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#its my first full digital work :33

crescencestudio · 2 months

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๋࣭⭑ Devlog #38 | 2.27.24 ๋࣭⭑

How is it already almost March omfg.

Anyways Happy Valentine's Day month!!! This year, I was swamped with work, so I didn't get a chance to make Valentine's Day art. I did make a Valentine's piece last year though.

BUT we did have beloved @magunalafay make these Valentine's Day cards this year for the community!!! <3 If you missed it, well Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!

She made these as a gift, and I love her very much. Maguna u r so talented

This month was pretty busy for me, but I'm super happy with the progress made this month ^^ I feel like I've started the year off in a pretty good groove after it being all over the place for a hot second, yay!!!

This past month, Etza and Druk's routes. With the revamped demo finishing its revisions, it left a lot more time for me to focus writing on full route development.

If you missed the announcement, I FINISHED Etza's first draft!!! YAAAYYY!!!! FINALLY!!!!!!

That means 4/6 routes are finished in terms of the base writing, which is so exciting to MEEEEE. I've always seen Etza's draft as The Milestone because with their route finished, it would mean the four Central routes are done writing. And to me, while there's a good chuck of writing left, we are nearing the end of it.

There's only two routes left and that means it's about ~100k words which is CRAZY compared to when I had ~300k to write (:cries:). Even if that sounds like a lot, once I start chipping away at those routes, that 100k goes into the "double digits" aka 90k...80k... etc. and that makes me want to pee my pants

We also finished editing Druk's route, yay!!! So we reached a lot of milestones this month ^^

We are nearing the end of the Vui background commissions. It's very bittersweet; I'm so used to mentioning him in my devlogs now </3 There's only like 3(?) more BGs left for him to make, and then all of the BGs for the game will be finished. Very Wild! I think Alaris will have 25ish BGs, and they are all Stunning.

It's been a while since I showed you all a BG, so I'll give you all a preview of one I just got in!

Isn't it cozy? Guess whose house hehe

I personally have been doing a lot of sprite work this month to finish the final art assets for the demo. I added some expressions to Druk and Aisa that I'd been procrastinating (I don't even know why I was procrastinating them). And I finally finished Mom and Kimura's updated sprites! Patreon already saw them, but I'll show the new versions here too ^^

Preview of Mom (left) and Kimura (right) updated sprites. Now everyone's sprite styles are cohesive YAY!!

Aside from sprite work, much of my "art" time has been on finishing up/putting together the last of the screens for the GUI. Specifically, I got THIS BABY up and running. She is my crowning glory.

Memory Screen to Replay Unlocked Free Time Dates

Oh my god.... You all have NO IDEA how much of a pain this was to code. There is a transparency gradient going on in the left and right B&W previews (courtesy of community programming angel feniks/shawna).

And then the effort to have the Titles and Descriptions of the Previewed Date change tilted me on Multiple Occasions. But we finally got it to work thanks to bestie @siyo-koy pointing out I just coded one stupid "if" statement wrong LJAFSLIEFJIEJ. But the effort was WORTH IT because I'm so proud of her!!! I hope you all like it too as a way to relive Free Time Dates. I had a lot of fun with the Titles and descriptions.

I also put together the Stats and Affection Screens

Preview of Personality Stats & Affection Screens

So I coded both of them a bit differently from each other. The Personality Screen shows you a breakdown of your traits so far. Think of it like a pie graph! So in the preview picture, your choices indicate you are 33% Brave, 16% Charismatic, etc. I felt like this was a more natural way to portray personality rather than how many bravery points you've collected so far!

And then for Affection, it works in a more traditional way, where it counts it based on how many you've gotten out of the total amount you can get. This way, as the story progresses, how close you are to the person reflects how much your relationship as developed!

I've also added little descriptions underneath each that change depending on the percentage. So for example, if you have gotten 82% of the affection points for Kuna'a, the description of your relationship might change as well hehe

Other than that, I've mainly focused on getting the demo together. We released the beta demo earlier this month (? LOL). And the feedback has been so kind!!

A lot of this month was spent polishing so that the demo can be ready for early access and eventually public release. I updated sprites, made sure music crossfades with each other so that transitions between soundtracks feel smoother, I added/polished all of the screens I needed to (e.g., Memory Room, Full Credits, Cleaning Music Room, Adding Stats Screens), and I FINALLY as of yesterday added the Voiced Lines!!

One thing I added in the Extended Demo that I'm really happy with is the use of Extended Pronouns (courtesy of Angel Feniks). Below is a preview of how it works now!

Preview of Extended Pronouns Function. Credit to Feniks

Basically, you can choose multiple pronouns for yourself, including custom pronouns (e.g., xe/xem, fae/faer, etc.). On top of that, you can choose how often you'd like the pronouns to alternate (e.g., every line versus every scene) and what kind of terms you'd like to be used for you (e.g., neutral vs. masculine vs. feminine)!

Overall, the demo is getting closer and closer to release!!! Early Access will hopefully be ready by the end of this week or next, so if you all would like access to it, please feel free to subscribe to my Patreon for this upcoming month! Available to Wyvern tier ($5) and up.

I didn't have any time to really play any games this month because I was drowning in work LMFAOSLJIEF. I did play the Threads of Bay demo by @lavendeerstudios and it was GORGEOUS! Very cute game with lovable characters and charming visuals. Andrew, I will have your number

Every other section was really long, so I'm going to throw it here even though it's not market research. But Intertwine recently hit 600 ratings, which is crazy. Thank you for still enjoying that game even if it's not one that is my main focus anymore. I'm really happy people still like it :on the verge of tears:

Anyways, this has been a long devlog. Here's to continuing to Ball in March. Hope you all have a great rest of your month, and I'll talk to you soon! <3

#alaris #devlog

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wildcatfourteen · 14 days

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how do you come up with such interesting composition? your pieces are always so captivating 💗

thank youuuuuuuuuu <33 and the truth is. idk. i am kinda just winging it and making a lot of adjustments as i go.... im not very orderly about it and have my thoughts kinda all over the place. heres some examples under the cut w what process pics i could find

direction process goes >>>

first did a pencil sketch for big shapes. was just placing stuff down. i wanted to make ref sheets for an art trade but didnt want to make a traditional type bc i hate drawing ppl standing full body (bc im bad at it 👍) also i did not have specific outfits in mind and was going more for a reference of the general vibe of the characters, so i just wanted a full body pose + face close up. to avoid having to show specific details. bc i was cheating. was originally going to have multiple text bubbles around for the character facts

did like two sketches digitally. messed around a LOT with placement. the little emote heads came out of me feeling like it was empty and boring on its own and they are fun to draw so why not include them. the multiple text bubbles seemed like a bad idea now so i took them out and just did one text wall.

i actually dont like the text wall now and think breaking it up wouldve been more fun visually but that would've required effort i didnt wanna put in LOL

^ i lost the pencil sketch for this one (i always do a pencil sketch) but it was actually just the two half body drawings at first with none of that shit at the bottom or the close ups until i was like fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk i gotta add smth around to make this look like theres stuff happening..... the idea was to draw the two main characters of the labb novel in some kinda comic format w panels around and i then. kept adding things until it seemed like i was getting somewhere. thats kind of my process for everything TT i think it helps to stay in a workshopping stage for longer if needed to get somewhere but i often get impatient LOL

im putting a stupid note abt this here bc im still annoyed at myself but in this novel, there was a bit about a crossword puzzle related to a murder case and i only thought of it afterwards that it would be kinda cool to put the sugar cubes in like a crossword puzzle formation....... why didnt i do that......

^ and heres some of the process for this one, but i lost a LOT of the steps for this. the beginning was totally different. the character wasnt as pathetic and scared looking at first but then i was like uhhhhh lets draw him that way :)

the first pencil draft was from a different perspective and it was gonna have a mirror composition to it kinda? but i wasn't able to make that look appealing so i deleted it. it still had the curtains tho but then i also included stuff with framed mirrors + other frames around

i decided to instead make the curtains be the focus of the whole piece to not make it so cluttered. character's pose was so different at first it was so bad i dont even wanna remember it. i took out the frames entirely bc i didnt think they added much to the piece in terms of the atmosphere. since like. the more i worked on it w the character's + the goat's expressions the more it gave a 'being hunted' feeling to it and portrait frames dont fit that vibe. which feels funny bc u look at it and thats all u can think abt but i wasnt even gunning for that when starting out. BE FLEXIBLE. TRUST THE PROCESS.

#asks

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the-kipsabian · 1 year

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prepare your ass, i got random asks:

do you have any plans for the weekend?

do you believe in any cryptyd beings?

are there any things you like to hoard or collect? (eg: i collect stamps and coins, and i hoard notebooks bc i never use them lol)

if you had to choose only one of these food things to remain in existence, which would you choose: bread, potatoes, pasta

(fmk alternative) stuck in an elevator with, school project partner, go dancing/to a party with: chris brookes, kip sabian, francesco akira

music recs: renegades of funk, by ratm / sisyphus, by andrew bird (thank you for this one, syb) / choke, by royal & the serpent (from my kip & penny playlist)

hit shuffle on a playlist and post the first song that comes up!

I AM PREPARED THANK YOU SLEDGE <333

weekend planssss are as follows: friday im reserved all day for my wife since we havent seen each other since christmas and she finally has a full day off from work so gonna get together to just vibe and chat and have fun (wine may or may not be included we didnt talk about that yet but it usually happens lol). saturday is a day with other irl friends since its ttrpg day!! sunday im not sure but its either gonna be a chill art day for me just at home or if ppl wanna play games online then we do that ~

i mcfucking LOVE cryptids my dude. full on believe in anything like mothman or big foot or the jersey devil etc. especially common ones. also goatman. goatman is my absolute favorite that bitch is so freaky i love him. and ofc i need to give credit to my own personal cryptid boxman kip sabian <33

physical media (i have an extensive two shelf collection of movies and games, literally the only reason its hard to add to that these days is cause things are really hard to find at a reasonable price since everythings digital now :(), i also have. way too many rolls of washi tape and stickers from my bullet journal days a few years back when it helped manage my anxiety so i invested A LOT of time and money into it. also special shoutout for those notebooks, cause man i used to hoard them like crazy too, but then i gifted away like half of them so im better now lol also it helps i only go to the bookstore with my wife these days and she prevents me from buying lots of things LOL

POTATOES MY BELOVED like i like bread and pasta is great but potatoes is truly where its at. i could eat them in any form all the freaking time

stuck in an elevator with kip (i feel like he would be the best person to help keep me calm as i have a mild fear of elevators and tight places), school project partner with akira (he has the same chaotic energy with things like this that one of my friends in school had who we absolutely nailed some project assignments with lol) and dancing/party with chris (mostly cause he would enjoy it the most lol. also imagine dancing with the 6'4 bitch. imagine)

iiiiii will give these a listen, thank you! <3

from my current playlist im using for this fic im working on

#thank you sledgeeee youre a gift ily <333 #midweekmatters #thank you for asking! <3

