#(Even though Koushiro has a large focus)

[izzyizumi]

{Index} IzzyIzumi / KoushirouIzumi's AMVs for Koushiro Izumi, Taichi Yagami, & Koushiro x Taichi

One (Digi)-Week (with Taichi & Koushiro) {made pre-2011}

Beautiful Disaster

In the rain {Miraculous!Inspired Koushiro A.U.s}

"Miraculous?" Koushiro {Miraculous!Inspired Koushiro A.U.s}

Chosen Family [+Izumi Family; 02; Tri]

OBJECTION!! (Every Puzzle Has An Answer?)

I'll Be There For You

To A Brand-New World {Sailormoon!Inspired A.U.s}

Oshiokyo!! {Sailormoon!Inspired A.U.s} [+Mimi] (In-Progress)

Southern Cross Waltz [+2020!KouTai}

In the Infinitely Distant Sky

"KOUSHIRO on Self" (In-Progress)

Who Is Koushiro Izumi? {BELLE!Inspired Parody}

Forget About Love [+Kizuna; 2020!KouTai]

Spring Night Love Song [+Sora; Taikoura{to}; KouTai+YamaSora]

Love-Lost Elegy [+2020!KouTai]

Tsuki no Uta {Moon's Song} [+Kizuna]

{Dirty} Computer [+Tri, etc]

19sai [+Menoa; Kizuna] (In-Progress)

"rob0t" b0y [+Tri, 2020, etc] [+2020!KouTai]

Moon Rain [+2020!KouTai] (In-Progress)

Moon Revenge [+Frontier crossover; 2020 A.U.] (In-Progress)

Part of THIS World

KIMIPedia {YouPedia} [+Kizuna]

"BOKU" / "I" {Chobits!Inspired Character Introspection} (In-Progress) Parts: 1 / 2 / 3 / 3 End (Ongoing!)

The Only Exception [+Izumis; Yagamis; Advs&02 Chosen]

"STUDY" ME? / "Figure it Out" I’M (/KOUSHIRO’S) NOT A ‘PROBLEM’ TO BE 'SOLVED’

"JIGOKU" Together [(Platonic) Izumis supporting Kou(+Tai)]

Further information under the 'read more'!

NOTICE: Lately, the video player has been having Issues displaying videos that I use the uploader for at time; this Issue has particularly been affecting "Study Me", but may also affect other more recent ones like "Part of Your World", etc. IF YOU Notice a video doesn't appear, please check back in a few days. If it still hasn't displayed again, PLEASE PING ME, PREFERABLY by the chat {messaging} feature, NOT ASKS OR @'NG (I might miss Asks and frequently miss @'s!!), and I'll see what I can do!! (In the meantime, you can also try watching one of my other A.M.V.s instead, as many of them are still functioning properly!!)

This post is not rebloggable (sorry!!) but I'll have another linking to it soon!

(More info under the 'read more'!)

All of these can be watched as stand-alones! Though they can also tie into my fic-verse / other A.M.Vs-verse; All of these are fine to watch on their own. The songs here tend to be much calmer than my other 'Verse, but even some of these can be passionately intense (which isn't very bad 'fitting'-wise for even direct Koushiro or Taichi focus specifically!)

Some are still currently being worked on (marked with "In-Progress") and may take a while to reach full Completion, but feel free to check back to this Index!

Please be sure to read ALL Notes on A.M.V.s before watching! (I add in Notes and attempt {for most all edits} spoiler warnings for your convenience. Please USE THEM) [If I forget to mention a part, I apologize! A lot of scenes tend to be used, but I try my best to indicate!]

Tip: Click any "H.D." button on a player so the quality is more smooth! Tip #2: Not all of these are Download-able, sorry! But if one is on Vimeo check the arrow icon in the corner of the player!... (You didn't hear it from me)

Not everything has been sub'd yet, (especially later ones) but I'm trying my best to eventually add in sub's for all the rest as I go / find the time! (In the meantime, please feel free to refer to any linked fan translated materials!)

Some A.M.V.s contain alternate ships depending on 'verse. (Alternate!-Universe) or not, Poly-ships and semi-canon compliancy, may also be represented and included. Please read ALL notes re ships on posts before Interacting!

I WILL BLOCK PEOPLE WHO Ignore these rules. My fan-works are for people who appreciate the series, Koushiro, and Taichi, NOT for people who hate the series as a whole or most any aspects of them canonically. They are also not meant to promote any sort of hate for any other Chosen or ship, regardless of their current focus. PLEASE try to Understand & remember this. I may also Block people who leave overtly negative commentary on any series character or ship featured. That is NOT the point of me making my fan-works, Please respect this if you choose to Interact.

I HAVE an 'About' and 'F.A.Q' (I am planning to make a newer / updated one for this blog specifically eventually. In the meantime please refer there, thanks.) Please read them before asking questions/sending messages! THANK YOU.

"Why are you doing this?"

Because when I was much younger, so many other ships already had LOADS of A.M.V.s and I never found very many for Koushiro or Taishiro / KouTai specifically, which I always found very odd, because they had more than just enough material to make full-length A.M.V.s out of... (and maybe more than you expected!!)

Years later, I'm evening out the playing field for Koushiro!!! (But more seriously, it's because I seriously enjoy making these and if I don't make them the idea is going to repeatedly echo in my head until I finally have it DONE, also as many of these were planned for many months~years and the outlines can take equally as long!!)

I'd be really happy and glad if anyone can come to understand Koushiro, Taichi, or KouTai (/Taishiro) more via these A.M.V.s, including from my own perspectives.

I'd be really happy to hear your thoughts or tags rambles!! Please let me know if something intrigued you or stood out to you, or if you liked a particular edit I made on a scene or sequence of scenes!! A lot of these can be quite hard for me to achieve! Respecful Feedback helps me improve and I may branch out further to other parts of the series + characters later on once I wrap up as many of my currently planned A.M.V.s as possible.

I AM NOT TAKING REQUESTS AT THIS TIME. PLEASE DO NOT ASK ME, I will have to REJECT. THANK YOU FOR NOTING. (Full-length A.M.V.s can be really time consuming!!) If I'm open to requests, I'll usually note it (or ask mutuals for ideas). However this is NOT common and at this time, I have not officially opened requests. Thank you for understanding!

[pop-goes-the-sneasel]

Tentomon!

Tentomon!!!!!!

Tentomon’s a neat robot-like ladybug digimon, and one of the core Child-level digimon of the first season of the anime, Digimon Adventure. It’s also one of my favourites of the bunch! Usually, ladybugs are played for cuteness – and I’m not saying Tentomon isn’t cute – but it definitely goes about ladybug representation differently from what’s typical. To such a degree I never even realised it was a ladybug as a child! I just regarded it as some cool bug thing.

Perhaps one of its most distinctive traits is its variance in limbs, with its forelegs each having a single claw, whereas its middle and hindlegs each have four. It’s reductive to call the digits on the middle legs “claws”, however, as they’re individually segmented like complex fingers: its description stating that they’re able to grasp as effectively as a human hand. This style of segmentation also appears on the connecting bits of its limbs, and is actually quite common amongst other insectoid digimon as well. Tentomon’s also got a very distinctive face with large, green compound eyes and interlocking mandibles. The shell on its back can also open up and reveal wings, with the shell closing around the central spot on its back. My favourite part of its design, though, is probably its antenna – they’re so wavy, they have an almost fire-like quality to them. Rather than fire, though, Tentomon is associated with electricity! In fact, many bugs in this franchise are electric-oriented in general.

Personality-wise, Tentomon is said to be quite peaceful, enjoying sniffing flowers and napping in the shade of trees. This makes it a prime candidate for partnering up with a human, which is exactly what happens. Tentomon is the partner of Izumi Koushiro (dub name: Izzy), who nurtures Izumi’s stereotypical nerd interests whilst also helping to encourage him to open up past his relatively unsociable nature and be there for his friends. Digimon Adventure has a significant focus on character growth, with digimon partners commonly being crucial to that growth, and Tentomon is a great example of that.

Digimon unfortunately has far less bug representation than Pokemon does, but at least it has Tentomon. I adore this dweeby little ladybug, and it’s a shame that the Digimon aesthetic has seemingly deviated so far from this that we’ll never get anything similar to Tentomon ever again. We don’t even have any recolours to go over!

Wholesome bug boi/10.

[higuchimon]

[fanfic] Meaning of Choices:  chapter 4 [end]

Akogimon’s words scraped against Ken’s mind. To decide if he were human or not – that would settle all of this, one way or another. Either he was Piemon’s son or he was human. A human couldn’t survive the poisoning but being a Digimon meant that he’d be what he never wanted to be again. There had to be that middle ground, the way through it all that only he could chart.

But he also knew his time to do so was running out. In here, inside of his own mind, he couldn’t quite feel how hard he struggled to breathe, but he was aware of it, when he turned his mind that way. He didn’t dare take his attention off of Akogimon for a second to focus there, though. He had to do this here and now.

“Time’s ticking away,,” Akogimon pointed out. “Akigaramon won’t be able to bring Sorcerimon. Sorcerimon doesn’t care about helping the spawn of Piemon. Especially not you, the spawn of Piemon that already tried to capture him once before. You’re all on your own here.”

“That’s wrong,” Ken replied without a moment of thought. But even as he said the words, he knew they were true. “I’m never alone.”

Oh. Yes. How could he be, when he had Wormmon? When he had Daisuke? When he had all of his friends? He hadn’t always been sure that they were his friends, but now he knew the truth. They were there for him.

More memories filtered in – of the day not that long before when Koushiro gathered them all together and told them. Told them that some of them weren’t human, that some carried the blood of Digimon. And that he was one of those, second-born son of Piemon.

That had been shocking in and of itself. Not just that he wasn’t quite human, but that he had a brother – that Ishida Yamato, Chiguumon, was that brother.

“His name is Anbumon,” Akogimon spat out, and Ken’s head jerked up. He hadn’t known that he’d said the name, let alone how revolted Akogimon would look at the sound of it. “The least that you could do is refer to him by his true name and not that.”

“That is his real name,” Ken murmured. “He told me so himself. Anbumon is the name of his dark side – like you are for me.”

“We are your true selves. The parts of you that you seek to deny.” Akogimon shook his head, sneering. “But you can’t do that anymore. Your time is up.” He began to stride forward. “And my time is now!”

Ken raised both hands, but not in surrender. “No!” He dug his heels in, certain now of what he could do and of the path that lay before him. “You’re part of me, yes. You’re the worst parts of everything the Kaiser ever was or could be.”

“Glad to see you finally admit it,” Akogimon said with a smirk. “Now are you going to let me out or do I have to take over and fix this mess myself? Don’t think I won’t.”

Ken smiled. “Oh, that won’t be happening. I said you’re a part of me – but you’re not all of me. All of me is made up of everything I’ve done or could do, the good ad the bad. I am human – and I am Digimon. I’m both.” He set his feet and raised his head, certainty flaring from the deepest parts of himself. “My name is Jinshinmon!”

Cold. So cold. Daisuke knew that this was far deeper than any natural snowstorm would cause – that was part of Sorcerimon’s power. It had to be. But what he couldn’t get his head wrapped around was how it didn’t feel cold. It did but it didn’t – he wasn’t sure of how to think about it, so he didn’t bother doing so.

He straightened himself up and blinked. He couldn’t see through the snow but he knew that somewhere on the other side was Sorcerimon and somewhere deep inside him lurked Akigaramon, waiting for the chance to do some damage, and far closer than Daisuke really wanted him to be.

