#PIYO CHARGE

[stacomiallthetime]

☆Game Manual☆

Showing off the manual of Star Communicator

Standard warnings and some info about the DION service that the Mobile GB Adapter used. To use the Mobile System GB services the player would first have to register with DION using the Mobile Trainer cart that would have came with the adapter. The process of registering with DION involved sending mail to the company, and waiting for them to activate your account.

Table of contents. Notice how the lady is missing the red antenna on her headset.

Background and story for the game and a closer look at the characters.

Controls. Seems to be showing what buttons do in various situations.

How to start and how to raise the Stacomi. It also shows what each tool does. The tools are how the player can interact with their Stacomi. (also why is Piyo so pissed here?)

The offline and online homepages. The table is showing all the options on the online page. The red areas are showing that the option requires payment and charges the player’s account.

Explaining each webpage option in more detail. the User Voice seems to be some type of Q and A system.

Mail functions, aka: half the game!

Options, menu, minigames, and Salucoro! (the website is still up and being updated btw, not stacomi related but is worth a visit!)

Profiles for all (almost all) the Stacomi characters. Remember, antennas are NOT counted as part of height.

Just some legal stuff and other important information. The number seems to be for some type of help line.

[emystic-a]

Changes from old muses from old blogs to now

I remembered I would make a small list of how some returned muses from electrograin/digifae are for old time followers.

Mika's family isn't that complex anymore, now he already was raised with his mom and merely got separated by accident. Adoptions are still okay, but know he always be looking for her before he settles for another (unless it's already established).

Lucy change is the most drastic turning 18 to 15 cause I wanted to focus on the more interesting points of her plot. So all romantic ships she had before are dead. Only will accept teenagers shipping with her now.

Shanice isn't a sea goddess, just from a mystical race now. She was raised by her adopted mom in a human way, so her magical powers aren't even that grand. So her personality is nearly the same, her childhood nothing like before.

Alasie was raised in a more secluded area, her father never hid his nonhuman heritage due to her mother now being the outsider. Wanted to be a celebrity, didn't join for Shanice's sake this time.

Tisha's death is different wasn't directly murdered, but indirectly due to being stuck in a burning building.

Igna though raised among puca but didn't stay with them, left them to search for her birth family recently backstory wise. So whatever going one with those guys don't involve her.

The Grayne siblings all have changed drastically. No longer triplets, Elliot is the youngest and now 16, Vitalia and Vitus are slightly aged up to 20. All was kidnapped as children and experimented. Elliot is not charge of his father's company, Vitus is now the heir, and Vitalia have no involvement.

Mogami is now the youngest of his brothers, Piyo no longer exists as his brother. Marco never had supernatural awareness now, but instead relies on Mogami's powers.

For now that's all the old muses' changes. Please take note of them if you ever interacted with them on older blogs.

[commentaryvorg]

Digimon Savers Commentary Episode 13 - Masaru’s New Power! Evolve, RiseGreymon!

In this episode, Mercurimon overpowers the DATS crew but is turned back by Piyomon sacrificing himself. As Piyomon is reborn, he rampages mindlessly through the human world, while Masaru struggles to accept that he may not yet be strong enough to protect the things he cares about.

Just like we’re going to be getting almost every single episode from now on (because have I mentioned we’ve reached the plot and stuff happening!), we start with a recap. This one’s pretty to-the-point, summarising the previous episode and getting us caught up to the present in less than a minute. They, uh… won’t all be that way.

We left off as Masaru was recklessly charging at Mercurimon, who, as a reminder, is an Ultimate-level Digimon and therefore hilariously out of everyone’s league right now. With a casual swipe of his arm, Mercurimon creates a huge gust of wind that sends Masaru flying back several metres through the air, before he can even get close.

GeoGreymon fires a blast at Mercurimon. He simply blocks it with his hand, closing his fist to dissipate it entirely. It’s practically effortless for him to stop an attack that we’ve seen being an insta-win time and time again against just about every other Digimon they’ve fought.

Masaru:  “What?”

Masaru certainly seems surprised. He maybe wasn’t expecting to win this one instantly, but not even leaving a scratch on their opponent with GeoGreymon’s strongest move?

Mercurimon retaliates by charging up blue energy in his fist and blasting it at GeoGreymon, sending him flying back, slamming into the pylon and devolving from the impact. He follows up with another blast at Gaogamon and Sunflowmon, who both rush forward to protect their partners from it and also devolve as soon as they’re hit. Mercurimon can instantly defeat all three Adult-levels in a single attack… and it still doesn’t even seem like he’s trying all that hard.

(It’s, uh, sort of questionable why they only devolve and don’t straight-up turn into eggs. I think that’s mostly down to plot convenience, because the writing needs them to be defeated and unable to fight for now but not for this to be a huge problem with huge consequences. Unless maybe human-partnered Digimon who’ve evolved through Digisoul have some kind of inherent defence mechanism of reverting to their Child-levels when hurt, and therefore can’t be turned into eggs in a single attack? Or perhaps, Mercurimon was holding back and deliberately trying not to revert them to eggs.)

Mercurimon:  “You foolish humans. I, Mercurimon, will cast down the iron hammer of judgement.”

That’s, uh, a little pompous of you, Mercurimon. Remember that he only came to this world to retrieve Falcomon, who is now safely behind him and can come home with him at any time. But apparently, seeing humans here, humans who’ve been attacking Falcomon, makes him angry enough to feel like he needs to exert some kind of “judgement” upon them while he’s here.

Also note that he aimed his attacks at the Digimon first, perhaps as if he was aiming to only devolve them, so that he could then attack the humans without the Digimon getting in the way and getting more hurt. He doesn’t denounce Agumon, Gaomon or Lalamon (or Piyomon, who’s also still here) for working with humans, nor imply that they’re going to be sharing that “judgement” of his.

Masaru:  “Don’t get full of yourself!”

Masaru refuses to be deterred (and also honestly has a pretty good point about Mercurimon coming across as full of himself here). He rushes to Agumon and tries to pull him out of the pylon wreckage, still clinging to the narrative that they totally have any semblance of a chance here if they just keep fighting. (They do not.)

Mercurimon begins charging himself up with lightning from the thunderclouds, preparing an attack that will almost certainly super murder all four of the humans present. Piyomon, the only Digimon who still has some strength left (despite his beating from Masaru last episode), realises this and stands up.

Piyomon:  “I will protect you. Goodbye, Chika.”

He must have concluded, after last episode and especially right now, that his desire to protect Chika is even stronger than his desire to simply stay with her. So, as the only thing he can do, he flies furiously at Mercurimon, glowing with some kind of red energy, screaming Chika’s name.

…Mercurimon’s body is still cloaked in electricity from the attack he’s charging, and Piyomon is literally vapourised on contact. Yeah, that’s what happens when a Digimon is three evolution levels higher than you, each level exponentially stronger than the last.

As the smoke, and the static on the monitors at DATS HQ, clears, Mercurimon is standing completely unharmed (of course he is) with Piyomon’s comparatively-minuscule egg in his giant hand.

(No matter how disproportionately strong a power Piyomon was “killed” by, it’s still the natural course of things that he leaves an egg behind and isn’t truly dead.)

Mercurimon:  “He flung away his life to protect a human. What a fool.”

Despite Mercurimon calling this foolish, it seems to be working, because he’s stopped charging his attack. Piyomon almost certainly knew he didn’t stand a hope of actually damaging Mercurimon after seeing the others try and fail. That wasn’t really the point. The point was to show his resolve to literally give his life (well, more or less) for the sake of a human. If a Digimon is willing to go that far, maybe these humans, at least, might not actually deserve Mercurimon’s “judgement”?

Chika:  “Piyomon! Give him back! Give back my Piyomon!”

In her grief over losing Piyomon, Chika chooses to completely ignore the danger and furiously stare down this gigantic, terrifyingly-powerful wolf man. That takes some guts. Masaru is not the only Daimon who is a badass.

Mercurimon looks back at her, not even angry, just watching her. He could still kill all four of these humans with barely any effort… but he no longer wants to. Piyomon’s sacrifice worked.

So he tells Falcomon they’re going home and flies up into the clouds, still clutching Piyomon’s egg, followed by Falcomon. They disappear into a Digital Gate that was, uhhhhh just up there somehow, I guess maybe that could be the same Digital Gate he came in from and it just wasn’t visible because the clouds were in the way, sure let’s go with that.

Chika screams helplessly after Piyomon as they go, because Mercurimon did not listen to her and give him back. Mercurimon must have decided that, since Piyomon has been reverted to an egg, he won’t want to be with Chika this time around and it’d be better for him to start a new life uninfluenced by humans. Taking a still-living Digimon away from a human they love is one thing – Mercurimon didn’t make any moves to abduct the DATS partners as well – but if they’re an egg, it’s fine, because they’re like a fresh new person then, right? What the human wants is irrelevant; it’s better for the Digimon this way.

Masaru looks on, his friends sprawled around him, effortlessly defeated by their enemy, his sister heartbroken with him having been helpless to stop it. This has not been a good day for him so far.

And then for a bit of mood whiplash with the opening! Despite what I said before about this part with them running through the field making me feel like it’s the Digital World, it’s actually definitely not that, because we see the sky here without those distinctive circuit-board patterns and floating rocks. Kind of a shame; I feel like it’d serve the opening better if it was the Digital World they were romping through.

Everyone’s regrouped back at DATS HQ and is getting their wounds tended to, Digimon and humans alike.

Masaru & Agumon:  “Oww…”

It’s interesting that Masaru is one of the ones vocally expressing his pain, because he clearly has a great pain tolerance given that getting into fights is kind of his hobby. He’s probably doing it less because he can’t bear with the pain and more just out of frustration at the fact that he came out of that fight with nothing to show for it but a bunch of injuries.

(Though the bandage that’s around his head right now probably isn’t even from Mercurimon; it’s more likely to be from him being punched really hard in the face by Piyomon.)

Masaru:  “That bastard… I’m gonna get him back ten billion times more for this!”

Tohma:  “Sounds like the weak threats of a sore loser to me.”

Masaru:  “What?!”

Tohma’s really not wrong. Someone is overcompensating juuust a little bit here. And of course Masaru can’t stand for that being said either.

Tohma:  “You in particular felt the difference in power first-hand, didn’t you?”

Masaru just grimaces and can’t shoot back a retort for that one. He did, given that he was the only one of the humans to rush at Mercurimon, and he got blown effortlessly backwards without even getting close.

Yoshino:  “Stop arguing. Not at a time like this.”

Yoshino both looks and sounds really tired here. She does not have the energy to deal with these two’s nonsense on top of everything else, not after the stress of what just happened.

Satsuma:  “We can’t win against Mercurimon in our current state.”

Masaru:  “We won’t know that unless we try!”

I appreciate your always-trying outlook on this, Masaru – but also, you did just try, and you got utterly destroyed while he barely lifted a finger.

Kudamon:  “He is an Ultimate-level.”

Masaru:  “Ultimate-level?”

Satsuma:  “In other words, a Digimon whose power is closest to God’s.”

I guess this is them making An Attempt to explain to Masaru just how outclassed they are by an Ultimate-level right now, though it’s a bit vague to really help. Not, to be fair, that trying to explain it in mathematical terms of power levels would work at all when this is Masaru.