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hyunjinspark · 2 years

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ahh i havent sent anything in a while but i just wanted to let you know that im very much present on your blog and reading every single ask you answer !! i also read the last star lost update and in all honesty among all the aus and books ive read in my life (and ive read a lot) this is my absolute favourite!!

i’ll try to comment on the chapter a bit more detailed once my semester is over and im on a break but !! as always the way you write hyunjin and yn is amazing 🥺 actually while im at it lemme comment on the chapter as a whole lmao

despite the whole situation and general (hyunjin and hana, hyunjin and yn, felix and yn etc etc) i just wanted to say that the whole friendship dynamic is really cute and fun to read 🥺 i love it a lot (despite the whole hana situation) also hyunjin and yn are just sooo cute together and i love their convos a lot but i feel so bad for felix 😭 (also him interrupting every time theres a ‘moment’ 👀 pretty sure hes doing that for his own sake hehe) guess we’ll have to see how that plays out… but also excited for more yn and felix interaction especially on his bday party but also the whole chocolate making thing…

also yeonjun 😳 you mentioned he’d appear in the au but i didnt expect it so soon (and the convo him hyune and yn had was very insightful to say the least; poor yeonjun, hes such a nice guy 🥺) omg im really excited for when yn and hana actually get to have a real talk about the whole situation especially after her and hyunjin called things off for now (which im not too excited about even though i wanted it to happen, but i cant help but feel like this is just the calm before the storm (and its not like hyune and yn will just suddenly be able to date each other 😭))

hmm what else… if i could i would comment on every single dialogue but i have to get back to studying 😭 but also yn sleeping on hyune in the train reminded me of only fools 😭 and all the tiny things like the streusel bread shjdjdjd youre such a great writer 🥺 and just the whole scene at the end was just adorable i love star lost so much 🥺 but as previously mentioned, i cant help but think of this as the calm before the storm but that depends on your plans for the future chapters 😵‍💫

on another note! im so excited for the book you have coming out soon because you’re genuinely my favourite writer ever 😭 ive never felt so enthralled by anyones writing like this before so im looking forward to it a lot 🥺 please take care of yourself (i remember seeing you say that you were sick a few days ago) and don’t remember to take breaks eat well and stay hydrated!! hope you have a great weekend and following week as well 🫶

ah also! im curious about you as a person as well so i wanted to know if you have any hobbies? i think your work has something to do with digital arts (sorry if i got that wrong) but hows that like? (if its not too personal) and are there any tv shows movies youve watched recently? (sorry i have this habit of wanting to know a lot about people haha..you can just ignore questions if they make you uncomfy) also last but not least, i love the star lost playlist you made 🥺 i always listen to it while reading the chapters 🫶

-🦥

hi cutie ! im sorry for the delay in getting around to this ask about part 7. first of all, whaaat ?? of all the books youve read ? you will make me cry 😭 i hope your semester is going well <33

im glad you love their friendship dynamic, i love writing all the little relationships and connections to each other. it was my favorite thing to do in only fools. hyunjin and yns convos are so so so cute indeed 😭 they make me smile crazily.

you’re absolutely right about it being the calm before the storm haha ! things will not be that easy for hyun and yn even after they ended with hana. i guess you would have seen that in part 8 itself.

this whole message is so sweet and so full of love. thank you so much, don’t worry im not sick anymore and im taking care of myself, you’re so kind.

the fact that you’re curious about me makes me giggle haha😭 i am really really into pop culture, half of my personality is that haha. i do work with digital arts and designing packaging and brands 🫶🏻 it’s not too personal, don’t worry ! it’s really good actually, i love the arts and anything to do with the creative process so ive pretty much always wanted to do this! and for recent movies and shows, umm i have to think about that cause i watch a lot of random stuff when i get the time haha. but i can tell you my favorite movies ! it would probably be: arrival, interstellar, scott pilgrim vs the world, black swan…warm bodies, everyday, the day after tomorrow, and i can’t think of more but there are tons lmao 🎬 im so glad you like my playlist, im surprised people heard it 😭😭🥺🥺

#star lost with you

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bongaboi · 1 year

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Gonzaga: 2022-23 West Coast Men's Basketball Champions

LAS VEGAS -- Gonzaga's players heard the criticisms this wasn't the same Bulldogs team that has been among the nation's elite in recent years, and they even struggled themselves to live up to the program's enormous expectations.

"There were numerous days where I was not fun to be around," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.

The Bulldogs kept working at it, and on Tuesday night, No. 9 Gonzaga sent a message to the rest of the country with a dominant-from-the-start 77-51 victory over No. 16 Saint Mary's in the championship game of the West Coast Conference tournament.

The Zags (28-5) continued their domination of the WCC with their fourth consecutive tournament championship and 10th in 11 years, with Saint Mary's in 2019 being the only exception. Gonzaga has won 21 tournament titles overall.

Drew Timme scored 18 points and became Gonzaga's all-time leading scorer, earning tournament Most Outstanding Player.

"I took for granted winning," Timme said. "I won so much in my career, it's a shock not to win. I think early in the year, it just kind of made me appreciate what it takes to win night in and night out. I think sometimes we kind of assume we were just going to win because we're Gonzaga.

"Sometimes it's hard not to fall into mindset we just need to get to March. It was grind this season. I think that grind has made us as a group appreciate each and every night winning and what it takes to win and be a good team."

Saint Mary's (26-7) was seeded first in the tournament after the teams split the regular-season series, and Timme said it was strange wearing a blue jersey rather than the customary white one. The Gaels were the last team to beat Gonzaga, which takes a nine-game winning streak into the NCAA tournament that includes beating Saint Mary's to end the regular season.

Both teams will find out their seedings and destinations Sunday.

Gonzaga made 58% of its shots, while holding Saint Mary's to 33% shooting. The Bulldogs led by as many as 37 points and never trailed.

Timme was efficient in making 8 of 10 shots to lead four Bulldogs into double figures. Malachi Smith scored 14 points, Nolan Hickman had 12 and Julian Strawther 10. Anton Watson had 10 rebounds.

Timme's short jumper with 10:18 left put him alone in first place as the leading scorer in Gonzaga history. He entered just five points short of breaking the mark, and his 18 points for the game gave him 2,210 for his career. Frank Burgess held the previous record of 2,196 from 1958-61.

Logan Johnson led the Gaels with 20 points, and Alex Ducas scored 10.

Gonzaga took control early, using a nine-point run to go up 14-4 and maintained a double-digit lead most of the way from there. The Zags at one point in the first half made 10 of 12 field goals, and by halftime, they had taken full command with a 37-19 lead.

"I told our guys we played 32 games and played pretty well in 32 of them," Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett said. "This one, we're off. You can credit them. They played well. We didn't show up."

#2023 #college basketball #gonzaga bulldogs #west coast conference #march madness

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looye29 · 1 year

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Diabetes – a disease that is gripping more and more people worldwide. Over 30% of the American population is either already diabetic or pre-diabetic. This number is slated to rise to 50% within the next ten years! There is no known cure, but the good news is that it is manageable. Research has shown that people have overcome diabetes by correct lifestyle changes and the right eating patterns. However, achieving that balance is not easy. Understanding the way our body reacts and responds to different types of foods and different meal timings is a detailed study in itself. Marketplaces are now full of diabetes control supplements and programs. It's quite a mind-boggling choice! Which one works and which one doesn't is a challenging question – and you will never know until you try! I tried the Diabetes Freedom program, and here I am, giving you my unbiased view of what this program is and does. Let’s find out! The Diabetes Freedom Program The Diabetes Freedom program is a two-month online program to control Type 2 Diabetes. It consists of fixed nutrition plans, rules to follow, and meal timings. It aims to help reduce and remove the symptoms of diabetes using natural methods only – a healthy mix of dietary plans and exercise. Following the program will help control sugar levels and insulin levels. Created by George Reilly, a 61-year old family man from Wisconsin, the Diabetes Freedom program is a result of years of research combined with Reilly’s own fight with Type 2 Diabetes. How Does It Work? The Diabetes Freedom program is purely digital, which means that you will be granted access to a member’s area after the purchase. It consists of the main program, which is in the form of video presentations. There are some bonuses also which are in the form of ebooks and manuals, which you can download. The main program is a three-step approach: Step 1: The Pancreas Restart Nutrition Plan – This is explained in 5 short videos accompanied by a nutrition plan. The initial aim is to break down the white fat cells, improve the function of your pancreas, and help your body regular blood sugar on its own. Step 2: The Metabolism-Boosting Blueprint – This is a 2-minute video showing you a fat burning exercise routine to follow which can easily be done at home without any special equipment. It also gives you three recipes for blood sugar-lowering power drinks. Step 3: Meal Timing Strategies to help reverse Type 2 Diabetes – A video guide explaining how to time your meals, the right time of the day to eat your carbs and desserts, and so on. Here is a list of bonuses that are included, which I especially found useful: Meal Preparation Guide – Lots of excellent tips and recipes included Stay Young Forever – It gives out secrets the Japanese use to look and feel young 33 Power Foods for Diabetics! Fat Burning Blueprint – It you are starting out with some extra pounds, its best to try this first! Pros The members' area is very well organized. You do not have to spend time looking for the right material. It's all arranged in order and by type. The videos are short and to the point. I am really not into long videos that have people rambling on and on – that just gets me yawning! Here the videos are all 2 minute to 5 minute ones, which really get straight to the point. There is no fluff to beat through. A time-saver for sure! There is a list of healthy recipes and detox teas included. These are all easy-to-make items, and having tried several, I can say that they taste delicious! The detoxifying teas were an eye-opener for me. I have switched to these teas completely and given up my coffee. This program helps aid weight loss. This is a direct benefit to diabetes. With a reduction in body weight, the blood sugar levels are positively impacted. A significant side effect of the program is the boost in your energy levels. Controlled blood sugar levels, better metabolism,

and overall, better body functions all result in you experiencing higher levels of energy. The feeling of lethargy and drowsiness all go away. There are no upsells in the member's area. This is a big plus for me. The initial payment is a one-time fee with no extras that you need to pay for later. There are also no recurring fees. From a buyer point of view, the sixty-day money back guarantee doubles as a testing period for the program. You can give it a try for two months, and if it does not start showing any results, you can simply ask for a refund. Cons The program is a digital one only. There are no physical CDs or books mailed to you. However, the member's access is a lifetime one, so you do have access to the online material at any time you want. As it is an online program, you would need an internet connection for any time access. If you do not have the internet, you cannot access the program. The program is available for purchase only from its official website. You cannot buy it off any other marketplace like Amazon. The program takes a little time to show results. To be fair, any natural remedial course takes time – there is no instant change in your body’s sugar levels. You will need to be a little patient. Final Verdict The Diabetes Freedom program seems to be an effective online diabetes control program. It is backed by research and experience. The program follows a natural approach that is obviously healthy and devoid of any side effects. Following a healthy diet plan and regulated exercise is a recommended lifestyle option for everybody today, not just those with diabetes. This program looks at correcting faulty lifestyle choices and thus ensures not only a healthier you but also, a healthier family (needless to say, if one person in the family starts adopting better eating habits, others will soon follow!). Priced affordably, the one-time payment is well worth it. If the other alternative is to keep spending money on and taking diabetes medicines throughout your life, this seems like the better choice! Just ensure that you stay committed to the program for its full two-month course, and you will definitely see the positive changes in your body.

