie claw incident as their cliffhanger to go to first commercial break. Rika unpacks it for us on our return.

Rika: (thinking) That's weird. I could have sworn I felt something. (Rika turns and sees Calumon) Calumon: Hhhhiiiiiii, ahaha.... (Cut to Henry's place) Impmon: Nyegh.... Some Digimon are so stupid it hurts. They hang out with humans so much, they start acting like them. It makes my fur stand up. Have they no pride!?

Calumon's "hi" is a little weirdly drawn out but this is otherwise solid.

Ruki continues her walk with Culumon cheerfully trailing along behind her.

Suddenly, Ruki stops in front of a set of advertisements her mother modeled for which feature the English words "We love Marines" on them. She turns around to face Culumon.

Ruki: That's enough. Stop following me! Culumon: Cululululu? Ruki: ... Culumon: Culu? Ruki: ...

Taking Ruki's silence as invitation, Culumon bounds forward and leaps into her arms.

Ruki: Wh-What are you doing!? Culumon: Cululu! Mom: Ruki-chan! Ruki: Huh?

Ruki turns to see her mom running down the sidewalk, absolutely thrilled to see her.

Ruki: Wh-What are you doing here? Mom: What do you mean? OHHH, you mean because of today's photoshoot? Apparently it's tomorrow! I was waiting around and nobody showed up, so I called the office and they said they'd already told me about the date change. So I checked my planner and they were right, it was there, but I don't remember ever writing it!

While Mom explains the day she's having, Ruki slowly backs away. Behind them both, a crowd of people has gathered; They say nothing, but they keep looking from the advertisement to Ruki's mom and back, clearly making the connection.

Ruki tries to mumble out an excuse to leave.

Ruki: Uh, my friends and I are-- Mom: Hey, Ruki-chan? Ruki: Huh?

Mom points to Culumon, who Ruki's been clutching in her arms this whole time.

Mom: I didn't know you liked that stuff too! Ruki: Huh?

Ruki looks down at Culumon in her arms.

Ruki: ( ≖_≖) Why are you here!?

Mom's "too" is a little tricky to translate because in English it can have dual meanings. She's talking about the cute little stuffed animal that she thinks Culumon is.

-> I didn't know you enjoy cute plushies in addition to your other interests! -> I didn't know you, like me, enjoy cute plushies!

But in the Japanese sentence her も mo, which is the "in addition" modifier, is applied to the name Ruki-chan. Ruki-chan is what is being added to the list of things, so the meaning is clearly the second.

Mom is excited because she thinks she has a shared interest that she can bond with Ruki over. But it is, tragically, a miscommunication because Ruki was so startled by Mom's appearance that she just plain forgot she was holding Culumon.

She's also clearly a bit scatterbrained which, as a neurodivergent person, you know. Felt.

In the dub:

Rika: I don't have any food, so why are you following me!? Calumon: Wanna play? Rika: ... Calumon: Huuuuuh? Rika: ... Calumon: Here I go! (Calumon bounds into Rika's arms) Calumon: Hahahahaha! Rika: What are you doing!? Calumon: Eskimo kisses! Mom: Rika! Rika: Huh!? (Mom runs to Rika) Rika: Mom, what are you doing here!? Mom: What a day! Ugh! We had a photoshoot but before we could start, all these people showed up wanting my autograph, asking me the secrets of my youthful good looks, they just wouldn't leave me alone! We couldn't get anything done all day! Being famous and popular can be a pain in the neck. You are so lucky you don't know how that feels. Rika: Yeah, lucky me. Well, gotta go-- Mom: Wait! Rika: Huh? Mom: Rika, I think your toy is just adorable! (Rika notices Calumon) Rika: ( ≖_≖) You had to be cute, didn't you?

Mom's story is changed from a neurodivergent whoopsy-doodle to a self-aggrandizing anecdote about how she's so popular and beloved that it interferes with her work. This fails to answer Rika's question of why she is physically here on this sidewalk right now instead of at work doing said photoshoot.

Mom does not mistake Calumon for an opportunity to bond with her daughter; She merely compliments Rika's taste in plushies. This misses an important mark, which is Mom misunderstanding Ruki based on visible aesthetic qualities. We're going to get into that later.

Rika's bitter remark to Calumon does not imply that she found her mom's presence so distracting that she forgot he was there; She's just bitter about his adorableness.

This is, again, an important thematic detail. Culumon imposed themself on Ruki, misinterpreting themself as welcome without heeding her opinion on the matter. Which then created further misunderstanding of Ruki from her mom.

But the dub doesn't quite pick up on that, so Mom and Rika both just say Calumon's pretty cute.

Cut to Hanazono Shrine, according to the sign out front.

This shrine is another real-world landmark, allowing us to place Ruki's precise location. MAP TIME!!!

This is the map from Episode 5. The blue district is Kakurazaka. The red circle is Yodobashi Elementary School. The green circle is Shinjuku Central Park, with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building on its east side and Takumi's home somewhere on its west side.

I've added a pink splotch to one of the kanji for the Shinjuku City label, which is covering up the location of Hanazono Shrine.

The shrine is dedicated to Inari-Ōkami. There are hundreds of kami in Shinto but to be called 大神 ōkami or Great Spirit means this is one of the big deal kami. Like the difference between Momus, Greek God of Satire, and Poseidon, Greek God of the Ocean.

Inari is the genderfluid patron deity of a variety of things. Rice, agriculture, commerce, etc. But the most pressing, and likely the reason Hanazono was chosen for the location of this scene, is that Inari is the god of the kitsune, Japan's mystical foxes. This is the shrine of Renamon's god.

We open this scene on some heresy, as Impmon shoots a fireball at a group of crows resting on the shrine's torii, the large wooden gate that marks the entryway into a sacred space. His shot hits the nameplate hanging from the torii, causing the crows to scatter.

Impmon: KEH!!! It was just a little scare! You didn't all have to fly away like that! Blegh, is there anything fun to do around here?

Inside, Ruki is saying a forceful goodbye to Culumon.

Ruki: ( ≖_≖) Don't ever cling to me like that again. Got it? Culumon: (•᷄- •᷅ ;) Culuuuu....

Culumon shrinks away from the sternness of Ruki's glare. Then they turn around and jog away down the path leading off to the side, reciting their step-step-step onomatopoeia as they go.

Culumon: Teku teku teku teku teku teku teku teku... Ruki: (calling after) Do you understand!?

Culumon does not respond. Little shit. XD

Suddenly, a wall of fog reminiscent of a Digital Field crosses into physical space behind Ruki, just in front of the shrine's offering box. A pair of hands extend out from it, reaching for her. Ruki can feel the presence behind her.

Ruki: (fearful) Renamon?

But when she turns around, the presence is gone again.

Again, Culumon's lack of response to Ruki is thematically relevant. Yes, this is a very dense episode. Ruki tells Culumon what she wants and it's not clear if Culumon hears her or cares. Culumon got what they wanted from her and now they blow her off when she tries to express her own feelings.

No one cares what Ruki thinks.

In the dub:

Impmon: BADABOOM!!! (Impmon blasts the shrine's sign; Birds scatter) Impmon: NYEH, FIGHT BACK, YOU COWARDS!!! I guess my firepower's just too much for you, huh? I'll have to wreak havoc elsewhere! (Impmon enters; Cut to Rika and Calumon) Rika: ( ≖_≖) Listen, you little squirt. I'm immune to your ootsy-cutesy act. So scram! Calumon: (•᷄- •᷅ ;) Ooogh.... (Calumon runs off) Calumon: ( ;_;) Wahhhh ahh ahh ahh ahhh.... Rika: Keep going, shorty! (Claws emerge from between realities, reaching for Rika) Rika: (fearful) Renamon?

In the original, Culumon doesn't acknowledge what Ruki said. They shrink away from her harsh words, but then turn around and cheerfully run off to go play elsewhere. This leaves Ruki comically baffled about whether her harsh instructions were received or not.

In the dub, Calumon very much understood Rika's harsh words and runs off crying. Which breaks the thematic point of Culumon disregarding her feelings and leaving her emotionally isolated.

Over by a tree in the opposite distance from where the claws emerged, Renamon appears, sensing Ruki's distress.

Renamon: What is it? Ruki: Just now... Where were you? Renamon: On top of that building over there. Ruki: (worried) Oh.... Renamon: What's wrong? You look unwell. Ruki: (snaps) It's nothing!

Ruki turns and leaves the shrine. Renamon takes a few steps towards her but, then notices another presence there in the shrine with them. Impmon steps out to greet Renamon.

Impmon: Well, well, well. We meet again. Renamon: Oh, it's just you.

Paying Impmon no heed, Renamon turns to follow Ruki out of the shrine.

Impmon: HEY, WHAT THE HELL!!! DON'T BE LIKE THAT!!! Impmon: ( ≖‿≖) Ooh, but there's a good idea. It would be so much fun to get them to fight Terriermon!

After a little consideration, Impmon calls out to Renamon again.

Impmon: ( ^_^) As a matter of fact, I've brought a message from Terriermon. He wants to challenge you to a battle! Renamon: Hmph. Impmon: WHAT DO YOU MEAN, "HMPH"!?!? Renamon: Terriermon doesn't fight. Impmon: ( °⌓°) Huh? Why not? Renamon: His Tamer won't let him.

Renamon walks away, leaving Impmon to process this revelation.

Impmon: WHAAAAAA??? That's the saddest thing ever! He's not even a Digimon anymore. He's just a pet. Digimon status revoked. Impmon: ( ≖‿≖) ...oh, but hang on. If Terriermon's unwilling to fight, then I can just go take him out myself! Oh, I just got some GOOD INFO!!!

Screw Renamon vs Terriermon; We're about to get Impmon vs Terriermon instead! This is going to be AMAZING!!!

In the dub:

Renamon: You called? Rika: Where have you been!? Renamon: Watching you from over there. Rika: (worried) Oh.... Renamon: You don't look well. Rika, is there something troubling you? Rika: Hm? N-Nothing... I'm fine. (Rika walks away, Renamon senses presence, Impmon approaches) Renamon: Huh? Ugh. Impmon: Hey, Fine n' Foxy! So we meet again! Renamon: Oh, it's just you. (Renamon walks away) Impmon: Whaddya mean, "just me"!? COME BACK HERE!!! Impmon: ( ≖‿≖) Oh, check out Miss High and Mighty. Maybe a good fight'll knock her off her perch. Impmon: ( ^_^) Hey! I heard Terriermon call you a fat-tailed bully! If I were you, I'd teach that egg-shaped loudmouth a lesson! Renamon: Ha! Impmon: DYAUGH!!! WHAT!?!? YOU'RE GONNA LET HIM GET AWAY WITH THAT!?!? Renamon: Terriermon won't fight. Impmon: ( °⌓°) Huh? Why not? Renamon: His Tamer has forbidden it. Impmon: HUH!?!? Wha... What kind of Digimon doesn't fight? Those rotten humans; They've made him a pet, a Digi-Poodle! Impmon: ( ≖‿≖) But if Terriermon can't fight back, then I can whoop his doughty patootie, steal his lunch, and get away without a scratch! Think of the possibilities!

