#taichi being soft

[seventeenlovesthree]

My top 25 Digimon Adventure Tri moments (in no particular order except the 1st)

I really need to bring these in order, but since I’ve reblogged this beautiful post, I might as well post my favourite Tri moments compilation right now. Will definitely look for more screenshots in the future too.

Jyou punching Dark Gennai. I'm getting excited just thinking about it, it's SO satisfying. 

Taichi's flashback on Koushirou calling him out with them being framed as rain vs sun - that is such a good analogy right there from a cinematic point of view, even if it's just so subtle and there isn't a lot of emphasis on it, but it IS what lets Taichi snap out of his paralysis after all. It basically implied that Koushirou was “the sun” Taichi needed to move on (even though he himself usually is “the sun” for everyone else).

As painful as it is - Sora's breakdown and Taichi telling her that her selflessness is one of her good traits, making her say the "Don't say things Piyomon would say" in return. Like, it HURTS, it FEELS dysfunctional, but in all actuality, it shows how much they DO understand each other. Literal hedgehog's dilemma. 

The Jyoumi honesty scene. As much of a retcon as it is overall, I love that they're honest with each other without hiding behind masks. 

That split-second of Kou standing in front of that kimono with Tentomon and Piyomon in his bag - next to the Koura phone scene (where the set-up is nice, but there's just too much second hand embarrassment there), I just love the potential behind it. 

The "Don't push yourself so much" Taishirou-scene, which will forever live rent-free in my head. 

The Taikoura donut scene. It's stupidly cute, even if it isn't much.

The Meikeru scene in which she says it's nice to see Takeru and Yamato getting along despite their parents being divorced, it's actually very endearing to have such a gentle moment there out of the blue. 

Kou's mentor moment towards Takeru. "So you just want to forget? It's not about what you couldn't do, it's about what you WILL do." THAT IS MY BOY. 

Takeru then trying his best to approach Meiko after being inspired by Koushirou (as mentioned above) in the exact same way is also an amazing follow-up.

In addition to the former entry, Koushirou’s "I'M AGAINST THIS, I WILL FIND A SOLUTION!" scene in the last movie, when everyone had already accepted the reboot as only solution, was a pretty nice “main character moment” for him.

The Meimi hug scene, with Meiko FINALLY coming out of her shell and being the one who reassures Mimi for once. THAT WAS A GREAT SET-UP. 

A summary of every "SoMi being lovely towards one another" scene. There are just too many to count (special mention goes to the amazing Jyourami rescue scene in the fourth movie!!!).

Kou rescuing Taichi from getting strangled by Yamato in the fifth movie. Classic. 

Sora's "don't close yourself off, being lonely makes a thorn grow in your heart, I was like that too" quote in the fifth movie, WHICH HURTS, BECAUSE IT COULD HAVE BEEN A GREAT SET-UP FOR HER TOO. 

Taichi's "Shimane's the one without computers" shade comment, with Yamato's stupid "That was a million years ago" response, which is peak Tsundere. 

Tentocat nuzzling into Kou's side. Ugh. (Also probably all the cheesy AguTento moments.)

Taichi saying that they should not judge Jyou, "If we approached him now, he might have to face things he doesn't want to." Mature!Taichi ftw, even if that wasn't the overall best approach, it still showed his progress. He HAD to face the painful things in the end. 

Hikari's comment on Plotmon after the reboot, implying that there are certain things she’d better not remember (alluding to everything she went through during her time under Vamdemon up until watching Wizarmon die). I didn't think they would go there, but they did and that was both heartbreaking, but still amazing. 

Yamato's reaction towards Meiko's Ghost Story, completely losing it there - and the shade he got from Takeru for it. Good boy. 

Mimi actually kissing Meiko on the cheek. Groundbreaking. 

Yamato's peak closet moment (he had at least three) being the "if we don't have to form Omegamon anymore, that'll make it easier for you too, right?", including the blushing. 

Taichi affirming Meiko that Koushirou is researching the whole infection issue “with all his heart” will also live rent-free in my head forever.

The farewell scene between Taichi and Daigo (probably being the 64728th Evangelion reference in these movies, but I’ll bite, I liked that one).

Also all the housewife!Gomamon scenes (that compliment the housewife!Tentomon scenes).

[hoppipolla]

This ep was amazing :(( What a cast to be honest. They all act so well and I just love everyone. Motoki and Toranosuke's micro-expressions got me teary... I adore their detailed acting and I just love Kohei and Taichi's dynamic.

[brainfilehasstoppedworking]

TAIKAAKI HEADCANONS PLEASEEE!

What are their favourite foods/colours/activities/date ideas. Ramble ur heart out!!!

Favorite foods: I think Takaaki would probably like simple things, like curry or onigiri. It was mostly what they had in the fridge so he just got used to it. Though, he likes to eat whatever Taichi makes if he's cooking. Taichi would really eat anything, but I feel like he'd probably enjoy udon noodles mostly. I feel like he'd be an udon guy.

Favorite colors: Takaaki doesn't have a favorite as he never really thought about it. He wouldn't be able to tell you if you asked. Taichi would like green, him and Chihiro have a fondness for the color.

Date ideas: Takaaki, when he plans a date, likes to stay inside and they do things like do random activities or other things. Maybe play a game, like cards. Then they'd go into the kitchen and make dinner, they'll maybe drink a few glasses of wine and that's it. He'll have it planned out and check in with Taichi if it's okay. (It's rare that he plans their outside dates as he likes being comfy at home.)

When Taichi plans a date night, he'll tell Takaaki to get nicely dressed and he'd take him out on a dinner date. Then for a walk around the city or a park they can find in the area. It's all so cheesy because Taichi is just trying to be very romantic, even trying to get Takaaki to dance with him. Taichi always makes sure if Takaaki is comfortable with the idea. They just like simplicity over something too extravagant.

Though, they'd so prefer to be home. Going out is more of just when they need air outside of their home. They'd like to stay and cuddle or cook, maybe just do their own thing while in the other's company. Maybe they'll lay on the couch and watch something if they feel up to it. Then fall asleep in the middle of it. That's also their perfect date idea.

Thanks for the ask. Sorry for taking a bit, had to think this out, ehehe. =w=

[ashxketchum]

Now it feels like we’re celebrating the 25th Anniversary 😍

This new art for an upcoming collaboration with Karatez is just simply stunning. The theme is (very obviously) “idol” and I personally love the futuristic pop concept they’ve added to the outfits. Although exact date and merch details haven’t been shared yet, they shared a few layouts of the key art.

The outfits are also great this time around because of their little references to the partner Digimon’s Perfect evolutions. Listing them down one by one as always.

Taichi: The blue markings on his jacket plus robotic arm markings on his right sleeve are a nice shoutout to MetalGreymon.

Yamato: We see WereGarurumon’s pattern on his jacket and a few belts wrapped around his hands that captures the punk-grunge vibe of WereGarurumon well. It may be Yamato’s affinity to music, but he looks extremely in his element in this art, it’s not often we see him so raring to go in official merch art (he’s more of a soft smiles guy usually).

Sora: Her gloves and the red bandana on her arm coupled with the feather in her hair are clear shoutouts to Garudamon. It’s kinda funny to me that being the girl who’s crest is a heart symbol, she’s making a victory sign while Mimi and Hikari are both making different types of finger hearts 😆

Koushiro: Honestly they were really subtle with the reference for him and even twitter couldn’t exactly answer my doubts so I’m gonna have to see Koushiro stans step up and answer whether the reference in his outfit limited to the markings on his jacket resembling AtlurKabuterimon’s chest?

Mimi: I think she’s the one with the most easy to catch references, her skirt resembles Lilymon’s and her hair tie looks like Lilymon’s flower canon. I love that she’s making the big finger heart because it’s just so very Mimi. If Yamato suits the passionate side of being an idol, Mimi is definitely meant for the cutesy visual vibe that can make fans go crazy over just a wink and a smile.