But he didn’t care. Akigaramon wasn’t going to get out because he wasn’t going to let him. Sorcerimon wasn’t going to stop him because he couldn’t.

His inner virus screamed and wailed and snarled in echoing rage. Let me out! Let me do this! Do you want your precious Ken to die? That’s what you came here for, isn’t it? And he’s not helping! Make him help! I can do it! I can!

“No, you can’t,” Daisuke replied, biting off every word. “Because all you would do is kill Sorcerimon and that’s not going to help at all.”

Huh. It normally shouldn’t have taken so little effort to speak with a snowstorm raging all around. He raised one hand and pushed forward through the snow, then glanced down. There was Wormmon cuddling against his feet, staring up at him with large and terrified blue eyes.

Clarity had come with the cold. He felt it but it didn’t bother him anymore. He could only hear Akigaramon has a faint screaming voice now. He wasn’t cold at all – it was like a small sun lit inside of him, burning away everything that he’d feared.

He bent down and picked up Wormmon, holding him close. “Are you all right?”

“It’s cold!” Wormmon chattered. “We have to get out of here!”

“We will,” Daisuke promised. Another name whispered itself in the depth of his heart. He didn’t say it, not yet. But he moved forward until he crossed out of the blizzard and caught sight of Sorcerimon.

The ice mage stared back at him, then stared at his snowflake staff. “That should have frozen you,” he said, more than a little dumbfounded. “My cold is too much for any human to bear.”

“Well, you’re probably right,” Daisuke agreed cheerfully. “And it was kind of annoying for a little bit there. But I think you forgot something – I’m not human!” He grinned and Sorcerimon stepped back. He gripped his wand tighter and started to raise it, tiny swirls of pale blue energy forming around it.

But Daisuke shook his head. “Nope. Wouldn’t advise that. See, there’s something I figured out in all that cold. It’s a little weird, but I know it’s true. And you do too – I’m a Digimon. I’m the crafted offspring of Apocalymon.” He’d never said it before, not out loud. It felt oddly good not to deny it anymore. He still needed to get used to it but saying it made it easier. “And nothing you can do is going to bother me in any way.”

“Don’t you want me to heal Akogimon?” Sorcerimon demanded, fear lacing through his voice. Daisuke nodded.

“Of course I do. But you also said he won’t need it – because he’s a son of Piemon and he can survive the poison. But he’s what he is no matter what. He’s not going to die if you don’t come.” He hadn’t known that before. He didn’t regret having come on this mission and it would certainly make everything easier if Sorcerimon did come back with him. But Ken would survive regardless. Daisuke wasn’t going to think otherwise.

Sorcerimon continued to stare. Then he slowly lowered his staff and the snowstorm faded away. He met Daisuke’s eyes with his own.

“What is your name?” He asked it quiet and firm, and Daisuke grinned back at him.

“Motomiya Daisuke – but you can call me Taiyuumon. I need you to come help Ken. Will you do it?”

Sorcerimon’s gaze flicked from Daisuke to Wormmon to something in the distance. Then he looked back at Daisuke. “Yes.”

Daisuke’s grin widened. “I thought you would. I think we should hurry, though.” Deep within, a sensation he’d never felt before unfolded itself. He’d been told he could evolve. No one knew what would trigger it – until now. Now he knew what he needed his wings or – he needed them to get to Ken. He gently set Wormmon down and turned his attention inward. There was the power, waiting for him. Akigaramon still existed, but could do nothing.

For now, his dark self whispered. For now.

Daisuke ignored that. He touched the power within and the data that created him now changed, light enfolding him, and then his wings spread outward. The world seemed smaller, or he’d grown larger.

“Taiyuumon evolve to Giyuumon!”

Behind his mask, Sorcerimon’s jaw dropped. Never before had he seen anything like this. Angels were known to be beautiful, but often hid their faces behind their helmets. Now he knew why.

All the Chosen were there by now. Those who couldn’t help stayed back out of the way, keeping a watch to see when Daisuke would return.

Jou stiffened. Everyone turned towards him at once.

“Something wrong?” Taichi wanted to know. Jou looked down at Ken. He didn’t have the equipment that being in a hospital would get him, but he and Koushiro had a few special devices built to help those of mixed human and Digimon blood. Now he stared at one of those readings.

“He’s – not as bad off as he was,” Jou said at last. “He could still use help but – I don’t think he’s in danger of dying. Something changed.”

Yamato’s lips quirked. “I wonder what it was.” That, they all noticed, was in the clear tones of someone who had a good idea of what that might have been.”

His eyes shifted quickly from Jou to Sora, both of whom nodded ever so slightly. They too were Viral Breeds – they knew what someone like them had to go through at some point.

Daisuke had been gone for hours. He’d sent the occasional message back but so far nothing to indicate that he’d found Sorcerimon. All of them were a lot more worried than they really wanted to show.

Without warning, all of their Digimon started to look up. Jou, Koushiro, Miyako, Sora, and Yamato did as well, with the human Chosen a breath afterwards.

He came from above, a glorious angel that had to stand a good seven feet tall, covered in red and blue armor, with flames embossed on the shoulders and lightning wrapped around his waist. It should have looked ridiculous. It didn’t. His wingspan could easily have enfolded the entire team, and his smile was as bright as sunlight and as familiar as morning.

“Daisuke?” Miyako gasped, staring in shock. “Is that – you?”

“It is!” V-mon declared, leaping up from where he’d been nuzzled next to Ken. “It’s Daisuke! And he evolved!” For a brief second the little blue dragon pouted. “I wanted to see that!”

Daisuke’s grin didn’t fade as he landed, setting Wormmon next to Ken. “Sorry. But I wanted to make sure that we got back here in plenty of time.” On his shoulder there rode Sorcerimon. He slipped off and moved over towards Ken, who had just begun to move, as if Daisuke’s return stirred him.

Perhaps it did, because even as Daisuke moved closer, Ken’s eyes opened. They were a little fuzzy at first, but they cleared within moments, especially as Sorcerimon began to chant a healing spell. The pain still visible faded and the wounds faded away. Ken looked down at himself, then at Sorcerimon.

“Thank you,” he said quietly. “And for what I tried to do when I was the Kaiser – I’m sorry.”

Sorcerimon sniffed. “I have been assured that you won’t try it again. You had best not.”

“I won’t.” Ken assured him, then glanced over to Daisuke, his eyes widening and he swallowed briefly. “Oh. Daisuke.”

“Giyuumon right now,” Daisuke corrected, flexing his broad wings. “I figured out how to evolve! And I know my real name!”

Ken ducked his head and smiled. “So do I. I – it was interesting. I’m not even sure if it really happened.”

“If it involved your dark side, then it probably did,” Yamato told him, moving forward. He regarded ken for a few seconds. “I’m Chiguumon, brother. And you are?”

Ken stared back and swallowed. “Jinshinmon – brother.” He raised one hand tentatively and Yamato took it. For a few seconds they simply stood like that, before Yamato nodded.

“Any time you want to talk, let me know. Anbumon can be a pain and I bet your dark side’s not any better. At least mine knows how to shut up most of the time.”

Ken’s lips twitched a fraction as he unsteadily got to his feet, leaning on Daisuke. One giant wing folded around him in support as he reached to pick up Wormmon.

“Are you all right?” Ken murmured. “You went with Daisuke, didn’t you?”

Wormmon nodded, curling against Ken. “I was worried about you. I wanted to stay with you, but…” He ducked his head. “I should’ve protected you better. I’m sorry.”

Ken raised one hand to rub in between Wormmon’s antenna. “That’s all right,” he assured his partner. “You did the very best that you could and I’m fine now. Better than fine.”

He tried his best to hold back a yawn but didn’t do very good at it. The rest of the group looked much the same way, except for Daisuke. He was probably riding high still on the euphoria of his first evolution. Ken tried not to stare too openly at him, and suspected he wasn’t doing all that well at that, either.

“Well, if everyone is alive and going to stay that way,” Taichi said, pushing himself to his feet, “then I think we should get to bed. This has been a long night.”

“What about Alarumon?” Ken asked, glancing around for the Digimon in question. “Where did she go?”

Daisuke frowned. “I don’t know. I think she ran off before the others got here.”

“We’ll keep an eye out for her,” Palmon promised. “She’s kind of like a cousin of mine so maybe she’ll listen to us.”

Ken wasn’t so sure if he believed that. But he would make a note of the area here and try his best not to come back. Maybe Alarumon would be better if she didn’t have to see him. And it wasn’t as if he needed to be here anyway.

But he’d bring that up another time. For now, he leaned against Daisuke and took careful steps towards the exit television. Then he paused and shifted to whisper into Daisuke’s ear.

“Do you think – you could take me flying tomorrow?” He loved flying with Stingmon but this was different – this was Daisuke. And some very beautiful wings.

And an amazing smile that Daisuke smiled back at him, familiar even in a slightly unfamiliar face, and Daisuke whispered, “Whenever you want.”

The End

Notes: I was really tempted to have their dark alter egos take over but I’ve done that before, so I opted for a happy ending instead.

When I chose Ken's true Digimon name, I started with the definition of "kindness". While the direct translation is "shinsetsu", I chose to go with "jinshin", because that means "human nature, human heart, sympathy, human spirit", and all of those are exactly what Ken needed here. And what he needs in general.

Daisuke's true Digimon name means "sun". As in that which banishes (bad) darkness. Could there be a better name for this guy? Probably, but this is the one that I like the best. His evolved form’s name means “prosperity”. The opposite of what Apocalymon would want for him.

[jokessho]

[Update]: Seven plus one Chapter 6

Sorry for the long wait! I’m not entirely happy with this chapter, but it’ll do for now.

FFN

AO3

-o-o-o-o-o-

Yamato felt like a bad boyfriend. He had Daisuke had been together for two weeks, but they had yet to go on a single date—Yamato’s fault, as he was always ‘too busy’ to hang out after school.

Yamato sighed as he stirred the soup he was preparing for dinner. October was coming to an end, bringing with it the chill of fall, so hearty soup was on the menu. Plus, there was enough for a few days, which meant that Yamato could make time for Daisuke.

The ladle made a dull clang-sound against the pot as Yamato released the handle. He was scared. Scared of going on a first date with Daisuke; it would mean committing to the relationship and Yamato didn’t know whether he was ready for that.

“Almost done?”

Yamato jumped at the voice by his ear.

“Sorry,” Taichi laughed, stepping back and giving Yamato his personal space back. “So, almost done? I’m hungry.”

“Yeah, almost.”

Taichi glanced behind him, scanning the hallway and living room. Perfect, no one was around.

“I’ve been thinking,” Taichi started, “you should probably keep in touch with your brother. Takeru, right?”

“No.”

Taichi’s eyes widened. “Really? I was so sure I got his name right…” He frowned, trying to recall another name.

A stifled chuckle came from Yamato’s general direction and the blond turned away from the soup. “That’s not what I meant; his name is Takeru, yes, but I can’t stay in touch with him. It wouldn’t be good for either of us.”

“Why not? You’re his brother and he’s the only family you have left you can tolerate – as far as I know. You should maintain some kind of connection with him. Invite him over some time for dinner. Even if it’s just once every two months or something.”

“Why?”

“He’s your family and I’m sure he wants to know how you’re doing. You’ll only worry him unnecessarily by keeping him in the dark about your life. Just let him in a few times and he won’t bother you without your permission or pull a stunt like last time, skipping school just to see you.”

Yamato paused, leaning against the stove. Taichi let him think in peace, moving to pull out bowls from one of the cupboards.

“Well, I suppose I could. Maybe,” Yamato started carefully and moved the soup pot off the hob. “I’ll go call the others down.” Yamato walked to the bottom of the stairs, took in a breath, and hollered: “fooood!”

