#maybe this conflict can exist for ken too

[proxythe]

please elaborate on your feelings regarding Aki’s healing abilities & miki…

i just feel like if something tragic happens to someone you love so much and in that moment you were too “weak” to do anything about it but then you grow up and you find out you can literally heal peoples injuries would probably make you start feeling some type of way.

i know akihiko cannot resurrect people like yukari, ken or aigis can, but even having the smallest ability that can be used to “save” people (by healing them) is huge for someone who wants to save everyone. i think akihiko is smart enough to understand that he would only be able to use it during the dark hour so it’s essentially useless anyways even if he somehow knew he had it back then, but i think there’s always some foolish hope when it comes to people you love so much. there’s always “what if”, so i do think there’d be the tiniest shred of conflict there when it comes to “would i have been able to save miki then” with even the weakest of healing abilities.

ultimately, no i do not think dia could save miki from a building thats on fire. but i also think, like i said before, knowing you have the ability to make peoples injuries magically heal would probably plant the seed for such what ifs. i do think akihiko would come to terms with the fact that it wouldnt help. it’s more so something i feel would torture him early on rather than later, since akihiko is very much against changing the past & he always faces what presently happens

i forgot to bring up about why i thought that akihiko would be proud of his healing ability. but i think it’s pretty obvious. guy who wants to protect people can finally protect people with not just his fists. save them with the power of healing magic

[angelinthefire]

Since the Academy Awards haven't happened yet and it's still mildly relevant to talk about the Barbie movie, I've been thinking about it. And yeah, Greta Gerwig was snubbed for best director. She totally should have been nominated for that - and not for best screenplay. imo the screenplay was actually bad.

Obviously, a movie like this was always going to be a challenge to write. Hemmed-in by corporate interests, unable to go too cynical or too sincere. Etc. My first issue with the screenplay is that the feminism is extremely basic. Like, not 101-basic. Derogatory-basic. Like it was always going to be some level of wimpy liberal feminism, given the constraints of corporate interests. So I'm not sure if there was an opportunity for it to have been better politically. Maybe not.

But then there's other problems.

Gloria is the actual protagonist, but the audience doesn't really get to know her on a meaningful level. That on its own wouldn't necessarily be a flaw, if Barbie had a strong character arc. But she doesn't. Barbie isn't driven by internal conflict, she's driven by stuff happening to her, passively. And it's not even interesting to see how she reacts, because she was such a total blank slate to begin with. Ken is actually the character with the strongest internal conflict, and the strongest arc. There's people who make fun of the fact that Ken seems to get an inordinate amount of attention, but he does have the most objectively compelling arc. That is kind of a problem for a movie about Barbie.

Having a narrator was a terrible choice. She does seem to be the product of not trusting the audience, explaining things unnecessarily. The most egregious instance being towards the end when Barbie has that crying breakdown says that she's not good enough and ugly or whatever, and then the narrator comes in to say something about Margot Robbie being a bad casting choice for that scene. And it's like? Isn't that the whole point of the scene? That even someone who looks like Margot Robbie can feel that way? So why undermine the point?

This comes back to the first problem, of the politics being basic, and corporate constraints. Probably that's the same reason why the movie feels quite confused about what it's trying to say. Besides sexism bad. And the movie doesn't really bring anything to the table in that respect. To the extent that I could almost say that the movie doesn't try to justify it's own existence.

And finally: there were three points when the movie could have ended. Almost like she had brainstormed different conclusions for the movie, and then couldn't pick just one.

So yeah, not a good screenplay imo.

[derangedhyena-delphinidae]

numerous issues with “The Aftermath of Seaworld”

When I get time to do so (aka when I’m done with the documentary), I’m likely going to make a video version of this going into the details. 

But for right now, I’ve made this. Both as a guideline for me and so everyone can begin to get an idea of the severity of issues involved.

Researching things is time-consuming and can be very difficult - believe me, I know. But I’m of the mind that if you’re making content with the intent of educating people, you have a responsibility to perform a certain level of due diligence. It IS okay to express uncertainty or doubt if you have it. It is NOT okay to confidently assert things that you do not know with certainty.

The video has an anticap slant, and I’m obviously not disagreeing on that front. But again: if you’re gonna go through the trouble of teaching people something. Bare minimum... please make sure it’s actually correct. *** 1) x ‘founded in 1964 and based out of Florida’ -  ???? Seaworld definitively began on the west coast, in San Diego, CA. And given that the first park opened in early 1964… things came together before that. Uh? 2) x ‘four people founded Seaworld [...]’ For one… it wasn’t originally conceived as a restaurant, it was originally conceived as an underwater bar/lounge. Two… calling the four guys involved in founding the place “frat brothers” is fucking ridiculous and completely overlooks a) how each was actually involved and b) the overall significance of their contributions to the field as individuals. Hint: like it or not, they were important and did a lot! 

3) x If one is going to bring up SWBGCF/rescues while talking about the literal founding of SW, it gives the impression that it’s been around for that duration. It hasn’t.  It’s actually a bit unclear when SW started an organized rescue program, but the Fund itself and all that it did came about much later. The rescue information and how it’s presented is actually INCREDIBLY complex, nuanced, and has a fascinating history (from a “bad company behaving badly” perspective). Oversimplifying this, to this degree and in this misinformative way, does the facts of the situation an INCREDIBLE disservice.  

4) x [assertive statement about what the name Shamu means]  ….Uh actually there’s several explanations for the name Shamu, and the most likely one IMO seems to be the “she-namu” one, not the “friend of Namu” one(? What is this even based on.) 4b) It’s not quite clear if she’s saying “Namu was the first ever orca to be displayed and perform shows” or or Namu was the first to be displayed and, like Shamu, performed shows. Either way, Moby Doll was the first to truly be displayed to the public, not Namu.

5) x ‘Namu died after one year in captivity and you’d think that this might deter Seaworld from doing the same thing again…’ Seaworld truly had nothing to do with Namu. And they leased/took possession of Shamu before Namu died. ‘Again’? What?

6) x “Now, PETA paints a pretty disturbing picture…” [while showing Okura’s artwork] This video segment is, and this is putting it nicely, a pile of poorly-researched BULLSHIT.  -Yes, PETA talks about Shamu’s capture, re: the harpooning of her mother. This Youtuber cannot apparently be arsed to look more than 1 Google search into this, as she proceeds to dismiss the information as potentially fabricated. There are two detailed accounts of Shamu’s capture that I’m aware of - in books - and though they have some slight conflicts, it’s absolutely NOT in doubt that the female who was very likely Shamu’s mother was 1) harpooned, 2) died from her injuries and 3) this had been done to make her easier to catch/locate because there was a fucking buoy attached to the harpoon. Which she dragged around for at least 24 hours prior dying.  So maybe don’t dismiss that as PETA hysteria, maybe TRY to determine the truth of the matter, which would inform one that it is both true and completely horrifying.  -In addition, Okura is an awesome individual who has worked very hard to create a variety of informative artwork for our cause. Okura is NOT associated with PETA and it’s borderline libel in my eyes to use their artwork in this dismissive manner when the primary sources of it can be easily identified online, with full explanations and everything. Do I take special offense to this because of the misuse of artwork? Absolutely. Artists get disrespected enough online. I’m tired of it. This kind of laziness IS NOT acceptable.

7) x ‘timeline is fuzzy about when Shamu died’ …………… it’s…. It’s really not … newspapers are pretty clear about it…..

8) x [complete and utter oversimplification of the lifespan issue, which is not acceptable for anything published in 2020. It just isn’t. If you’re going to bring it up like this, either do the legwork and get into the weeds or stay out.] 8b) [same for reproductive ages. sigh]

9) x if we’re going to talk about when Cornell was involved with Seaworld it’s very important to specify when Cornell was involved with Seaworld and not make it seem like it’s present tense.

10) x “both were rescued by Seaworld” - uh? no. Zero orcas have been rescued by Seaworld. Literally none. The infected-jaw orca was Sandy, whose story is complex and certainly does not involve Seaworld until much later. And many of the orcas in that time period had bullet wounds, often only identified post-mortem because they didn’t seem to hurt the animals much. Also, unflinchingly blending 70s captivity ethics with modern ones is also complete nonsense? 

11) x [tilikum coming from sealand] inhales I am going to make an entire video centered on this fucking subject because it’s one of the single most profound arguments for Seaworld being garbage as assessed by US government agencies in the 90s yet everyone utterly fails to mention this. Why?!

12) x what on earth is this nonsense re: quoting a quote from Zimmerman’s article - which has already been removed from its original context, so the original context is not available - and then penalizing the quote for existing as if Zimmerman’s article were the context? That is offensively disingenuous. I honestly don’t know what the original context is, either - but it’s wildly inappropriate to act as if the Zimmerman article is.

13) x this is relatively minor but ‘Paul Sprong’? You literally have his name on the screen. And then mis-reading his age too? While asserting it from a static article published years ago? Effort? Where is it?

14) x ‘another trainer, Peter’ ….. Ken Peters…. 

15) [weirdly glossing over the widely-available list of orca-trainer injuries/aggressions, despite it being central to the point.] 16) x This pilot whale outrage certainly happened but it was pretty clearly Blackfish that started the cascade of woes for Seaworld. Who has ever asserted this?

17) if you’re gonna just rehash blackfish, tell people to go watch blackfish.

18) x I’ve already gone over the context issue with Seaworld calling out Howard’s statement in Blackfish here (point 23). Which is to say, IN CONTEXT in Blackfish it’s clear what Mr. Garrett is talking about but, divorced from that, it sounds incorrect. But this Youtuber AMPLIFIES the issue by doubling down on the assertion with “no record of a killer whale doing any harm to anyone in the wild.” The surfer event should always be mentioned. Yes, there’s absolutely room for doubt. But there’s also a clear demarcation between an accidental attack (eg mistaken identity, as was likely for the surfer) and intentional one (eg the incidents at marine parks.) Why do people kneecap themselves on this point 18b) please stop acting like Luna represents orcas in general.

19) x “Howard, for all of his research…” … while referring to David Duffus’ b-roll and statements. Uh. 20) x Apparently this Youtuber has single-handedly resolved the dorsal fin issue. You know, the thing that hasn’t been properly researched ever, that has been subject to a ton of debate, that isn’t 100% settled for a variety of reasons, and almost everyone talks about in terms of theories and likely possibilities.  21) x Alexis Martinez wasn’t “torn to shreds.” In a space where even moderate exaggerations are often penalized harshly by the opposition, this kind of blatant nonsense is not welcome. Plus, the reality’s bad enough… you don’t have to make anything up!

22) x *sighs. points at own webpage*

23) Talking about the shows stopping without acknowledging how that’s a bit of a farce is something else. In addition to apparently just flipping to buying what Seaworld’s selling re: its ‘improved image.’ 

*** Tl;dr video is so unrelentingly full of errors ranging from small to egregious it makes me seriously concerned for the veracity of the rest of this person’s content. The maker of the video provided a list of their sources in their video description, which I will have time to look through in detail later. The above is solely a response to the information they present IN THE VIDEO - which, is very important because let’s be real: a lot of people are not going to look at the list of sources. People don’t even do it when citing papers (no really, you’d be surprised, fml.) For anyone who wants to whinge that I haven’t linked or asserted any sources of my own for my claims… well, remember what I said about time-consuming and ‘I’m busy’? Yhea. Getting all of that together will be part of making a video. So if you want to shrug loudly at my list here… you can, that’s your prerogative, I’m happy to say I DGAF if that’s your takeaway. 

What I hope, is that if there’s anything I’ve made clear over the While of running this blog, it’s that I don’t fuck around when it comes to sources and information and do my best to provide what information exists, all of it, not just cherrypicked bits and bobs. Anyways. Here’s step 0 at least. Please don’t share that video. Pretty please.

[sheyshocked]

Family Is More Than Blood (1/?)

Chapter title: Emma’s Terrible Idea Leads Daniel Into an Uncomfortable Situation

Summary: Daniel lives the life of his dreams. He has a loving family, a child to care for, and a purpose. But then things start to get complicated when Emma convinces her parents to buy him a "girlfriend", a lady android, so he wouldn't be so lonely when they are away.

Ship: None

Warnings: Non-con between an android and his owner, physical and emotional abuse of an android, mentions of androids not having genitalia by default, but having optional upgrades

Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Humor, Found Family, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Daniel & Simon (Detroit: Become Human) are Twins, John Phillips (Detroit: Become Human) Is Not a Good Man, Ken Doll Android Anatomy | Androids Have No Genitalia (Detroit: Become Human), Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Jealous Daniel (Detroit: Become Human), Alive Daniel (Detroit: Become Human)

You can also read it on ao3!

Daniel loved his family. That was... part of the problem. As an android designed only to serve, he wasn’t supposed to feel anything. Much less such a complex emotion as an affection. But he did.

He enjoyed spending time with Emma, his little troublemaker. Got upset when something didn’t go his way. Preened whenever Mr. Phillips praised his cooking (which always earned him a glare from Mrs. Phillips, who then ordered him to do something productive rather than hanging around when they ate).

There was definitively something wrong with him. Maybe he was already built broken. Who knows.

In any case, he should immediately contact the CyberLife store and get whatever was wrong with his brain repaired. And in his defense, he was about to do it a few times. But in the end, he always chickened out and hung up on them. Later, he would slowly slide down to the floor with his back pressed to the wall, knees hugged to his chest, just like he had seen Emma do from time to time when her parents were fighting.

If he was sure about one thing in his short existence, it was that he didn’t want to get fixed.

“Daniel! Come watch a movie with me!” Emma called back from the living room where she was playing with her dollies, instantly making him snap out of his brooding state and look up from his work.

Watching cartoons was not part of his evening routine, and although it sounded tempting, the orders he received from Mr. and Mrs. Phillips left no room for arguing. Do the cooking, washing, cleaning up the entire apartment, help Emma with her homework, then wait for their return. Simple as that. But... he was mostly done anyway and the little girl seemed so excited about it!

She was bouncing up and down on the couch like a baby goat, which send some of the black and white cushions flying across the room (her mother would be furious if she saw that – good thing she was still out with her husband).

Conflicting directives – choosing priorities...

“Only if you promise to stop making such a mess,” he teased back, already putting away the cloth. That last shelf in need of dusting would have to wait. He dismissed the memory of the crimson wall which used to keep him from disobeying. Now that he thought of it, he hasn’t seen it for a while... The only one he ran into every once in a while was made entirely by himself. Yet another anomaly that would probably get him in a lot of trouble if someone was about to find out.

MAKE THE PHILLIPS HAPPY.