Jou: He’s wearing three belt like bracelets around one wrist like Zudomon which makes his a minimal reference though not as subtle as Koushiro’s. I do feel that they could’ve done a bit more with his look, maybe add a horn to the side of his headset? I also can’t wait to see the full art for each kid individually cuz I do think him and Yamato are wearing similar bellbottom pants!

Takeru: The feather on his headset and the yellow suspended straps are a decent reference to HolyAngemon. Considering that they wanted to keep the outfits limited to one colour per kid, I think this is the best way they could slip in the reference, though I wouldn’t have minded a few rings.

Hikari: The feather on the headset, the corset-ish belt around her waist and her gloves are very nice references to Angewomon. Keeping Hikari’s innocence as a kid intact while referencing a Digimon that is undoubtedly considered one of the most sexiest mons in the franchise would have been really tough and I salute the illustrators for coming up with this design! I also like the OG Korean finger heart she’s making, such a cute look on her.

The cherry on top are each of the Digimon partners holding supportive cheering goods for their kids. Piyomon’s love for Sora goes hard with her big name banner. Meanwhile, Agumon and Palmon kept it simple with haoris, Tailmon and Patamon too decided to go the simple route with light sticks. Gabumon, Gomamon and Tentomon seem normal from afar with their hand fans but when you get a closer look on all the hearts around Koushiro’s name on Tentomon’s fan, you know the three spent time making those themselves.

All in all, a pretty amazing illustration to be able to get merch of!

But wait that’s not all, andGallery has also teased a future cafe collaboration with Digimon Adventure on their twitter, more info will be announced on 19th Feb but they did share a preview of what to expect.

[shihalyfie]

There's something bugging me since I saw a statement from Producer Shimomura in a Spanish interview being linked to Rui's page (and consequently, the Chosen Child's page) on a wiki about a question which was "Rui is way younger than Maki and Daigo who're the first Chosen. How so?" My assumption of that question was like "the interviewer was assuming things (thanks to the fact now everyone who sees the mentioned Five Previous Chosen from Adv'99 as Maki and Daigo's team thanks to ▽) and is not well aware of the math lore",

But then... Shimomura's answer was like "Oh this is new for me too. Anyway Rui is not exactly a Chosen Child and is more likely a special and unique case" which is basically contradicted by everything 02TB-related as well -- interviews, promotional stuff, etc.

(also the interviewer misquote Rui's statements in-movie, since Rui was not even aware of that term and the ones to claim he was indeed the first there were the 02 kids.)

I've been talking with a friend about this quite recently and i'm confused now... What does that whole question even MEAN what's up with that answer!?

(I hope this is not ▽ negative tho, because i do love Maki-Daigo and i want them to coexist with Rui, i'm trying to make them WORK with the lore... Even by soft-retconning a few details of them orz)

Yeah, so about that...I apologize for the language, but this is one of those rare occasions where you just have to flat-out discard an official statement as bullshit. Shimomura's answer doesn't make sense by any kind of logic whatsoever:

In Adventure continuity, being a "Chosen Child" has an extremely loose definition (which is even acknowledged in Two-and-a-Half Year Break). The only consistent definition of a Chosen, and the one thing that distinguishes cases like Oikawa, Hiroki, and Hikari and Taichi in 1995 from kids who can actually be called Chosen, is that Chosen Children have Digivices (i.e. them being "chosen" is not for anything specific, but being formalized with a Digivice means they now have a responsibility). So by definition, as a kid who was sent a Digimon and a Digivice by some entity, Rui is a Chosen. There's no good argument for him to not be a Chosen.

And of course, even if in the movie they didn't claim that Rui was the first Chosen with that exact wording, basically every bit of promotional and advertising material and member of staff has referred to him as the first Chosen. Like this isn't a "Menoa says that Digimon disappear because they became adults" situation where the advertising would have this "they learn from Menoa that..." indirect tone about it; everyone else has been completely unambiguous about the fact Rui is meant to be taken as the first Chosen. Otherwise, why would they make such a big deal about picking that specific year for Rui to meet Ukkomon, or, hell, what's the point of naming the movie "The Beginning"? That would arguably make advertising the movie as being about the first Chosen into advertising fraud or something.

This is a response to a question asking how Himekawa and Nishijima would be Chosen if Rui was the first Chosen Child, because the contradiction makes this not make sense. But even if you take Shimomura's idea of Rui being the "first one to form a partner relationship with a Digimon", that still doesn't explain anything nor does it resolve the contradiction because Himekawa and Nishijima also clearly had partner relationships with their Digimon in their childhoods too. Like again, it's practically advertising fraud if Rui isn't the first something.

As for why Shimomura would say something like this, the whole "this is new to me too" already hints at the idea she wasn't very well-informed about this issue or series Deepest Lore (in particular, it's pretty likely she didn't know much about tri., given she was two producers ahead of it, and her article series on Digimon Partners suggests she's pretty new to Digimon production as a whole). So I doubt this answer was very well-thought through, especially since everyone else involved in the movie has been pretty clear about being timeline-precise.

The other likely reason is that, when you think about it, this question is inherently an unsolvable trap for a producer like her. If you know the actual Digimon Adventure series production timeline, tri. was unilaterally the one that went off-kilter here; Adventure lore alone dictates that you can't have Chosen before 1995, so there is a correct answer here, and it's simply that tri. messed up and that going back to original Adventure canon for Kizuna and 02TB required throwing a lot of it out. This has generally been the implicit stance that's been taken since even back during Kizuna; most glaringly, tri. was just flat-out omitted in an official timeline, which has to carry some meaning because one does not just accidentally omit a series that was advertised as an Adventure sequel and was basically the core of the franchise for five real-life years.

I don't get the impression it's "tri. isn't canon anymore" as much as it's "we have to ignore so many substantial details of tri. that it may not be correct to call it the same thing anymore," which is consistent with the way "canon" has been loosely treated in the franchise in general. But the thing is, the reason why they're being implicit about it instead of saying it all-out is that, yeah, if they say it in explicit words, that's going to piss off everyone who's going to see that as five years being tossed down the drain, let alone tri. fans who will basically see their favorite being spit on in public. (If you ask me, I don't see "messing up lore points" as having inherent ties to writing quality, and I don't think the creators do either, but lore can be Serious Business to Japanese fans, so officially saying that something violates lore can easily be taken as public shaming; even the few times they've brought up lore contradictions have gotten people mad in some way.)

So while I definitely wish she'd have given an answer that was less obviously bullshit, Shimomura did kind of have to give a bullshit answer in order to not piss someone off, since her job as a producer is less about the creative writing and more about juggling the interests of the movie as a whole. This also wouldn't be our first instance of this kind of situation; it's generally been hinted by staff members that Seki's claim of every version of Akiyama Ryou being the same character was also something she was forced to say in order to not have to say something like "yeah the WonderSwan games aren't canon actually" (which would piss off their fans and Bandai).

[jamesthedigidestined]

TaiKouvember, Day 5: Hope

Pen meets paper furiously, scribbling down as fast as possible, and yet it’s still not enough to capture the speed of his mind. The sight laid before him was too rich for material; it simply couldn’t be ignored. So he stared; even as his pen veered off the perfectly straight lines, he stared deep into the core of his focus. 

“Uuuh… TK? You okay?” Taichi questions, worry written on his features. He moves from his leaning position, the arm that was once draped across the couch’s top now resting on his arm, his other partially reaching out. Before it can get too far, Koushirou pats Taichi’s thigh to gain his attention. 

“It’s no use. Taichi-san, Takeru-kun simply will not stop writing once something has taken his interest.” With a gentle shake of their head, they sip coffee from a red-and-black polka dot mug, leaning comfortably into the soft material. Taichi, not entirely satisfied, leans back as well, an eye still watching Takeru. 

“Still, does he need to stare so... intently?” 

“Of course! This is the best material I’ve seen in a while!” Takeru suddenly exclaims, jumping up. 

“I suspected it for a while, but this? Living together? This seals it!” 

“Suspected ‘it’? What do you mean by that? And what does being roommates have to do with anything??? Kou, what does he mean?!" 