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drgreg · 1 year

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Dr Greg Home @health Medical Centre

He attended the University of Cape Town medical faculty achieving his MBChB in 1985. His postgraduate surgical coaching was carried out at Groote Schuur hospital and he completed his Fellowship in Urology in 1995. The research found that the typical hospital keep of the Netcare prostatectomy patient was two to three days, with very low complication charges and risk of blood loss requiring blood transfusion.

Over the course of a number of weeks, Gregory needed to endure three surgeries and excruciating pain as medical employees labored tirelessly to avoid wasting his life. However, on Tuesday last week, household, friends and paramedics from the Crisis Medical team celebrated his bravery and restoration with a special hand-over. He additionally maintains Academic affiliations by internet hosting and mentoring other surgeons as nicely as by being a Peer Reviewer for the Aesthetic Surgery Journal as well as the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open Journal. These are worldwide journals detailing the latest advances in surgical method and clinical knowledge. Chirosport SA is the national organisation for sports activities chiropractic in South Africa.

Since working at the clinic I have found my curiosity shift in path of sufferers with main depressive dysfunction. This unassuming and often shamed disease effects a large proportion of our inhabitants and has a severe impression on quality of life and even life itself. Dr Gregory Venning – Wellness has discovered effective methods to empower and inspire individuals toward reworking their lives. He has set three options that work constantly dr gregory – these are the options that Greg has been researching and educate for the final thirteen years, uses in follow, in his private coaching and through his seminars and training. From babies and youngsters to full time mothers; office athletes to elite sportsmen, Dr Venning has helped them to achieve greater ranges of well being and with international expertise, he can help you to seek out options to your challenges.

Part 32 of a fireside chat with Dr. Gregory Denysschen, on the Book of Revelation and its relevance to understanding the times we are in. Part 33 of a fireside chat with Dr. Gregory Denysschen, on the Book of Revelation and its relevance to understanding the instances we are in. Part 34 of a fireside chat with Dr. Gregory Denysschen, on the Book of Revelation and its relevance to understanding the times we are in. Part 35 of a fireplace chat with Dr. Gregory Denysschen, on the Book of Revelation and its relevance to understanding the occasions we are in. Part 36 of a fireplace chat with Dr. Gregory Denysschen, on the Book of Revelation and its relevance to understanding the times we are in. Part 37 of a fireside chat with Dr. Gregory Denysschen, on the Book of Revelation and its relevance to understanding the instances we're in.

Brian has a MSc in Engineering and obtained his PhD from University College London in 1992. He is an acclaimed speaker on digital transformation and its socio-economic impacts. “Robotic surgery dr gregory is internationally recognised as the gold commonplace for the surgical therapy of localised prostate most cancers.

It is extensively utilized in Europe and the United States, and is now also rapidly attaining this status in South Africa,” he says. “A variety of other groundbreaking procedures have, however, also been performed at the hospital utilizing the da Vinci system, some for the very first time in South Africa. These embody the country’s first nephrectomy, the surgical removal of a kidney to deal with most cancers, and partial nephrectomy, an organ-preserving excision of a cancerous tumour from a kidney. Both of those procedures were completed in 2015 by teams underneath urologist Dr Marius Conradie. Shelley turned to her sister, a former Crisis Medical worker, who in turn contacted Dr Rafiek Rodriques, the medical officer for the emergency response service staff, for help. The objective of the Ombudsman course of is to aim to resolve disputes amicably, previous to initiation of any potential litigation, thus guaranteeing the finest possible consequence.

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pickcel09 · 2 years

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Brilliant employee engagement strategies & 4 successful examples

Admit this: You’re not hitting the right chord with employee engagement & retention hacks due to the old and cliched strategies you’re implementing.

You’re offering rewards, increments and promotions (often delayed), birthday gifts, and playing Secret Santa.

Truth be told, these are not engagement hacks; these only add to positive experiences at work.

According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace, only 21% of employees feel engaged at work. And you’ll be surprised to know that 33% of US employees leave their jobs to encounter new challenges.

Hiring is costlier than retaining employees. Most US companies spend around $550 billion annually to compensate for disengaged employees. Ouch!

Seems like it’s high time you developed some out-of-the-box strategies.

In this blog, I will share some ideas on how to build unique strategies that work for the modern-day workforce.

But first, let’s get inspired by a few real-life examples of top companies who’ve left no stone unturned to meet their employee engagement goals.

4 incredible real-world examples of employee engagement strategies

Companies across the globe are trying to come up with extraordinary ideas to engage employees. But four have gone to extremes to retain employees and hit the right chord with team engagement. Let’s see how they did it.

1. Full Contact: Paid, Paid Vacations

Many companies provide paid vacations. If you don’t yet, start providing to hold back the talents. But have you heard of Paid, Paid-Vacations?

Full Contact offers its employees $7500 to go on a paid vacation, meaning the salary isn’t cut, and they are also paid for the holiday expenses. The only rule is that the employee must go somewhere and disconnect from emails, messages, office chat rooms, and everything related to work. Wow! Sounds like a dream company for job seekers.

2. Apple: No Committees

With zero committees in the company, Apple is organized like a startup. And with that, an open office design and an excellent routine of collaboration make Apple stand out with its unique work culture. Their focus on employee wellness is commendable as they offer stock shares, in-house workout centers, nature walks, and many other financial & fitness perks.

3. Huffington Post: Nap Rooms

Have you heard of nap rooms in an office? No? Huffington Post is boosting employee productivity and engagement with nap rooms in the workplace. It allows workers to take power naps in the middle of the work and return with renewed vigor.

Well, the post-lunch dizziness has been rightly addressed! The employees here now have ditched the afternoon coffees and resorted to the nap rooms to rest and recharge.

4. The Motley Fool: Name Your Own Job Title

Job designations create dissatisfaction among employees, thought the Motley Fool authorities. So, they decided to offer a DIY job title to employees. For example, if you are into marketing, you may fancy the job title ‘Online Marketing Genius’; you can actually have that title for your professional profile. Motley Fool calls it ‘My Role’ concept.

Adding to the workplace fun, this hack removes the unnecessary burden of hierarchy and bossy behavior. A great place to work for sure! And they are known for their immense employee benefits too.

Stimulating & motivating indeed!

Originally Published as 18 brilliant employee engagement strategies & 4 successful examples on Pickcel Digital Signage Blog

#digitalsignage

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txt-life-journal-file · 2 years

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life rules for a FUTURE-KiD:

First things first: everything has its own PLACE

iam about to gift nice things to people i love 💗 REFORM, DROP OUT, CHANGE, REPEAT, DELETE, SLiDE, SHUFFLE, DRIVE i only talk to my plushiez and dream-monsterz and virtual friendz so u cant talk with me now bye never depend on other people, be urself i can do whatever the fuck i want with my OWN self, just don’t project it on other people even if you are MAD and u’ll be fine, like ok just don’t be a weirdo, ‘cause the bitchez will throw u away if u go DUMB-DUMB that’s mine, and u can have urs <33 i love my future bf, i know u are reading this in ur mind, and i read urs.. i will find u! even tho it is so HARD i am not afraid of anything now!! not anymore, enough EVERYTHING MUST GO i dont need all the info i can have like concrete info of info with threaded, rooted text, pictures and scenario teach urself to PROGRESSiVELY CHANGE UR PERSONALITY JUST iN A DAY because LiFE CAN HELP U TO iMPROVE NEW QUESTS, everything is a game, flexible, cool CUSTOMERZ LOVE REZPECT END STARING AT THE COMPUTER GO WALK OR SOMETHING (CLUB)-digital i don't recommend u running pages on full screen for too long as it makes u dissociate with the projection: good luck everyone don't stare on the screens for too close, U GONNA BREAK UR GLASS EYEz also when i run my computer i try to, first off, locate all the tools of the electro-hub, so i can work in peace and operate tip for today: if there's something on the schedule then do it now, dont get lost for nothing there are usually something that u can’t catch just because u don’t understand it, and when u finally understand it, u become a new person. it is so easy they even call it DAO. but it is real, don’t forget about it. everything u think becomes real my art is a fucking HUGE PUZZLE dont drain ur eyez wasting time staring at the screens online.... do ur project....... go dance or something dont get bored kid.. SLEEP there are only few people i can trust my mind to others just go off and i am not interested. there are a lot of useless info sometimes i wanna watch a tv episode or a film :3 respect and u will find love BE STRONG BITCH U ARE UR BETTER VERSiON OF U EXiSTiN’ RN OK blessed everyone has their own blessed place in the room of god <3 remembering my childhood i was a happy child, there was a lot of fun, mostly JUST FUN, MOSTLY i AM A HOOD PERSON iam a microstar micro-riot micro-chipped-freak micro-heaven-h4ll micro-technology micro-pill micro-strawberry

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starbuckie · 2 years

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𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐦𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐝𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬: 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟔

pairing: carter baizen x reader

words: 1.6k words

warnings: SMUT 18+ (oral f, carter getting cockblocked lmao), fluff, them being a family

summary: nine months after a new years hookup, little autumn eloise baizen-l/n was born. now, nearly a full year after her birth, nothing has changed except for carter and y/n, co-parents and occasional fuck buddies, planning for their baby’s first birthday. it should be simple, easy, straightforward. anything unlike the feelings they harbor for each other.

a/n: gobble gobble, it’s thanksgiving on the upper east side. also the first day of winter here in the states. huh. how fast time flies. anyways, we’re almost at the end of our journey and i just wanted to show this happy lil fam one more time before winter rolls along. please enjoy <33

main masterlist || sebastian stan characters masterlist || series masterlist

“Shit,” Y/N grasped the ends of Carter’s hair under the silk sheets, grinding her cunt down on his face. Two of his thick fingers pistoned in and out of her weeping hole while his tongue circled around her clit in tantalizingly slow movements. With his mouth just going at her pussy, she could feel every slow fan of his breath across her sensitive skin, every bag of his eyelashes, how the rough flesh of his tongue lapped into every crevice of her cunt, making sure he got to taste all the slick that gushed from her hole.

He’d been at her pussy for a while now. After all, Carter Baizen was one for spoiling and that promise still stood in bed, under beige, silk sheets. So he slurped and prodded at her most sensitive parts, using her slick wetness as lube in making her feel real good.

And after two precious orgasms, she was in nothing more than a delirious state.

“You got one more in you, don’t you, mama?” He groaned against the soft skin of her mound. “C’mon, beautiful, I wanna watch you come this time. Just let go, alright? I’ve got you.”

