#+ sora's and yamato's too of course

[seventeenlovesthree]

Did you know that there is a clear "pecking order/priority list" Taichi and Koushirou have in common when it comes to calling their friends in case of emergency?

Did you also know that, even though there are exactly 10 episodes between these two moments, they both still take place on August 1st 1999?

[angstandhappiness]

Adorable

ヽ( ﾟ〇ﾟ*)乂(*ﾟ〇ﾟ)ﾉ ｡.:+*｡.:*☆ [ vol 2 ✧ vol 1 ]

[ashxketchum]

MY DEPRESSION HAS BEEN CURED MY SKIN IS CLEAR MY CROPS ARE FLOURISHING ALL BECAUSE OF THIS ONE IMAGE THIS IS THE YEAR OF ADVENTURE PANDERING LETS FUCKIN GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Let's break this down one by one ~

This is such a good Sora fit I don't even know how to explain how very much OG Sora this is, the pink tones of the overall sporty outfit perfectly capture all levels of her personality. To top it off she's sharing flower themed cream sandwiches with Piyomon AAAHHH the subtle reference okay merch team you can take a w. Not to mention Sora is perfectly matching with Taichi and the fruit in her sandwich is orange stoooopppp itttt!!!!!

TAICHI OMG who is dressing this boy because that's the most he's ever jocked as a 11 year old. The sweatshirt, cargo pants, matching wristband and the sense to put his goggles down, he is winning the sporty casual fashion show for sure. And of course him and Agumon are enjoying some chicken popcorn, love how they weren't even subtle with the packaging art we all know Japan's favourite fried chicken brand anyway 🤣

Yamato. YAMATO. Y A M A T O. You're 11 can you tone down the cool guy heartthrob behaviour for a minute because I am losing my mind THE DOGTAG CHAIN IM GONNA SCREEAAAMMM ACTUALLY I AM SCREAAAMING AAAAHHHHHHH. He looks so good, there is absolutely no wrong element in his entire outfit, everything is perfectly paired up, a fashionista is among us. The little thumbs up over the onigiri that Gabumon is offering him?? Is he telling Gabumon that he's okay with having one and Gabumon can have the rest because that's the sweet, protective, kind, caring baby he is at heart???🥹🥹🥹The blue and green gradient in the background tho?? Mimato math is mathing bestiesss 🤣

Takeru is just a lil guy, but such a perfect lil guy!!! I like how his outfit has the similar green shade as his anime outfit but they still chose to gave him a new beanie instead which doesn't really match the colour tone of the rest of the fit but it's Takeru so we know that he can pull any hat off and that's what he does!!! Him and Patamon sharing burgers, okay mood, but why is he looking so surprised? I need to know what happened, did he spill some sauce on his overalls? Was the burger too hot to bite? WHAT HAPPENED TAKERU????? 😢

Jou, I see you paired up the plaid pants with a nice long, muted, warm toned jacket BUT I SEE THAT PURPLE SHIRT POKING IN FROM INSIDE and excuse me sir but why that purple with the plaid 😭 I need to see a version where Jou isn't wearing the jacket so I can make an informed rating on this outfit but may I add that in the full merch pic he has paired this look with green and white sneakers...I cannot defend you I am sorry Jou, please try brown loafers next time 😭 But outfit aside, Jou eating a taiyaki with Gomamon is lowkey funny I just know that Gomamon cracked a Marching Fishes joke at least once.

Koushiro...I will not go into detail but I will say it's cute that you have a sweater with a little K on it, it's also very cute that there is a splash of orange in your outfit, who's attention are you vying for it isn't subtle at all bby boy and I am grateful you matched your shoes to your sweater even if the socks are definitely a choice and that blue with orange is also definitely another choice. Good to see your are making choices. I like that him and Tentomon are sharing dango, it's always nice to see Koushiro's fondness towards Japanese traditional snacks hinted at in some way.

MIMI. QUEEN. SLAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY!!!! YOU NEVER EVER MISS MY SWEET BEAUTIFUL BABY GIRL. The pastel tones matched with the grey stockings for contrast, that beret and the fuzzy hem boots, you just know she shops at Takashimaya and Isetan and anything below it will just not do ����🏻 Plus Sora and Mimi are wearing the same tones, which probably means that they pre-planned the outfits together, cuties!!! Also Crepe is such a Mimi™️ choice of dessert but I always get teary eyes when I see Palmon mimic Mimi's gestures, there is just so much love and admiration between them for each other, pure childish wonder 💚 And the crepe even has a cutesy character face on it, which kinda looks like Monzaemon, though I can't be sure but if it is then another win for a subtle reference. Not to mention both Yamato and Mimi look like they've dressed in a more cool and elegant style than the rest like they might be on their way to a date THE MIMAT MATH IS MATHING YALLL!!!

Hikari looks super cute, I think there isn't much official art of her in casual clothing for OG stuff so it's nice to see her in a more cutesy fit suited to her age. The hairband matching the cardigan is such a nice touch!! I can't recall any other casual outfit for OG design Hikari except the War Game and Memorial Party dress, so I think this would be the first time we see Hikari with a hairband and it just looks adorable. Of course she is sharing an ice cream with Tailmon, it's kinda their brand now but like Takeru she's making a surprised expression, perhaps she wasn't expecting Tailmon to offer her a bite of her ice cream?

To conclude, this is probably the best OG artwork we've gotten since Idk maybe the Rainy Day stationery series. This will be sold in advance at the Kamio Store booth at Anime Japan 2024. No other details were mentioned, but the event booth sale feels like a pre-sale before the goods become available more widely at other outlets, hopefully, at some stores that international fans have access too as well.

Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.

Ayushi out.

[astrocloud3]

Digimon Headcanons

Haven't really ever written these down but here are some of my random headcanons...

1. The partner digimon grow up alongside their partners, instead of staying the same size while the humans get bigger. The older / more mature a digimon gets, the larger they are- a newly evolved agumon is going to be a bit smaller than an older agumon.

2. (Refer to 1) Gabumon is the largest of all the partner digimon, and full grown, comes up to Yamato's shoulder (excluding their horn). They're not extremely tall, but their body is large / dinosaur-like. Agumon is the same way, but a little shorter. I'd imagine they're both 200 to 250 lbs? Idk.

3. Digimon keep scars from battle. For example, if Piyomon gets an injury as Garudamon, she'll only have the scar when she's Garudamon, not when she devolves to Piyomon.

4. Digimon actually reproduce, although it's not super common. After all, if a digimon gets permanently deleted and doesn't return, then eventually there'll be none left.

5. When a digimon dies, they leave a body behind, and it's only their soul / data that gets reincarnated. But for special cases, like Angemon against Devimon, they disintegrate completely (Angemon used all their data for their final attack against Devimon, and it included destroying the data of their own body). This means that Digimon can eat other digimon.

6. (Relates to 5) During the Chosen's original adventures, their partners would occasionally hunt other digimon in order to get supplies, whether it be furs to keep the kids warm / make clothes or last-resort food if there was nothing to scavenge

7. Mimi gets pretty good at cutting hair. Taichi still won't let her touch his hair, and instead ties it half-up in a ponytail when it gets too long. She and Taichi did braid Yamato's hair in his sleep once (only with Gabumon's permission of course)

8. The Chosen's adventure lasts 5 years- 3 years from the start of their adventure to Vamdemon / where they return to the real world, then once they return to the digital world, they spend 2 years fighting the dark masters. Their bodies grow up during this time to young adulthood, but revert to their 9-13 year old bodies during the Vamdemon arc. When they return to the digital world they are once again young adults. At the end of their adventure, they choose to stay with their digimon and make their lives in the Digital World, much to Gennai's dismay.

9. Yamato has little holes and cuts on his gloves- more so than the other's (wear and tear, etc), and small scars on his fingers from using knives and cooking food for the group. He's a decent cook at the beginning of their adventures, but still needs a bit of practice. He's only 12 at the beginning of their adventure, and over the next 5 years he grows to be a much better cook.

10. Jyou is (naturally) the group's doctor. When the Chosen return to the real world, Jyou makes sure to pack up on medical supplies, and steals his brother's medical college textbooks, anything he might find useful. If there's a book on burns, breaks and injuries, he'll take it. He may or may not have shop lifted a CVS or two. Heck, all these kids pilfer stores in the real world, they get good at sneaking around. Yamato (steals) brings small spice packs in a carry on bag that he can use when cooking fish, any meat the digimon bring back from hunting.

11. Everyone gets their fair share of injuries- Taichi loses a finger or two, Yamato gets slashed across the face (he's lucky he didn't lose an eye, according to Jyou), Sora gets a pretty nasty gash in her leg at one point, Koushirou dislocates his arm, Takeru gets a pretty bad concussion, Hikari gets ill on more than one occasion, Jyou's foot gets impaled (giant thorn? Idk. He has to treat it himself and that's not fun. He walks Sora through doing stitches), and Mimi breaks a couple ribs. Other than these, the occasional scratch or twisted ankle happens every so often.

12. The Chosen have a designated bath and wash day, and all of them spend a day bathing / washing their clothes / fur blankets, etc. Jyou uses this day as a 'checkup' day to make sure no one has any injuries they're hiding (implemented after Koushirou tried to hide a nasty bruise on his ankle. He didn't want to bother anyone about it). When everyone and their partners are bathing, Gabumon sits to the side and watches over everyone / stands guard. May or may not be jealous of the others bathing with their partners, but would rather stay dry. Plus, Yamato is the only person they'll allow to see them without their fur.

Okay that's all I can think of for now, but maybe I'll do another Headcanons post! This was fun and at least I have some written down now.

:)

[rimanne]

well this recent stuff messed me up a bit, even if i'm not a akatsukiP. i normally wouldn't do this kind of thing but enstars is a really beloved series to me and i wanted to share my experience with it and vent a little

so yeah corny stuff after read more

I've always loved rhythm games, since my childhood playing rhythm heaven. In fact, it's the only type of game, besides visual novels, i can say i'm sort of good at lol

And some years ago i used to play love live and utapri-shining live a lot. If i remember correctly both of them had gacha elements and story modes but i didn't really care about it, because my english was really bad at the time AND all i cared about was to play silly anime songs on my phone.

I wasn't really sad after both of these games ended their services. I was left bittersweet, yes, but nothing that impacted me that much. So i was left wondering if there were other games similar to those i've played.

I tried bandori, project sekai, d4dj, but none of them really stuck with me, maybe because i'm a thumb player and the layout was really hard for me to adapt to. And then, almost 4 years ago, i saw enstars in pre-registration. It apparently had a similar layout to what i was used to, so i figured "i might like this! i'm gonna give it a try!"

And it didn't take me long to fall head over heels for this series. I love absurdism, so the crazy lore behind the silly idol game really pulled me in. And i did get used to the gameplay style, i felt nostalgic of the games i used to play before and i felt like i struck gold for finding enstars.

I can't exactly point out what makes enstars special to me, compared to the other games i've played, i never felt such a deep connection to a game before.

Regarding the story, as i said before, it really left me interested to learn more about the world and the characters. The way the plot point was over the top and insane, along with the characters who are crazy too, it was as if it was built in for me to obsess over lol

But of course, the problem was always there. Honestly the way aira treated hiiro left me so uncomfortable at times, especially within the story, where it makes it seen hiiro as a stupid kid who knows nothing about anything.

Adonis' case is really complicated for me, because, as a black woman who grew up watching cartoons and anime with little to no black characters, i just got used to, in lack of better words, "be grateful for what i have".

And adonis being the only foreigner in a cast of yamato japanese people made me sympathize with him. "Oh, so he is viewed as a violent foreigner who's obsessed with meat, but he is just a softie? Well, i'll take what i can get".

And i genuinely thought that "maybe they're making a criticism on racist views or something". But really, adonis has existed for 10 years, i've been a fan for almost 4, and to this day we don't know what country he is from.

Not to mention what they've been doing with their neurodivergent characters lately! Sora lost his synesthesia somehow, and apparently shu got "cured"?? Mademoiselle doesn't appear anymore??

This new stuff with ibuki was my last straw, because it felt like happyele spent years punching us, then suddenly they switch to hitting us with bazookas with their blatant disrespect for their characters, their fans, everything!!!

I really can't bring myself to enjoy playing it anymore, but i'll still be in the fandom, i'll still have so much care for the characters, i'll still listen to the songs i already like, because they're mine now. And happyele can try to pry them away from my cold dead hands!!!

Anyway

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x07 - Roar! Ikkakumon / Ikkakumon's Harpoon Torpedo

Previously on Digimon Adventure: After vanquishing Sid at the end of Toy Story, Woody went mad with power and created an empire. Also, Mimi learned that there can be too many teddy bear hugs.

Now the kids are back on the road again, exploring the island to find options and answers.

We open with a shot of that great mountain in the center of File Island. The Black Gears seem to be coming from it, flying high over the forest below.

This is a quiet, ominous scene in the original; Devoid of music, with only the sounds of the trees rustling and the gears whirring as they make their way across File Island. Then we open on the kids walking, visibly shivering from the cold. Even the Digimon are suffering, with Patamon and Palmon openly complaining that it's too cold.

Everyone except Gomamon, who's visibly having a great time.

The dub adds some background music and has Gomamon talk over the whole setup.

Gomamon: I know this is no day at the beach, Joe, but that's no reason to be a worrywart about it and make all your friends unhappy! Pardon the pun but chill out; Only you have a problem with the cold, right guys? Everyone, think warm!

Well that's a harsh scolding to walk in on. Joe hasn't even had a chance to say anything yet! This sets up a visual contrast, with the sight of everyone freezing and suffering contrasting against Gomamon's claim that everyone else is fine.

Either way, it hits the main point: Gomamon is completely unbothered by the frigid cold that everyone else is suffering from.

Suddenly, Taichi pipes up, giving the group encouragement in the form of a distraction to keep their spirits up.

Taichi: If we get any snow, we can have a snowball fight! Mimi: Snowball fight! Palmon: What's a snowball fight? Koushiro: A snowball fight, huh? Tentomon: What is that? Is it food? Koushiro: No, a snowball fight is a fun activity where we throw snowballs at each other. Yamato: (to Taichi) We can finally have a match! Taichi: I won't lose! Sora: I'm looking forward to it! Takeru: I wanna make an igloo! Palmon: *to Tentomon* Hey, do you know how to make an igloo? Tentomon: Now that has to be food. Koushiro: Again, it's not.

The dub script for this scene is slightly different but conveys the same ideas pretty much perfectly.