The response was instantaneous; six pairs of feet pounded on the floors, doors opened and closed, and chatter could be heard before Yamato saw the first pair of feet.

“Smells good,” Hikari announced, the first down. She followed Yamato to the kitchen, leading the rest of the upstairs pack behind her.

“Meiko and I were talking,” Mimi said as she grabbed a bowl from the kitchen counter where Taichi had put them, “and we have an announcement once everyone is seated.”

“If it has anything to do with Halloween, I don’t want to hear it,” Jou mumbled, ladling soup into his bowl.

“Oh, don’t be the Scrooge of Halloween,” Sora playfully chastised.

Mimi pouted, “it is about Halloween.” She cheered up. “But it’s nothing extreme; just some movies and Halloween-y food. Costumes are a bit pointless since it’ll just be us. Yamato,” she turned her attention to the blond, “you can make Halloween-themed food, right?”

“Depends on what that means.”

Everyone gathered on the floor of the living room, bowls full of steaming soup.

“Orange and purple foods,” Mimi shrugged, “or things in the shape of bats or pumpkins—or pumpkin foods in general!”

Yamato stared at Mimi, then shifted his focus to his bowl. “Sounds do-able. And pumpkins are in season now.”

“Cool,” Mimi nodded.

“So when did you plan on having this party? Halloween’s on Tuesday,” Jou said.

Yamato’s eyes shot to Mimi. It hadn’t occurred to him at all that this Halloween ‘party’ they would be having might interfere with his unplanned plans with Daisuke.

“Well,” Mimi answered without missing a beat, “we were thinking of this coming Friday. We can stay up late to watch horror movies and no one has to get up early for work. Or school,” she added, casting a quick glance at Yamato.

Sora frowned at Mimi. “Don’t you work Friday nights until midnight?”

“Someone else wanted my shift – or, rather, they didn’t want to work the Halloween shift, so I’m working Tuesday instead.”

“Well that works out, then,” Sora smiled, “let’s do it.”

“Can I pick the movies?” Taichi spoke up for, surprisingly, the first time since talk about the party had started. His soup bowl was empty, though, unlike most others’.

“Sure,” Mimi grinned.

“Just remember to pick out something that Hikari and Koushiro can watch, too,” Sora reminded sternly.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll pick out some milder ones that we can start off with. Then we send the kiddies to bed.” Taichi winked at his sister.

“Whatever,” Hikari said, finishing up her soup quickly to catch up to Koushiro, who was surprisingly done eating.

“There’s still a lot of soup left over,” Sora noted to Yamato, ignoring the siblings’ banter.

“Ah, yeah, I was thinking of maybe hanging out with some friends after school tomorrow or Tuesday, so I thought I’d make something in advance.”

“That’s great,” Sora smiled encouragingly, “you honestly don’t have to feel bad if you can’t be here to cook every day after school. It’s important to maintain social contacts outside of us, too, you know.”

Yamato gave her a small smile, “thanks.”

-o-o-o-

“Hey, Daisuke,” Yamato started at lunch break on Monday, “I was thinking… Do you want to maybe do something after school? Maybe—”

“I was just thinking the same at the weekend!” Daisuke cut in, “I was thinking that, since it’s Halloween tomorrow, we should go see a scary movie at the cinema. Sound alright? Grab a bite to eat before?”

Yamato nodded, a knot in his chest easing at the affirmative answer. He didn’t know why he had been so worried about asking Daisuke for a date – they were dating, after all, so it’s not like the other teen would say ‘no.’

Although… What was with all the scary movies? Sure, it was Halloween and scary movies were part of the tradition, but still…

“Yamato? Hellooo?”

Yamato snapped back to the reality of worried, mahogany eyes staring at him. “Ah, sorry,” Yamato plastered on a smile, “that sounds perfect.”

The grin that overcame Daisuke’s face looked cartoonishly large and made Yamato laugh. “Amazing,” Daisuke replied with an oddly gentle tone.

-o-

The next day, Yamato had to wait for Daisuke by the shoe lockers; according to Miyako, the other boy was being lectured by the teacher for handing in a crumpled and dirty homework sheet.

“Ugh,” Daisuke complained as he neared Yamato, “at least I did the homework.” He shook his head, then grinned apologetically at Yamato. “Sorry for making you wait.” He opened his locker and changed his shoes.

“It’s fine, it’s not like we don’t have time. The movie won’t start until seven.”

“True, but we still have to stop by my place. You did bring a change of clothes, right?” Daisuke started leading the way out of the school building.

“You told me to; of course I did.”

“Right,” Daisuke grinned, his tone gently mocking, “of course you did.”

Yamato shoved Daisuke playfully.

“Seriously, though,” Daisuke continued, turning right. “If you hadn’t remembered, you could’ve borrowed my clothes.” His eyes shone with amusement, but there was also a caring warmth hidden in them. “I might have preferred having you walk around in my clothes.”

“Shut it.” Yamato’s face reddened. “Besides, you’re broader than me and I’m taller than you, so your clothes wouldn’t fit me too well.” Unlike Taichi’s. Yamato’s mind added traitorously and Yamato mentally beat himself over the head with a brick. God he was a jerk.

“Here we are,” Daisuke announced as they neared an apartment block, “we should kind of hurry up, though, since I wanted to take you to this nicer food place.”

Unbidden, Yamato’s foot scuffed the ground. “Nicer?”

“Yeah, well,” Daisuke shrugged, looking anywhere but at Yamato. “I kind of wanted to do something fancier than normal hanging out, since this is our first date and I want to make it more special.”

“Oh.” Now Yamato felt like even more of a jerk. He had just thought of their ‘date’ as them casually hanging out. He hadn’t even considered that Daisuke would want to make this a special memory. He hadn’t even grabbed anything special to wear. “How fancy is ‘nicer?’ I didn’t grab anything special to wear, since no one will see it in the cinema anyway.”

“Nah, don’t worry, it’s not a Michelin star restaurant or anything, but it’s not a burger joint either. Casual clothes will do. I won’t be wearing anything that special and I would have told you if you’d need to suit up or something.”

Yamato smiled, “right, thanks.”

Daisuke smiled in return and let them both into his apartment. No one else was home and the two boys made quick work of getting changed.

While changing, Yamato reflected on his own, not behaviour per se, but his thoughts regarding Daisuke and Taichi. Daisuke was great. He was kind and thoughtful and he was fun to be around and he really truly cared about Yamato. Why couldn’t Yamato care about him like that, as well?

“Ready?” Daisuke knocked on the bathroom door.

“Yeah,” Yamato plastered on a smile and told himself to fake his excitement until he was genuinely excited about the upcoming—or already started?—date.

Daisuke ended up taking him to a cute bistro that was on the way to the cinema. It was quite new so it looked even fancier than it actually was. The food was attempting to be French, but you could detect a hint of something Japanese in the meals. It was really nothing fancy, but it was cute that Daisuke had gone for something different.

Stomachs full, Daisuke and Yamato made their way to the cinema, queuing up for tickets to see Saw III.

“Shit,” Daisuke murmured, reading the notice by the queue.

“What’s wrong?” Yamato asked, though he was slightly distracted by the bloody cosplayers and creepy posters of a red-cheeked mask.

“This thing’s rated 18 plus! What the hell? The others were 15!” Daisuke turned to Yamato, who was staring back. Daisuke scrunched up his nose. “I hope they don’t ask for ID; you’re not 18 yet, are you?”

Yamato shook his head. “March.”

“Yeah, and I’m not for a few months…”

Despite the creepy atmosphere, Yamato couldn’t help but smile; Daisuke’s scrunched up face was cute.

“We could watch something else?” Yamato offered, not keen at all about going to see one of the Saw movies. Thus far he had managed to avoid seeing the other two. He hoped the director would have the sense to stop at a trilogy.

“But it’s Halloween,” Daisuke pouted, “we can try and if they don’t sell us tickets, then we’ll pick out something else.”

“..sure.”

As it turns out, Saw III was sold out, so the teens had to settle for Death Note 2, which wasn’t too bad in Yamato’s opinion. Or at least it was a better choice than Saw III.

After the movie, Yamato had walked Daisuke home and the two had ended up kissing again in the narrow space between two apartment buildings. Daisuke had practically skipped up the steps to his floor, whilst Yamato had headed home with a heavy heart.

Yamato’s hands were shoved deep into his pockets and his feet felt heavier than normal. How was it so hard to be happy with Daisuke? Why did it feel like he was cheating on someone? Yamato forced the T-word to the back of his mind. He couldn’t let himself keep thinking that name.

Upon reaching home, Yamato tiptoed inside. It was past ten at night and he also didn’t want to talk to anyone. He had way too much on his mind right now.

“Oh, you’re back.”

Yamato froze at the door to his and Taichi’s bedroom. Why had it not crossed his mind that Taichi would be awake and in their bedroom? He really needed to get a grip on reality.

“Yamato? Hellooo?”

Yamato snapped back to reality, Taichi’s brown eyes staring at him in worry.

“Sorry,” Yamato mumbled, walking into the room and starting to change for bed. “I’m just a bit tired.” He forced a smile. “I forgot how tiring hanging out with my friends was.”

Taichi grinned and gave a bark of laughter. “I totally get you; I’ve been told I’m tiring to hang out with.” Taichi hesitated for a second, but then grinned and headed for the door. “I’m gonna let you get some rest; it’s a school day tomorrow and all. I have some stuff to do, but I’ll stick to the living room.” He walked out, but then doubled back. “Sorry in advance for disturbing you when I come to bed.”

Yamato smiled tiredly, “don’t worry ‘bout it.”

-o-o-o-

“You didn’t have to come do the dishes, you know,” Sora kindly admonished, as she walked into the kitchen. “We could’ve done them tomorrow.”

“It’s alright,” Yamato replied, scrubbing at some dried pumpkin mash that was stuck on the side of its pot. “I’ve already seen that film; I know what happens at the end.”

“Hnh.” Sora joined Yamato at the sink and grabbed a towel to start drying. “It’s not like Scary Movie is really that scary, anyway.”

“Yeah… Though Hikari and Koushiro shouldn’t be allowed to watch it, no matter how not-scary it is.”

“True, but they’re used to more mature topics than most kids their age. And it’s all in good humour since they’re with us.”

“I suppose…”

Sora bit back a chuckle. “I’m guessing your father was strict about age restrictions in movies.”

“Not exactly…” Yamato scrubbed harder at the pot in the sink. “He was pretty liberal about raising me, but…” Yamato made a noncommittal motion.

“You two coming back?”

Sora and Yamato turned around to see Taichi peeking round the wall that separated the kitchen from the living room.

“Hikari and Koushiro have headed to bed – or to their room, at least – so we’re starting to watch the other movies. You coming?”

“Yeah,” Sora smiled, “we’re almost done here.”

“Good, you wouldn’t want to miss the first proper scare.” Taichi winked as he pulled his head out of the kitchen.

“Guess we should go,” Sora said as she laid the towel out on the kitchen counter and put the remaining pots and bowls on top of it to drip-dry.

“I guess,” Yamato repeated, drying his hands off on his trousers. He then followed Sora to the living room and sat further in the back, next to Taichi.

“We all ready?” Mimi called from by the laptop. She had managed to borrow a laptop and projector from work and one of their living room walls served as the movie screen.

Taichi leaned over to whisper into Yamato’s ear, “have you seen the Saw films? There’s a third one out now, which I’d love to see, but I’ll wait until it comes out on DVD or something.”

Yamato shook his head, a lump in his throat making him think he wouldn’t get the words out.