Her eyes could barely stay open. She muttered a quiet plea as her hips began to gyrate against his mouth even further. Her eyes rolled back into her head and as her legs began to shake, all she could see was a sheen of pure white ecstasy awaiting for her to roll over the edge. “Carter,” he hummed against her in acknowledgement, “‘m so close.”

In a needy attempt to come quicker, her own hands began to mindlessly paw over her pebbled nipples trapped within the confines of her nightgown. Fingers expertly plucked and circled and rubbed her little buttons and she was over the edge.

“Oh, oh, Carter,” she whined, high and loud, as her hips stuttered in their weak thrusts and she came in full force. Hot, burning stars danced along the base of her skull as she came, and her legs nearly vibrated off the damn mattress in its vigor. Yet Carter’s fingers still moved in and out of her cunt like nothing had happened and he wasn’t feeling her pussy spasm and tighten around the digits, his tongue licking from her ass all the way up through her fold to collect the slick that ran down.

He coaxed her through her orgasm with gentle words and a smirk, massaging her hips with his large hands until he could hear her sigh in tiredness.

“God, I think I just fucking came in my pants,” he chuckled, glancing below to his stained pants. Sure enough, his own thrusting against the mattress while eating her out was enough for him to reach his own release, though he really would’ve preferred to do so in Y/N’s cunt. “You feeling better now, gorgeous?”

She nodded dreamily, a small sigh or something like an mmhm escaping her parted lips. The reason he’d ended up with his face between her thighs in the first place was how she complained about being horny, and how she was too afraid of hurting baby #2 to have Carter fuck her relentlessly like she truly wanted. But having him eat her out like a man starved worked just as well- left her happy and satisfied, and with him, a drink of his favorite nectar for the first time in a while.

For the first time in a near hour, Y/N opened her eyes to meet her room, lifted of its orgasm-filled haze. Her hands shook as she finally lifted the sweat-soaked sheets from her body, revealing a disheveled yet nonetheless grinning man between her legs. Her panties sat hooked around his free hand, pretty pink lace bundled messily in his palm. At least he hadn’t ripped them this time.

“Feeling much better now, darling,” he agreed silently, crawling up her nightgown-clad body just to nuzzle his face between the space of her neck and head. Her own hands trailed daintily up his bare back, dipping into the muscles he’d built up in the past years. “Thank you, Carter.”

“You don’t have to thank me for my service, beautiful,” he looked up to her with a devilish smirk, pressing a kiss to her bitten, swollen lips. “‘S more of a gift to me than anything else. Your tight cunt’s the sweetest drink I’ve ever had.”

The door immediately opened and the housekeeper entered. Laika, trying to keep any disdain from her knowledge of what had taken place on the bed just moments before off her face, carried a swaddled Autumn Eloise Baizen in a mustard yellow onesie, cooing gently for her mom. The blonde housekeeper nearly looked ashamed in interrupting them, but both of them shook off their post-orgasm tiredness and sat up to greet their baby.

“It’s time for Miss Autumn’s feeding,” Laika announced straightfaced.

“Good morning, my sweetie,” Y/N smiled. Laika rounded the bed next to hers, the baby in her arms. Both parents thanked her with a grin before taking Autumn onto the sheets with them. The housekeeper set the breastpump and bottle on the side table just in case she needed it, and went to leave them in their privacy.

Y/N peeled down the straps of her nightie as Carter began to speak to his baby. It was domestic. It was calm. In the shared atmosphere of the fifth story penthouse in a gently sunlit room, she found the most peace she had in the two decades she had been alive. She had her family, her love, and the warmth of true care. She hadn’t had that in a while.

Finally she managed to pull her top below her breasts, taking their baby, who instantly latched onto her nipple. A slight wince showed in her furrowed brow as her daughter drank from her, but it was nothing she hadn’t faced before. And neither were a pair of mischievous, lustful eyes that had just pulled three orgasms from her and still didn’t find it enough to just stare at her bare tits.

“You have no shame, Baizen,” she whacked his bare chest with her free hand as he let out a childish giggle at being caught, “no shame.”

“You just look so good, so gorgeous, so delicious,” he kissed up her neck in quick little pecks, making the trail to the real prize just that much quicker. When he reached her lips, he cradled her face with both hands, caressing them with his own and slipping just a little bit of tongue to mess with hers. It was far much too heated, especially in front of the cooing baby, who was also beginning to speak.

“Ma!” She shouted with glee, unattatching herself from Y/N’s breast. Both parents grinned with pure happiness at the small girl.

“You still need to drink more, little one, get back to it.” Carter gently guided her back to Y/N’s chest, and once again he was transfixed. “Y’know, I’m still kind of upset that she got your name before mine.”

“Don’t worry, darling, you’ll be soon enough.” She pressed a slow kiss to his neck, where a bit of scruff (that suited him quite well) was being grown out. “You’ll be begging her to be quiet as well.”

They both chuckled, very well aware of what loudness the little Baizen-L/N would soon be bringing to the household.

“We’re having Thanksgiving ourselves this year, right?” Y/N questioned. Though she was the usual event planner of their little family, after everything they’d gone through and including the horrifying events of Autumn’s birthday party, she wasn’t exactly jumping at the opportunity to invite them all again for a national holiday.

“Well, I didn’t invite anyone,” Carter finally lifted his eyesight from Y/N’s full breasts, meeting her worried expression. He knew that she hadn’t a clue what to do. But she didn’t need to do anything, she worked to hard and to be completely selfish, he wanted his new little family for himself. It was bright and being with just them was fresh, and he wanted to savor every moment, every breath, every living second of the day with his girls. “Did you invite anyone?”

“I didn’t,” she began to freak out. “I wasn’t planning on having anyone over and it was self-indulgent and stupid of me because after the birthday fiasco we need to pull out image up somehow-”

“Hey, hey, mama, calm down, okay? I mean, if neither of us made plans today, then that means,” he captured her hand with his, squeezing it twice for good measure, “that we can make some of our own. Does our resident freakaholic have any ideas on what we could ever do to save the day?”

“Well,” she grinned shyly, “I suppose that I just renewed our HBOMax subscription and I also suppose that you could make some of that really good vodka pasta with the turkey I roasted yesterday. How do movies and dinner in sound, darling?”

It took a moment for the image to settle in his head. His daughter curled up on Y/N’s chest as she rested on his on the crushed velvet couch out front in the living room, drinking warm tea and watching Curious George’s A Very Monkey Christmas. He supposed he liked the sound of it very much.

“God, I fucking love turkey day,” Carter grinned, pulling his two girls into his chest.

#sebastian stan #carter baizen x reader smut #sebastian stan smut #carter baizen x reader #gossip girl fanfic #gossip girl fanfiction #carter baizen smut #𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐦𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐝𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬: 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟔 #𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐦𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐝𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬

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manyblinkinglights · 3 years

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yay me

I have completed... the Excellent-performance biped-only version of my avatar.

Concessions: the wings are at .45 size (to fit inside the Excellent bounding box, which, a bounding box is a box your character runs around inside, that tells yours & others’ computers where to expect they’re going to have to depict all your limbs & bits).

There’s no flight collider, because that’s physics.

All the extra bones have been removed (such as the ones I used back in Blender to pose my facial expressions) and the weight paint adjusted to compensate for their loss; now I have precisely 69 of them.

The toggle between eagle foreclaws and lion forepaws is a material swap on a combined, single mesh that has both types of hands, which is harder to work with (back in Blender, at least) than having each type of hands be on its own mesh renderer in Unity, but Excellent avatars get 4 material slots and only 1 mesh renderer.

Cool things I fit in: I’m like 13.4k triangles >:33 (this is very small, though not unreasonably so).

My “Humanoid hands” have only one bone for each finger--the obvious minimum for Unity to recognize a finger--and these five fingers are weighted to the lionbean forepaws’ digits. My eagle talons, though, are three-fingers-and-a-thumb hands; each talon has two bones, the first ROTATION CONSTRAINED at .7 to one of the Humanoid fingers, the second rotation constrained at 1, so they do a bit of a clasp without any impaling/clipping. Both types of hands thereby have DIFFERENT, limited movements (because they’re too animalistic to do the full range of human hand/finger motion). The middle talon is constrained to BOTH the middle and ring finger, too, because the idea of just, leaving the ring finger out entirely seems like it would be subtly annoying to the people with full hand tracking.

There’s a subtle sway and pop of extra motion at the base of my tail, thanks to RRA (reverse-rotation-aim)! In a limited fashion, I have figured out how to make something rotate the REVERSE of its referent, with a damping rotation constraint + some gameobjects + an aim constraint. From the tailbase, there’s then a gradient of increasing head rotation constraint. The upshot is a very alive tail that moves harmoniously with the rest of the avatar’s movements, with a little extra pop of amplification of rotation in the hips shading into a natural “balancing” posture.

My wings have an attractive idle, but the reference for that idle is inside a gameobject which is constrained to the head as well--it’s not usually that noticeable, but it suddenly becomes so in extravagant dance movements or when you communicatively tilt your head!! Also gives that “balancing” feeling to the movement of the wings, as if they’re being naturally carried and adjusted while they idle.

Wings of course also have an option to invoke their hands-informed constraints, where the left wing is constrained to the right arm and the right wing’s constrained to the left one. Looks GREAT for dances, like this whole creature is simply dancing and of course it would also include its wings.

NOW............................................. TO MAKE THE ELABORATE, SHAPESWITCHING “MEDIUM” VERSION

#vrchat

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looye29 · 1 year

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commentaryvorg · 3 years

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Digimon Savers Commentary Episode 5 - Break into the Digital World! Drimogemon’s Trap!

In this episode, both Tohma and Masaru separately enter the Digital World to resolve unfinished business with the Digimon they failed to stop last episode. While there, they meet up in a perilous situation and end up bonding, learning to respect each other and work together at last.

Since this episode follows on directly from the events of the last one, we start with a recap of last episode. This is a rare thing for now as most of these early episodes are self-contained events, but it’ll soon become very regular once we get into the series’ overarching plot.

There’s nothing particularly interesting about the recaps; the narration is done by a non-character narrator, and they sometimes tend to show far more clips than necessary to remind people of the relevant things that happened. I often just skip them, though since for the purposes of this commentary I’ll be obligated to watch every single part of an episode to comment on the full experience, I will probably end up moaning about how unnecessarily long they eventually shift into being.

Narrator: “To fulfil his duty, Tohma went to the Digital World to chase down Drimogemon.”

It’s interesting that the narration frames it this way, since disobeying very strict orders isn’t exactly what one would usually consider fulfilling a duty to the organisation that gave him those orders. And yet, this also is to do with Tohma’s very strong sense of duty and need to complete every job perfectly.

Anyway, as we get back into events happening in the present, please appreciate this Very Done Yoshino Face as she realises that Tohma’s gone and endangered himself by going to the Digital World alone and she’s going to get in trouble for it.

As it happens, Masaru and Agumon have got the exact same idea into their heads of disobeying orders and sneaking into the Digital World to finish things with Drimogemon. While Tohma was legitimately very good at the stealth aspect of this plan, Masaru and Agumon’s idea of stealth is, uh… not so great.

