#takeru has no idea how to deal

[stickers-on-a-laptop]

akashi's character song is playing (my favorite character song ever, possibly) and now i think that akashi and ryoga would be. really good friends. also baby sitters.

[holydramon]

legitimately feel tri would have been way better received (and honestly just a legitimately better series) if it didn’t treat the 02 kids like that

[i-want-men-i-cant-have]

.. ❝ When You Were Alone,

I Was There Too ❞ ..

HOW THE VAGASTROM BOYS WOULD ACT IF THEY WERE YANDERES. ft. alan mido, leo kurosagi, & sho haizono

wc : 1.2k

warnings : sfw, gender neutral reader

request : Helloo! I saw that your requests are open and when i saw that you wrote for Frostheim i could not resist (not when there's barely any content for tdb that i could get my grubby hands on, let alone yandere). Anyway! I was thinking how would yan! Vagastrom act around with the reader? Take your time and hopefully this isn't uncomfortable :3 

ALAN is the most reasonable, violence-wise. sure, he has an ogre-like quality, but whoever said he wanted to hurt you? and, of course, whoever said he couldn’t hurt the people around you?

he might be one of the few yanderes who understand that you like your friends, and that makes you happy. if you’re happy, he’s happy—simple as that. however, if he starts doubting those “friendly” touches on your arm or the overly obnoxious laughter, he can just as easily take that privilege away.

even with all his ideas, the way he cares for you is oddly innocent. it’s sort of like those kids who take revenge in dodgeball or tag after their crush gets out—except it extends outside of the game…

mostly, it’s just roughing people up so they don’t talk bad about you. in reality, those girls in your class were just pointing out the sauce on your shirt that vaguely looked like something funny.

still, there’s no stopping him, so don’t waste your breath trying to explain your side of the story. he knows what he heard and saw. you don’t need to step in with excuses; you’re too kind for that.

he always has your “happiness” in mind, no matter what he does. this is all for your sake.

he’d definitely have a photo of you in his wallet or, when he goes on missions. maybe even a tiny locket with your picture inside. he’d get teased relentlessly for it, but he’d never stop wearing it.

maybe i’m stretching, but i see him as the type to have a secret shrine to you hidden in his room. it wouldn’t be anything big or extravagant, just something mellow—a lock of your hair here, a framed candid photo there, and a few candles sprinkled in. it gives him motivation, knowing that you’ll be there (in his heart) when he gets hurt because you’ll be there to (poorly) patch him up.

he’d be holding back drool if you bandaged his hands after a mission. you’d just assume his hands were twitching from exhaustion—or some medical term you’re not familiar with—when in reality, he’s trying not to pounce on you and show everyone who you belong to. we have to respect his self-control.

LEO the freak he is. we all saw what this man did with the takeru case—god knows what he’s capable of if he puts his mind to it.

he’s more of a traditional yandere than the other two: stalking, jealousy, manipulation—the works. and he wouldn’t even make it seem like a big deal. somehow, he’d make you so paranoid that you’d turn on everyone else except him, all while acting like it’s just another average afternoon.

he’d have the mindset of a love-sick high school girl crushing on a guy in the hallway who just broke up with her friend—so technically, she can’t like him.

he’d be burning holes into the back of your head, keeping a journal full of manifestations where you run to him and confess your love.

he curses every single person who talks to you or befriends you. he’s the only one worthy of you. why can’t you see that? (probably because he acts like you’re the devil incarnate.)

he’d blackmail some scary-faced sweetheart into chasing you home every day, not in a b-list horror game way, with losing stamina and blood-curdling screams, but in a psychological way. you’d feel someone watching your every move, sensing the breath down your neck as you walked home.

your stalker probably just thinks you’re available—or so leo tells you. “if this little stalker of yours knew you had a boyfriend, they’d back off. especially some scary man from vagastorm.”

alan? aww, that’s so precious leo could just die and take you with him! post it for the world to see!