Tai: Yeah, but if it snows, we'll throw some snowballs! Mimi: And make snowmen! Gomamon: Who do you think snowmon is? Gabumon: A Digimon from their planet. Izzy: It's difficult to explain. Tentomon: Well, if it's edible, count me in! Izzy: No, the best thing about snowballs is that you can throw them at each other. It's a fun game that we play in the winter months. Tentomon: You throw food!?!? Matt: We can even build a snow fort! Tai: You'll need one! Sora: I bet I can beat you both blindfolded! T.K.: I wanna build an igloo! Palmon: I'll help! ...if you tell me what it is. Tentomon: An igloo sounds scrumptious to me! Izzy: Too bad they're not edible.

The main difference between the two versions is Mimi's introduction of a snowman into the conversation and Sora joining in on the hypothetical snowball duel between Taichi and Yamato.

The highlight of the two versions is definitely Tentomon's horrified misunderstanding of snowball fights in the dub, though. "You throw food!?!?" That got me. XD Nobody tell him about food fights.

Gabumon's confident explanation of snowmon is also pretty funny. Characters confidently answering questions about information they do not possess is never not funny.

Jou, on the other hand, is not swayed by all this fun snowball fight talk. Sora asks why he looks so on edge, and Jou explains exactly what's making him so anxious about all this snow talk.

Jou: (muttering to himself) You guys are taking it too easy. It would be unbearable if it snowed. Sora: Jou-senpai, why are you standing all alone over here looking so serious? Jou: Of course I'm serious! Think about it! If the temperature drops any further, it will be difficult for us to set up camp. In this cold environment, it'll be hard to find food too. My head hurts from all of this! I'm the one who has to protect everybody! ...because I'm the eldest.

While he's talking, we see Takeru, Koushiro, Yamato, and Taichi chatting happily to underscore the difference between his attitude and theirs. We don't hear what they're saying, but the big smiles on their faces conveys the idea that they're taking things much more lightly than he is.

The dub gives them dialogue and distracts from Joe's speech, which paints him more as a joy-killing worrywart.

Joe: Come on, get serious! It would be horrible if it started snowing right now. Sora: Lighten up a little, Joe; We're just trying to look on the positive side of things. Joe: BLEGH!!! T.K.: Hey, Tai! When's it gonna snow? Tai: Probably any second now. Matt: Right on Joe's head! T.K.: That'd be so funny! Tai: I can't wait to see his face! Joe: You know, if the temperature drops any lower than it is already, we won't be able to camp out anymore. We'll be frozen Digi-Treats! That's right! Go ahead and laugh but when your tootsies freeze, don't come crying to me; I'll just say I told you so! It is always better to be safe than sorry; Think first!

The important context of Jou being the eldest and needing to take responsibility he isn't equipped to handle doesn't make it into the dub. He does get the final word, but half of the scene is spent ridiculing him; Even Sora scolds him for his attitude, where in the original she strikes up conversation out of concern for him.

Also the dub just has Joe suddenly going "BLEGH!!!" which automatically costs it a million Joe Dignity Points.

Either way, as the kids keep going, they come upon exactly what they've been discussing.

A snowfield lies ahead. Mimi and Takeru go run around and play in the snow having fun, but the others hang back with Jou to much more seriously discuss what we should do and where to go from here. All talk of snowball fights and igloos evaporates the instant it's really happening.

Taichi puts two options in front of them: Either they cross the snowfield, or they turn around and climb the mountain behind them. Suddenly, Agumon gets a sniff of something. A strong smell from nearby. The other Digimon and even the kids start sniffing the air, and they can all smell it too.

An onsen/hot spring! You can feel the cultural difference in how the kids react to this revelation.

Yamato: I see. This is-- Jou: AN ONSEN!!! Mimi & Takeru: ONSEN!!!

Jou, Mimi, and Takeru all scream at the top of their lungs when they realize what's in front of them. Meanwhile, in the dub:

Matt: But what's it coming from? Joe: A BIG GEYSER!!! Mimi & Takeru: Wow, a hot spring!

Mimi and Takeru are still excited but a bit more reserved with it rather than the ecstatic shriek of the original. Joe's still stoked, though.

Ecstatic, the kids race across the snowfield with hot springs on their mind to find warmth and relaxation. No, wait, hold up. It says here, uh....

It says "boiling black goop". They find boiling black goop. File Island sucks and I want to go home.

(I am reasonably certain that what they're looking at is a mudpot, a highly acidic and viscous bubbling slurry found in volcanic regions. Technically considered a hot spring but you wouldn't want to soak in that.)

Well, we aren't going to be able to bathe here but at least it's warm. Convection from the mudpots is providing relief from the bitter cold, but Jou quickly calls the group's attention to the problem of food. Fortunately, Takeru spies an answer.

An absurd answer. An incomprehensible answer. An answer that visibly makes Jou want to pull his hair out when he sees it. An answer that staggers all reason and sanity, and yet is not that unexpected anymore on File Island.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Sure, why not. Forget it, Jou; It's File Island. Hopefully this one isn't full of Numemon. Against Jou's protests, the kids race to the fridge. Taichi throws it open to discover eggs for days.

This discovery provokes an interesting conversation on the ethics of food stealing during a survival situation.

Taichi: Guess this means dinner's served! Jou: W-Wait a minute, we don't even know if they're edible! Taichi: (huge grin) Don't worry, I'll test them for poison! Jou: What are you saying!? Even if we could eat them, we'd be common thieves for taking other people's property! Yamato: We don't have a choice. We're hungry. Sora: They'll understand if we explain it to them. Koushiro: At any rate, this is an emergency situation. Tentomon: Let's have dinner!

Honestly, the others have a point. Children stranded in a foreign land and starving rank pretty high on the list of acceptable reasons to violate societal norms. This while File Island excursion is the most emergency that a thing can possibly be.

The dub version of this conversation is pretty much an exact translation, though I really like their version of Tai's "I'll test them for poison" line.

Tai: GRUB ON! These will keep us all fed for a month! Joe: Wait a minute, you shouldn't even touch them! We don't know if they're fit for human consumption! Tai: Then I'll be the guinea pig! If I turn purple, you'll know they're not edible. Joe: There's more to it than that; Even if they were edible, they don't belong to us! That would make us all thieves! You gotta think about stuff like that, Tai! Matt: Unless you're into eating rocks, we don't have too much choice. Sora: I'm sure they'd say yes if they knew we were in trouble. Izzy: Exactly; We'd tell them it's an emergency situation. Tentomon: (sarcastic) Rationalize away.

The biggest difference is that Tentomon oddly seems to be on Joe's side in the dub? But overall it's practically verbatim, just a little wordier. But also, "If I turn people then they're not edible." XD Perfect addition to Tai's line.

Outvoting Jou once again, the kids set to work preparing the eggs. They're getting pretty good at wilderness survival. They make crude bowls, a rudimentary cooking stove to fry eggs on, and nets to boil the eggs in one of the less viscous boiling springs.

(Nobody stops to ask the obvious question of where the eggs came from if there are no chickens in Digimon World. Multiple previous conversations have established that there aren't animals or people here; Only Digimon. But. Y'know. Kids. They probably think eggs come from the supermarket.)

For his part, Jou whittles chopsticks while muttering to himself.

Jou: Everyone's so cheerful. I can't be like that. Because I have responsibility....

Contextually, he means that in the sense that he's responsible for whatever happens to them, not that he has responsibility as like a personal characteristic. It's what he was talking about earlier: Whatever happens to them is on his head because he's the eldest.

The dub makes this another argument between Joe and the others.

Mimi: Hurry! We wanna eat! Joe: (dour) Sorry, this just makes me feel uncomfortable. We'd be in big trouble if someone got sick; No doctors, y'know. Why do I always have to be the one to think about these things?

Ironically, Jou's burden is specifically the answer to Joe's question.

Once everyone's finished, they set out the eggs and dig in. ITADAKIMASU!

Yamato wishes they had some white rice to go with it, while Matt wants ketchup. I feel Matt; I'm a ketchup-on-eggs person too. Dub Sora thinks it's gross though.

(Sora and Matt start dating in a few years. I wonder if there's any fics about the inevitable ketchup-on-eggs bickering? You know that's gotta come up for the dub versions of these characters.)

From there, Jou laments that they wouldn't have to do so much work if they were at home. Joe expresses a similar sentiment, but his lament is that ketchup would be easy to come by at home.

This sets the others on a depression spiral, thinking about how homesick they are. Koushiro gives us a timescale: The kids have been here for four days now. In the dub, Izzy adds that he wonders if anyone's started searching for them yet.

At that point, it's Sora's turn to lift everyone's spirits with a distracting conversation topic.

What kind of topping do you like on your eggs? The kids take turns answering with their preferences.

Jou - Salt and pepper. Taichi - Soy sauce. Yamato - Mayonnaise. Sora - Sauce. Koushiro - Ponzu, a tangy citrus sauce. Mimi - Sugar with natto on top; A fermented soy bean.

The kids agree that Koushiro and Mimi's answers are weird, especially Mimi's. Natto on eggs? What?

(Meanwhile I'm over here recoiling in horror at Yamato's mayo eggs.)

Some of the responses in the dub are a bit different.

Joe - Salt and pepper. Tai - Soy sauce. Matt - Salsa. Sora - Doesn't answer, instead saying Matt needs a reality check. Izzy - Mustard and jelly beans. Mimi - Maple syrup with cherries on top.

The dub kids find Izzy and Mimi's responses weird too, but T.K.'s kinda into it and curious to try.

All this talk of weird egg toppings sends Jou into a complete meltdown.

Jou: You all put that weird stuff on your eggs!? (hangs head in hands) I'm shocked. The Japanese culture is collapsing before my very eyes!!!

Taichi tries to defuse the argument by asserting that everyone's culinary choices are valid except natto, but it's too late. Jou goes off.

Jou: With eggs, all you need is salt and pepper! Not sauce or mayonnaise but salt and pepper!

Gomamon calls Jou stubborn, provoking an argument that quickly devolves to Gomamon asking Jou to Fight Me Bruh.

In the dub, Joe's reaction is honestly tamer than Jou's.

Joe: What!? You're making me completely lose my appetite; I just like plain eggs! (hangs head in hands) I wish we could talk about something other than egg recipes.

Here, Tai's remark isn't so much to defuse the conversation as it is poking fun at the group.

Matt: Come on, join the party! Tai: I think it's really too late for him. I think Joe thinks we've gone a little crazy over these eggs. Joe: Well, really. Jelly beans and cherries on eggs, that's just crazy talk! Salt and pepper's all they need. Keep it simple; That's always been my motto!

He's still grossed out, but he's not calling them the decay of Japanese culture over it.

After Gomamon tries to fight Jou, Yamato steps in to try and de-escalate. Yamato tells Jou that he's acting off today and asks what's up, but Jou screams at the whole group that they're the ones who are off and storms away.

The dub captures the same elements but the delivery of Joe's actor undercooks the emotional tension. Joe sounds mad, telling everyone things like "You're all asking for trouble!" in an angry but still reserved Joe voice; Jou, however, is full-throated screaming at the group, audibly furious beyond any consolation.

Over eggs. Because this isn't really about the eggs. It's about everything that's happened. Jou's crumbling under the pressure of his responsibility.

Finally, Jou storms off to be alone and cool down beside one of the boiling hot springs.

When Jou calms down and returns to the group, he finds Yamato and Taichi at each other's throats. Koushiro explains: They're bickering over whether we should go to that huge mountain we keep seeing in the center of File Island. It's called "Mugen Mountain", mugen being the Japanese word for Infinity. The dub translates Infinity Mountain faithfully.

(Don't know about y'all but I'd be hesitant to start climbing something called Infinity Mountain in a place where physics are playful. The possibility that the name might not be hyperbolic would give me pause.)

While we see the two bickering, Sora summarizes their sides for Jou's benefit.

Sora: Taichi says that if we go there, we can survey our entire surroundings. Jou: That's true. On a mountain that tall, we can see everything. Sora: But Yamato is against it because it's dangerous. Piyomon: There are a lot of ferocious Digimon on that mountain. Jou: I see. That is dangerous.

While in the dub, Tai and Matt themselves yell their opinions at each other mid-argument for Joe to hear and consider.

Tai: It's the perfect spot! We gotta climb up there; It's the best view of the island! Joe: You've gotta admit; He's got a point there. Sora: That's not how Matt sees it. Matt: Nobody would make it up that peak! It's much too big of a gamble! Biyomon: He might be right, Joe; There could be lots of evil Digimon up that peak! Joe: Hmm... That's not good! That wouldn't be worth the risk.

The biggest difference between the two versions is Yamato's side. Piyomon in the original states with certainty that there's ferocious Digimon there, while Biyomon in the dub is only speculating. Given that the Digimon have been Tour Guiding everyone and identifying various important Digimon by name, it makes sense that she'd have a good idea of what's on Infinity Mountain. So that's a point to the original.

However, the way it's phrased makes it sound like Yamato's only worried about fighting Digimon, while Matt sounds more generally concerned with the idea of a bunch of inexperienced children trying to do expert mountain climbing, regardless of what else is up there. So that's a point to the dub.

Taichi calls Yamato out for unproductive cowardice and Yamato calls Taichi out for recklessly endangering the group. Jou tries to convince them to settle down and stop fighting, but they respond by putting him on the spot. Pick a side: Taichi or Yamato? Jou agrees with both of them and demands time to think, and the whole argument turns into a three-way shouting match rather than being settled.

(That's a Nat 1 on Jou's Diplomacy check.)

Eventually Sora is forced to step in and yell at all three of them to cool it. Together with Piyomon, Agumon, and Gabumon, she declares bed time - Leaving Jou with nothing but his abject sense of failure.

While the others sleep, Jou reflects on how badly that went.

Jou: I couldn't do anything. I even got caught up in the fight instead of stopping it. This won't do. I have to stay focused. I have to keep everyone in order! Me!

Jou rises to his feet with determination to take action. He's going to climb Infinity Mountain himself.

He barely makes it out of the cave before Gomamon catches him. Jou protests Gomamon's presence, demanding he stop following him. Gomamon retorts that he has business to take care of up on that mountain so they just happen to be going the same way.

Jou and Gomamon help each other up the mountain, dissolving the tension between them pretty quickly. Gomamon offers Jou a "hand" to help him climb; Jou points out his flippers for a joke, surprising Gomamon with the fact that he even can tell jokes. For his part, Jou physically does help Gomamon up the mountain.

Jou and Gomamon stop to take a break on the mountain, but suddenly a massive earthquake strikes. The partners bear witness to a secret door opening in the mountainside, spilling out more Black Gears and sending them across File Island.

Jou immediately decides to investigate whatever this is.

As they approach the secret door, the sun comes up. However, it's already closed and sealed, and the Black Gears are gone. Jou and Gomamon find nothing waiting for them.