At first, Emma stuck her tongue out at him, but unfortunately for her, Daniel knew how to be stubborn too. He waited with his arms crossed until she finally obeyed, rolling her eyes as she did so, grunting out a silent: “All right, all right, I promise. Spoilsport.”

“That’s what I wanted to hear,” he gave her one of his cheekiest smiles and sat down on the couch next to her, careful not to occupy too much space. However, as soon as he settled down, Emma threw her arms around his neck, cuddling up to him.

So much for being a rebellious youth, he chuckled. Not gonna lie though, that small gesture got him beaming. He gingerly put an arm over her shoulder and turned on the TV with a flick of his LED.

He knew that show. It was one of Emma’s favorites and by now, he had it memorized from the very beginning to the end, knew each character, and could sing every song there was. But it was funny to watch the girl’s reactions. To laugh with her at the same old jokes that sometimes made a little to no sense to him, and hold her tighter when the villain showed up.

In the final scene, the two main protagonists shared a quick peck on the lips. Nothing inappropriate for young audiences, and Emma usually deflected it with a loudly proclaimed “yuck”, but today, she became restless, her big eyes glued to the PL600’s face instead of the flashing screen.

“Daniel? Can I ask you something?”

“Of course, cuddlebug. What is it?”

The little girl made a face, as usual, never failing to make him smile. “Stop calling me a cuddlebug! I’m a young miss, just so you know!”

“Ah, my bad, miss. Now tell me, what’s bothering you?”

She kept playing with her friendship bracelet, the one she made herself (she gave him one too, so they would match – Daniel has never felt prouder and happier to be a part of her family), an obvious sign she was nervous out of her mind. Or feeling guilty. Goodness gracious, what has she done now? This was the second time this week – just this week! – that he had to cover some of her mischiefs so that her parents (especially her mother) wouldn’t get mad at her.

“Do you ever… get lonely when I’m at school and my parents are away?”

“Emma,” he sighed, his eyebrows furrowed with confusion. This was new. What was he supposed to say? No one asks an android something like this! “Androids don’t get lonely. It’s not in our –”

“Come on. Not even a tiny bit?”

His LED flashed red for a moment. “...Sometimes,” he finally admitted.

“I knew it,” the little girl drew away with a determined look on her face. Oh no. “Maybe we should get you a girlfriend.”

...Okay. This was even worse than he imagined.

“Wait, hold on. A what?”

“A girlfriend. You know, a lady android, so you wouldn’t feel as lonely anymore.”

No way, Daniel wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. His head was already swarming with dozens of worst-case scenarios. What if Emma came to like the “lady android” better than him? Or worse, what if her parents ended up replacing him? He’s getting obsolete, after all… But he quickly banished that thought. Of course they wouldn’t do that – they loved him! Surely they wouldn’t...

Before he had time to overthink too much, he was interrupted by the sound of the lift door sliding open, announcing the arrival of the rest of the Phillips clan.

“Mom! Dad! You’re home!” Emma squealed and ran to greet her parents, throwing herself at them the second they entered the room. Her joy almost made Daniel forget what was troubling him in the first place. Not for long, though. “Listen, I have a plan – let’s get another android, a lady this time, so Daniel wouldn’t feel lonely being here all alone during the day!”

Her father let out a nervous chuckle. “Lonely? Baby girl, where did you get that nonsense? Only people can be lonely, not androids!”

Emma pursed her lips and was ready to argue back, something Daniel feared the most, but Mrs. Phillips quickly put an end to it with a stern voice: “Absolutely not. We can’t afford another android right now. Or ever! Why don’t we just buy you a new fish instead?”

Mrs. Phillips always seemed much more distant than her husband, perhaps even a bit resentful of Daniel at times, but right now, he couldn’t help himself cheering her on. Thank goodness at least she had some semblance of reason!

“Yeah, well,” Mr. Phillips scratched himself behind the ear, seemingly deep in the thought. Good god. He was considering it, wasn’t he? “It’s true that Daniel is getting a bit too slow lately.”

Daniel’s hands were shaking and he didn't know why. Saline moisture filled his eyes, blurring his vision. This wasn’t fair. Yeah, sure, the years weren’t kind to him. Perhaps there are more efficient android models on the market nowadays. But he loved his job, adored his family more than anything in his life, and performed his best even when it wasn’t easy! That had to count for something, right?

Right?

“Sir, I can assure you, I’m still working to my –” he tried to explain himself (what an insolence, androids don’t get to speak up –), only to be silenced by Mr. Phillips’ hand on his shoulder, which squeezed him a little bit tighter than usual. A friendly warning.

He immediately bit his lip and made no sound. The red wall may be gone, but he still wanted to be good for his family. For them to love him. It wasn’t his fault he was getting too old for a thing that was meant to last only until they come up with a better model. Faster. Stronger. With more skills.

Even thinking about himself as an inanimate object made his stomach turn. He wasn’t a smartphone to be disposed of, he was a living being!

...Oh, he was definitively in too deep, wasn’t he?

“Now now, Daniel. I think a little bit of assistance with chores would surely help you out, wouldn’t it?”

He lowered his head in defeat. “...Yes, sir.”

Seeing how pliant he got, Mr. Phillips graced him with a smile (which sent a small wave of electric shocks down his circuits – he has been good, he deserved to be rewarded) and turned back to his wife, saying: “See, Caroline? Not to mention I got a raise last week, so money shouldn’t be a problem. Besides, who says we have to buy a brand new model? Pre-owned is much cheaper!”

“Have you completely lost your mind?! You are worse than the child,” his wife started screaming at him, and Daniel instinctively drew Emma closer to him, covering her ears so she wouldn’t have to listen to her parents arguing (although she tried to escape his grasp). “Do you realize how much it costs us every month to keep just a single android?!”

Hearing them talking about him like he was only a nuisance that cost them money hurt. But he knew they didn’t mean it. They were just concerned about their home budget. People say mean things in the heat of the moment all the time.

Emma finally managed to wiggle out of his arms and tugged at her mother’s sleeve. She used her ultimate weapon that no one could ever resist – her large puppy eyes. “Mommy, please? Pretty please?”

Hard to say why Daniel still hoped Mrs. Phillips would be tougher than he was, but he ended up being disappointed anyway. Even the cold and strict matriarch of the family wasn’t immune to her daughter’s teary eyes. She caved in with a sigh. “Fine, guess we can’t talk you out of this. But you need to behave from now on if you want that android, am I being clear?”

Emma nodded so hard that her ponytail jumped up and down her shoulders. “I will, promise! Thanks, mom! You’re the best!”

Mrs. Phillips, already reconciled with their fate, which seemed somehow significantly worse for Daniel, rubbed her forehead with the palm of her hand as if she were suffering from a very persistent migraine. She might as well be.

“All right, all right. We’ll go to the store tomorrow, to see if there are any cheap pre-owned androids.”

“Daniel should come with us,” Emma suddenly blurted out, taking all of them by surprise. Including the poor android in question. “So he could choose his girlfriend!”

Judging from the way Mrs. Phillips rolled her eyes and folded her arms on her chest, her opinion on this topic was clear. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately), her husband once again proved himself to be much more considerate. He shrugged and gave Daniel a friendly pat on the shoulder. Despite the panic that was raging inside the android’s mind, the gesture warmed his heart up a bit.

“I mean, why not? It’s a gift for him, after all.”

Daniel forced a smile, despite seeing his life falling apart like a poorly constructed cabin. This was a nightmare. But he would deal with it. His hands clenched into fists.

So they wanted a shiny new female android? Fine. As long as she stayed out of his way, things would be just all right between the two of them. But if she ever strived to replace him or make him look bad in the eyes of the family... Well, then she better buckle up, because he would ensure to make her life in this household as miserable as possible.

[writingquestionsanswered]

How do I come up with a gripping title for my book?

10 Ways to Craft a Gripping Book Title

Everyone knows you want a book title that’s unique, gripping, memorable, and relevant, but how do you craft a title that meets those criteria? Here are some tips...

#1 Look at Other Titles in Your Genre - This should be the first step, really, because different genres can have their own common title styles. For example, mysteries and thrillers often contain words like murder or death, or vague character references like “the woman” or “the man who...” Knowing what’s popular in your genre gets your brainstorming session off on the right foot. 

#2 Make a List of Story Keywords - Your story’s keywords are an important tool for promoting and marketing your book, but one of the first places they come in handy is when you’re brainstorming titles. If you had to boil your book down to a list of relevant words, what would they be? For Harry Potter , some keywords might be magic, wizardry, wizards, muggles, potions, spells, transfiguration, patronus, dark magic, etc.

#3 Look at the Text of Your Story - Sometimes, the title of your story is a phrase that exists in your story. For example, maybe your protagonist’s grandmother always tells him he’s brighter than he looks. Brighter Than I Look could be a good title. 

#4 Consider Famous Sayings - Are there any famous phases, mottoes, idioms, nursery rhymes, etc. that fit your story in any way? Ken Kesey’s book One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest uses a line from a nursery rhyme as a title. Not only are birds a powerful symbol in the story, but the rhyme’s reference to “flight” offers a clue to something that will happen in the story, too.

#5 Look at Your Story’s Opposing Themes, Subjects, or Forces - Every story revolves around conflict. A good force versus an evil force, one mindset against another mindset, one entity against another entity. Angles Versus Demons, Pride & Prejudice, North and South, The Blue and the Gray. 

#6 Descriptive Imagery Makes Great Titles - Is there a particularly relevant moment in your story where there’s memorable descriptive imagery? For example, maybe after the inciting incident, your character hikes out to his favorite spot called Hester’s Brook, and while he’s there it begins to snow. Snowfall at Hester’s Brook could be a good title.

#7 Who, What, Where, When - Who is your story about? (Emma, The Raven Boys, Six of Crows.) What is your story about? (The Hunger Games, The Scorpio Races, Looking for Alaska.) Where does your story take place? (Wuthering Heights, Northanger Abbey, The Hazel Wood.) When does your story take place? (Love in the Time of Cholera, April Morning, The Winds of War.)

#8 The Big Question - Sometimes, the big question of the story provides an interesting title. For example, maybe the inciting incident of your story is the moment when the protagonist sees a mysterious man watching her in a crowd, and finding out who he is represents the big mystery of the story. Blue Eyes in a Crowd could be your title.

#9 The Big Answer - Depending on the big question of your story, you can sometimes even work the answer into the title. Maybe the blue-eyed man turns out to be the protagonist’s father who went missing decades earlier. The title could be Memories of a Forgotten Father. 

#10 Look for Title Formulas - As a last resort, Google “book title formula” and quite often you’ll find specific formulas people have come up with for titles. These tend to lead to things like The ____ in the _____. Or _____ of the _____ _______, and as such they can be, well, formulaic. Those kinds of titles have been so trendy that they’re bordering on cliche, but for some books that’s exactly the title you need. These formulas work with your story’s keywords to come up with a catchy title, so if none of the other options work, this one is worth a try.

Best of luck coming up with your title!

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[jasontoddiefor]

nobody's keeping score

Ship: HideKane

Summary: In a world where ink stains the white papers of constitutions, damning the lives of ghouls, their existence is no secret or rumor, but a topic of heated debate, protests, and anonymous organ donations in shady alleys. No matter how bright the CCG appears in their white coats, their light cannot reach the dark tunnels where ghouls and sympathizers alike are plotting. And when Hide, after hours of sitting at his best friend’s hospital bed, sees him wake with one eye black and red, the difficult question is not how to get him help, but how to avoid him becoming the figurehead of a conflict threatening to turn into a bloody revolution.

AN: Notes: You ever just take a 4-year break from a fandom and return with spite fic because you remembered how much you hated canon? Yeah. This fanfic is my attempt at corralling the TG worldbuilding into something coherent that makes sense. I will keep some elements of canon, others I will throw out of the window straight away. This is utterly self-indulgent.

“And with the developments in synthetic meat production—”

Hide wanted to groan. They’d been discussing the same question for the last three hours of class and he was, frankly speaking, done with it. People were running out of arguments and circling back to topics that didn’t contribute anything to the conversation they were supposed to be having. From the way their lecturer was glaring at the latest speaker, Hide would say that she was also very done.

“Yoshimura, as stated before, we are not discussing possibilities for ghoul integration, but the mere premise of whether they even deserve the rights needed to legalize their status as citizens. The right of existence of an individual should not be dependent on what modifications would have to be made to accommodate them, but whether they deserve to live regardless.”

Hide had zoned out about an hour ago. His opinion on ghouls had always felt rather clinical, mathematically detached, despite Hide’s history. Maybe too much time had passed since he’d looked at the bloody remains of his father to really hammer home the fear-motivated rejection so many people fell to. Perhaps the CCG investigators, who had dragged him away from his father’s corpse, should have allowed him to get a little more traumatized before the kindness of his new parents had become enough to dull those painful memories.

Some ghouls were no different than brutal serial killers, and they had to be taken down, but the rest seemed to be getting by just fine. If a new legislation would make it even easier for them to go about their everyday lives, perhaps the number of violent ghoul attacks would go down as well. Hide was well aware that this was the view of a privileged person. Growing up in the 20th ward meant that you needn’t be scared of leaving your house when it was already dark. Kamii University prided itself on the fact that it could safely offer evening classes such as the one Hide was attending now. The same certainly couldn’t be said for the other wards. Any citizen between the 9th and 13th wards would probably advocate vocally for the extermination of ghouls. The 11th especially resembled a warzone even during the daylight. Ghoul sightings were nothing unusual there, and investigators’ mutilated bodies were displayed as trophies and warnings alike. Meanwhile, nobody had died in the 20th war for something like ten odd years. Sometimes it felt like waiting for the other shoe to drop, but most of the time, Hide didn’t even think about ghouls.

By the time class was finally over, Hide had taken only one or two more bullet points. They hadn’t really said anything of interest and it reflected in his writing. Usually, Hide would be sending rapid-fire texts to Kaneki now, but his friend was still on his date and Hide didn’t want to bother him. It had taken more than just a bit of teasing and probing to get Kaneki to ask that girl out and he wouldn’t self-sabotage his hard work.

It was good that Kaneki was connecting to people that weren’t just Hide.

And it would be awesome if Hide could do the same.

Codependence needed two people to work and Kaneki was definitely not the only one struggling with independence. Hide had yet to figure out how to let go of Kaneki when his relationship to the other boy had been the only stable thing in his world for the longest time. Nothing said mental health like latching onto an abused child to escape the stifling air of his brand-new foster fathers’ home.

The next time he visited his parents, he’d bring them some flowers to make up for how troublesome he’d been as a child.