When Ruki asks where Renamon was, her voice is neutral and analytical. She's trying to confirm if the presence she felt behind her was Renamon or not.

When Rika asks, her voice is frantic and angry. She's upset that Renamon didn't intervene in whatever that was just now.

In the original, Impmon lies and says Terriermon's issued a formal challenge to Renamon. They're to meet at a specified place at a specified time so that Terriermon can fight her. Renamon cuts through this obvious lie by pointing out that Terriermon doesn't fight, so that's frankly unbelievable for him to have done.

In the dub, Impmon lies and says Terriermon was talking shit about Renamon behind her back, and she should go fuck him up. Renamon still undercuts this by pointing out that Terriermon doesn't fight, but. Like. That's not really relevant to the topic at hand.

Impmon isn't saying you should go fight Terriermon in a formal duel, Renamon; He's saying you should grip Terriermon by the ears and pummel his face like a punching bag until he cries and apologizes. It takes two to brawl but paying someone a beating can totally be a single-player affair.

I guess Renamon's just too honorable to force a fight onto an unwilling participant. Which kinda feels like it contradicts the Guilmon fights but actually Guilmon was ready and willing to throw down; It was just Takato who didn't want to.

Lastly, in the original, Impmon realizing he can 直接やっつけ chokusetsu yattsuke, "eliminate him by my own action", again speaks to Impmon's overarching but cryptic malicious intentions. He was trying to get Terriermon killed by pitting Renamon against him, but now realizes nothing's stopping him from killing Terriermon himself.

Which suggests to me that the earlier popped fireball and statement that he wishes he was allowed to fight Renamon was bluster. What's stopping him from killing Renamon himself is that he'd lose that fight and he knows it. He's a weak little bully and Renamon's signature attack consistently erases Digimon a level beyond them. Impmon would die immediately if they threw hands.

It's curious that Impmon's ultimate agenda seems to be the deaths of our protagonist Digimon. Not for simple reasons of wanting to defeat them and Load their data either; as long as they're killed, he's fine working through proxies like Devidramon or, just now, attempted Renamon. For one reason or another, he's just supposed to get them killed somehow?

I'm getting shades of the PicoDevimon sub-arc from Impmon. He's clearly too much of a weenie to be acting on his own agenda. But what is the game here?

In the dub, Impmon's malicious intentions are downplayed to simple bullying for fun.

Moving to Ruki's home, her mother's excited voice rings through the house.

Mom: ( ≧▽≦) How about this one? Isn't it SO CUTE???

The Makino family are all together for once. Grandma Seiko is taking tea while Mom, inspired by the earlier encounter with Culumon, tries to get Ruki to try on cute clothes. She holds up a yellow dress with teddy bear patterning, since she now knows her daughter likes plushies so much.

Mom: Hey, try this one on! Ruki: Ugh, seriously? Don't you know I hate stuff like this? Mom: Then what was with that cute stuffed animal you had earlier? Ruki: That was... Well... This weird tissue-pack marketer just handed it to me! That's all! Mom: Oh? Ruki: And I already threw it out!

The sound of a door opening and retreating footsteps indicates that Ruki's stormed out of the room, leaving her disappointed mother holding the dress.

Mom: ( ._.) Oh, that's all that was. Seiko: ( ^_^) I told you people's interests don't change so easily. You're the same way. Mom: I am?

Mom, now trying out how the dress looks on herself in front of the vanity mirror, is a little stunned to hear that.

I feel for both Mom and Ruki here. Mom was so sure she had something she could connect with Ruki over only to be met with bitter disappointment.

And for Ruki, this is just sheer microaggression from a mother who means well but doesn't understand her. Mom didn't ask if Ruki likes cute things, didn't question the way it contradicts what she does know about Ruki. She saw Culumon and she leapt to the interpretation of Ruki that she wanted to make, because it would be convenient for her if it were true.

As an aside, the tissue-pack marketer that Ruki's talking about is an advertising job in Japan. People hand out free promotional packages of tissues with the company logo or branding on them. According to Ruki's fake story, one of these guys was super weird and handed her this strange stuffed animal, and that's what her mom saw her carrying.

In the dub:

Mom: Well, what about this dress with the lacey sleeves? Or this one!? (Mom holds up the teddy bear dress) Mom: Try it! It'll make you look more like a girl! Rika: Am I being punished for something? I told you before, I can't stand cute things like this! Mom: Uh... Well, what about that stuffed toy I saw you holding? Rika: That was for a science project. We... had to measure the effects of gravity on small objects, so I threw it off a bridge! Mom: Aww.... Rika: I'm outta here! (Retreating footsteps) Mom: ...well, I guess she's still into tomboy chique. Huh. Grandma: Rika just has her own style, that's all. Honestly, dear, there are more important things in life than looking pretty! (Mom tries out teddy bear dress in the mirror) Mom: Really? Like what?

Dub Mom takes Original Mom's accidental microaggression and ups the ante with a regular microaggression on top of it.

Tissue packet ad distributors aren't a thing in the U.S., so the dub has to invent their own excuse for Rika.

In the original, Seiko saw this coming and tried to warn Mom beforehand, but Mom was caught up in her neurodivergent excitement. She jovially ribs Mom about it afterward, while also suggesting that the apple doesn't fall so far from the tree as it may appear to Mom right now.

Mom and Ruki have different interests, but they share the same stubborn, single-minded fixation on what matters to them.

In the dub, Grandma just scolds Mom for being shallow and caring too much about beauty. I've had my reservations on the dub's handling of Rika's mom and now I'm pretty confident that they're Mimi-ing her.

Tachikawa Mimi was a character from Adventure designed to be the relatable Everychild. A ten-year-old Isekai'd into a bad situation who reacts like an actual child and not a shonen hero. She screams, she cries, she panics. People she knew die in front of her and she can't just get over it right away like the others. She has a very hard mountain to climb to reach the "battle anime hero" role they all need to occupy at the end because of it.

And Dub Team hated her. The dub's take on her was that she's a spoiled little brat. She was rewritten as a pampered rich girl who expects to be waited on hand and foot, and like a third of the jokes in the first Adventure show are just characters making sarcastic remarks about how she's insufferable and no one can stand being around her.

Between episode 6 and this, I think they're doing that to Rika's mom too. The dub just sees Rika's Mom as the villain of their relationship. This is another scene that's about how everyone in Ruki's life is imposing their own ideas, their own interpretations upon her, and the dub's takeaway is "God, fashionistas are the fucking worst, aren't they?"

The Digimon dubs are pretty misogynistic towards girly-girl characters.

Ruki withdraws towards her room. But as she moves through the house, a strange ripple in the reality follows her.

Suddenly, Ruki feels a chill. A looming ghostly figure partly manifests, coming for her from behind. Ruki quickly jumps inside her room and shuts the door, breathing hard from terror.

Ruki: (afraid) Renamon!

Renamon appears in the corner of the room.

Renamon: What's wrong, Ruki? Ruki: Go check the hall. Renamon: The hall?

Renamon slides the door open and very briefly pokes their head into the hall, then pops back inside.

Ruki: It was there, wasn't it? Renamon: No. Ruki: You're wrong! I'm certain something was there! Renamon: ... Ruki: Why are you looking at me like that? Renamon: Don't worry. I will protect you, Ruki. Ruki: Don't give me that attitude! Who do you think you are, anyway!? Renamon: I'm your Partner.... Ruki: Partner!? You're nothing but a Digimon! How could you be my Partner!? Renamon: ( °⌓°) Ruki: ( °⌓°) Renamon: ... Ruki: (softly) ...I'm going out. You don't have to follow me.

Ruki fucked up. You can tell she didn't really mean to say that by the way Ruki's as stunned as Renamon at the words that came out of her mouth. Her anger fractures as she realizes what she just said, and she removes herself from the situation immediately to go think.

Ruki's high-strung right now. She's under a lot of stress about whatever that thing was and also what just happened with her mom, with Culumon... Her whole day, honestly.

Personally, I wonder if Renamon's line about protecting Ruki accidentally made her feel dysphoric. Right on the heels of "Wear this cute dress! I saw you liked that adorable plushie," Renamon says she'll protect Ruki as if Ruki were some helpless maiden that needed saving.

Which is not at all how Renamon meant it. Digimon protect their Partners. Terriermon and Guilmon would do the same for Jianliang and Takato. But in that moment, it was how Ruki took it because her mom's stuffed her head full of girly girly, be more girly.

(When poor Mom was just trying to bond with her daughter over a perceived shared interest. Miscommunications abound! Hedgehog quills EXTEND TO MAXIMUM)

But whatever it was, it probably wasn't actually about the furious words that came out of her mouth. Those were Ruki's quills speaking for her, lashing out at Renamon to protect her core from whatever really wounded her.

Now might be a good time to bring up that Ruki's name, which we saw spelled out in the title card, is 留姫 Ruki. It combines the two kanji 留 tome which means to stop, disable, desist, detain, restrain, etc. and 姫 hime, which means princess.

Her name is literally Captive Princess. From the moment of her birth, her life's trajectory was defined for her as a damsel in distress needing someone to come and save her. Disdain for her own fucking name may have contributed to her rebellious loner tomboy persona, and seems relevant to what just happened with Renamon.

But it's hard to say for sure because Ruki keeps her innermost self locked up under heavy security. Which is what this episode is about. Maybe I'm just imposing my own interpretation upon her. Take all that with a grain of salt, because Ruki's innermost self is a closely guarded secret right now.

In the dub, a whole bunch of eerie and monstrous sound effects just outside of Rika's door are added when she's gasping for breath; In the original, the room is silent but for her breathing.