Then they hear a noise. The sound of wings beating in the distance, coming closer.

Unimon, an Adult-stage Vaccine-type Digimon. The narrator explains:

Gomamon: It's Unimon! He's a smart, gentle Digimon. Narrator: A sweet Digimon whose form is a mix of the legendary beasts, the unicorn and Pegasus. His special attack is the fireball Holy Shot.

While in the dub, Joe and Gomamon go over him like this.

Joe: Oh, that's just great; A flying horse wearing a mask! This can't be good. Gomamon: That's not your everyday flying horse, Joe. That's Unimon! He's a wise old Digimon. I never knew he lived in these mountains; He's not much of a talker!

Normally I side with the original over the dub on these character intros, but I like Joe's agitated remark and Gomamon's personalized exposition more than the clinical analysis that the narrator provides this time.

Jou initially insists on hiding. Despite Gomamon's assurance that Unimon's kind and friendly... the kids have heard that a lot on this island.

Fortunately, Unimon's just stopping by for a drink of water. Everything is fine. Gomamon steps out of the cave to go chat up Unimon and--

Red Alert. Everything is no longer fine.

Expectedly, the Black Gear slams into Unimon's back, driving him wild. He turns on Gomamon and Jou, advancing menacingly. In the dub, he says, "Hello, Gomamon; Aren't you happy to see me?" in a hostile voice, but he says nothing in the original.

Back at camp, Sora's the first to wake up. Stepping outside the cave, she finds a message Jou left, informing the other kids that he'll be back in a bit and asking them to wait for him. Immediately realizing what reckless action Jou's taken, Sora wakes everyone up to go after him.

Jou and Gomamon flee for their lives from Unimon, but his flight advantage makes escape impossible. He destroys both sides of the path they're on with his Holy Shots, pinning them down to one area.

Again, the original Unimon only makes horse noises, while dub Unimon speaks English, taunting them with remarks like, "That's a perfectly good route if you're thinking of flying away!" Also, the dub refers to Holy Shot as Aerial Attack.

With Jou and Gomamon pinned down and nowhere left to run, Unimon begins charging up a final Holy Shot to kill them both. Jou hugs Gomamon tightly, closes his eyes, and waits for the end. Then he hears the crash, but nothing hits him. So he opens his eyes and....

Sora and Taichi have arrived as backup!

While they're distracted checking up on Jou, Unimon nails Birdramon with a Holy Shot, sending her tumbling down the cliff. Sora slides down after her to check on her. Meanwhile, Agumon evolves into Greymon to take over fighting Unimon.

It does not go well. Unimon's flight advantage allows him to easily outmaneuver Greymon on this narrow ledge and swing around for a dive bomb.

As Greymon picks himself up and opens fire, Unimon's full three dimensions of maneuverability let him dodge Greymon's Mega Flames, while Greymon has few options to protect himself from Unimon's Holy Shots. Greymon gets pummeled by Unimon's fire while landing no shots of his own.

Birdramon returns to the fight, but Unimon sails straight between the shots of her Meteor Wing to land a body slam, putting her back on the ground.

This fight is ugly, but Jou has a plan. Recognizing that their real enemy here is not Unimon but the Black Gear corrupting him, Jou takes charge and leaps off the fucking cliff to land on Unimon's back when he sails close by below.

Unimon begins bucking and thrashing in the air to stop Jou from pulling out the Black Gear. Gomamon screams at Jou to come down from there, but Jou to stop, but his mind is made up.

Gomamon: JOU, STOP!!! It's impossible! Jou: No! I have to do this! I have to protect everyone! Because... I'm the oldest... I'll PROTECT EVERYONE--

And then Unimon wins, bucking Jou off and sending him tumbling from a lethal height.

It's a strong moment for Jou that doesn't quite hit the same way in the dub.

Gomamon: JOE, STOP!!! Don't try to be a hero! Joe: I know! But I just have to do this one thing... I'm not going to stop until it's done! I have to think positive! I'm responsible! I've gotta do it--

Followed by being bucked off. There's a certain pathetic quality to the dub's Joe that makes this a heartwarming "He tried" moment. While, in the original, this is the culmination of Jou's responsibility and pressure to safeguard the younger kids; the realization of Jou-senpai.

He fails. And he falls. But as he plunges to his doom, this moment is what awakens Gomamon. With a bloodcurdling scream of Jou's name, Gomamon SHINKAAAAAA!!!

Ikkakumon has feelings about what just happened. An Adult-stage Vaccine-type Digimon, Ikkakumon derives the name "ikkaku" from the Japanese word for narwhal. He's Narwhalmon.

(This makes pitting Ikkakumon and Unimon against each other exceedingly funny, as narwhal tusks are believed to have been the source for unicorn myths. They're sometimes called the Unicorn of the Sea. So. Y'know. Get wrecked by a REAL unicorn, Unimon.)

Ikkakumon's signature move, Harpoon Vulcan, fires multiple horns from his head at his target. The dub calls it Harpoon Torpedo.

That Unimon is extremely difficult to hit in the air remains a problem, however. Or rather it would be a problem but, much like Andromon's Gatling Missiles, every shot from Harpoon Vulcan contains a fun toy surprise inside!

Specifically, homing missiles that target Unimon's Black Gear, hitting home and destroying the corrupting influence.

With the Gear destroyed, Unimon promptly flies off. Even the dub version has no parting words despite speaking English.

Once that's settled, Taichi, Sora, and Jou unpack things. Taichi congratules Jou and apologizes for last night. Jou shakes hands with Gomamon and formally thanks him for the rescue, much to Gomamon's embarrassment. The hostilities are all swept aside.

Since they're only a hop, skip, and jump from the peak, the trio finishes the climb together. But the answers they find at the top are incredibly discouraging.

Nothing but ocean surrounds this lonely island for as far as the eye can see. There is nowhere else to go. The episode ends on that suspenseful moment, as the kids stare out at the dismal truth.

Taichi: Th-This is.... Narrator: Taichi and the others became highly discouraged when they discovered that File Island was a solitary island admist the vast sea.

The dub, on the other hand, spins this around to end on a positive note.

Group: Whoa! Tai: Not much out there. Joe (V.O.): So Gomamon and I fought all the way to the top to see what was there and we found... Well, nothing. But I think we discovered quite a bit on the way up!

Yeah, that's a bit of a tone difference. They don't find nothing at the top of Infinity Mountain. They find despair. The revelation that there is no escape in sight, that there is nowhere they can go but File Island. That the island sits alone in a vast ocean with no clear indication of where else they can go, or if there even is anywhere else to go.

But. Y'know. We're lightening the show up for an American audience and hoo boy at that. It's just funny to see the Japanese Narrator deliver this revelation with horror and then American Tai's just like, "Huh. Neat. Anyways...."

Assessment: This is the last of the character intro episodes we'll get for a while, as Patamon's evolution is being withheld for later. This one ends on such a dark note because the plot officially begins next episode.

For Jou, this episode really highlights the crushing pressure he's under. Something it doesn't resolve, but instead simply spotlights. No answer is explicitly given for the stresses that led him to explode at everyone on Egg Night. What answer can be given? The situation is what it is.

Everyone moves on and forgives each other, but Jou remains under the burden of a responsibility he's not equipped to handle. Nonetheless, an answer is implicitly given when he and his team lean on each other against Unimon. Jou takes charge and wins the day, but only because they were there to help him in the first place.

Cooperation and mutual respect is what's going to keep them alive out here, more than anything.

Much like with Sora's episode, the dub misses the mark at several points with regard to Jou's character arc, which is basically erased here. What they replace his emotional turmoil with is more like the journey of a weak boy needing to be brave.

Without the perspective of his senpai responsibility, Joe just comes across cowardly due to his cautious sensibilties. Which, I think, is an uncharitable treatment; The way he leaps from the cliff without hesitation pretty well conveys that Jou isn't afraid of harm to himself; He's cautious because he has an obligation to keep these children safe. He'll jump straight into the fire for them, but he'll do everything in his power to keep them from lighting themselves on fire first.

But as usual, the dub also has some great moments and solid lines going for it as well, with the snowball discussion being its highlight.

[hikaritakaishi]

Takari Week 2024 - Day 4: Fourth Contact

Days: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Title: Carnelian (Fourth Contact)

Characters: Takeru Takaishi, Hikari Yagami, Sora Takenouchi

Summary: It wasn't a conscious decision. It wasn't even a decision. It just happened. When she noticed, she was already looking into his eyes, wanting to drown in them. Quickly. Desperately.

That wasn't a coincidence. But it wasn't planned either. When he noticed, he already wanted to feel her touch. Madly. Profoundly. Intertwined souls, made to recognize each other in every lifetime.

They had it all. They had each other.

Note: A collection of stories that gives us an insight into Takeru and Hikari's relationship over the years. It was really hard to put all the prompts explicitly in the story, so I tried to metaphorize some of them, in order for them to make sense at the end.

It is composed of two prologues, one for Takeru and one for Hikari, exposing events before 1999. And a final epilogue, summarizing all the feelings exposed in the previous chapters. In the intermediate chapters, we follow all the challenges that a long-term friendship has to face when it becomes a romantic relationship, and how we form solid and permanent bonds with the ones we love the most.

・。。・゜゜・。。・

Something was missing.

A progression, a discussion, an enlightenment. A hug that brought no closure to her spirit nor erased her doubts. Not completely ease her mind. She needed it, she wanted it. But she needed to put her heart to rest in some other way.

Required advice. And thought of someone right away, who used to give the best advice for any type of hard situation. The mother of their friend group. The person she knew was her brother’s first love and Takeru’s brother last. Sora.

Hikari first wanted to call, but reevaluated the position that she was on, and decided to text asking if she could meet her in person. Some things are simply better discussed face to face, eye to eye. Feeling the other person's empathy and seeing their facial expressions while reasoning runs.

Sora didn't even take 10 minutes to respond the message. Did she sound too alarmed? Or too desperate?

“I'll be home all Saturday. Take as much time as you want and as you need, I have plenty.” Followed by a pink heart emoji.

Sora was always so incredibly soft and solidary. Always available to help, even with tight work schedules, and meticulously studying the future she wanted to build. No wonder Taichi and Yamato loved her for so long.

“Thank you so much Sora! I will be arriving after lunch time, early afternoon. I promise it won’t take too long!” Followed by a red heart emoji. Perfect. Finally, she will let herself speak about it for the first time. That thought made her a little nervous, honestly.

As much as she knew it was necessary, Hikari still had troubles opening her feelings to others. It still felt uncomfortable hearing her own thoughts out loud. Messed up argumentative lines, misplaced words, long silences. Failed attempts to explain what seemed inexplicable. Giving up. Quit easily. Self-sabotage.

It was a process, she emphasised to herself pretty much every day. A time-consuming process. But still imperative. Baby steps, little by little, small progresses flourished.

She walked slowly to Sora's house. Mentally preparing what she would say, how she would say. A flawless script. Not that it was difficult to explain, but she wanted to not sound foolish.

Everything simply evaporated from her mind when she arrived. Great. Took a deep breath and rang the bell.

“Hikari!” A very radiant voice welcomed her. It was impossible not to smile and feel loved. Sora was the personification of lovely. “Come inside! I was making some tea; would you like to have some?”

“Sure! What kind of tea is it?”

Chamomile. Of course. Perfect when it comes to avoid nerve wrecks.

“I am alone at home, but let's talk in my bedroom anyway. It's more comfortable. Can you help me with the tea?”

“Yes of course! And thank you so much for your time!”

“You don't have to thank me, I'm always here for whatever you need. Would you kindly be able to bring the cups? I take the pot of tea and biscuits” A plate with Sembei biscuits was placed right next to the pot of tea.

They calmly walked to Sora's room. She closed the door as soon as they arrived.

A small table sat in the centre of the room was waiting for them, with two pads on the floor, one on each side of the table. There was an undeniable effort to make everything look as welcoming as possible.

“Make yourself comfortable!” Sora said while placing the pot of tea and the biscuits plate on the table. “I hope you like the tea and the biscuits; I didn’t know what to prepare so I went for the safest option.”

“You didn't need to bother; I just needed your company.”

“I am so glad you came; we didn’t spoke in such a long time!”

Sora sat in front of her and started pouring the tea into the cups.

“I know right? And I am sorry if I am taking time from you that you might need for…”

“Oh Hikari, you have no idea how I really need and missed these moments. Just to talk to a friend and having them around. So don’t apologising, really, I am very happy that you came! So…”  She handed her the cup of tea, with small pieces of the tea plant floating calmly inside of it, contrasting with Hikari’s flustered emotions. “You said you needed to talk about something important, what could it be?”

“Honestly, I don’t even know where to start…” Hikari sighed, inhaling the smell of the tea to calm her nerves.

“Take your time” Sora smiled, and it filled Hikari’s heart with a warm kind feeling of comfort. “Is it something that happened recently or have been happening?”

“Actually, it has been happening for quit sometime, but before getting there… How can I say this...”

Sora remained silent, not wanting to pressure Hikari into saying anything she didn't feel comfortable or prepared for. Hikari was stirring the tea with a spoon and looked away.

“Promise me not to tell anyone about this… specially Yamato.”

“Oh, of course not…” Sora’s voice tone changed, and she could sense the intrigue in it. “But why specially Yamato?”

“It was to do with Takeru.” Said finally, feeling some of the weight she carried on her shoulders finally fall.

“Takeru? I think I know where this is going… “Sora laughed a little bit.

“You know? Did he tell you what happened?”

“No, he did not tell me anything, but I can imagine. But please continue, at the end I will explain you everything that I have in my mind.”

“Ok.” She said suspiciously.” Well, since the beginning of high school, Takeru has become very popular, and when I say very, I say immensely, popular. Mostly around, girls. To the point that he receives several loves letters every single week.”

“Oh really? That much? I mean, he is a very sympathetic person with a gentle eye-catching personality, always cordial and courteous… how do you feel about all of that?”

“At first, I didn't pay much attention, I thought it was normal, for the reasons you mentioned mostly. But lately it has been bothering me a little bit…” Took a sip of the tea, to give Sora space to say something.

“And why is it? Is because you are afraid that he will distance himself from you, or is he acting any differently now that he is receiving a different type of attention?”

“I don’t feel like he is acting differently than before, and I do admire him for the way he deals with his recent popularity, always being careful with the words he uses and always being humble despite everything. A lot of boys would’ve taken advantage of the girls and probably hurt them.”

“Takeru is a soft soul; I don’t believe he would do that. “

“Neither do I. But I keep imagining that one day he might give one of them a chance. And start really… love someone.”

“And that is a completely plausible scenario.” She took a Sembei biscuit from the plate and broke it in half.  “Soner or later, he will find someone he really likes. And will go on dates with her, spend time with her…” Continue to talk while eating.