"In due time, Taichi-san, in due time," Koushirou says cooly, enjoying the warm drink as Takeru tightly seals his mouth, nearly exploding from laughter. 

Taichi Yagami decided that was not a great start to the day. He wasn’t the smartest; that was Koushirou, but more than not understanding something, he felt like he was left out of some kind of joke. Takeru stuck around for a bit longer but soon left as Patamon reminded him that a class was starting soon. After this, Taichi was left alone with Koushirou in their shared apartment, and he didn’t understand how that was involved. 

The day, otherwise, carried on as normal. Koushirou worked from home, occasionally poking out to grab a bite to eat or socialize with Taichi. Said retired gogglehead was studying in between sessions of scratching Tentomon’s shell. Who knew a carapace could be so sensitive? Soon enough, however, Koushirou walks out of his office and leans into Taichi, who had finished studying an hour ago. 

“Tough problem again?” Taichi questions, beginning to softly scratch and massage the spiky scalp laid before him, fingers untangling buried knots and tense muscles as Koushirou cannot help but lean closer. 

“Yeah, we’ve tried to use a new corpus of data to finetune our transformer model without as much inference time, but we still have yet to break past the Chinchilla scaling law,” Koushirou says casually, leaning more into their roommate’s touch. Taichi, for his part, cannot parse anything other than chinchillas riding massive robot cars. 

“You’ll get there, Kou; you always do. You’re a true genius, someone who can break past any barrier they set their mind to.” He says warmly, continuing to massage the scalp of his roommate, who has now turned away.

“That’s not true, and you know it, Taichi-san,” Koushirou says flatly, gently breaking off from the touch. Taichi, unsure but respectful of the newfound distance, turns to Tentomon for guidance. 

“Koushirou-han, you simply cannot blame yourself for that.” The large insect says, a robot-like arm moving up to pet his partner, a loving spark hidden behind the green compound eyes. 

Koushirou loosens their shoulders slightly, nodding as they return to leaning on Taichi. In response, Taichi naturally begins to massage their scalp, giving soft soothing words over their best friend's capabilities, remaining like this until a timer begins to go off. 

“You made dinner?” Koushirou questions, beginning to slowly stand up and stretch firmly, flexing their arms out. Taichi happily observes their best friend’s form, smiling as he confirms he at least threw something quick together. 

They walk over to their kitchen, and Taichi insists that Koushirou, as “the breadwinner," should sit down and be catered to by Taichi. Koushirou disagrees vehemently, arguing that Taichi’s studying is just as valuable as work, only finally agreeing to be served when the pair decide Koushirou will handle dinner tomorrow. 

It was indeed a simple but filling dinner, consisting of a salmon fillet for each, a large bowl of rice, and miso soup with tofu. They sit down, pray over their meal, and proceed to eat. Koushirou slowly begins to eat, eating bits of each and letting their flavors meld together. Taichi, however, quickly begins to devour his rice and miso soup, saving his salmon for last. Tentomon first focuses on the soup, enjoying the warm savory flood of miso before playing with his food, making small rice balls with salmon centers, and constructing a pyramid before continuing to eat. The pair of DigiDestineds look at the Digimon with joy, catching the eye of the other and smiling ear to ear. 

Soon, they’re all stuffed and go to recline on the couch, mimicking their position this morning except even closer, Tentomon resting peacefully in a fluffy bed made out of his favorite pillows. The similarities to this morning spark that aching question and feeling of being left out again, and deciding now was as good a time as any... 

“Hey, Kou, what did Takeru mean earlier?” Taichi questions, slightly worrying his lip as he looks over to his redheaded roommate, uncertainty written across his features despite his best efforts. 

“You mean you still haven’t understood how people see us? Taichi-san, we live together. We’re seldom apart. I can’t even think of a time in the last year I didn’t at least talk to you in a day. Whenever we talk to friends, the other always comes up without fail. Don’t you consider that out of the ordinary?” Koushirou turns to face Taichi, their eyes catching, mesmerizing their roommate. Fuck, were they always this deep?

“I, uh, thought that’s what best friends do?” Taichi responds somewhat dumbly, shifting his own body to face Koushirou as well. 

“‘Would best friends do this?’ Koushirou says, their hand reaching out to hold Taichi’s head before eclipsing their burning lips with their own. And while I don’t have all the details for this part yet, I bet the gist of it is you both end up in the bedroom, and you are SORE, Koushirou-san. Like Taichi just DECIMATED your tight-“ 

"Please spare us the details. Takeru-kun, for everyone’s sake. Please.” Koushirou pleads, pouring themselves another glass of coffee as Taichi, a flaming mess of nerves, just sputters and leans forward. A complete wreck. 

“Great, and now you broke my boyfriend; they don’t come cheap, you know.” The redhead says cooly, unphased by Takeru’s antics as they rub Taichi’s back. 

“Not in shock over this?” Takeru asks, leaning back into his chair and taking in the floundering composure of their dear gogglehead. 

“Takeru, I once saw you regale an entire group of Chosen with a legend from the Digital World you made up on the spot; your fanfiction regarding how me and Taichi got into our relationship is not surprising in the least. Now please, it’s 6 AM; me and Taichi were in the middle of sex, and I would prefer to get back to it and get to bed before Taichi is nothing but a melted mess.” In response, Takeru busts a gut and heads out while Taichi just implodes mentally at the brazen admission of his partner. Within moments, however, Taichi has more than enough motivation to return to bed, and they both have a fantastic day afterward. And Takeru had plenty of new writing material.  @taikouvember

[digimonadventurezero]

Well...

Not sure how many people are still following this blog, or rather who's still interested on those headcanons + ideas i had in the past...

But Rui's existence goes against ▽ events and i'd like to clarify that i don't think it's a TOTAL RETCON like a ton of people are either celebrating or complaining.

I'd like to give you my own "solution" to keep Maki and Daigo + their group existing in the timeline.

First, the frustrating part about working with ▽ events and them is that there's no information about their respective ages, and we saw them in Uni as well. A friend of mine pointed this out as the biggest problem to use ▽ as it is. You either pick it or 02TB. My research about the said backstory scenes in pt4 led me to discover that... those scenes also are hard to know when they take place.

Not even the ref sheets has a single age or grad to get an approximated age for them, or when those scenes took place. They only state that those two designs are from "Elementary School" and "University" -- but the Elementary grades are not even here!? Unlike the Adv'99 & 02 kids' profiles in their respective series, which listed at least their school grades so you could know they're around their 10s.

But we know the original lore from Adv'99 + 02 -- there were other groups before Taichi & Daisuke's. One of them were depicted in Adv'99 anime and novel -- a group of five kids, and four of them got their partners evolved into the Holy Beasts (according to the Adv'99 novel). This is also used in ▽ pt4, at least. They changed a few details alas, but my point is... Until here it's everything OKAY, right?

The problem starts with the Uni scene and them being Data Bureau agents in 2005. It could mean they're way older than Taichi -- including Rui (who's a leap baby from 1992!) and this would get in conflict with their own Digi-Adventure flashbacks. Many people believed they weren't from the 90s but before the 90s because of that. You could then think they had no relation to the math lore or something, but then the presence of Homeostasis in that cold-opening for pt4 and the digivice model makes things EVEN WORSE to work with.

But like i said, i love both Maki-Daigo and Rui so i want them to co-exist. Hence why i'm believing in a partial retcon in terms of those two's ages. And it's quite recently that we all got more info about the math lore, and more confusing statements in the end...

Anyway, my solution is:

Maki-Daigo's group is indeed the quintet mentioned in Adv'99 & Novels. They were around Adv!Taichi's age when they went to the DW but possibly the other three in the group were either 2 or 3 years older. Maybe they're like the 02 kids, and weren't chosen exactly in the same year? Possibly the oldies were the other 3 who got mons alongside Menoa (she's the same age as Taichi and got her mon in 97), But Daigo and Maki got their mons in 98, alongside other 7 people...? And their Adventure was indeed in 1998.

Daigo's love confession scene has no calendars or anything to point the year he had confessed his love for her, besides being SNOWING outside -- so it's probably Winter. They're said to be Uni students, so my conclusion is...