Taichi’s eyes lit up as he grinned. “They’re really good. Technically, Hikari and Koushiro could’ve watched them – they’re only rated 15- but they’re more psychological torture, which probably would give them nightmares. Or further some trauma.”

“I see…”

“Shhh!” Taichi turned towards the screen excitedly. “It’s starting; watch the beginning, it’s important. See, these guys we see here—”

“Taichi, shhh!” Mimi hushed.

Yamato rolled his eyes as Taichi pouted and turned his attention to the screen. A blueish light was shining on different parts of a man’s face. Chills began to creep up Yamato’s spine. The man was clearly underwater. Was he already dead? Yamato flinched as the man gasped and opened his eyes, the blue light illuminating his whole face. There was a scuffle as the light fell into the tub and down the drain. The man climbed out of the tub. Why didn’t he turn on the lights? Why didn’t anyone in scary movies ever turn on the lights?

The deep voice that came from the speakers Mimi had borrowed sent chills crawling up Yamato’s spine. An enemy?

Finally the lights were on! But why was the guy taking so long to adjust to the light? Find the door, goddammit!

Shit! A body! A bloody, decaying human body. Unwittingly, Yamato’s face scrunched I distaste.

Aaand, shit, they were chained to the pipes. In a room with a dead body. Yamato’s fists clenched in his lap and his shoulders tensed. Why was that guy freaking out so much over a dead body? He should really stop. Good thing the doctor in the room was more sensible. Yamato swallowed forcibly.

As Yamato watched on, chills started running up and down his spine. The newness of the clock unnerved him. He remembered Taichi mentioning that it was a psychological horror film. Crap.

As the two men on screen started working on getting the cassette player out of the dead man’s hand, Yamato started to relax. This movie wasn’t too bad now that there was a clear goal and the two were working together.

Success! One of them had the player.

The chills returned as soon as the creepy voice started playing and the tension returned when the man refused to trust the doctor. Yamato bit his lip. They’d do so much better by working together!

The one thing Yamato was glad about was that the movie wasn’t a jump-scare one. He hated those; he could never pretend not to be scared when something took him by surprise like that.

At some point, Taichi had taken note of Yamato’s uneasiness and helped him save face. Despite what Yamato had previously thought, there were a few jump-scare scenes in the film. Ones during which he would have screamed out loud – or made some equally embarrassing noise- had it not been for Taichi telling him to close his eyes.

By the time the first Saw film was over, Yamato had grown incredibly paranoid. No wonder Koushiro and Hikari hadn’t been allowed to stay up to watch these films. Films. Filmsss. There were two. Shit. Yamato squeezed his eyes shut and grit his teeth. Did he honestly have to sit through another one of those?

Taichi, as though having read his thoughts, leaned over and whispered: “you can go to bed already, if you want. No one will mind.”

Yamato started to nod, but stopped himself. Would he be alright alone in the bedroom? It was just down the short corridor, but still… Alone.

With the last few seconds of hesitation, Yamato answered: “I’ll stay.”

A smug grin formed on Taichi’s face. “I can hold your hand throughout, if you want.”

“Shut up,” Yamato shot back.

The opening credits started rolling on the wall of the living room and Taichi shifted slightly closer to Yamato, bumping thighs together. Yamato appreciated the silent support.

Again, Taichi helped Yamato avoid the scariest parts of the films. Yamato tried to distract himself from the screen by wondering how many times Taichi had seen the films to remember where the worst scenes were.

After what felt like eternity, the second Saw movie was over and everyone started stretching themselves out. Yamato stuck close to Taichi.

Taichi exaggerated a yawn and looked at Yamato. “I’m sooo tired; do you wanna brush our teeth at the same time so we can go to sleep sooner?”

“Wow, Taichi,” Mimi teased, “you’re getting old if you’re complaining about it being past your bedtime.”

“What can I say?” Taichi shrugged whilst throwing an arm around Yamato’s shoulders. “I need my beauty sleep. Unlike some of you, who are beautiful even without sleep.” He winked at the giggling Mimi and steered Yamato into the bathroom.

“… thanks.” Yamato mumbled as the bathroom door closed behind the pair. He grabbed his toothbrush and paste.

Taichi smiled sadly at Yamato via the mirror. “Sorry. I should’ve asked you about scary movies before picking. If I’d known you didn’t like them I’d have picked more kid-friendly ones and had Hikari and Koushiro watching with us throughout.”

Yamato shook his head and lowered his eyes to the sink. “Don’ worry,” he managed with a mouthful of foam and the toothbrush.

“You know,” Taichi leered, “if you’re too scared to sleep, I know what’ll keep you distracted all night long.”

The toothpaste nearly exploded out of Yamato’s mouth as he spat and burst out laughing at the same time. “No thanks,” he laughed.

Taichi shrugged with a grin and grabbed his own toothbrush.

Five minutes later, Yamato was attempting to get comfortable in bed, waiting for Taichi to climb in. Taichi did so and spread his arms out.

“I’ll hold you, if you want. No strings attached!” He added the latter bit at Yamato’s sceptical look.

With a defeated sigh, Yamato snuggled closer to Taichi and let Taichi put an arm around him. It was a better setup than some creep sneaking into their room and abducting him in the middle of the night. Well, okay, fine, Yamato liked the setup anyway. Not that he should think that, considering he has a boyfriend.

“Stop thinking and sleep.”

Yamato lifted his face to look into Taichi’s playfully annoyed eyes. He dug himself further into Taichi.

“Sorry.”

Taichi tightened his hold and muttered, “I’ve got you.”

Yamato felt a gentle pressure on the top of his head and felt Taichi bury his nose in his hair. Yamato let out a sigh and relaxed a bit. He felt the vibrations of Taichi chuckling.

“This takes me back to when Hikari was younger and had had nightmares.”

Yamato smiled, though he made sure his voice was neutral when he answered, “I’m bigger than Hikari, though, and not even a girl.”

“I know.”

Silence reigned for the next few minutes whilst the two men tried to get some sleep. Yamato’s mind started wandering back to the movies and a shiver travelled down his spine.

Taichi’s hand started rubbing at his back. “Relax,” he murmured.

Yamato pulled his face out from the safety of the soft, warm duvet. The blinds let in just enough light from outside for it to reflect in Taichi’s eyes.

Suddenly their noses were brushing past each other and their lips met. It took a few seconds for Yamato to realise what was happening and pull away. Neither said anything.

Yamato spent the next minutes completely still, though relaxed. Pretending to sleep was an old trick and was very much like running away, but it always seemed to work. At least it would work until morning, when he woke up and had to think about what had just happened.

But sleep wouldn’t come. Taichi had fallen asleep, easily it seemed, but Yamato’s mind kept going round in circles, wondering how he’d ended up in that situation and what he would tell Daisuke, or if he would tell Daisuke at all…

[iggytheperson]

1, digimon

[Send me a number prompt and a fandom and I’ll write a drabble]

1# - “It wasn’t your fault”

under the cut, 1,700 words.

Taichi is sitting in the waiting room again. Because his little sister is in the emergency room, again. Because he messed up. 

Again.

Koushiro had said that it was a rather large energy signal. That it could be dangerous to send only the younger kids. And Taichi hadn’t listened to a single word that he had to say. Again.

And now Daisuke and Hikari were in the emergency room.

Koushiro has been saying that they’re lucky it was only them. Taichi sees Iori, tiny little Iori, who looks like he had a deathmatch with a lawnmower and lost. Ken, out for the count after screaming himself hoarse and falling into unconsciousness. Takeru being checked for a concussion. He wonders how the hell he’s supposed to think of this result as lucky.

At least nobody’s dead, they all say. At least nobody died. Because someone definitely could’ve. They all could’ve. They even came pretty close.

And all because Taichi messed up.

He tries to focus on the ones who he knows aren’t going to die, tries to soothe Miyako’s sobbing and stop her from picking at the bandages covering up her face.

Taichi tells Miyako not to cry, but it’s a bit meaningless since she can probably hear that he’s crying himself, even if she can’t see it. He says it’s going to be fine and Hikari is going to be fine and the two of them can go out and buy Miyako her new pair of glasses, it’s going to be ok, Taichi will even help pay for them, ok? 

He doesn’t even manage to convince himself.

Iori is probably the most stable out of anyone, despite being the most banged up of the lot. He doesn’t shed a tear. But his eyes remain glued to the doors that Daisuke disappeared through.

Minutes seem to crawl by. Taichi sits for what seems like an eternity, in a room with only himself and the children he’s failed.

Hours pass, along with dinnertime, but Taichi doesn’t bother telling anyone to go eat. He doesn’t think he’d be able to avoid throwing up himself, anyways.

Ken finally wakes up and immediately starts asking for Daisuke. Taichi can’t get any words out of his throat, and Takeru ends up being the one who has to explain that Daisuke is still in the operating room. That they don’t know if he’s going to be ok. Ken goes hysterical again, and Taichi is by far the most useless in calming him down.

Eventually, Jou comes down with dinner from the cafeteria. Taichi feels bad accepting it. He should’ve done that. He offers to pay Jou back, but the older boy refuses outright. He reminds everyone to make sure they get plenty of rest.

Taichi doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to sleep again.

It’s another painstaking hour, before a doctor finally comes out and says that it’s ok for Taichi to see Hikari now. She’s stable. Miyako starts crying from joy.

He feels a bit bad about leaving the younger kids, but it’s not like he was helping anyways. So he just gives them a weak wave and follows the doctor down to the burn ward.

He makes it two steps through the door to her room before he has to start biting back the urge to cry. The bandages don’t make him feel any less like throwing up. He can’t see much of her under them, and so the doctor starts explaining and pointing out where the burn reaches. It goes from all the way down her right arm and up onto her face. Apparently, the greatest damage is around her shoulder and neck. The doctor says they’re still assessing the damage done to the breast tissue. Some part of Taichi’s overloaded brain decides to start worrying about potential bullying and the like. That’s somehow slightly less worrying than everything else, so Taichi comforts himself in imagining how he’ll beat up anyone who dares to call his sister ugly.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wonders if his parents are going to beat him up for letting this happen to his sister once they get home. He’d deserve it, at least.

Eventually, he manages to tear his eyes away from the broken little girl who deserves a better brother and a better leader, and he heads back to the waiting room. The second the younger children become aware of his return, the questions start flying. In spite of his earlier resilience, Iori is now sobbing just as much as anyone.

The removal of weight from everyone’s shoulders is more than visible as they hear that Hikari is going to be ok. 

Apparently, at some point, it was announced that Daisuke would likely make it through the night, and the doctors told the kids to go home and get some rest. In an attempt to actually get some rest, they’d started arranging for everyone to spend the night at Takeru’s. He offers Taichi a spot on the floor, but Taichi doesn’t think an extra presence would do him any good anyways.

So Taichi goes home by himself and doesn’t sleep. Somehow, he manages to eat something before going down to the hospital once again. 

The younger kids are already there. The doctors have already refused them from seeing Daisuke, since they need a family member’s explicit permission. But with Taichi’s arrival, they’re allowed to go see Hikari in pairs. Nobody objects to letting Miyako go first.

She doesn’t manage to keep herself from crying as she and Takeru are lead into Hikari’s room. Maybe that’s a good thing, because Hikari actually starts to stir. Everyone is directly at her bedside within an instant of her opening her eyes. Something in Taichi finally unclenches, then. She’s ok. She’s ok…He can barely hold himself back from hugging her.

“…huh?” Hikari mutters blearily. “What happened…hngh…Alphamon?”

“It’s fine. It’s fine now, Hikari. We’re safe.” Miyako sobs as she clenches onto her hand far tighter than she should.