That was exactly what she was afraid of. Felt her heart sinking a little and her throat started burning. Sora was undeniable right.

“… and that makes you feel nauseous, right?” Sora finished.

“Yes, a little bit.”

“Do you want to be that person?”

“I cannot be that person Sora, that is not even an option.”

“Why not?”

“Well, because…” Hikari began to search in her mind for the best words to describe what she had been feeling in the last few months. A tough but sincere analysis. “Because that could do more harm than good. We have been friends for many years, and we have an incredible friendship. Our connect is rare, and I don't want to destroy it. I don’t want to hurt him if I’m not able to be... enough for him.

“I sincerely understand you, Hikari, seriously.  I went through something similar when I started to date Yamato, but you know, when you really love someone, the best thing you can do for them and for yourself is to be honest about those feelings. “

“You cannot imagine how betrayed by myself I felt when I realized that… I was falling for Takeru.”

“I can imagine. Have you thought about... exposing it to him? Do you think he might feel something as well?

“I don’t know… I never really planed on saying anything but a few days ago, he received another love letter from a girl he rejected, and I think that now he suspects that I might like him because of the way I acted around it.”

“What did you do?”

“I was so tired of pretending that I was ok with all of that. The love letters, the girl’s whispers whenever he passes by them in the hallways, him pretending that nothing was going on. My feelings simply boiled up and I couldn’t take them anymore. I distanced myself the rest of the day and avoid Takeru as much as I could. And I know what you might be thinking! Like, what a stupid thing to do! But I just couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Oh Hikari, I understand you so well, I felt that too. Yamato had the band, and the band was a huge success for a long time. “Sora looked around, remembering the days before she confessed herself to Yamato. “Too many girls, too many concert, and too much pressure on me to be perfect. I almost gave up on him because of that. But I was being overcome by fear, just like I think you are. “

“Do you think he will be ok with me… confessing all of this? The last thing I want to do is mess up with our friendship.”

“I believe that your connection is unique enough to make those feelings you have something much more than you expect, Hikari, you just have to let them do their magic.”

“I can agree with you… but why is it so hard? To just be honest?”  

“Sometimes your feelings can eat you alive if you don’t get them out of your chest. Even if you try to ignore them, they will still exist.”

Hikari continued stirring her tea impatiently. Seemed infinitely easier said than done.

“I need more sugar, otherwise I'll have a drop in my blood pressure.” She took tiny cube of sugar out of a small pink jar that was on the table.

“Do you know what I was referring to earlier? Everyone expected you to fall in love with each other Hikari, it seemed beautifully inevitable. You built something that very few people experience in a lifetime.”

“Beautifully ironic if you ask me. “

“You should romanticize it more, maybe it was fate that brought you together, at the right time, at the right place. I mean, who knows. And even if it was just a coincidence… what an incredible one.”

“You cannot romanticize total chaos, Sora.”

“Oh, how dramatic!”

Hikari rolled her eyes while Sora kept laughing at her facing expressions.

Time went by and they kept sharing memories and advice, in a light tone that almost gave Hikari total certainty that what she was going to do was the right decision. What else could she do? The worst that could happen was that her feelings weren't reciprocated, which Sora dismissed almost immediately. It was either that or lose the opportunity to be honest and see Takeru with someone other than her in the future. You do what you need to do.

・。。・゜゜・。。・

Another week came a way too fast. The weekend was so fastmoving that Hikari did not even notice until Sunday night, when she was preparing her materials for school, and remembered everything she had shared with Sora. Now that the morning was dawned, she will have to go and face him. She had a little knot in her stomach and even her mother noticed that she had barely eaten breakfast.

“Come on Hikari, you got this!”

She asserted in waiting for the ideal occasion, and deliberately waited for the classes to finish.

Takeru noticed her impatience throughout the day. She seemed far, far away from him. Tried to catch her eye multiple times unsuccessfully and could not tell where she was in the intervals between classes. He expected everything to be back to normal, posterior to what happened. It was clearly not, something strange hovered over them. To convoluted for him to decipher. Yet.

“Can you wait for me, after class?”

Hikari was right behind him, standing, speaking graciously and quietly. He was sitting in his desk, waiting for the teacher to come and to start the last lesson of the day.

“Of course, is everything ok?”

Tried not to sound too analytic. Maybe a bit causally worried. She smiled. He knew she had done it on purpose. The distance, the quietude all day long, no mention of the love letters or that afternoon after class. Hikari laid the emotional groundwork.

“Yes, I only need a moment with you, alone. To talk.”

“Sure, I may need it too.” He played her back.Felt the tension build, while observing her confused expression. She did not expect that, and it was apparent.

“Wait for me then.”

Perceived her go to her sit. There was something stimulating about her existence and the way she simply was. Whenever he could, he looked at her distractedly. In her most natural way of being. For as long as he could remember, he had admired her. Beautifully soft, gracefully strong. Consciously vulnerable.

 The school bell rang, and Takeru did not want to wait much longer. He packed his things and got up, heading towards her.

“Follow me, I can think of a better place for us to talk.”

That was certainly unexpected. Decided to trust him, and packed her things quickly as well, and hold his hand. Together they walked out of the room, waving Daisuke goodbye, leaving him with a strange feeling that something was about to change.

“Where are we going?”

“To a part of the school where no one had classes today.”

They went down to the top floor, still holding hands. Hikari felt her knees getting weaker and her hands were sweating. She tried to breathe slowly, but it was difficult, mainly because of the speed at which Takeru was pulling her. They passed through several rooms and entered the last one in the corner. He was right, it looked like no one had used those rooms that day. Everything was tidy and quiet.

“These rooms belong to the art and sculpture clubs. They only come from Tuesday to Thursday. We are safe.”

He let go of her hand to open the door. Courteously, he let her in first and followed. They went to the end of the room and placed their backpacks on the table in the right corner, which was next to the window.

The entire room was filled with shades of orange and brown. Carnelian. A slightly stuffy environment, with a little dust visually hung in the air.

Takeru leaned on the edge of the table and looked at Hikari, waiting for her to feel comfortable enough to look at him.  She leaned against the windowsill and avoided his eyes, trying to calm herself first. Stretched her back a little and relaxed her shoulders. Took a very deep and loud breath.

“Takeru… I don’t even know how to start… I”

“Look at me, please.”

She looked up to meet his eyes. They brough her an uncomfortable cosiness.

Maybe due to the sunset colour pallet, his eyes seemed more crystal clear now, an angelic blue. The orange touch of his freckles contrasted with the blonde of his hair in a melodical way. Would it be too pathetic to want to hug him again?

“I missed you today.” Takeru broke the silence. “I don’t know what you are thinking, but I hate feeling you distant.”

“I missed you too.” Hikari said honestly. “I've been wondering all day how to ask you to talk about what happened, last week.”

“I thought about the possibility of that being the case.”

“Takeru, I just don’t want to ruin our friendship because of my selfishness.”

“I think we should have talked about this sooner. We could have avoided misunderstandings and…discomfort.”

“That's not an easy conversation to have” She looked out the window. No one was around, but she bet their colleagues were all on their way home.

“I understand, and please be as sincere as you need. I don’t mind being a little hurt” He laughed. “If you do is because I probably deserved it. “

“First of all, I want to apologise for the way I handled what happen the other day. I think I took it too… personally.”  The words came out choppy, as if she was trying to force them out. “I just don’t want to lose a… friend, as special as you are to me.”

Hikari waited for a reaction. His face was neutral, until he started laughing.

“Takeru… I am being serious…”

“I know, I know, am sorry but…”

He pushed himself off the table and approached her. He placed one hand on each side of her body, leaning on the windowsill, facing her and looking into her eyes.

Her pale skin felt like snow. Light brown eyes, light brown hair. A scent of vanilla and coffee. Hikari was calmness, even when was being drowned by an ocean of insecurities he never really saw as such. Her lips were dry, probably from impatience to express herself. He did not mind, she looked as perfect as always.

Hikari let her weight fall onto her back, she had no space to move away from him. He was close, leaning down a bit to reach her height.

“What you are telling me is… and please correct me if I am wrong.” His lips move slowly, and those words came out like a whisper.

Hikari looked at his lips first, and then his eyes.

“You've been jealous… can we call it jealous? All this time because of those letters, and yet you say we're…friends?”

“What do you mean?”

Her eyes went down to his lips once again. Whole body shaking from anxiety. Felt his breath close, very close.

“Can you guess?”

Takeru slid a hand to her cheek and placed his lips on hers. Quickly.

One

“Don’t go yet.”

Hikari whispered, when she felt the kiss breaking. Locked their lips once again. A much longer contact. Warm, humid. Her hands pressed in the windowsill. His hand still in her cheek. Felt the other hand reach her waist, pressing it.

Two

“What are the chances of someone showing up here?”  She asked, as an excuse to get some air. Her cheeks were burning. Their bodies were burning.

“None. Literally none.” The urge in his voice.They’ve wanted each other for too long. It took them to much time to reach to that.

Three

Hikari put her arms around his neck and let him carry most of their weight. Takeru struggled not to take his hands off her waist and go further. Their noses bumped many times.

They let go for a moment, going for a small perfunctory kiss afterward.

Four

They remained hugged, wanting to eternalize that moment. His head on her right shoulder, hers on his chest. Takeru was inhaling as deeply as he could, pressing on hand flat against her back, smelling her vanilla accent. Their heartbeats synchronized. A powerful feeling that was as beautiful as dangerous, terrifying even. Terrifyingly human.

The heat, the excitement, the nervousness. They had it all, they had each other.

・。。・゜゜・。。・

[beermanoftana]

endgame

header by @/earlgreymon

for @ashxketchum!! requested some time ago and finally got to finish it (there's a part that just won't write itself!). i know you asked for takari but your takari for me, my mimato for you (even though it's a little unfair since i love mimato, too). i still do hope you like it! i had a lot of fun writing this and it kinda went on and on as i typed once the part finally wrote itself. anyways! enjoy (i hope)!!

endgame | main characters ; yamato ishida, mimi tachikawa, some taichi yagami and sora takenouchi, can't forget gabumon, palmon, agumon, and piyomon | universe ; au / can be placed anywhere after 02 | ships ; yamato x mimi, taichi x sora, takeru x hikari | genre ; fluff, humor | word count ; 2,235 | rating ; 13+ | edited ; three times - forgive me for any mistakes

Yamato was never in the mood for flirting. He knew people fawned over him, he knew his band was worshiped by those his age, and sure, he did “have a feeling” that flirting was going to be part of his life. But he never even tried to flirt back. Well, maybe he did, but it was usually against his will.

The band was not together anymore, having to go their separate ways, but he still loved them. The flirting, however, did not stop. He knew he was a good-looking guy but now that he was living a life that did not involve anything that required him to “go out there and fly”, maybe a life without people flirting with him 24/7 would be nice.

He and Taichi were having a meal in a small diner with Gabumon and Agumon hidden beside them. The digimons were enjoying their food while their partners talked about school.

Although they took up different courses, they still had some minor classes together, which, despite Yamato not admitting it, was a relief from all the other students they swarmed with. He had made some friends, but no one at the same level he had with Taichi. Everyone came from different backgrounds, and if they were to be honest, it was a little overwhelming, especially since it was their first year in university.

“Are you going to Shinichi’s party on Friday?” Taichi asked.

“Who’s Shinichi?” Yamato questioned, not bothering to look up from his food.

“He’s in one of our minor classes,” Taichi responded, “cool guy. But this party is a little too early, don’t you think? It could be a way to make some friends, I guess. Wanna go together?”

“Can we go?” Agumon asked.

“A party’s always fun,” Gabumon said.

Taichi smiled at them and then looked at Yamato. “What do you say?”

Yamato looked over at the smiling Gabumon and Agumon and sighed. “Okay, let’s go.”

“Great!” Taichi exclaimed.

“But you’re driving,” Yamato said.

“Sora will.”

“Sora?”

“Yeah. She wants to go. But she wants to bring her car so that she can leave anytime she wants.” Taichi shrugged. “Her mom’s car. And she said walking would be a pain, Shinichi’s venue is a little far.”

“We can always ask Birdramon to fly us away,” Agumon jested.

Taichi chuckled, Gabumon laughed, and even Yamato gave a smile.

“So what time do we meet her?” Yamato asked.

“Not sure yet. But we’ll ask her, or message if we don’t see each other anytime soon.”

Yamato smirked. “Right. Anytime soon.”

When Friday arrived, Sora, Taichi, and Yamato, along with their digimon partners, were packed inside Sora’s mom’s car. It was just a four-seater after all, it would only be Mrs. Takenouchi, Sora, whenever Mr. Takenouchi would come home, and Piyomon. And of course, Piyomon rode shotgun, while the men were cramped at the back.

“I think we’re here,” Sora said, looking out the window.

“Finally,” Yamato sighed in relief.

“The place is packed and in full swing!” Taichi said.

“Let’s just find a place to park. Doesn’t look like there’s a lot of cars.”

As they drove around, Gabumon pointed at a spot and Sora immediately swirled to get to it. Both Taichi and Yamato looked at each other, surprised by the speed and sudden jerk of the ride.

They got out of the car and Taichi whispered how his soul nearly left his body after that short ride. Yamato rolled his eyes and stated that he was overreacting.

“His place isn’t that big up-close,” Taichi observed. “It’s just the garden.”

“You think there’ll be beer?” Yamato wondered.

“You three find a spot,” Sora ordered. “Somewhere we can see each other.”

“I don’t think there is a place where we can see each other,” Yamato said.

That could be true. The house was packed. So far, the three have not found anyone they knew. But they were just outside and there were not many people around, perhaps they would find more people inside.

“Think you three can go around without being seen?” Taichi asked.

“Of course!” All three digimons grinned.

The group dispersed, the digimons to the right and the Chosen Children straight ahead.

When they reached inside, they looked around for anyone familiar. After a minute of standing by the door, Sora was called by another young lady and she excused herself from the boys.

“We’ll leave at midnight on the dot,” she told them as she walked away.

“Yes, ma’am,” they both murmured.

After some time of just being together, people-watching, someone came up to them. Taichi straightened up while Yamato raised an eyebrow.

“Hey, glad you two can make it!”

“Thanks for the invite, Shinichi,” Taichi said, smiling.

“Yeah, the party’s great,” Yamato said, although he actually did not find the party that great.

“I’m glad you think so, Yamato. I really wanted your approval.” Shinichi grinned. “I heard you were pretty popular back then, I know you are right now. I wanted the approval of someone who knows how to party.”

“I don’t know how to party,” he replied. “I was in a band, but that didn’t mean we were always partying.”