... That the Data Bureau possibly recruited them around that time, and they're not even in their 30s in ▽? They might be even 19 years old, and only got high roles in the Data Bureau because of their title as Chosen Children and connection with Homeo + Gennai.

They aren't the first ones, but actually they might be the first group of kids who went to the DW instead.

This is my own solution for the problem. Again, I'd prefer to believe in a soft retcon or changes from the events -- in which said events in the timeline weren't presented as it is to us. Therefore i'd prefer to believe my awful people OTP is still alive and they can meet my sad potato someday.

I'd like to simple just retcon their ages from 1998 adventure and make them be 13-14 years old there, so then you could have them be in their twenties when they were recruited by the Data Bureau...

Anyway, i understand when some peeps say they can't make ▽ work with Adv'99/02/Kizuna/02TB as it was presented to the audience, because it's a hard task orz

[holly-natnicole]

Explanations for why I did the Cinnamon Roll Meme this way:

Looks like a cinnamon roll, is actually a cinnamon roll — Agumon, coz he's an adorable little dinosaur more likely to try the diplomatic approach than to jump immediately into fighting; Piyomon, coz she's an adorable pink bird who gives emotional support to her friends; Tachikawa Mimi, coz (especially after her growth as a person) she's a compassionate person; Kamiya "Kari" Hikari, coz she puts others first to the point of getting ill and/or injured solely coz she wants to not be a burden to them; Wallace "Willis" Williams, coz they cares 'bout the safety of random strangers & tries to solve difficult situations alone to avoid putting others in danger; Motomiya Daisuke, coz he refuses to harm his friends and he'll befriend you even if you've done something bad since he knows you genuinely regret what you did; Hida Iori, coz she's a semi-pacifist who despises killing & lying.

Looks like a cinnamon roll, could actually kill you — Kamiya "Tai" Taichi, coz he's an adorable goofball who (usually) doesn't hesitate to jump into danger to save his friends & has no problem killing anyone threatening them (especially if Kari is the friend whose life is under threat since she's his biological fullsister); Takenouchi Sora, coz when she was age 11-12 it was damned clear in canon that she could easily assassinate people if she wanted to & everyone are lucky that she's genuinely nice; Gomamon, coz he's an adorable goofball who nevertheless can (with his friends' help) kill a Champion Level Digimon as a Rookie; Patamon, coz he's 1 of the most adorable Rookie Level Digimon ever yet also a major powerhouse upon digivolving; Ichijouji Ken, coz he literally tried to murder a fellow human when he was the Digimon Kaiser/Digimon Emperor and even after becoming a good person he had no problem with sending a majorly evil Digimon (who was being basically a terrorist) into the Dark Ocean yet he's still a genuinely nice kid; Inoue Miyako, coz she's a nerdy & genuinely nice kid yet doesn't hesitate to smack an Ultimate Level Digimon with a skateboard and (despite initially hesitating) is willing to do whatever it takes to get rid of enemies who've proven they're willing to slaughter innocent people.

Looks like they could kill you, is a cinnamon roll — Gabumon, coz his teeth and horn make him seem the scariest of the 8 original Digimon partners yet he's also the gentlest of them all; Izumi "Izzy" Kōshirō, coz anyone aware of Izzy's badass computer skills would be scared of him (I certainly was as a kid & still am as an adult despite my immense respect for his skills in both childhood & adulthood), but Izzy actually is a good kid; Kido Joe, coz he's the oldest DigiDestined and literally throws himself on Digimon in attempts to protect his friends, so you'd think he's some badass combatant yet actually Joe is the team's medic & a very responsible person; Takaishi "Keru" Takeru, coz he doesn't hesitate to punch the face of anyone intentionally messing with Darkness & sometimes is abrasive when he talks to people (even when they're his loved ones), so (similarly to Joe) it's easy to assume he's a violent person 'til you get to see his soft side; Wormmon, coz he's an insect Digimon that looks far more scary than cute yet he's as gentle as Gabumon; Hawkmon, coz he looks like a typical bird of prey yet in personality is more of a polite & caring older brother instead of a carnivore; Armadimon/Armadillomon, coz he is an armadillo dinosaur who looks scary yet in personality is simply a goofball.

Looks like they could kill you, could actually kill you — Ishida "Mat" Yamato, coz this DigiDestined by far scares me the most (except Ken was scarier during his time as the Digimon Kaiser/Digimon Emperor) due to his explicit willingness to kill his enemies & ('til he grew as a person) attack his friends making his aloofness feel more threatening than make him seem unapproachable; Tentomon, coz he's a giant bug whose digivolved forms are even bigger & scarier bugs and he once destroyed an entire pocket dimension as AtlerKabuterimon/MegaKabuterimon; Palmon, coz she's a plant lizard with poison attacks; Tailmon/Gatomon, coz she's introduced punching the snot out of 6 fellow Champion Digimon much bigger than her & the 2 being each other's fated adventuring platonic partners is the only reason she didn't murder Kari; Lopmon & Terriermon, coz the twins' horns mitigate their adorable appearance into seeming less approachable plus Lopmon spends most of his screentime as Wendimon plus Terriermon gains gun arms whenever she digivolves into her Champion form; Veemon, coz. he's a junvenile wingless dragon who'll headbutt the snot out of you before digivolving into 1 of his bigger forms which have very sharp claws & teeth.

[shoujomangathoughts]

Chihayafuru Thoughts - Random Moments

The return of my Chihayafuru thoughts! This time I’m gonna focus on a couple random scenes that either stuck out to me in some way or that I don't really have another post or larger topic to fit them into. This may become a series for me to talk about moments I enjoy but I don't really have a larger narrative through line to talk about in regards to them. There will be light spoilers for essentially the whole series so here's your warning.

This scene has always fascinated and lowkey amused me. This comes right after the chapter where Taichi wouldn't allow Chihaya to go to his room and when he ate the cake off her spoon, and for Chihaya to notice that he's acting strange is interesting to me. I say this mostly because it's so early on and yet she just kind of forgets or gets used to it because she doesn't ever really mention it again. Technically Taichi still had a girlfriend at this point and I don't think he'd fully figured out his feelings either, but the fact that she seemed to be noticing and then later was completely blindsided by his feelings has always made this moment stay in my mind. It's also fascinating because so many others noticed his feelings too; Kana, Sumire, Harada, Tsuboguchi, Desktomu (he wasn't surprised Taichi liked Chihaya, only that he was turned down), hell even Chitose called it out and she was hardly ever around them.

//Also as a sidenote, while I love many of the different art styles and the evolution of the manga's art, something about the art early on hits different.//

I know this chapter and Chihaya's "answer" ruffled some feathers, especially when the author seemed to say Arata was soft-rejected here (some people seem to think of that as "damage control", but with this among some other things she's said, I think it's worth noting when an author who writes so many things in interpretable or relatively vague ways actually comes right out and clarifies what she meant). My reading of this scene (even before knowing what Suetsugu said) was that Arata was indeed soft-rejected, and that him saying "I'll work on getting closer to you" is an acknowledgement of the fact that outside of karuta, he and Chihaya don't have all that much of a bond. I think this is interesting since I can't think of many instances where he did truly work on that, but I always thought that he was becoming more aware of the fact that he and Chihaya weren't as close as he probably wanted them to be. I've seen the blushing get brought up as a defense of her "not actually rejecting" him but I think in general, they're both awkward and talking about love and his romantic feelings which can be a bit embarrassing and awkward. The most important thing here for me was that Chihaya herself never really gave an indication that she was telling him to wait or that she'd have more to say at a later time. She said how she was feeling in that moment; doesn't mean it'd never change, but to me she very clearly didn't reciprocate his feelings in this chapter despite having every chance to say it if she had.