clearly, he’s talking about the person who has dirt on every single per—no he’s not talking about tohma.

and you can’t forget they need to be attractive. good looking yet mysterious, aloof… are you schizophrenic? what janitor are you talking about?

him. the person is him.

if you have such low expectations for others, maybe you should leave yourself in his care. after all, he’s there for you: to protect you, to listen, to scare off anyone—all for you.

if only you realized he’s the one you should truly be afraid of. a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

soon, you start closing yourself off from your friends, all thanks to leo. but it’s really your fault, isn’t it? he keeps telling you not to trust them. “there’s no one stalking you,” they’d say. “you’re weird for making that up—for what? attention?” they’d accuse. so why bother trusting them when they wouldn’t believe you in the first place?

next thing you know, your friends are avoiding you. and all you have left is leo.

if only you realized they weren’t avoiding you—they were avoiding him. or maybe it was those marks on the back of your neck that you hadn’t noticed yet.

SHO would be the most reasonable of the three. it’s not like he wants to kidnap you and make you taste-test all his dishes while using his thumb to wipe stray sauce off your lips. oh, yeah, no. definitely not… he just doesn’t want to break the bond you already share. besides, it’d be a pain to explain why the honor roll student is locked in his room surrounded by twenty stacks of sandwiches.

there are other ways to get his point across. for example, he might “accidentally” brush against someone looking at you too much—with his motorcycle. who cares if bonnie has to be revoked for a month or two? the point will be made, and it’ll spread across campus.

sho respects both you and the art of cooking too much to consider drugging you. at least at first. but after a few months (weeks at most), he’s finally cracking, giving you the worst case of food poisoning in darkwick’s history (which, in reality, is just a slight tummy ache and a fever).

he’ll take care of you, curse the cafeteria attendant, and insist it wasn’t his cooking. don’t be rude—it’s obviously the school lunches! you know how stingy schools can be.

he’d use your illness as a chance to get closer to you: making soup, hand-feeding you, placing a cold towel on your neck, and rubbing your back as you throw up a third of your body weight. he might even clean your room (and pocket a few things, but who’s counting?).

can’t you see it? he has it all—he’s caring, can take care of you, and even cleans! come and get it while it’s hot, or before he’s off the market!

not strictly yandere, but i can see sho scaring you on a motorcycle ride. he wouldn’t actually scare you, but rev the engine, and go slightly over the speed limit, just enough to have you clinging to him for dear life. he’d memorize your scent and, the second he gets back, he’s inhaling the spot your body touched on his jacket.

[kings-highway]

the Natsu-Takeru ship in Haikyuu is iconic only because of how much drama would be going on behind the scenes. Hinata and Oikawa would be THRILLED. They've become friends over the years and the idea of their cute younger sister/nephew dating is incredible. They're holding hands and jumping for joy.

Meanwhile, Kageyama has shown up soaking wet at Iwaizumi's doorstep, 1 in the morning after seeing Natsu's instagram post about making the relationship official.

"We have to break them up," Kageyama gasps, panic in his voice and looking like he's been to war. "We have to break them up."

"Relax," Iwaizumi laughs. "It's not that big of a deal-"

"HAJIME. Think about Oikawa. Think about everything Oikawa is."

"...okay...?"

"Now give him Hinata's energy levels."

"...holy fuck we need to break them up."

"They cannot be allowed to have children-"

"-it would ruin volleyball-"

"-it would ruin SOCIETY."

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x44 - Jureimon of the Lost Woods / Trash Day

Previously on Digimon Adventure: Pinocchimon kidnapped Takeru wanting to play a twisted game, but then the grown-ups at FOX took his guns away and gave him a firm scolding. While Pinocchimon was busy, Takeru broke all of his other toys and fled the coop.

Before we begin, an interesting note on this episode's title. Today's episode is 迷いの森のジュレイモン Mayoi no Mori no Jureimon.