“I see.” Shinichi pursed his lips. “I’m sorry for assuming. But anyway, enjoy the party.” And he waved goodbye as he disappeared into the crowd.

“I think he likes you,” Taichi joked.

Yamato sighed. “I don’t regret the band.”

“I know you don’t, we all do.” Taichi placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “But come on, enough of this. Time to have fun before the old lady tells us to go home.” He snickered.

Yamato scoffed. “I’m going to tell her you said that, I’m sure she won’t like it. At all.”

They both laughed.

The two did enjoy the party. They made new acquaintances and even stuck with a group. They invited Sora in and the three were glad they had new people by their side.

At some point, as the group was talking, Sora paused mid-sentence and everyone waited for her to continue.

“So—?”

“Mimi!”

Both Taichi and Yamato immediately looked to where Sora saw Mimi, followed by the rest of the group.

“What’s she doing here?” Sora wondered, her voice filled with worry.

“Why?” One of the members asked. “What’s wrong?”

Sora shook her head and headed straight for the young girl. Taichi and Yamato followed suit.

“Mimi,” Sora called her.

Mimi looked back and grinned. “Sora!” She stepped forward and gave her a hug, which Sora returned. When they let go, Mimi hugged both Taichi and Yamato as well. “I’m sure Palmon has found the others already.”

“Mimi,” Sora said softly. “What are you doing here?”

“I was invited,” she smiled. “They said there was going to be a party here and I thought it might be fun, you know. And Palmon’s with me.”

“Mimi,” Taichi started. “Who invited you?”

“Shinichi Ozawa did,” she replied. “Why? Is something wrong?”

“Well, no…” Sora said, tilting her head a little. “But, this is a college party. Does Shinichi know that you’re not a college student yet?”

Mimi began to think. “I went to your campus one time, and that’s when he invited me.”

“What were you doing on our campus?” Yamato asked.

“I wanted to surprise you all,” she answered, grinning at him. “But then I asked if you three were coming to the party. He said he wasn’t sure but I wanted to take my chances and surprise you here instead! Isn’t this fun?” Though she sounded unsure when she said the last part.

Yamato sighed. “I don’t think asking you to leave is an option, especially since you’ll be alone—even with Palmon.”

“So what do we do?” Taichi asked.

Sora licked her upper lip. “Babysit.”

Mimi’s eyes widened. “No!”

“Mimi, we don’t know these people. We don’t know these people. Please, stick with at least one of us. We’ll make it up to you, we promise. Just please, Mimi?” Sora pouted.

Mimi looked at all three of them but focused on Sora last. After a few seconds, Mimi sighed. “Okay. I don’t want to admit it but I am a little nervous about this.” She frowned. “Especially since I wasn’t even sure if you guys would be here.”

The three older Chosen Children sighed in relief.

Just then, the group that group the three were talking to appeared and asked what was happening.

“This is Mimi,” Sora introduced. “She’s one of our closest friends.”

“Really?” One of the guys asked. “I’ve never seen you around campus. What course are you in?”

“She’s from another university,” Yamato said quickly.

“May I visit you there?” the same guy asked, his voice a little flirty.

Yamato was suddenly feeling very protective of the younger girl. He did not like the thought of an older stranger visiting her. “Not at the moment,” he said.

“Why don’t you let her answer for herself?” the guy snapped.

Mimi smiled. “Yamato’s just always been protective of us. I don’t mind him answering for me…sometimes.” She giggled.

Yamato knew she was lying so he wondered why she was playing along.

The party was in even fuller swing about forty-five minutes later. Although the three knew Mimi was not too happy with the situation, they also saw that she was having a good time.

At the stroke of twelve, Sora ordered everyone out of the house after thanking Shinichi for the invite. As they headed for the car, the four digimons arrived by their side.

“Yamato, would you take the car and bring Mimi home?” Sora asked.

“Sure,” Yamato answered. “But what about you guys?”

Taichi intertwined his and Sora’s fingers and smiled.

“Got it.”

Mimi squealed. “You two have fun!”

“Agumon, Piyomon?” Palmon looked at them.

“We’ll protect them,” Piyomon said. “But we won’t ruin their moment.”

When everything was set, Yamato, Mimi, Gabumon, and Palmon entered the car. They were quiet for a while until Palmon asked Gabumon how Takeru and Hikari were.

“They’re still very shy,” Gabumon replied. “But that’s expected, right, Yamato?”

“Either very shy or very guarded,” he said with a laugh. “Taichi is still all over them.”

“And you’re not?” Mimi asked, smiling.

Yamato smirked. “Takeru can handle himself. Even if this is his first relationship.”

“Everyone knows Takeru and Hikari would be endgame,” Mimi said with a giggle.

“And Taichi and Sora, too,” Gabumon added.

“Yamato, didn’t Sora have a crush on you before? Mimi said that she gave you something special for Christmas one time. What happened?”

“Palmon!” Mimi chided.

Yamato sighed. “I’ve only told Taichi what happened.”

“I’m sorry,” Palmon said, bowing her head. “I was just very curious now that the topic came up.”

“I knew that Taichi had feelings for her, and I couldn’t do that to him, especially since I only ever felt feelings of friendship for Sora.”

“And Sora gradually had feelings for Taichi, too. And he didn’t even have to try too hard despite having strong feelings, correct?” Mimi grinned as Yamato nodded. “It just means they’re meant to be!”

The four talked more about their friend’s love lives. Mimi’s home was a little on the farther side so they had a lot of time to gossip.

Finally, Mimi had a mischievous look on her face. “What about you, Yamato?”

Yamato smirked. “What about you, Mimi?”

“Don’t turn this in my direction. I asked first.”

“If there’s nothing to say then it only makes sense the question goes back to you.”

“Oh please, someone like you is bound to have someone in mind.”

“There’s no one, Mimi. And again, what about you? If I remember correctly, you’ve always been a hopeless romantic.”

“I still am,” she admitted. “But my goal is different now. I want to play Cupid.”

“Don’t force it though.”

“I know the limits. Now c’mon, Yamato. Answer me.”

“There’s no one, Mimi.”

“Do I have to play Cupid?”

“If it’s with you then I don’t mind.” A smirk on his face.

“I’m serious!”

“Oh look, we’re here.”

Mimi looked up and sighed when she saw the building she lived in. “Okay, fine. But you owe me an answer, Ishida.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He rolled his eyes, but a smirk appeared on his face. “It’s time to go, Tachikawa. It’s getting late. Too late.”

“Will you bring the car back to Sora’s?”

“Yes. And then Gabumon and I will walk home.”

Mimi smiled. “Okay. Thanks for the ride.” She turned to the back seat as Palmon went down. “Goodnight, Gabumon.”

Yamato raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll say goodnight to you if you give me an answer.”

“The gas is running,” Yamato said, looking at the meter. “Goodnight, Mimi. Goodnight, Palmon.”

“Goodnight, Yamato,” Palmon said with a wave.

Mimi chuckled. “Okay. Goodnight, Yamato. Goodnight again, Gabumon.”

“Goodnight, Mimi. Goodnight, Palmon,” Gabumon said.

Yamato looked at her and smiled. “G’night.”

Mimi smiled once again and closed the door.

Once Yamato saw that the two had gone inside the building safely, he drove away.

“Yamato,” Gabumon said.

“Yeah?”

“You were flirting with Mimi, weren’t you?”

Yamato choked. “Flirting? Me? I wouldn’t say so.”

“You were.”

“I was not.”

“You even said—.”

“Gabumon,” Yamato said in a warning tone. This only made his digimon laugh. “Gabumon!”

“You won’t admit it, but you were!”

Yamato sighed. “You’re not letting this go, are you?” Gabumon shook his head. “Just don’t mention it to anyone. And no, I was not flirting.”

[genork-the-fandork]

Sharing

Word Count: 525 Prompt: & Sora A/N: I honestly think I'm a little bad at writing interactions between Taichi and Sora. Maybe it has something to do with my personal attachment to him, or maybe it has to do with the fact that I (admittedly) don't think of them often. I'm always worrying about his interactions with Yamato, Hikari, Koushiro... but not Sora. I hope to rectify that here, even if it rehashes some of the same pain I touched on in the Yamato drabble. Here's to you, Sora! @taichiyagamiweek

There had been a time when being in the same room as Sora had been as easy as breathing. Another part of himself, someone he could rely on, always. Of course, he could still rely on her, and he always would be able to, but something had changed over the years. He was well aware that part of it was his fault, the way he let his feelings dictate his every move, but he also knew that Sora would tell him they were both at fault. Even on the days when he wasn't sure if he knew her, he understood her all too well.

"You, too, huh?" he murmured, noting the distinct lack of a certain pink-feathered bird. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Sora bowed her head, some strands of her hair falling over her face. "It hurt too much."

"Yeah. I get that." He tapped his fingers awkwardly on the table, trying to find something to say. It had been a while since they'd last seen each other, long before either of them had faced a greater loss than they were willing to go through. Taichi thought perhaps it would bring them closer together, as it had for him and Yamato, but maybe it was bound to drive them further apart.

"Taichi," Sora said quietly. When he looked up, she was giving him that look of sheer compassion she'd always been a pro at directing his way "I'm so sorry."

He blinked, and suddenly they were both in tears. Across the table, their hands sought each other, curling into each other as they had back when they'd played soccer together. Instead of congratulating each other on a job well done, however, they were sharing in a pain neither of them had imagined they would feel. For so long, the Digimon had simply been a part of them. Why did they have to be taken away so soon?

Bent over themselves, they cried out all the pain they'd been bottling inside for the sake of the others. Taichi had thought that perhaps their bond could never truly return to what it had been, once upon a time. He wasn't so sure of that anymore. Funny how the Digital World was still bringing them together, even as it tore their hearts out.

It took a while, but Taichi eventually straightened and squeezed her hand. "We should go get some water. I feel a headache coming on."

She smiled as she got up and followed him out of the room. "And here I thought I was the group mom."

He laughed guiltily. "You look after us, but you gotta let us look after you, too, sometimes." Meeting her brown eyes with his own, he added, "Besides, the three of us only have each other now."

Sora just stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. "That's not true. We still have five other friends."

"There she is," he said to himself as she entered the kitchen ahead of him. It would always hurt—that was the thing with losing your literal other half. But maybe, just maybe, some of the old Sora would still be around.

[froggie-bolt]

Day 3: Habits and change

Super late for todays entry, but it’s been a day tbh.

I went through some drafts of mine and just picked something I thought might fit the prompt! I’m so sorry if it sounds rough :,)

So this is based off that one drama CD where Koushiro wrote a love letter and everyone was trying to figure out who it was for. I know at the end he did name someone, but it was bleeped. So for the purpose of this oneshot, pretend he never named anyone. I do nooot like this, maybe I’ll go back and do a re-entry for this day after the week is over…

“So, your love letter.” Taichi began.

Koushiro shrank in on himself. Again with this? Why was it so important?

“Taichi-san can’t we just drop—“

“I won’t tell anyone! We’re alone now right..? You can trust me, I just want to know!” He begged.

Koushiro kept his back to the boy but stopped typing as he considered.

Why did he want to know so bad!? Normally if Koushiro wanted Taichi to stop poking his nose in his business, all he had to do was say so.

But that wasn’t working this time.

“Cmon, if..if it’s Hikari I won’t actually mind. I was just saying that, y’know? Or Mimi or Sora too! But Sora’s into Yamato, so I don’t think that would work–“

“That hypothesis of yours is very heteronormative, Taichi-San.”

Taichi looked up at the boy curiously. He’d never heard that word before.

“Heteronorma-what?”

Koushiro spun around in his chair.

“Heteronormative. Denoting or relating to a world view that promotes heterosexuality as the normal or preferred sexual orientation.” he spoke slowly.

Taichi tilted his head and frowned. He still didn’t understand.

“But how is what I’m saying ‘heteronormative’?”

“You’re limiting your guesses to the girls.”

“Well of course I—“

Then the brunette paused as Koushiro turned his attention back to his computer.

The gears slowly began to turn in his head as he considered what his friend just said.

The room stayed quiet for what felt like a long while.

Was Koushiro saying he liked boys? Was that why he didn’t want to tell them?

“Koushiro, I didn’t know you were into guys.”

He heard the boy sigh.

“I’m into both. But the love letter you’re so insistent about is in fact, addressed to another boy.”

Taichi smiled widley. This was progress! Before, Koushiro refused to give them any hint as to who it was, but now they were getting somewhere.

[kankuroplease]

OCs and Who they’d give Valentine’s Day gifts to (not all of it is shippy. Friends can get valentines too~)

Chiha (TSAU)

Sakura - buys her Strawberries dipped in Chocolate

Sasuke - force of habit as it felt weird giving Sakura a gift and not her bf. Usually a random pack of trading cards she picked up while getting Sakura’s strawberries.

Naruto - the other pack of trading cards

MinaKushina - a foot long sandwich and sodas from her workplace

Michi - Uchiha bestie! She knows she can’t afford anything Michi would buy for herself but she also knows Michi is a sucker for homemade things. So, homemade chocolate

Michi (TSAU)

HashiMadaMito - pays for their Valentine’s brunch

Tsunade - buys her a spa day

Obito - buys him a watch

Shisui - buys him cuff links

Elder sister - buys her chocolates and flowers

Middle sister - buys her preferred brand of sunglasses

Neji - buys him a tie and opera tickets

Tenten - custom dress she ordered for her (it has pockets!)