Satsuma’s invocation of “God” seems a bit unnecessarily over-the-top, and probably is. But still, maybe there is a god out there somewhere that we could be comparing an Ultimate-level Digimon’s power to, in time. (It’s odd that this is coming from the human here and not the Digimon, but maybe that phrasing is how Kudamon once explained Ultimate level to Satsuma back when they first met.)

Yoshino:  “Just who is this Mercurimon?”

Kudamon:  “Long ago, he was a great forest king who governed over the Great Zaganda Forest that spread out in the eastern region of the Digital World.”

Look at Kudamon knowing things about the history and rulers of the Digital World. (Remember, he didn’t come here as an egg.) And also look at how he says Mercurimon used to rule over a forest, even though we’ve seen that Mercurimon currently lives inside an icy mountain. Apparently he moved there more recently for some reason.

Gaomon:  “Why did someone like him appear in the human world?”

Tohma:  “His goal may be to destroy our world.”

Um, Tohma? Jumping to conclusions much? All we know for certain is that Mercurimon is really powerful, and that he came to the human world just now for some reason. That does not immediately logically lead to him wanting to destroy the human world, especially not when he turned around and left after Piyomon’s sacrifice despite not being outmatched in any way.

But it’s a fairly understandable mistaken conclusion for someone to jump to in this situation. The DATS team just experienced Mercurimon’s overwhelming power and how utterly helpless they are against him first-hand, and they don’t know why Mercurimon actually came here, because he never said that he was only here to retrieve Falcomon. He also definitely seemed pretty angry at humanity in general from what little he did say, and he did very nearly kill them all before Piyomon and Chika snapped him out of it.

They’re scared of Mercurimon, especially because they don’t know what he wants or what he’ll do next. It’s very easy, in a situation like this, stressed out as they are in the aftermath and not having had a proper chance to calm down and recover, for them to jump to assuming the absolute worst – even for someone usually calm and logical like Tohma. Really, it’s just human.

Lalamon:  “Maybe… the reason why the boundary between the human and Digital World is becoming instable is also because…”

Yoshino:  “It was all Mercurimon’s doing?!”

Tohma:  “It’s possible.”

This is just jumping to even further conclusions, still with absolutely no concrete evidence – but again, it’s just the human thing to be doing right now. (Well, “human” in a not-quite-literal sense of the term, since Lalamon isn’t.) They’re scared and stressed; it’s easy to blow things out of proportion and make connections that don’t actually have any business being made. It feels safer for them to feel like they have Answers to all the mysteries, and to have a clearly-defined Enemy that’s causing all their problems.

Masaru:  “Then all the more reason! Let’s go now to beat up Mercurimon and…”

Masaru hasn’t been joining in with everyone’s wild paranoid theory-mongering, but he is quite willing to buy into it – because if they have a clear enemy, then there’s a clear solution, right? Just go and fight him, obviously!

But Chika – who’s also here, along with Sayuri – yells at him to stop.

Chika:  “Why do humans and Digimon have to fight each other?”

A very good question, and one nobody else has asked up until now!

Chika:  “The time I spent with Piyomon was really short, but we were able to become friends! There’s got to be some way humans and Digimon can live peacefully together!”

She’s not even talking about everyone being ready to charge down the warpath with Mercurimon; she’s talking about in general.

And really, why haven’t DATS thought about this more? Why is there this arbitrary rule that a Digimon can only live in the human world with a human partner if they both work for DATS – an agency that’s dedicated to keeping humans and Digimon as separate as possible? Isn’t it kind of paradoxical that DATS is utilising these powerful human-Digimon bonds to prevent more such bonds ever having the chance to form at all? They should be encouraging more humans and Digimon to work and live together, not the opposite!

It feels appropriate that it’s the youngest person here, who hasn’t yet got caught up in that adult mindset of That’s Just How Things Work, who’s the first one to see things this way.

Everyone else in the room just kind of stares at Chika, dumbfounded by her outburst. Nobody tries to tell her she’s wrong. It looks like none of them ever quite thought about it in that way before. Yet it seems like they can’t deny that she has a point, even though they also know it isn’t that simple to achieve.

The mood is broken by a Governor Hashiba entering the room, sounding very upset at the mess that’s been made.

Masaru:  “Governor?!”

Miki:  “He’s a dignitary from the National Government’s Ministry of Confidentiality.”

In short, this guy works for a branch of the government that exists to cover up various things they want to keep out of the public awareness – such as Digimon. So naturally, DATS’s operations are overseen by them, and specifically by Hashiba.

Hashiba:  “I believe it is the duty of DATS to keep these Digimon incidents under wraps, but what am I seeing now?! At this rate, you won’t be able to fool the citizens any more!”

“Confidentiality” does indeed seem to be all he cares about. This terrifying Digimon who’s far too powerful for anyone on DATS to defeat right now just showed up, but the only thing that matters to Hashiba is that this might mean – might; none of the general public saw Mercurimon just now as far as we know – that the public will learn about Digimon, causing a lot of trouble for him.

Masaru:  “Hold on a minute, old man! I don’t care if you’re a governor or whatever – don’t butt in when you don’t even know what’s going on!”

Masaru, naturally, does not give a damn about not talking back just because this is some important government politician or whatever and tells things how he sees it. And he’s right, really – while DATS decidedly do not have the full picture either, there may well be a lot more at stake here than just the secrecy side of things.

Sayuri steps in front of her son and bows deeply to the governor.

Sayuri:  “I’m his mother. Please excuse my son’s rudeness.”

Masaru:  “Don’t apologise to a jerk like him, Mom!”

Oh, Sayuri, always trying to keep up that ideal Japanese politeness and yet mother to someone like Masaru. I like how Masaru doesn’t think this guy even deserves his mom’s politeness.

Hashiba gives Masaru a distasteful glare, apparently deciding thanks to Sayuri’s words to write him off as a rude ignorant kid, instead of accepting that he might possibly have a point.

Satsuma:  “Governor. I’ll make sure to properly carry out DATS’s mission next time.”

Satsuma would also probably like to tell Hashiba about all the factors to this situation that make it far more complicated than a simple question of secrecy. But unfortunately, whether he likes it or not, Hashiba is in the position of authority here, so he has to play the obedient subordinate.

“We’ll do better next time” isn’t even a meaningful promise to make! They did a perfectly good job this time of the thing Hashiba most cares about, namely keeping things secret. And if it’s instead supposed to mean “we’ll defeat Mercurimon properly next time”, they can’t actually make that promise, because they’re so completely outclassed against him. Satsuma definitely knows this and is just saying what Hashiba wants to hear because he has no other choice.

Hashiba:  “No, there is no further need for you to do anything any more. I would like DATS to be dissolved at once.”

…And this is why Satsuma has to play nice with Hashiba – because he knows Hashiba has the power to do this whenever he feels like it.

This decision is really kind of out-of-nowhere and not at all adequately justified by what just happened. Sure, things look bad with the threat of Mercurimon looming over them, but nothing catastrophically terrible has actually happened yet. The secrecy hasn’t been ruined, and the DATS agents haven’t been defeated so thoroughly that they can’t fight any more. It is very clearly a more sensible course of action, in this situation, to keep DATS around so that they can at least try to deal with this problem, because without DATS, who else is going to do it?

Hashiba’s never properly explains or justifies his decision to dissolve DATS here, and I believe that’s precisely the point, because I don’t think it was really Hashiba’s decision alone. I think we’re already beginning to see vague hints of somebody else behind the scenes pulling Hashiba’s strings – someone who has their own reasons to want DATS out of the way and is looking for any kind of excuse to convince Hashiba to do it for them.

We cut outside to the harbour, with an absolutely delightful sequence of Masaru throwing increasingly large rocks into the ocean while yelling louder and louder curses after each one. It’s such a fun way to get across his frustration at this whole situation and how powerless he is to do anything about any of it.

(and don’t even question where he got the rocks from)

Agumon is there with him and tries to supportively agree about how mad he is that that dude just came in and dissolved DATS for no good reason.

Masaru:  “That’s not it! That damn Mercurimon… I’m definitely gonna make him pay!”

But Masaru isn’t even particularly mad about the DATS thing, not compared to the bigger issue. He can fight Digimon on his own regardless of whether DATS is telling him to or not; whatever. His problem is that he can’t deal with the thought that this Mercurimon guy might just be too strong for him to beat no matter what he does. Masaru’s supposed to be able to beat anyone!

He punctuates this by pulling the bandage off his head and dramatically throwing it into the ocean. Can’t have anything that might be making him seem weak.

Over in the Digital World, at Mercurimon’s icy mountain palace (very definitely not a forest there, huh), Gotsumon is admonishing Falcomon for causing trouble for Mercurimon.

Falcomon:  “Both Ikuto and I found that Digiegg. I promised with Ikuto that we’ll both take good care of it until it hatched!”

Falcomon and Ikuto wanted to be Digi-dads! That’s why Falcomon was so worried when the egg disappeared into the human world! I’ll say a little more about this later on once we’ve met this Ikuto person and learned more about him and Falcomon, but suffice it to say that this is adorable.

Gotsumon:  “Good grief. Only troublesome things have occurred since Ikuto came here.”

Gotsumon still doesn’t seem to like Ikuto very much, huh. It’s like he’s blaming this whole trouble just now entirely on Ikuto, even though Falcomon also equally decided to raise the egg and was the one to actually go to the human world after it.

Falcomon:  “Ikuto hasn’t done anything wrong! Don’t talk badly about him!”

I enjoy Falcomon immediately jumping to defend Ikuto from Gotsumon’s unfounded nonsense. As we will be seeing a lot of, Falcomon and Ikuto are friends and it makes me happy.

Before the argument can escalate, they both hear a commotion from near Mercurimon’s throne and rush to him.

Gotsumon:  “Mercurimon-sama!”

Falcomon:  “Mercurimon!”

This contrast is interesting – Falcomon doesn’t feel the need to use -sama to address Mercurimon, even though he’s something of a ruler. This could be because Falcomon is a particular exception to how Mercurimon likes to be addressed by people. But I think it’s more likely that Mercurimon doesn’t actually care how less-powerful Digimon address him, and Gotsumon just really likes sucking up to authority.

The commotion is from Piyomon’s egg, which Mercurimon is still holding in his hands.

Mercurimon:  “The human’s evilness is swirling within the egg. I can no longer prevent it from hatching.”

We can indeed see a swirling mass of something within the egg, though Mercurimon calling it “evilness” is definitely him letting his opinion of humans cloud his judgement. This is human emotions – residual ones from Piyomon’s bond with Chika that didn’t quite manage to get fully wiped out when he was turned into an egg. If human emotions sometimes have the power to make a Digimon grow larger and evolve, they can certainly make a Digiegg hatch.

In fact, turns out they can even make it hatch straight into the Child stage, skipping the Baby stage of Puwamon completely. That’s not how things would normally go.

Piyomon:  “Chi-ka! Where are you, Chika? I’ll always… be with you…”

From the words alone, it might sound like Piyomon is himself and naturally wants to see Chika again. But based on his glazed, empty eyes, the way he’s looking and flapping around aimlessly, and his vacant tone of voice, that’s not it at all. Like every Digimon who gets taken over by human emotions that we’ve seen DATS deal with, Piyomon isn’t lucid right now. He’s just being controlled by these emotions of wanting to be with Chika without actually consciously understanding them at all.

That said, this is a very unique case of this, both because the emotions controlling him aren’t in any way negative for once, and also because they’re actually Piyomon’s own past emotions, rather than human emotions from Chika. But it’s definitely the connection that these emotions have to a human that allows them to control him like this, in the same way that negative human emotions usually influence Digimon.