Masaru: “Successful infiltration!”

Agumon: “We’re so smooth, Aniki!”

Yep. The smoothest.

Yoshino: “What are you doing.”

Naturally, Yoshino has very much noticed them. The subs put a question mark here, but I’m using my judgement to not include it, because her voice is so deadpan and I love her.

Masaru: “Tohma did a Digital Dive? Damn it, he got away before us!”

Yoshino: “Before?”

Agumon: “Nothing, he’s just talking to himself.”

Yoshino does seem to be genuinely rather wrapped up in trying to deal with the Tohma situation and bring him back, because she doesn’t appear to pick up on the obvious implication of Masaru’s slip-up here (and the obvious only reason they’d be sneaking in in the middle of the night like this in the first place).

Yoshino: “Doing a Dive when the equipment hasn’t even been tested on humans…”

Huh, interesting. I guess this particular version of the Digital Gate equipment that DATS has is newer, then, which tracks.

Yoshino manages to detect the signal from Tohma’s Digivice, but before she can use that to bring him back, the signal is lost.

Masaru: “Really. Well isn’t that a pity.”

Masaru sounds so incredibly (not) concerned here. Though I’m sure this isn’t him genuinely not even caring if Tohma dies; he just assumes Tohma can handle himself and doesn’t see this as his problem at all.

Yoshino: “Listen to me! It’s dangerous!”

Masaru: “That doesn’t matter! I’m just going there to settle my fight!”

Yoshino: “Who cares about your fight? You’re just going to make things worse!”

I mean, it seems like Tohma cares about this fight just as much as Masaru does, actually, if in a somewhat different way. We have two stubborn idiots refusing to let this go here, not just one.

Masaru wanders into the Dive chamber, and, naturally, doesn’t have a clue how to start it up. Yoshino seems quite willing to leave and not help him with this, until he and Agumon start the appropriately Masaru approach of hitting the machine to try and get it to work. (We saw how successful that approach was last episode.)

Masaru: “You think I’ll just sit back while that guy gets all the action?”

Obviously, Masaru is not exactly thinking this through here; he just wants to somehow get to finish his fight before Tohma can do it for him, damn it!

Since Masaru and Agumon are clearly not about to be sensible and stop trying to break the equipment, Yoshino has no choice but to give in.

Lalamon: “Yoshino, are you sure about this?”

Yoshino: “Letting him have his way is better than a broken machine and Tohma stuck over there…”

It really is only because Tohma went first that Masaru is able to get his way here. A broken machine that can be fixed later would be better than Masaru throwing himself into the unknown, but a broken machine while Tohma is stuck over there is not okay at all.

Yoshino: “Listen! I’m sending you the co-ordinates where we lost Tohma. Make sure to bring him back, okay?”

Masaru: “Whatever, just do it!”

Yoshino is making the best of this she can and at least using Masaru as a way to try and ensure Tohma is safe. Masaru acts like he doesn’t care – but note he also isn’t explicitly saying he definitely won’t try to help Tohma and will leave him to fend for himself no matter what.

Yoshino: “I can’t help you when you get to the other side.”

Masaru: “Like I even need it.”

Yoshino: “Oh, really.”

Obviously. Masaru is a tough independent fighter who can definitely throw himself into a completely different world without a clue what he’s doing and manage just fine. Being a liiittle cocky there, Masaru. (Exactly as much as Tohma was when he sent himself over knowing he’d have no backup.) And I love how Yoshino isn’t buying it for a second.

Yoshino: “Return to where you first entered by 0500. That’s where I’ll bring you both back.”

Apparently they need to be in a specific location in order for the Dive equipment to work in reverse (since there isn’t a big handy machine with a chamber in it on the Digital World side). Yoshino was briefly attempting to pull Tohma back earlier before she lost his signal, so I guess that was when he was still within the range of the reverse-transport?

Masaru: “Bah, it’s like having a curfew.”

Haha. Something Masaru is probably quite used to, since he is only fourteen and his mother must worry about what he gets up to a lot. He did mention having to sneak out of the house to come to DATS last episode, which I surmised was not because DATS was a secret to Sayuri but rather just because it was late.

Masaru looks at his Digivice, which has a clock feature telling us it’s 0:33 right now. Yoshino apparently expects him to navigate a completely unfamiliar world, find Tohma (and also defeat the Drimogemon because she knows he’s going to want to do that even if she’d rather he didn’t bother), and get back to where he arrived, within four and a half hours. That seems a little bit tight – why couldn’t she just let him have as long as he needs and just wait to pull him and Tohma back whenever they appear back in range?

The reason, I imagine, is that she’s really hoping she can get this all wrapped up before the morning shift at DATS starts and Satsuma finds out what’s been going on here. I don’t blame her.

Agumon: “Aniki, I’m kinda nervous…”

Masaru: “Don’t get scared now, idiot.”

I like how Masaru is admonishing Agumon for getting scared not as if he’s being a coward or anything like that, but just as if he’s being an idiot. Obviously if they let themselves get scared and hesitate, that might get in the way of them winning their fight! It’s like Masaru is thinking of “getting scared” less in terms of the initial emotion that you can’t help feeling, but in terms of whether you choose to let it control you, or you just push it aside and press on anyway. Anyone who wouldn’t want to do the latter is an idiot, right?

Agumon: “You sure this is okay?”

Masaru: “You think I know?”

As the countdown to transfer gets close to zero and the energy starts swirling around them, I love the tiny little hint that Masaru is actually just as nervous about this as Agumon is – he has no idea if this is gonna be okay or not either! – and is just very stubbornly refusing to show it.

As we briefly see here, moving from one world to another involves travelling through a trippy computery in-between void. Future trips to and from the Digital World in the series will (usually, with one notable exception) skip over this part, but we can assume that it’s a thing that happens every time.

The opening also contains a shot of the characters going through this void between worlds. Yoshino doesn’t head to the Digital World herself in this episode, of course, but she will in time.

Masaru: “This is the Digital World? Cool… The sky and the ground are upside-down!”

I like how Masaru is totally willing to buy that the Digital World really is this weird.

Agumon: “Aniki… You’re the one who’s upside-down.”

Masaru: “I knew that.”

…Rather than the much more likely option that he’s just a huge ridiculous dork.

(The subs say “I knew that” like Masaru’s trying to save face, but the word he says in Japanese could also translate as “Oh, I see,” as if he isn’t even trying to hide how he genuinely thought the Digital World was upside-down for a second. That doofus.)

Agumon: “It’s my first time seeing it, too.”

Masaru: “But you’re a Digimon, aren’t you?”

Agumon: “Yeah, but I’ve been in DATS all my life.”

Yep, just like he said in the first episode about not remembering anything but being in DATS. Seems like, unlike the rampaging Digimon they deal with, Agumon came to the human world while he was not exactly “alive”, as such.

They wander through the Digital World for a while, marvelling at some of its weirdness. Circuit board patterns in the sky! Pixelated rivers! All sorts of Digimon walking and bouncing and flying around!

Masaru: “We’re looking for that mole thing. If we keep walking, we should come across a clue or something.”

Man, Masaru, you sure thought this through and planned things out real good.

Agumon: “What about Tohma?”

[cut to the DATS control room]

Yoshino: “‘Leave him, he’ll figure something out on his own.’ …If he said that, what’ll we do?”

Lalamon: “You’re overthinking it.”

[cut back to the Digital World]

Masaru: “Leave him, he’ll figure something out on his own.”

Oh dear. Yoshino has already got Masaru pretty figured out and knew full well he wasn’t likely to take looking for Tohma that seriously. Though, to be fair, it is pretty reasonable to assume that Tohma can figure something out on his own. Masaru wouldn’t admit this just yet, but this is him having faith in Tohma’s capabilities! If Masaru had reason to believe that Tohma was definitely in life-threatening danger he couldn’t get out of by himself, I’m sure he wouldn’t be so nonchalant about this.

As Masaru and Agumon explore more Digital World weirdness – more stuff in the sky! Digital plants! A crystalline colosseum-looking thing that’s actually a Chekhov’s Gun for this episode! – a particular piece of BGM is playing that evokes a sense of grand exploration and discovery, as you’d expect for this moment. This piece happens to be called Savers’ “Main Theme”, which was a little surprising to me when I saw its name on the soundtrack. You’d expect this series’ main theme to be something more actiony, in fitting with all the focus on fighting and the way Masaru is. But maybe a more discovery-like piece is actually quite appropriate for what the overall themes of this story are.

Agumon: “But it feels kinda nostalgic.”

An interesting comment from Agumon here. Though he doesn’t consciously remember anything about the Digital World because he was born in DATS, it seems like he has a subconscious sense of familiarity with it. As we’ve seen every time DATS defeats a Digimon, they don’t die and are simply turned into eggs and “reborn” – so maybe this is a sign of Agumon’s previous life, in which he did live in the Digital World, still vaguely there with him even though the conscious memories of it are lost.

As fun as showing off Digital World weirdness is, we soon get to the point as Drimogemon happens to pop out of a cliff face nearby. Which, yes, is kind of arbitrarily convenient. But I will take this any day over them wandering aimlessly having unnecessary filler adventures for episodes on end before getting to the actual point that the story is here for.

It also may make some reasonable amount of sense, actually. Masaru was sent to where Tohma was last seen, and it’s likely that Tohma deliberately sent himself somewhere near where he could detect Drimogemon. Tohma sending himself over here with absolutely no idea where to find a single Digimon among an entire world would have been incredibly stupid, after all, and I don’t think he could have justified that to himself even with his determination to fix his mistake. Given that, it’s not so unreasonable that Masaru would have run into Drimogemon at some point, since it was going to be somewhere near to where he arrived.

Also, while the other Digimon they’ve seen were just kind of wandering around naturally, the Drimogemon straight up crashed out of a cliffside. It’s still rampaging, exactly as they were worried about last episode, and therefore it’s even more likely that Masaru would have noticed it sooner or later with all the commotion it’s making.

Drimogemon tunnels into the ground, so naturally Masaru heads straight after it – and back at DATS, Yoshino loses his Digivice signal just like she lost Tohma’s. So apparently these signals can be picked up through the boundary between worlds, but not if someone is in another world and also underground. Uhhh, okay then.

This also means that presumably the reason she lost Tohma’s signal is because he went underground while trying to track Drimogemon, not because he was necessarily in any severe danger.

Lalamon: “This may be the worst…”

I’m amused by Lalamon borrowing Yoshino’s catchphrase, but hedging her bets on it a little bit. Maybe it’s not actually the worst! Maybe.

Satsuma: “What are you doing?”

Yoshino: “Searching for an idiot! Geez, why me?”

Yoshino is so focused on frustratedly searching for Masaru’s signal that she doesn’t even register that Satsuma and Kudamon have shown up at first, which is probably the exact thing she was really hoping wasn’t going to happen until Masaru and Tohma were back. Nope, turns out this definitely is the worst.

Back in the Digital World, Masaru’s tried-and-true strategy of tracking Drimogemon down by simply following it through its own tunnel has led them into a huge underground cavern.