Mayoi no Mori is a popular recurring element of Japanese media. It translates to the Forest of Uncertainty or Forest of Indecision or some such. It's the idea of this labyrinthine and possibly even supernatural forest that, once you enter, you may never find your way out of. A place where people go missing and are never heard from again.

It shows up in a lot of places in Japanese media, though it often gets translated a bunch of different ways. Legend of Zelda calls it the Lost Woods. The Mario franchise has used names like "Forest of Illusion", "Forever Forest", or "Maze Woods". Final Fantasy has used terms like "Mazewood" or "Phantom Forest". Naruto called it "The Bewildering Forest". The subtitler for this episode called it "Forest of Doubt".

But they're all different attempts at localizing the same persistent concept: Mayoi no Mori. Throughout Japanese media, this idea persists of a thick, unnavigable forest where the souls of those who made the mistake of entering are doomed to forever wander, searching in futility for a way out that will never come.

I suspect it may be related to Aokigahara, Japan's famous Suicide Forest. But I don't know.

...

...so, let's have fun exploring that!

We join the Chosen Children searching for Yamato, who wandered off into the woods at the end of last episode.

Taichi: HEY!!! YAMATO!!! Sora: YAMATO-KUN!!! Gomamon: GABUMON, WHERE ARE YOU!?!? Hikari: Onii-chan, what do you think happened to Yamato-san? Taichi: How should I know!? What's his deal, anyway? Agumon: He might have been kidnapped by Pinocchimon! Koushiro: Judging by his abrupt disappearance, that's a likely conclusion. Jou: ...no. I don't think that's what happened.

The kids briefly bring up the cliffhanger from the dub and then Jou dismisses it. We're not going to spend too much time pursuing that as a possibility because the audience already knows Pinocchimon was moping in his playroom at the time.

The dub's had a week to stew on that as a cliffhanger, however.

Tai: MATT!!! HEY MATT!!! T.K.: MAAAAAATT!!! Sora: MATT, WHERE ARE YOU!?!? Kari: I'm worried. What do you think could have happened to him, Tai? Tai: Matt's a big boy; He can take care of himself! Agumon: Now, wait a minute; What if he was kidnapped by Puppetmon? Izzy: Yeah, he might have been. Or something worse! Jou: No, it wasn't anything like that.

Taichi responds sharply to Hikari's question in both versions, but there's a bit of a disconnect in Tai's response. Taichi is pissy and dismissive about why Yamato disappeared, but makes no indication that we shouldn't be looking for the guy. Tai sounds like he doesn't think we should be searching for Matt at all.

An odd choice given that his is one of the three voices calling for Matt a moment ago.

Jou recaps the kids on what he saw last episode. We see a silent flashback of Yamato's departure, with Jou noticing him.

Taichi: You saw Yamato leave!? Why didn't you stop him!? Jou: Because I thought he was just excusing himself for a moment. I'm sorry. Taichi: Well, forget it. At least now we know he wasn't taken by Pinocchimon. Agumon: But then where did he disappear to? Sora: Now that I think back, didn't Yamato-kun seem to be acting a little strange to you?

Sora conjures up a flashback to Yamato's Digivice and Crest refusing to function.

Piyomon: Gabumon wasn't able to evolve back then. Palmon: Yeah, but even so....

In the dub:

Tai: What, he just walked away!? And you didn't even try to stop him!? Joe: Well, no! Was I supposed to? I mean, I thought he was just going to go use the bushes! Or something. Tai: Huh. This is weird. I mean, it's one thing if he was kidnapped but why would he just disappear on us like this? Agumon: I'll say! He's been gone way too long for just a potty break. Sora: Wait a minute! Is it just me or has Matt been kinda strange lately?

They have Izzy talk over the second flashback to silence-break it.

Izzy: Come to think of it, he has been acting a little high-strung. Biyomon: Remember when Gabumon had that Digivolving problem? Palmon: (gasp) Yeah! I bet there's a connection!

This dialogue deviates a bit from the original, but not in a negative way. It flows really well. I especially like Palmon's organic response to Biyomon here.