“…Is Daisuke ok? Where’s Iori and Ken?” She asks, as she starts inspecting the bandages mummying her. Of course, she wouldn’t bother to think about herself for a second.

“We could only come in two at a time since we’re not family…” Takeru explains softly. Taichi eventually can’t take watching her anymore and grabs her hand.

“Don’t fiddle with your bandages.” He says.

“…Sorry. Do…mom and dad know I’m hurt, yet?” She asks.

“…Yeah, they’re on their way home right now.” He tells her. He can’t tell what she thinks of the answer. He doesn’t get the chance to ask, as they’re all whisked out of the room by doctors wanting to bombard her with questions and the like.

When they return to the waiting room, it’s only Iori there. He looks weirdly happy about something.

“Daisuke’s family showed up a few minutes ago. They only want one at a time, so Ken went in by himself, but apparently he’s awake and ok.” He explains with a smile. An almost unified sigh of relief comes out of everyone. 

With a few less things to be miserable about, the waiting around feels less stretched out than before. That, and it doesn’t take hours. As a matter of fact, after just a few minutes, Jun and Ken come out into the room again. Ken’s eyes look puffy, but any past tears have been replaced by a small smile.

For some reason, everyone agrees that Taichi should be the next person to go talk to Daisuke. He’s not really sure how to object.

So within a matter of minutes he finds himself facing his little successor, goggles and spine both broken. He still manages to give Taichi a smile somehow.

“Hey Taichi! Oh my god, can you believe they’re putting me in a wheelchair!?” He groans. It’s weird, seeing him so…unanimated. Taichi never noticed until this very moment how much Daisuke used his body to speak.

“Of course I can! Daisuke, you jumped in front of a giant sword. It’s lucky you’re even alive right now!” He exclaims, unwilling and unable to reciprocate Daisuke’s floaty, unphased demeanor.

“…Yeah. I know.” Daisuke responds with a weak chuckle.

“Are you…doing ok?” Taichi asks hesitantly.

“As ok as a guy who took a sword to the chest could possibly be!” Daisuke laughs.

Taichi doesn’t know what to say to that, and there’s a few short seconds of silence before he decides to say something more important.

“I’m sorry I was a bad leader.” Both boys say at the exact same time. Taichi jerks back in shock and stares at the younger boy, seeing a mirrored reaction on Daisuke’s face.

“Daisuke…what are you talking about?” Taichi says in shock.

“…I-I’m sorry. This is all my fault. I’m a terrible leader. I don’t deserve your-” Daisuke starts.

“What on earth are you talking about!? It wasn’t your fault!” Taichi yells. Daisuke looks incredibly shocked as the older boy walks over and gives him the lightest hug he can. “None of this is your fault. Don’t be ridiculous.”

Daisuke opens his mouth to object, but Taichi just shushes him. “No, stop that. You’d wanted to listen to Koushiro, I’m the one who insisted it was fine. You thought the right thing. This isn’t your fault. Don’t think for a second that it is.” 

Daisuke doesn’t look all that convinced, but nods anyways. That’s a good enough start, he supposes.

“…Is Hikari ok? I saw her get hit before I passed out.” Daisuke mutters after a few minutes.

“Yeah. She’s fine. She was worried about you when she woke up, y’know.” Taichi tells him, hoping to lighten the boy’s mood a bit. There’s no reason to tell him that he was the first person she asked about, though. He doesn’t need that kind of ego boost. Daisuke chuckles, but otherwise doesn’t say anything about it.

 After a few minutes of chatter, he eventually asks to see Iori. Taichi is more than happy to oblige. Iori looks incredibly happy as he runs off to Daisuke’s room a few minutes later.

The rest of the day is spent hanging around Hikari’s room, as well as occasionally popping in on Daisuke. The younger kids do mostly the same, all looking significantly more calm and relaxed without the threat of death looming.

Nobody is dead. They’re all scarred and broken, but maybe that’s just the best thing he could hope for with how badly he fucked up. So he supposes he can think of this result as lucky.

Though he hopes to god it’ll never happen again.

[ladyanatui]

The Seduction of Motomiya Daisuke, Ch. 8 *A Daiken Fic*

Daisuke’s friendship with Ken has always come easily. It’s the lusting after your best friend part that’s hard.

He just didn’t realize how hard until Ken starts acting weird.

Now, Daisuke isn’t sure how long he can handle his BFF and roommate’s sudden attentions. At least, not without potentially ruining a 12-year friendship.

AO3 | FF.Net

Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

DAISUKE

Saturday, 1 p.m.

By the time we reach the park, Ken doesn't look any more pleased with the idea than the moment when, after we put away the groceries, I chucked the soccer ball at his head and he barely managed to catch it before it smacked him in the face. He argued, he complained, he cajoled, and yes, he had a point—it did rain most of the train ride home, though the rain stopped before we had to walk through it—but I didn't relent.

"When has a little rain ever been a problem?" I asked him. "Are you afraid of getting a tiny bit muddy? Are you that much of a clean freak, Ichijouji?"

I wasn't surprised when he bristled. "Not afraid." But then he paused and admitted quietly, "I'm out of practice, though."

Which is all too true, and perhaps a large reason I want to play a little one-vee-one.

We played against each other from that first all-important match in fifth grade till high school graduation, and winning against Tamachi was rare. In a one-vee-one against Ichijouji Ken, Tamachi's number one striker? Nearly impossible.

But he hasn't played since high school, aside from an occasional casual match—not even once a month.

I at least play a weekly game with a few guys, though it's laid-back and most of them aren't enough competition. I at least have some practice still.

Hell, if there's even a tiny chance I can kick his ass, I'm gonna take it.

So no, I didn't relent, no matter how much he complained.

And I won't relent now that we're here either.

"It's called muscle memory, Ichijouji," I say as I pause at the edge of the pitch beside him.

His mouth tightens into a scowl, but he doesn't look at me. "Just because you play a casual game every week doesn't mean you'll manage to beat me."

I cock an eyebrow. "Care to put that to the test then?"

Ken smirks, finally meeting my eyes. "And what do I get when I win, Motomiya?"

Excellent.

"Depends." I toss the ball up in the air and catch it with one hand. "What do you want?"

His blue-violet eyes study me carefully while determining his response, and he settles on a cool but dangerous sort of confidence. "You'll find out when I win."

I scoff, but I'm practically buzzing with energy. "Well, I already know exactly what I want when I win, and I'm not telling you till I do."

This kind of tension is exactly what I live for. I thrive on it.

Most of the time, Ken retreats into himself, hiding away from the world, especially around people he doesn't know well. He's decent with the other Chosen now—talks to them more openly, smiles and laughs more often—but no one else draws out this Ken like I do.

This Ken is confident, competitive, even eager. He's cool and collected and smug, he's occasionally cruel but in a good-natured way, and he likes to win. Honestly, this Ken sometimes frightens me. He gets my blood boiling, my heart thumping at full force, sends some positively perverse thoughts through my head. He's the Ken most reflective of his Kaiser persona, but it's not the same, he's not the same. Because unlike the Kaiser, he has a warm, hearty laugh, he cracks jokes, he teases, and through it all, he remains the kind, pensive, intelligent, sweet Ken he always is.

"I guess we have no choice then," he says, flippant, and begins a determined march toward the center of the field.

My eyes gravitate toward his perfect ass as he stalks across the soggy grass. He's wearing his high school soccer uniform—it is the most appropriate attire for the occasion, and it's tight enough not to get in the way. It's honestly impressive the thing still fits him after five years. But it's not like he's gained weight—only grown a few more centimeters.

Okay.

Subconsciously, I may have suggested this because I wanted to see Ken in uniform again.

Fucking worth it.

And here's hoping I don't get too distracted by the spectacular view. Because I want to win.

I have plans for if I win, dammit.

He walks with the confidence that I'll follow, and he's right about that. But I would follow Ken anywhere.

Before I'm even halfway across the pitch, he's at the center, and he begins his typical warm-up routine: hip flexors, calf stretch, quad stretch, heel stretch, and a few modified versions of his normal stretches to avoid sitting on the muddy ground.

I stumble to a stop the moment he slowly bends over, one ankle crossed over the other, arms down, hands flattening on the wet grass in front of his feet. Because the view of his pert ass couldn't possibly be better. And dear god, that flexibility could be put to some good use under more intimate circumstances.

Yeah, I'm fucked.

I force my feet to move again, slowly approaching, and drop the ball on the ground when I reach him.

Ken throws a terse glance my way as he hooks an arm behind his head in a simple shoulder stretch. "You ready to get your ass handed to you, Motomiya?"

I spend half a second more staring at him.

But it's time to get my head in gear or I'm going to lose. And losing isn't an option today. I want to implement my plan tonight, and winning this match may be exactly what I need to get the ball rolling.

"Don't get too cocky, Ichijouji," I snap and begin to do a few stretches of my own. "I won't let you win so easily."

Of course, that also requires me to pretend I'm not deathly curious what would happen if he won, what he wants from me.

He smiles. "You never make anything easy."

I frown, not quite sure what he means, but he starts doing a round of jumping jacks before I can even consider whether I should ask. And then I'm staring again.

No.

I won't let him distract or confuse me, dammit.

Once we're both properly warmed up, we decide victory goes to the first to score five goals, and per usual, Ken devotes himself wholly to the task at hand.

He snags the ball immediately, and I rush to keep up with him. His long legs and low mass make him fast, but he's not the same kid running circles around my entire team anymore.

In high school, we were much more evenly matched—partially because no one knew better than me how to anticipate Ken's thoughts and moves. If we'd played on a team together, we would've been in complete sync, able to predict each other and play off of the other's strengths. But as opponents…well, I'm pretty sure our coaches thought we spent too much time trying to outdo each other than actually win the game.

He scores the first goal, but I get the ball next, dribbling it toward the opposite goal. This time, he chases me. By the time he scores a second shot, I've managed three goals.

A proud grin spreads across my mouth when we meet at the center again, but Ken's eyes narrow in a way that's strikingly familiar.

In a way that makes me fear for my life.

And my sanity.

Grass stains and little flecks of mud spread up his body, primarily on his shoes and shins, but there's even the occasional streak on his arm.

I gulp.

Mud has never looked so damn attractive.

He snatches the ball immediately and, to no one's surprise, levels the playing field with another score before I can do anything but follow in his wake.

Dammit.

Five years since he's played a competitive soccer game, and he's still this fucking good. Muscle memory is part of it—he did play for over a decade—but honestly, I attribute it to what I call Ken Magic. Even without the Dark Seed, Ken remains the most intelligent and talented person I know.

Koushiro-san, ever the logical one, insists that's technically incorrect. That while, yes, Ken is very intelligent and skilled, his IQ isn't what it was as the Kaiser. That I'm biased because Ken is so important to me.

True or not—and I guess Koushiro-san is generally trustworthy on these matters—I don't care.

Ken is smart, kind, patient, ambitious, talented at everything, and absolutely beautiful. Of course I'm biased. How could I not be biased? He's practically perfect, no matter how dark his past is or how much it still bothers him, and I have no problems explaining that to anyone.

But I have serious problems with him winning this match.

"I thought you were going to make this a challenge, Motomiya," he says when we meet at centerfield again.

I shrug. "Alright, I gave you that last one. You looked pretty upset." And you know, I was too busy ogling him to focus. "Besides, I like the challenge of whooping your ass when the score is this close."

He glares, but it gets my point across. "Don't you dare let me win out of pity, Motomiya." His voice is dangerously low.

"I wouldn't dare. I want this too much."