I think, on a whole, Shinobu is one of the most fascinating characters in the series. Seeing how isolated she is and how much the game means to her, and seeing how dejected and outright frustrated she gets that she can't make a career out of it is one of my favorite parts of her arc. This line about creating a profession being the reason she's using social media (rather than reaching some level of celebrity) has always stood out to me. She realizes that she can't make money from the one thing she has the most interest and passion in, and resolves herself to carve a place out for herself instead of accepting that no such place exists. I've also always found her relationship with her mother interesting as Shinobu very clearly sees certain things in her mother that she doesn't want for herself (there's a line about being a leech off her grandmother that particularly drives this home). And similarly her mother is clumsy in communicating with Shinobu and is at times almost vicariously living through her and her accomplishments in karuta, yet here we get a moment of her mother starting to see her in another light. After this is when we start seeing her mom try a little harder to support and watch over her because she sees her daughter fighting for her future in a way that she seemingly stopped doing (if she ever did). Shinobu on a whole is quite independent at the start of the series, in part due to her isolation, but I loved watching her gradually gain more people around her and how she opened up.

This is a small moment but one that I really like. Taichi and Chihaya seem to have mostly gotten past the awkwardness of some of their previous post-Taichi confession interactions and seem comfortable again. But then when Taichi mentions the fact that Chihaya covered for Hanano when they took a picture at the queen match, we get a panel where she just stares at him. I've always seen this as a moment where it's reiterated to Chihaya how well Taichi knows her and how easily he reads her. In a way it seems like she feels she can't hide things from him, which makes sense as this is right before she confesses her feelings. It almost feels reminiscent of the "he's the guy who's always been working hard with me" line and the "Taichi's always been by my side" line. She's entirely focused on him.

Though she's by no means a super prominent character in the series, I really like Miyauchi-sensei. From going to a teacher who thought of Chihaya as only being an eccentric girl to seeing how much passion and effort the karuta club was putting into practicing and playing. There are a lot of small but great moments with her throughout. Making the team tasukis and later headbands, supporting the students even at tournaments unrelated to the school (Yoshino and the Queen match come to mind); she really ended up attached to and inspired by these kids. That's why I picked these panels to talk about her. It's a full circle moment where she thinks about the end of the first generation of the karuta club, and the fact that she's emotional is proof that this club has become something special to her as well something she will likely protect in the future.

Another relatively brief moment but one that I think encapsulates one of my favorite themes in the series: youth. This moment where Tsuboguchi talks about youth describes a lot of the commentary the series makes on the topic. We see primarily high schoolers but also characters like Harada, Inokuma, Sakurazawa, Tsuboguchi himself, Sakura, etc. all be examples of players who continue playing despite varying life circumstances. We see people carry passion way further into life than just during their high school years and I feel as though that's an important thing communicated in the series, especially given how karuta and its tournaments work. Having something you're passionate about and continuing down that path or finding new ways to reach people with a similar interest is a beautiful thing. It's reiterated throughout the series how important the time they have in high school is because life will get more complicated when they graduate, but this panel of Tsuboguchi talking to his team and telling them that he enjoys the game even more now is a great reminder that life doesn't end with graduating high school. As someone who was already out of high school when I read this series for the first time, I really enjoyed moments like this that remind younger people to value time in high school while not letting it be their peak (though in some physical aspects like Chihaya's hearing, it might be the peak lol).

This one is based almost solely on Taichi's line "sorry for standing in your way". I've always been intrigued by the author's choice of using this line because it comes across as somewhat more negative and direct than I expected when reading this part. I know sometimes this is the result of fan translation (still unbelievably grateful for the work they put in to help make things accessible though!), but for sake of analyzing this, I'll refer to this translation. To me, Taichi says this probably for a couple reasons. One of which is that it's the end of the match where Arata truly saw him as a proper rival for the first time, and just as Arata could tell that Taichi "loathed him", Taichi could also tell that Arata viewed him as a nuisance. I think this just kind of slipped out after Taichi lost which makes sense because no one is happy to lose to their closest rival. I think another reason that he specifically uses "standing in your way" is because as we essentially know (but it's confirmed later), Taichi feels left behind after watching Arata and Chihaya announce their goals to be Meijin and Queen as kids. They both have been chasing that dream the whole time whereas Taichi has been unsure of himself. He probably doesn't think he is as "deserving" of facing the Meijin because that hasn't been his goal the entire time and he knows that's always been Arata's goal. Either way, even if it was said only out of bitterness, Taichi and Arata hug it out afterwards and Taichi is able to encourage Arata to win. Just always been an interesting choice of dialogue to me.

One of the best parts of Arata's arc for me is when he finally realizes that as much as he loves his late grandpa and his karuta, there is a certain pressure that comes from following a prominent player. Realizing that he's been hypocritical about playing your "own" karuta and that he's tried to avoid nervousness for important matches by leaning on his grandpa's style are truly great moments for him. I also love how this is explicitly communicated by his dad, who turned away from the game because his father was so extraordinary at it. Watching Arata use things that he learned from practicing with his grandpa as well as playing in a way that suits him is genuine growth. He's taking the time they spent together and using it as a push to help him continue down the road to become Meijin himself. I also really like the support that he feels from Chihaya and Taichi in these moments as well; a nice reminder of some of the other people most instrumental in who he is in the present. The moment when Taichi walks in and Arata realizes that he "crushed his dream" is a nice way of showing Arata getting out of his head and just playing in a way that feels the most natural to him. He realizes that to get to where he was, other people have had dreams trampled and that this was a match he shouldn't waste by getting mentally blocked. At the end, when he describes playing Suou as being similar to playing his grandpa, it's nice to see him acknowledging that in order to be himself, he had to feel as though he'd surpassed his grandpa in some way. Reminds me of the times throughout the series where students are afraid of playing their teachers because of the fear of "acting like a student" rather than a rival. Arata came a long way as a player and the Meijin matches provided a lot of good insight into a character who was so confident most of the time.

This was something that's been in my drafts for a bit as a space to put some ideas down for another Chihayafuru post, but I didn't really feel the need to make long posts about each so I just kind of put them all together. Thanks for reading if you made it this far!

[seventeenlovesthree]

Character/Headcanon analysis: Koushirou Izumi and his parental tendencies

I like to call Koushirou "parental" when it comes to his 02 self - and I'm aware that may also be a very self-indulgent headcanon of him taking after Kae, even though she is more into soft parenting, whereas he himself is pretty occupied to make sure that his children are not blowing themselves up...

But of course you can also just call that him being a naturally supportive and caring person - always has been, ever since Adventure, even if certain events had to trigger him to not only be theoretically but physically helpful (such as whenever it comes to saving Mimi, Sora and Hikari - or telling Taichi to take it easy for once). The same attitude can also be found in Tentomon - though in his case, it's being protective on one hand and quite literally parental on the other (particularly in Tri).

Koushirou being thoroughly protective is the reason why I like to parallel him to Sora (and Hikari and basically Taichi too and thus Team Light validates me again), because them having self-sacrificial tendencies towards the others has ALWAYS been a thing - to various degrees. Again, Koushirou was ALWAYS taking on responsibility to make sure that others are safe (which is literally 90% of how his interactions with Hikari go, heck, Atlurkabuterimon trying to protect Angewomon is the biggest metaphor for that!). Unfortunately, my art did not become canon, but yes, I still maintain he was cut out of The Beginning (even as support) to give the spotlight to others for once. They still couldn't fully ignore him, hence why the "If Koushirou-san can't figure this out, how are we supposed to?" quote exists - the 02 kids have always relied on him and looked up to him, so it makes perfect sense. And Takeru acknowledged his support in his fanfiction as well! But they naturally didn't want him to get the spotlight, because it was about the 02 kids. 100% valid.

But then you also have the show vs. tell problem. Mimi says Koushirou is ignorant - and a lot of people take that at 100% face value. Taichi even defends him since he is pretty much aware of his quirks - and the scene above pretty much implies that Mimi herself knows how Koushirou is (= getting into hyperfocus mode and becoming ignorant towards everything he doesn't deem important in the process, hence being ignorant in urgent situations, but NOT in general). Stageplay!Kou is in a league of his own anyway, because he was allowed to voice his frustrations with "not being allowed to help by Taichi" again - and because he made everyone question how they really felt (like a good parent would always encourage their children). There are tons of examples, but to sum it all up: He is a connector, he is basically second in command, he is protective. His way of phrasing that may be awkward and not always understandable by others (hence why Yamato needs to explain it to Kae and Taichi to Meiko, IT'S A PATTERN), but...