Lee - box of roses and chocolates

Chiha - Gift Card and a pair of sneakers

Ryu (TSAU)

Rin - finger painting of the family and bead bracelet that matches Daddy’s (Kakashi)

Kakashi - bead bracelet and a card heart

Obito - finger painting of him winning a fight + a card heart

Aori (Main Timeline)

Shizune, Kurenai, Gai, Yamato, and Iruka - A Bouquet

All the pals are getting flowers

Katsura- her favorite meal

Katsura (Main Timeline)

Shino - chakra infused jelly for his kidaichū and wife cakes

Okami - stickers and castella

Yuuta - warabi mochi or a rock. Depends

Okami (Main Timeline)

Kiba - doggy treats

Katsura - crushed and dried lily of the valley shrub leaves

Yuuta - Kunai

Naruto - candy

Yuuta (Main Timeline)

Everyone - brochures for his families restaurant

It’s him being lazy and efficient

If with Hanabi - flower room + home cooked 5 course meal

If with Tenten - breakfast in bed + Scavenger hunt for the weapon he made her

Gou (Main Timeline)

Kankuro - wood + attempted homemade chocolate

Temari - nail stains 💅

Gaara - a cactus + homemade fulgurite

Haiiro (Main Timeline)

Shizune - chocolates + nail polish (iykyk)

Founders Au bonus

~~For those that have ships~~

Katsura for Madara - inarizushi + sparring date

Aori for Tobirama - fishing date + dinner with their catches

Okami for Kawarama - gives him the new robe she’s been working on

Miu for Kagami - dresses up and acts like a lady for a change

Sora for Rei - sensual massage + a free use pass for the day

Rei for Sora - flowers, dinner, and a new robe

Kōmori for Sakumo - a new haori she thinks feels good

Suzaku for Erika - a LOT of streamed barbecue pork buns, makeup, hair pin, and robes

Suzaku for Aja - Gulab Jamun (he had to write her mother to find out how to make these), jewelry, and silk fabrics

Tora for Orochimaru - salamander skull

Manda for Nisshoku - wild flowers, chocolate, and any snake jewelry he’s come across

Nisshoku for Manda - nail polish, matching tattoos, and a copy of Icha icha because she heard it’s a good story

Megumi for Suigetsu - switchblade

[seventeenlovesthree]

Sora Takenouchi's clothing style - a meta analysis

Initially, it looked like Sora would come out as the clear winner of the fashion analysis poll - and for a good reason, as Sora's clothing style is quite a subject to discuss when it comes to her character, development and the role(s and maybe even identity) she takes on through the course of the series. She may only have finished second after Yamato, but now concludes the first quartet after him, Taichi and Koushirou. So let's dive into it:

Adventure (+ Our War Game), age 11/12:

Sora'a initial look in Adventure may best be described with the term "iconic" - because aside from Taichi and Mimi, she may actually have one of the most memorable "adventurous" pieces of clothing among the original eight. Functioning as a contrast to Mimi's feminine red dress and pink hat, Sora prefers practical blue jeans, a yellow top with short sleeves and her trademark blue hat. The colourful ensemble is completed by red gloves, dark sneakers - with the latter most likely influenced by her playing football alongside Taichi in their school's football club. The only "more typically feminine" element - which isn't fully portrayed here - is the little pink belt with a bag she wears on her waist. Last but not least there is, of course, the signature short red hair - which, at this point, is still mostly hidden under her hat. While there are debates to this day as to whether it's a beanie or a helmet (thanks to episode 11 of the anime), we can already detect a few elements that will turn out to be reoccurring themes for her, one way or another:

Sora is our resident tomboy with a caring attitude: she can be assumed to like being practical, she is "a pants kinda girl" who prefers football over flower arrangement, but never (!) looks down on her more feminine presenting companions - and may or may not hide a lot of trauma and insecurities behind a mask. And maybe even her clothes...?

Fasting forward to Our War Game, things may become a bit clearer; her main role in the movie is to provide background conflict with Taichi while staying away from the battles because of it. However, OWG already re-uses a few elements we have seen on her before, especially in terms of colours. With Taichi, Yamato and Koushirou, estimating their favourite worn colours is a little bit easier. However, I would argue that Sora has a very strong fondness for (light) blue and yellow. She's still sticking to her blue jeans, the blue hat has been replaced with a yellow beanie, the colour of her previous shirt.

But what was the conflict about? Taichi chose to gift her a sunflower hairclip for her birthday - just to get yelled at for that by her, asking him whether "her hat doest suit" her after all. Granted, we only know his side of the story, but we can clearly see her being bitter about the whole situation and waiting for him to apologize.

Why is a little piece of jewelry riling her up so much, you may ask?

Considering how Sora's mother used to want her to quit football and behave like the daughter of a flower arrangement school owner (= iemoto) should, one could assume that she's already going through some kind of identity crisis at the age of only 12. Being confronted just by the mere possibility that her best friend may want her to be/look more feminine (just like her mother), even though her gender representation had NEVER played a role between them... May have frightened her to the core. They had always been friends, football comrades and Digital World companions. Not only that, she had already been confused about whether or not her nurturing attitude had been real or just a facade, so this may have been the icing on top - as we can tell by the fact that she keeps fumbling with her hat (and the hairclip too) through the course of the movie, displaying a great sense of insecurity. On the other hand, we can also tell that she is willing to move towards others if she's met with kindness and understanding. So once Taichi's apology reaches through to her, she ends up putting on the hairclip instead of the hat and apologizes as well. A significant change for the rest of the series...?

Come to think of it, we know that she has already reconciled with her mother to at least some degree by the end of Adventure - so could that be the reason why she already dares to wear a pink sweater at this point...? We may have to wait and see...

02 (+ Diablomon Strikes Back), age 14/15:

02 is what I would like to call "Sora's experimental phase" - and I'm not just saying that because we never see her wear her previously beloved pants through the course of the entire series plus movies, not even once.

Upon her journey of reconciling with her mother step by step, she often stays away from fighting alongside the others; either because she's busy learning (and struggling with) flower arrangement or attending tennis camp. By the start of the series, we learn that she has actually switched from football to tennis to get closer to her mother, wearing a very short skirt - and she absolutely isn't afraid to run around with it comfortably in the deserts of the Digital World, so we can tell her adventurous spirit has not (completely) vanished. And despite everything, she still tries to jump into action when possible - which will also turn out to be a theme for her: Trying to find a balance between real life obligations and the fighting, making her own choices about it. But we'll get to that.

... At this point, it all appears to be quite a strong contrast to Adventure!Sora, as she fully commits to more feminine clothes and hobbies. However: Whether it's about choosing to wear the (more Mimi-centric) colours red and pink, to generally wear skirts or about whom she wants to date - she goes for it, seems confident about it (even if she may need a nudge here and there) and still makes way to put on a hat and the colours blue and yellow again occasionally. If you squint, you may even be able to tell that, by winter season, she not only has fully embraced the blues (coat) and yellows (sweater) back into her life, while mixing it with the adopted pink (scarf and skirt) - but that her hair seems to have grown a tiny bit longer as well. Long enough to keep the fringe out of her eyes and into a side fringe (with the perfect length to be held by a hairclip). She's a teenager, it's all very experimental (to the point of wearing silly matching shirts with Taichi that refer to circles and triangles for whatever meta reason).

Since it is never outright stated, the viewer can roll the dice on whether the pants and the hat (age 11) were an act of rebellion and the skirts (age 14/15) an act of hyper-adaptation (towards a heteronormative, more "typically feminine" gender representation). But in my opinion, both interpretations are somewhat valid considering her age. Growing up is a process - and we'll learn that her style isn't set in stone at all yet.

Tri, age 17:

17-year-old Sora, despite appearing to be more torn and insecure about her path and future than before, seems to at least have grown MUCH MORE confident in her clothing style. Yes, she seems rather distressed in front of her closet (!) when it comes to picking a suitable outfit for a concert AND a football match at the same time - but who WOULDN'T be confused when being "put on the spot" like that?!

Sora's entire arc is about (struggling to) making choices - and Tri!Sora still tries to avoid doing so for the most part, hiding behind her caring nature and big sister/mom persona for the sake of Meiko, Mimi and basically everyone else. It's a comfortable mask for as long as it works, giving her a sense of security and familiarity. It's her own sense of "conformity" (and less that of rebellion) so to speak. For example - just like in 02 - she wears her school uniform prim and proper without any individual cues (unlike Taichi and Yamato and more like Koushirou). And thus, you really have to squint this time to spot her own preferences, interests and likes, because they're usually not spelled out to the viewer.

It's about the fact that she may only rarely return to wearing hats, but that her closet also doesn't exclusively consist of skirts anymore. It's about her wearing different kinds of jeans and pants of various lengths, there are tops, shirts and sweaters with silly prints, lots of layers, even a jumpsuit, shorts, miniskirts, boots, sandals and sneakers... And thus, it really feels like she has found her own definition of femininity at this point. She leaves the frills and dresses to Mimi, Meiko and Hikari - and still seems to be confident in giving her own sense of femininity a try. It's cute and comfortable - not exactly sporty, but still practical, functional, and adds a variety of colours to her already present blues and yellows, as well as the reds and pinks.

Then of course, there is her hobby that hides in plain sight and that hasn't presented itself to us previously...

Your girl, previous tomboy skirt tester, resident mom friend who used to be all into sports - is actually also into sewing and, judging by how much variety her own wardrobe offers, possibly into fashion as well. (Which, in my opinion, should have made her bond with Koushirou over his own fashion-related problems, but I digress.)

Granted, we know she also knows how to make the perfect bento box and has been practicing more "feminine things" (like flower arrangement and tennis) before, but this one is still new... And it shows that, not only DOES she have various interests - even if they all lean more into the "feminine side of things" -, but that her "experimental phase" may have led her in a direction she could turn into a career one day. Her own career. Offering the balance she has always strived for - one which, despite the variation in her wardrobe, she still hasn't achieved yet. (Which is why clashing with the version of Piyomon that lost her memory almost lets her collapse emotionally, challenging the purpose of her entire identity.)

Last but not least, we need to talk about her hair - while it hasn't exactly gotten longer (except for the fringe that grew back), it definitely has become fuller and bushier... And even provides enough length for a braid. After the events of Tri, we see her actually cutting it much shorter - it's not exactly a pixie-cut yet, but according to very common anime tropes, we know that hair changes after crucial events stand for a change in path and attitude...

Kizuna, age 22:

... And for Sora, this may mean to finally make up her mind, "deciding on something and someone" like she always dreaded. Wanting to be seen as "Sora Takenouchi" - not as a Chosen Child or the daughter of an iemoto. In her early 20s, she is still (or once again) at a point of indecisiveness and despair - and thus, as beautiful as she is, there is a "plainness" in her style that cannot be overlooked:

"Hiding" behind the kimono while practicing flower arrangement - blue and yellow, familiar and warm, but also restraining her true self by doing something she isn't fully happy with. Just like the braid she uses to tie her hair back - it's still very short, yet the fringe has grown out once again, signifying her being torn about which direction she should take. Her casual outfit symbolizes this as well, as she wears a pure white shirt - and a pair of sky blue pants, wide enough to pass as a long skirt. But, who would have guessed it, you really need to squint to see it.

When she chooses to stay away from the fighting, she has already lost her way - and already has to witness her bond with Piyomon crumble. She had to make this choice for herself, just like she had to choose to not be the first to apologize when Taichi gifted her the hairclip back then. It may not be a comfortable choice, but at this point, it is her own. Her white shirt is an empty canvas and the flower arrangement she finishes, representing all of her friends, is the tint of colour she needs in her life. She is a genuinely caring person after all - which can’t be erased by the sheer idea of her believing to act out of obligation or because she was chosen. But she also needs to let them in at her own pace.

Epilogue, approximately age 39:

Epilogue!Sora has, for obvious reasons, adapted her style from late 02: The hair remains short but, in combination with the grown-out fringe, offers sophisticated styling opportunities - close to how her mother used to wear her own. The yellows (almost olive) and blues (almost grey) have returned - and, fittingly enough, resulted in a green kimono, one she wears while showing off her career: Being a designer of traditional Japanese fashion with a modern touch - with flowers at the forefront of it all, as she could never fully abandon them and instead integrated them into another part of her life.

Some final thoughts:

Just a little while ago, I had talked about how Sora's arc may or may not have been influenced by the concept of gender dysphoria, unable to distinguish herself from her mother and the expectations that are constantly being thrown at her - whether it's about being the daughter of an iemoto, a Chosen Child, a girl(friend) or a woman in general. One may argue that we don't actually hear or see these expectations being thrown at her post Adventure, since we could clearly see that her mother was willing to move towards her as well... And Yamato and Jyou even tell her that, while it's true that they were chosen, SHE still has the right to choose to do what she could by herself. So what exactly happened?

As previously and through the course of several meta posts explained, it is difficult to really pinpoint Sora's motivations, as she keeps them to herself most of the time. She doesn't have the best self-awareness and seems to put a lot of pressure on herself - even though nobody else seems to hold her up to these high standards. (Her mother may still do so due to family traditions, but as mentioned, we don't actively see it post Adventure and can only make assumptions.)

In Tri, Taichi tells her that she's always in other people's business and that nobody knows what's going on inside of her. In To Sora, Mimi - her contrast in design and attitude as well as one of the most supportive flowers in Sora's life - tells her that she should spread her wings freely... Indicating that she's still restraining herself, putting all these labels and characteristics onto herself, regardless of whether they (still) fit her or not (which can be indirectly applied to her gender representation and maybe even to her sexual orientation as well). And that is why we may have to wait until Adventure Beyond to see how things will resolve for her.

I for one cannot wait to see her new design. Because, unlike the three boys I had previously analyzed, her fashion (and hobby) themes may have repeating elements as well, but are pretty inconsistent and thus basically also stand for her inner turmoil. This is not just about whether she should wear pants or skirts, hats or hairclips, whether she should cut her hair super short or let it grow out into perfect braiding length... There appears to be a tendency to put her in a box, both in canon (mostly self-imposed) and fanon, where she has to pick one side and one side only, no matter what it's about: tomboy or feminine, football or tennis, flower arrangement or fashion design, pants or skirt, to fight or not to fight, Taichi or Yamato...

Personally, as much as I have my issues with Tri and To Sora and even though they haven't solved any of her problems for good - I believe they still gave us a hint of how Sora's trauma (her fallout with her mother up until her dark cave moment) may have manifested. That's why I call 02 the "experimental phase", because she may have adapted to her mother a little too much without giving her own preferences a voice. Pleasing her to get closer to her - just like "big sister/mom friend Sora" in Tri caters to everybody's needs but her own - and eventually snaps.

By the winter period of 02, she seemed a little more grounded (indicated by how well she mixed all her favourite colours) and Tri tried to imply how she got interested in designing in the first place (indicated by how much variation her wardrobe had). But we could also observe that she hadn't gotten better at communicating her own desires and needs, that the pent-up anger she had displayed since OWG was still present... Culminating in Kizuna, where her bond to Piyomon was on the verge of breaking, showing her being unsure of who she even was in the first place. So we're currently in the soul-searching phase, as she pulled herself back from everyone...

I long for the day she decides to let her friends back into her life. For the day she and Piyomon will reunite. And maybe, just maybe, we will see her in a style that shows: "Yes, this is my own choice. But I don't have to choose one thing only over all the others. No labeling, no externally assigned identities anymore. There is a flower on this kimono I made, I'm wearing blue football sneakers with a yellow sunflower on top - because I found my own balance between all the different things that make me me."

[sloanerisette]

Digimon Secret Santa 2023 Gift!

So I was @bacomon-art-blog's Secret Santa! I know how much you love Iori and Jou, so I wanted to write something with them for you! I hope you have a merry Christmas, and I hope you enjoy! I had a lot of fun writing this and a ton of fun coming up with this fic!

