Not sure a derelict research facility where the floors are literally falling apart is the best place to set up your laboratory.

On an up note, I got to draw magnetic tape drives! Who needs solid state, anyway?

Digimon Adventure: and how not to approach a reboot

Two nerd rants in one month? I'm not quite sure what this says about me.

Today I wanted to discuss why the original Digimon Adventure anime worked so well and became so beloved and nostalgic for the first generation of Digimon fans, why the 2020 reboot Digimon Adventure: (often colloquially referred to as Digimon 2020 by fans because the colon is not pronounced, so in speech it's impossible to tell the two titles apart) failed to recapture Adventure's success, and why you really need to think long and hard before rebooting anything (aside from a frozen PC).

Return to Lynwood, Chapter 6

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6

Suhel’s breath caught in her throat as she waited for Lexora to respond. The Kougra searched the Werelupe’s face, and Suhel wondered if Lexora remembered a certain stubborn little Lupe first-year with a western Haunted Woods accent.

The other Werelupes clustered around their king and his second-in-command, as did Terra and Pharazon. A few of Isengrim’s thanes let out low growls at the Kougra, which Suhel cut short with a motion of her paw. Pharazon stared hard at the woman, his blue eyes narrowing.

Lexora blinked, jaw agape, and finally said, “C-Caradoc?! I thought I’d never see you again! When you left for the Woods and never came back—we all assumed the worst!”

“I survived,” Suhel said. “Well, I did far better than survive, I’d say.”

 Well, at least someone finally found her.

 Also on last Fossil Friday, Ashley mentioned it would be really cool if ankylosaurs camouflaged themselves by putting plants on their back, like the terrestrial equivalent of decorator crabs, and wanted someone to draw that. I thought it sounded like a fun challenge. I love talking to scientists because they come up with so many great ideas that I never would have thought of!

I'm not sure ankylosaurs had the dexterity to pick something up and put it on their back, but I did think it plausible that they could roll in mud, get dirt caked on their backs, and then let plants grow in the dirt! I'd love to see something like this trundling around the desert.

The ankylosaur in question is Pinacosaurus from the Djadokhta Formation in Mongolia. The only flora found in the Djadokhta Formation so far are conifers, so I essentially had to come up with the shrubbery carte blanche. Aside from a few sapling conifers, I also populated this guy's back with a mix of plants currently found in the Gobi Desert, and shrubs found in the American West such as manzanita, sagebrush, and yes, good old tumbleweeds. I'm not saying these plant groups were definitely present in the Djadokhta, but the climactic conditions were similar enough that similar plants were probably present. It's a fudge, but a well-researched fudge.

 There are some surprising Pokémon who can learn Surf, like Tentacool, Mudkip, Goldeen, and Sentret. I dunno, maybe they tow you in an inner tube or something. (But the fact that the Pikachu line can learn Surf is totally normal, of course.)

 Last Fossil Friday, Maggie Jo was gushing about Velociraptor (and why wouldn't one) and she came up with the pun "Velocirapper" and then she wanted somebody to draw that. Good thing there was a mad doodler in the audience.