Falcomon:  “He still has his earlier memories, before he turned back into a Digiegg!”

Sort of, but not quite. And as Falcomon saying this in surprise implies, this isn’t supposed to happen. Digimon that get turned into an egg and then reborn usually forget everything about their past life completely.

Mercurimon fires a blast of energy at Piyomon, ordering him to forget about the human. I can only assume that he’s not trying to outright re-egg Piyomon, because he should be able to do that very easily, but is instead trying to use his powers to somehow wipe the human-related emotions and memories from his mind.

It doesn’t work. Piyomon yells in non-lucid defiance, probably a result of the stubborn determination he had his previous life to never leave Chika’s side no matter what, and evolves into Aquilamon as some kind of instinctive defence mechanism.

Now a lot more powerful but equally glassy-eyed and vacant, Aquilamon’s aimless flying crashes him right through the wall of the palace behind Mercurimon’s throne. The next time we see him, he’s going to be in the human world.

While this is a very unique case and it doesn’t usually work quite like this, we just got a glimpse of what it’d normally look like on the Digital World side when negative human emotions latch onto a Digimon and draw them to the human world. Spare a thought for all those poor Digimon, living their lives in the Digital World and minding their own business, until suddenly this alien force from another world completely takes over their mind, pulling them into said other world and forcing them to rampage uncontrollably. It’s really not fair for them at all.

Mercurimon:  “His heart has gone to a place where we can no longer take back.”

Mercurimon certainly seems to have realised that there really is nothing he can do for Aquilamon now. He tried, but when human (or human-related) emotions take control of a Digimon like this, it literally cannot be stopped by anything short of reverting that Digimon to an egg.

(Or possibly Mercurimon doesn’t realise that and didn’t pick up on how non-lucid Piyomon/Aquilamon was, and he’s just thinking that Aquilamon genuinely wants to be with Chika again in a perfectly normal sense.)

Mercurimon:  “How many times will you keep repeating the same mistakes until you’re satisfied… you damn humans…”

Mercurimon, I see the hint that you’ve had some bad experiences with humans in the past – but also, does this really count as even remotely the same kind of thing? It’s just a little girl who wanted to stay friends with a Digimon! And the control those emotions have over Aquilamon right now is not something anyone did on purpose! Nor is any of the human-emotion-driven rampaging that’s been happening, for that matter.

Out in the human world, a boat carrying a news team reporting on the weather sees Aquilamon fly out of a Digital Gate in the sky. Unfortunately, they have a camera, and they caught this on film.

At DATS HQ, while Masaru left with Agumon to take out his frustration on the ocean, and Sayuri and Chika went home, the rest of DATS have apparently just been standing around awkwardly in the control room, unsure what to do with themselves now that they’re technically meant to not be doing their jobs any more. But the Digimon-signal-detecting equipment hasn’t been told any of this, so it dutifully informs them of Aquilamon showing up just like always.

Satsuma:  “Secure Aquilamon before it lands!”

Tohma, Gaomon, Yoshino & Lalamon:  “Roger!”

Governor Hashiba isn’t in the room any more, so Satsuma has clearly decided to flat-out ignore the orders to dissolve the organisation for as long as he can. If there’s a Digimon rampage endangering people, they’re the only ones who can stop it, and that’s far more important to Satsuma than sticking to some politician’s orders that he doesn’t even agree with. Tohma and Yoshino don’t question it, either.

(Satsuma’s probably also thinking that something like this might help show Hashiba exactly why DATS is important and make him change his mind about dissolving it.)

Masaru:  “Damn it! Damn it!!”

Meanwhile, Masaru has been passing the time by continuing to take his anger out on some drum-set rhythm arcade game that’s available in the street. This, and the baseball from episode 6 – I love Masaru’s habit of trying to deal with his feelings of inferiority by indulging in recreation that happens to involve HITTING THINGS REALLY HARD.

In the window of an electronics store across the street, he notices ongoing reports of a monster, realises it must be a Digimon, and rushes off to deal with it too.

Another part of the news team is in a helicopter, reporting in a panic that the giant bird just destroyed their boat down below. Aquilamon approaches the helicopter itself, and their video feed cuts to static as he fires at it. Yeah, they’re all super dead. Aquilamon is straight-up rampaging, like they always do. If he were lucid and remembered everything properly and was genuinely just trying to find Chika, he wouldn’t need or want to attack a bunch of innocent bystanders like this.

Governor Hashiba watches the news reports about Aquilamon from his office, scowling in frustration. Yeah, maybe now you could complain that DATS isn’t doing its job properly, huh? – oh, except that you just told them to stop doing their job at all, and DATS are the only ones who can fix this.

(This kind of comes across like it’s the first time a Digimon attack has been reported on the news, which is a little bit of a stretch to believe? There’s bound to have been people nearby with cameras sometimes, surely – though bear in mind that this anime was made in 2006, back when everyone having a device with a camera in their pockets at all times was a lot less of a thing. This particular rampage is unique because of the whole situation with Piyomon and Chika’s emotions, but the fact that it apparently happens to have been the first to be caught on camera really is just a coincidence.)

Chika and Sayuri are watching the reports from their living room. Chika stares intently at the shots of the giant bird Digimon she’s never seen before… and somehow she can just tell that it’s Piyomon. Power of friendship and the Digimon-human bond, sure, I’ll buy it, this is a shounen anime. So she rushes out of the house to find him, Sayuri frantically following.

…I wonder what Chika thinks of the fact that her friend’s been rampaging and implicitly outright killing people. She wouldn’t know about the non-lucid thing. She probably thinks he’s scared and confused and doesn’t quite understand why what he’s doing is wrong – so of course she’d want to talk him out of it. Perhaps this is a bit like in episode 1 when Masaru thought Agumon was destroying a hamburger shop out of hunger and yet still wanted to talk him down rather than write him off as a monster.

Agumon:  “Now that DATS is disbanded, we’re not allowed to do anything any more…”

Masaru:  “Shut up! Who else can beat those Digimon besides us? We’ve got a duty to do what we have to do!”

Masaru’s the one to voice it, but this must have been the same sentiment the rest of DATS felt when they also decided to do this without even caring about the fact that they’re not supposed to.

Masaru:  “That’s what a man does!”

It’s also great that this is part of Masaru’s concept of manliness. Do what you’ve gotta do to help people, especially if you’re the only one who can!

Agumon is pondering how they’re going to get further out into the water to chase after Aquilamon – they’re at the harbour’s edge – when Tohma drives up in a speedboat. (This is probably the same DATS speedboat that Yoshino used so gloriously in episode 10, but it looks like Tohma can drive it too. I guess when he’s not caught up in making magical scientific unnecessary sprays, he can also make himself logistically useful, sometimes.)

We cut to them out on the water… and Masaru, who was in his civilian clothes, is now suddenly in his DATS uniform. Did he… get changed on the boat? I think the writers are hoping you don’t notice or think about it too hard. (He needs to be in the DATS uniform for the rest of this episode because his upcoming new Digisoul Full Charge stock animation doesn’t have a civilian-clothes variant, buuut then I don’t know why he couldn’t have just kept the DATS clothes the whole time.)

Gaogamon is riding on the front of the speedboat like it’s a surfboard, while Yoshino is at the shore with Sunflowmon. (Offscreen evolutions! Hooray!) I guess this is the reason Tohma’s driving the boat and not Yoshino: because Sunflowmon can fly over the water, but Gaogamon needs a ride.

The two Digimon work together to try and draw Aquilamon closer and make him an easier target, though they don’t get very far. Sunflowmon eventually attempts to straight-up tackle Aquilamon down into the water, which backfires on her spectacularly – but don’t go putting this down to incompetence, because it took a lot of guts for her to try. She’s doing her best, dammit.

Aquilamon:  “Chika! Where are you?”

Aquilamon is still saying these words, mindlessly and without understanding, but Masaru doesn’t know that part. He overhears Aquilamon say this and realises that this must be Piyomon. DATS HQ confirms this, because apparently they can do what’s effectively the equivalent of a DNA test to match individual Digimon signals, which is kinda neat.

Masaru:  “Hurry up, Tohma!”

Tohma:  “What are you going to do?”

Masaru:  “I’ll stop him by force!”

Tohma:  “How do you plan to hit him when he’s high up in the sky? There’s nothing you can do!”

Tohma poses a valid point – how do you punch a bird when you can’t even get close to it? – and Masaru does not like being told this. Even when the opponent’s not impossibly stronger than you, sometimes there’s still just nothing you can do.

Masaru:  “Piyomon! It’s me! Chika’s brother, Masaru!”

Aquilamon:  “Chika…”

Refusing to be deterred, Masaru tries the only other thing he can think of – and it seems to work, because Aquilamon responds to hearing the word “Chika” and circles around to fly towards them. Masaru grins, certain that this means Piyomon remembers him and things are going to be alright now—

—only for Aquilamon to fire an attack at the speedboat, capsizing it, and then fly off. He doesn’t actually remember at all. He’s just mindlessly rampaging, with a particularly strong reaction to anything related to these “Chika” thoughts that are controlling him.

Aquilamon:  “Chika… Where are you?”

If he were lucid, he’d be able to realise that staying with Masaru (and not trying to drown him) would be the best way to help him find Chika as soon as possible. But he doesn’t understand what “where are you, Chika?” actually means.

As a wave engulfs the capsized boat and pulls Masaru underwater, there’s this brief delightful shot of him helplessly watching Aquilamon fly away, his efforts to get through to him and help him reunite with Chika having utterly failed. I enjoy it a lot.

Masaru wakes up on the waterfront with Agumon standing over him, while Tohma and Gaomon lie unconscious nearby. Turns out they were saved by the old man who gave Masaru his Digivice, who put his fishing hobby to some good use just now. We haven’t seen this guy in a while, have we? But this is very much a Masaru’s Issues episode, so of course he’s here to observe with interest, just like always.

Masaru remembers Piyomon – he’s still calling him “Piyomon” despite the fact that he’s in Aquilamon form right now, because he’s still thinking of him as the person who was Chika’s friend rather than a mindlessly destructive force of nature – and looks into the distance to see Aquilamon causing carnage in some industrial area. So naturally, being Masaru, he begins to rush straight there.

Old man:  “Where are you going?”

Masaru:  “Isn’t it obvious? I’m gonna go beat him up and…!”

Not talk to him, mind. Masaru seems to have accepted that trying that isn’t going to work. In lieu of anything else, he’s back to his go-to solution of Fight The Thing.

Old man:  “It’s useless.”

Masaru:  “What?!”

Old man:  “You can’t win over anyone in your present state.”

The old guy has evidently been observing some of what’s been going on with Masaru this episode, and he has correctly noticed that right now, Masaru is in a particularly volatile state of mind. The whole business with having to protect Chika by driving Piyomon away last episode, and then Mercurimon showing up and utterly outclassing him, and now not being able to fight or get through to Aquilamon – all of it’s been getting to Masaru.

Masaru:  “What?! I’m the best street fighter there is!”

But Masaru doesn’t get why this is all a problem for him. He’s Japan’s number one street fighter! He’s supposed to be super strong, strong enough that he can deal with anything! Nothing ought to be a problem for him, right?

Old man:  “As of now, you wouldn’t even be able to defeat me.”