Masaru: “Doesn’t matter where this is! Let’s go, Agumon!”

As before, Masaru doesn’t care about the location so long as he gets to fight! Or, perhaps, he’s trying to tell himself the location doesn’t matter, because on some level he’s realising that Drimogemon is very much in its element and has the advantage here. Which it does, as Masaru and Agumon quickly learn they’re not very good at Whack-a-giant-Digimole.

Bear in mind that Drimogemon is not saying a word, just like it hasn’t since it grew bigger last episode. It’s still in that mindless rampaging state, and so it seems to have no issue with straight-up collapsing the ground underneath Masaru and Agumon. That would be going a bit far if this were a Digimon that was still properly in control of itself.

Agumon: “Aniki!”

Masaru: “Idiot, don’t get scared over something like this!”

Masaru is still trying to set an example for his follower and insist that there’s no point in getting scared, even though being in an underground cave-in is in fact a pretty legitimate reason to be scared right now.

They both fall into a pretty deep-looking chasm but manage to somehow land reasonably unhurt, because shounen anime. Agumon’s awkward legs-in-the-air pose he landed in is pretty cute.

It turns out that Tohma and Gaomon are down here too. Seems like Drimogemon took the same approach when it was faced with them.

Masaru: “What’s this? Does that mean the same thing happened to you?” [he and Agumon burst out laughing] “I see, you’re just like us!”

I really like Masaru’s reaction here. He’s not trying to be mean-spirited; if you listen to the tone of his laughter, there’s nothing malicious or mocking about it. It’s just such a huge relief for him to finally be seeing proof that Tohma’s human. He can fail sometimes and mess up in ways as equally ridiculous and undignified as Masaru. He’s not actually some kind of infuriatingly perfect walking supercomputer who can never do wrong like Masaru’s kind of been resentfully seeing him as. He’s just a person.

The relief of that realisation comes out as laughter not because Masaru’s really trying to mock Tohma for failing, but just because of the elation of finally being able to see Tohma as an equal. “You’re just like us”, indeed.

Tohma’s response is also great. He’s not getting frustrated and snapping back at Masaru like he often would in the previous episode, because he must be able to tell that Masaru isn’t actually trying to insult him here. He’s just embarrassed to be unable to deny the fact that he really is more of a fallible human person than he would have ideally liked Masaru to see him as.

Gaomon, meanwhile, the good dog that he is, has been carefully excavating rocks and found a potential way out. As Tohma heads towards it, he stumbles, because his leg was injured from the fall.

Masaru: “Hey, you’re hurt!”

Tohma: [grimacing] “This barely counts as an injury.”

Tohma clearly doesn’t want to give Masaru even more reason to think he’s human and fallible and might need help or something. But Masaru doesn’t care about Tohma’s stubbornness and immediately moves to put himself under Tohma’s arm to support him.

Masaru: “Here.”

Tohma: “Stop that. I don’t need you to help—”

Masaru: “When you’re a man… When you’re a man, there are some things you just have to *do* despite yourself.”

I love Masaru so much. This is the first time we’re getting to see that his manliness thing is about a whole lot more than just fighting. It’s about honour, and integrity, and simply being a good person. The “despite yourself” is because he still doesn’t really like Tohma just yet and there’s a part of him that stubbornly wants to continue to be irritable and contrary towards him for the hell of it – but since Tohma’s injured and needs help, Masaru’s principles about doing the right thing in this kind of situation are more important to him than anything, so he can put that petty stubbornness aside. And these principles of Masaru’s come from exactly the same place as the reason he always gives it his all in fights!

(All those parts earlier in the episode where I confidently asserted that there’s no way Masaru actually wouldn’t have cared if Tohma had got himself killed, and that if he’d believed Tohma was in genuine danger then he wouldn’t have just left him to his own devices? Yeah, this is why. Masaru is Good.)

Masaru’s manly speech was mostly about himself, but it also works as advice to Tohma in this situation. He could continue to try and be stubborn and prideful and insist he doesn’t need help from anyone, but when there’s someone right here offering to help him – someone who was until recently at his throat, no less – what kind of a dick move would it be to reject that offer? Accepting Masaru’s help is the right thing for Tohma to do as well, despite his own pride. And he does.

Agumon: “You’re making me cry, Aniki!”

Agumon also approves of his aniki’s manly principles, like a good follower should. Aniki is teaching him so much.

Masaru: “Let’s get outta here first. Then we can think about other things.”

Implicit in Masaru’s statement here is “then we can get back to arguing with each other if we want” – but I like how he isn’t even mentioning that here, because right now it isn’t about that. Their lives are in danger, they need to help each other and work together to get out, and so nothing else matters for the time being.

This turns into a brief cute montage of the four of them helping each other make their way through the tunnels, which turn out to be quite the underground labyrinth. A lot of time implicitly passes here, and while I doubt Masaru and Tohma are saying very much to each other, this is no doubt making them bond a bit. They’re finally spending some time seeing each other as a person and an equal, rather than as some kind of infuriating representation of everything opposite to their own approach that brings out all their insecurities.

Meanwhile at DATS, Yoshino is indeed getting fiercely chewed out by Satsuma.

Yoshino: “But that was all I could do…”

It really was, or Masaru would have broken the equipment and left Tohma stranded there! She did the absolute best thing she could under the circumstances! Alas, Yoshino doesn’t seem to quite have it in her to stand up for herself and more clearly express this.

Kudamon: “Instead of berating them, we should find out where they are quickly!”

At least Kudamon has the right idea. And I imagine Satsuma understands this, too – he’s probably only so furious at Yoshino because he’s worried about Tohma and Masaru. He likely would have chewed them out if he could, since this is absolutely far more their fault than Yoshino’s. But they aren’t available for him to yell at, so poor Yoshino got the brunt of it instead.

Masaru: “Hey, why didn’t you evolve Gaomon and break out?”

Back in the Digital World, Masaru asking this suggests he’s been thinking himself about, naturally, the most straightforward way to get out of here – he’d just evolve Agumon to GeoGreymon and smash their way out, if only he could!

But it says a lot that Masaru is then also applying his mindset to Tohma and assuming that he’s probably thought of the same thing, hence asking why he hasn’t done so, since Tohma can evolve his partner more easily. Masaru’s starting to empathise with Tohma and see him as a person!

(I guess technically Masaru might be able to get his Digisoul by turning around and punching Gaomon in the face? But it’s entirely possible that it wouldn’t work against a Digimon that’s not actively trying to fight him. Or, even if it did, that’d be a dick move to suddenly punch someone who’s not ready to fight and defend themselves, so I doubt Masaru would want to do that.)

Tohma demonstrates why he didn’t just evolve Gaomon by asking Gaomon to punch the wall, showing how dangerously unstable these tunnels are. Which is, uh, something he really could have just explained with words rather than taking a risk like that. But then again, Masaru is definitely someone who learns things better through actions rather than words, so maybe this is Tohma beginning to appreciate that!

They reach another fork in the tunnel and disagree on which path they should take. Tohma explains that the path he’s choosing isn’t random; he’s been dropping coins on the ground as they’ve been moving, and the path Masaru picked has a coin in it, indicating that they’ve been that way before.

(This is a 100 yen coin, by the way, which is roughly equal to one US dollar, and Tohma’s apparently been dropping loads of them. Could he not have used, I dunno, just 1 yen coins? Someone has more money than he knows what to do with.)

Masaru: “Hey, you’re pretty smart!”

I like how Masaru remarks on this like it’s the first time he’s noticing this, as if he wasn’t already infuriatingly aware that Tohma’s a straight-up genius. This is Tohma displaying his smarts in a low-key, down-to-earth way that a regular person like Masaru can understand and appreciate is a useful way to go about things, rather than a way that makes him just come across as incomprehensibly, unreachably perfect.

Tohma: “As I said, I’m not like you.”

Tohma’s still taking a little longer to warm up to Masaru and acknowledge that they might actually be similar to each other in a lot of ways, since he insists on stressing this point. Come on, Tohma! Masaru’s already started to admit that maybe you’re more like him than he would have liked you to be a day ago; you should start closing that gap, too!

Masaru makes a face in response to this comment. Apparently he’s agreeing with my sentiment about Tohma being a little too unnecessarily uptight here.

Agumon: “Aniki… When are we gonna get outta here?!”

Masaru: “Don’t worry! Keep up your spirits and we’ll use it to work this out somehow!”

Tohma: “Spirit has nothing to do with it, but we *are* heading up.”

I love the contrast between Masaru’s baseless emotion-driven optimism, and Tohma preferring to base his optimism in actual facts. Both are good ways to be optimistic!

Masaru: “You’re really unbearable.”

Tohma: “You too.”

They say this, but they both sound a lot less vitriolic about it than they did in the previous episodes. They still have huge differences in their approach to things that inherently frustrate each other, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be beginning to respect each other anyway!

Masaru and Tohma reach an opening into a wider cavern, but they’re too high up for it to be safe to drop down into it. They’re about to turn back when Drimogemon shows up in the lower cavern.

Masaru: “He’s out of luck to meet us here! Let’s go, Agumon!”

Yes, out of luck, this is definitely the least advantageous possible position that Drimogemon could be meeting them in. Masaru is still being Masaru and paying no heed to the environment; he sees Drimogemon as being out of luck to meet him at all, because hey, this means they don’t have to go searching for it later!

Tohma points out the incredible disadvantage they’re at, including reminding Masaru that it’s not safe for their partners to evolve in here, and insists they should keep heading for the surface and leave it be for now. But Masaru is having none of it.

Masaru: “Not gonna!”

I absolutely adore his ridiculous grumpy walk towards Tohma. It’s so perfect for getting across his stubborn attitude here. No. Masaru is gonna fight the thing and no amount of logic or safety is gonna stop him.

Masaru: “I’m not gonna run or hide! A man takes his fights head-on!”

Also, running away at a time like this isn’t what a man does, according to him, and it’s already become pretty clear just how important sticking to that principle is to Masaru.

So he pulls Tohma with him to the edge of the tunnel and straight-up leaps down onto Drimogemon’s back, with Agumon and Gaomon frantically jumping after them.

(Tohma grimaces in pain as he lands on its back. Yeah, considering his leg injury, ouch.)

Masaru: “Yo.”

Masaru climbs forward onto Drimogemon’s head and has this delightfully audacious moment.

Then, realising they’re there, Drimogemon goes mad trying to shake them off. When they keep clinging on, it rushes towards the nearest wall trying to tunnel away. Masaru tugs on its fur like reins to redirect it to tunnel where he wants it to – in a more upwards direction, since they soon emerge out on the surface.

(It’s a little questionable how Masaru and co. aren’t just utterly crushed between Drimogemon’s back and the earth as it digs its tunnel, but then again it’s questionable how Drimogemon’s drill even manages to drill out a tunnel big enough for its entire body through what seems like not earth but solid rock in the first place. Shush, it’s anime physics; it’s fine.)