Rika: (afraid) Renamon! (Renamon appears) Renamon: Yes, Rika? Rika: Did you not hear that? It sounded like industrial machinery ripping up the house right outside my door! Rika: Go and see what's out there, okay? Renamon: As you wish. Rika: Well, who was it!? Renamon: No one. Rika: Don't lie to me! I know something's out there! Renamon: ... Rika: What's that look for? Renamon: Don't worry. I'll do everything I can to protect you. Rika: You don't need to protect me! I don't know why you even say stuff like that! Renamon: Because, Rika, I'm your Partner. Rika: Let's get this straight! I don't buy all this stuff about Partners and feelings! Renamon: ( °⌓°) Rika: ( °⌓°) Renamon: ... Rika: I don't need you. I don't need anybody!

In the original, Ruki goes off. In a total overflowing meltdown, she disparages Renamon and Renamon's entire race for that matter, leaving both Partners stunned. Then, realizing she's gone too far, she quietly retreats from the conversation, needing space.

In the dub, Rika's outburst is dialed down a few notches. She says only that she doesn't believe in Partnerships, and this is somehow enough to cause the mutually stunned reaction shots from the both of them. Then Rika doubles down on the way out the door.

Rika is bitterly self-isolating while Ruki is fleeing from harsh sentiments she can't take back but knows were out of line.

I have some beef with how the dub handles Rika's parting words, but we'll get to that.

Meanwhile, Takato is trying to rehearse a stock animation for his Card Slash.

Holding up an Andromon card, he hoists the card and Digivice over his head and demonstrates a pose for Jianliang.

Takato: Here we go! "CARD SLASH!!! ANDROMON!!!" What do you think? Jianliang: (;;^_^) No good. Takato: (;;^_^) No good? Jianliang: Your strategy is more important than the pose.

Guilmon wanders by, following a butterfly.

Jianliang: Are you familiar with combos? Takato: That's when you use two or more cards in combination with each other, right? Jianliang: Depending on the combination, they can bring out surprising effects so you'd do well to learn about them. Takato: Aren't they hard to pull off, though?

You know, for someone who's against fighting, it's kinda weird that Jianliang has opinions on advanced battle strategy. He's talking about combinations like he and Terriermon are Card Slash combo aces but. Like. Why would they be? They don't fight except where absolutely necessary.

I have to assume he's just sharing TCG experience that may be applicable to Card Slashing. That would make sense.

In the dub:

Takato: Okay, here we go. DIGI-MODIFY!!! ACTIVATE!!! So how'd I do? Henry: (;;^_^) ...not bad. Takato: (;;^_^) Not bad? Henry: ...let's just work on strategies, okay? Have you heard of combos? Takato: Sure! I, uh... I think I have... That's when you use two or more cards at a time, right? Henry: Right. And if you use them in succession, you can get some pretty potent results. It's a good thing to keep in mind. Takato: Yeah, that and the other million things you've told me.

For once, Henry is actually more polite than Jianliang, poorly attempting to spare Takato's feelings about the pose. Jianliang basically just says, "No, you shouldn't be doing this at all. Focus on strategy instead."

Specifically, Jianliang says ダメ dame which means "That's useless, pointless, broken, hopeless, of no purpose or utility." Not that Takato's Card Slash pose is bad, but that dramatic posing isn't the skill he should be honing.

I feel you though, Takato. I too want you to get a dramatic Card Slash stock animation like everyone else has.

It's funny, though, that Dub Takato just says "ACTIVATE" for his Digi-Modify practice. I think calling Andromon's card just by name was too vague for them to figure out what he'd be "activating". An attack, certainly. But what attack?

Suddenly, Impmon pops out of a nearby tree. That's right, it's happening now!

Impmon: (singsong) TERRIERMON-CHAAA~AAAN!!! LET'S PLAAA~AAAY!!!" Jianliang: Ignore him. Terriermon: I know. Takato: Let's just leave. Guilmoooooon! Guilmon: Huh?

Guilmon is now lying on his back, entranced by the butterfly he's managed to get to land on his tail. But he sits up when called and comes over.

Impmon, however, is having none of their disrespect. He aggressively stomps on the branch he's standing on and challenges them.

Impmon: Hey! Assholes! If I'm pissing you off then COME AT ME!!!

No one cares. Guilmon joins the others and they take their leave, ignoring Impmon's antics.

Impmon is a bully, after all. And the usual bad advice given to children is to ignore bullies. I don't know if they say that in Japan but I heard it a lot growing up.

In the dub:

Impmon: Well, if it isn't the Dum-Dum Club. Did ya miss me boys!? Nyehehehehe.... Henry: Just ignore him. Terriermon: Easy for you to say; You can't smell him. Takato: Let's go. Guilmon, come on! Guilmon: Awww.... (Impmon stomps aggressively) Impmon: I just want to have a nice, friendly fight; Give you all a nice, friendly BUTT-KICKING!!!

In the original, Impmon only addresses his challenge to Terriermon. In the dub, he addresses it to everyone.

Impmon's last line feels a little too coy and playful for his aggro animation. His dialogue is at "Nyehehe, do you actually dare to challenge me?" but his animation is at "HIT ME, YOU COWARD".

When the boys continue to walk away, Impmon takes it as the confirmation he's looking for.

Impmon: ( ¬ᴗ¬) Renamon was right. And that means....

While the boys are walking away, Terriermon glances back at Impmon and audibly pouts, just a little. He wants to fight.

Terriermon: Mm.... Jianliang: Don't lay a hand on him. Terriermon: (annoyed) I know.... Impmon: TAKE THIS!!!

Suddenly, Impmon lobs a fireball at Terriermon.

Terriermon: PETIT TWISTER!!! Impmon: KYEGH!?!?

Terriermon's twister absorbs Impmon's fireball and blasts him out of the tree, launching him into the sky and out of our hair.

Jianliang: I just told you not to do that. Terriermon: ( ^_^) I never laid a hand on him!

Jianliang playfully bops Terriermon on the head.

Jianliang: Don't get smart with me.

That was AMAZING!!! Impmon got rolled so hard and it was perfect.

Impmon made an error in judgment. Renamon said "Terriermon is not allowed to fight." That's not the same as "Terriermon can't fight."

What Impmon didn't realize is that Terriermon is a rebellious little shit who doesn't agree with Jianliang's ideas and only humors him while looking for opportunities to have a little oopsie here or there. He's not a soft little pacifist; He's a beast on a leash.

It's true that Jianliang restrains him, but that doesn't mean shit when you give him an excuse to go off-chain.

In the dub:

Impmon: Renamon was right! He won't fight! Well, here's my chance to blast some SENSE into him! (Terriermon looks back) Terriermon: Hmm.... Henry: Terriermon, don't touch him. Terriermon: (annoyed) I know.... Impmon: BADABOOM!!! (Impmon fires at Terriermon) Terriermon: TERRIER TORNADO!!! Impmon: HWHAAGH!?!? (Terriermon blasts away Impmon) Henry: Terriermon, what did I just tell you? Terriermon: I didn't actually touch him, you know. (playful bop) Henry: You're incorrigible!

The dub indicates again that Impmon is only trying to "knock some sense into" Terriermon, suggesting he wants to hit Terriermon hard enough to convince him that fighting is good or something.

In the original, he's shooting to kill. As he said earlier, this is his chance to erase Terriermon from the world. If Terriermon won't fight, then Impmon can kill him himself, no proxy required.

The funny "Don't lay a hand on him" exchange is adapted 100% faithfully and it's great.

Okay, that's enough funny antics; Back to emotional trauma. As the sun begins to set, Renamon sits atop the roof and contemplates their struggles with Ruki.

Renamon: I don't understand Ruki. What can I do to better understand my human Partner? Should I behave like a human, as Terriermon does? Or....

That's Renamon's takeaway from the fight they just had. They know they accidentally triggered something in Ruki that made her snap like that, and they're blaming themself. They said something careless and touched a nerve. But they don't know what or why, and so they don't know how to avoid it happening again.

This mystery is, broadly, what this episode about. Not answering it, but rather the mystery itself. That Ruki has an inner life no one else has seen, and everyone keeps assuming things.

Culumon inviting themself into her arms. Her mom trying to dress her up because she saw her holding a plushie. And now that emotional meltdown that Renamon knows they triggered but doesn't comprehend how or why.

Nobody truly understands Makino Ruki. In part because she keeps her inner life private and has not made it available to be understood. Her quills are far too sharp for that.

In the dub:

Renamon: Terriermon and his Tamer... Their relationship is so different from mine and Rika's. I wonder... If I acted more human, would she accept me? Would she finally let me get close to her?

Dub Renamon's takeaway is that the more toned-down dub fight was caused by Rika not wanting to let Renamon into her heart. As Rika said, she doesn't "buy this stuff about Partners and feelings", and that's the only point of contention that happened between them.

This new takeaway is slightly different, but it positions their conflict in a different light. She's making it about herself, about receiving reciprocation for her affections and her efforts, instead of keeping focus on the question of who Rika really is.

This is the main thing the dub wants to talk about: Will Rika accept Renamon as her friend? Which. Like. That was already what episode 6 was about.

But where's Ruki while she's wondering all this?

We find Ruki walking through the subway. A helpful sign on the wall reads ESUTAN, which is probably meant to indicate the Isetan Department Store. It's a pretty major department store chain in east Asia which grew out of its flagship store in Shinjuku.

MAP TIME MAP TIME MAP TIIIIIIME!!!

...

...

...

She's directly across the street from Hanazono Shrine. I'm not doing a new map for that.

Why is she at the department store? Well, she's not. She's in Shinjuku Station, which is built into Isetan. Per the signs on the wall, Isetan is open 10:00 AM to 9:30 PM.

As she's walking through the hall, she suddenly feels an intense chill around her. The phantom that's been haunting her appears behind her, more defined than ever before. Ruki whips around.

Ruki: Who's there!?

But she sees only two salarymen behind her in the station tunnel.

Salaryman 1: Huh? Salaryman 2: Wha--?

Ruki's stunned for a moment. But then she sees the phantom retreating up a staircase definitely leading her into an obvious trap and gives chase.

Ruki: WAIT!!!

That's probably a bad idea.

In the dub:

Rika: What do you want!? Salaryman 1: Uh.... Salaryman 2: Nothing? (Rika spots the phantom) Rika: Get out of the way!

Ruki yells at the phantom to wait for her while Rika yells at the salarymen to move, both expressing her urgency in only slightly different ways.

Ruki follows the phantom up a flight of stairs into what I think is Isetan department store itself, currently closed off by a metal shutter.

Ruki: Where are you!? Come out!

She backs up against the shutter, glancing back at it a moment to confirm what it is before trusting her back to it fully. She looks up the stairs but sees no sign of whatever she's chasing. So she takes just a moment to stop and rest, leaning against the shutter.