Glancing at his phone again, Hide realized he had to hurry if he wanted to take the early bus home. He was just about to plug in his headphones when an unknown number flashed up on the display. Who would call him at this time? Hide was definitely someone who preferred texting. Even his parents knew better than to call unless it was serious. The only person he ever actually called was Kaneki, and that was only because his friend sometimes got so lost in a book, he forgot to text back or didn’t even hear the phone buzz. Hide contemplated picking up for another ring, then gave in and accepted. “Nagachika Hideyoshi speaking, who’s calling?”

“Hello, I am Tanaka Akako, a nurse of the Kanou General Hospital. You are Nagachika Hideyoshi, Kaneki Ken’s emergency contact?”

The blood in Hide’s veins froze.

“Yes, I am. Has— has anything happened? Is Kaneki alright!?”

The nurse’s voice was so calm, steady, and pleasant as if this was a chat between friends. Somewhere Hide knew that it probably helped most people, but it just put him on edge. “Nagachika-san, your friend and another young woman were involved in an accident. Dr. Kanou is preparing him for surgery, but as his emergency contact, we have to discuss the possible options before we can proceed.”

Hide didn’t want to discuss any options. There shouldn’t be any besides Kaneki’s survival. Hide wanted to rush into the operation hall and hold Kaneki’s hand, wishing he could turn back time, tell his friend to remain at his side and consider that girl out of his league so he’d spent the evening with him and not getting sent to ER. This couldn’t be real; he was sick to his stomach.

“What are the options?” Hide asked, panic threatening to strangle him as he rushed to the street, trying to find a taxi to take him to Kanou General straightaway.

“Kaneki-san sustained serious injuries. Dr. Kanou is willing to transplant the deceased Kamishiro-san’s organs into your friend to save his life even if her family hasn’t consented yet. The only consent we can ask for in Kaneki-san’s case is yours and—”

“Do it,” Hide replied immediately. He didn’t know Kaneki’s date, and as much as Hide loved people, argued for a baseline acceptance every day in class, he couldn’t bring himself to care about the wishes of a family whose daughter was already dead. The only thing they were still good for once their hearts stopped beating was serving the living with their remains.

Kaneki might survive because of her; what else could matter? “Do it, whatever you need to save him— you have my full permission.”

Finally, a taxi approached and stopped right when Hide waved for it. He quickly climbed inside and, paying no attention to the driver, told him to get to the hospital as quickly as possible.

“And in case he doesn’t survive, may his organs—”

“He will survive,” Hide pressed because he didn’t know what he’d do with himself if he were to lose Kaneki. He’d built a life around his best friend and how much they meant to one another. Hide couldn’t give up on that, couldn’t let it slip past his fingers. “He’ll survive. I know it.”

Organ transplants took place every day without any complications—

Hide’s eyes widened. “Kaneki has recessive ROS!” he all but shouted at the nurse, startling the taxi driver.

Kaneki’s father had died because of it. If Kaneki got the wrong blood transfusions or anything, his RC cells were suddenly pushed to start acting up, the dormant sickness could turn on and what if Hide had just damned him to a life of wasting away—

No.

Stay positive. Don’t freak out even more. They hadn’t done anything yet, merely asked for Hide’s permission to help Kaneki at all. He was saving his friend’s life; he wasn’t cursing him.

“Thank you for telling me, Nagachika-san. I will pass that on to Dr. Kanou. You have just contributed immensely to the safety of the procedure.”

“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Hide said. “Just— he has to hold on. Tell Kaneki he has to hold on until I’m there.”

“We will, Nagachika-san, don’t worry. Dr. Kanou will do his best.”

His best.

The words echoed in Hide’s mind. How was he ever supposed to know if Kanou’s best would be enough for his friend? Hide excelled at being optimistic, could see the positive side of most things in life, had learned how to be hopeful at the funerals of people he’d loathed. He just couldn’t allow himself to drown in any negative possibilities.

The rest of the drive passed in the blur, either because the driver had known to speed up after listening in on the phone call, or because Hide was so out of it that he didn’t really register the streetlamps flickering by until the taxi had reached its destination. Hide passed the driver a couple bills, probably more than the transport had actually cost, but he didn’t care. What were one or two skipped meals compared to being there before it was too late? Hide rushed inside the sterile white hospital, eyes immediately set on the front desk.

“My friend,” Hide stuttered as he clung to the counter, holding it as if it were his lifeline. “He was brought in— an accident. He was on a date and there was an accident. Dr. Kanou is operating him?”

The receptionist seemed confused, needing a moment to make something coherent out of Hide’s rambles. “I need your identification before I can tell you anything about our patients.”

“Yes, yes, of course.” Hide fumbled for his student ID card and put it on the counter with shaky hands. “Nagachika Hideyoshi, I’m Kaneki Ken’s emergency contact.”

“Of course, your friend is still in the operating room. You can wait here.”

Hide didn’t want to wait, but what else was there he could do? He hated feeling useless like this, unable to contribute anything productive. The receptionist sent him a kind look and, defeated, Hide crossed the entrance hall to the waiting room where he remained together with other worried family members and patients, clutching his phone so he wouldn’t start screaming. He couldn’t stop moving his legs, stress keeping him wide awake even as the hospital emptied and less and less people sat around him. How long did such an operation take? An hour? Two? Hide had absolutely no idea. He didn’t study anything like this. His major was English literature, which was about as helpful as hot air at this moment.

He could quote enough books concerned with some medical drama and family members in the hospital, but none of them brought him any comfort.

“Nagachika-san?”

Hide looked up into the kind face of an elderly man wearing a pristine white coat.

“Y- yes?” Hide replied and quickly stood up, brushing imaginary dust from his pants. “Are you Dr. Kanou? Is my friend alright? Can I see him?”

“I am sorry to have caused you such worries. The operation went well. Your friend is resting in intensive care right now. He is still asleep, but you may visit him. The presence of loved ones is often very beneficial to the healing process.”

Healing.

A sob shook Hide’s shoulders. Kaneki was alive. He hadn’t died.

“Thank you,” he managed to say in between his sobs. “Thank you, thank you for saving his life.”

The doctor only kept on smiling and kindly put his hand on Hide’s shoulder, squeezing it lightly in what was meant to be comforting. “It is my job, young man. You don’t have to thank me. Nothing is more important to me than saving innocent lives. If you follow one of the nurses, you can see your friend immediately.”

Hide thanked the doctor once more, relief slowly filling the pits anxiety had hollowed out. He followed the nurse through the labyrinth of death, decay, healing, and salvation up to the intensive care station. Quietly, he was led to a room. The door opened, revealing one lone figure on a bed.

From a distance, hooked up with so many tubes and wires, Kaneki was nothing like the person who took up half of Hide’s life. He seemed so much smaller and looked like just one push could snap his connection to life.

“Please remain quiet,” the nurse told him. “And don’t move him.” Glancing at his still trembling fingers, she added, “but you may hold his hand.”

Hide nodded, then quickly crossed the room to Kaneki’s bed and sat down on the chair next to it. Kaneki didn’t move at all; not even a single muscle twitched. Hide would assume they had led him to view his friend’s corpse if not for the steady rise and fall of his chest. Pushing up the sleeves of his jacket, Hide took Kaneki’s hand in his own.

“Hey, Ken,” he muttered, pressing his eye close so no tears would escape them. “You scared me there. Don’t ever do that again.”

Predictably, Kaneki didn’t reply. Nevertheless, Hide imagined that just for a moment, he squeezed Hide’s hand back. Slowly, the tension bled from Hides’s shoulders and he made himself comfortable in the hard plastic chair. This was bound to be a long night and he was starting to feel his exhaustion catch up to him. He tried to keep his eyes trained on his friend for as long as possible, remaining alert for a change to his condition, but it was getting more and more difficult to keep them open.

Eventually, the darkness caught him as he fell. Hide knew he stirred a couple more times during the night, likely when the nurses came to check on Kaneki. Nobody asked him to move and leave, something he was immensely thankful for. He wouldn’t have been able to let go. By the time the sun began to chase away the shadows again, Hide wasn’t sure how much he had slept, only that it had definitely not been enough. But that was alright, he could catch up on sleep sometime later. It was far more important that Kaneki was going to be alright.

Hide turned to look at Kaneki’s face and found his friend awake, staring back at him.

One eye gray like a stormy cloud before the morning rainfall.

The other was blood-red against the night sky.

[cardsbizarreadventure]

I’ve seen a fad where people describe their original character’s personality with a few canon characters from different series.

What characters do you think you could combine to make Joelle?

☆꧁✬◦°˚°◦. ♠ ♣ ♥ ♦ .◦°˚°◦✬꧂☆ Thank you for the ask Mel! It actually took me a good amount of time to even decide upon who would be most fitting to build Joelle. Since she has some of my own self insert in her , but really which oc doesn't? It was kind of hard to decide xD But I think I've managed to collect the ones that are pretty relatable with my character. So here it goes!

Lucy - Elfen Lied If I have to be honest I've never would of thought upon how similar Joelle and Lucy stories are. I was never intending to have so many similarities with this specific characters until recently I stumbled upon a video that made me remember a bit more about the anime and how it played out. Lucy is a very interesting character , born with a 'sickness' ever since she was little kind of reminded me upon Joelle's origin as a pillar both past and present . Lucy has been bullied , barely knew any kind of friends and because of her 'sickness' everyone was after her because what she can cause with her powers , until she stumbled upon one that really liked her for who she was [Kind of gives me the possible Joseph or Rei vibes but without the romantic kind of intent that was implied in the story because Lucy did fall in love with her best friend.] She was brought into a lab to keep away from the outside world and experimented on , until she broke out and was given a chance for a second life regardless of what she had witnessed and did in her youth.

Ren Tao - Shaman King A few aspects that I can collect from Ren are the anger he has built for humanity that really matches with Joelle's story . Because when she ended up in the XPD facility where they did various of experiments on her and basically played her like a toy she began to pile up a lot of anger upon those people creating an image in her head that they were all the same . But after meeting with someone who opened her eyes to the world , she began to have another look upon things and wanted to try and move on and heal but also find a new purpose in life .

Edward Elric - Fullmetal Alchemist When ever I would look at Ed I could actually see a few aspects of Joelle as well , because of his own determination to fix what he has done in the past and return his brother back to his original body , reminds me of how Joelle wants to protect her new family and find a way to stop evil from prevailing . It also gives a pinch of hint upon how him and his brother were trying to bring back their mother , is a similarity upon how Joelle wanted to bring back her own mother but instead she ended up releasing a curse that later on haunts her , the same way Ed and Alphonse tried to bring their mother back and ended up creating a homunculus being. Sadly I haven't watched brotherhood and I really need to , but I'd assume I'd find even more similarities if I do so~. But I do however see a lot of pieces of Ed in Joelle!

Misaki Ayuzawa - Kaichou wa maid-sama This goes a bit on her emotional side to be honest. Misaki is a perfect representation of Joelle , a strong and very responsible individual and yearns for a piece of romance in her life that will assure her that they will stay with them for who they are . A perfect aspect of her Tsundere side because she is very conflicted and very confused when it comes to these sort of things. I absolutely adore her strong character and how she is able to handle so many responsibilities , reminds me upon her current position in the SpeedWagon foundation , a lot fear her because of how she would act and how her attitude just goes across the room, but a good amount also admire her when they get to know her personally and understand her better upon why she is the way she is , that she has a very gentle side to her.

Chise Hatori - Ancient Magus Bride Another little lost soul that was being sold to the world. Chise has always been one of my most favorite characters once I started the anime , the aspects of her that I see in Joelle are the growth she managed to accomplish with herself , she used to have a normal life a happy family , but eventually that turned around when 'dark beings' (which would hint the cults of Hearteater) began to make their way into their life and make it more dangerous to be around , and even the fact that her own 'blood and family' tried to kill her is the hint of her father that almost killed her. [But in the anime it was the mother that tried to.] She eventually ends up in good hands which help her see the world with different eyes and find who she really is and help her discover her own courage and determination that she wants to do better for herself and others around her .

Shigeo Kageyama - Mob Psycho Little little shy Mob~. He was one of my main inspirations if I have to be honest because a lot matched with the two of them. This comes around her more doubtful and shy side. Mob is a perfect representation of both Joelle's moods , when she is sweet and respectful to a menace and a deadly being if they come near their family. Her relationship with Reigen matches with the one me and my friend Mel have with Joelle and Yorie . Let's not forget about how crazy batshid he went when they took his brother away and he was willing to do everything in his powers to save him... but there was also the fire in his house.. now that is basically the next level of Chapter Death in a sense. But for real there are a lot of aspects behind Mob that I connect with Joelle and how her character is displayed~.

Yuuji Itadori - Jujutsu Kaisen Yuji is the aspect of Joelle that exists kind of rare but it's still there , it's her little goofy side , but the amount of love for her friends and family is also there . His determination and courage to protect his new friends is the same as Joelle trying to protect her own regardless of what kind of burden both of them carry that can cause the destruction of the world, even if the the two of them might appear weak to most they would always throw themselves in danger to protect their loved ones , but later one begin to grow in personality and strength . Maybe I can even connect a tad bit Sukuna and Chapter Death because both are the representation of the final stage when the 'scary' takes over and would basically erase your existence . Yuji and His friends remind me a whole lot of Joelle and her own little crew and how each of them help each other and will always be there no matter what. Basically the hero that wants to save everyone and doesn't really care what happens to them , as long as everyone is safe .

Manjiro Sano and Ken Ryuguji - Tokyo Revengers These two go in pair ~. I see a big portion of aspects of the two in Joelle and each of them kind of represent her 'goofy' and her very serious and respect side. Mikey is a bit more laid back and chill but at the same time very scary , a bit how Joelle is in a sense how she can be so calm on certain occasions until she finally snaps and beats the crap of anyone who doubted her and called her 'small and helpless.' This is the aspect I enjoy the most between the two because they underestimate their opponent and then get their ass handed to them , that's how the two kind of go xD. Draken would be maybe her grown up and mature side in a way and the one that keeps things in line when ever there is justice that needs to be served because no one is allowed to hurt their friends and family. Very loyal and determined and even jump down to apologize for their wrongs to try and correct themselves and possibly help their friends understand the situation a little better , unless there is no way out they always try and reason first before jumping into action.