Masaru:  “Since you’ve said that much, why don’t you try beating me first?!”

Of course Masaru wouldn’t stand for that kind of empty trash talk and would insist that the old man proves it. So he rushes straight at him – and before he can get close, the old man reaches out with his fishing pole and uses Masaru’s own momentum to flip him effortlessly over his head.

The old guy did prove his point: Masaru is in such a state right now that he’s overcompensating by being even more overzealously reckless, making him all too likely to overlook the things he really needs to keep in mind in a fight. The usual anything-goes street fighter Masaru would have seen the fishing pole trick coming and dodged it with ease – but Masaru here is so single-mindedly desperate just to prove he’s strong enough that he’s blinding himself to everything else.

Masaru:  “What’s this mean?! How can someone like me who’s good at fighting be…?”

What does he mean, that’s not good enough? That someone as strong as Masaru still can’t always win every fight he wants to? That can’t be the way things are…!

Old man:  “Are you still not aware of your own inexperience?”

Masaru:  “What?!”

He clearly isn’t, old man. But you knew that, didn’t you? You’re just making observations, like always.

Old man:  “If not, then go. Then you’ll realise the truth.”

Masaru:  “Fine! I would’ve gone without you telling me that anyway!”

Damn right he would! Like their previous encounters, the old man is still doing very little giving Masaru actual advice. He knows Masaru can get there on his own eventually. He’s observing and commenting on what he sees, because he finds Masaru interesting, but it’s not meaningfully affecting Masaru himself in any real way. It’s just a neat device the writers are using to help draw attention to what’s going on with Masaru’s issues, and I very much appreciate their desire to do that.

After Masaru and Agumon run off, the old man has one last musing to himself.

Old man:  “The magnitude of all that you’re lacking right now… Until you understand that, you cannot mature to greatness.”

This is probably the most direct he gets about Masaru’s problem here: that Masaru needs to accept that he’s not strong enough yet in order to be able to grow stronger. And of course the old man didn’t say that in front of Masaru and try to present it as actual advice, because there’s no way someone as stubbornly proud as Masaru would ever accept something like that just by being told. He needs to learn it first-hand.

Masaru makes it to the industrial area where Aquilamon is rampaging and immediately begins climbing up a ladder to get closer to him.

Masaru:  “I’ll do it! I’ll defeat that guy all by myself!”

Masaru! It doesn’t have to be all by yourself! Agumon’s here with you too – you’ve already accepted that you need him! And the rest of DATS could be backing you up too, if you needed it.

But no – Masaru needs to prove that he can do this all by himself. Like the old man implied, he’s being so desperate to prove himself that he’s blinding himself to the point.

An explosion from above him sends a piece of shrapnel flying right at him, knocking him off the ladder to land in a heap on the ground. To be fair to him, he did see that one coming; there just wasn’t much he could do to avoid it in that position.

Agumon:  “Aniki! It really is hopeless, Aniki!”

Masaru:  “What?!”

Agumon is just worried about his aniki getting hurt and trying to stop him from doing something too dangerous! But that’s not how Masaru hears it. He stubbornly tries to sit up, winces in pain and is forced to lie back down. It really is hopeless.

Agumon:  “I’m not saying you aren’t strong… But…”

Masaru:  “But what?! You don’t think I have a chance at winning either, do you?!”

Agumon must have realised how his last comment came across and tries to soften it – of course he still thinks Aniki is strong! But even someone as strong as Aniki can’t always do everything.

Masaru completely glosses over the softening and the indication that Agumon is always on his side and just hears the “but” as even Agumon thinks I don’t have a chance. So he forces himself back to his feet this time, determined to prove that wrong.

Masaru:  “I’ll do it! If I dither around in a place like this, my manliness will rot!”

He can’t just give up here. Giving up for any reason, even if it’s because he genuinely feels like he has no chance whatsoever of reaching his goal, isn’t acceptable. He wouldn’t be able to keep calling himself a man if he did that.

(I should make a note, for way, way later on in the series, that Aquilamon is still flying high above Masaru right now, and it doesn’t seem at all reasonable to think that he could have heard this line. Not that it exactly matters at the moment, since he’s not lucid, but this will be sort of relevant eventually.)

The next thing we see, Masaru is standing tall amongst flames and smoke at the top of the structure he failed to climb earlier.

Masaru:  “Hey, Piyomon! You told me that you’ll protect Chika, right?!”

Aquilamon:  “Chi-ka…” [he swoops in closer to Masaru]

Masaru:  “If you’re a man, then defend those words you said with your own life!”

Masaru hasn’t quite properly picked up on the fact that Aquilamon is very much not himself right now and doesn’t even understand what “protecting Chika” means. Destroying the city like this sure isn’t very protective; maybe Masaru still thinks he’s trying to get through to Aquilamon and make him realise that? Maybe he’s thinking about how it’d hurt Chika emotionally to see her friend going on a destructive rampage, and that’s what he thinks Aquilamon ought to make with protecting her from?

But really, I think this is mostly Masaru projecting. He wants to protect Chika – to be strong enough to protect Chika – and he’s damn well going to try and prove that he can do so, even at the risk of his own life. It’s a lot like the fight they had last episode when Piyomon was still Piyomon; each of them was fighting to prove that he was the one strong enough to protect Chika, and the other wasn’t. Masaru is trying to tell himself that that’s still what this is about.

With those words, Masaru leaps down from above and punches Aquilamon in midair, landing below with his Digisoul flaring. (Shush, anime physics, he’s fine.)

Agumon looks�� uneasy, as Masaru celebrates the arrival of the Digisoul. He probably still feels like his aniki is overdoing things and is a little worried about whether this is the right approach. But he’s a loyal follower nonetheless, so he’ll evolve and fight anyway.

(Actually, could Agumon even refuse to evolve once Masaru does a Digisoul Charge? We never see any of the partners try to do this during this series… but I’m inclined to think the answer might potentially be no.)

The BGM is eerily silent for the entire Digisoul Charge and (thankfully shortened) evolution sequence, again giving a sense that something isn’t right here. There’s nothing to feel triumphant about. Masaru is trying too hard.

GeoGreymon fires off a Mega Burst at Aquilamon, and Masaru grins for a moment in pre-emptive celebration… but then whatever automatic human-emotion-driven defence mechanism caused Piyomon to evolve back in Mercurimon’s palace kicks in again, and he evolves into Garudamon.

The negative human emotions that cause Digimon to rampage and sometimes to grow stronger and evolve have never been able to make them evolve past Adult level before. (See me eyeing Digmon from episode 5, which was still not past Adult, okay.) But Garudamon is a Perfect-level. Whatever unique special case is going on with Chika and Piyomon’s emotions taking control of him has made him stronger than is usually possible through this phenomenon.

Before the fight can continue, Chika runs onto the scene, calling for Piyomon. (She has to have run all the way to this place, which is on the shoreline and therefore quite far from her house up in the suburbs. Damn, this girl can run when she wants to.) Sayuri is here too, having chased Chika all the way, not wanting to let her daughter run into danger alone.

Masaru:  “Idiot, what are you doing here?!”

Which just means that Masaru’s whole family is now at risk of getting hurt. He’s expressing it in a very Masaru-like way, but he is not happy about this.

Chika says that she came because Piyomon was calling for her (which he was; she’s not to know that it wasn’t conscious of him). She steps forward, looking up at the giant bird-man her friend has become, reaching out to him and gently telling him to come home with her. That has to take some guts, being surrounded by all the smoke and destruction that Garudamon has clearly been causing. Chika trusts her bond with Piyomon so much; she’s so sure that if he just sees her, he’ll calm down and stop what he’s doing.

Garudamon:  “Chika!” [he clutches at his head as if in pain] “Where is my Chika…?”

But it doesn’t work. This proves it even more indisputably than anything else: he doesn’t actually remember her. He’s just mindlessly, violently gripped by the compulsion to seek out a “Chika” without the slightest understanding of who Chika is and what being with her used to mean to him.

As he says this, Garudamon begins to glow with energy, still being driven to attack anything that connects with this “Chika” thought that’s controlling him.

Masaru:  “Get back, Chika! He doesn’t remember you any more!”

Chika:  “That’s not true! Piyomon!”

The evidence is staring her in the face; her friend is about to attack her – but Chika still doesn’t want to believe it. Garudamon fires off his attack; Masaru rushes in front of Chika to protect her, and GeoGreymon (the only one here even slightly capable of taking that attack) jumps in front of his aniki.

Even with GeoGreymon blocking it, the shockwave from the attack sends Masaru tumbling back with Chika in his arms, as Sayuri falls to the ground a little further away. He can barely do anything to protect his family.

Chika:  “Masaru-niichan… Piyomon… Why isn’t he listening to me…? Did he really forget about me…?”

He really did, and there’s nothing Masaru can do to fix it or to stop his sister crying.

Behind him, GeoGreymon collapses heavily to the ground (because Garudamon is an evolution level higher than him, so of course he didn’t stand a chance). Everyone Masaru loves the most is hurting, helpless, potentially about to be killed by the Digimon who’s supposed to be Chika’s friend, and there’s nothing he can do.

Some Anime Sads Rain begins to fall to drive the point home, as well as to add some plausible deniability to the water that starts to run down Masaru’s face.

Masaru leaves his unconscious sister on the ground and stands up, his fists clenching and his shoulders shaking in helpless fury – at himself.

Masaru:  “What’s this crap about being the greatest? What’s this crap about being the best fighter in Japan? Both Chika’s feelings… and Piyomon… I couldn’t protect either of them.”

He’s finally accepting it, just like the old man knew he would. For all of his claims of being the best street fighter in Japan – for all of how he genuinely deserves that title – it still doesn’t mean anything in terms of what he really cares about protecting.

Masaru:  “In the end, my fists… My fists aren’t useful at all!”

Physical strength alone can’t always solve everything. He needed to have it demonstrated to him right before his eyes, very starkly and harrowingly, for it to get through to him, but he gets it now.

Masaru:  “I want to be stronger. I want to be much stronger!”

He’s not talking about physical strength here. He already knew he’s as physically strong as he ever needs to be – he’s just now learning that that’s not enough. He wants a different kind of strength, one that can do more.

Masaru:  “I don’t want to let anyone suffer any more painful emotions…”

After all, you can’t always protect someone’s feelings with just physical strength. It takes a lot more than that, and Masaru’s finally realising how important that is to him.

Masaru:  “That’s how strong of a man I want to be!!”

And of course, to Masaru, this is about being a man. He’s realising now that the best kind of “man”, the kind of man he’s still trying so hard to be, is someone who has that kind of strength to be able to protect their loved ones, and anyone who needs it, not just physically but also emotionally.

With this desperate declaration of his resolve, Masaru’s entire body flares up with Digisoul, to the triumphant sound of Believer, and he doesn’t waste a moment before putting it to good use.

Masaru:  “Digisoul Full Charge!”

I don’t know how he knew to say this, but hey. Maybe he picked it on the fly because it sounds cooler and stronger than just Digisoul Charge.

(Though, uh, he is saying this in English, and Masaru is not supposed to be very good at that language.)

It’s been a couple of episodes since we last heard Believer, which serves to give it some real impact, hearing it again now in this especially triumphant moment. And another thing I like that they do with it here is starting it off with the second verse, not the first. Anyone who’s been paying attention to the lyrics is probably pretty used to the first verse by now and was expecting to hear it, so it catches you off guard to be suddenly hit with entirely new lyrics instead. I dunno; it’s a small thing, but I think it gives more impact.