But it's a trap. The fog comes through the shutter and the creature's arms emerge from the one direction she thought was safe. Before she knows what's happening, the creature's hands clap around her shoulders and mouth, silencing her from screaming.

The fog of this creature's Digital Field grows around Ruki, pulling her inside.

Digimon: Huhuhuhahahaahaha HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Then the fog dissipates and she's gone. And with that, we go to commercial.

Ruki's first mistake was chasing the specter without Renamon with her. Her second was trusting a wall to guard her back when up against something that can alter reality. But she probably didn't realize that it could do that.

She's in uncharted waters right now. She's only had to fight Wild Ones up to this point, save for that brief encounter with Evilmon that she missed most of the context for. This Digimon coming for her like this - not even hunting Renamon but coming for her, for Ruki - is a whole different ballgame from everything she's experienced as Renamon's Tamer.

She and Renamon go to them, entering Digital Fields that emerge to slay the Wild One inside. Digimon aren't supposed to come to her.

The closest parallel would be that moment when Galgomon trained his gun on her, and that was a brief scare that she doesn't seem to have dwelt on much since then. This... This is new.

In the dub:

Rika: Hey! I saw you, you creep! Now come out! Creep: ... (Rika stops to catch her breath and gets grabbed) Digimon: Huhuhuhahahaahaha HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

The dub takes its second commercial break here, with dialogue largely identical to the original.

Returning from commercial, we find Ruki shivering in a void of blue.

Ruki: So cold....

The Digimon emerges from the floor; An eerily white Devimon now fully Realized right along with whatever he was bringing from the Digital World. His wings fold around Ruki and lift her off the ground into an embrace that feels intimate and invasive, as he speaks to her in a breathy whisper.

Digimon: You prefer the cold, don't you? Ruki: (afraid) Who are you? A Digimon? Digimon: Yes. Ruki: Then this is a Digital Field? Digimon: That's right. Isn't this a lovely place? Perfectly suited to Ruki. Ruki: The perfect fit...? Digimon: Ruki can't stand lukewarm friendships and lukewarm Partnerships.

生ぬるい Namanurui means "lukewarm" in terms of temperature. But, as with the way both languages use "cold" to mean someone who's emotionally closed off and disinterested, namanurui also has a metaphorical meaning referring to a tepid or halfhearted emotional connection.

He's saying Ruki belongs in the cold because she has no use for halfhearted warmth from insincere relationships. We are shoulder-deep in an ocean of metaphor right now.

Ruki: Yeah.... Digimon: Ruki is cold to everyone because she wants to be strict with herself. Ruki: (tiny nod) Digimon: I know Ruki better than anyone else. Your Partner..... Ruki: Partner? Digimon: Yes, that's right. Ruki: Partner... Oh, you must mean Renamon. (Ruki looks away from the Digimon, into the distance) Ruki: Renamon....

That bit is where things get tricky, translation-wise. Because Japan doesn't use a lot of pronouns. They have them, they just don't always use them when the meaning of the idea being conveyed is (or at least seems) clear enough without.

The line is:

パートナーなんだから Pātonā nandakara.

Which literally translates to "Because Partner." That's all he felt needed to be said to fully express the idea that led into it. He's wrong. A pronoun would have been pretty helpful right about now.

What he means is, "Because I am your Partner," but what Ruki hears is "Because of your Partner", so she naturally assumes he's talking about Renamon. Despite the fight they just had, her mind instantly jumps to Renamon when she hears "Because Partner."

Then the two of them talk past each other for a moment because of the miscommunication.

Also, he just. He keeps using her name in every sentence, like he's just savoring how it rolls off his tongue.

It's not uncommon in Japanese to just use people's names in lieu of a second-person pronoun. In fact, second-person pronouns are often considered rude and should be used with great care. It's common to use someone's name instead. "Is Takato going to the park? Let me come with Takato!"

But he keeps saying it. Excessively. Ruki. Ruki. Ruki. Ruki. Given name instead of surname, with no honorific. An extremely personal and intimate way of addressing someone, such as you might do if you were close friends with that person. And he just. Keeps. Saying it.

He's just so creepy. Speaking of which?

Yep, we're talking about stalkers today. That's fun. Ruki is both the daughter of a celebrity and also a minor celebrity herself among her interest group, so it makes sense that she'd have to deal with something like this.

In addition to the emotional metaphor of the freezing temperature for Ruki's relationship with others, we also have the other metaphor of an adult man who's been following Ruki, finding an opportunity to corner her in an isolated area just outside of public space and abscond with her. And now saying parasocial shit like, "I'm the only one who understands you," to this child he's never met before.

He's not even a metaphor for a creepy stalker abducting a minor celebrity kid. He's just doing the thing. He is literally just the thing, but as a fantasy monster instead of a human.

In the dub:

Rika: It's so cold.... (Digimon emerges behind Rika and folds wings around her) Digimon: Welcome to my humble abode. Rika: Are you... a Digimon...? Digimon: Yes. Rika: So this is a Digital Field? Digimon: Exactly. Beautiful, isn't it? It suits you perfectly. Rika: It suits me? Digimon: The way you treat people. How you think. You're cold as ice. You have no time for warm, weak relationships. Rika: Yes.... Digimon: You always expect perfection from yourself and others. You demand it! Rika: (tiny nod) Digimon: I am the only one who understands you, Rika. That is why we're destined to become Partners! Rika: Partners? Us? Digimon: Yes. Rika: No, I can't. I... I already have a Partner. (Rika looks away) Rika: Renamon....

"Warm, weak relationships" is an attempt to try and make the metaphor from 生ぬるい namanurui work that doesn't quite work. We don't generally describe weak relationships as "warm" in English; That typically means loving and emotionally satisfying.

They do a pretty good job of navigating the tricky translation of "Because Partner", however. Overall, this is a really strong adaptation of the scene.

The most noticeable difference is that they put a reverb effect on the Digimon's voice to make him sound a little more like a monster and less like an adult man trying to seduce the ten-year-old celebrity locked up in his van. Which. He. Literally is.

But as far as his dialogue goes, Dub Team says "Yep, I guess we're doing this," and knuckles down. Good for them.

Back at the house, Renamon can feel Ruki's peril when Ruki calls out to them.

Renamon: Ruki! Where are you...?

Renamon leaps to her feet, looking out at the night-time cityscape. But Ruki's harsh words play over in her mind.

Ruki: You're nothing but a Digimon! How could you be my Partner!?

Renamon hesitates.

Back in the Digital Field, Ruki calls out quietly to her again.

Ruki: Renamon....

She reaches for her Digivice. Her captor places his hand over hers and gently corrects the miscommunication by applying a pronoun.

Digimon: I am your Partner. Ruki: You? Digimon: That's right. Ruki only wants a strong Partner! Behold my strength!

The Digimon spreads his wings and the space lights up, revealing them to be in a frozen cavern filled with stalagmites and stalactites. And inside each is the corpse of a slain Digimon, their faces frozen in the terror of their final moments.

Cut to outside the Isetan building, where we see the full extent of the Digital World chunk he's brought with him: A colossal ice structure fused to the roof of the building. Both Digimon and Digital World chunk have Realized into our world.

Among the victims, I count:

-> Gotsumon -> Floramon -> Mushmon -> Kiwimon -> Gizamon -> Pumpmon

As well as one Digimon to the left of Mushmon that I can't make out the identity of. There's also many, many more who are only visible in silhouette.

Of the identifiable ones, it's mostly Child Digimon, but Kiwimon is an Adult and Pumpmon is a Perfect so it's not like he's preying exclusively on the weak either. This guy is no Impmon. Though he does seem to have an uncomfortable predilection for child-sized Digimon.

I wonder if that's a subtle statement on the kind of predator that he represents.

As an aside, his first-person pronoun is 私 watashi, the gender-neutral pronoun for formal speech. The same one Renamon and Yamaki use.

In the dub:

Renamon: Rika! Where are you? (Renamon jumps to her feet, then remembers) Rika: I don't need you. I don't need anybody! Renamon: Rika.... (Cut to the Digital Field) Rika: What have I done...? (Rika reaches for her Digivice; Digimon puts a hand over hers) Digimon: I want to show you something. Rika: What is it? Digimon: To prove I'm worthy to be your Partner, I've set up a little show and tell so you can see my power for yourself. (Digimon shows off the frozen corpses)

This is where my beef with how the dub ended the argument between Rika and Renamon comes into play.

Ruki visibly regretted her words the moment they left her mouth. She was as shocked as Renamon and she quietly fled the conversation moments later.

Rika was given a less harsh sentiment to express than "Fuck you and your race", but she also doubled down on it at the end. She told Renamon, "I don't need you!" and only now does she regret saying that because, physically, she needs Renamon to come save her.

Right here as her life is placed in danger is a terrible time to have a character suddenly decide they regret their past decision. Because now it sounds insincere. It comes off like she regrets being mean for pragmatic reasons, and not because she actually cares about Renamon.

You can still read between the lines with regard to "I don't need anyone." Her delivery on it makes it come off insincere in and of itself, like it's the lie she's telling herself because she wants to believe it moreso than a genuine core value of hers.

But casting her regret in this moment as her realizing she's made a tactical error presents her more selfishly than I think was intended. She should regret what she said for more reasons than because a frosty Devimon has cornered her.

If they wanted her to double down then I think it would have been good to give Rika a line of inner monologue when she was walking in the subway. Something to the effect of, "Oh, why did I say that to Renamon? She must hate me now...." To show that she already felt bad about it before this moment.

Outside the Isetan building, Culumon notices the new ice cavern feature.

Culumon: Culu...?

Then they notice Takato and Jianliang come running down the sidewalk with Guilmon and Terriermon.

Culumon: Culu! Culu culu!

Culumon follows them overhead as we return to Ruki and her captor once more, as he continues to show off his frozen trophies.

Digimon: I've fought and survived here where only the strong survive. For those who lack that strength, only an icy death awaits. Ruki: What is all this? Digimon: All the Digimon that I've consumed. Ruki: That's horrible.... Digimon: It's not horrible! It's for the sake of evolution. It's no different from what Ruki's been doing. Ruki: You're saying this is what it means to grow stronger and evolve? That what I made Renamon do is the same as all this!? ...it's heartless. Digimon: Just who are you accusing? Is it me? Or is it yourself, Ruki? Ruki: Would you stop with all this "Ruki Ruki" business!? Don't use my name like we're friends!