Suddenly, Hikari hears something again. As with last episode, we don't hear whatever's caught her attention; Just a shimmering effect in the audio. Whatever it is, Hikari whips around too late. It's gone, if it was ever here to begin with.

Tailmon: What's wrong, Hikari? Hikari: I heard a voice again. Taichi: (runs up) A voice!? Was it Yamato!?

Taichi's quiet for a moment, listening for Yamato but hearing nothing.

Taichi: Were you hearing things?

This is another visual pun, like the one from inside Whamon. Taichi asks "Soramimi ka?" Soramimi is a Japanese expression that means "air in the ears" and is used to describe mishearing something. Upon asking the question, we cut briefly to Sora and Mimi exchanging awkward glances.

Koushiro: He couldn't have gone far. Taichi: You're right. Let's go!

Taichi rallies the group together and they head out to resume their search. Except Hikari, who stays behind briefly, answering the question now that the others aren't around to hear her.

Hikari: ...no, it wasn't Yamato's voice. Tailmon: (concerned) Hikari?

OMINOUS.

In the dub:

Gatomon: Kari, what is it? Kari: I thought I heard a voice out there. Tai: A voice!? Was it Matt!? (beat) Tai: I don't hear anything.... Come on, Kari! Don't you start losing it too! (Sora and Mimi exchange glances) Izzy: He couldn't be very far away, you know. Maybe we should look for him. Tai: Yeah, I suppose. Okay, guys; Let's go. (The group starts walking, except Kari) Kari: Gatomon, it wasn't Matt's voice I heard! Gatomon: Who's was it?

A small tonal difference here at the end; Hikari's basically talking to herself, with Tailmon beside her worrying. Kari addresses Gatomon to explain herself. But the important point still gets across in both versions. Hikari keeps overhearing somebody who is not yet accounted for in the story.

We leave the group here to join Yamato, storming off with Gabumon hot on his trail.

Gabumon: Yamato! What's wrong!? Yamato, listen to me! Yamato: (glower) ... Gabumon: Yamato....

While they're walking, we pan out to see Pinocchimon and Jureimon watching them from across the pond.

Pinocchimon: Hehehe! That guy is so stupid for breaking off from the rest! It's like he wants me to kill him! Jureimon: Of course, sir. Pinocchimon: Since I know he won't play with me anyway, I guess I'll give him what he wants and murder him. Jureimon: Please wait a moment, Pinocchimon-sama. I have an idea, sir. While you're dealing with the rest of the Chosen Children, your loyal servant Jureimon will handle this one! Ho ho ho ho!

Vulgar mouth on Pinocchimon. The show has used a lot of euphemisms to dance around the word korosu, which means to kill or murder or slaughter, since that word's considered vulgar in children's entertainment. Its favorite euphemism is taosu, which means to defeat or demolish.

We heard a lot of taosu last episode, such as discussing whether or not to "destroy" Kiwimon.

But Pinocchimon here drops two separate instances of its compound form koroshitai, combining korosu with shitai meaning "I want to verb". He's pulling no verbal punches; He intends to murder this child.

In the original, Yamato gives Gabumon a total cold shoulder, refusing to answer him entirely. The dub uses the last shot of Gabumon to let Matt talk to him.

Gabumon: Matt, come on! I'm all for exercise but I'm really not built for long distances! Matt! Where are we going? Matt: Just... away. I need some space! (Pan out to Puppetmon and Cherrymon) Puppetmon: Hehehe. Aww, the poor little kid needs a little space. Someplace far away from his nice little friends and closer to ME!!! Cherrymon: I agree completely. Puppetmon: I'm not waiting! I'll put him out of his misery! Those DigiDestined kids really bug me! Cherrymon: Wait a minute, Puppetmon! I have a better idea. You can take care of those other DigiDestined children if you want to but, as for this one, leave him to me! I'll have him climbing up a tree before I'm through with him! Hahaha hahaha HAHAHA!!!