---

For some reason, Iori felt a bit out of his depth for this celebration. According to Takeru and Hikari, August 1st was a big day for the original eight Chosen Children, being the day that they went to the Digital World and came back. As a result, the eight Chosen Children were joined by him, Miyako, and Daisuke to celebrate. They were Chosen Children now, so they had been welcomed wholeheartedly in the group. But while Miyako was quick to find friendship with Sora and Mimi thanks to her exuberant nature, and Daisuke had already been close with Taichi and had recently become closer with Yamato after a he received the Digimental of Friendship, Iori felt… well, a bit out of place.

It wasn’t that he felt unwelcome by any means, but it was a bit different. Everyone was so much older than him, and compared to the other new Chosen Children, he felt he hadn’t gotten nearly that close to any of his seniors. His own Digimentals were Knowledge and Reliability, and while he greatly respected both Koushiro and Jou, his relationship with them wasn’t nearly as close as Miyako was with Mimi or Daisuke was with Taichi.

Still, he was grateful to come along. The heat wasn’t too bad, they had a picnic together, and he had been enthralled by all the stories of that first trip the others took into the Digital World. He couldn’t imagine the idea of being stuck there for so long… it merely made his respect for them all grow so much more. Every so often that day he looked down at Upamon, each time with a fond, if small smile. He and his Digimon partner had already become incredibly close friends, and Upamon had done plenty to get him to lighten up just a bit more than usual. All he could hope was that their bond would continue to grow and grow.

By the mid-afternoon, the humidity had grown quite a bit, and Iori found himself needing to fan himself a bit more.

“Water?”

He snapped from yet another bout of thoughts about what being a Chosen Child meant and he looked up to see Jou offering him a bottle of water. He blinked.

“Ah, thank you, Jou-san,” he said with a bow of his head before taking it.

“I’m surprised the summer hasn’t been rougher,” Jou said as he cracked open his own bottle and took a long drink. Iori opened his bottle and offered some to Upamon before taking a sip himself.

The group of Chosen Children had split up a bit, with all of them splitting up into their own small groups. Miyako had dragged Hikari over to Mimi and Sora, while Daisuke was listening to Taichi and Koushiro, and Yamato and Takeru were standing next to each other, laughing about something one of them said.

“Don’t worry, I made sure to pass water out to everyone else. You just seemed to be in such thought I didn’t want to interrupt you, but considering everyone else got their own by now, I hope you don’t mind,” Jou said lightly. Iori shook his head.

“No, I appreciate it, thank you.”

Things stayed quiet between the two as they sat down on a bench, watching their friends socialize. It was nice to spend some quiet time, but with the oldest of their group there, Iori couldn’t help himself.

“Jou-san, do you mind if I ask a question?” he asked, voice serious as ever. Jou’s eyebrows raised and he let out a gentle chuckle.

“Of course, fire away.”

Compared to the few times he had seen Jou in the Digital World, he seemed a lot more easygoing now. Well, not necessarily easygoing, considering this was the guy who had made sure everyone was staying hydrated on a warm summer day, but he definitely wasn’t as stressed as he was making sure their friends didn’t die or in helping temporarily stop the Digimon Kaiser.

And, really, there were some questions that Iori floated in his mind. Even if Taichi had been the leader in Jou’s group and Daiuske was the leader in theirs, he still wanted to do his best to help out. Frankly, out of all the people to ask, from what he knew and the stories he was told, Jou was the only person to really ask.

“How did you do it?” he asked. Jou blinked and tilted his head.

“Do what?” he asked as Iori gave Upamon another drink of water.

“Keep them all under control,” Iori said simply, before taking another gulp for himself. Jou scratched his cheek and grimaced.

“Ah, well… that was more Taichi’s job than mind…” he trailed off.

“I understand that, but you were the oldest one. Your crest is Reliability, and I share that too through my Digimental. Mimi talking about how you stayed with her to make sure she stayed safe when you went back to the Digital World a second time, the story about making sure Taichi didn’t get in over his head while trying to rescue Sora, making sure Takeru didn’t get hurt… even if you didn’t lead the group, you still did everything you could to keep everyone safe.”

Jou placed his hand to his chin and hummed quietly, in deep thought. Iori focused his attention on him, waiting for what he had to say. He wanted to do his best to keep everyone safe with how dangerous the Digimon Kaiser was dangerous. Ever since they had to fight Metalgreymon, it felt like the stakes were being raised more and more. It wouldn’t be easy, and they needed to do all they could. Iori had to keep an eye out and make sure they all stayed safe. He wouldn’t let anything happen to any of his friends.

“Well, to be honest with you, Iori… I think a lot of it happened by accident,” he said with an awkward laugh. Iori’s jaw dropped.

“Huh?”

At his bewildered expression, Jou waved his hands and shook his head.

“No no no, don’t get me wrong! I worked as hard as I could to keep everyone safe, even if Taichi took the lead of the group,” he said. He paused again and pursed his lips, trying to best figure out how to better word what he meant to say.

“A lot of our group is pretty impulsive. Sora-kun and Koushiro are probably the only others who could keep as much of a level head, and there were plenty of times where I still needed to do what I could to help them out, too. Working with a lot of people isn’t always easy, especially when a lot of them are so headstrong.”

Iori glanced over at Daisuke and then to Miyako. He could definitely understand that pretty well.

“In a way, you sort of have to be an anchor for your group.”

The anchor for the group…

Iori had a hard time thinking of himself that way. While he had been raised with a good head on his shoulders thanks to his family, being the “anchor” felt like something else entirely.

Jou set a gentle hand on Iori’s shoulder, his own gaze having followed towards Iori’s friends.

“Daisuke and Miyako-kun are both pretty energetic, aren’t they,” he mused with a soft chuckle, “They really are like Taichi and Mimi-kun.”

“Jou-san, you really think I could be the anchor to our group?” he asked. He always appreciated the advice, help, and knowledge he received from Koushiro-san, and the few times Jou-san had offered it had been a boon, too. He still thought about what he had said when he needed to call on him in order to help save the group.

“I wouldn’t say think, I would say I’m sure you could be,” Jou said, offering Iori a smile. To Jou, it was almost funny how different the two were. Here Iori had taken helping out the Digital World in stride, doing everything he could in order to help fight against the Digimon Kaiser, while Jou had been so anxious and hesitant during his first trip there. Granted, they were in completely different situations, but he was always impressed by the boy’s convictions and strength.

“Takeru and Hikari-kun may have the experience from being in the Digital World with the rest of us, but you have an incredibly level head. You know when to take action and you focus on the right thing to do.”

Hearing Jou-san say that… really did mean a lot. It wasn’t always easy being the youngest, but…

“Thank you, Jou-san. Going against the Digimon Kaiser hasn’t been easy. Sometimes I wonder if it’s a battle we can entirely win,” Iori frowned. He wrung his hands together as he watched the others. He didn’t want to see them get hurt. He still thought about how his friends had nearly died, had a few nightmares about it. If it wasn’t for him being able to get Jou-san, then…

“I know we can’t help you all out too much, but we’ll always do what we can. You’ll always have our support.”

Upamon looked up at Iori, with that same adorable smile that he always held. It brought warmth to his chest, and enough relief to cause the knot that had slowly been forming in his stomach to unwind.

“Iori,” Upamon squeaked, “If I get what Jou is saying, then I know you do that for me, too!”

“Upamon?”

Jou smiled in silence as he watched the the pair.

“You always help me out! And if it wasn’t for you, there’s plenty of times I would’ve had way more of your mom’s food than I should!” Upamon said as he wiggled in his place.

And there were a lot of times that he had gotten seconds (and thirds) to give to his partner after a long day in the Digital World.

“Sounds a lot like a seal I know,” Jou said, before pausing for a beat, “Well… a lot less sarcastically than said seal, at least,” he said before adjusting his glasses.

“Thanks. Both of you,” Iori nodded as he held Upamon a little closer. “I hope one day I can be as close with Upamon as you are with Gomamon.”

Jou set a reassuring hand on Iori’s shoulder, patting it a few times before he reached for his bottle of water and took another drink.

“I don’t think you’ll have anything to worry about on that front. You two are just as much anchors for each other as Gomamon and I are for each other.”

“Hey, Iori!” Miyako shouted out with an exaggerated wave, “Get over here! Daisuke is buying us ice cream!”

“What!? I didn’t say I was gonna do that!” he shouted, his voice booming through the park.

“Sounds like you have to now!” Takeru said, his laughter mingling with Daisuke’s continued cries of refusal.

“B-But I was talking to—” Iori started, but was stopped by another hand on his shoulder again.

“Don’t worry about me, I’m sure I can find someone to talk to,” Jou said, mirth clear in his voice as he nodded towards his group.

“And I want to get ice cream, too!” Upamon said.

“Hey, wait! If I start buying ice cream for all you guys I’m gonna be broke!” Daisuke shouted.

“Oh! I want ice cream, too!” Chibimon squeaked out happily as he danced around his partner’s feet.

“Me, too!” Patamon said as he flew in circles.

The two stood up and started to walk forward. “Thanks for all of your advice today, Jou-san. It’s really helped me out.” Iori stopped in place and offered his senior a half bow.

Jou smiled, “I’m happy to help.”

“Hey! If you don’t hurry up then you and Upamon aren’t getting any ice cream!” Daisuke shouted over to them.

“Iori come on!” Upamon said, nearly flying from the boy’s arms to secure his frozen treat.

“Oh, and Iori? I think you’re already on the right track to being the anchor for your group,” Jou said, shooting the younger boy a thumbs up before heading over to talk to Mimi and Koushiro.

“Fiiiiiiiinally,” Daisuke said, putting his hands behind his head as Iori approached, Upamon practically buzzing in Iori’s arms as his little eyes darted around to try and find ice cream.

“I thought we were gonna have to leave ya behind,” Daisuke grinned. Miyako flicked his ear, leading to him shouting “Ow!” and rubbing his ear with a grumble.

“He wasn’t going to leave, I wouldn’t let him,” she said as she folded her arms. It caused Hikari to laugh, putting a hand in front of her mouth to cover it.

“Iori, Iori, how many ice creams can I get?” Upamon asked as he finally popped out of his partner’s arms, bouncing on the ground with Chibimon.

“Just one!” Daisuke said with a huff, pouting out his lower lip, “I’m not made of money.” Despite his grumbling, he couldn’t help the way the edge of his mouth turned upwards into a half grin before he led the charge towards a small convenience store, the rest of the group following close behind.

Despite the fact that Upamon ended up having an extra half a popsicle after begging Iori for some more, the tiny Digimon still ended up scarfing down a whole plate of food he had taken to his room after dinner. Iori watched with a mix of wonder and terror as the Digimon chowed down face first on a large pile of rice.

“You know, I still can’t help but wonder how many stomachs you have.”

“I dunno but not enough! I’m still hungry!” Upamon said between bites.

Iori smiled to himself as he leaned back in his chair. His partner was certainly something else. Not that he would ever complain.

“Hey, Upamon?” Iori asked after a few minutes. Upamon looked over at him, chewing on a piece of fish. Iori reached forward and wiped away a few grains of rice that were on his cheek.

“Yeah?” Upamon asked, finally swallowing the massive mouthful of food he had.

“We make a pretty good team, don’t we?”

“Of course we do! We make the best team ever! Ever ever!” Upamon cheered as he bounced in place. Iori chuckled gently.

“I think so, too. I’m glad and I’m grateful to be your partner.”

Upamon couldn’t stop himself from continuing to munch as he watched Iori with wide eyes and rapt attention.

“I won’t lie, I’m a little nervous about taking on the Digimon Kaiser… it won’t be an easy fight. But I want you to know I’ll always stand by you. As long as you’re able to fight, then so will I.”

Upamon suddenly launched himself into Iori’s arms, the force of which caused his chair to nearly fall backwards. Iori barely managed to get his feet planted on the floor in time while Upamon nuzzled into him. Iori grimaced as some soy sauce started to stain his shirt.

“I’ll be your anchor if you’ll be mine, Iori!”

Iori smiled, closed his eyes, held his partner tight, and gently set his forehead against the top of Upamon’s head.

“I will.”

[otakween]

Digimon Adventure Drama CD 1 (Character Song + Mini Drama 1)

I almost forgot about drama CDs! Digimon has a whole bunch of them, it turns out. Looks like I get to cling onto the Adventure cast for a little bit longer. This CD is a combination of very short drama bits and character image songs, as the name suggests. It feels a bit on the short side but I guess that's because it's only part one ;)

Download link

SOS! Grade 5 Class A

Translation here

A very silly story about Taichi and Sora fighting a potato digimon (Jagamon) during home ec class. Very esoteric references to 1970s anime are made.

I liked that this was just Taichi and Sora. I know that was probably more of a budgeting thing, but one-on-one moments (even dumb ones like this) are important to me.

There's something icky about Taichi commanding Agumon to digivolve just for his amusement...poor little guy

Favorite part of this was all of the meta jokes about this being an audio drama. For example, when they introduce Jagamon the narrator's like "well...we can't show you what he looks like, but he looks like a potato just trust me bro"

I had to look up who Ikkyuu-san was. At least the one Japanese commenter on the YouTube video understood the reference lol.

Image Song 1 - Turn Courage Into Wings (Yagami Taichi)

Translation here

A somewhat generic, but very Taichi song. (When it comes down to it, Taichi is a pretty generic shounen guy). Of course it focuses on courage because that's Taichi's thing.

At first the "you" mentioned in song was supposed to be a romantic interest and then I realized he could be singing platonically to Agumon or Yamato. I like the Agumon option best, that's really cute.

Takeuchi Sora's Fluttering Yellow Card

This was less of a drama and more of a little radio DJ-like snippet featuring Sora and Piyomon. Sora's VA is apparently a DJ IRL so this was an in-joke.

Mimi asks Sora where her hat came from and she just say "I don't know!" lolwut. I'm not sure if this segment is supposed to be in character or in some sort of weird "behind-the-scenes" world where the characters are aware they're in an anime. Seems like the latter.

Image Song 2 - Tomorrow I'll Be...(Takeuchi Sora)

Translation here

Damn, Sora's song was pretty dark. It did have a tinge of hopefulness, but mostly it sounded like she was singing about depression/existentialism being temporary. Kind of like a "this too shall pass" song. :(

She sings about how she feels like she has no one to fight for and has lost sight of her dreams. This fits in with that one arc where she despaired over "love" being her crest because it didn't suit her. I think we all know that feeling of being lonely in a crowd, even a crowd of friends. This song helped me appreciate Sora's character a little more.

Joe's Singer Debut!? (Parts 1 & 2)

I like how these skits introduce the character image songs, that's a really cute idea. These characters aren't singers in-universe (except for Mimi), so I guess they wanted to give context for why they're singing haha.