She breaks free from the Digimon's grip, then turns to confront him.

Ruki: And quit talking as if you understand me! That's ridiculous; You couldn't possibly understand how I feel!

Ruki's been given something heavy to chew on, but also fuck this guy.

As he talks, we see more of his victims.

-> Gekomon -> Ganimon/Crabmon -> Veggiemon -> Elecmon -> Gazimon

Three more Children and two more Adults but nothing truly impressive.

All of the Digimon that Renamon's killed have disintegrated into data upon death, so it didn't feel the same as having to see this graveyard of frozen corpses. His point, that Ruki and Renamon have done no differently than him, is well-taken.

This is the product of evolution by the methods that Ruki was trying to get Renamon to evolve from. This is where Ruki's belief system has led her. She can't really deny that but she's still grossed out by CreepyPervertmon's creepy pervert attitude.

This is the physical manifestation of the beliefs she's expressed. But as she proclaims, there is more to her than this. You don't know her inner life.

Nobody knows her inner life. That's precisely what Renamon was having such a hard time with on the roof earlier. Even Renamon doesn't know Ruki's inner life. And this guy definitely doesn't.

In the dub:

Calumon: Ooogh.... (Humans come running) Calumon: Hey, guys! Whatcha doin'? (Humans run past) Calumon: Wait for me!

Calumon is as clueless as ever. That's fair. Culumon only expresses themself in culu culu here, but Calumon's words match the expressions playing over Culumon's face and the tone of their culu culu pretty well.

Digimon: For years, I have hunted hundreds of Digimon and absorbed their data. They were friends to some. Maybe even Partners.... Rika: Ah! Digimon: But as you once said, they are merely stepping stones. Rika: I never said that. Digimon: Ah, but you did. I fight to Digivolve. You made your Digimon do the exact same thing. Rika: No, I couldn't see before but there's more to Digimon than fighting! I would eat dirt before I would ever let Renamon become what you are: A monster! Digimon: Better a powerful monster than a weak nobody. Is that what you really want? To be a nobody? Rika: I'll tell you what I don't want to be: The Partner of some freakshow Digimon! (Rika breaks free) Rika: You think you know everything about who I really am? Well, you don't! So just spit it out, Horn Head! What do you want!?

Fact check: Rika did, in fact, say that. Episode 3, to Takato about Renamon and Guilmon fighting.

"That is what Digimon do. They fight. And when they win, they get stronger. And when they get stronger, they Digivolve. You two are just our stepping stones."

Not only did she say it but she said it in exactly the context that's now being shoved in her face. Solid deployment of continuity there, Dub Team.

Dub Team has long had an issue with rushing the conclusion of character growth. This was most noticeable in Adventure 02 when the dub cast forgave Ken like 87 times before the original Japanese show finally let them let him be redeemed. They started trying to forgive him before he even stopped being the Digimon Emperor!

We saw this for Rika in the Kyubimon episode too, when Dub Team tried to sneak in an extra Lesson Learned about how there's more to Digimon than just winning fights. Basically the same thing she's claiming to have learned just now.

The white Devimon gave Ruki a fuckload of shit to chew on. So much so that she won't be done chewing on it by the end of this episode. But Rika has no intention of chewing on it. He says to her, "This field of corpses is the same as what you've done," and she exclaims in very awkward dialogue, "I immediately repent everything!"

This comes across a little insincere because of how suddenly she declares it. She lies and claims she never said what the Digimon quoted her on, then instantly and effortlessly flips her whole philosophy on Digimon fighting just to be contrarian to him.

It doesn't sound like she's really internalizing the message here or being candid about her beliefs. It just sounds like she's denying. Sliding into whatever ideological position she would need to occupy in order to reject what he's saying.

As an aside, she also demands that he "spit it out" and explain his intentions but he's already clearly stated that he wants to be her Partner. This is an audition. She even acknowledges his intentions right before demanding to know his intentions.

"I will never agree to be your Partner; Now what do you want from me!?" To be his Partner. Was that not clear?

In the face of Ruki's rejection, the white Devimon chuckles.

Digimon: Heh. I thought this would go more easily, but it seems I was wrong. Then again, that attitude is the best thing about you. I like you more and more with each moment. You're the only person suited to me as a Tamer! Be my Tamer! Ruki: Who the hell do you think you are!?

The white Devimon grabs hold of Ruki's wrist, physically manhandling her while he pleads for her attention.

Digimon: All I want is to become stronger. Ruki wants to remain a strong Digimon Tamer! It makes perfect sense. Ruki: No!

StalkerCreepmon is so fucking handsy, even when Ruki tells him to fuck off. I guess he wouldn't be StalkerCreepmon if he respected her personal space.

In any case, we at least have a solid impression of what this guy's about and why he's so unlike the Wild Ones that typically Realize. This is a genuine Digimon. One of the Digimon clamoring for the Digimon Queen to become their Tamer in her flashback before, before Renamon stepped up to take the position of Ruki's Partner.

He didn't just go away when Renamon took the position. He remained, admiring Ruki from a distance until he was ready to prove his worth and supplant Renamon. Watching her and learning how to mold himself into what he thinks is the Digimon she would want.

A reflection of her external presentation, of the things she's said and done through the course of the series up to this point. A stranger who doesn't know her inner life, who thinks he can just insert himself into her life and seize her feelings by "fitting the mold" of the mon who's "right for her".

The worst possible version of someone imposing their own interpretation upon her.

In the dub:

Digimon: Ah, you have no idea how exquisite you are when you're angry. I've been searching so long for someone like you, with a heart of ice and a will of stone. And now my search is over. I want you to be my Tamer! Rika: In your dreams, pal! (Digimon grabs Rika's arm) Digimon: Don't play hard to get. You want to be the strongest Digimon Tamer. I want to be the strongest Digimon. We're perfect for each other. Rika: Never!

I have my reservations about how they're handling Rika but Dub Team understood the assignment here with regard to StalkerCreepmon. He's pretty much perfect. I love how slimy it is when he accuses her of "playing hard to get". Eugh. So gross.

Too bad it's all downhill from here for him.

The white Devimon chuckles, deciding he's figured out why Ruki doesn't want to be with him. It must be because her heart belongs to another Digimon, and not at all because he's a weird fucking creep!

Digimon: Hehe... Are you worried about that one Digimon, "Renamon" or whatever their name is? In that case, you should call them here.

Ruki wrenches her arm free of the white Devimon's grasp and reaches for her Digivice, but hesitates.

Digimon: You don't need two Partners. Let's find out which of us is more worthy of being your Partner. Ruki: ( ≖_≖) .... Digimon: You won't call them? I see. Is it because you don't want to watch me vanquish Renamon? Ruki: No, you're wrong! Digimon: Then I'll call them here myself!

The white Devimon puts two fingers to his forehead and sends a beam of blue energy up into the sky, acting as a beacon for Renamon to investigate.

The ironic thing is that, again, this plays well to Ruki's outer shell but not her inner life. There's clearly a lot boiling beneath the surface in her relationships to her mom, to Renamon, and to her own loneliness. But the white Devimon is taking her at her word without looking any deeper.

And his proposal here? It's perfectly suited to her word. From the idea that Ruki only wants to be a strong Tamer with a strong Digimon and cares nothing for the emotional connection aspect, making two Digimon battle to the death and claiming the winner as hers makes perfect sense.

This is exactly what his Idea of Ruki, the version of her that lives in his head crafted by watching her from afar, would want him to do.

And yet, even when he has to pivot from watching her reject him, he still doesn't understand. He doesn't ask. He just decides for himself that he knows her feelings and why she's upset. And he's wrong.

In the dub:

Digimon: Heh, are you thinking of that pitiful excuse for a Digimon of yours? "Renamon", is it? (Rika breaks free and goes for Digivice, but hesitates) Digimon: You've never settled for second best before. Why start now? Why waste your time with Beauty when you can Tame the Beast? Rika: ( ≖_≖) .... Digimon: Go ahead. Summon her. Perhaps you'd prefer a live demonstration of who the superior Digimon is. Rika: No way! Digimon: Then I'll just have to call her myself!

The white Devimon presuming Ruki's intentions and missing the mark is dropped. Instead, they just emphasize the part where he wants to fight Renamon for the role of Rika's Partner.

It's funny that he accuses Rika of having "never settled for second best". One of the first things we ever learned about Ruki was that she took second place in a Digimon TCG tournament. But the dub rewrote that to Rika winning the whole thing, so his accusation is kinda true in a meta sense.

That Beauty and the Beast crack makes me wonder if this is where Disney's acquisition of the dub started? I know Disney takes over the show from Saban at some point during its airing, and that felt way too on-the-nose to be coincidence. Like when Ultron was quoting Pinocchio during Age of Ultron, after Disney bought out Marvel.

Takato and Jianliang reach the Isetan building, seeing the frozen cavern transplanted over its roof as well as the hazy distortion in the air around it.

Takato: Is that a Digital Field!? Jianliang: I think so. Let's get up to the roof!

Takato and Jianliang don their shades and go in. Once they reach the top, they enter into the white Devimon's frozen cavern.

Takato: What is this place? Jianliang: Ah! Look over there!

Jianliang points out the white Devimon, still restraining an angry and uncooperative Makino Ruki.

Terriermon scans him and Jianliang reads off his profile.

Jianliang: IceDevimon. Adult-level Fallen Angel-type Digimon.

Also he's a Virus, for what it's worth!

Like Fugamon, IceDevimon is another Digimon World recolor of an existing Digimon for broader enemy diversity. There's not really a lot to say about his background. He is frankly far more interesting right now as a character than he is as a Digimon.

In the dub:

Takato: This is it. Does anyone have any bright ideas? Henry: Just one: Let's try not to get ourselves creamed. (Takato and Henry enter the Digital Field) Takato: Who left the freezer on? Henry: Look! It's Rika! (They see the white Devimon with Rika; Terriermon scans) Henry: IceDevimon. Whoa... A Champion Fallen Angel Digimon!

The original dialogue reinforces that this giant ice construct is very unlike what we usually see from Digital Fields. We've heard that from Yamaki but now we get it from Takato and Jianliang too, who are also shocked by IceDevimon's domain intruding upon physical space.

In the dub, they just make quips.

While they're scanning him, IceDevimon notices the boys.

IceDevimon: The small fries are here. Takato: LET RUKI GO!!! IceDevimon: That's not going to happen. She is my Tamer! Takato: What's that supposed to mean? Ruki already has Renamon!

IceDevimon hunches down over Ruki as if talking more to her thant o Takato.