I like Puppetmon's twisted retort to Matt "needing space".

But I'm sad to lose "Since I know he won't play with me...." That line was a nice callback to the previous episode, conveying that Pinocchimon is still salty about what happened with Takeru.

"I'll put him out of his misery" is a solid translation for Puppetmon's second line, since obviously Fox isn't going to let Puppetmon's language be as unapologetically violent as Pinocchimon's. The last bit is just Evil Space Filler, though.

As an aside, Jureimon's vocal performance is a deep and bellowing old man who speaks in a respectful and wizened tone. Cherrymon's going for Marlon Brando's Don Vito Corleone from The Godfather for some reason.

Yamato finds a place to finally rest and talk through why seeing Takeru be self-sufficient bothered him so much.

Yamato: I... I've always thought about Takeru. Takeru is... He can't take care of himself without me. Or, I thought so....

Yamato flashes quickly through various clips of Takeru over the course of the series, since they first noticed the snow falling at camp.

Yamato: Before I knew it, he'd grown up. And me? He doesn't need me anymore. (Flashbacks end) Yamato: It's not just Takeru, either. Taichi, Sora, Mimi, Jou, Koushiro... Everyone's changed so much since we came to the Digimon World. They've gotten stronger. Gabumon: (affirming) Mm. Yamato: But, next to them, look at me. I'm the same person I always was! I haven't changed at all! Gabumon: That's not true! You also-- Yamato: What's wrong with me!? This isn't who I want to be! Gabumon: Yamato.... Yamato: I can't stay like this! I have to change! I HAVE TO GET STRONGER!!! And for that to happen... I can't stay with the others.

This would, of course, probably be why his Crest wouldn't shine earlier. Sympathetic though Yamato's reasons are, he's not exactly expressing the virtue of Friendship here. He's wallowing in self-doubt.

The dub slips its first commercial break between scenes, which is a good place for it. Then we come back to Matt's doubts.

Matt: You ever feel like a third wheel, Gabumon? That's what I feel like. All this time, I thought I had, like, a purpose, y'know? To look after my little brother. (Flashbacks) Matt: I thought T.K. wouldn't be able to survive without me watching over him. Suddenly, it's like he's growing up. He doesn't need me anymore. Oh, and it's not just him. (Flashbacks end) Matt: It's everybody, man. I mean, when I think of Tai and Mimi and Sora and the others, this place has changed them for the better. They're stronger now. It's almost like they Digivolved or something. Gabumon: Hm? Matt: But you see, the problem is, I haven't. I'm still stuck in the same place. I haven't changed a bit. Gabumon: You may not see it, Matt, but you've changed a lot! Matt: Oh please, Gabumon. Give me a break. I'm the same jerk I always was! Gabumon: Hey, come on.... Matt: It'll never happen! Not this way. I've finally got it figured out! If I'm ever going to change, I've got to do it on my own! On my own... The others can't help me.

This is pretty much perfect. It his every last beat of the scene while being flavorful and interesting to listen to. 10/10 no notes.

Jureimon suddenly reveals himself with a hearty laugh.

Jureimon: AH HA HA!!! Yamato: WHO'S THERE!?!?

Jureimon calmly walks out to meet Yamato and properly introduces himself.

Jureimon is a Perfect-stage Virus-type Plant Digimon. He's one of the two Virus Perfects for the Wind Guardians, both of whom are pre-evolved forms for Pinocchimon himself.

His name comes from the Japanese word 樹齢 jurei, which means "the age of a tree". He's the Ancient Tree 'mon. The word jurei, sounded out loud, sounds super close to cherry - Something I don't think was lost on his creators, given that they filled his branches with cherry fruit. He's an ancient tree, but specifically a cherry tree.

Which means the dub's choice of "Cherrymon" fits well into the characters' lip flaps while still being evocative of his design.