Now that they’re matched in evolution level, RiseGreymon wins very easily, blocking an attack from Garudamon without a scratch and then defeating him in a single counterattack. But shush. As with at least some of the very easy victories, the real battle was getting to this point. Let him have this triumph. There won’t be many more easy victories from here on.

(Apparently the official romanisation is “RizeGreymon”, according to what we can see in romaji as well as katakana in the background of the evolution animation. But, shush, okay, the subs I have spell it “RiseGreymon” and I’ve gotten used to seeing it spelled that way, so I’m going to continue to do so even if I know it might technically be incorrect.)

Old man:  “The growth of his heart called forth a new evolution.”

It sure did; that’s how this works! Even if Masaru hasn’t quite gained any of the strength he’s wishing for yet, just accepting that he’s not strong enough and wanting to change means he’s already stronger than he was before. It takes strength to admit to your weaknesses and resolve to work on them.

Old man:  “It seems you’ve realised something about what you treasure most, Masaru.”

He sure has. Despite him having made himself Japan’s number one street fighter, that was never really what he cared the most about, and now he’s beginning to understand that.

Also, I’m pretty sure this is the first time the old man has used Masaru’s name! That’s kind of cute, like he’s being less of a detached observer and feeling more affectionate towards Masaru now, in his pride at seeing him grow.

Later, as the storm clouds clear, Chika wakes up on Sayuri’s lap and immediately asks after Piyomon. Masaru holds up his egg without words, a regretful look on his face. He managed to protect his family from physical harm in the end, but he still couldn’t save Piyomon or Chika’s feelings.

Chika walks up to the egg and leans into it sadly, like she’s hugging Piyomon one last time.

Chika:  “I see. Now he no longer has to suffer… Thank goodness…”

I like that she can find some kind of silver lining and see it this way. Even if she doesn’t really understand what was wrong with Piyomon, it’s clear that he was suffering from whatever was making him lose his mind and rampage like that. It’s better for him to be rid of all that, even if it means he also can’t be with her after all.

(And, more on this later in the series, but we can assume that being re-reverted to an egg really will rid Piyomon of all those controlling emotions and let him have a normal Digimon life the next time he hatches.)

Masaru:  (I’ll never let something heartbreaking like this happen again. Both RiseGreymon and I will make sure of it!)

Oh, Masaru. You’re going to really, really try.

Back at DATS, in the aftermath of the incident, Satsuma is explaining to Hashiba over video call that they’ve written off all of the destruction as accidents and the news reports as overzealous publicity for a movie. It seems that Hashiba is more or less satisfied for now on the secrecy front, and he’s rescinded the order to have DATS officially dissolved. Turns out DATS is quite useful when there’s a Digimon destroying the city that can’t be stopped by anything but another Digimon, how about that.

Having presumably just got done sending Piyomon’s egg back to the Digital World, Miki and Megumi report that they detected a different Digimon’s signal mixed in with it – Mercurimon’s. We the audience can figure out how this happened: it must have been from when Mercurimon attacked Piyomon earlier in the episode to try and get him to forget Chika. Something about that process left a hint of Mercurimon’s signal rattling around within Piyomon’s signal somehow, like a human leaving DNA traces at a crime scene.

Yoshino:  “Then, could it be…?”

Tohma:  “By the looks of this, it’s likely that Piyomon was sent by Mercurimon to destroy the human world.”

But DATS didn’t see that happen; they have no way of knowing that Mercurimon was in fact trying to stop Piyomon from even coming to the human world. Given what they know, and given the fact that Piyomon’s rampage was such a unique case of the human emotions thing that it didn’t obviously look like an example of that, it’s relatively easy to jump to the conclusion that Mercurimon’s signal is there because he set this into motion – especially after the conclusions they already jumped to earlier when they were exhausted and stressed. They decided then and there that Mercurimon was simply The Enemy. This information can be read in a way that confirms their suspicions and paranoia, so of course they’d be inclined to do so. It’s just human.

Masaru:  “I knew it. Until we defeat him, we won’t get true peace.”

Even Masaru has got caught up in thinking this way throughout most of the episode, based on him acting like his theory’s been confirmed. His whole inferiority thing from feeling thoroughly outclassed by Mercurimon’s power probably didn’t help on that front.

And, okay, let’s be completely fair for a moment here. If this were literally any other Digimon series, then their assumption of “Mercurimon is the Big Bad Evil Digimon who is Evil because He Just Is, so we need to go defeat him!” would be a perfectly reasonable assumption to make, and flawed human paranoia wouldn’t even need to be a factor. For someone who’s watched through the other Digimon seasons up to this point and is seeing Savers for the first time, there’s absolutely no reason to question this narrative that DATS has actually just fabricated out of basically nowhere.

So Masaru declares that they should go to the Digital World to deal with Mercurimon, and Tohma and Yoshino nod. Despite the huge taboo that sending humans over there is supposed to be if episode 5 was any indication, it seems that the drastic circumstances of oh no Mercurimon might destroy our whole world if we don’t is enough to override the danger.

But Satsuma has something to say. He isn’t trying to tell them they can’t go – rather, he seems to have already accepted that they do need to go, and given that, he feels there’s some information they need to be aware of at last.

Satsuma:  “There is something I must tell all of you. Especially you, Masaru. This is important information concerning your father.”

Masaru:  “My… Dad?”

Masaru seems pretty shocked. Satsuma was probably the last person he expected to suddenly be telling him something about his dad.

And that’s the cliffhanger for the episode! I enjoy how the writers felt that the promise of information about Masaru’s dad was worth making into a cliffhanger. It certainly is one to Masaru, that’s for sure.

Overall thoughts

This is another excellent Masaru’s Issues episode and I enjoy it a lot. Like Savers has consistently been great at, there’s so much little subtle stuff showing how Masaru feeling inferior and powerless and outclassed by the current situation is getting to him, and how he’s dealing with it in an unhelpful way by getting even more single-mindedly reckless. The old man’s observations continue to be a fun narrative device to help highlight this stuff for the audience; I think this is my favourite of his scenes in which he does this.

This is pretty much a conclusion for some of the other Masaru’s Issues episodes in the opening arc – episodes 3, 6 and to some extent 10 – which contained the theme of Masaru struggling to figure out or admit he’s not yet as strong as he wants to be. Now he finally has! Took an even more extreme situation for him to finally reach that point, but he got there. He’s realised that it’s not all about physical fighting, and there’s a greater, more meaningful kind of strength that’s more important to him than that.

It's also fun seeing a Digimon rampage in a less-fillery, more high-stakes way, both because it’s connected to our new arc antagonists, and because it’s a Digimon we already know and care about. We can really see and sympathise with the fact that the Digimon are victims in this whole thing of rampaging due to human emotions.

And speaking of the new antagonists, I really appreciate how Mercurimon is not actually presented as a straight-up evil villain. It is perfectly possible to tell from this episode if you’re paying attention that DATS is wrong in the conclusions they come to about him. The writers know what they’re doing here. As they also do with the part where Hashiba attempts to dissolve DATS for no apparent reason; there’s more going on there than meets the eye right now, too. Savers is good.

---

[Dub comparison]

[writer-akihiko]

Chapter 1 - Meeting Him [STARISH Ver.]

I decided it would be easier for me to write my Utapri scenarios here instead of on AO3, as I understand the interface better here. After Otoya, it is cut due to length. 

 Chapter 2  →

Otoya Ittoki

You were a successful DJ & now it was arranged that you were to have a collaboration with the rising idol group, STARISH.

Lucky for you, the composer of the group, Haruka Nanami, was your childhood friend to help you. You were always antisocial and have terrible stage fright.

You were thankful as your job as a DJ because you just had to put on your signature mask on which was a f/c intricately designed mask. None of your fans knew your face nor other artists unless they have worked with you before which they, under contract and privacy, would never reveal to anyone.

Besides, when you work with anyone, you would usually be on the quite side, not speaking unless asked or spoken to.

You entered the studio and asked for the studio number. Once you were in front of the door, you knocked and someone yelled, "Come in!"

Nervously, you opened the door and quickly scanned the room for your friend. Once spotting the yellow eyed female, you ran at your top speed to her.

"NANA-CHAN!!" You yell, your h/l h/c hair showing as your hood flies off. You latch on the shorter/taller girl and rambled on about how you absolutely hate talking to people.

"Umm... Haruka? Who's this?"

You look to see a group of 7 boys looking at you and Haruka. Instinctively, you stood behind Haruka.

"Oh guys, this is my childhood friend, LN YN or as you all might know her as SN." She says, soothing your back.

The short blonde boy gasps. "Wait, she's the SN??"

Before Haruka could warn them about your extremely introverted personality, a redhead walks up to you and grabs your shoulder.

"I really admire your work and I love your recent hit! I also bought your first album, the premium one, of course & I framed up the deflated balloon from your second concert in Akita!" He babbles on.

You froze up, not knowing what to say.

"Otoya!!" Haruka says. "Calm down, she's extremely shy so please don't burst on her like that... Look now she's frozen... YN-chan come back to me!!"

Haruka shakes you slightly and you come to your senses. The redhead in front of you starts again. "Hello. I'm Otoya Ittoki. Nice to meet you." He offers his hand to you.

"LN YN. Same to you as well." You hesitantly shook his hand.

Masato Hijirikawa

You were one of the best athletes at Saotome Sports Academy. Today was your academy's festival and the sister school, Saotome Music Academy, were going to visit the academy.

You were the best point guard of your school's basketball team and you were setting up the gym for the basketball team's exhibition.

You in charge of the basketball challenge, where there were 3 teams of 5 from the basketball club and whatever group beats the basketball team for the first 5 points gets coupons for all the food stalls the other clubs were doing.

It was decided that the teams would be mixed because the girls' team wanted to play as well however, your team only had a total of 19 members and the boys had around 40 members.

"Hey LN-chan! I'm almost done setting up the exhibition part! You should go change," Your captain & senpai, Miyuki Chihiro says. She was doing a demonstration with the other first-string players of the boys team.

"Sure thing!" You reply. You walk up to your close friends, Ami & Yayoi, who were the only girls beside you who were joining the challenge teams.

"I'm so hyped for this!" Ami punches her fist in the air. "I really want to recruit more girls..."

"Calm yourself Ami," Yayoi says. "Save that energy for the court."

You tease Yayoi. "You say that Ya-chan but you're such a beast on the court~" 

At that remark, Yayoi blushed.

It was already the middle of your exhibition and so far, no one had defeated your team. Ami & Yayoi were put in different teams, with Ami's team so far losing to 2 groups and Yayoi's team to 1 group.

"Excuse me, can we play against this team?" A male with dark blue hair asks you.

"Oh sure, of course." You reply. You call out your senpais. "Hoi Morichika-senpai! Hurry up we have a game!"

"You're a player?" The male says, shocked.

"Yeah? What about it?" You retort.

He stayed silent. "Masato," he says, extending his hand. "I apologise, I thought you were the team’s manager."

You laugh aloud, shaking his hand. "Name's YN. Everyone says that by the way. You'll see Prince Charming, that this queen can slay a dragon!"

It was the middle of the game and your defense just passed you the ball. Determined to get it to your power forward, you drove the ball until one of the defenses from the other team shoved you, causing you to slip.

However, before your butt could kiss the floor, a strong arm gripped yours. You looked to see that it was Masato.