Plus, I'm fairly certain he would murder me if he ever legitimately believed I took it easy on him.

We each only have two points left to win, but I'm not so sure of my victory now. Still, this is a better shot at beating Ken in a one-vee-one than I've ever had before, and I managed to beat him a few times during his prime.

Besides, what better way to interrogate him about the last thirty-six hours than to do it under the pretense of a bet? If I win this, I intend to launch a full investigation into his recent behavior, into his...potential feelings.

Not that he needs to know that.

He takes the ball, but I dart around him and kick it in the opposite direction, right between his legs. He stumbles and we collide not even a second later, all hands and legs and feet and mud and sweat.

Ken lands on top of me, blue-violet eyes staring into my soul. My breath catches at our close proximity. Heat rises to my cheeks. And he…

He slips off easily before running after the ball.

It takes a moment to collect myself, mostly because my back is now coated in grass and mud. And stupid Ken didn't fare nearly so bad—he has a couple muddle, scraped knees and shins for his fall.

By the time I chase after him, he's scored his fourth goal.

Shit.

This is going to be closer than I thought.

But I always perform better when the chips are down. I need to score twice before letting him get a final goal.

And under the circumstances, I don't mind playing a little dirty.

We start again at centerfield, and this time, I hesitate just long enough for him to dribble the ball to the side to pass me. I spin with him so we're side to side, then trace a finger down his spine—Ken staggers, and I kick the ball with my heel, sending is flying between us and toward my goal.

I dart after it before he has a chance to turn around—or worse, retaliate.

Once I'm close enough, Ken on my heels, a quick instep kick is all it takes to level the score again.

One goal away.

"You cheated," he snaps as we march back to centerfield.

I laugh. "It's not like I tripped you or even pulled your shirt, Ichijouji. No ref would've called me on that."

He shoots a glare my way. "I don't care if a referee would've let is slide. You used your knowledge of my body against me. That's cheating."

I splutter, nearly dropping the ball.

My knowledge of his body?

Okay, I mean, that's technically accurate. But does he really have to say it like that when all he means is that I know how sensitive and ticklish he is and where?

"Come on, Motomiya!" He's five paces ahead, and I scurry to catch up as he snarls, "Next person to score wins, and then I get the bathroom first."

I scowl. "You're going to make me sit in a muddy mess while you take a nice long bath, aren't you?"

"You better not make a mess anywhere while you wait." We reach the center, and he turns to glare at me. "Let's get this over with already."

With the final ball, Ken is in full-on general mode, nudging and cutting the ball across the pitch diagonally, but I run down the center line to cut him off. I dive close when he reaches midfield, and he tries to evade me with an elastico, but I don't let him shake me off. Determination in his eyes, he glances toward the center and the goal, plotting his next move.

It's a feint.

When he kicks the ball again, it's a scoop turn to send the ball to the left instead, and I'm ready for him, slicing across the space to nudge it back to the right and under my control. He twists to reach me, but I nudge the ball behind me and away from him before darting back, nudging it into the air, and sending it arcing over and around him toward my goal.

Ken releases a low growl, and he's on my heels the moment I catch up to the ball, dribbling it down the field. He drives me toward the edge, cornering me in an attempt to steal the ball back, but I'm not going to let him beat me this time.

I catch the ball with one foot, sliding it to the other with a swift one-eighty spin, then pull the ball with me. Leaving me with enough space to shoot the ball with an instep kick, driving it right into the side netting.

Then, I stumble and fall, body pushed to the ground with a face full of wet grass.

Panting—and practically growling—Ken sits atop my lower back, hands holding my shoulders down. But he doesn't say anything.

I manage to push up enough to breath more than just mud and grass, and once I catch my breath, I try to turn to him. "Something wrong, Ichijouji?" Still can't see more than a scraped and muddy leg.

"Okay, fine, you won." He leans close to my ear, irritation lacing his voice. "What do you want from me?"

The words send a chill down my spine.

Everything.

I want everything from Ken.

But that's not what he means.

I pull my knee up and push off with my center, sending him flying to the ground, flat on his back. I collapse beside him with a deep sigh, eyes staring up at the overcast sky. "Don't you worry about a thing, Ichijouji. You'll find out tonight."

[ahiddenpath]

Koushiro walking into his office to find other Taichi or Mimi spilled coffee on his computer.

Oh nooooooooooooo!  

So I wasn’t going to write a ficlet, but this kind of just happened, so…  Read on for a drabble starring Koushiro and Mimi (mentions of Eimi)!  

It’s an unofficial sneak peek of my Tri story (I’ve had requests for “Eimi in Tri”, which is really sweet?!?!?!  So basically this is set in that general AU).  It takes place in Kokuhaku, when Koushiro has his meltdown in his office.  I wrote over 2K words and realized that it had ballooned out of hand, so it’s incomplete!  Sorry >__

(For background, if I write this Tri story, it will be an AU extension of Growing Up with You, which is already kind of AU to start with, so uh…  If you require canon compliance, thiiiiiis is not for you, sorry!)

Summary:  Mimi drops coffee off for Koushiro and Eimi to support them while they work.  Unfortunately, she literally drops the coffee… on Koushiro’s computers D: D: D:  This snowballs into discussions on the events of Kokukaku, Koushiro and Mimi’s friendship, and Eimi’s current activities.

Thanks for the great prompt!  Check it out below the cut!

Koushiro stepped out of the restroom, drying his hands with his handkerchief.  Heat rushed to his face when he saw Mimi standing at his desk.  His office was a war zone, littered with empty bottles, trays of convenience store food caked with decaying leftovers, and scattered data printouts.  He hadn’t thought about the wreckage while working, but now that someone was here, the mess and the smell embarrassed him.  

But miraculously, Mimi failed to comment.  The office was silent, despite the digimon crowding the monitor attached to the wall.  When Mimi noticed his approach, she squeaked and stepped back.  

“Koushiro-han…”  Tentomon’s voice faltered with anxiety.  Their digimon were in the safe zone in cyber space, quarantined until Koushiro found a way to protect them from the infection.  Their presence both steeled his resolution to help them and aggravated his tension.  Each time he glanced at the screen and heard their voices, his need to safeguard them inched closer to hysteria.

“Why isn’t Eimi-chan here?!” Mimi demanded.  Koushiro fought against wincing at the twinge of pain in his chest.  “If she were here, this wouldn’t have happened!”

Her voice grew shriller by the syllable, drawing Koushiro to the desk at a stumbling run.  “What’s happened?!”  His eyes jumped from screen to screen on his monitor, checking for signs of a new threat to the digimon.  He yelped when his foot landed in something wet and scalding hot.

“It’s not my fault!” Mimi wailed.  “I only wanted to help!”

“Mimi-san, w-what-”  Koushiro stepped out of the puddle, looked down, and felt his innards dissolve.  His laptop was open on his desk, and a dark river flooded the spaces between glowing keys.  It dripped down the sides of the computer and onto wires on the floor, which fed into his desktop computer.

For a moment, he was too stunned to do anything but stare.  Then Mimi’s continued protests of innocence broke through the shock, and he jumped forward, pressing his finger to the laptop’s power button.

“When did you spill this?”  

“You’re tired!” Mimi cried.  “You’re working too hard!  So I thought you and Eimi-chan might want some coffee!  But she isn’t here, and if she was, she would have taken the coffees, and I wouldn’t have dropped it!”

“Mimi-san!  When did you spill it?”   Panic and sick fear rattled him to his core.  All of his experience with computers and the Digital World meant nothing without the tools to utilize it.  If his computers short-circuited, he would be rendered worthless along with them. 

“Don’t yell!” Mimi shrieked.  “I just dropped it a second ago!”

Although he had turned the laptop off on purpose, Koushiro’s anxiety spiked as the screen blinked out.  “Alright.  Time is of the essence to prevent a shortage.”  He leaned forward, avoiding the hot puddle, and saved his work on his desktop before shutting it down, too.

There was a wet, wadded piece of fabric on the desk.  Koushiro grabbed it, blotted the keyboard, and then turned the laptop upside down to drain onto the cloth.  As he removed the battery, he said, “Unplug my desktop, please.”

“W-where?”  Koushiro pointed to the correct outlet.  As he rocked the laptop against the cloth, dislodging stuck liquid, he noticed its familiar print.  

“Mimi-san, is this-  Is this my shirt?”

Mimi jerked upright, hands filled with cords, some of them unrelated to the coffee debacle.  “I don’t know!  Your drawer was open, and it was lying on top, and the spill was spreading-”

Koushiro inspected the fabric and sighed.  A pudgy goldfish stared up at him, stained almost black.  “I was planning to change,” he muttered.  After almost three days of continuous service, the purple button down he wore now had a definite odor.

Mimi approached the desk, eyes downcast and dull, devoid of their typical animation.  “If it helps, Eimi-chan hates that shirt.”

“Does she?”  Koushiro sank onto his desk chair and leaned forward, balancing his forearms against his knees.  Suddenly, the frenzied focus that had propelled him this long without sleep was draining.  “ If she doesn’t like it, why didn’t she tell me?”  

Mimi placed the cords on the floor, straightened, and shrugged.  “It’s Eimi-chan, right?  If you’re happy, she’s happy.”  Her head tipped to the side, and she slammed her hands to her hips.  Koushiro tensed, recognizing that stance as a potential indication of trouble.

“But you don’t seem very happy right now, which means she probably isn’t happy.  And where even is she?”

Koushiro opened a drawer and grabbed a can of compressed air.  Mimi watched him dry the laptop off with the airflow for a minute, but quickly lost patience.  When she repeated the question, he turned to the monitor and forced a smile for the digimon.

“Would you mind if I turned the screen off for a bit?” he asked.  Tentomon and Galemon stared at him, but didn’t ask the questions written on their faces.  The other digimon agreed after a short splattering of complaints.  Since his computer was off, Koushiro walked to the display and turned it off manually.  And just like that, he and Mimi were alone.

Eimi kept a supply of cleaning products at the office, but he wasn’t sure where.  He walked to the kitchenette near the entrance, opening cabinet doors.  “Well?” Mimi demanded.

Koushiro found a wire basket under the sink filled with bottles and cleaning rags.  He grabbed it, returned to the desk, and dropped to his knees to wipe the wet wires.  Mimi knelt beside him and mopped up the large spill he had stepped in earlier.  

She poked him between the ribs when he was focused on his task, causing a startled gasp.  He batted her hand away and covered his side, blocking further attacks.  “She’s looking for the younger Chosen.”  

Mimi’s forehead furrowed.  “Huh?  But that agent lady told Yamato-san that they’re alright.”

“I know.”  Mimi huffed and delivered another jab, so swift that Koushiro failed to intercept.  His teeth grit as he fought to reign in his temper, a foreign and startling emotion.  Even during their long stretches in the Digital World, he had never felt so volatile.

“I apologize.  Eimi and I heard the same account from Yamato-san, but I’m afraid that Eimi doesn’t trust Himekawa-san and her agency.  The assurances about Daisuke-kun and the others that relieved us only increased her guard.”

Mimi sank from her knees to her rear and crossed her arms.  Koushiro worked while she mulled things over, glad for a chance to think and gather himself.  

After a few minutes, she said, “I don’t understand.  Himekawa-san says that our friends are safe.  Meimei knows Himekawa-san, right?  So we should be able to trust her.  Eimi-chan should be here, helping you!  It’s a really important time!  I mean, I can’t help you figure stuff out, but if I could, I would!”

Koushiro hesitated, torn between an intense rush of gratitude that he couldn’t comprehend and a much more familiar desire to ask questions.  He was keenly aware that his last attempt to gather information from Meiko ended in failure and hurt feelings.  Was it wise to try again, especially without Eimi around to intercede?