Jureimon: My name is Jureimon. Yamato: Jureimon? Narrator: Jureimon. Called the Lord of the Deep Woods, this Perfect-stage Digimon lives deep within the forests. His special attack is Cherry Bomb.

A note about Jureimon's title. He's called 樹海の主 Jukai no Omo. The word of interest here is Jukai, which doesn't mean "forest". Rather, it more directly translates to "Sea of Trees" and refers to an especially dense part of a forest.

It. Um. It's also a term for Aokigahara. Jureimon is the Lord of places like Aokigahara.

...

And now he's talking to Yamato, in the midst of an emotional crisis.

Gabumon: You work for Pinocchimon, don't you!? Jureimon: Now, now, calm down. I didn't come here to fight. I am just looking for someone to talk to. Ah ha ha!

This is going to be bad, isn't it?

In the dub:

Cherrymon: Well, well. Look what we've got here. Greetings, nature lovers. (Cherrymon reveals himself) Cherrymon: What? You mean you've never seen a talking tree? Matt: ...not many. Gabumon: (rundown) Be careful. That's Cherrymon, Lord of the Forest and the best reason for the existence of termites. Gabumon: Stop right there or I'll turn you into toothpicks! Cherrymon: You really shouldn't be that rude. Calm down, my fighting days are over; I only want to talk with you. In fact, you might even say I've turned over a new leaf. Ehehe Haha!

"The best reason for the existence of termites" got me. XD It's the casual, matter-of-fact way he slides that into the rundown. Fantastic delivery.

Gabumon has all of his hackles up right now and he is absolutely right to. We are at war and he does not trust the enemy combatant emerging from the deep woods for a friendly chat.

Meanwhile, the other children continue their search for Yamato. Koushiro's using his Digivice to try and track Yamato's, but getting no results.

Koushiro: The Digivice isn't reacting. It doesn't seem to be functioning properly in these woods. Tailmon: I think we should take a break somewhere and wait for him. Everyone needs some time alone once in a while. Taichi: No, we have to find Yamato quickly. We can't do this unless all eight of us are together! Jou: But we're all tired. We should find a place to sit down and rest our legs. Mimi: (quietly, distressed) So the eight of us could stay together and fight... They all.... Palmon: Mimi.... Sora: Mimi-chan....

Quite a bit going on in this scene. We start with the discovery that the deep woods seem to be blocking the signals from their Digivices so they can't find each other.

Senpai and Team Leader have very different ideas of what we should do from here, with Taichi wanting to push the group to exhaustion out of a sense of urgency for fighting the war.

Taichi invokes what Gennai told them before they returned to Tokyo: They can only fix the distortions if all eight of them are together. That's why we had to get retrieve Hikari, and it's why we can't be splitting the party like this.

But Taichi is still trying to be Drill Sergeant and not considering the valid points that Tailmon and Jou are both making.

(That said, given what Yamato's talking to right now, they probably should hurry up and find him. Taichi's right but not because of the words coming out of his mouth.)

Meanwhile, Mimi remains traumatized from their various friends and Chuumon that gave their lives for the children's sake. The road they've walked to reach this point is paved in pixel dust.

In the dub:

Izzy: Mm, it's no use. I'm getting nothing. For some reason, the Digivices aren't working in this forest. Gatomon: You know, I'm not so sure we should be trying to find him. Everyone needs to be alone sometimes. I should know! Tai: I'm not gonna let him break up this team! We're gonna find him whether he wants us to or not! Joe: We're always walking around searching for someone; I've never done so much walking in my life! Mimi: Yeah, it's disgusting. My calves are starting to look like a bodybuilder's! Palmon: Like a what!? Sora: (dismissive) Oh, Mimi....

...okay, so all of this sucks. Well, Izzy and Gatomon are fine. Good job, you two.

Tai's being even more unreasonable than his Japanese counterpart. He offers no reason for why it's so urgent that we find Matt right now. Just that we're gonna drag his ass back here and that's fucking final!