"Such a gentleman," you told him. He looked away, with his face slightly red. One of your teammates call you. "Hoi YN! You alright?"

"Yeah Satoshi!" You reply, giving a signal and standing up.

Masato looked at you and asked, "Umm... would you care to tour me around during your break?"

"Sure thing Prince Charming!" You say before jogging off.

Natsuki Shinomiya

You were a part-time worker at your uncle's bakery shop, and you were quite a well-known employee, as you were usually the one to invent new cakes and pastries that differ from the normal baked goods.

Today, you were at your cashier job. You were checking the cake displays on the counter until a noisy group walked in.

A group of 7 boys and 2 females made up the group. They dispersed, the one wearing glasses going to the counter with an orange haired boy. You realised that it was Natsuki, a recently regular customer since last month.

"Hello YN-chan!!" The happy-go-lucky boy said.

"Hello Natsuki, what would be the order today?" You smiled, getting your notepad and pen ready.

"Huhhh... YN-chan!!" He whines. "There's too many options to choose from!"

"Oh..." the orange haired male spoke up. "Natsuki, how mean of you to not tell me that an angel was creating these treats... No wonder they're so good."

You giggled. "So... what's with the gang?"

"Ohh," he says. "They're my good friends and I brought them over to try your food!"

"More like dragged us over!" The male with the fedora corrects.

"Eh... since when?" Natsuki innocently replied.

As they took their seats, you walked from the counter to them. "So... what shall it be?" You had your notepad and pen out and you mentally prepared yourself, especially for Natuski's orders.

"What's the special?" Natsuki asks.

You smiled. "It would be the CinnaChoco Character. Cinnamon and chocolate parfait with the whipped cream character of your choice on it."

"Then let it be nine specials!" Natsuki says. Everyone opens their mouths to protest him but were silenced at the next sentence he says. "And all the characters are Piyo-chan!"

"Alright... is that it?" You said, looking at his despaired friends.

"YES! THANK YOU!" He enthusiastically replies.

You walked away from the group. However, you looked back to see a blue-haired male scolding Natsuki while everyone else were dumbfounded. You smiled, disappearing into the kitchen.

Ren Jinguji

You arrived at the doorstep of Saotome Academy, in hopes of finding your cousin, Haruka. It was your first time in Tokyo, and you asked Haruka to tour you around. You came to Tokyo because of a shogi tournament, which would start next week. Haruka promised to support you and to watch your game.

After asking for several directions by other students, you finally arrived at a music room. Chatter was on the other side of the door and you knocked anyway. You waited until the door cracks open. At the doorway was a charming young man with vibrant orange hair. He smiled at you, "Why what a pretty little fairy we have here!"

"Please, I'm not magical and I'm not a fairy," You bluntly say. You look at him emotionlessly and croon your neck past him. You were more of a straight-forward and reserved person, not talking unless talked to.

You walk past him and ignored the group of other teenagers at you. "Hello Cousin Haruka," You greet.

"Ah, YN! I was just about to finish!" she says. She speaks to one of the males and then she walks towards you.

"Where might you ladies be going?" The orange haired male says before you two leave, blocking the door.

"Ah Jinguji-san, I'm taking my cousin YN on a tour today. She came because-" Haruka was cut off by Ren.

"YN-chan? What an adorable name."

"And I feel that you should give me your name since you already know mine and it would be impolite not to do so," You retort calmly.

"Jinguji Ren," he said.

"LN YN. Have a good day Jinguji-san." With that, you took Haruka's hand and shut the door.

Cecil Aijima

It was another day at Saotome Academy. You were looking at your schedule for today. Costume fittings, vocal practice, dance class... it was overwhelming for theatre students.

This season's production was about a foreign tale of gods and goddesses. You were casted as the goddess of the moon, and your costume designer was quite excited for you to try her new design.

You were on your way to the costume classroom, clutching your many scripts and lyrics in your arms.

"Shun-kun? Mayuri-chan? Are you in there?" You said after you opened the door.

The two cheerful twins who were your loyal friends and designers welcomed you.

"I think you're going to like this one!" Shun said, clapping his hands together.

"The Madame gave us a high grade for this," Mayuri said. "Ah! I'm so excited for you to sing in this!"

You giggled at your friends. "You know I always love everything you guys make." Mayuri helped you change into it. However, she asked you to close your eyes the whole time as a surprise.

"Ok YN-chan! Open!"

It was stunning. The darker blues and silver accents brought the whole dress together.        

"I LOVE IT!" you squealed, jumping and hugging Mayuri and Shun.

Someone knocked the door again. "That must be our next clients. YN, you can continue wearing it. We can fix anything later," Shun told you.

"But I wanna see YN-chan sing in the dress!" Mayuri complained.

The door opened. In stepped a girl you were familiar with.

"Haruka-chan! I didn't know you were coming for a fitting as well!" You said to the orange haired female.

"I'm here with the idols I'm composing with. Did you like the duet I composed?" She asked, nervous.

You knew Haruka as she had written a few duets from a few productions. Recently, she'd written a duet between you and the war god starring in an argumentative song.

"The director and everyone else loved it," you said, recalling your rehearsal. "Too bad you can't be part of the studio's composing team..."

She smiled at you. "I enjoy composing for ST☆RISH, and you as well. But I have to stick with them for the semester. On another note, you look gorgeous YN-chan!"

"Thank you." You felt flustered by the amount of attention you were getting from the stares of some of the designer students and their clients.

"Haruka, who is this prestigious goddess here?!" One of the idols who had come with Haruka got on one knee and held your left palm in his hand.

You would be totally blushing and embarrassed if it weren't for the fact that he was in a green teddy bear costume.

"G-Goddess?"

Mayuri pipes up, "Aren't you acting as a goddess for this play YN-chan?"

"So that is the name of the goddess!" The male exclaimed. "Goddess YN!"

"Cecil she's notー"

"Teddy Sir, I am not a goddess," you explain to him. "But I am going to be in the theatre next two months."

You smiled at him. He immediately apologised.

Cecil looked at you in thought. You reminded him of his mother. Kind, sweet, gentle... To him you definitely acted like a goddess even if you denied it.

"I'm Aijima Cecil," he said. "I'm in the idol programme!"

"LN YN. Theatre programme," you replied, shaking his hand. "If you'd like, your group could come and see the rehearsal tomorrow. It's open to other students!"

"REALLY?!" He said, clearly excited. "MASA-CHAN, CAN WE GO PLEASEEE??"

"Why are you asking me?!" An annoyed, blue haired male said.

"Ren-chan said that you're the mother of our group."

A few arguments went around the group, but in the end ST☆RISH decided to go to the rehearsal after.

"See you later Goddess YN!"

"I told you, I'm not a goddess Aijima-kun!" You giggled. Aijima-kun was quite interesting.

Syo Kurusu

You were the Head Miko (shrine maiden) of your family shrine. Recently, your childhood friend, Haruka Nanami, wrote to you about needing help with a filming site for a music video for the famous idol group, ST☆RISH.

You allowed them to film in the courtyards of the shrine area. Today, you were meeting with them to guide them around the shrine.

Finally, they arrived at the gates. "Nana-chan, I'm so glad to meet you." You hugged your best friend ever since kindergarten. You had your hakama hood up and greeted the boys.

A blue haired male bowed to you. "Thank you for your great generosity Miko YN."

The rest of the boys quickly realised who you are and followed their friend. However, one of the taller males bumped into the shortest male.

That male unfortunately fell on you.

"HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT MIKO LN YN?!" One of the shrine guards yelled.

The guards hollered the small male up and held him in a lock.

"Guards! Control yourselves! It was an accident!" You said. "Release him!"

They immediately did so.

The guard who started the riot went into a dogeza position. "Sincerest apologies Miko YN. You may cut off my head if you wish for compensation of this horrendous action."

At this point, the boys were borderline scared.

"As punishment..."

You saw the shorter male pale.

"Go and purchase mochi and edamame from the lady at the local market."

You heard huge sigh of relief come from ST☆RISH. You helped the fallen boy up.

"I should apologise to you..." you trailed off, asking for his name.

"Kurusu Syo. And I should apologise. That was..."

"Here," you gave him a good luck talisman. "For luck in your shooting."

After the tour you gave them, they started to film the video. Apparently, they needed a traditional setting as there was a kendo scene.

Syo was against another male who was quite tall. The other male tied his hair as he defended from Syo's angry attacks.

The blue haired male who was directing the scene, who's name you found out to be Masato, called it off.

"Ren, Syo, slow down. Your fight is too hectic. It needs to be graceful, like the title track is."

"I think I can help," you said. "I can assist Kurusu-san's strikes."

You untied your whole katana ー including the sheath ー from your waist and walked up to Ren.

"Kurusu-san, you should take a defensive approach first and then continue attacking for the rest of the scene," You said, taking your stance.

"Wait, Miko YN. I don't think I can attack such a pure maiden such as you," Ren protested, flirting a little.

You said nothing, proceeding to block Ren's sword and striking his forearm. Then you swept your weapon at his ankles and Ren fell down.

"Wahhh Miko YN is so cool!" Otoya said.

You told Masato. "I feel if Syo does a sweep maneuver, then it would be more graceful."

"Thank you Miko YN," Syo said. His face turned red. "You... fight good."

"Thank you, Kurusu-san!" You said, bowing.

"WAHH MIKO YN TAUGHT THAT BOY!"

"MIKO YN IS SO SKILLFUL!"

The guards and shrine attendants complimented you.

"Good luck Kurusu-san!"

"A-Ah... Yeah thanks!" Syo ran back to the courtyard. For the rest of the shooting, he avoided you and you didn't know why.

You smiled to yourself. He is an odd boy.

Tokiya Ichinose

You were a famous mangaka in the shoujo genre. So far in your career, you had three series. You attended Saotome Academy's drawing programme last year, and it really helped your manga to be popular.

Today you were going to attend a convention as one of their special guests. You decided to cosplay as one of the characters from your fantasy manga.

You had invited your friends Tomochika and Haruka, who you met through one of your writing classes. They both attended for the sake of writing lyrics, but you were there for a story script. Tomochika was also a big fan of yours. They told you they were going to bring some friends as well.

Your mangaka name was announced and you got on stage. "Hello guys!" You bowed. Cheers and screams went around.

"AN-sama is so cute!"

"I LOVE YOU AN-SAMA!"

"Thank you, guys, so much for the support! I have a special announcement!" You said.

Silence went around...

"With the help of Souka Animation, the fantasy series will be having an anime in a year!" You said. More cheers went around. "It's because of you guys that this was possible. In ten minutes, the signing and Q&A will start so I hope you guys enjoy!"

After the heaps of questions, you were finally on your break. At that moment, you saw Haruka and Tomochika. They came to you, with several other boys. "Ah, YN-chan, this is the group I'm composing for," Haruka said, introducing the 7 boys that had followed.

The dark-haired male introduced himself and bowed to you. "My name is Ichinose Tokiya. AN-sama, please give me the honour of having your autograph."

He held out a manga that you knew quite well. It was the first issue you ever sold. Well, it was not part of the three series you own but a high school doujinshi you made of a popular fighting game.

"How... did you get this? I never continued this after the fifth volume!" You exclaimed.

Tokiya replied, "I... I'm a big fan AN-sama."

You signed the doujinshi. "So you're a fan of this series as well?"