“Mimi-san…  I want to apologize for upsetting you and Mochizuki-san with my questions earlier.  That was never my intention.”

Mimi blinked, then ran her fingers through her hair, starting at her scalp and working out.  “I…  I know.  You just need answers to help save the digimon, and Meicoomon too.  I’m still kind of mad that you asked all those questions when Meimei was so upset, but…  Well, I know that all you want to do is help.  That’s…  That’s why I brought the coffee.  I didn’t mean to drop it!  Will your computer be okay?”

Koushiro exhaled slowly, as if he could release the pressure inside him that way.  “I can’t say until it dries out completely; I can’t risk turning it on until then.  Thankfully, I have an older laptop on hand to use until then, and I save my work frequently to my servers.”  His stomach coiled into a tight knot.  Not that I was making much progress… 

Mimi’s lips scrunched up and squished to the side.  “You should go home and sleep.  And take a bath!”  She inched closer, sniffed, and swatted his shoulder.  “You stink!  There are bags under your eyes!  Do you want Eimi-chan to see you like this when she comes back?!  No one could overlook all of this, not even her!”

The scowl he had been fighting against finally overtook his face, but Mimi was focused on examining the room.  “You might be okay, though.  She’ll probably faint because of how the office looks before she notices you.”

All at once, everything seemed to crash down on him: fear for the digimon, frustration at his lack of progress, the roiling pangs of hunger and biting thirst, the drowsiness that hindered his ability to think, irritation at Mimi, and anxiety over the state of his computers.  Something deep inside of him snapped, and he threw his ruined shirt onto the floor.

“The office and I wouldn’t look like this if Eimi hadn’t disappeared!”

“Koushiro-kun!”  Mimi grabbed both of his shoulders and leaned in until she was uncomfortably close.  Fury lit her eyes, shifting mahogany brown closer to red.  He stared back, breathing hard, unable to defend himself but too upset to admit fault.  

Slowly, her expression shifted, and she caught him in a hard hug.  “It’s hard, isn’t it?  You’re worried about her.”

Thankfully, Mimi pulled back quickly, before he could start stammering and floundering over unaccustomed contact.  The pained, serious expression on her face sobered him, and he rubbed at the pounding in his forehead.

“I am worried.  Best case scenario, Himekawa-san is telling the truth.  Our friends are fine, and Eimi is wasting time at a critical juncture and working herself into a frenzy over nothing.  Worst case scenario, Eimi is correct, and she’s…”

His hands tightened against his knees until his veins popped up, raised lines beneath his skin.  Mimi patted one and smiled, but it was tight and forced.  “She’s alright.  Eimi-chan is so tough.”

“Yes,” he murmured.  “Strong, intelligent, tenacious…  All of which mean that, if her fears about Himekawa-san and her organization are correct, she is likely to walk into trouble with no backup.  She even left Galemon here, since the spread of infection is such a risk.  So…  So if Himekawa-san really does have anything to do with the disappearance of Daisuke-kun and the others, and Eimi is caught investigating…”     

Mimi’s eyes flared open, and she whirled around, tugging her mobile from a skirt pocket.  Koushiro tipped his head in inquiry, but she ignored him as she placed a call.  After a few rings, Eimi’s voice said, “Mimi-chan?”

Koushiro’s eyes slid shut.  Suddenly, he was too limp to stay on his knees, and he shifted to a sitting position.  After days of steady buildup, some of his tension finally dissolved.

Mimi scooted closer and held the phone between them.  “Hey, girl!  How are you?  What’s going on?”

“Um…”  Despite everything, Koushiro smiled.  He could see Eimi’s hesitant expression and almost hear her thoughts.  Was it smart to tell the other Chosen, particularly one potentially connected to Himekawa through Meiko, about her actions?   

Mimi rolled her eyes and sighed.  “Please.  I know you’re looking for Miyako-chan and the others.  Which I don’t get, because Himekawa-san says they’re fine.  Shouldn’t you come back to the office?”

A soft hiss registered over the receiver, a burst of static from Eimi breathing in too hard.  A prick of guilt registered as Koushiro realized that he might have misstepped.  What if Mimi said something to Meiko about all of this?  Would that solve the problem, or put Eimi in danger?  

“You saw Koushiro?”  Eimi asked.

“Yeah, and he looks awful, Eimi-chan.  Seriously, I don’t think he’s slept since the culture festival, and he definitely hasn’t showered.  And don’t get me started on the office!”

Koushiro scowled, and Mimi pressed a hand to her mouth to muffle a giggle.  There was a long pause, broken at last by a soft sigh over the phone.  “I was afraid of that.  Could you…  Would you mind talking to him?”

Although Eimi couldn’t see her, Mimi huffed and fixed the empty space in front of her with a glare.  “You talk to him.  Or better yet, come to the office!  He’ll listen to you.”  Mimi grinned, and Koushiro tensed.  He knew what it meant when Mimi’s eyebrows wiggled like that.  “He told me he’s worried about you.  He definitely wants you to come back!”

Koushiro’s face fell into that familiar deadpan glare.  Mimi swatted his back, and he swallowed a sigh.  Very well.  If this brings Eimi back, then so be it.

“I…  Thanks, Mimi-chan.  I do want to come back, but…  If I see Koushiro needing help, I…  Well, I’ll help him.  And then who will find Iori and the others?”

Mimi shook her head.  “You two seriously take too much pressure on by yourselves.  I think it’s better if you focus on one thing together.  And anyway, the kids are fine!  Himekawa-san said so!”

“Counterpoint,” Eimi sighed.  “I visited everyone’s apartments…  Or rather, I tried to.  No one is picking up their mobiles or home lines.  The kendo school?  Closed up.  The Inoue covenience store?  Same.  And when I tried to go into Miyako-kun’s and Iori’s apartment complex…”

[50cyg]

Takari in Tri/Follow up to Digimon Tri Pairing post (unreasonably long, you have been warned)

Okay so a few days ago I did a post about the Digimon Adventure Tri ships that I am 95% certain will be canon, and how I feel if they do become canon Toei is doing two of them a great disservice by not investing the time into making us care for them.

Since then, I have received a few asks about my feelings on Takari as they were not featured in my post. There is a very simple explanation as to why they were not featured in my post and that is because I forgot about them… OKAY DON’T KILL ME! HEAR ME OUT!!

Yes Takari is definitely included in my “ships I am 95% sure will be canon”

Takeru is shown to have his arm around her waste in the same merchandize pick that has Sora and Yamato together

And also, this infamous scene

But the reason I forgot about them and why, even if I had remembered them, they would not have been included in that post is because they do not line up with the point that post was trying to make. Toei does not need to invest time into making us like Takari because 95% of the fandom is already in love with them, no convincing needed. I would guess that even for the 5% they are not a Notp but rather a ship they either just don’t get or prefer another ship over them (me being the latter).

Unlike the other 3 ships I mentioned, Meichi, Sorato and Koumi, and basically any other of the other pairings in digimon, Takari literally has nothing standing in the way of it being Canon.

Meichi is in hot competition with Taiyama and Taiora (the two favored pairings for Taichi from my understanding). If Meichi becomes canon and the creators put no effort into converting some of the non-shippers they are going to have a lot of hate on their hands. In addition, it’s also in competition from people who ship Meiko with other people (MeikoxMimi appearing to be the favoured with MeikoxSora seeming to come in as a close second, and I have also seen some JyouxMeiko shippers… OH AND BTW WHERE ARE THE YAMATOXMEIKO SHIPPERS?? I mean I don’t ship them but it surprises the hell out of me that this is not a thing anywhere… there is way more shippable moments between them then TaichixMeiko…. :S seriously in shock that YamatoxMeiko has not taken off yet). I’m going to be honest, I feel like Tri (based solely on the moments we have had in the movies and excluding Taiyama as an option) is actually gearing up for a YamatoxMeiko and TaichixSora ending. But I don’t think that will end up being the case because of the controversy it could cause which ties into my “Gut Feeling” I keep talking about.

With Koumi they have Jyoumi, TaichixMimi and YamatoxMimi to compete with (Mimi seems to be the most shippable female). I will be honest, I was never a part of the fandom until after I watched Reunion so I had no idea that Koumi was a thing… everyone I knew either shipped Jyoumi or YamatoxMimi and I always thought Jyoumi was a given as a child (I felt about them the way most people seemed to have felt about Taiora and Takari, that they were the one couple destined to be canon) so I was very shocked when I watched Reunion and instead of Jyoumi like I expected I got Koumi and boy was I not happy. So Toei needs to invest time into attempting to convert me to a Koumi shipper, which they have (I’m still not converted but I have some interest in it)

And Sorato we all know has a lot of fire behind it. It has been at the center of what is, to my knowledge, the greatest Ship War in the fandom. Now I wasn’t in any online community until recently and as a child didn’t care that Sora ended up with Yamato (I actually completely forgot it happened until it was brought up by a friend of mine in highschool and I was just like “oh yeah… that was a thing wasn’t it”) so I have only heard about this war in legend, although I believe I have recently been subject to the after effects of it… Anyway, Sorato is in competition primarily with Taiora and Taiyama, as well as many other ships to a lesser extend like SoraxMeiko, JyouxSora, etc. If this ship is not made canon in Tri then Sorato fans will be very upset (and understandably so, there are even Taiora fans who feel that if Sorato is removed then it is disrespectful). At the same time, if it is made canon they still have a large fanbase upset. Furthermore, unlike Meichi and Koumi who could easily become canon without changing anything because who these kids ended up with was left up in the air – Sorato was not left up in the air, it is canon and they either have to change the ending or go with it, no alternative. So, more so then any other ship, I feel they need to make people invested in these two to avoid massive backlash.

Takari, like with ships like Koumi and Taiyama, is getting a lot of attention from the creators because it is so popular within the fandom (probably the most popular ship of all) and so of course they are going to want to cater to it. Now Taiyama is not likely to be made canon because it isn’t a Heterosexual couple (I don’t think this point needs further explanation…)

Takari is a whole different game than any other pairing in digimon, in my opinion. It has virtually no competition and certainly no real competition. They are most people’s OTP for these two characters. And also, who they ended up with is left up in the air so even if Tri sticks with the original epilogue, these two could very easily be married in that world. And they are a heterosexual couple… they literally meet all of the criteria to easily be made canon whether this is the 02 Epilogue universe or an alternate universe. So yeah… let’s say they have a 98% chance of becoming canon to me 😝 and I’m putting that 2% in as a safe net… and also because I think an argument can be made for them not becoming canon… which I’m about to do because it ties into how I feel about the couple, specifically their relationship in Tri

Okay let’s talk how I felt about Takari as a child before getting on to Tri… because this one ask was left ever so slightly ambiguous as to if they wanted my feelings in general or just Tri (most of my focus will be on Tri but I’ll cover all my bases).

When I was a kid I shipped these two for sure (not really hard… the only ship I shipped super hard as a child to my recollection was syaoran x sakura from Cardcaptors). And I think I just assumed they were married in the Epilogue because it wasn’t stated otherwise. They are the youngest two characters and super cute together

Love the scene with them against piedmon

And holding hands as they fall (just noticed that in this scene Hikari is holding his hand and it’s reversed in Tri)

And they had some good moments together in 02. I love every second of them together in Hurricane Touchdown, especially the train scene (favourite scene in the original Japanese version)

They really do act like partners and people who have known each other forever, more so than I think a lot of the other pairings in the original cast (but that might be because of how much we see Hikari and Takeru vs the other 6). But I always really liked the idea of Wizardmon and Hikari as a couple as well. And have grown a love for HikarixKoushiro in recent years (I have plans to do a post on why I ship these two in the next week).