Nezuko Kamado - Demon Slayer / Kimetsu no Yaiba [New Add] I almost forgot!! Honestly I can't forget to include my favorite little goofball . Another little demon that I can see a lot of personality traits and aspects in Joelle as well. Nezuko and Tanjiro are also a good representation of both Jericho and Joelle in a sense because of how strong their bond is beyond anything . I don't want to spoil anything in my current arcs because I want to keep it a surprise since I have a whole lot of things to decide on . Nezuko displays Joelle's very protective side and very caring one as well the side of value she feels towards her surroundings and regardless of being a little 'different' she still is the same person no matter what happens and will never lose her humanity even after being 'cursed'. And even be a little bit of a hint of her sensitive and cute side too regardless that she doesn't show it too often xD.

Saitama - One Punch Man And last but not least , I put him on the bottom because at the beginning when I was creating Joelle I would always think of Saitama and how she was going to play out of sort of a joke that is really powerful and kind of blunt in a sense . But now she has grown so much and has so much potential , story and personality behind her that you can't even imagine! Saitama was maybe my very first inspiration when I created her because for some odd reason I really like OP shid and I mean literally xD. I don't know why but I just do , but regardless of Joelle being kind of OP orientated , later on when I began to play out her story I started to balance her because I wanted her to seem a bit more real other than I just came here to kick your ass and you're dead now lmfao. She still has some funny little aspects of Saitama behind her that's for sure , but she is completely different now and I am super proud of what a long journey she has gone through and grown so much as a character ^ ^. Thank you so much for sending in dear!!I really enjoyed this ask <333!! - Cards

[shihalyfie]

How would you describe the relationship between each respective goggleboy and 'rival'? Ive seen different interpretations but im curious what you think! Not to mention that the fans are sometimes arguing over who the 'rival' actually is, like with Daisuke where some people say its Ken and others say its Takeru. (I dont think there are actual rivals in the show, except for maybe Manga!Kiriha who outright says he will be just that with Taiki.)

One thing to keep in mind is that the word "rival" has kind of integrated itself into anime lingo as a full-on English loanword, so it comes from expectations of anime tropes more than anything. While even official staff has used that word in talking about Digimon, as you say, it never really fit to begin with, because not only has Digimon TV anime never been a particularly conventional shounen series in many ways, that term was also mostly coined in light of series where that term made a lot more sense. As in, they were more likely to be actually competing over something (in sports, or something tournament-based like card games); in that sense, a "rival" would be someone who might be antagonistic by being on the other side of the field, but would have a mutually positive relationship with the other person overall because the competitiveness would keep both of them on their toes and allow both of them to improve together. Digimon is not the first time this term has started getting overapplied to contexts where it doesn't really fit at all (it's been going on in Super Sentai for years), so people generally have a greater perception of it broadly meaning "two characters who have differing opinions on how something should be done due to their differing personalities, and sometimes fight over it", but in Digimon especially, it really does seem like trying to smash a square peg into a round hole.

The short answer: Xros Wars is probably the only one you can make a real argument for.

The long answer, in detail:

Adventure: I cannot emphasize enough that Adventure, being a series that was really big on that whole trope subversion thing, is a series that casts the trope of "rivalry" as "getting in a lot of fights" as a bad thing -- it's actually pretty unsubtle about it, because the word "rival" itself is explicitly used in Adventure episode 44, by Jureimon trying to manipulate Yamato. Or, in other words, "hey, if you saw someone who's supposed to be your supportive friend as someone you had to constantly compete against for no good reason, wouldn't that be really messed up?" Adventure does not even bother with or remotely believe in the idea that fighting somehow is a sign of how good friends you are, at least, not as long as that fighting is a sign of genuine hostility and refusal to communicate (which is why Yamato punching Taichi in 02 doesn't count). Every time Taichi and Yamato got in a fight back in Adventure, it was heated and ugly, and everyone in their presence was horrified, and once they sorted out their issues in Adventure, their appearances in 02 and Kizuna involved properly talking things out and making an active attempt to understand each other's feelings. There's a bit of bickering between them due to said opposing personalities, but it's never over anything serious (see the contrast in Kizuna between them having a bit of a minor row at the beginning, but high-fiving right after and spending the rest of the movie practically counseling each other).

02: Straight-up does not exist. Daisuke may have seen Takeru in that way due to the Hikari issue at first, but he was really running in circles getting absolutely nowhere about it, Takeru was mostly like "okay, you have fun with that," their only major argument about anything was the very serious issue in 02 episode 11, and it still resulted in Daisuke trying to understand Takeru's feelings. I think all of it boils down to Daisuke himself just not having that kind of personality to begin with, because he's friendly and supportive before anything else, and the whole thing with Takeru became a non-issue after a fashion (way before we even get into Kizuna, at that). Ken has the word "rival" sometimes applied to him in official franchise media, but nobody ever believes it. Sure, Daisuke and Ken have fairly complementary personalities, but they seem to both be aware of this fact and actively using it to help each other. It's very, very, very hard to imagine them ever getting into any kind of fight the way Taichi and Yamato used to in Adventure. It's just not happening! They're "best friends" who enjoy each other's company and actively hang out, and...yeah, that's it.

Tamers: Also does not exist! I know a lot of people really try to say it's Ruki because she's the one with the lone-wolf attitude and aggravated Takato at first, but my impression of Takato's attitude with her wasn't out of any competition but more that he'd like it if she didn't try to pick fights with him. Which she does actually stop after a while, mind you, and you could even make an argument that she's more of a foil to Jian than Takato, because Jian's the one who was completely pacifist at first, with Takato caught in the middle. In the end, Ruki never actually attains a particularly close relationship with Takato compared to Jian, nor does she really keep up a particular competitive streak with Takato; she kind of pops in and out at her leisure because of her more independent streak, and Jian ends up more of Takato's right-hand man (which is why the franchise presumably picks him as the secondary character to feature whenever they do "secondary characters"), but neither Takato nor Jian are prone to conflict and the entire trope is just fundamentally absent. The Tamers trio, is, ultimately, a trio.

Frontier: Takuya and Kouji are probably the first pair to really look like a proper execution of the trope, and at the very least they align pretty perfectly to how it's known in Sentai: a more hot-headed, aggressive lead with a more cool-headed and cynical right-hand man, where they end up often prone to conflict over dispute on how to best lead the team. However, while it's much more of a conventional execution than Adventure (since Adventure had Yamato actually be more prone to being an emotional fuse bomb whereas Taichi was often too chill more than anything), there being any conflict isn’t gone into that deeply beyond just "their personalities are complementary", and in that sense it's not far off from Adventure itself.

Savers: The series kind of baits you into thinking it might go this way when Nanami taunts Tohma about how he had to resort to a Masaru-esque tactic to beat her (it's one of its early red herrings about Tohma supposedly betraying the group), and it does have traces at the start because of how blatant of a foil Tohma is to Masaru, but one thing important to consider is that while the "rivalry" of what's being competed over is barely even relevant in most Digimon series to begin with, Masaru and Tohma don't even have a "group" to lead -- they're the employees under DATS who are being given orders from above, and are dealing with situations as they come. Masaru ends up leading the charge a bit, but he's not actually a leader in any shape or form, and Savers is more of a story of Masaru's coming-of-age than anything else, so while the series mostly has to do with his personal philosophy more than Tohma's, it ultimately lets the two of them pursue their lives their own ways. Masaru's worst bout of infamous anger is at being hurt over Tohma's apparent betrayal, not against him personally.

Xros Wars: I would say this is the only series to date where the term "rivals" properly applies, and it's because they're fighting over something concrete: the Code Crowns, and eventually Digital World territory. So in this case, for the first two parts, the answer is obviously Kiriha; Nene was a rival at first, but after various events happened she allied with Xros Heart early into Death Generals, and while Taiki and Kiriha had a relationship of mutual respect, Kiriha still considered him an opponent over what they were competing for until eventually the Xros Heart United Army fully came into formation. In the manga version, Kiriha does invoke the word "rival" in the above sense of competing to polish one's skills, but ironically, its version of the Death Generals arc involves them being much more in-tune with the same goals, so it might actually apply less because Taiki kind of responds with "uh, sure...?" since he's not nearly as interested in self-improvement. In Hunters, while it initially seems like it might be Yuu, the answer is really Ryouma, and note that Ryouma never really forms a particularly close relationship with Tagiru; it's just that he's the person most at the forefront for competing with Tagiru in the Hunt, to the point he's the first person chosen to wield the Brave Snatcher and turns out to be a bit of a foil for Tagiru in terms of actually having admired Taiki this whole time.

Appmon: Also does not exist. Rei tried to do the whole schtick in terms of competing for the Seven Code Appmon at first, but Haru was having none of that and immediately reached out to him emotionally, worrying about his welfare, and although Rei had a bit of a detached relationship with the other Appli Drivers thereafter, it really was friendly more than anything, just a bit awkward. Haru and Yuujin aren't even on the table, since their relationship is "best friends" akin to Daisuke and Ken.

Adventure: reboot: Also does not exist, considering that Taichi and Yamato bickering over the best way to approach things is limited to the very beginning of the series (and one of those times was with Yamato and Sora, not Yamato and Taichi, at that). In fact, I think most of these kids have been acting separately for most of the series anyway...?

[locktobre]

How would you change DA? I feel like I saw a post of yours mentioning that you wanted to change it but I can’t find any actual post saying how you’d change it lol but I’m on tumblr mobile and I know this app glitches more often than not

I actually made a post saying I’d make a post and then completely forgot about it lol that happens to me a lot... But! Since you asked, I’ll go ahead and talk about it now.

My biggest issue with DA is the constant shenanigans making everything feel shallow. It’s just far too silly for me, and while I know I’m far outside of the target audience, I still think it’s very poor writing.

So, here’s what I would do, if I kept the main characters the same (that is, the Roberts family, Ken, Teresa, Nikki, Renee, and Daisy), as well as the basic premise of “This is Barbie’s life.” I’m not going to talk about how I would change individual episodes, since I’m basically starting over from scratch, here.

Starting at home:

I’d keep Margaret as an engineer, bc I really do like that for her.

I’d drop George as a “documentary filmmaker” and have him be a stay-at-home dad. I might bring back a detail from the early vlogs and have him be a writer, maybe working from home, but yeah, he’s the one taking care of the pets and packing lunches and keeping the house clean.

They’ve got Blissa leash-trained and she goes on walks with the puppies.

(If any of the puppies/Blissa escaped the house, it would be played for drama, not shenanigans.)

I might give them a catio for Blissa, since they started off series after remodeling their house, and they went all out on literally everything else, so why not?

If I was going to really have my way, they would only have done modest remodeling, not gone full-on ugly modern smart house.

Regardless, Skipper and Stacie must have their own bedrooms.

Barbie is a junior coach for Stacie’s soccer team. She’s going to spend time with all of her sisters, dammit!

She does something with Chelsea. Chelsea has a lot of interests, so she could do a lot of things with her. Maybe they do different things? Like, their thing could be trying new things or going new places.

The Roberts are close with Carsons, for obvious reasons.

As much as I like Trey, I feel like it’s OOC for the Roberts to have a feud with their neighbors (and I said as much when the show first started), so I might drop the Reardons entirely, tbh. And in my idealized version, the Roberts family aren’t such colossal dicks that they would have neighbors feuding with them, since they, like, respect ppl’s property and aren’t always doing wacky shit for lulz.

Then again, I really like Trey, so maybe they’d stay neighbors, and maybe he’s annoying but not a total jerk. (There’s a difference!) Like they could still ride together at the barn and ice skate together even if Trey insists that doing all of that doesn’t make them friends. (Yes, it does, Trey. Just open your heart to FRIENDSHIP.)

At school:

Barbie is in a bunch of extracurriculars, which provides a lot of interesting avenues for plots and friendship developments/dynamics.

She’s in an environmental club with Ken. They do beach clean-ups and collect trash in the parks and stuff like that. Also provides an opportunity for karbie moments.

She’s in a chemistry club with Teresa. They can do (safe) experiments and explain how it’s done, there can be some minor mishaps with things going wrong, stuff like that.

She’s in a fashion club with Nikki. They can make clothes together, do fashion shows, all that kind of stuff. But like, plot-relevant.

She plays basketball with Renee. They can show practices, games, how to deal with losing, all that kind of stuff.

She’s in a band with Daisy and Skipper. This keeps both of them musical, and keeps me from feeling like Daisy is taking Skipper’s musical spotlight. They could do gigs occasionally (school dances, parks, coffee shops), they could have an episode with creative infighting, they could focus on Skipper feeling like she’s being treated like a little kid when she’s trying to be Mature... A lot of things open up. Not to mention, having a good reason for them to sing.

So basically, Barbie’s busy 5 days a week, and has a lot of varied interests, so it makes sense for a lot of ppl to know her and even envy her, bc really, how does she do it all?

I’m not sure if I’d keep Tammy either, tbh. I’m not fond of bully characters, I think it’s detrimental to show bullying as no big deal... but also, kids need to learn about conflict resolution. Even so, sometimes there aren’t good ways to deal with bullies, so it’s really a double-edged sword.

If I kept Tammy--or Trey, for that matter--at least now, with the above, they’d have a real reason to be jealous of her being popular and well-liked, outside of her vlog. Bc she’d be an interesting and well-rounded person, instead of boring and fake.

I’d really tone down the social media angle, but there’d be an obligatory episode about like, an embarrassing picture/video being posted and how to deal with it. It’s inevitable nowadays, as much as that pains me.

An early episode would focus on a parents night at school, and we’d meet everyone’s parents.

Barbie and her friend group would have a homework club that rotates its meetings through their different houses, which is a perfect set-up to meeting any siblings the others have (since we already met their parents).

There would be occasional episodes where Barbie is either not there, or only there for like one scene (she’s sick, out of town, whatever), and we’d get to focus on one of her friends, instead. They’d get to feel like real people even when she’s not there, rather than feeling like they don’t exist when they’re not onscreen with her lol.

Overall, I just want it to feel like Barbie’s life is real and complete, and so is every character in it. Obviously, it’s fictional, and I’m not asking for anything super dramatic to happen, I just want it to feel like they care. I know Barbie is the star of the show, but I don’t want it to feel like everything revolves around her, bc they certainly promote it like it’s an ensemble show. But they don’t act like it at all and I just want to fix that. So I tried to think of a lot of ways to give different, varied plots. There are ways to do interesting things without it being super silly!

Anyway, if they want Barbie to feel grounded and real and like she gives good advice, they should write her that way, that’s all I’m saying.

[aion-rsa]

Investigating Digimon’s Biggest Unanswered Question

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On June 25, 2000 on Fuji TV in Japan and October 21, 2000 on Fox Kids in the U.S. an episode of Digimon aired that over 20 years later continues to haunt fans and the franchise itself alike. This was an episode that opened up a world of possibility and a plotline darker than anything else seen in the series – an episode that ended with a gigantic cliffhanger that has never been directly dealt with since.