Then Jou and Mimi both have their lines swapped out for whining about their poor constitutions. This is especially egregious for Mimi because the fact that she's practically catatonic right now from trauma is an important part of her character arc, but the dub has her quipping about her "gross" leg muscles like it's just another day.

Suddenly, a loud voice echoes through the forest.

Pinocchimon: YOO-HOO!!!

Perched at the very top of a nearby tree, Pinocchimon calls down to them, startling the group.

Taichi: (gasp) Pinocchimon! Pinocchimon: Hi, Takeru! It's good to see you again! Takeru: Not for me, it isn't! I'm not playing with you anymore! Patamon: That's right! Pinocchimon: Idiot! Playtime is long over! GET THEM, GARBAMON!!!

Three such creatures slide out of the woods in their trash cans.

Garbamon is a Perfect-stage Virus-type Mutant Digimon. Next to Jureimon, they're the other Virus Perfect from the Wind Guardians, and the other pre-evolution for Pinocchimon. Their name, of course, comes from the word "garbage".

They're based, specifically, on a desktop Recycle Bin for deleting files.

All Garbamon: YES, SIR!!! Narrator: Garbamon. A Digimon based on garbage. Their special attack is Unchi Bazooka, but they're still Perfect all the same.

Another rare attack name to feature a Japanese word in it. Unchi means poop. Yep, we're doing that again.

Which is what that last comment is about; Garbamon is along the same vein as the various junk 'mons we've seen like Scumon or Numemon or Nanimon. But these guys are not the pathetic little bottomfeeder Adults of the original V-Pet lineups. These guys are Perfect-stage Wind Guardians and they will fuck your shit up.

In the dub:

Puppetmon: Yoohoo! Tai: Puppetmon!? Puppetmon: Hi, everybody! Hey T.K., did you miss me? T.K.: No, not at all! And I'm not going to play with you anymore, either! Puppetmon: No!? Well, fine! You're not a lot of fun anyway! Front and center, everybody! Garbagemon 1: (slides out) Yes, sir! Garbagemon 2: (slides out) Yes, sir! Garbagemon 3: (slides out) Yes, sir! Palmon: (rundown) Uh-oh, Garbagemon! They're as tough as they are mean! And they don't smell very good, either....

Palmon's diegetic rundown here is completely different. But it still gets across the idea that despite being gross, they shouldn't be underestimated.

Puppetmon here is more outwardly upset about T.K.'s rejection. I do like that the dub has him clearly still nursing that wound, only launching the ambush after he's freshly rejected again.

Once the rundown's over, the Garbamon take aim.

Garbamon: FIRE THE UNCHI BAZOOKA!!!

The Garbamon unload their first volley of their disgusting projectiles. The kids turn and run into the woods as the Garbamon let off a second volley. But then Palmon notices one person who isn't running.

Palmon: Mimi!

Mimi snaps suddenly, furiously snatching one of the poops out of the air as it sails towards her.

Mimi: WHAT THE HELL EVEN IS THIS!?!? ENOUGH ALREADY!!!

She is so done with being the target of long-range poop assaults. She throws it straight back at the Garbamon.

Mimi is not very athletic, so her toss doesn't hit anything. It lands on the ground about halfway between her and the enemy, then flops to a stop in front of the center Garbamon. Still, her outburst takes everyone by surprise. The Garbamon stare slack-jawed at her, ceasing their assault.

A brief shot of Pinocchimon going O_O shows that he, too, is stunned speechless.

Sora swings back, grabbing Mimi by the arm and snapping her out of her temporary insanity. The second Sora grabs her, Mimi's ferocity collapses and she just looks freaked out and terrified again.

Sora: Mimi-chan, hurry! Mimi: Uh-huh!

A powerful moment for Mimi but not one that accomplished much.

In the dub:

Garbagemon: Junk Chuckers ready, aim, FIRE!!! Joe: RUN!!! (The kids flee from the non-specific junk) Palmon: Mimi! Mimi: (catch) I WON'T BUDGE!!! Let's let them do the running for a change! (throw) Garbagemon: :O ... Pinocchimon: O_O ... Sora: Mimi, come on! (grab) Mimi: Yeah, good idea! I must be nuts; I touched that stuff!