He nodded. "I collected the manga in school and your doujin concept was really interesting. I also collected your fantasy romance series and the other two. Your storytelling is amazing andー"

You were surprised. He knew your works so well, even before you started to write your own series.

"You go to Saotome right?" You asked.

He nodded. "I'm in the idol programme."

"I'm a student there as well. I'm in design programme," You said. "Since we're schoolmates, you can call me LN."

"Then call me Tokiya-san."

"Shall we walk around the event together?" You offered.

He accepted, flustered that his favourite mangaka is treating him.

Chapter 2  →

[ohshcscenerios]

If the club spent the christmas together what would be their roles? Like ex: mori always cuts down the tree and honey puts on the star while on his shoulders

Oh this is a lovely idea, a Host Club Christmas

Yes, I fully agree with Takashi cutting down the pine tree. I want to imagine they all go as a group to pick it out together and when they finally decide Takashi swings his axe. He and Tamaki carry it back to the car and the twins help tie it down (usually they wouldn’t want to get sticky sap all over their hands but it gives them an excuse to climb the car like a jungle gym).

I can see Haruhi and the twins being in charge of decorating the tree; wrapping the garland and lights, hanging the ornaments, tying on the bows. 

I want to imagine they all make a few ornaments to add a little of themselves to the tree - their own personal touch. Takashi makes two, one for Piyo and one for Mr. Tanuki. Mitsukuni makes one for Usa-chan and one for Reiko. Haruhi makes one for her mother. Tamaki makes several because he can’t choose which to focus on so he ends up maing nearly a dozen for all his friends and family. Why do I want to imagine the twins dressing up Barbie dolls with their own fashion and hanging them around the tree - like models. 

Mitsukuni adds the star at the top of the tree atop Takashi’s shoulders and it’s the last thing they add, treating it like the final touch to their evening. 

Afterwards, they enjoy a movie, snacks, hot chocolate, and candy so generously organized by Kyoya - because he couldn’t be bothered to shove himself into a pine tree to hand glass and tin. 

[sweetlittlevampire]

Pandemic Mental Health Check In

I was tagged by @syntheticpoetry . Thanks for checking up on me!

How is everyone holding up?  

That really depends on the day. I’m usually fine, but some days are harder than others. Right now the pandemic is ramping up like crazy in my homecountry, and I am beginning to get anxious again. My mother has MS and needs to get out and move and have physio, otherwise her muscles do stop working properly, and she doesn’t take this whole thing seriously enough. My girlfriend has weakened lungs, and is considered high risk. She does take super care of herself, but I just can’t help and be scared.

What are you doing to keep healthy?

Not much else than what I’ve been doing before this whole mess started, lol. I try to go for walks whenever the weather allows, just to get out of the house. Other than that, I try to talk to people online to keep my spirits up, since me and the fam aren’t on the bestest of terms...and meeting friends, although it’s not prohibited yet - honestly, I’d rather not run the risk.

Are you working, not working, working from home?

I’m not working. My job contract ran out two weeks before the first lockdown, and try to catch a job interview in a society that doesn’t do phone interviews, and adapts poorly to video chat interviews. I’d love to find a new job, but alas...

Anyone caring for kids or elders?

Caring for me mum! She’s 60, but as said, she has MS, so yeah. I’m in charge of the groceries in this house. No kids to speak of; grandparents are either in nursery homes, or already deceased.

What was you best/worst day?

The best day was when I was FINALLY allowed to see my girlfriend again after the first lockdown was lifted.

The worst one - I oddly feel like that one is yet to come.

What inspires you?

Kindness. Courage. Love.

Are you taking up hobbies?

I’ve tried writing! It still doesn’t come naturally to me, but eh, I’ve had the urge to dabble in fan fiction and found myself some betas, and off I went.

What kind of content helps keep the joy on your dash?

Cat videos aaaall the way! But also The Untamed, lol. Generally speaking, seeing my friends interacting with others, and seeing that they’re well. Also meeting new people on socmed in general is so fun!

Has life gone back to “normal” where you are?

Hmmm, there is a semblance of “normal”, but I can tell people are becoming anxious again, so I’m not so sure.

What are you doing for fun?

I’m reading a lot, and drawing a lot, and listening to a lot of music. The usual suspects!

I’m gonna tag some people, but as per usual, only do this if you really want to. Stay safe, my friends!

@bilboo | @inessencedevided | @piyo-13 | @huacheng-zhu | @abschaumno1 | @unforth | @elvencantation | @stiltonbasket

[pescado-diabolico]

Hi!~ Can I request some Kawaii Team headcanons?

i got you anon, dw.  i’m very fond of team kawaii since they were my original top 3 best boys, and i still like ai and syo a lot.  hope you enjoy these!

Team Kawaii Headcanons:

Cooking with this trio is a treat.  Since Ai doesn’t actually need to eat, and Natsuki can’t really cook, Syo has to take charge and make sure whatever they’re eating is palatable and Ai doesn’t go overboard making too many.  They’ll often bake sweets together, and the one time Ai was in charge, he made far too many cookies and they gifted them to the other Starish and Quartet Night members (Camus was especially appreciative of the gift).

They go shopping together.  Syo knows the best places for a deal, great style, and a friendly staff, so he takes Ai and Natsuki around the shopping district.  Natsuki also insists on looking for new Piyo-chan merch on the trip, and Ai is content watching all the people around him interact.  Afterwards, they visit a cafe and have tea with pastries.

They’re definitely the types to have a sleepover together!  They all get along very well with each other, and like spending time together, so why not have a fun night watching movies and playing games.  Natsuki is usually the one to pass out first, followed by Syo, and Ai doesn’t need to sleep in the way they do but he rests once they fall asleep.  Somehow, Natsuki always ends up cuddling Syo during the night, and Ai does nothing to stop it (he’s charmed by their closeness).

Natsuki and Syo always attend Quartet Night performances to support Ai.  They love to support their senpai and visit him backstage on the show to congratulate him and the rest of Quartet Night.  Ai acts cool and insists that they performed as they usually do (which is perfectly), but he’s touched by their support.  Conversely, he will always attend a Starish concert and support them if he can.

They like to write songs together.  Syo takes care of the lyrics, Ai with the composition, and Natsuki helps them both since he’s good at lyrics and composing.  Even if they don’t use the songs for anything, it’s still a fun and helpful exercise.

Similarly, they have jam sessions together.  Now, it’s fairly easy to do a duet with a violin and a viola, but the addition of Ai’s synthesizer makes it more interesting.  Sometimes he just plays it like a piano, but other times he makes use of the other settings on it and they make some interesting music.  Natsuki is particularly excitable when it comes to whatever new sound they create together.

[el-dritchknight]

Mistlefoe (Avery/Reese Hustle Cat Christmas Fic)

Title: Mistlefoe

Fandom: Hustle Cat

Ship: Avery/Reese (Avereese)

Summary:  "Fun Christmas idea: Hang mistletoe but instead of kissing, you have to fight whoever else is under it."

Reese and Avery get a little creative when it comes to their courtship.

Notes: Dedicated to my friend, Piyo, who gave me this idea last year HAHA Please feel free to leave comments, especially constructive criticism! It's my first time writing for these characters, so I hope I did them justice :DHappy Holigays to my fellow Hustle Cat fans :3c

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…

Probably because Reese and his friends are at A Cat’s Paw, which was, you know, a renown cat cafe and probably the exact opposite of a mouse-friendly house.

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all employees are called to decorate the cafe because, contrary to Avery’s expectations, some witches celebrate Christmas. Others celebrate Hanukkah while others have Kwanza—and well, you get the picture. Graves is assigned to cat-watching duty while everyone else decorates because they refuse to have yet another year of festive goth decorations.

Reese and Avery are in charge of the interior design. More accurately, Reese is putting up some candles while Avery is looking up memes on their phone in a self-proclaimed break.

“Hey, Reese, check this out.”

Avery’s phone is unceremoniously shoved in his face. Used to his datemate’s compulsive sharing of memes, Reese takes a moment to read what’s on the screen.

He snorts. “What, so are you saying you want me to deck your halls?”

Dude, what the fuck, Reese’s internal narration chides him. What the fuck does that even mean.

Thankfully, Avery is just as, if not more so, a disaster as Reese is. “Well, maybe I’m going to deck your halls! Ever think about that?”

Dear god, they are such gay disasters. The rational side of Reese’s brain bids him adieu as he decides to indulge in Avery’s shenanigans.

“You wanna fight?” Reese asks, unable to keep the grin off his face.

“Why not? You know I can kick your butt any day.” Avery’s answering smile turns lopsided as unmistakable challenge slips into their tone.

Ever since their respective magical duels with Asmodeus and Nacht, Reese and Avery had taken to training and sparring together, just in case they would be challenged again. Also, it’s pretty fun to test out their abilities this way.

As to who keeps winning… it’s always a fair fight. Truth be told, the pair of them are neck-and-neck when it comes to sparring. Reese may have extensive knowledge of magic, but Avery’s resourcefulness and quick-thinking keeps him on his feet.

“As much as I’d love to prove you wrong as always, Grey, there’s no mistlet—” Avery’s wagging eyebrows make him stop. Stare. Look up at the ceiling where they’re pointing and, oh god, there it is: a cheekily gleaming mistletoe made entirely of aluminum. Reese is willing to bet that this creation is from the soda cans he saw Avery drinking earlier.

This means that they’ve probably been planning this the whole day.

The thought sends a rush of embarrassed heat—as well as intense fondness—through Reese. “Really, Avery? Really?”

Avery smirks at them, despite the red dusting their own cheeks. “Well, I wasn’t going to let my cute boyfriend go unkissed on Christmas Eve now, could I?”

Reese is pretty sure his face is doing a great impression of Rudolph the Reindeer’s infamous red nose. “I uh. Thought you wanted to fight?”

“That too!” Avery’s enthusiasm is adorable—and contagious.

Reese laughs and shakes his head as he prepares to use his magic. “Alright, you asked for it, Grey!”

Before Avery can respond, Reese slips through a portal—and emerges right behind Avery. He reaches towards them, but something catches his foot. Reese quickly glances down to see crumpled wads of newspaper wrapped around his ankle. He swears, preparing his body to hit the ground—

A pair of arms wrap around his waist, halting his fall. Reese opens his eyes to stare into Avery’s eyes, glittering with mischief.

“Take that!” With a cheeky grin, Avery kisses him. The contact is quick, but the feel of Avery’s soft lips never fails to send him reeling.

“Um.” Reese’s comeback is the epitome of eloquence.

Avery, the asshole they are, has more plans for him, however. Without warning, they release their hold on Reese and let him face-plant gracelessly into the soft cat toys below.

Reese lifts his head to glare up at Avery, who is clutching their stomach in laughter. “You should’ve seen your face, dude!”

He huffs but sees a silver lining in the form of a string of fairy lights near Avery’s foot. Smirking, Reese creates a small portal near Avery’s foot and ties the lights around their shoe. He tugs on the string—and rolls over to his side when Avery comes crashing down next to him.

Avery’s pout is adorable. “Hey, that wasn’t fair.”

“All’s fair in love and war, dude,” Reese manages after snickering. “Besides, you started it. I was just returning the favor.”

“Returning the favor, huh?” Avery suddenly has a devilish glint in their pretty, pink eyes. “I’ll show you returning the favor!”