The installment was season 2 of Digimon, episode 13. ‘The Call of Dragomon’ a.k.a. ‘His Master’s Voice.’ This episode introduced the Dark Ocean.

After all these years it continues to spark debate and analysis from fans. Why? It’s not like Digimon didn’t have its fair share of dropped plots. Why does the Dark Ocean stand out and why was its mystery never resolved? To try and answer that, we have to take a deep dive into the episode that introduced it all.

It begins when Kari Kamiya experiences bad dreams and visions of an ocean swallowing her up. Dark creatures follow her in the hallways. She flickers out of existence and appears in the Dark Ocean. It’s a greyscale world. A lighthouse shines darkness instead of light. Kari attempts to find a way out and stumbles across the dark creatures from earlier, glowing red eyes their only feature. They painfully cry out for help, desperately hoping Kari will free them from the power of the evil Digimon Emperor. 

It’s all a trick however and important differences between the Japanese and English versions of the episode occur at this point. In the English version the dark creatures attempt to kidnap Kari, hauntingly telling her, “you’ll be our new queen. We need you.”

In the Japanese version it’s much more unsettling. They tell her, “you are worthy of being our bride. In order to fight the new god (the Digimon Emperor, it’s implied), we must create new offspring.”

In both versions Kari is saved by her Digimon partner Gatomon and the dark creatures retreat into the ocean. In the English version they woefully explain their foiled plan,

“We thought you would love to be our queen. With your power you could lead us in the battle against our undersea master. I guess we were wrong. Beware, our master can sense your power too and he will come for you.”

In the Japanese version they leave Kari with this parting message.

“Chosen one… we believed you would be glad to be our bride. Very well. We shall return to the depths, to our former god, and wait for the time.”

Kari escapes from the Dark Ocean but a giant Digimon, named Dragomon in the Japanese version, rises from the ocean. The master the dark creatures spoke of. Its eyes glow red. END OF EPISODE. What does it all mean? This seemed like it was going to be a major storyline. The end of the English episode even teases, “who is this evil dark undersea master? Don’t miss the upcoming Digimon!” But that question would never be answered.

The master/god would never be seen again and Kari never crossed paths with the dark creatures. It’s a massive cliffhanger that the franchise has never resolved and no one from the production has given any answers to. The Dark Ocean does show up again but only for brief appearances. 

A flashback in episode 23, ‘Genesis of Evil,’ shows a young Ken dipping his digivice into the Dark Ocean’s waters, transforming it into a Dark D3 digivice which would later give Ken the power to inhibit digivolution. Ken, as the Digimon Emperor, also draws on the power of the Dark Ocean to power his base.

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Kari, Ken Ichijouji, and Yolei Inoue stumble into the Dark Ocean through a “phase warp” in episode 31, ‘Opposites Attract.’ Yolei is unable to see the Dark Ocean until her frustration at that somehow makes it so she can. This seems to indicate that one’s emotions when entering the Dark Ocean can have a major impact on what happens to you there. Ken and Kari both have their share of trauma which may have influenced the Dark Ocean’s hold over them. Ken was originally pulled into the Dark Ocean after his brother died, a brother Ken had previously wished would “just disappear.” Kari watched Wizardmon, a kind Digimon that she’d grown close to, jump in front of an attack meant for her. She held him in her arms as he died. Yolei, her life comparatively easier, wasn’t affected by the Dark Ocean as much as them.

In the Japanese version of the episode Kari worriedly states, “they called me here… again.” It seems the master/god still wants Kari’s power. The three manage to escape through a “hole in space” and never return.

Later in episode 45, ‘The Dark Gate,’ Ken banishes the evil Digimon Daemon to the Dark Ocean. He opens a portal there by facing his darkest fears and with a little team friendship power. Curiously Daemon indicates he already knows what the Dark Ocean is, calling it Dragomon’s Ocean in the Japanese version. 

It’s briefly mentioned in episode 48, ‘Oikawa’s Shame’ when evil mastermind Oikawa reveals the Control Spire’s that plagued the team in the first half of the season and prevented regular digivolution are a “present” from the Dark Ocean. 

The Dark Ocean also gets a few fleeting moments in the Digimon Adventure tri. films. Previously unknown Digi Destined Himekawa becomes stranded in the Dark Ocean after her Digimon partner, Taprimon, couldn’t remember her. She fought back against the dark creatures there but was pulled into the ocean never to be seen again. The films also address the Daemon cliffhanger by hinting he could return as a villain but this never went anywhere. With the Digimon franchise well into a reboot of the original first season, it’s doubtful this or any other Dark Ocean plots will ever get resolved.

That leaves fans (including us) to try to make sense of it all. First off, let’s look at those key differences between the motivations of the dark creatures in the Japanese and English version of episode 13.

In the English version, the creatures seemingly tricked Kari into helping them by using the dark spirals. They knew this would make her sympathetic and hoped she would join them as their queen in a battle against their old undersea master. Why did they need Kari for this? They mention she has power they need but it isn’t clear what that power is. Previously in the series she had a connection to the crest of light so maybe they were hoping her light would be able to wipe out their master. There’s no clear answer to any of that question but it seems Kari, more than any other Digi Destined, has some special role to play in this conflict.

The Japanese version’s motivation for the dark creatures is much clearer. They aren’t fighting against their god; they’re working for him to fight the Digimon Emperor. They chose Kari because she was worthy of being their bride, a bride who would create new offspring to aid in the fight. This leads us to speculate that these dark creatures, which certainly aren’t Digimon, are offspring of some other bride.The horror of all that is off the charts and deeply uncomfortable, especially since Kari is a middle schooler. It’s no wonder this was changed for the English version and rightly so.

Putting that real life horror aside, the biggest lingering question at the end of the Japanese episode is what the dark creatures meant when they told Kari to, “wait for the time.” The time of what? What did this god want with her? 

In all this we also need to ask what the Dark Ocean itself even is. It’s implied to be a dimension or world that isn’t the Digital World, especially since Kari can get there without using one of the Digi-World gates. We only see a small section of the world. The ocean, a beach, the lighthouse, an abandoned town, and a tunnel.

The only other clues we have to try and decipher what the hell the Dark Ocean is comes from its clear influence, H.P. Lovecraft. Dragomon might as well be called Cthullumon given his appearance and the way he rises from the sea. A clear connection is drawn in the Japanese episode when a text card appears just before the title card, written in “digicode.” This is basically the Digimon alphabet and thanks to TMS over on the Digimon With the Will forums we know it translates to “Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn.”

In Lovecraft’s “The Call fo Cthulhu” story this translate to “In his house at R’lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.” This would imply that Dagmon is actually Cthulhu! This could mean any number of things for the multiverse of Digimon but just reading it on the tin, it matches up with the dark creatures statement in the Japanese episode that they’d “wait for the time.” We can now reasonably extrapolate that they’re waiting for the time Dragomon aka their god will wake. Most likely to aid in their fight against the Digimon Emperor… or perhaps something bigger.

With all this information, fragmented as it is, what can we reasonably guess the Dark Ocean is? Perhaps, since the Digital World is made of data, the Dark Ocean is the black screen in-between the 1’s and 0’s in the Digital World’s code. A place that has to exist for more “code” to be written but that’s barren of any life. Dragomon and the dark creatures could have been banished there long ago but before that it was an empty world, only carrying fragments of the code around it (the town, the lighthouse, etc.) That also lines up with the Digital World, which also contains fragments of real world machines and structures (trains, buildings, etc.) This proximity to the code of the Digital World is further supported by the fact that people or Digimon could fall through “phase warps” into it like Kari, Ken, and Yolei did. The Dark Ocean is a world between a world. A world that needs to exist for the sake of another world but is not truly a world of its own. A world you almost never see but if you do… it’s nothingness.

It’s no surprise why the Dark Ocean continues to captivate and frustrate Digimon fans all these years later. A gigantic story was hinted at, one that held particular importance to fan favorite characters Kari and Ken. It could have expanded the scope of Digimon’s world, bringing in a power beyond anything else the team had ever faced. The “what if?” of it all holds great power over fans. It’s a shame the show abandoned something that could have been so compelling.

However, perhaps its lack of resolution isn’t a completely bad thing. It makes the world of Digimon more mysterious. There’s more going on than just the battles the kids are having. There are other forces at work. Powerful forces that have their own goals outside of simple destruction or desire for power.

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The more you get of a franchise like Digimon the more likely you are for its fantasy world to get overcomplicated or over explained. Things get too tidy, too neat, everything is related to each other or a small group of characters (looking at you, Star Wars.) The Dark Ocean breaks all that up. Sure our characters’ stories intersect with it but they’re only a small part of the mystery of the Dark Ocean. If it’s a mystery that’s even solvable. As much as fans want it solved, there’s something powerful about a mysterious force lurking at the edge of the Digimon universe.

The post Investigating Digimon’s Biggest Unanswered Question appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[kumeko]

Title: of enigmas, leaders, and other such mysteries

A/N: For the persona Free Time Zine, I got assigned the p3 boys, so I wanted to do a little Akihiko, Shinjiro, Koromaru, and Minato bonding. I’m sorry Junpei, you got left out.

Summary: Shinjiro doesn’t know what to make of his silent leader, with his wry sense of humour and his unreadable expression. Maybe walking Koromaru can change that.

…

…

…

…

“I’ll join you.” Even as he says them, Shinjiro can’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. Can’t understand the way his body is unfolding off the lounge couch, his hand already setting aside his book. His body is on auto-pilot and he’s making his way toward the dorm’s entrance before he can comprehend it.

 Even worse is Minato’s reaction. His fingers curl around his headphones, half-way through slipping them on. With no reaction, not even that of surprise, he merely nods as he settles his headphones around his neck. Like this is an everyday occurrence, as though Shinjiro is any of the other dormmates, joining Minato for afterschool snacks and homework and weekend outings.

 Koromaru yips excitedly, making up for it entirely as he bounces around Shinjiro. His tail is on a motor, wagging furiously. Tugging on his pant leg, Koromaru urges him to walk faster before letting go and sprinting to the door.

“Time for his walk already?” Akihiko glances at the grandfather clock. The pendulum swings forward and back, the hand ticking forward by one, and he sets down his boxing gloves. “I’ll come too.”

 “Three’s overkill, ain’t it?” Shinjiro mutters as his friend grabs his coat and slings it over his shoulders, ever the action hero. The motion shouldn’t look as cool as it does. “Even two’s kinda pushing it.”

 “It’ll be fine.” Akihiko shrugs his shoulders dismissively. Already Minato is ahead of them, holding the door open, and Akihiko gestures for Shinjiro to go first. He snorts derisively when he doesn’t move. “Unless you’re backing out?”

 It is stupid, in all honesty. That sentence is barely a challenge, they are in high school and should be beyond that, and it isn’t like it makes a difference if he comes or not. Shinjiro grits his teeth and pushes his way past Akihiko. “Never.”

 It is stupid and he falls for it every. Damned. Time. Akihiko’s lips curl into a smirk as he follows him out. He doesn’t say anything and that somehow makes it worse, as though Shinjiro has lost in a different way. A more important way. He thinks perhaps with Akihiko that’ll always be the case. There is something about childhood friends, about knowing someone in a way that just settles in the bones, that makes it so. Weaknesses, desires, hopes; all of them are laid bare and impossible to hide.

 The exact opposite stands outside, scuffing his shoe against the sidewalk impatiently. Shinjiro has known Minato for all of a month and he is pretty sure he will never be able to understand the enigma that is their leader. Hell, he’s certain that no one at the dorm even understands him; Junpei mentioned catching Minato staring vacantly in Tartarus’s lobby several times. Each time it’d happened, his Persona changed, and there’s just something wrong about that. It’s like he’s changing his face every battle.

 “Yip!” Koromaru barks, sitting on his haunches. The second the door clicks shut, he’s trotting down the usual path. Every now and then, he turns back to them and impatiently shakes his head.

 “Someone’s really excited.” Akihiko chuckles warmly as he watches Koromaru sprint between grassy lots and garbage cans. “He doesn’t usually have this much energy.”

 “No,” Minato simply agrees, hands in his pockets. His shoulders are slack and with his laid-back posture, he looks shorter than he actually is.

 Not that Shinjiro was any better. Slouching is his default by now, his lanky frame automatically hunching over till he’s only barely taller than Akihito. Which is still taller, and he takes a not-insignificant amount of pride in that. “Probably ‘cause of school.” When Minato glances at him questioningly, Shinjiro shrugs. “Everyone’s busier now.”

 “Now that you mention it…” Akihiko slows his step, his hands curling into fists. Quickly punching the air in front of him, he grins cockily as he bounces on the balls of his feet. “Boxing club’s started again.”

 “Did it even stop for you?” Shinjiro asks, genuinely curious. He can hardly remember a time Akihiko didn’t have his boxing gloves, the red leather polished till it shone. Even the band-aid on his forehead seems like a permanent injury.

 “Mitsuru banned him for a while,” Minato helpfully explains. There’s a light smile on his face, as though he’s remembering something funny, and Shinjiro is afraid to blink and miss the expression. “You played with Koromaru a lot then.”

 “It was training, not playing,” Akihiko hotly defends, his jaw set and shoulders rounded. Every part of him looks ready to fight, as usual, but there’s something unusually soft about him. Even his tone has less bite than normal. “He’s good at running.”

 “He’s a dog. Of course he is.” Shinjiro snorts, giving his friend dubious stare. It’s weird enough that Koromaru has a Persona and regularly shoots himself in the head in a nonsensical dungeon. If Akihiko starts competing with a dog, maybe they should just let the Dark hour take over. “Only you’d call walking a dog ‘training’.”

 “’Cause I’m the only one who’d actually train instead of walk.” Ahead of them, Koromaru disappears up the staircase to the local shrine. His paws scrape against the stone steps and Akihiko turns toward them, a competitive gleam in his eyes. “Here, I’ll show you the results. Race me up?”

 “Seriously?” Shinjiro mutters flatly. Not that it matters what he thinks; Minato’s already sprinting up the stairs, Akihiko just ahead of them, and even if they caught him off guard, hell if he’s going to lose. Straightening up, he takes full advantage of his long legs and skips every other stair on his way up. It’s late evening now, the sky a soft, hazy pink, few visitors to catch sight of three high school boys breathlessly running up to a shrine.

 Koromaru is first, as expected. These stairs are his home. Were his home. His tongue lolls out as he sits at the head of the steps, his mouth stretched into a wide grin. What is surprising is that Minato is second, pulling just ahead of Akihiko in the last ten steps. He’s hunched over, taking in big, deep breaths, and Shinjiro doesn’t even have time to feel angry at his third-place tie with Akihiko.