IceDevimon: (sultry) But I'm so much stronger than Renamon.... Ruki: Let go! Let go of me right now!

He genuinely does not give a fuck about Takato and Jianliang. So far as IceDevimon is concerned, this is between him and Ruki.

An interesting note is that he refers to her here as 彼女 kanojo, the third-person feminine pronoun. When he had her in a private and intimate setting, it was Ruki Ruki Ruki Ruki Ruki. Even after she explicitly told him not to address her so familiarly, he kept it up.

But now that they aren't alone, suddenly his language shifts to be more presentable to others. Now that other people are here to judge him, he never addresses her as "Ruki" again for the entire rest of the episode. Now he's self-conscious about the way he's seen, even by these boys he doesn't really give a shit about.

In the dub:

IceDevimon: And I thought you didn't have any friends. Takato: Let her go now! IceDevimon: My new Tamer and I were just getting acquainted. Takato: She's not your Tamer! Rika has Renamon! (IceDevimon leans down over Rika) IceDevimon: I think it's time for a little upgrade; Don't you? Rika: Let me go, you frozen freak!

In the original, IceDevimon knows about Takato and Jianliang already, presumably because he's been watching Ruki. He dismisses them as 雑魚 zako, which means a small, low-value fish that is of use to nobody. A scathing insult when applied to another person.

In the dub, it's unclear if he's aware of them or not. Upon their arrival, he mocks Rika for it which is kind of a weird thing to do when he's trying to impress her. Maybe he's negging.

Original IceDevimon turns Takato's words against Ruki to pitch her on taking him again. Dub IceDevimon maintains the same tone of voice and sounds like he's talking to Takato as much as to Rika.

Faced with this situation, Takato defers to Jianliang's experience.

Takato: Lee-kun.... Jianliang: This guy looks pretty strong. His influence is what made this place like this, and Terriermon and Guilmon didn't even notice him Realizing at first. Terriermon: What should we do, Jian? Jianliang: You're asking me?

Jianliang goes quiet. Experienced though he may be, this is a situation that calls for immediate action and Jianliang is useless for that. He hesitates, a boy who loathes to fight unwilling to give the command to engage this powerful Digimon even to save Ruki.

So, after a moment, Takato decides he's done waiting.

Takato: Guilmon! Guilmon: Got it! Takato: You ready? Guilmon: Guilmon will save Ruki!

Takato doesn't even need to say it; His Partner is right there with him. Guilmon charges ahead, leaving Jianliang to figure his own shit out. But once Takato and Guilmon have called the play, Jianliang falls in step behind them.

Jianliang: Go back up Guilmon! Terriermon: On it!

Jianliang just can't bring himself to give the order. He won't start the fight but he also won't hesitate to back up Takato. He's a sidekick at heart, which gives Takato the opening he needs to step into the role of hero despite his comparative inexperience.

There's a little bit of Kido Jou and Yagami Taichi in Jianliang and Takato's relationship; A similar dynamic to the dual leadership roles of Jou the responsible authority figure and Taichi the bold frontline commander.

But without a team behind them to lead; It's just the two of them swapping the Talking Stick back and forth, enriching each other by compensating for what the other lacks.

In the dub:

Takato: What do we do!? Henry: This is not going to be easy. He's much stronger than any Digimon we've ever defeated before! What we really need is an effective strategy to deal with him. Terriermon: Like a kick in the pants! Henry: I wish it were that easy. (Henry goes quiet) Takato: Ready, Guilmon? Guilmon: Mhm. Takato: Go get him! Guilmon: Ready, set, and go! (Guilmon charges in) Henry: Here's your chance, Terriermon! Terriermon: It's about time!

Jianliang becoming paralyzed by indecision and his own reluctance to engage in Digimon fighting is rewritten as Henry accepting without reservation that they need to fight and trying to come up with a good plan of attack, foreshadowing the conclusion to the episode.

This shifts the context of what follows from Takato taking charge and Jianliang falling in behind him to Takato and Henry simply starting the attack that everyone implicitly already agreed upon, even though they don't have the plan Henry was trying to think of.

Guilmon and Terriermon rush IceDevimon, a gesture that leaves him feeling insulted.

IceDevimon: (disgusted) You'd attack me at Child-level?

IceDevimon hits them with a freezing beam from his eyes, instantly oneshotting both Guilmon and Terriermon.

Takato: GUILMON!!! Jianliang: TERRIERMON!!! IceDevimon: Ahahahahahahahahaha!

雑魚 Zako indeed.

Meanwhile, Culumon enters the ice cavern. They're over on the roof of the building's stairwell.

Culumon: It's so cold-culu....

Well, we know someone's going to evolve since Culumon's here to enable it. But Guilmon and Terriermon are now out of commission, so that only leaves.....

In the dub:

IceDevimon: Goody, goody; Time to fight! (IceDevimon freezes them) Takato: GUILMON NO!!! Henry: TERRIERMON!!! IceDevimon: Huhuhahahahaha AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! (Calumon watches from a distance) Calumon: This doesn't look good. Not good at all!

The dub takes its third commercial break here, with Calumon expositing the cliffhanger tension for us.

In the original, IceDevimon is insulted by the weakness of his foes before he flippantly oneshots them. Dub IceDevimon is happy to meet their challenge.

Takato grabs a cinderblock while Jianliang arms himself with a pole coming out of a chunk of concrete. Together, they try to bash open the ice, to no avail.

Takato: Guilmon! (bash bash bash bash) IceDevimon: It's futile. They're going to freeze to death. Jianliang: I won't let that happen! CARD SLASH!!! MERAMON!!! BURNING FIST!!!

With the power of Meramon's flames, Terriermon heats up red hot! And then cools right the fuck back down by the overpowering cold. IceDevimon is just too strong.

In the dub:

Takato: Got to... (bash) ...get them... (bash) ...out of there! (bash) IceDevimon: I hear one becomes quite warm just before freezing. Henry: You're so twisted, it's scary. DIGI-MODIFY!!! HEAT ACTIVATE!!! (No good)

That is actually a thing, yes. People feel a rush of heat right before they freeze to death. The phenomenon is related to paradoxical undressing, in which people dying from hypothermia start stripping off their clothes because they suddenly feel too warm.

Takato keeps bashing away with the cinderblock, while Jianliang turns to Ruki.

Takato: Shit! (bash) Shit! (bash) Shit! (bash) Jianliang: Why isn't Renamon here? Ruki: Renamon is....

Ruki flashes back on the fight they had.

Ruki: You're nothing but a Digimon! How could you be my Partner!? Renamon: ( °⌓°) (End Flashback) Ruki: I can't call for them. Even if I did, they wouldn't come. Takato: What do you mean? IceDevimon: Oh, so that's why. Even though they're nothing but a Digimon, you feel like you got in a fight with a friend.

Ruki wrenches herself free from IceDevimon's hand once more.

IceDevimon: It was a mistake to associate with those little twerps. Go back to who you were before... To the extraordinary person you once were!

IceDevimon gestures at the stalactites full of corpses to punctuate "the person Ruki once was".

Earlier, when IceDevimon speculated that Ruki wouldn't call Renamon out of fear for their safety and Ruki said he was wrong, this is what she meant. This is the true meaning behind Ruki's Hesitation; Behind the Hesitation of a Captive Princess.

Not for fear that Renamon would get hurt, but for fear that Renamon wouldn't come. That the sharp, disparaging words she spat at Renamon broke their strained relationship completely. That was what IceDevimon couldn't grasp because he doesn't understand her inner life.

Even now, IceDevimon blames Takato and Jianliang for changing Ruki. She must have listened to those two boys and gone soft because of it. When I think any reasonable assessment of her changing behavior would credit Renamon more than anyone.

In the dub, Takato doesn't curse while trying to bash the ice; He just makes grunting noises.

Henry: I don't get it; Where's Renamon!? Rika: Renamon's gone. (Flashback) Rika: I don't need you. I don't need anybody! Renamon: ( °⌓°) (End Flashback) Rika: Even if I called her, she wouldn't come. Takato: But Rika, why not? IceDevimon: Come on, Rika. Fess up. Did you two have a fight? That just proves she's too weak to handle a special Tamer like you! (Rika breaks free) IceDevimon: You need a Partner who understands you, who appreciates you, and who craves your cold strength. EMBRACE THE FUTURE I OFFER YOU!!! (IceDevimon gestures to the corpse stalactites)

The flashback has to rearrange Rika's dialogue because the harsh line she keeps regretting in the dub came after they were both shocked at her for saying it. That happened this episode. Why wouldn't you just write that scene better?

Again, the dub drops the characterization point of IceDevimon's failure to understand Ruki and making bad assumptions. He just makes fun of her for bickering with Renamon and then calls Renamon a weakling on top of it.

Honestly, he's just saying Bad Guy Stuff at this point.

Similarly, IceDevimon gestures to the stalactites and calls them "the extraordinary person [Ruki was] before", and misblames Takato and Jianliang for ruining her.

But Rika denied that the stalactite field is a reflection of her past, so IceDevimon has to present it as "the future I offer you" instead. Someone she could become if she accepts him, rather than who she has been all this time.

Staring up at the stalactite bodies, Ruki flinches away from IceDevimon.

Ruki: Renamon!

Ruki calls out and, right at that moment, she's answered. Renamon's Koyōsetsu cuts through the outer shell of IceDevimon's cavern, smashing open a new entrance from outside.

Ruki: Renamon? IceDevimon: Heh. They made it. I'll defeat them, and then you and I can start over together. Ruki: No! Renamon: KOYŌSETS--

Before Renamon can fire their attack, IceDevimon closes distance slamming his palm into their waist and grabbing them.

IceDevimon: FROST CLAW!!!

IceDevimon slams Renamon into the ground. Quickly, Renamon bounds back to their feet and tries again.

Renamon: KOYŌSETSU!!! IceDevimon: FROST CLAW!!!

Once more, IceDevimon closes distance before Renamon can fire. He pummels them with a flurry of melee strikes, bringing them to their knees. Then, defeated, Renamon flops over on their side.

Once again, IceDevimon's been paying attention. Renamon's Koyōsetsu is powerful enough to erase Adult-level DIgimon like him, but he goes full assault and doesn't let them fire it.

But not paying enough attention to be considerate of Ruki's wants and needs, as he outright proclaims that he'll be taking Ruki as his prize for winning this fight against her will. Just as he's been promising to do.