Again, I just feel like 02 made him incredibly paternal in how he watches over the 02 kids, every time he talks to Iori, Miyako or Ken, he's kind and reassuring - yes, he does scold them and his potential suitors, ahem for being reckless, but also knows when to give praises.

(It also makes sense that he also mainly gets angry whenever he is being left out of things - especially if he knows he could have done something to support.)

We also all know that he has a very loving mother himself and, as mentioned, even if their parenting style might be rather different, he knows what is important, so... How can I not think it's because their relationship got better and he takes after her? Yes, Tri onwards didn't maintain the mom/dadness in him the same way, but he still feels responsible for everybody's safety, he gives advice and guidance all the time and that doesn't change.

[legendheroes]

who's the best digimon babysitter (or just babysitter in general) of the heroes?

i feel like there is one certain individual who would be also low on this list

Those thinking Masaru, Daisuke and Takuya would be at this... Nope. They aren't bad at this.

(especially LXW AU Daisuke, because the main focus of that AU is just him being Tagiru's babysit-- I mean, mentor.)

So everyone is just pointing fingers at each other about "who's the one to be BAD at this job" and...

No, really. Takuya might be the epitome of chaos and disorder, but he's at least GOOD at babysitting. He was the one to take care of Tomoki pretty well compared to the rest of the Frontier group (yeah, sorry folks.)

Masaru is a good brother and had been helping to raise Chika in the place of their father, he helped his mom at home and possibly helped Chika against bullies. He's an excellent brother and i take no criticism.

Daisuke might look like the best candidate for the lowest rank (lol), but he's pretty good with digimon babies. He has a soft side, and he had been raising Chibimon/V-mon since he was 10-11 years old. Besides the ep that makes me keep pinning him as the "mentor" role is episode 24, in which Miyako leaves him to take care of the baby digimon while they keep the repairs in that town (and because he couldn't evolve V-mon because of Arukenimon being around and when she's around she can activate the Dark Towers.)

Taiki is a quick learner and there's nothing Kudou Taiki cannot do. I know this makes people hate Taiki, but that's also his flaw as well (in the sense that he will learn everything and this might make others take advantage of his abilities)

The Taichis are excellent brothers to their Hikaris, so I don't want to think they're BAD at it.

And Hiro is also a good big bro. Those who watched GG knows it very well. The MVP of babysitting.

With those ones left... we only have Takato, Haru and Tagiru.

As much i love those three, they don't seem to be adequate for the job. Honestly, Takato is a nice kid but he had trouble training and raising Guilmon at first as i remember correctly? Anyway, he struggled hard with it. I'd not put him at the LOWEST rank, because... yeah.

Haru and Tagiru are not that bad in my opinion, they're just two types of "not a good option", but I do admit they're like Takato for me, so there's also NOT RANKING LOW??

So Takato, Haru and Tagiru might not be the best option BUT uh, in the absence of the other options, you can count with them.

BUT THE ONE WHO IS REALLY BAD AT THIS...

It's... Rui-kun.

Sorry folks. I think he will take a while to finally get into babysitting and raising a digimon or taking care of a child. He's soft and gentle, but he's definitely not experienced and there's the problem that he's non-confrontational and too chill for a job that requires to also be able to tell kids to NOT do something dumb and yeah. He needs to learn with his boyfriend Daisuke & the others first.

[defeateddetectives]

9 Fandom Peeps to Get to Know Better

thank youuu @coquelicoq for the tag! yes this is an entire month late because of who i am as a person :'D

3 ships you like: actually gonna give some real estate to the ones i have NOT been rotating nonstop on this space like a rotisserie chicken lately to mix things up!

1) hiyakawa/mikado (the night beyond the tricornered window) - a plug for my tiny, spooky, hilarious and obscure af manga series that blindsided me with its pathos (and because i want everyone to read it and then create some very niche fan-content for me specifically! :D wait who said that!) emotionally oblivious loser 4 emotionally oblivious loser!!! except they're emotionally oblivious in fun, complementary ways! their whole journey is absolutely bonkers and unexpectedly heartfelt, and yes, exorcism should be this hot always!

2) natsume/tanuma (natsume yuujinchou) - i know that no one will believe me when i say that this is still THE natsume yuujinchou ship to me at the end of the day! something something if i loved it less i might be able to talk about it more! but lonely kids finding one another and making each other's lives SO MUCH BETTER solely for existing in each other's orbit and being such a paragon of healthy, functional communication and trust and growing connection that still floors me to this day (and with such courage and eloquence that most adults still cannot manage...i say...sideeyeing two v specific adults)!!! theirs was the thread that pulled me into the series to begin with (i literally just watched all the tanuma eps on first pass) and i'm still so grateful for them and everything about them

3) jack rackham/anne bonny (black sails) - platonic/queerplatonic/romantic/whichever combo or other nebulous way you slice it! THE soulmates of all time that haunt me on the regular and really said to the audience: watch us take your expectations and definitions and parameters of love, joyfully smash it to smithereens, and create something so tremendously unrecognizable and beautiful. truly partners till they put us in the fucking ground!!!

first ship ever: the first fanfic i stumbled upon in my life featured taichi and yamato from digimon adventure. i still remember this because it was interspersed with an edit of yamato in a dress and posted on ye olde personal webpages and shown to me by a school friend, both of us looking like the :o face incarnate. we were Babies. it was a Time. i don't even think i knew what a ship was at the time but hashtag formative things!

last song you heard: it's been a grimes & janelle monae - venus fly kinda day

favourite childhood book: soft spot for whitechurch by chris lynch forever. i think i read it maybe in high school? it rewired my brain and is probably a huge part of why i am the way i am/write the way i do subconsciously.

currently reading: does vi bullying me into danmei count? in which case, global examination....at snail's pace. in this house we love and appreciate a good arson!

currently watching: recently started rewatching the original a:tla for the first time since it finished airing after trying and failing miserably with the live action :( only a few episodes in but augh its still so good and some things hit even harder with foreknowledge. there will never really be another character arc like zuko's ever again.

currently consuming: a smoothie! i've discovered i am a fan of almond butter when dunked in a blender with berries, yogurt and milk. 11/10 would recommend!

currently craving: earlier today i was daydreaming of bbq so let's go with that

super low pressure tagging @endless-season @half-infinite @argyros @fadedclxssic @caroline-hill @kastellaran @doubleboyfriend @constastan @spookirou and as always, everyone is welcome to steal

[dutchforstrangers]

Love in orange - Taiora double bill pt. 1

December 13th 2023.

Summary: Taichi's in Italy, all alone on his rainy birthday. But then an orange surprise brights up his day.

A/N: Welcome to part 1 of this very special Taiora double bill that is much needed to get into the world. Fully dedicated to the most dedicated person one will possibly ever meet, a forever precious soulmate, and the one and only “digital love” I have experienced and ever will experience in this life of mine. Especially for your birthday today, because even after the unpretty things that have happened between us, the thought of letting this day pass without at least gifting you something makes me too sad. Set in the “About all the times he/she kissed me” Taiora-universe (after part 7.2) that brought you to me almost two years ago. Can be read as a stand alone too ;) If you know, you know. Missing you tons. With all my heart, all the love in red. But mostly love in orange.

Taiora double bill pt. 1 | Characters: Taichi Yagami (POV) x Sora Takenouchi | Genre: Long distance surprise, romance, general, friendship | Rating: T | Wordcount: 2.520

Love in orange

Usually, Italy in October was still rather sunny and warm, but apparently the weather gods had other plans. It was a drizzling day in Rome and the sun played hide and seek behind a grey cloudy sky. Taichi had imagined his Italian birthday to be at least a bit more sunny and uplifting. And beside all of those saddening weather conditions, he felt lonely.