“Grey, what are y—ahAHAHA AVERY NO—” Reese’s words are lost in the flurry of Avery’s tickling. Reese starts fighting back. He finds his power very useful in reaching parts of Avery he usually couldn’t. Avery’s giggles are adorably distracting, however, and it doesn’t help that they’re getting tangled up in the fairy lights in all their toustling around. Still, Reese never backs down from a challenge.

“Ahem.”

Graves stands, looking at the pair of them on the floor: awkwardly wrapped up in a string of fairy lights, limbs all akimbo, surrounded by scattered cat toys—the very picture of hard-working employees. Not.

“Hi, Graves.” Avery has the decency to sound bashful.

Reese’s face burns hotter than the fairy lights. “Graves, wait, I can explain—”

“No need, dear Reese. I know a witch’s duel when I see one.” The smirk on Graves’ face says otherwise, but Reese is too embarrassed to care at this point.

“Right, um. So can you help us out of here?” Avery gives their boss their best puppy dog (kitty cat?) eyes.

“Oh, no, It would be sacrilegious to interfere, my dear! Have a Merry Christmas, you two!” With an airy wave, Graves saunters out of the cafe, leaving two dumbstruck teenagers in his wake.

“...Well, now what?”

“I guess we could wait for Landry or Hayes to get us out of here—”

“OH MY GOD, YOU GUYS LOOK SO CUTE! THIS IS SO GOING ON THE BLOG!”

“—Or we could just die of pure, unadulterated embarrassment.”

“That works for me.” Reese sighs at the telltale flashes of Finley’s camera, which signal the end of his reputation as the world knew it. “Merry Christmas, Avery.”

“Merry Christmas, Reese. Sorry I got us into this.” They should genuinely sheepish this time.

Reese shrugs as much as he can, anyway. “Eh, you wouldn't be you if you didn't get into trouble at least once a day… B-but you better make it up to me when we get out of this!”

“I’m going to kiss you lots of times, if that’s what you’re asking.” Reese can practically hear Avery’s cute little v-shaped smile.

“Th-that would suffice.”

Although this isn’t how he had pictured celebrating Christmas Eve, Reese has a very merry Christmas, indeed.

[stephsbrainwaves]

It’s been a while since the last time I’ve purchased workout clothes and after a month of clean eating and Piyo madness, weight was lost and inches dropped! It was time for a new pair of pants for this lady!

I’ve always purchased yoga pants from Victoria’s Secret Pink but they just don’t quite do it for me anymore. I was searching for a more durable fabric, slim fitting but not suffocating feel at a reasonable price. We know that yoga pants can be pretty pricy, they range from forty to over a hundred dollars!

A friend suggested I give the new line Fabletics, by Kate Hudson a try. I must say I was a bit skeptical at first but when I signed up, they offer quite the discount off your first purchase! I was mostly in search of leggings so I bought one pair to try them out.

I am so in love with these leggings!! The fabric is fabulous! It hugs your body without feeling too tight, it compliments your shape with the high waist band, helping with tummy support as well. :)

I wore these out for a quick grocery shop and felt amazing walking around in these.

They move easily with my body through each pose and workout!

Needless to say, I’ll be purchasing more of these and keeping my monthly subscription with Fabletics!

Did the word subscription frighten you? No need! While you are a VIP member, you choose your style of clothing, allowing Fabletics stylists to hand pick amazing ensembles for you! An entire outfit will be sent to you monthly starting at $49.95. That’s a pretty sweet deal since many places offer that price for only one item! If you don’t want to be charged that month, all you have to do is log in to your account by the 5th of every month and skip the month. You can continue to skip each month until you’re ready to make the purchase!

http://www.fabletics.com/invite/73467961/

Click my link above for special savings!

Namaste Yogi’s!

xo

© Stephanie Cardozo and Stephanie Cardozo, 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Stephanie Cardozo and Stephanie Cardozo with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

New Yoga Pants! #Fabletics #Yoga #Fitness It's been a while since the last time I've purchased workout clothes and after a month of clean eating and Piyo madness, weight was lost and inches dropped!

[sunzambian]

Trio go in for criminal trespass on Livestock Trust Farm

Trio go in for criminal trespass on Livestock Trust Farm ...In this matter Albert Piyo 53, Aphen Mwiinga, 32, and Kelvin Muleya, 31, stood charged with Criminal Trespass contrary to the Laws of Zambia. FULL STORY ON LINK:

MULENGA MUSONDA writes

THE Choma Magistrates Court has convicted three men for criminally trespassing and cutting trees for charcoal on a Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Farm.

In this matter Albert Piyo 53, Aphen Mwiinga, 32, and Kelvin Muleya, 31, stood charged with Criminal Trespass contrary to the Laws of Zambia.

Particulars of the offence are that the three jointly and whilst…

[glucoweb]

Why Battle With Fitness When You Can Succeed

Reach Your Fitness Goals By Using These Tips

When you have always wanted to remain in better shape, but aren’t sure about the practical ways that one could start that process or make it a component of your daily routine, then this article will provide you with a large amount of great tips on how to make that the reality.

If you’re just starting out with exercise, start off slow. Don’t start head first and try to run five miles with out exercised before. You can wind up injuring yourself and doing more damage than good. Instead get started with a shorter walk and slowly increase the length along with the speed. Before you realize it you’ll be running five miles with no problems.

THIS RIGHT HERE is why you should not let the scale control you!!!! ð???ð?¼ I hear SO many of my challengers say but I only lost 1lb or I only lost 2lbs. And then they get frustrated! ð??¤Yes, that may be true but your body IS CHANGING!!! ð???ð?¼ That's why I stress taking progress pictures so you can SEE your body change and not just measure your progress on the scale!!! ð??¸ð??ªð?¼ We are officially half way done our Body Beastð??ð?¼â?â??️workout program and I can't wait to see where I'm at after the next two weeks!!! ð??ð??ð?¼ Our next online challenge group starts July 10thâ?¼ï¸ If you want a legit workout program ð??ªð?¼ to follow that you can do at the gym ð??ð?¼â?â??️or at home ð?¡ , a meal plan ð?¥?, a 24/7 online support group ð??±, and me as your Coach ð??? DROP YOUR EMAIL BELOW! ð??©ð???ð?¼ Let's do this together girlfriend!! ð??¯ð??ªð?¼ #transformation #monday #mondaymotivation #transformationtuesday #goals #2weekprogress #fitnessjourney #fitnessmotivation #joinme #shredding #lifting #HIIT #workoutprogram #BOD #bodybeast #shaunt #nutrition #mealprep #mealplan #junechallenge #fitfam #fitchicks #summerbod #getfit #fitspiration #jkp #justkeeppushing

A post shared by VIRGINIA SCROGGINS (@virginia_scroggins) on Jun 19, 2017 at 7:32pm PDT

To enhance your stamina, breathe fully and from the diaphragm whenever you exercise, particularly when running. This increases your oxygen intake and your lung capacity and lets you exercise longer. If you don’t learn how to breathe through your diaphragm, you can lay down and place something on your stomach, then practice which makes it rise and fall when you inhale and exhale.

Like a population we have now generally become lazy. In case a car can get us there, in the vehicle we go. An effective fitness tip would be to forgo the wheels and carry on foot. Perhaps you need to proceed to the service station one half mile away for milk, then you definitely should walk. Another good idea is to park farther away at places such as the supermarket, and force you to ultimately walk a number of yards. This may get a little bit of exercise in where before there was clearly none.

Running is one of the best types of exercise you could do to get involved with shape. Try your best to at least attempt a jog every second day or so. You are able to slowly increase your pace and before very long, you’re burning lots of calories. In terms of running it’s all a mind-set, consider getting your brain strong as well as your body will follow.

An excellent tip for healthier living would be to perform strength training. Weight training keeps your muscle mass strong and healthy. Having more muscle tissue is the best way to manage your excess fat as the more muscles you may have, the greater calories it is possible to consume. This is because the additional calories will check out the muscle rather than fat. Resistance training is likewise helpful in preventing osteoporosis.

To acquire a better looking back, you must give attention to all four of its muscle groups. Exercises like forward back bends and power shrugs will improve the appearance of your upper back, while leg lifts and back crunches are good for the reduced half. Exercising your whole back assures that you’ll have the ability to start to see the outcomes of your work.

When pursuing your fitness goals, it is wise to try and protect your neck if you are exercising. When performing crunches, you ought to place your tongue in the roof of your respective mouth. This may actually lessen the strain on your neck because it can help align your head properly.

To ride your bike more proficiently practice with one leg. Riding one-legged forces you to pay attention to good pedaling. Put both legs about the pedals, but let one go limp. Towards the bottom from the stroke pull up. This will better distribute the project load to the major leg muscles.

This unexpected move can effectively increase your running form: Rather than running slower for prolonged distances, accomplish the contrary. Improving your speed while running shorter distances will help you build more tone of muscle and increase your endurance. This move will also allow you to less vulnerable to sprains, strains, and other injuries.

When pursuing your workout goals it is important that you remove the excuses. Excuses will lead you to fail. You should plan a time to work out and follow through upon it. Even though you only exercise for a few minutes, PiYo Review this is preferable to not working out in any way.

Generally have a “Plan B” in place to stay on target along with your fitness plan. In the event you must skip your regular workout 1 day as a result of obligations at your workplace, use a backup fitness workout in your mind to jump straight into the instant you are free of charge. For example, in the event you don’t have plenty of time to work with the weight machines at the health club, do a little free weight work from home instead.

Usually have a “Plan B” in destination on track with your fitness plan. When you must skip your regular workout one day because of obligations at your workplace, have a backup fitness workout in mind to leap directly into once you have the freedom. As an example, if you don’t have plenty of time to make use of the load machines at the gym, do a little free weight work from home instead.

This article has shown you that you can take control of your fitness level. The tiny things you do will influence your fitness just as much as the major things. Begin right now to be more in shape.

from Cedron (Ron) Swain Glucoweb http://glucoweb.net/why-battle-with-fitness-when-you-can-succeed/

[greatlifefitbev]

#TransformationTuesday Health is Wealth. You don't use it you'll lose it. I never saw the value in wellness over 4 years ago I ate #lowfat #poptarts everyday for #breakfast and had a half of tube of sweettarts after lunch because I wasn't feeding my body right. Had high cholesterol and was in meds getting my blood checked every 6 months which I hated! 3 1/2 years now off #cholesterol medication!! You can change your genes! So important to feed your body the proper nutrients 🍒🍓🌱 not for a #diet but for a lasting healthier #lifestyle . For those of you "thinking" poking, hoping or crazy fads it doesn't have to be hard or give totally up on your treats. Hearing of a friend of a friend 45 that died last week of #heart issues saddens me and propels me to help change others lives for the better every day. Thankfully I'm healthy, fit and flexible. Even with the shoulder issue (which I think was caused by vacuuming 😂 hey that's the only thing that makes sense since I workout often don't #vacuum as often). You don't realize how much you use something till its gone or not working from little things brushing teeth, putting on or taking off clothes, eating, putting stuff in your hair. To all the fun things like 🎣 fishing, scuba, snowmobiling and being a #PiYO instructor. YOU are in charge of of your health why do you always put yourself off?? There's nothing wrong with doing you first. Just like on an airplane ✈️ they say put your oxygen mask on first so you can help others. Time to join my next wellness challenge for change! Don't be scared or put yourself off you are worth it and I can help say I'm IN below ⏬ or message #challenge #coach #ocean #saltlife #scuba #nutrients #nutrientdense #wellness #health