 Minato is second, despite his frail-looking body. There are a lot of surprises with this kid, with the people he knows and the powers he uses, but they catch Shinjiro off-guard all the same.

 “Not bad,” Akihiko pants, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Breathing in deeply, he forces his heartrate to slow down. “You improved.”

 “I knew you’d do that,” Minato heaves, his way of an explanation. It doesn’t make sense. Maybe it’s the lack of air. He’s leaning over, his hands on his knees as he tries to catch his breath.

 Shinjiro takes the easy way out and just sits on the nearby bench. There’s no need to posture over recovery. Koromaru yawns before jumping back on his feet, his tail wagging as though it’s powered by the energizer bunny. Maybe he really did miss his walks; between school work, clubs, and Tartarus, no one’s had time to relax, let alone go out with Koromaru.

 “Alright.” Akihiko stretches his arms above him and cricks his neck. Rolling back his shoulders, he glances down at Koromaru. “Up for some ball?”

 Koromaru barks, already racing off to a corner of the shrine. Minato cocks his head. “Ball?”

 “Didn’t you know?” Akihiko stares at them blankly, surprise etched on his face. “Lots of kids come to the playground here, and they’re always forgetting toys and balls.”

 “That’s…kinda cheap,” Shinjiro mutters, watching as Akihiko jogs off to Koromaru. At least Mitsuru could have bought some dog toys. Or maybe Akihiko’s just too lazy to bring them.

 “I guess.” Minato plops on the bench next to him. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he leans back and watches as Koromaru digs in the sand for a child’s lost treasure. “We can buy something on our way home.”

 “Yeah,” Shinjiro replies lamely, not sure where to take the conversation from here. Or if he even should. It isn’t like he has a problem with silence and based on the past few weeks, it seems Minato doesn’t either. From the corner of his eye, he observes as Minato contently just sits there, his expression conflict-free.

 There isn’t a part of this kid that looks ready to fight. Even his muscle seems non-existent, despite the heavy swords and axes he picks on a nightly basis. Then again, Ken also somehow fights with a lance bigger than he’s tall, so maybe it’s part of their powers. Added stamina to go with everything else.

 Akihiko winds up his arm, chucking a ball from one end of the playground to the other. Koromaru’s already running, his head turning back for a second to gauge the ball, and then he leaps. Minato’s smiling absentmindedly during the exchange, his fingers playing with his headphone’s cords. For a brief moment, Shinjiro misses Akihiko and his big mouth; even when he doesn’t like it, it is always more comfortable with Akihiko around.

 The wind picks up slightly and Shinjiro pulls his beanie down a little more snugly around his ears.

 “Koromaru likes your food.”

 He blinks, almost missing the words. Food. Koromaru. A combination of words that is a closely guarded secret. Shinjiro stares at Minato blankly; he was always alone when he cooked for Koromaru. No, to be exact, he always made sure he was alone when he cooked. Checked the halls, checked the schedule, even set up a freakin’ bell trap.

 Reading the confusion on his face, Minato rubs his neck. “Koromaru told Aigis. He wants to thank you.”

 Shit. He’d forgotten the robot could talk to dogs. The blood drains from his face and what else has that dog told her? Told their leader? “Huh.”

 An inelegant answer but Minato takes it in stride. He wraps his headphone cord around his fingers. “The same goes for me.” A short pause. Shinjiro can feel his heart pounding. “Thanks for fixing those meals and worrying over us.”

 At this he stiffens entirely, his ears burning from embarrassment. Seriously, just what did Koromaru tell Aigis? The only witness to all of his cooking endeavours. He thinks back to all the times he’s talked to the attentive dog, mentioning Akihiko’s or Mitsuru’s diet, and it’s not too late to go back to the streets, is it? Sometimes living in the dorm feels like he’s on drugs, so it isn’t too hard to make the switch to the real things again. “J-just doing my part,” he manages. Gruffly, he hopes.

 In all probability, the stutter just makes him sound flustered. Minato doesn’t laugh like he’s expecting. Instead, he’s still playing with his headphones, his gaze directed anywhere but at Shinjiro. “If you need any help, let me know.”

 Minato looks at him now, unwavering, and Shinjiro remembers another time people looked at him like that, as though he has something to offer. As though he has value. Like three years ago, when they first started fighting at midnight and Mitsuru and Akihiko would call on him for backup. Or even further bacck, when Miki wanted to sit on his shoulders and watch the fireworks. It’s been a long time since anyone needed him for anything and Shinjiro can only avert his gaze, rubbing his neck awkwardly. “Sure.”

 The tennis ball rolls to Minato’s feet. Akihiko’s not far behind it, Koromaru trotting tiredly by his side. “Think it’s time we head back.”

 The sun’s set by now, the sky above them cloudy, and Shinjiro reluctantly gets up. It’s a warm night, the last vestiges of summer clinging before fall fully rolls in. “Guess so. It’s dinner time, anyway.”

 “Who’s cooking?” Minato asks and Shinjiro lets out the breath he didn’t know he was holding. It’s not so much he wants to hide his hobby so much as he doesn’t want Akihiko to know about it. He’s not sure he can handle the nonstop teasing.

 “Fuuka.” Akihiko grimaces as they head down the shrine path. “I know she’s watching all those cooking shows but…I don’t think it’s helping much.”

 “What shows?” Shinjiro asks, surprised. Then again, that would explain the fancy recipe she tried the last time they chatted. For someone with her skill level, beef stroganoff is a pretty high bar.  

 With a shrug, Akihiko jumps the last three steps, landing with a huge thud. “Not sure. Food Network is always on whenever I turn on the T.V. and she’s the only one who’s into cooking.” He has a wry expression as he turns back to them, his face illuminated by the street light. ��Don’t think it’s really helping her, though.”

 Fortunately, it’s dark on the trail, the tree’s blocking out the moonlight, and if he flushes lightly, no one can see. He’ll have to remember the change the channel next time he’s watching TV. Clearing his throat, Shinjiro slowly walks down the last few steps. “It takes practice. She’s trying.”

 “She’s improving.” Minato brushes his bangs out of his face. When they look at him curiously, he clarifies, “I’m taste testing for her.”

 “Oh man.” Pity colours Akihiko’s expression and he gives Minato a sympathetic pat on the back. “Good luck.”

 Minato shrugs, waving off the comfort. “It’s fine. She’s improving.” He turns to Shinjiro, his lips curling into a sly smile. “She has help.”

 Shinjro frowns—is that teasing? From their stoic leader? Before Akihiko can catch on, he picks up the pace. “We can all taste test.”

 Maybe if he gets there fast enough, he can salvage Fuuka’s cooking. He can hear Minato chuckling next to him and on at least one thing he stands corrected: their leader is not as mysterious as he thought. No, instead Minato’s a bit of a troll and Shinjiro is never going to reveal any weaknesses to him again.

[adventure-hearts]

( PART 1: DA + ASTROLOGY )

PART 2: DIGIMON ADVENTURE + MBTI 

Taichi - ESTP Yamato - INFP Sora - ENFJ Koushirou - INTJ Mimi - ESFP Jou - ISTJ Takeru - ENFP Hikari - ISFP Daisuke - ESFP Miyako - ENFP Iori - ISTJ Ken - INFJ

Discussion and Commentary below!

If you’ve read some of my previous headcanons about the MBTI, and in particular this very popular post from four (!) years ago, you may find I’ve changed my mind a lot.

An important thing about this typology (or any other one, really) is that it’s quite easy to just look into some websites and make decisions based on the keywords used to describe each type. Which is what I used to do. Keywords are helpful to help us get the “basic picture” (hence why I quote them in this post), but now I believe that you have to read actual theory in order to understand the subtle differences between each type and make more educated guesses.

Since then, I’ve been reading more deeply into MBTI and the Functions. Consequently, the way I understand the MBTI has changed significantly, and so have my Headcanons.

It’s been particularly interesting to learn about the Inferior Function, or the “dark side” of each personality type. The more I read about it, it became surprising that how it seemed to describe most of the adventure kids’ characters arcs incredibly well. This is another reason why the combination Chosen Children + MBTI is such a fascinating and fun thought exercise!

It should be noted that different authors can have widely different interpretations of types, which is why, for the sake of simplicity and coherence, I’ve only read 3-4 main sources when preparing this post. And I tried stay away from popular MBTI websites and resources that exist around the internet, most which can have a slightly misleading/superficial vision of each type. 

However, this doesn’t mean my HCs are “RIGHT” or that other people can’t have better ideas. I’m as biased about the characters as anyone else. I’d be very happy to hear alternative takes!

***

Taichi - ESTP Dominant function: Se

Flexible and tolerant, they take a pragmatic approach focused on immediate results. Theories and conceptual explanations bore them - they want to act energetically to solve the problem. Focus on the here-and-now, spontaneous, enjoy each moment that they can be active with others. Enjoy material comforts and style. Learn best through doing.

Taichi is pretty easy to type, and most ESTP descriptions fit him nicely. Thompson notes the archetype of ESTP is James Bond and Xena the Warrior Princess; I think the character of Taichi, who represents Courage, fits in the same tradition — a bold, impulsive, adventurous leader who is good at strategizing and is able to make though decisions, but is is also very charismatic and charming.  Taichi’s tendency to become thoughtful, introspective, and indecisive under stress can be explained by the inferior function, Ni.

Yamato - INFP Dominant function: Fi

Idealistic, loyal to their values and to people who are important to them. Want an external life that is congruent with their values. Curious, quick to see possibilities, can be catalysts for implementing ideas. Seek to understand people and to help them fulfill their potential. Adaptable, flexible, and accepting unless a value is threatened.

By contrast, Yamato is always the most difficult to type! I ended up using INFP rather than INFJ, because I think it makes more sense for his dominant function to be Fi (introverted feeling): “Due to the introverted nature of Fi, INFPs’ status as feelers is not always evident from without. When immersed in Fi, they can seem a bit cool, aloof, or indifferent.“ (Drenthe). This type is pretty well representative of Yamato’s caring, passionate and caring side, and especially his conflict during Adventure is beyond, his search for self and meaning. Yamato’s more critical, aggressive, angry, and impetuous side is easily explained by him falling under the influence of the inferior function of this type, Te.

Sora - ENFJ Dominant function: Fe

Warm, empathetic, responsive, and responsible. Highly attuned to the emotions, needs, and motivations of others. Find potential in everyone, want to help others fulfill their potential. May act as catalysts for individual and group growth. Loyal, responsive to praise and criticism. Sociable, facilitate others in a group, and provide inspiring leadership.

Another character who’s relatively difficult to type. I see Sora as being in the middle of many of the Preference axis, hence why I initially typed her as something pretty difference different. But now I’m pretty convinced her dominant function is Fe, even though she’s probably only 51% Extroverted. She leans more towards iNtuition than Sensing: Sora’s definitely someone who can pick up things intuitively, especially when it comes to human relationships. So, ESFJ could probably work as well, but I see her as more of an NF type than a SJ type. Sora’s tendency to become hypersensitive, stubborn and withdrawn when under stress? That’s the inferior function, Ti. 

Koushirou - INTJ Dominant function: Ni

Have original minds and great drive for implementing their ideas and achieving their goals. Quickly see patterns in external events and develop long-range explanatory perspectives. When committed, organize a job and carry it through. Skeptical and independent, have high standards of competence and performance - for themselves and others.

This is an example of how learning more about Functions made me change my mind! I believe Koushirou is the text-book definition of INTJ and the Ni function. Koushirou isn’t just someone who thinks — he creates knew knowledge and connects theoretical possibilities. One of the effects of the inferior function of this type, Ni, is an “Obsessive focus on external data”, which means that they can become obsessed with controlling small details, which is what Koushirou tends to do under stress.

Mimi - ESFP Dominant function: Se

Outgoing, friendly, and accepting. Exuberant lovers of life, people, and material comforts. Enjoy working with others to make things happen. Bring common sense and a realistic approach to their work, and make work fun. Flexible and spontaneous, adapt readily to new people and environments. Learn best by trying a new skill with other people.

Mimi is a rather obvious fit for this type, not only with her bubbly and happy exterior, but also her naïveté and compassion towards others (Crest of Purity). 

Jou - ISTJ Dominant function: Si

Quiet, serious, earn success by thoroughness and dependability. Practical, matter-of-fact, realistic, and responsible. Decide logically what should be done and work toward it steadily, regardless of distractions. Take pleasure in making everything orderly and organized - their work, their home, their life. Value traditions and loyalty.

Jou’s type seems pretty straightforward. The characteristics of this type to fit him (and the Crest of Honesty) very well. The inferior Function of this type is Ni, manifested as impulsiveness and catastrophizing — classic Jou moves whenever he looses his cool.

Takeru - ENFP Dominant function: Ne

Warmly enthusiastic and imaginative. See life as full of possibilities. Make connections between events and information very quickly, and confidently proceed based on the patterns they see. Want a lot of affirmation from others, and readily give appreciation and support. Spontaneous and flexible, often rely on their ability to improvise and their verbal fluency.

Takeru is REALLY hard to type. Mostly because, just like his brother, he isn’t as transparent as he seems. Behind that charming, open, happy façade, Takeru runs deep. I ended up choosing ENFP is described as the most optimistic of all types (Crest of Hope), and they are very charismatic and inspiring as well. The “dark side” of this type can be hopelessness or depression (see also: tri. Chapter 3!)

Hikari - ISFP Dominant function: Fi

Quiet, friendly, sensitive, and kind. Enjoy the present moment, what's going on around them. Like to have their own space and to work within their own time frame. Loyal and committed to their values and to people who are important to them. Dislike disagreements and conflicts, do not force their opinions or values on others.

Hiakri is another one whose type isn’t obvious, but maybe for different reasons than the other characters I hesitated about — we just don’t see enough of her. I think you can make a strong argument for her being an Intuitive type, but ultimately I think Fi represents her better.

Daisuke - ESFP Dominant function: Se

I know it’s reductive to say Daisuke and Taichi have different personality type, but that’s easy to understand if you see them as being in different stages of type development.

Miyako - ENFP Dominant function: Ne

I’ve always thought Takeru and Miyako are pretty alike, hence why I think they would both fit this type.  

Iori - ISTJ Dominant function: Si

Again, Iori and Jou are pretty alike, although at different stages of their personality development. I could see Iori a ISTP/ISTJ, too — to be fair, I haven’t made up my mind totally about him.