So he pitied himself and seated himself in front of the window, dramatically staring into the grey, depressing distance.

A sigh escaped his lips, maybe in the hopes of someone hearing him and acting on it, even though he was very much aware that he was indeed alone at his place. His roommates were out. He was miles and miles away from his family and friends in Japan. He was parted almost two full continents and an ocean from his girlfriend

He felt close to Sora by heart in a way he had never imagined he could. Long distance was something he laughed at, it would never work. But now that he was part of one, even if it was for just seven months in total, he knew it could work. Still he hated the literal distance between them, the thing depriving him from his physical love language.

Sure, they had found other ways to be ‘physical’ and he had loved every little bit of it. It was exciting plus Sora was surprisingly good at it. Her words and descriptions made him blush wildly every time and her expressive talents over the phone gave him manga-ish nosebleeds every now and then. It was hard to contain himself so he teased back and their physical relationship took a flight despite the distance. The mere thoughts of all this made him all shy again, heart throbbing in his chest and other places.

Their contact and relationship had of course been way more than just play. It was a depth he didn’t find in any other girl he was with yet. The conversations they had was a beautiful mix of small talk and heated discussions. They watched movies simultaneously while being on the phone and going over the things they enjoyed or made them cringe. Taichi adored how she could get all passionate about traditional Japanese movies and he in his turn annoyed her with his knowledge of all things weird (and musical sing-a-longs). It was a connection he would go through hell for. And right now, hell was seven months longs. Fortunately for him -and Sora- from those seven months, two months already passed.

Although they had been rather close, even closer than ever, he missed Sora even more so. He needed her to be in the same room as him so he could cuddle her warm underneath a fuzzy blanket. He wanted to drink the tea with her Koushiro recommended to them. He wanted to feel her lips on his, her soft hair gliding through his fingers, her smooth skin creating goosebumps as he nuzzled into her.

He missed her tremendously, in a way he could only miss her.

Taichi sighed the biggest sigh he could sigh while his fingers reached inside his pocket for the umpteenth time that day, fishing his phone out of it. He quickly glanced over all of his messages, between them some already received birthday wishes, in the hopes he had missed an unread one. It was painful when he found exactly none. It hurt even more when he had to scroll down passing so many messages to get to his chat with Sora.

He got straight up mad for a bit. Noticing it was already eight hours into the future in Tokyo even drove him insane, a wave of disappointment hitting him hard, and it made him awfully realize how he despised time zones.

Unfairly furious, Taichi threw the phone onto his bed in the corner of his room.

“Oh shut up, you’re just playing games with me,” Taichi said annoyed as he heard his phone buzz the moment it hit the soft sheets. He stared at it. He was disappointed, sad and felt alone. He was pathetic and had every right to be. And thus with crossed arms, like a little kid, he turned his head away from it, trying to ignore the device with all of his might.

It didn’t take long for his impatience and curiosity to take over and he basically flew across the room to get to his phone as fast as possible, hoping it would hold any sign of life from Japan. Preferably a sign from a certain redheaded girlfriend.

Hello T. Yagami! A package has been delivered. Quick! Open your door to find it and take it inside. We wish you a great day and enjoy the unboxing!

He raised an eyebrow to the message from the delivery service. He didn’t order anything, did he?

Frustrated it still wasn’t a message from Sora or anyone else, he stood up and dragged himself to the front door to pick up the package from the hallway.

Once arrived at the door, he thought he’d be excited for the present, but instead he felt depressed even more. Taichi opened the door and bent himself over the package to look at the address label. That was indeed his address in Rome, but looking closer he immediately recognized the sender’s address and his heart skipped a beat. His excitement bulldozed over him upon seeing that one name.

Takenouchi S.

The smile that emerged on his face covered the complete width of his face. No matter the cloudy and rainy sky, to Taichi, the sun finally began to shine. He excitedly lifted up the light-looking box like a little kid on his own birthday party. The heaviness however was a complete surprise and his curiosity peaked again.

He let the weight softly fall on his bed, his mind trying to think of all the possible presents inside of it.

Perhaps she designed him some traditional clothing? A collection of his favorite Japanese sweets and candies. The sneakers he had told her about over phone.

His mind wandered off to more lewd things too, grinning at the thought of something like that having to go through border security. And even though he discovered different sides to Sora, Taichi was sure she wouldn’t go that far. So he shook it off, still completely clueless of what could possibly be in the package.

The sheer curiosity that came with the simple ignorance of the whole situation was already a welcoming present to him, breaking the depressing day in ways he hadn’t thought of in advance. His hands were itching, the sparks in his eyes getting more intense.

Unable to contain his enthusiasm any longer, he started to open up the box. Still he did it with a carefulness not many people knew he had in him, in case Sora had wrapped up something very fragile. He guessed she was smart enough to not pack something like that, but he couldn’t be more sure.

He had to be careful with it in one way or another considering it was a gift from her.

Before the content revealed itself, Taichi came across one last piece of bubble wrap. It was the last thing separating him from whatever was inside. Yet he smiled just seeing the color of the bubble wrap and it was definitely a strange color at that.

The sunlight that was finally seeping through the watery windows made the orange plastic inside the paper box light up, creating shiny rays of light through his whole room. For a brief moment he looked up from his awaiting present to behold the illuminating spectacle, a sensation he had felt as well when his Crest first lit up. It warmed his heart.

Reminded by his courage, he proceeded with the unboxing.

A big smile spread across his face once more, his jaw slightly dropping as he took in the collection Sora seemed to have assembled for him. It was an overstimulation he didn’t get to experience that often. But it was wonderful all the same.

As he lifted up the bubble wrap, Taichi’s eyes were met with more orange colored things. Thing by thing he took it out of the box, observing every piece with newfound amazement, as if he had never seen these things before.

All sorts of orange colored presents passed the revue, from serious things to more unserious ones. A set of animal plushies; foxes and tigers, a clown fish, Monarch butterfly and an orange cat that reminded him of Miiko. A few packages of Kawaguchi Wakayama Orange Candy and a small tray with actual oranges. In a photo frame there was a picture of a beautiful orange sunset on a beach. He found wooden children’s toys in the shape and colors of vegetables and fruit, such as a pumpkin, carrot, sweet potato, orange bell pepper, an apricot and tangerine. Sora must have asked the help of Hikari for that, Taichi thought to himself.

He laughed when he picked up a set of incredibly small sized orange traffic cones after the folded life jacket and wiped away a single tear of a pocket photo of Agumon. The packages of cheese crackers made him feel hungry all of a sudden, as did the bag of Cheetos. Sora had of course thought about something to feed his sports-cravings too and he felt excitement when he held up an orange shirt from the Dutch National team. The basketball he found in the box as well was signed with ‘Troy Bolton’ and he remembered how he had surprised Sora with his knowledge of High School Musical.

At the bottom he found an orange notebook. The cover felt soft because of the fabric. He couldn’t help but to see the resemblance to the color of Sora’s hair and it made him remember how much he missed her.

He flipped blank page by blank page, but found dried little orange flowers and leaves in between some of the sheets. Marigolds, Autumn leaves, tiger lilies. He had learned about some flowers from Sora, so he knew.

Of course there was a gazania too and his heart instantly warmed.

It was a surprise he never expected, just like he had never expected to find this love with her. She was miles, continents and seas away from him, but she felt so incredibly close through this wonderful orange colored gesture. For eternity, Taichi would feel like the luckiest boyfriend in the whole wide world.

The loving daze he was in still made him flip page after page, even though there wasn’t any flower left. He only noticed he arrived at the last page when no page was left to flip.

Hoping to find something else, Taichi looked in the box, but sadly the thing was as empty as could be. Just a tad disappointed he shifted his gaze back to the notebook. He felt the urge to start all over again and thus he flipped back to the beginning of the notebook.

His eyes stopped on the written letters forming words and eventually sentences at the beginning of the notebook he apparently had missed at first.

Happy birthday lovely sunshine. I hope you’re having a fantastic day even though we’re so far apart. We all miss you, but I know I’m the one who misses you the most.