Part 1 is Gomamon suggesting songs for Joe to sing and performing little samples. Very cute. (Of course, he can't really sing well lol, but that adds to the charm).

Part 2 is the studio rep explaining that the next drama CD will be about a love triangle between Mimi, Koushiro, and Hikari. That sounds like a terrible idea. No chemistry between either pair if you ask me...Maybe that's the joke though.

Image Song 3 - There's Another Me (Kido Jou)

Translation here

This song was all about Joe facing and overcoming his insecurities and fear of risks. He talks about how you'll never grow if you completely avoid pain of any kind. Honestly, a pretty inspirational song for kids out there. I can definitely relate to Joe's timidity. I'm always avoiding getting out of my comfort zone which has held me back in some ways.

[insomniacs-tangle-sdra2]

First night.

Mikado wasn't one for...sleeping in...he hasn't slept for 8 hours...he never does...he either pulls an all nighter or...sleeps for 2-3 hours instead...

Of course he isn't sane either..he started to hear voices...it's nothing new...yet these new voices know nothing about him...his heart starts to race...

Will you help him? Or will your voices sway him deeper into insanity?

(Also this Mikado may be a bit more...obsessed...and weird )

Mikado's Insanity: 140%

It starts out as 200%

Do something nice for him...

(Sanity Explanation: https://www.tumblr.com/insomniacs-tangle-sdra2/733384085884600320/mod-im-confused-is-lower-sanity-bad-or?source=share)

Real Mikado : Active

AI Mikado : Active

Akane/Sora : In progress

Yamato : Active

Nikei: Active

Utsuro : Incomplete.

Iroha: Active

(You can inform them about og canon if you want too there is nothing stoping you)

Hajime: Awake.

Emma: Awake

------------------

Teruya: Awake and intact. (Non intractable)

(if I take a bit to respond to asks it's because I'm downloading and deleting sprites)

(I'm also perfectly fine with other blogs bringing in their characters. It doesn't mess with the base lore of this timeline in anyway and besides... I only planned lore up to the Nikei chat so it would be nice for this to be a base for multiple Dangan Blogs to meet up too!...)

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

The Girl Who Looked in the Evil Abyss: Part 1.

So...This is where we were headed?

...

*Kaede, Sora and Monodam stand in the holding cell room they discovered earlier. Despite the controversial and weird feelings about it, they all go in and look up towards Hibiki.

I said I would be getting all of us out of here.

I meant that.

RIGHT...IT-WOULD-NOT-BE-FAIR-TO-LEAVE-HIBIKI-OTONOKOJI-BEHIND-FOR-ZETSUBOU-TO-USE-AS-A-TOOL-FOR-THEIR-OWN-ENDS.

Hehehehe...I’m down. The good of it all aside, I can’t wait to see the look on Kanade’s face when we nab her sister before she does.

The more you talk about Kanade Otonokoji, the more confused I get.

Forget about it for now. The real question is...how are we gonna get Hibiki out of the pod?

WELL, TO-BE-HONEST, THERE-ARE-TWO-WAYS-WE-MAY-REMOVE-HER.

ONE...WE-COULD-SMASH-THE-POD-WIDE-OPEN-AND-LET-HER-FALL-OUT. HOWEVER-THAT-WILL-END-UP-BEING-A-VERY-RUDE-AWAKENING.

PLUS-IT-IS-NOT-GUARANTEED-THAT-SHE-WILL-HOLD-TOGETHER-IN-ONE-PIECE. SHE-MAY-TUMBLE-OUT-OF-THE-POD-AND-GO-SPLAT-ON-THE-GROUND.

WELL-FROM-THIS-HEIGHT, SHE’S-LIKELY-TO-GO-SPLAT-ANYWAY.

R-Right...

THE-OTHER-IS-THAT-I-MANUALLY-BRING-THE-POD-DOWN, AND-THEN-DRAIN-IT-OF-IT’S-LIQUID-CONTENTS. THEN-I-WILL-OPEN-THE-DOOR-AND-WE-WILL-CARRY-HER-OUT.

THE-PROBLEM-THERE-IS-THAT-IT-WILL-TAKE-A-LONG-TIME. I-ESTIMATE-UP-TO-ABOUT-20-MINUTES.

20 minutes!?

YES. IS-THAT-BAD?

Are you trying to bore me? We’re about to get out of this lab, and now you tell me we need to wait here for another 20 minutes!?

Sora, that’s SECONDS compared to how long we’ve spent down here. In fact, I don’t even know how long we’ve been stuck; it’s been so long.

I know I’m just...I miss my wife, ok? And I bet she’s worried about me too...

Oh...By the way...Neither of you had better say a word of what I did to Yoruko...

What? You mean removing your-

Yes! That...Don’t say a word.

I won’t, I promise. To be honest, I’ve got bigger concerns right now.

SUCH-AS-WHAT?

N-Nothing...Just...Go for it Monodam.

With luck, once Yamato opens the door, Future Foundation soldiers will come in to give support. We can explain the situation to them once they get inside.

*Monodam nods and goes over to the same panel as earlier. He presses a few buttons and Hibiki’s pod begins to descend.

I-ASSUME-THESE-BIGGER-CONCERNS-ARE-TO-DO-WITH-ME?

...!

...?

*sigh* Nothing gets by you, does it?

YOU-PROMISED-ME-YOU-WOULD-HELP-ME-ONCE-WE-GOT-OUT-OF-HERE. THAT-YOU-WOULD-HELP-ME-MAKE-IT-IN-THE-HUMAN-WORLD.

I did say that. And I meant it too...It’s just...

...

...

I’m going to be honest with you Monodam...

I-WOULD-PREFER-YOU-WERE.

Right, well...I said that...but the truth is, I don’t really have a plan, or know how to.

Again, I think it’s up to you what you decide to do once you get out of here, but...I just want you to know that...

It’s going to be difficult.

I-AM-AWARE.

...If AI’s like Chiaki and I can exist alongside humans at the Future Foundation, why can’t he?

Because he’s a Monokub Sora...A product of Organization Zetsubou; our enemies.

I promise, I will do whatever it takes to make sure you can live a free and happy life; one that you deserve! But I just want you to know that our troubles aren’t going to end if we get out of this lab.

In fact...They might increase...

ARE-YOU-IMPLYING-YOU-WOULD-RATHER-ME-STAY-IN-THIS-LAB?

What!? No! Of course not! Especially not by yourself!

THEN-YOU-MEAN-TO-IMPLY-YOU-WILL-STAY-IN-THE-LAB-WITH-ME?

No! Not that either! We’re getting out of here!

I just need you to know that I can’t do this alone. And even if we did this together, it’s gonna be tough.

...

But...I want you to know...That you...are important to me.

I wasn’t expecting to get attached to you, but I did, and that’s that. And deep down in my heart, I know that if I can accept you, the rest of my friends can accept you to. We have that going for us at least.

BUT-THE-FOUNDATION-AT-LARGE-IS-A-DIFFERENT-STORY?

Not just the Foundation. The world. I-I guess all I wanted to say was...

I’m glad to have you around...And I want it to stay that way.

Me too! I...

...I like this little band of weirdo’s we’ve got here. I want to keep it.

...I...DID-NOT-REALIZE-YOU-WERE-SO-WORRIED.

I-FIGURED-THIS-WOULD-BE-CHILD’S-PLAY-TO-SOMEONE-LIKE-YOU.

Surely you should have realized by now that I’m not the perfect girl everyone thinks I am. FAR from it.

It’s become way too apparent that my optimism is my biggest weakness. I focus so much on the bright side of things, and the hope and the positives...that I tend to ignore the problem at hand, and my solutions...barely qualify as such...

I’ve...never ever been able to live with myself after what the Killing Game put me through...And...I guess what I’m saying is that I don’t hold your past against you, so...

Don’t hold it against yourself either. It’s not fun.

I-DON’T-IMAGINE-IT-WOULD-BE.

*THUD!*

...!?

...!?

Wh-What was that?

That...sounded like the door opening. Did someone just come in?

...

You think it’s the Foundation? Yamato did say he was going to open the door.

...!

I dunno...I figured there’d be a lot more yelling orders in that case...

*WHOOOOSHH...!*

Huh? What’s that...

KAEDE! MOVE!

Wha-!?

*WHAM!* *SHWOOOSH!*

GAAAGH!

!!!???

*SLAASSSH!*

GRRRR!

MONODAM!

*CRAACK!*

...!

*Monodam pushes forward with his rocket boosters, and bashes Kaede out of the way, just in time to avoid a large metal axe/hatchet fly out from the staircase towards them! Unfortunately, Monodam isn’t so lucky, and the hatchet slices his back open! The hatchet flies to the other side of the room, and lodges into the databoard in front of Hibiki’s pod. Hibiki appears to stir inside the machine a little upon impact.

SHIT! Who the fuck was-!?

???: Hehehehehehe!

!!?

*The group turns towards the staircase, as a menacing cackle sounds from it...However, this isn’t the only sound they hear...

*CRUMBLE...SHHHH...!*

What was-

Crap! KAEDE! BEHIND YOU!

HUH!?

*SLASH!*

GAHAGH!

NO!

*Kaede is caught off guard by Sora’s shout, and doesn’t react in time! The hatchet that lodged in the databoard suddenly FLIES BACKWARDS towards the stairs, and gashes Kaede’s back! Fortunately, the hit is not severe, but the group watches as the hatchet spins and flies back...

*CATCH!*

*into the hands of the villain who threw it...!

Hello Soorraaa~!

KANADE!?

Been a while, huh? Sorry, I really should have wrote, but...my new job makes my circumstances a little tricky.

YOU!? You’re-!

KANADE-OTONOKOJI! THE-VILLAINOUS-SISTER-OF-HIBIKI!

“Villainous?” Hah! Any other day of the week, I’d take that as a compliment, but that’s rich coming from you, BEAR! You think just because you switched sides, that immediately makes you a hero!?

AND-THAT-HATCHET! IT-HAS-THE-SAME-PROPERTIES-AS-KAEDE’S-SPEAR! SHE-CAN-CALL-IT-BACK-TO-HER-TOO!

Sneaky bitch! You stole her thing!

I stole-!? PAHAHAHAHA!

I stole HER thing!? Why don’t you ask your blonde bimbo friend WHERE that weapon came from originally!?

No, in fact, I’ll tell you. That weapon was invented by Emilia Feng and her corporation Fang Inc. Who, might I add, were the biggest sellers for Organization Zetsubou’s weaponry!

All things considered, that spear is property of Organization Zetsubou, and if I get lucky, I might have to get it back!

I’ll have you know that I was given this weapon by Maya Canzanilla of the Freedom Foundation, then two of the world’s greatest inventors made it better! You really think I’m afraid of that measly kitchen knife of yours!?

Lucky is right! No way in hell am letting you take me out!

Hoho! Perfect! Seems you already know the deal.

I’ve been fighting for my life every hour I’ve been in this lab, and I’ve destroyed EVERYTHING you guys have thrown at me. I should’ve known Tsumugi would have gotten desperate and sent you.

Desperate is right...That woman HATES you, and I cannot fathom why! It just seems to be an innate detest with no rhyme or reason behind it.

...

So not even YOU know why Tsumugi Shirogane wants Kaede dead?

Nope. No clue. Still, I guess I SOMEWHAT get it. People can hate people simply for being who they are. One could argue it’s not right, but that’s just how the world works.

AND-THAT-IS-WHY-IT-FALLS-TO-US-TO-CHANGE-IT.

Tch...Typical robot...Thinking he knows more about humanity than humans do. Still, it’s not like I’m totally satisfied with the status quo either.

Yeah...You’ve never been one to shy away from standing out.

But Kaede’s right Kanade. We’ve been battling for our lives for what feels like forever. We’ve consecutively taken down Mech after Mech. What makes you think you can take us by yourself?

Hehehehe...Honestly? I’m really not fussed.

Huh?

All I want...is THAT pod...Let me pass, and I might even take my leave without any more bloodshed.

What do you mean...!?

What do you mean “what do I mean?” I MEAN exactly what I say! 

You wanna know something that might surprise you, Kaede Akamatsu? I’m NOT as insane as everyone has told you I am! I am willing to listen to reason!

My sister and I will retreat into the night. Just the two of us, together forever! We’ll abandon this conflict! We’ll leave the lives of both the Future Foundation AND Organization Zetsubou, and you will NEVER hear from us again!

All you have to do...is give...me...my...HIBIKI...

...

...

...Hey...Kanade...?

Remind me again how many people you’ve killed, tortured, crippled, buried or resigned to a horrible, terrible fate, just for the sake of keeping your “darling sister” all to yourself?

Honestly, by this point I’ve lost count, but...Over 60 people, last I checked.

Right...And if we do this, that number’s gonna keep rising...!

Now hold on a second...!

No! With Hibiki, or WITHOUT Hibiki, you’re a THREAT! To everyone else, and to HER! Why the hell should I EVER believe that!? All it takes is for someone to strike up a friendly conversation with your sister, and their life is FORFEIT!

Come on Sora, you never cared before, why start now!?

I only found the truth about you when you were about to die...And back then...I had nothing to lose...Now I DO. I have a LOT to lose...!

And I won’t lose ANY of it to you...!

*sigh* I’m not as unreasonable or crazy as you THINK I am Sora! It doesn’t have to be this way!

...!

*Kaede recalls her spear.

You’re not the first person I’ve met who’s killed for the sake of a sibling that they adore, but you’re just as pathetic as all the others...!

You give older twin sisters a bad name!

Aw, boohoo...! What are YOU gonna do about it, diddums?

Tsumugi sent you here to kill me...

*Kaede brandishes her weapon and points it towards Kanade.

I INVITE you to TRY...!

Hmhmhm...

*Kanade raises her hatchet, and then grabs a knife from her pocket.

Monodam...Watch Hibiki. Don’t let her get close to the pod.

BUT-

No buts! You got injured! I am NOT gonna lose you!

...

*Monodam quietly nods as Kaede steps forward.

You ready Sora?

Am I ready? Heh...I’ve been waiting for this for 10 YEARS Kaede...!

*Both sides glare each other down for what feels like a long while...until...!

HYAGH!

HWAGH!

*CLASSH!*

RGH!

GRGH!

HAAH!

YAAAH!

*CLAAAASSH!*

*Kaede and Kanade simultaneously throw their weapons towards each other, causing them to collide into the air! They then both jump up in the air, call their weapons back, and clash while airborne!

LET’S DO THIS!

*The sound of the clash reverberating off the wall serves as a battle horn for Kaede and Sora, as they rush towards their opponent!

//KAEDE, SORA AND MONODAM VS KANADE OTONOKOJI!!//