Ken - INFJ Dominant function: Ni

Seek meaning and connection in ideas, relationships, and material possessions. Want to understand what motivates people and are insightful about others. Conscientious and committed to their firm values. Develop a clear vision about how best to serve the common good. Organized and decisive in implementing their vision.

I’m just going to go and give Ken INFJ, although I’m not entirely sure it is the best fit. Ken is incredibly complex, but Ni seems to describe him fairly well. And certainly, the “dark side” of Ni, Se, can very well explain why Ken developed his Digimon Kaiser persona.

BONUS

A brief summary of the 8 Functions:

Introverted Intuition (Ni) collects conscious and subconscious information, and then synthesizes it to produce convergent impressions, insights, answers, and theories. It sees deep causes, patterns, and laws underlying sense data. It is characteristically penetrating and insightful.

Extraverted Intuition (Ne) surveys and creatively recombines a breadth of ideas, associations, patterns, and possibilities. It is characteristically innovative, divergent, open-ended, and non-discriminating. Outwardly, Ne users may present as scattered, random, quirky, witty, and ideationally curious.

Introverted Sensing (Si) retains, consolidates, and recollects historical and autobiographical information. It attends to and draws on a concentrated body of past experiences, routines, and traditions (i.e., the “tried and true”). It forgoes the constant pursuit of new or broad experiences, finding safety and security in stability and consistency. It also surveys inner bodily sensations.

Extraverted Sensing (Se) seeks extensive outer stimulation in the “here and now”—new sights, sounds, tastes, experiences, etc. It is open-ended and non-discriminating with respect to new experiences. It can also be associated with image-consciousness and observation skills, displaying a keen eye for detail. Outwardly, it may manifest as a recurrent desire for activities beyond talking (“Let’s do something!”).

“Introverted Intuition (Ni) collects conscious and subconscious information, and then synthesizes it to produce convergent impressions, insights, answers, and theories. It sees deep causes, patterns, and laws underlying sense data. It is characteristically penetrating and insightful.

Extraverted Intuition (Ne) surveys and creatively recombines a breadth of ideas, associations, patterns, and possibilities. It is characteristically innovative, divergent, open-ended, and non-discriminating. Outwardly, Ne users may present as scattered, random, quirky, witty, and ideationally curious.

Introverted Sensing (Si) retains, consolidates, and recollects historical and autobiographical information. It attends to and draws on a concentrated body of past experiences, routines, and traditions (i.e., the “tried and true”). It forgoes the constant pursuit of new or broad experiences, finding safety and security in stability and consistency. It also surveys inner bodily sensations.

Extraverted Sensing (Se) seeks extensive outer stimulation in the “here and now”—new sights, sounds, tastes, experiences, etc. It is open-ended and non-discriminating with respect to new experiences. It can also be associated with image-consciousness and observation skills, displaying a keen eye for detail. Outwardly, it may manifest as a recurrent desire for activities beyond talking (“Let’s do something!”).

“Introverted Thinking (Ti) utilizes deep and nuanced logic to examine techniques, problems, concepts, or theories. It seeks self-regulation and self-optimization through the development of personal skills, methods, and strategies. It takes a skeptical and reductive approach toward knowledge.

Extraverted Thinking (Te) uses explicit logic, including standardized methods, measurements, policies, and procedures, to make systems and operations more rational, efficient, or effective. This often involves working as part of an institution, be it corporate, scientific, academic, etc. Outwardly, Te delivers opinions and directives in a firm, direct, measured, and unemotional fashion. It may at times be perceived as harsh, tactless, or unsympathetic.”

“Introverted Feeling (Fi) explores and refines personal tastes and feelings, contributing to a strong sense of personal uniqueness. It is self-regulating and self-controlling, working to maintain inner emotional and moral order. It may also emotionally invest in a limited number of love objects, be they persons, animals, hobbies, or causes.

Extraverted Feeling (Fe) surveys a breadth of human emotions, values, and morals. It strives toward interpersonal rapport, consensus, and continuity. It can also be associated with effective communication and social intelligence, facilitating growth and transformation in others. Outwardly, it delivers opinions and directives in a direct yet tactful way, often with a sense of emotional urgency and conviction.

in My True Type, A.J. Drenth

MBTI RESOURCES

A.J. Drenth. “My True Type”

Lenore Thomson. “Personality Type”. 

A.J. Drenth. “The 16 Personality Types”.

The 16 MBTI® Types https://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/the-16-mbti-types.htm

Naomi Quenk, “Was That Really Me?”

[forestryfae]

Pleasb give more info on the champagne!ben au I've only seen one post and I love it already 😭

is it because of the benrook lol the name is champagne cus i have this pen and its neat and reminds me of champageand i doodled with it

This is meant to be a Gwen 10 AU, but I often treat it as an evil Ben AU.

Gwen has the omnitrix, Kevin is a type of mutant called osmosian because I do not care much for osmosians as aliens (Achi if you’re reading this please don’t kill me jdfdhfjhf), Ben has alien powers that skipped a couple generations in the heritage line (everyone thinks it’s from Carls side but it’s from Sandras too), Max is there, Ken exists but he’s in college, etc.

Ben is a criminal going by Sparkshot and he's got powers, as in Merlinisapien/Chamalien powers, underdeveloped anodite powers, and he's really athletic due to taking self-defense classes and kickboxing and what not, anything he could find. I don't know much about fighting sports btw lol. Anyways, he uses his invisibility and agility and training to steal stuff. He doesn't even need it or anything hes just a litel theif.

This is mostly because he's rebelling. Max won't let him become a Plumber because he's worried he'll get hurt. Also, Ben wasn’t allowed to help Gwen 10 and Max as much due to 1) being a little reckless, 2) he got very injured once or twice and was in a coma for a week at one point.

Meanwhile, Ben is going through some stuff, and feels lost and without purpose. Max not wanting him to get hurt translates to him as Max not believing in him and as a result, Ben tries to become a vigilante. He’s good, if a little untrained, but when Max finds out he gets scared and forbids Ben from doing it again. Ben decides fuck this and p much goes “if they don’t want me to be good maybe I’ll be bad” and starts stealing stuff. It’s fun, it messes with Gwen, Kevin and Max, and he gets a kick out of it. They don’t initially realize it’s Ben, but find out eventually.

He gets his merlinisapien powers when he’s around 11 and his anodite powers appear around 16. Basically, if we think OS, AF-UA, OV, post-OS he gets invisibility and climbing/walking on walls, AF he goes vigilante, UA he’s caught and starts his criminal career, and starts to get anodite powers, and OV he porperly learns to use them.

He’s a big fan of making portals and spends a lot of time in the Null Void, practicing. That’s where he got his suit. He customized a Rooters suit he stole. He’s also got a warehouse by the docks or maye a secret lair in the Null Void where he stores the stuff he’s stolen.

Kevin was evil in OS, who can honestly blame him tho lol, and most of his story is the same. He joined Gwen and the magister to catch the Forever Knights, and helped Ben and Gwen try to find Max because they tried to help him when he was 11. He’s slightly influenced by the Rooters, who want to destroy Gwen, and ends up sticking around despite having been thrown into the Null Void by them too.

He knew Ben was vigilanteing and thinks Max is kind of a dope for not letting Ben help, just like Gwen. He’s also the one who usually sticks up for Ben when they need him for something. They were together for a while but eventually broke up because Kevin wasn’t sure what he wanted, and Ben was going through a lot and it caused conflicts and insecurity.

He still fights Aggregor, who is in reality a defecting Rooter trying to stop Servantis. Servantis warps their minds and makes them think he’s evil. He’s sent to jail. Aggregor also is an osmosian, but a different species than Kevin. During the Rooters arc, he joins Servantis PSYCHE he’s saving Gwens ass.

Gwen gets the omnitrix when she’s 10, she becomes a superbusy superhero, etc. She struggles a lot with balancing her hero life and regular life.

Sher eally wants to go to college, especially at that college shes in in OV i dont know what its called dont @ me. She can’t just stop being a hero or leave Bellwood and after Ben turned over a new leaf and decided to do crime she certainly can’t leave.

Her cousin needs to be stopped, her boyfriend that she just started dating, Kevin, is going through something (the mindcontrol makes him moody because he’s not in control or anything and subconciously he knows somethings going on and can’t tell what it is), Max has his hands full with Ben and all the other criminals in Bellwood, and Rook just joined their team and needs to be properly introduced to life on Earth and as a Plumber.

When Kevin goes missing in the Rooters arc she goes to Ben and begs him to help. Ben makes her beg, just cus he’s a dick. He admits he was gonna help her even if she refused to beg, and Gwen smacks his smoothie out of his hands.

Rooks story is the same, except there’s this bitch ass Tennyson who refuses to stop doing crime and calls him dude. He joined the Plumbers because he’d heard of Gwen Ten on the extranet and whatnot, basically the same as he did with Ben in Prime. He’s incredibly stubborn when Ben is involved in helping save the world and doesn’t trust him. It’s hard for him to understand his motivations. He’s BFFs with Kevin, and Gwen is 90% sure she’s gonna lose Kevin to him lol.

He’s still figuring out why Ben saved him that one time, despite having just arrested him.

Argit has the same role, except he knew Ben went vigilante before Kevin. When Ben turned criminal, he also was the one to warn Kevin. He knew Ben before Kevin told Ben and Gwen about him.

Ken is in college.

Vilgax hates Gwen.

Albedo has the same story for some parts except he looks like Gwen, doesn’t brush his hair, and spends all his money on black lipstick and nailpolish. Also he drinks a fuckton of fruit punch and at some point decided to cut his hair. It looked like he’d just broken some mirror and cut the hair off with one of the pieces, because that’s what he did, so Gwen forced him to visit Sandra with her so she could cut his hair. Although he still tries to take the omnitrix sometimes, and he made the Ultimatrix and his OV Ultimatrix, he isn’t evil and doesn’twant gwen to be dead. Anymore. She talked Max into hiring him, and talked Albedo into letting them try to help him. He’s mostly regained a stable galvan forme, although he does still need the Ultimatrix to stablilize him. He’s not fully content with his predicament but he can live with it. He helps Gwen and Team Tennyson, and tells Blukic and Dreeba to Shut The Fuck Up on a daily basis.

Charmcaster dislikes Gwen but that’s Bens fault. he keeps teleporting into Ledger Domain and telling her to transform into sailor moon go magic girl go and it annoys her.

Wow this got long lol

[skuag]

We need a fic

Set in TRI or around (yes I’m sorry we need this please don’t leave)

where Mimi finds out that Koushirou has this computer program to help him get dressed

Takeru tells her of course because he’s a little troll

She needs to see it and she’s of course FLABBERGASTED when she realizes that all of Koushirou’s fails when dressing are not HIS fault but this program so she decides to modify it

Obviously she doesn’t know how to do it BUT SHE HAS A FRIEND WHO DOES - YES, MIYAKO! Because MIYAKO EXISTS and Mimi remembers her friend OK?! dammit tri

So she tells her and of course Miyako is in. 

But Miyako gets carried away by the attention and everything is getting very stressful for Koushirou who feels like he doesn’t have any ally in this story

because obviously Takeru has disappeared with his hats and he’s not helping Koushirou

so he turns to his brother in law best friend Taichi

Yes I’m sorry I just needed to stealthily introduce Koukari in this story, I’m sure no one noticed so I’ll keep going

We can make this a Taishirou I agree 

Taichi is a good boy and he wants to help him so he enlists Sora who is actually the only one that can save the day when Koushirou can’t

So now it’s not only Mimi and Miyako but Sora AND Yamato (yes they go together everywhere all the time always and they kiss) who have virtually moved to Koushirou’s office

ok Yamato is not really there I just wanted to imply Sorato

so Koushirou actually MOVES BACK TO HIS HOUSE and his parents are very happy because they barely see him lately

well not barely like “barely never” that’s just a nice word and I felt like using it

and Sora is a goddess of calmness and serenity and she helps Mimi and Miyako focus on the objective - which is to HELP Koushirou not to SCARE him 

she gets a little carried away anyway because she has never seen this kind of computer program and she is very excited about all that she can do with her designs and her dreams with THIS KIND OF TECHNOLOGY

but she’s also very conflicted because she wants to HELP Koushirou and she’s afraid that her own selfish interest in the program may go against her true objective

so while Sora mumbles all of this obviously Mimi and Miyako keep going and suddenly there is a pink dress with a big yellow hat and a very scary attire that reminds her of Piemon

yes Mimi and Miyako are too excited to pay any attention to what they are adding to the program obviously

now Ken arrives and kisses Miyako, well he tries but she’s just too focused on receiving Mimi’s attention

ok maybe things didn’t EXACTLY happen like this but then how would you know that Ken actually exists? I mean this is still set in tri after all

Sora knows that she needs to focus, otherwise she will not help Koushirou but rather increase his anxiety

so she does

Mimi and Miyako may be screaming around, throwing things up in the air and dancing (this is what happens when they are together a 100% all the time ever forever)

but they still know that when Sora wants to say something they need to sit and listen

so they agree that Miyako will be in charge of setting the algorithms or whatever magic is necessary. Mimi will identify the stores that have boy clothes that Miyako can add into the program. And Sora will actually choose the brands that Koushirou will feel confortable with and Miyako will only add those to the magic thing.

and so magic is done and the algorithms work and Koushirou can dress confortably now without having to go to the stores

except that Yoshie was so happy with having Koushirou back that she invited everyone to have dinner and now not only they are always at his office THEY ARE ALSO AT HIS HOUSE

Takeru is not invited because he’s a little troll

that’s a lie OF COURSE HE IS INVITED we love him

THE END BYE BYE

[lecliss]

"Fight At The Museum" makes me sooooo sad!!! Ester likes Ben, Ben likes Ester, I like Ken!! I want Ken to exist! But in order for him to exist, Ben and Kai have to be together! And I like Kai, I do! And Ester and Kai get along pretty well and I love that. And Ben and Kai do not get along very well. And Ben is the girl ignorant dumbass that he is. And Rook is just. There. In the background. And I want Ester to be happy cuz she's one of my faves and I think Ester is the best choice for Ben but of course its one of those 'you just have to be together because that's what happens' cases instead of the pieces naturally falling where they should. And like,,,, why? Just so Ken can exist? I LOVE Ken! I do! He's an adorable sweet precious kid whom I wish to protect forever, but the justification for BenKai is just. Because thats how things are in Ken's future so it has to happen.

And ya know what? If that's what happens, then why does Ken need to ensure it? It's what's going to happen naturally right? Why's the kid so worried? Maybe he's just too far into the past that they haven't gotten along better yet. Or maybe it's not naturally supposed to happen and Ken truly IS coming from a different timeline, potentially on accident(cuz the kid's certainly not purposely trying to fuck shit up). Or maybe he created a stable timeloop by going into the past to assure his existence but cuz it wasn't supposed to happen, he has to go back every single time. I dunno. Does it matter? No.