Forever yours. With all my heart. All the love in red.

But mostly love in orange.

Sora <3

His gaze lingered a little bit longer on her name. He had to talk to her. He wanted to see her.

Without thinking for another second, he stood up and jumped towards his phone, only taking one second to find Sora’s caller-ID and hitting the videocall button.

“There’s my birthday boy,” came Sora’s excited yet calm and sensual voice. It sounded like music to his ears.

“You do know how to surprise me,” he grinned widely, holding his phone exactly so she could see all of the orange presents spread out on his sheets. She giggled. “It’s sad however that the most beautiful orange piece is still in Tokyo.”

Sora rolled her eyes, though her slight smirk revealed how the comment had actually flattered her. “You cheese,” she said. “Anyway, happy birthday! I hope you like the present.”

“Like it? Sor, I love it! It’s the most creative thing and it’s very thoughtful. I am wondering how you got some of these things. I mean, traffic cones? Genius.”

“Heh, I had some friends helping me,” Sora winked. “The life jacket is thanks to Miyako-kun who was so nice and bold enough to steal it from the cruise ship where she was celebrating her vacation.”

Taichi laughed, finding it both funny and sweet. Sora had really asked all of their friends to help her out. It only made him love her more.

The conversation went on for hours, up till the point they decided to watch a movie together since they weren’t near done talking to each other. Laughs, words and silences were shared among other things, transcending time zones in the best way possible.

“Say Taichi,” Sora started out of the blue in the middle of the movie. “What’s it with you and orange anyway?”

The left corner of his mouth curled up into a faint smile, his mind wandering off to the schoolyard back in kindergarten.

“Ah, I had a very warm first encounter with orange when I was little,” he answered, deciding that would be everything he’d tell her.

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

“I see you made a new friend,” his mother cheered after she had watched him play before they would head home. Taichi nodded, looking back at his newfound friend still playing with the ball. The scene and memory made his face and heart smile. “What’s her name?”

“I forgot to ask,” little Taichi started babbling, “but she played football with me and she was really good at it!”

“That’s great honey! I’m so happy for you.”

His mother sweetly stroke through his big brown messy hair, proud of how her son had made a new friend at his new school so quickly. Taichi looked back one more time, taking in the way she looked so he would remember her when they’d meet again tomorrow.

It wasn’t hard to forget her, or to loose sight of her in a crowd. She stood out with her shiny hair that looked like the fallen Autumn leaves he loved to play in. The leaves that would catch all the sunlight with its brightness. It made the twinkles in his eyes shine more bright as well and the warmth in his heart increase.

“Mommy?”

Yuuko looked down. “Yes dear?”

“Her hair color, what is it called?”

“I think it’s auburn,” his mother replied as she turned her head around one more time.

“Auburn?”

“Yes honey, but to simplify it, you could say it’s orange.”Orange… He loved it! He felt connected to it in a way not even an adult could describe. It felt right. So from that moment on, Yagami Taichi decided orange would be his forever favorite color.

[eisa96]

Rewatching back Digimon Adventure Psi and wow..The more I watch it, the more I can easily see the universe in an omegaverse setting 🧎🏻‍♀️Yamato fits the lone wolf so well with him being the one going solo to protect the people he cares for and Taichi just fits—The leader of the pack but in twist—-

He’s the omega, Yamato is the alpha 😩👍🏻 I cannot see it any other way. There were so many really good moments in this series that highlights their dynamic but instead of following the traditional a/b/o setting, yamatai here are equals with Yamato having, especially a soft spot for Taichi. They’re the “sun and the moon”. The “you’re my first important friend”. The “I’ll be the sword to your shield”.

Although, Yamato was solo in the beginning. In the middle of the series he starts to be more open with the kids. And especially Taichi, whom is the first one he calls by their first name 😭 He’s the first person that warms his heart. Taichi on the otherhand, may be the one that extends his hand to Yamato and to others. But towards the boy, he especially showed a great deal in worrying over Yamato and cares for the boy so much 🥺 I can see the a/b/o setting with 01! yamatai as well but the reboot! yamatai is so good, it’s so easy to see elements of it here and there

[brainfilehasstoppedworking]

Nice soft angst with lots of fluff and comfort. Because I say so. Takaaki needs reassurance ya know. And the old men deserve something really sappy and entirely OOC because I want them to >:[

Even though this is dogshit I felt like posting it 😔

CW for mentioned past abuse

《~~~~~~》

Takaaki, with a finger, lightly traced the scarring that was left on his thigh from his past lover. When he took a knife to his thigh and engraved right on top the tattoo Takaaki had gotten of the same lettering. Back then he just let him. 'Property of Kijo Togami.' He was Kijo's property. His pet.

He was so young and so dumb to realize what he had enjoyed in their relationship wasn't real love. It took him being devastated from Kijo breaking off their relationship to realize how awful it was. How Kijo never really loved him. Even when he'd run straight back to him, Kijo didn't entirely care. He just wanted someone to use for sex. For his own pleasure.

Takaaki sighed as he leaned against the bed frame, curling up into a little ball. He could see how his husband looked at it. He could feel his eyes looking at the lettering engraved onto his skin. A mark that he regrets deeply.

He never asked. Never mentioned it. But Takaaki could just tell when Taichi seemed to be troubled by it. He could feel it when Taichi would rub circles around that same spot. When he could feel him almost spell out the lettering on his skin. He wouldn't look at his husband. He couldn't.

"Aki? Is everything okay, Sweetheart?" Taichi asked as he sat next to him. "Aren't you freezing without anything on?" He covered Takaaki's naked body with the sheets and held him. Takaaki pulled away gently. "I'm fine."

He wasn't. God, he wish he didn't lie like that. Especially with how obvious it was how upset he was. Taichi's hold was so warm. He wanted to stay in it, he really did, but he felt disgusted with himself.

He scratched at his facial hair as some form of comfort. Something to do with his hands, to make him feel less awkward. "What's troubling you, Dear?" Taichi asked, turning Takaaki's head, making him face his direction. "You can tell me anything."

Takaaki held Taichi's hand with his own, intertwining his slim fingers between Taichi's own. "Darling...does...does this bother you?" Takaaki said as he removed the sheets off him and presented his thigh with the engraving. "He did it just so I didn't 'forget' him or something. I let him of course. Didn't have a choice either way." Takaaki hid back into the sheets. "I hate it. And I'm scared it bothers you and well, you know." Takaaki didn't know what else to really say.

Taichi sighed and climbed onto Takaaki's lap. He kissed him as he wrapped himself in the sheets as well. "I don't mind it. I just feel awful that you had to experience that! It shouldn't even have to be something you're afraid of for me to be upset about. It was in the past." Taichi kissed him again.

Takaaki nervously kissed back, unsure of what to do with himself at the moment. He. He really loved Taichi. He was so kind. So sweet that his heart could just melt from all the loving care he received. Taichi shifted in his lap, getting closer to Takaaki, kissing getting more passionate than before. Taichi's tongue slid against his as they danced together in hot passion.

Takaaki would've just melted right there. God, it really didn't help the fact he was barely clothed. Just in some panties that he had decided to wear.

Taichi broke the kiss, breathing a little heavily in need of air. They both needed it.

Takaaki was in a daze.

He felt so tired.

He held Taichi in his arms, hiding his face in the other's hair. Taking in the smell of it and how soft it was. It brought comfort. Taichi put a hand on his chest, as he rested his forehead against it as well. "I love you, Aki. Don't you forget that." Taichi whispered. "I love you, too." Takaaki replied with a muffled voice.

Taichi lifted his head up from his husband's chest and smiled. He kissed Takaaki sweetly before laying down next to him. He silently invited Takaaki to come into his arms and lay with him. Takaaki did, covering them both up with the sheets.

Takaaki found himself being comforted by Taichi rubbing circles on his thigh, same spot with the engraving. Just like the times before. But at least he wasn't scared to think of what his husband thought. Takaaki kissed the top of his love's head and lingered there, content in their position. Where he was reminded that he was loved in the comfort of Taichi's loving embrace.