In the dub:

Rika: Renamon! (Renamon smashes open the ice wall) Rika: I don't believe it! IceDevimon: Ahh, the infamous Renamon. I'd love to sit and chat, but I have to destroy you! Rika: No! Renamon: DIAMOND STO-- (IceDevimon slams and grabs her) IceDevimon: FROZEN CLAW!!! (IceDevimon throws her; Renamon jumps back to her feet) Renamon: DIAMOND STORM!!! IceDevimon: FROZEN CLAW!!! (IceDevimon beats Renamon)

The line about starting over with Ruki is dropped and replaced by generic bad guy stuff.

Takato and Jianliang watch helplessly while IceDevimon manhandles Renamon. Finally, Takato calls out to Ruki.

Takato: They have to evolve or they'll die! Ruki: (thinking) I can't let them evolve. If they did, they'd be just like IceDevimon.

Even now that Renamon's here, Ruki hesitates. She's afraid of poisoning Renamon's evolution; Of infecting Renamon with herself. IceDevimon notices.

IceDevimon: Why are you making that face? Is it because of them? Why? What does this weak Digimon mean to you? Ruki: Renamon... is my friend!

As soon as Ruki professes that, both her Digivice and Culumon light up, striking the match of Kyūbimon's evolution and kicking off EVO to fuck this guy up.

Ruki: Why did you evolve!? Kyūbimon: ONIBIDAMA!!! IceDevimon: Gah!

Kyūbimon conjures their ghost lights, which quickly surround IceDevimon. Looking a little nervous for the first time this episode, he quickly leaps up and out of the way before the flames converge where he was standing.

Just as Kyūbimon anticipated.

Kyūbimon: It's over! KOENRYŪ!!! IceDevimon: ZERO FREEZE!!!

Despite Kyūbimon's confidence a moment ago, IceDevimon overpowers Koenryū with the freezing beam he defeated Guilmon and Terriermon with.

IceDevimon: That was cute. ICE SHOWER!!!

True to his earlier boasts, IceDevimon is unbelievably strong. His spray of ice explodes, obscuring Kyūbimon in its mist.

Ruki: Kyūbimon!

As the fight turns, Takato keeps bashing away at Guilmon and Terriermon's frozen shell.

Takato: WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING!!! Jianliang: I've got it! Takato: Huh? Jianliang: Let's try this! CARD SLASH!!! EXPANDING UNIVERSE!!!

Jianliang's card causes Terriermon to color shift into looking like space, then swell up. As he swells, the pressure cracks open the ice casket from inside, setting him and Guilmon free.

Takato: Great job! Guilmon: (disoriented) Gurururu...?

Terriermon shrinks back down to normal right as EVO fades out, since this evolution battle was a bust.

Takato: I need to do my part too!

Over at the fight, IceDevimon floats triumphantly above a battered and beaten Kyūbimon.

IceDevimon: Are you finished already? Kyūbimon: (strained) ONIBIDAMA!!! IceDevimon: Heh.

Lifting just one of their tails, Kyūbimon fires a single ghost light IceDevimon cocks his head to the side to dodge it, leaving it to continue until it blasts into the ice ceiling.

Takato: That's it! Guilmon? Guilmon: Hm? Takato: Rush him. Guilmon: Got it!

As Guilmon attempts to charge into battle just like last time, Takato unveils the Card Slash Stock Animation pose he's been practicing, getting the full Card Slash action theme treatment to go with it.

Takato: CARD SLASH!!! KŌSOKU PLUG-IN B!!!

The buff allows Guilmon to close distance and get into attack range quickly, pulling IceDevimon's attention from Kyūbimon.

IceDevimon: Heh. You're out of your league. Guilmon: FIREBALL!!!

IceDevimon swerves to the side, easily dodging Guilmon's Fireball.

IceDevimon: FROST CLAW!!!

IceDevimon extends his arm, grasping for Guilmon. But Guilmon's ready for it, grabbing his fingers right as Takato Slashes another Card for the Combo.

Takato: CARD SLASH!!! SHIROI HANE!!! Jianliang: NOW!!! Ruki: Ah?

With both speed buff and wings, Guilmon boosts into IceDevimon, grabbing him around the midsection and driving him up towards the ceiling.

IceDevimon: What the--!?

With raw momentum, Guilmon slams IceDevimon into the ceiling, embedding his head in the ice. Then, as he falls, he takes his shot.

Guilmon: FIREBALL!!!

The shot hits IceDevimon dead center mass, blasting him into pieces that then disintegrate into data. Finally, Guilmon Loads IceDevimon, ending him for good.

Holy shit. So much going on in this fight. I really like that Guilmon ends up getting the kill here for a number of reasons.

There is, of course, the Holy Shit moment of Takato's very first stock animation Card Slash. But it's more than that.

This fight isn't about defeating IceDevimon. After all that build-up about Ruki's inner life, Ruki's philosophy for Digimon, and who knows Ruki best? This is a battle for Ruki's soul. IceDevimon is a reflection of Ruki's darkest qualities; His beliefs are her professed beliefs, and this fight is where those beliefs are truly tested.

Not just the validity of them, but Ruki's own faith in them.

It might feel a little like jerking Ruki's chain to hype up Renamon's arrival only for her to lose, but like I said, there is so much going on here and it's all about Ruki and Renamon.

-> IceDevimon must not lose to strength.

IceDevimon's philosophy is one of strength dominating weakness. Evolving to Adult and crushing him with brute force would ultimately validate his beliefs. He wants the strongest to prevail over the weakest. This is, for him, a battle of Might Makes Right.

But you know. Fuck this guy. He's a creep and a stalker. Why should we validate his belief system? Why should we shake his hand and say, "Yes, my guy. I respect your ideology, and I will let you end in a way that is best conforms to your beliefs."

His beliefs are bad. That is a core point of this episode. He's a piece of shit who believes bad things, and the reflection of Ruki he offers is one of her flaws. He should not simply be dominated by the power of a stronger Digimon.

-> He should lose to Guilmon

So what doesn't conform to IceDevimon's beliefs? Those two irrelevant 雑魚 zako over there pretending to be a factor in this fight. The ones who offended him by even trying to fight him before.

IceDevimon has positioned the climax of this episode as an Ultimate Duel of Ultimate Power between himself and Kyūbimon. A wrestling match pitting muscle against muscle to decide which of them is most worthy of Ruki.

Guilmon and Terriermon, by contrast, are beneath his notice. When Guilmon returns to fight him, he calls Guilmon 身の程知らず minohodoshirazu, which means a person of meager status overreaching their position such as peasant farmer spending money like a nobleman.

Guilmon is not IceDevimon's rival. He is not the mighty right hand of the Digimon Queen. Guilmon is a nobody who doesn't know his place. It's undignified to even have to exchange blows with him.

And yet Guilmon wins anyway. Not because Guilmon is stronger than him and Kyūbimon. But by an expression of that quality of Takato's we haven't gotten to see enough of yet: His ability to put the pieces together and think of a clever solution.

IceDevimon, Lord of the Strong, meets his end because of a surprising play by a clever opponent who can leverage his meager strength at just the right moment and in just the right way. And not even the opponent he meant to fight, but a friend refusing to play by his 1v1 rules and instead stepping in to lend Ruki a hand.

Which is good, because....

-> Kyūbimon should lose to IceDevimon

This is the clincher. Because IceDevimon is a reflection of Ruki's professed beliefs. His philosophy is her philosophy. If Kyūbimon won this fight, it would prove IceDevimon and by extension Ruki's philosophy right. That the ice catacomb is good and just. That Ruki's efforts have made Kyūbimon strong enough to kill IceDevimon.

The final rejection of IceDevimon's belief system is that Kyūbimon loses but that the act of losing, of being weaker than IceDevimon, does not compromise her position as Ruki's Partner. Which...

...

Well, we'll have to see about that one. Yeah. Uh. Stay tuned.

Suffice it to say, this fight is amazing.

In the dub:

Takato: Rika, she has to Digivolve now! Rika: (thinking) I can't let her Digivolve! She might end up like IceDevimon! (Rika hesitates) Rika: (thinking) Forgive me.... IceDevimon: Why do you look at her like that? A Digimon is only useful if it can fight! Tell me, why do you care for this pathetic creature? Rika: She's my friend. I care because Renamon's my friend! (Digivice and Calumon light up; Kyubimon Digivolves) Rika: Why did you Digivolve? Kyubimon: FOX TAIL INFERNO!!! IceDevimon: Huh!? (IceDevimon dodges) Kyubimon: Where ya goin', Frosty? DRAGON WHEEL!!! IceDevimon: TUNDRA FREEZE!!! (IceDevimon overpowers Dragon Wheel) IceDevimon: AVALANCHE CLAW!!! (IceDevimon attacks Kyubimon) Rika: Kyubimon!

Zero Freeze and Ice Shower are renamed Tundra Freeze and Avalanche Claw respectively. Tundra Freeze, I kinda get but it relies on kids that age knowing what a tundra is. Which I think is regional; I didn't understand tundra until well into high school.

Avalanche Claw, on the other hand, just sounds like it's trying too hard to be edgy. The Avalanche makes sense but there's no Claw involved; It comes from flapping his wings.

Takato: We've gotta... (bash bash) ...do something! Henry: I've got it! Takato: Huh? Henry: I have an idea! DIGI-MODIFY!!! EXPANSION ACTIVATE!!! (Terriermon breaks the ice) Takato: It worked! (Terriermon shrinks down) Takato: Alright, you guys, now it's our turn! IceDevimon: I don't think so, boy! Kyubimon: (weakly) Ugh... FOX TAIL INFERNO!!! (IceDevimon easily dodges) Takato: Are you ready, Guilmon? Let's get him! Guilmon: Hm? Takato: Let's get him! Guilmon: Okie-dokie! Takato: DIGI-MODIFY!!! SPEED ACTIVATE!!! (Guilmon rushes IceDevimon) IceDevimon: Ha! Back for more already? Guilmon: PYRO SPHERE!!! (IceDevimon dodges) IceDevimon: Ha! FROZEN CLAW!!! (Guilmon catches IceDevimon's claw) Takato: DIGI-MODIFY!!! HYPER WING ACTIVATE!!! Henry: That's it! Rika: Ah! (Guilmon drives IceDevimon up towards the ceiling) IceDevimon: RAAAAAGH LET GOOOOOOO!!!! (Guilmon slams IceDevimon into it) Guilmon: PYRO SPHERE!!! IceDevimon: NOOOO!!! NOOOOOOO!!! (IceDevimon killed)

In the original, seeing Kyūbimon's shot hit the ice ceiling is what suddenly gives Takato the idea to shove IceDevimon's face through it. In the dub, he doesn't acknowledge the shot and just tells Guilmon that it's time to fight.