Tohma: (He… Did he plan all of this from the start? But wait…)

And here’s Tohma applying his mindset to Masaru, imagining that Masaru might have planned this! He’s, uh… not precisely correct on that one, but it says a lot that he’s even considering it at all.

Rather than jump off its back and fight it here, Masaru keeps pulling on Drimogemon’s fur to direct its panicked running.

Masaru: “Yahoo! This is just like a rodeo!”

(And he’s having a whale of a time while doing it, too, the huge dork.)

Tohma: “Where are you taking us?”

Masaru: “You’re the one who said to think of a good battleground!”

Look at Masaru actually thinking about this and applying a decent amount of strategy! He’s really not that bad at doing so when someone prompts him to actually consider it; he’s just usually so raring to jump straight in that it doesn’t occur to him to do so.

The “good battleground” in question is the crystalline colosseum Masaru noticed earlier – just the kind of place where Drimogemon won’t be able to dig. Inside the crystal arena, Masaru gives it a nice big punch before leaping off its back, and its evolution time.

…Except, it turns out, it’s also about to be evolution time for Drimogemon. For some reason. It starts twitching and shaking like it’s having some kind of adverse reaction to something, but I cannot come up with any possible reason why it would be doing so. The robbers who may or may not have been (read: they definitely were) responsible for it growing bigger and rampaging in the first place back in the human world are long gone and out of the picture. This does not make any sense to me. Maybe this is just something that happens if a Digimon that’s grown bigger but not evolved is left to rampage unchecked for long enough? I don’t think we see any other instances in the series that would contradict this, but this is definitely me reaching here.

Meanwhile at DATS, Miki and Megumi have also been called in to help search for the two reckless idiots, and they finally manage to relocate their signals – probably because they’re above ground again now. But they also detect Drimogemon evolving, which, for some reason, activates DATS’s alarm. You know, the one that’s supposed to be for Digimon appearing in the human world, because it’s hardly like a Digimon evolving back in the Digital World is usually anything they need to worry about.

Drimogemon finishes evolving, and it’s now… a Digmon. (Dig, without the second “I”; yes, this is very easy to awkwardly misread as just Digimon, I know.) And, uh, Digimon evolution level facts: this shouldn’t be a stronger Digimon.

If Drimogemon, an Adult-level like Gaogamon and GeoGreymon, had evolved upwards like you’d expect into the next proper evolution level, it’d have reached Perfect level. And, as I’ve mentioned with regards to evolution levels, they are each ridiculously exponentially stronger than the last, to the point that even GeoGreymon and Gaogamon working together would not have stood a chance against even a single Perfect-level.

So, well, obviously that couldn’t actually happen here, because Masaru and Tohma need to win this fight. Instead, Drimogemon just evolved sideways into a bonus gimmicky evolution level called Armour level, which, from its appearances in other series, seems to be roughly just as strong as Adult. This is not actually any significantly more of a threat at all.

Tohma: “It’s Digmon. He’s far more powerful and has a higher mobility than Drimogemon.”

I guess we’re meant to assume that Armour levels work somewhat differently in this Digimon universe and are in fact just a little bit stronger than Adult, while not nearly as much so as Perfect? Sure, I guess; the general mechanics of Digimon don’t always work exactly the same in different universes.

(Still, Tohma conspicuously does not mention Digmon’s evolution level and explain the fact that it just evolved more sideways than upwards, because the writers don’t want you to notice how awkward this is.)

This whole thing, nonsensical DATS alarm and all, is a hilariously transparent attempt by the writers to inject more artificial tension into this situation, and, I dunno, to maybe showcase a different Monster of the Week since we’ve been dealing with Drimogemon for two episodes now. It’s very silly. Drimogemon should have just stayed as a Drimogemon and everything would have been fine.

At least this does mean, thanks to Digmon’s apparent higher defences and mobility, we get GeoGreymon not winning the fight in a single attack. (Though my brain looks at Digmon and sees something that’s clearly a Bug/Steel-type and is very bothered by how an obviously Fire-type attack like Mega Flame doesn’t harm it at all. Shush, I was raised on Pokémon; I can’t help but see things this way.) It puts up a decent fight for a while, dodging or withstanding their attacks and hitting back, which at least is a refreshing change from the one-attack victories we’ve seen before – because there’s a narrative point to be made in this fight that wouldn’t work if they won straight away.

…I still think this could have been made to work just fine with Drimogemon turning out to be tougher and have more mobility above ground than they’d been expecting, though. It shouldn’t have needed to evolve sideways for this fight to be a challenge.

So anyway, after a little bit of them not getting anywhere in defeating it, Tohma reminds Masaru of the part last episode where GeoGreymon and Gaogamon’s attacks collided from opposing directions and cancelled each other out.

Tohma: “But what if the opposite happened?”

Masaru: “What’d happen?”

Tohma: “Let’s find out!”

Look at Tohma getting into the Masaru spirit of things! He has an idea, but unlike his usual carefully-calculated strategies, he doesn’t know exactly how this one’s going to play out. And yet he’s going for it anyway!

Tohma: “Isn’t that your style?”

Masaru: “Now you’re getting it!”

Not only that, but Tohma knows this is him pulling something Masaru would pull, and he’s okay with it! And of course Masaru enthusiastically approves.

Believer kicks in here, by the way, not earlier when they were evolving. We’re still hearing it every episode for now, but even then, the music directors know better than to just blindly throw it in the moment an evolution animation happens, regardless of context. They’re deliberately saving it for the actually triumphant moments, like all “evolution” songs should be.

Masaru: “The timing has to be perfect.”

Meanwhile, Masaru is taking a leaf out of Tohma’s book and caring about little strategic details like timing! Look at them both go.

On their command, GeoGreymon and Gaogamon fire their Mega Flame and Spiral Blow attacks together in the same direction at the same time, which turns them into a huge flaming tornado that engulfs Digmon and overwhelms it.

Tohma: “The opposing attacks didn’t clash… they fused! Their combined powers enhanced each other and became amplified to more than before!”

Which, though I don’t know if Tohma himself quite realises this or not, is also a very fitting metaphor for his and Masaru’s methods, just like what happened last episode. If they oppose each other, all they do is get in each other’s way and achieve nothing at all, but if they work together, they can each complement the other’s skills to become something greater than either of them could be on his own!

Masaru: “Who cares about that? All that matters now is… he dies!”

Meanwhile, of course Masaru doesn’t care about figuring out the sciencey logistics of how this is working (and he certainly cares even less about possibly making some kind of metaphor). He just knows that it’s awesome and it means they win.

(The “he dies!” is, uh, rather dark, especially considering it’s only being turned into an egg, but I’m pretty sure that’s a subs thing and that Masaru doesn’t actually directly reference death here. The subbers were probably just going for something that sounds a bit snappier than “he’s defeated”, which I imagine is closer to what Masaru actually literally said.)

As Masaru starts celebrating their win like the adorable excited dork he is, GeoGreymon and Gaogamon give a small smile to each other, and it’s cute.

Tohma, meanwhile, isn’t quite the type to join in with Masaru’s loud celebrations, but he has a smile to himself and is obviously happy about this outcome as well, in his much more subdued way.

We cut to sun…set? Huh, now that I think about it, I guess this part of the Digital World runs on a different timezone to Japan in the human world, because it was daytime the whole time over here while it was night in Japan. Maybe this world even has an entirely different day length.

Masaru, Tohma and their devolved partners are heading back to the recall point – with Masaru still supporting Tohma’s walking, because he is still good and Tohma probably still needs it.

Tohma: “When you jumped down towards Drimogemon… Did you plan right from the start to use him so we could get to the surface?”

Tohma only asks this now even though they’ve been implicitly walking back from the fight for a while. It seems he tried to tell himself that it probably was all planned, but the thought kept nagging at him – was it really, though? This is Masaru, after all – that he eventually just had to ask and confirm it.

Masaru: “Nah, that was just spirit! But the result was great, wasn’t it?!”

Aaaand of course it wasn’t all planned from the start. Of course not. But, hey, there was still deliberate intent and strategy involved as it was happening. It seems Masaru can be pretty good at the whole seat-of-your-pants, make-it-up-as-you-go type of strategising when he needs to be!

Tohma: (I hate to admit it, but I can’t analyse his ability with my intellect.)

And that’s okay, Tohma! This is Tohma acknowledging that Masaru’s approach is nothing like his, but that it still works just as well and is just as valid a way of going about things. He’s opening his mind to more than just his very rigid way of thinking!

Tohma stops in their walking and… offers Masaru a fist-bump. I really like how he’s the one to offer here, after Masaru was the first to offer support to Tohma earlier and Tohma was still being kind of hesitant about fully accepting Masaru as being similar to him. He’s making up for that now and closing the rest of the gap himself, just like he began to do in the battle when he suggested a Masaru-like risky strategy!

Masaru accepts it without question, of course. He probably already felt like they’d grown enough of an unspoken bond from their experiences that it didn’t need to be said, otherwise I imagine he’d have already made this gesture himself sooner. But I like that it didn’t occur to him, so that we could see Tohma be the one to choose to initiate this.

They are friends now and it is good!

Agumon: “Aniki’s got himself another follower!”

That’s, uh, not quite what this is, Agumon. But it’s adorable that Agumon jumps to seeing things that way, because to him his aniki is just The Coolest and he can’t imagine anyone else ever being his equal. So if Aniki’s gained the respect of someone new, that must mean he’s also become an aniki to them, right?

Gaomon: “Master is no follower!”

Meanwhile, maybe Gaomon feels pretty similarly about his master, too. He is, after all, a very good dog.

Safely back at DATS, Masaru and Tohma and their partners have the grace to look appropriately sheepish about this whole thing as Satsuma yells at them. Yoshino is also there and also looks like she’s getting yelled at along with them, which seems unfair to me – she already bore her share of the blame earlier, and it was far less her fault than theirs!

Kudamon: “You were able to make it back this time, but did you think about what would’ve happen if you’d failed? You still know nothing of the Digital World!”

It’s pretty interesting that Kudamon says this to them, considering that he knows far more about the Digital World than anyone else in this room and yet hasn’t ever thought to inform his agents about it in case something like this ever happened.

Satsuma drops his anger and turns his back to them before finally complimenting them on managing to return. Despite his sternness, he does care about his subordinates! I really do think he was only so angry because he was worried about them never making it back. Going there in the first place was monumentally reckless on both their parts, but Masaru and Tohma did at least handle things quite impressively while they were there, and that deserves to be acknowledged.

(Speaking of worried, I imagine Masaru is very much not planning on telling his mother about how he nearly went and got himself stranded in another world, which is definitely for the best. Poor Sayuri would be terrified just thinking about how close that came to happening.)

Overall thoughts

When I first watched Savers, I think there was a part of me that expected the Masaru-Tohma rivalry to drag on unnecessarily long, like for ten episodes or more, and probably become kind of stale and tiresome before it finally got resolved. But no! Savers doesn’t waste any time with this mini-arc. We’ve seen Masaru’s insecurities brought out by Tohma; we’ve seen Tohma’s insecurities brought out by Masaru; now it’s time to shove them into a situation where they can learn to get along, so that the story can move on with them actually working together.