Tri though has done something very peculiar to my feelings regarding Takari, it seems to have done the same thing to many Koumi fans, and that is that it has made me ship Takari less.

I seem to not be seeing what everyone else is seeing. Many people seem to believe that Hikari is in love with Takeru but I am not getting that vibe at all.

The way she teases him about the Girlfriend in Reunion does not come across as someone who is jealous. It comes across as a girl making fun of her guy friend, who she has zero interest in, finding himself a girlfriend.

Takeru on the other hand does come off like he is hoping Hikari is jealous, so I think he likes her romantically

I’ll give more detail in a sec but I want to take a moment to point out that I feel this is similar to their dynamic in 01 and 02 (I always felt he liked her more than she liked him) because in hurricane touchdown (at least in the English version, I don’t remember the Japanese version off the top of my head) he seems annoyed with her concern for Daisuke

And in the episode with the dark ocean he is acting like he is trying to confess and she seems kind of oblivious to me, or maybe understanding but not 100% on the same page as him

The way she warns Meiko comes off one of two ways to me: either as a girl warning another girl about her platonic friend who is a playboy, but who she also has affection for and so it is said in a lighthearted way vs in more of a “omg get away while you can” kinda way

Or alternatively, and here we are getting into some theories of mine, as a girlfriend warning another girl about her boyfriend while also stealthily telling her boyfriend off for flirting…

Okay so I think it is not in any way unthinkable that Hikari and Takeru could have gotten together between the airport battle and the scene where they are searching with Meiko. I think it is possible they are secretly dating. Because I also think the scene where Hikari seems to be teasing Takeru in Loss comes off as either a girl teasing a guy friend about a potential crush or a girlfriend warning her boyfriend

Unlike Koumi though, where it is over the top obvious that Koushiro likes Mimi, all of the non-teasing moments with Takari could easily come off as both platonic and Romantic love.

Her holding him after he loses patamon

Yamato also holds him

Takeru is holding her arm not her hand

I’m Just saying…

…

And even if he was holding her hand

I’m just saying…

As for him always being by her side protecting her… well he has always been like that, he is just by his nature very protective of her and honestly, I think they have always hinted that he likes her from 01 to 02 to now Tri. But you could also argue there are a lot of pairing like this

Koushiro is always by Taichi’s side as the series progressed

Taichi and Yamato are often attached at the hip

Sora and Taichi are pretty attached at the hip (specifically in adventure)

Jyou is always protecting Takeru

He is also pretty attached to Mimi

Now the scene where she says he has grown up… I do not get this scene… I don’t see how Takeru has grown up any more than he had grown up in 02… and I definitely don’t see how this scene showcases he has grown up. But I would say this is the most shippable moment, I feel like her thinking he has grown up is one of those very cliché (not as in bad cliché but as in recognizable) lines that indicates growing romantic interest.

Why I ship them less is because I don’t really like the way she teases him… she almost seems to tease him in the same way she teased Daisuke. It comes across as more mocking than anything else and I don’t care for it, just like how I didn’t care for how she treated Daisuke.

Also there is the MeikoxTakeru stuff I wanted to address. Cause there is a lot of MeikoxTekeru in Tri. She has more interaction with him than any other male character and also

I think Hikari ships it lol

Okay so I addressed the scene where she gets the nick name earlier.

But then we also have the scenes in Determination (also side note but Yamato is so fucken hot in this scene omg, that necklace that shirt perfection)

And him being the first to come up to greet her friend (Maki)

The fact that he opens up to only her in Confession, and I know you could argue it’s because she is the only one who may understand but it also means he has a level of comfort with her

And how he tried to get her to come to the digital world with them

Playboy with shy girl is almost more common in anime then hyperactive/lead boy with shy girl (takeruxmeiko vs taichixmeiko)

Anyway, I’m not going to do a long analysis of TakeruxMeiko, I just wanted to throw it out there as a possibility or alternative to Takari

I feel like I have kinda gone around in circles with this post, sorry, it’s probably not super easy to follow.

I have heard there is an interview where they said they were planning to make Takari Canon but I’d like to see some definitive proof. Actually I’d like to see some proof of all these rumored interviews… like the one where they said the epilogue is still going to be canon specifically. Cause I have some theories about that one but I need to know the exact wording used, otherwise I’m shooting a little more in the dark.

Thank you everyone who requested this topic 😊 and to everyone who actually got to the end of it. This post is over 4 pages long in an MS Word document haha

[woolishlygrim]

Thinking about Digimon 2020′s first big storyline.

Alright, so the first big storyline of Digimon AUdventure has ended, so it’s a good time to take stock of how it all went.

Obviously, this is all just my opinion, but I think it goes without saying that all of my opinions are objectively correct revelations from God and if you happen to disagree that automatically makes you morally inferior to me, I guess.

So, I’m liking AUdventure? But it is an extremely flawed series. Not irredeemably flawed, it’s not Xros Wars, but still very flawed.

Like, we had the two consecutive evolution arcs where even though the episodes themselves were solid, it was just too much of the same. We had that twelve episode period where it was just nothing but fighting, and that was so tediously boring I think a lot of people stopped watching, and honestly, it’s tough to blame them. And throughout the series, there’s been a fundamental problem with a lack of any distinct, characterful villains (Devimon was the closest we got, and he was kind of a non-entity a lot of the time).

The plot’s also been generally meandering, and by that I don’t mean ‘the show goes too long without plot episodes’ that’s not necessarily a problem, I mean that as the show goes on, it more and more starts to drift from one plot to another. We start off with the really strong Algomon arc, but then we segue into a Devimon-and-Soundbirdmon arc that just sort of fades out in favour of Eyesmon and then fades back in, except then we also have the Calamaramon arc going on, and all those arcs nominally tie into the Big-Eye-Thing-In-The-Sphere arc, except then it gets shoved not so much onto the back burner as off the cooker altogether in favour of a Millenniumon arc that starts with a still very meandering ISS arc placed awkwardly around a DarkKnightmon arc, before we eventually get back on track with the journey-to-FAGA arc.

It’s kind of a mess. 

I’m inclined to blame behind-the-scenes shenanigans for a lot of this, whether that be Bandai pushing toy deadlines meaning that the show has to get its contracted-commercialising-time for specific ‘mons in, or a changing projected episode number meaning that the timeframe for the plot contracted and expanded multiple times over, or executive meddling to try and drum up more interest (and we know from Toei’s business reports that the early episodes didn’t draw in a large enough audience, which in this instance has less to do with ratings and more to do with merch sales, although we also know from those reports that the audience numbers did rise to an acceptable level). Most likely a combination of all three.

Watching the fandom has been ... interesting, because fandoms tend to be full of very credulous people and people prone to catastrophising, which is how we got situations like “A youtuber told me that it’s a really bad sign if any show in Japan doesn’t regularly get in the top 10 most watched shows for a week, so now I’m Alarmed, even though if I applied a basic understanding of statistics I would immediately know that’s not true.”

The ratings are fine, incidentally. They’re actually incredibly normal, not coming anywhere near the dizzying heights Adventure 01 did (or the even more dizzying heights Adventure 02 reached), but fitting comfortably within the window of ‘about what we’d expect for a show in that timeslot on that channel.’ The ratings data is staggering in its utter mundanity.

But beyond all that, the show actually has a lot of really good points. It feels like when the writers are allowed to cut loose and don’t have the looming need to advertise a toy to us, they have a really solid understanding of the characters and a genuine talent for fun, character-focused episodes. The entire journey-to-FAGA arc is a joy because it’s just pure, undiluted character work, and the episodes in that arc actually stack up really well against Adventure 01 episodes.

That also carries over to the end of the arc with the final battle against the Vademon cult and Millenniumon: Getting it basically over and done with in three episodes, with only one of those episodes actually set aside for Millenniumon himself, is a choice that I know is controversial, but it’s a) Not unusual: Devimon is battled and defeated within a single episode, VenomVamdemon goes down in two, the Dark Masters both go down in one each, save for Piedmon who gets two, and b) A vastly better choice than episodes upon episodes of fighting.

And we got some really great character moments in those three episodes too. Mimi making corsages because she needs to do something to stop herself feeling powerless, and motivating the others with her clear-headed view of the situation, is a really great character moment. Yamato briskly and flatly taking control of the situation, leading Koushiro and Sora into battle and briefly demonstrating his much colder, more straightforward and soldiery style of leadership is another great moment.

-- But I also think the episodes were a slight letdown for people because Millenniumon isn’t really a person, he’s a Thing, a natural disaster more than a character. That works really well for him, but since the series has no strong villains, it just highlights their absence.

Similarly, I think the evolution arcs showcase some really strong character work, and are mostly let down by the fact that they come back to back, so it feels like the show’s in a holding pattern for those episodes. 

Digimon Adventure 01 and 02 has always had two big advantages: The first was that it had an ensemble cast of fleshed out, interesting characters and backed that up with some very strong writing exploring those characters. The second, and one I think a lot of the fandom passes over because they’re unfamiliar with the society and politics it’s taking aim at (and also because, let’s be honest, a lot of them are Americans and so tend to react with something between confusion and a panic attack if you remind them the world outside America is real and complex), is some pretty razor-sharp socio-political commentary. 

Having a character who was an adopted kid, less than a decade after the legal framework for adopting children was put in place in Japan, when adopted kids were (and still are) heavily stigmatised, was a bold political statement in 2000. Having two mixed-race characters, the children of divorcees, when mixed-race kids were (and still are!) heavily stigmatised, and children of divorcees were (a n d   s t i l l   a r e) heavily stigmatised, was a bold political statement in 2000. Having characters deal with the pressures of being forced into family businesses and ultimately finding their own ways to fit into that mould was sharp socio-political commentary, as was discussing suicidal ideation in kids, as was discussing the social expectation of stifling grief and how that might affect a kid. We do not give Adventure 01 and 02 (and Tamers, actually) enough credit for being sharply, often viciously progressive socio-political pieces.

And that tradition has continued into AUdventure, at least sometimes. Like, the fact that antimonopoly laws keep being brought up, and that an entire episode was focused on the benefits of unionising, is not a coincidence. It’s not a coincidence that we got an entire episode about how small businesses are struggling to stay afloat, and that that episode also had a throughline of ‘we are overworking kids.’ The writers have a different set of bones to pick with society, but when they’re let off the leash they’re just as progressive as 01 and 02 (and Tamers!)’s writers. 

And I like that. It’s something that’s lacking from Frontier, and definitely lacking from the mildly-conservative Savers and Xros Wars, and largely lacking from Appmon, although to be fair Appmon was aimed at a much younger audience than any other Digimon series, and still occasionally found something to say about data privacy and the omnipresent threat of large tech companies.

So that’s all good.

Anyway, we’re hitting a new arc now, and whether that arc is 10 or 16 or 24 or 50 episodes I can’t say, and neither can you, because a one-time report from Toei Europe is not an adequate source. What I hope is that we’ll see ... a bit of rebalancing, I guess. Keeping that strong character focus of the journey-to-FAGA arc, but maybe weaving the actual plot threads in a little more elegantly, and maybe actually giving us a proper villain. One who speaks. And has a personality. 

That last bit alone would drastically improve the series. 01 and 02 both had strong villains, and so far that’s something AUdventure has really needed but has completely lacked. The one nice thing I will say about Xros Wars is that even with its much looser plot structure, it had interesting villains. AUdventure direly needs an actual villain to give it focus.

Whew, okay, that got long. Bring on the lore episode with the big Crests.