Because I'm just sad that I can see how clearly Ester loves Ben and even tho Ben is Ben and therefore cannot comprehend girls, he still likes Ester too. And he doesn't get along with Kai. Kai seems to want to get along with him, but nothing more than that. He probably wants to get along with her too, but neither of them are good at it.

And literally every single time Ester was present that Ben wanted to be extra nice to Kai, he changed his mind. Because Ester was there! He picked up on the conflicted feelings from Ester and didn't want to ruin things with her. It's not even romantic with Kai yet! He didn't want to give off that implication because he likes Ester! Ben wants to be with Ester! Even if he can't tell when she's asking him on a date without the use of the word date. I think he's just dumb like that. He wouldn't have invited Rook if he knew it was a date. So he would've loved to go on a date with her! Kai's email didn't even mention date! It was just an invitation! The invite with Ester was, at least on her end, meant to be a date!

I just. Man. Ya know? Ben and Ester really like each other. Ben doesn't wanna ruin that by being nice to Kai, but even tho he likes Kai and wants to be nice to her, those two don't get along very well. I just want Ester to be happy. I love Ester. She's one of my faves. Her and Ben LIKE each other!!!! It just makes me so sad! She can't be with him even tho they both like each other more, but I also like Ken, who Ben only has with KAI. And Rook is just. There. In the background!!!!

[digimonadventuretimelines]

The skies were darker as they invaded the territory of the enemy, a secret mission filled with a tenacious bravery, kind and determined to lead them to the happy ending. However, as he was willing to avoid conflict…

… He had detected by the enemy’s air squad. The Airdramon group chased them in the skies, with the blue phantom dragon dashing in a risky attempt to vanish thru the clouds. It was all in vain, sadly, because those flying lizards with no hands nor feet had fired against them.

“ARGH!!”

They got hit. the digivice in his pocket kept acting like a phone. He heard then some voices:

“Whoa, they got hit!! I heard it!! KABOOM!” said an energetic feminine voice

“H-hey!! A-are you two OK?!” someone tough yet concerned boyish voice babbled “D-don’t dare to die here!!”

“You all, calm down and try to find them…!” a shy boy voice replied with some hesitation “Please, he won’t… like us to get panicked…!”

“Oh C’mon, kids. He’s strong” a fourth and female voice responded them all “... You know that, right?”

“Are you listening to us, big bro??” the energetic girl spoke.

“Hurry, hurry! We need to find them!” the first boy kept yelling.

“I don’t need to see your faces to know that you two are quite nervous right now” the shy boy sighed “They might be OK, but let’s not get panicked or we will be captured…!”

“You three, be quiet!” ordered the older girl “I’m trying to call him! Are you here, did you get hurt...? Please answer…!! You’re strong. Much more than you think…! If weren’t for your tenacious soul, we would haven’t evolved…!! Hurry up..!! Answer me...”

[01 - The World’s Future]

“Hey you two,” A familiar yet older voice called someone “Don’t you have school and work today?!”

The room was in the dark and the only source of light was a TV. Sounds of a racing game from an old rodent’s video game series was blocking the voice of a mother, who kept staring at a male adult and his children playing on an old Game Cube console.

“Did you hear me?” she asked again, “or am I being ignored by?”

It’s 2025, spring to be exact. Flowers are blooming and birds are singing. On days like these…

“I won!! Haha yes!” a kid raised his fist as laughed cheerfully about the nice sweet victory over his father.

“What-- How did you--?!” the man gasped as response.

The kids father then realized something odd and when he looked to the room’s entrance he saw his wife there, staring at him.

“Oops, are we--”

“Yes,” the woman closed her eyes and said in a very annoyed voice “You. Two. Are. Late. Again.”

“Haha, sorry!” the kid scratched his neck, smiling “This old game is exciting, mom!”

This kid, you may ask… It’s your protagonist. He might not be that different from his father or mother, but hey. He’s his own individual. His name? Motomiya Daichi.

Son of Daisuke and Miyako. Wait, are you confused? You will understand everything later.

“Time for school!” The kid exclaimed and left the room, took his backpack and moved towards the entrance.

“Have a nice day!” Miyako wished him, smiling at the boy.

“Thanks mom!” he replied and left the house.

“Wait what do you mean that I’m late to work?!” Daisuke shouted panicky.

The goggles in Daichi’s head reflected the sunshine when he goes chatting with his best friend about the game he had been playing with his father before school.

However, a younger child silently observes Daichi. He has a wild haircut as someone you know very well -- brown eyes, tan skin, a shade of brown more orange-ish… He stared at Daichi, but kept avoiding interacting with the older boy.

Later on the end of that day, Daichi opened the door with a happy smile. Excepting to have his dad & mom to welcome him as usual happens, he started talking:

“Mom, dad I’m home! Kiyoko’s at a friend’s house--”

But once he saw the empty living room and  his mother alone, with some bandages and talking to someone on phone…

“... Mom?” he asked with a frown on his face “Is something wrong? Where’s dad?”

His mother let a silent gasp escape from her mouth. She then turns back to the phone and tells the person on the call about the actual scene:

“I… I talk to you later, Ken. Daichi’s home, I will explain it to him.”

Daichi threw his backpack on the floor and hugged Miyako tightly, lying his head on her stomach. She watched him for a while til ruffle his hair. With a smile, she says:

“It’s okay, I just got hurt at work. Your father is fine, just had to travel to New York, again.”

… I couldn’t accept that. It was all a lie. I was sure, he had vanished. Probably died, and no one wanted to admit that. But… they can’t fool me.

Two years later… On Summer 2027…

“Hey, big bro.” “Big bro…!” “Brother!”

She was getting so so DONE with him ignoring her…!!

“Motomiya. Freakin’. Daichi.”

She was there, hands on her hips and glaring at him. In front of the couch where he was sitting and reading a book.

“Are you listening to?! What is your problem?!”

That girl is, as you expected, his sister. Daichi shifted his attention from the book to the girl. Her having a rose-ish long hair, amber eyes, a pair of pink sunglasses in his head and a hairpin of the said color a la Hikari (when Hikari was young, of course)

In confusion, Daichi tilted his head. She was about to spit fire on him if she had superpowers. She rolled her eyes.

“You’re reading. Again. On a sunny day. Inside. Like, studying on summer vacations.”

“Reading and studying are indeed important,” he closed his book with one hand, and he said calmly yet colder than the winter, “Especially because that would’ve been his last wish.”

“No no,” she was getting upset with that ol’ talk about their dad’s status and whereabouts “don’t talk like our dad were dead. He’s in New York, okay?!”

“I don’t think so, Kiyoko. But I’ll spare you from all of my assumptions.”

She tilted her her in silence. That was so uncalled for! No, her dad is not dead! Sure, he’s super duper famous and has to get some bodyguards like a couple of humans and digimons, but… Why on earth would someone try to kill Motomiya Daisuke, the man everyone adores and feels blessed for his kindness and high spirits?!

“Listen here, Daichi” she started “Our dad IS alive because--”

“Help. Help me. Miyako…!” a mysterious voice echoed in the room “I… I need you. And The Digichosen. Hurry…!!”

“W-what was that voice?!” Kiyoko looked to the ceiling, and when she looked back at Daichi… He had gotten up and passed by her side, following that voice.

“Kiyoko, go stay with your friends,” he said.

The voice led him to a room. The same room he used to play games with his father. Once the door was open, he saw a small pink bunny digimon (who looked like similar to a Chibimon) lying on the floor.

“A… Digimon?”

Another look in the room and he realized the old computer was mysteriously on. It had passed three years from the day his father had (suddenly) disappeared. That room kept closed for most of the time. Has that digimon invaded the room while no one had been paying attention to their surroundings?

Oh, it moved. It woke up and her green eyes met him. Due to the tension, the small digimon switched forms… to a woman. A very familiar woman to Daichi.

“N-Natsu?!” the boy was surprised yet confused

She glanced at the boy, then started looking around to make sure no one had followed her. But why? Why is Natsu a digimon? What’s happening here?!

“Daichan… I need to find your mother, and the rest of the group, very quickly.”

Daichi blinked. A ‘group’ of what? Friends? Adults? Maybe he could just call Taichi and ask for help, but…

“Mom’s at work right now. And I don’t know about this group you’re talking about.”

“The Chosen Children! Don’t you know?”

“My parents and their friends told us some stories about them, but mom is a regular Digimon researcher and not a  legend heroine.”

Oops, she forgot that Taichi and Daisuke alongside the others had decided to make it a secret from their children. Not like they don’t enjoy their glorious past, but they definitely do not desire their kids to risk their lives. Chosen Children -- Or just like they decided to change the term for ‘Digichosen’ -- will always exist no matter what happens.

But, they will fight to keep their children safe and live a happy life. That world already is a chaos with both worlds connected, with both human and digimon groups living in each other’s world.

“I have to tell you a secret” Natsu showed some determination with her words. She had decided to trust that kid, despite Daisuke’s wishes, “Your parents are part of that group. And some of their friends too.”

“W-wait, my late father too?!” it was too much information for him.

“He’s not dead!” Natsu went a bit defensive, but calmed down “He’s… lost in the Digital World. I know I can find him, but I need your mother’s help. Any adult Chosen is fine though.”

Daichi felt strange, his eyes were lively after three years of wild theories and despair. He had lost hope for so much time that he had admitted defeat.

“Can I help you…?” he asked with some excitement “I’m a hero’s child! And I’m good at lots of things, like--”

“I can’t let you help, Daichan” she avoided look at his eyes “Your parents, especially your mother, would’ve killed me if I let you do that.”

“Mom’s not home, I don’t know who’re the other heroes, Kiyoko is with her friends right now… I’m the only one here and if you are in trouble…”

“L-Listen, I can’t let you--!!”

“Besides, the legendary Chosen Children were around my age when they saved the world. Are you saying a kid can’t save his own father?”

Oh, he’s got some kind of Miyako in it…

“... No but-- Miyako’s gonna be mad at me--”

“My father would’ve let me help you because he knows I’d be safe with you~”

“He-- He wouldn’t--” she felt conflicted, imagining Daisuke telling her he was proud of her for taking care of his children while he hadn’t been around.

Natsu felt totally defeated by that fantasy. Daichi laughed, smirking and resembling very much his father.

“O-Ok! Motomiya Daisuke would’ve been so much happy to have his own son adventuring into the DigiWorld and saving him and it!” she was quite noisy now “Daichan, I’ll protect you with my life! I’m going to die for you!!”

“C-Cut out the part of ‘dying for me’ and let’s go!” he had regrets… oh boy.

She opened the gate with the computer and then… Both her and Daichi were absorbed by the screen’s light.

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

“Your brother is annoying.”

Kiyoko had to agree with the short boy, while the second boy had been there in silence, just watching them chatting.

“I know that” she seemed a little upset yet “Like, what’s wrong going to play some sport or game OUTSIDE?! Or I dunno, read a book but in the park?!”

“That’s why he’s a sore loser.”

“I’d have preferred he was the same Daichi from years ago!”

“Yeah, at least he wasn’t annoying and goody-two-shoes like now!”

“Can you believe he thinks my dad is dead?! No, not just that, he definitely talks like if my dad is dead!”

“Tch, how insensitive he is… My dad would’ve said something if mr. Motomiya had been dead for a long time!”

“My father would’ve said too” the third kid said with a quiet voice “He’s not only an officer but also a best friend for your father, Kiyoko...”

“I know, I know!” she snorted “Daichi’s definitely upset because it’s taking too much time for our dad’s return.”

“At least he’s going home someday…” the first boy clenched his hand.

“Please don’t like if uncle Taichi were dead, Taisuke…”  the other boy asked.

“M-my bad, Eiji…!” Taisuke babbled “I meant like… N-Never mind!!”

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

“W-where are we?”

“Daichan, this is the Digital World, or DigiWorld to make it short.”

Exotic plants with bizarre formats and colors… The skies being like a watercolor paint… A few data and circuits running through the scenario, strange vending machines in the middle of the florest…

Everything was new for him, like if he had opened the door for a brand new experience. It was different from books and photos, seemed much more better to live in. He had heard a lot about the DigiWorld, except his parents never let him go there and always said he had to wait a little more. When was this “little more” if not now? He’s good at surviving the summer camp, interacting with the digimon as well. How can it go wrong?

“Now listen,” Natsu looked at the kid with a serious glare “Whatever you heard about this place, know that there’s an actual civil war happening here, your father and the others had been dealing with. Stay closer and do not go walk alone.”

“What’s… What’s happening?”

“So, you’ve heard about that one time Yggdrasil went nuts and tried to separate humans and digimons from each other? Your father and mother discovered it and tried to stop, but they, Ken and Iori got captured instead. Taichi and the other seven saved us all but… Something went off.”

“I… I didn’t know that-- Wait a minute!? Taichi… Yagami Taichi?!”

“You have to learn a lot of things I guess.”

“Why didn’t dad tell me before…?”

“He…” Natsu looked found some difficulty to word that answer, “He was going tell you a little later.”

“Was he…?”

“... When you were about to turn ten, he had decided to tell you but… A little unfortunate event happened. But I’m sure I can find him, I can…!”

She was acting suspicious, like avoiding to say something. What was the ‘secret’ she’s keeping away from him…? Did something happen to his dad?

“What happened to him…? Do you know something, Natsu...?”

She didn’t answer and avoided look at him during their walk in the forest. It got on Daichi’s nerves so much because he wanted to know, he really wanted to help there but Natsu’s silence was worse than passing through years thinking his father had been dead.

And when he finally got some concrete clue about that mystery…

“Natsu! Tell me now!” his voice sounded serious, he definitely gritted his teeth like when Daisuke does when angry “I’m his son, I have to know!”

“I… I can’t tell you now!” she babbled “I’m sorry but maybe we should go home--”

A lightning needle has passed through them and all she could do was rise a pinkish forcefield around her and the boy. She knew… The one hunting her down, the one she had been trying to hide from... was there. Now some regret hit her conscience, putting Daichi in danger like that! He does not have a digimon partner! And she’s not partnered to him! Plus, she’s not even Daisuke’s partner but just a mere ally digimon who had ‘adopted’ by Daisuke a long time ago.

“Wha-what was that?!” the kid gasped “Is it… A digimon attack?!”

“Stay quiet, please! And run…!” she grabbed Daichi’s hand and left the place, with a shadow following them in the woods.