And, really, it was never going to take Masaru and Tohma that long to reach this point. They always had so much in common along with their differences, and they’re both fundamentally decent people despite their tendency to be very stubbornly insistent about their own way of doing things. All it took was putting them in a situation where they can come to see the other as a person and not have their own issues brought out by the other’s very presence, and each one was always going to see that there’s plenty about the other that he can respect.

So I like this episode a lot, because I think it pulls this off really well. There’s a lot more to it than just the basic premise of “put them in danger so they’re forced to work together” – there’s all sorts of little moments I’ve talked about here that show each of them is slowly beginning to see the other as human and come to understand and respect his different way of thinking. The writers really thought about this, and about these characters. Savers’ character writing is great.

And yeah, the Drimogemon evolving into Digmon is pretty silly, but that’s only a small thing. The conclusion of the metaphor started last episode with GeoGreymon and Gaogamon’s attacks is a narratively appropriate way to end the fight, at least.

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[Dub comparison]

#digimon #digimon savers #masaru daimon #tohma h norstein

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slade-neko · 3 years

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Saw this video game tag thing pop up on my dash a few days ago. Wanted to do it.

1. First game you played obsessively? Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, I believe I was 5yo. Still waiting on that FF7 Remake treatment.

2. A game that has influenced you creatively? Writing, drawing, etc. Well if I play a game and like it, then I'll create sims of it. Does that count?

3. Who did you play with as a kid? My brother from the day I was born.

4. Who do you play with now? My brother FROM THE DAY I WAS BORN.

5. Ever use cheat codes? I wasn't lying when I made this post. {link}

6. Ever buy strategy guides? Yes! Mainly to look at the artwork though. (Don't need no guide!)

7. Any games you have multiple copies of? Lots of games, most being Left 4 Dead with 6 copies (3 Xbox 360, 1 PC case, 2 PC digitally.) What can I say, its a GOOD GAME!

8. Rarest/Most expensive game in your collection? Gold cartridge Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time (maybe that's rare?)

9. Most regrettable purchase? I don't regret my purchases, but I have received games I have never played like Cubix (PS2) no clue where that game came from, but I have it somehow. Madagascar (Xbox 360) came with my Xbox 360, never opened it from its case. And Monsters Inc. Scream Arena (Gamecube) or something... it was a gift.

10. Ever go to a midnight game release or stand in line for hours? No, because then I'd have to interact with people.

11. Have you ever made new friends from playing video games? I'm only friends with people BECAUSE of video games, so yes.

12. Ever get picked on for liking games? No, that'd be ridiculous.

13. A game you’ve never played that everyone else has? Probably a lot, I'd say Call of Duty, but I technically played CoD 1, 2, and 4. The campaign mode was alright, but I don't really care for CoD games at ALL.

14. Favorite game music? Koji Kondo and Grant Kirkhope are two BIG ones.

15. If it was a requirement to get a game related tattoo, what would you pick? Triforce is the most basic option, but I'd rather not get a tattoo.

16. Favorite game to play with your friends IRL? Super Smash Bros. Brawl with hacks, but that was over a decade ago.

17. Ever lose a friend over a game? No, that'd be ridiculous.

18. Would you date someone that hates gaming? No, that'd be RIDICULOUS.

19. Favorite handheld console? PSP. 3DS is great, but PSP Monster Hunter has ALL of my portable gaming memories. Like playing in school after End of Grade tests with my friend.

20. Game that you know like the back of your hand? Sims 4 I like to think I know everything about Left 4 Dead. Quite a bit about Monster Hunter, more so of a series though than a specific game.

21. Game that you didn’t like or understand as a kid but love now? I'd say Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. I loved it as a kid, but had a lot of complex pen & paper RPG mechanics that I never understood. I understand a lot more of it now, but its still complex as all heck. I just know you hit things, they die.

22. Do you wear game related clothing/accessories? That's the only thing I wear.

23. The game that you’ve logged the most hours into? Not sure so I'll list a few. Sims 4, Smash Bros. Brawl, Monster Hunter (its a series though), or Left 4 Dead

24. First Pokemon game? Leaf Green

25. Were you ever an arcade game player? No, don't like paying to play.

26. Ever form any gaming rivalries? No.

27. Game that makes you rage? I don't get mad at games, but I had a custom modded Hard Eight mutation in Left 4 Dead that is absolute bullsh*t!

28. Ever play in a tournament? No, because then I'd have to interact with people.

29. What is your gaming set up? A giant wall of video game consoles spanning from NES to Switch, 4 TVs, but I sit at a desk with a PC.

30. How many consoles do you own? "I own every console that's ever existed." - I Don't Play Games When I Play Games (My STRENTH) original song by Smooth McGroove BUT no seriously I own 32 consoles including handhelds.

31. Does the 3DS and/or Virtual Boy hurt your eyes or give you headaches? Yes. 3DS gave me headaches though I only really played with the 3D feature in Ocarina of Time 3D. I think my eyes broke because I couldn't get my 3D to work very well after.

32. Did you ever play a game based on your favorite show/cartoon/movie/comic? Sure I play games based on a lot of things. Literally any anime game. If I had to pick Dragon Ball Xenoverse is kinda like a dream Dragon Ball game. Oh, Attack on Titan 2 is pretty neat too!

33. Did you ever have any bootleg games or plug-n-play games? Some SEGA plug-n-play thing once. Played it like once and now its lost to time (or my closet.)

34. Do either of your parents play video games? Yes. Mom and Dad played NES Super Mario Bros. My Dad went HARD at that game until he saved the Princess. Then he quit forever.

35. Ever work in a game store? Or do you have a favorite game shop? "Hi. Welcome to Gamestop!"I never want to hear that again, but it was my main store until I went full digital/ online orders.

36. Have you ever shed actual blood, sweat or tears over a game? No, I don't tend to get upset or emotional, but Bill dying in Left 4 Dead made me pretty pissed.

37. Have you played E.T. for the Atari 2600? Do you think that’s the worst game ever, or do you have another nomination? Never played it. I don't really play "bad" games, but maybe Sims 4.

38. A game you’re ashamed to admit that you like? The Sims 4

39. A sequel that you would die for them to make? Dragon's Dogma 2 WHICH I think is actually in development, so I'd have to say Fallout New Vegas 2. C'mon Bethesda you cowards, hand the keys back over to Obsidian so they can make another good Fallout game!

40. What to you think of virtual reality headsets or motion controls? Two part question, two answers. VR Headset to immerse in world, yes. Motion Controls, no.

41. A genre that you just can’t get into? MOBAs and MMOs. I don't like paying to keep playing.

42. Maybe it wasn’t your first game, but what was the game that started you on your path to nerdiness? Nintendo 64 opened me up to what video games could be as a kid. Sad to say my parents' NES didn't really do that for me. And years later Fallout 3 was a big game changer for me too.

43. Ever play games when you really should have been concentrating on something else? Every day of my LIFE.

44. Arcade machine that has consumed the most of your quarters? None. I'd rather emulate.

45. How are you at Mario Kart? Pretty dang good. 3-STARS MARIO KART WII, BABY!

46. Do you like relaxing games like Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon? Yes, both of those. I preferred when Animal Crossing had more character to it. New Horizons looks so pretty, but feels so bland compared to classic AC.

47. Do you like competitive games? No. Not really. Usually amongst friends or if I can get competitive against AI Bots. I love my machine bot friends cause they don't cry like 10 year olds when they lose.

48. How long does it take your to customize your player character? Too long. I've seriously restarted games because I wasn't happy with my character's appearance.

49. In games where you can pick your class, do you always tend to go for the same type of character? Yes, I am always the magic man, my brother is always brute warrior, and my friend is the ranger.

50. If you were a game designer, what masterpiece would you create? I don't really know. Honestly, I'd rather mod already good games to make them better than create something completely new.

51. Have you ever played a game for so long that you forgot to eat or sleep? No, that'd be ridiculous. But I've had a friend fall asleep playing games at my house 3 different times and currently dozes off during our Minecraft sessions. So, maybe that's not a completely ridiculous thing after all.

52. A game that you begged your parents for as a kid? Kirby 64 apparently. My brother tells me we had to count out pennies to buy it. I must've been too young with no recollection, but I believe it.

53. What’s your opinion on DLC these days? It's good if its not in the game's files from the beginning and is actually developed AFTER launch... and pre-order bonuses should be standard DLC a month or two later. Some games have content lost to time because of that pre-order bullsh*t.

54. Do you give in to Steam sales? Of course. If you want a game and its on sale then why not? I typically wait just for Steam sales to get games.

55. Did you ever make someone you hated in the Sims and did mean stuff to them? No? I typically make people and characters I like in Sims. I've made villains like Dio, but he's an anime villain and I don't really HATE him despite the horrible things he's done.

56. Did you ever play Roller Coaster Tycoon and kill off your guests? No. Never played that game.

57. Did you ever play a game to 100% or get all of the achievements? I try to for all the games I really like.

58. If you can only play 3 games for the rest of your life, which ones do you pick? The Sims 4, Skyrim, & Fallout: New Vegas. Mods make them live forever. Left 4 Dead and Monster Hunter are good choices too.

59. Do you play any cell phone games? Those aren't games.

60. Do you know the Konami Code? No? But I'll take a guess. Is it make an IP and forget it exists?

61. Do you trade in your games or keep them forever? Keep forever... even the bad ones.

62. Ever buy a console specifically to play one game? PS4 Pro for Monster Hunter World. It was basically for early access since the PC version was being developed and releasing after PS4, but I don't like waiting.

63. Ever go to a gaming convention or tournament? Sort of. Been to anime cons and walked into the gaming tournament rooms only to walk out less than 10 minutes later.

64. Ever make a TV or monitor purchase based on what would be best for gaming? No, but I'm going to be doing that soon, hopefully.

65. Ever have a Game Genie, Game Shark or Action Replay? Did it ever mess up your game’s save file? GameShark for N64, PS2, Gameboy, and Action Replay for Gamecube, DS, 3DS. And no not really, I would cheat responsibly... but there was this one time at school my friend and I borrowed another friend's Gameboy game, loaded it up with my Gameshark, tried playing, it crashed, loaded it back up, save file corrupted... we just stared at each other jaws dropped, "Here's your game back, dude. Make sure you don't play it til you get back home!"

66. Did you ever have have an old Nokia with Snake on it? No, but I remember seeing them on billboards in the game DRIV3R on PS2.

67. Do you have a happy gaming-related childhood memory you want to share? Every game I play is filled with happy memories (mostly.)

68. Ever save up a ton of tickets in an arcade to get something cool? These tiger plushes. My brother got white and I got orange. They were the coolest. Got a butt load of tickets from some jackpot spinning light game thing as I was good at the timing with repeated jackpot hits.

69. In your opinion, best game ever made? I've played quite a few masterpiece games, but to pick one, I'd say Fallout: New Vegas