This obscures the fact that they won due to clever strategy and not by simply outfighting IceDevimon.

As for IceDevimon, the character trait where Guilmon is beneath him is dropped.

He acknowledges Takato saying "It's our turn" rather than remaining focused on Kyubimon, as if he's interested in fighting all three of them.

He still blusters to Guilmon with his "back for more" remark, but he doesn't condescend to Guilmon as an unworthy foe.

And when Guilmon grabs IceDevimon and makes for the ceiling, Original IceDevimon is too shocked to react while Dub IceDevimon panics and pleads with Guilmon to release him.

All of this positions Guilmon on roughly the same level as IceDevimon and Renamon/Kyubimon, defeating IceDevimon by just being that awesome of a fighter. Instead of the wrath of the meager cutting down the Strongest Digimon in a humiliating and philosophy shattering upset.

With IceDevimon's death, the Digital Field collapses. Reality asserts itself on the Isetan rooftop and the ice cavern fizzles from existence. Presumably returning to the Digital World from whence it came.

Ruki seethes on the rooftop, not looking at Takato or Jianliang.

Jianliang: Are you okay? Ruki: ( ≖_≖) Was that a Combo? Takato: Yeah, kinda.... Ruki: ( ≖_≖) I hate it.... Takato: Huh? Ruki: ( ಠ_ಠ) I HATE DIGIMON!!! Jianliang: Huh? Guilmon: Wha--? Culumon: Culu...? Kyūbimon: ...

Having lashed out with her quills once more, Ruki storms off without another word.

Takato: W-What are you talking about!?

Kyūbimon stands up and leaves the rooftop in the other direction.

Takato: Where are you going, Kyūbimon!?

Ruki keeps marching towards the stairs leading down. Kyubimon leaps from the rooftop, disappearing into the sky. Both of them leaving a baffled Takato behind with Jianliang.

Takato: Why are you doing this!? I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS AT ALL!!!

No, Takato. You don't understand.

Nobody understands her.

And that perfect final line is where we leave off for today. No reconciliation. Some vicious statements made about Ruki but nothing truly resolved. The wedge between Ruki and Renamon still splitting them apart and arguably worse than ever before.

Who is Makino Ruki really? What is she so afraid of? Find out... hopefully next time, I suppose? That's not a promise! It's wishful thinking! Because she's really interesting!

In the dub:

Henry: Rika, are you okay? Rika: ( ≖_≖) I hate 'em. Takato: Well, he's gone now! Rika: ( ≖_≖) Not him. Takato: Huh? Rika: ( ಠ_ಠ) I HATE DIGIMON!!! ALL OF 'EM!!! Henry: Huh!? Guilmon: Nrrr? Calumon: Ooogh.... Kyubimon: (sigh) (Rika storms off) Takato: Rika, you don't mean that! (Kyubimon goes the other way) Takato: Kyubimon? Wait a minute, where are you going!? (Rika and Kyubimon leave the rooftop separately) Takato: Hey, what's wrong with you!? AREN'T YOU GUYS SUPPOSED TO BE FRIENDS!?!? Davis (V.O.): Is it possible? Does Rika really hate all Digimon? To find out, keep watching Digimon: Digital Monsters.

And Takato 's last line signals the end to the dub's plot. Rika and Renamon are supposed to be friends and Rika did accept Renamon as her friend a moment ago, but Rika has some stuff going on so things remain strained.

Assessment: Thie episode is SO FUCKING GOOD. This is the best episode of Tamers yet, bar none. Holy fuck. 10/10 Absolute masterpiece of storycraft.

It's deep, it's intricate, it's emotionally complex, it has meaningful commentary on its characters and meaningful fighting that expresses their identities and beliefs. And it has THIS FUCKING GUY.

IceDevimon is an incredible antagonist who weaves the fiction world of Digimon and the thematic structure of the predator he represents into a brilliant tapestry. A mirror of Ruki he holds up during a moment of stress-induced weakness he partially caused, reflecting the emotional struggle between her and Renamon that just hit a sharp peak.

An interesting note is that despite the mechanics for Tamers being different, this is a very Adventure-esque episode. In Adventure, a Digimon's evolution is a reflection of their Chosen Child's growth. The Chosen Child evolves hand-in-claw with their Partner Digimon. Palmon grows stronger as Mimi grows stronger, and together they take on new forms as Mimi's character develops.

For Ruki, IceDevimon presents himself as temptation. Renamon has evolved into Kyūbimon but the direction in which Ruki must evolve for Kyūbimon is unlike the person she's been living as all this time. She has to "break character", so to speak, to be the person that would bring about Renamon's evolution.

IceDevimon here presents an alternative evolution path. Digimon is all about divergent evolution branches, after all. Here, IceDevimon offers Ruki a way she can remain on course with what her professed values are. A separate branch for her, Makino Ruki, to evolve into by leaving Renamon and the emotionally difficult criteria for Kyūbimon behind.

IceDevimon's presence here offers a way for Ruki herself to Dark Evolve, if she's willing to take it. A temptation of another option so that she can then choose the path of Kyūbimon.

One that Ruki ultimately and firmly rejects. What does that mean for her? Only Ruki knows. Only Ruki can tell us what's going on in her heart. Which. I. Hope? Will be unpacked next episode because I am on the edge of my seat for the next development in Makino Ruki's journey.

[pushovermediacritic]

Yeah, this episode is definitely memorable as one of the best. It's one of the more iconic episodes of the first arc of Tamers. I think this episode, the one with Galgomon turning into a mass shooter, and Growlmon trying to de-Digivolve are the best three episodes for demonstrating what sets Tamers apart and makes it different than the shows that came before it. It's dark and mature and goes in uncomfortable directions, it takes risks and plays with its urban setting, with Galgomon as a mass shooter, Growlmon trying to hide in a city, and Icedevimon as a stalker and child predator.

And it also deconstructs Evolution. Galgomon showed that Evolution can be scary, Growlmon showed that Evolution can be inconvenient, and Kyubimon showed that Evolution can fail. Tamers deconstructs the idea of Evolution always being a triumphant "I win" button, and it deconstructs it early. Adventure did have SkullGreymon, but that was a Dark Evolution, Tamers goes as far as to say that even regular "Good" Evolution can sometimes be a bad thing.

I'm so glad you didn't see the fight and kneejerk react with "Kyubimon should have won, why did Guilmon steal her win" and actually analyzed why this was the best way for the fight to go, having strategy overcome power instead of power overcoming power.

[the-punforgiven]

god the ds3 concept art is crazy good but everything related to Irithyll is something else man

like god damn this shit is gorgeous

[pop-six-squish]

So I finished my first run of Baldur's Gate 3...

[weloveshortvideos]

Guillotine vs a spray paint can.

[babyionian-deactivated20200611]

this caption is so deceptive, this video is so much more than that

[whosname]

[id. A twitter post by @/Bennieeexyz Jury duty letter came addressed to my cat. Not a mistake. "Felix Martinez" - that's his full name according to his vet records. My last name. His first name. Somehow he's a registered voter now. Called the county clerk. Me: My cat got summoned for jury duty. Clerk: Is the name correct on the summons? Me: Yes, but he's a cat. Clerk: Is Felix Martinez a legal resident of this county? Me: He's a legal cat. Clerk: Sir, if the name matches our records, he needs to appear or file an exemption. Me: He can't file anything. He has paws. Clerk: You can file on his behalf. Me: Under what exemption? There's no box for "is a cat." Clerk: (pause) Check "unable to serve due to medical reasons." Me: What's the medical reason? Clerk: He's a cat. Me: That's not a medical condition. Clerk: It is if it prevents him from serving. Sent in the form. Got rejected two weeks later. "Insufficient documentation. Please provide medical professional's statement." Took the letter to my vet. Me: I need you to write that my cat can't do jury duty. Vet: Why is your cat summoned for jury duty? Me: Excellent question. No good answer. Vet: This is the weirdest request I've gotten. Me: Can you just write that he's medically unfit to serve? Vet: On what grounds? Me: He's a cat. Vet: (started typing) "Patient is unable to serve due to species-related limitations including inability to speak, read, or comprehend legal proceedings." Me: Perfect. Sent it in. Got another rejection. "Summons is mandatory. Failure to appear will result in contempt of court." My roommate thought this was hilarious. Roommate: Felix is going to jail. Me: This is serious. Roommate: Bring him to court. See what happens. Decided that was actually the only option left. Day of jury duty, put Felix in his carrier. Brought the entire paper trail of rejection letters. Checked in at the courthouse. Clerk: Name? Me: Felix Martinez. Clerk: (looked at the cat carrier) Is that Felix? Me: Yes. Clerk: (long stare) He's a cat. Me: I've been saying that for six weeks. Clerk: Why didn't you file an exemption? Me: I filed three. All rejected. Showed her the letters. She read through them, expression shifting from confusion to disbelief. Clerk: Someone rejected the veterinary documentation? Me: Twice. Clerk: (called her supervisor over) You need to see this. Supervisor read everything. Looked at Felix. Looked at me. Supervisor: How did a cat get registered to vote? Me: You tell me. Supervisor: This is a data error. Me: Took you six weeks to figure that out. They dismissed Felix immediately. Apologized for the inconvenience. Supervisor: We'll remove him from the voter registry. Me: Appreciate it. Supervisor: (pause) Out of curiosity, how would he have voted? Me: Probably whatever party supports universal treats. Got a formal apology letter a week later and a voter registration card. For me this time. Apparently I wasn't registered, but my cat was. Roommate: Felix committed voter fraud. Me: Felix committed nothing. He's innocent. Roommate: That's what they all say. Felix is sleeping on the jury summons now. Fitting end to his legal career. end id]

[slotumn]

Shit you'd expect Church of Seiros to have schisms over

whether Five Saints' covenant with Empire is exclusive to them or whether Church grants something equivalent to other states they've recognized and legitimized

theological implications of Saints' Crests vs Elites' Crests

whether regional churches can independently canonize saints

to what level they can accomodate local traditions before it becomes heretic

Shit Church of Seiros actually has schisms over on screen in FE3H

Central Church not sufficiently supportive of doing terrorism, assassinations, and genocide over policy disagreements

[slotumn]

The game sets it up to look like there is some further context in regards to the Lonato mission and the further context in question is "western Kingdom elites fucking suck politically, morally, and operationally"