Mimi's ferocity comes on the heels of being repeatedly targeted by poop-throwing Digimon. It's the culmination of her individual experiences with Scumon and various Numemon.

Dub Mimi's snapping fury is recontextualized to be general outrage over all the running from enemies they've had to do. This probably goes hand-in-hand with the dub's persistent efforts to not directly admit that the projectile in question is, and has always been, poop.

Though calling it "junk" is getting pretty close to coming clean.

I do, however, love the addition of "I must be nuts; I touched that stuff!" at the end. That's a great line for her to deliver after snapping out of it.

From here, we return to Yamato to hear his answer to Jureimon.

Yamato: Sorry, but I don't feel like chatting with you. Let's go.

Yamato and Gabumon start walking towards the tree line. Jureimon extends his hand, growing it to a large size to cut off Yamato's departure.

Yamato: Get out of the way! Jureimon: Now now, I told you to wait. You don't need to be so hostile. Oh ho ho ho! "What's wrong with me!?" "This isn't who I want to be!" Yamato: (gasp) Jureimon: It's important to step back from time to time and think about who we've become, to better understand ourselves. Yamato: You were listening in? Jureimon: Ho ho ho ho! I didn't need to listen in. Nothing happens in this forest that I don't know about. Yamato: Then tell me! What should I do now? Jureimon: You're asking me what to do? Children these days, always wanting their answers handed to them. They never try to think for themselves. That's the problem right there, if you ask me.

Okay, boomer.

In the dub:

Matt: No offense, but even if I felt like talking, it wouldn't be to a tree. See you around. (Cherrymon blocks Matt's departure) Matt: Hey, what's the idea!? Cherrymon: Young man, didn't anyone ever tell you you should listen to your elders? Or was it redwoods you should listen to? I can never quite get those two straight. But anyway, I digress. So, you're still stuck in the same place. Still the same old jerk you always were. Matt: (gasp) Cherrymon: Surprised, huh? Ah, I know all about it! Must be tough being in such a rut! Matt: You've been spying on me, huh!? Cherrymon: Hahahahaha! Listen to me, kid. I don't need to spy because there's nothing that happens in this forest that I don't know about. Matt: (skeptical) Huh. Alright then, if you're so smart, what am I supposed to do!? Tell me that! Cherrymon: Ah, simple as that, eh? Kids. You want all the answers just handed to you on a mahogany platter but you never want to do the hard work of looking deep within yourself, where all the answers truly lie!

Pretty solid, with some tree jokes thrown in for shits and giggles.

Seeing that this isn't going anywhere good, Gabumon tries to intervene.

Gabumon: Yamato! You don't have to listen to this guy! Let's go! Jureimon: Are you sure about that? If you want to get stronger, you'll have to improve yourself. Yamato: Improve myself? Jureimon: That's right. But it's easier said than done. You will need to have the determination to carry it out. Yamato: Determination? I have that. Tell me, how am I supposed to do it? Jureimon: (thinking) Ha! He's taken the bait....

Jureimon playing Yamato for an absolute sucker.

In the dub:

Gabumon: Let's go. Don't you listen to that talking firewood, Matt! Come on! Cherrymon: That's right, go on! But you'll never learn how to change. You'll always be what you are right now. Matt: (weakly) I want to change! Cherrymon: Yes, of course, but are you really ready? After all, change isn't always a pleasant thing. You might find out a few things that you wish you hadn't. Matt: I'm ready. More than ready. Enough talking, big guy! If you've got some answers, let's see 'em! Cherrymon: (thinking) Haha! He fell for it like an overripe fig.

A small change: Jureimon baits his hook by questioning Yamato's resolve while Cherrymon questions Matt's commitment to change.

Finally, Jureimon reveals exactly what Yamato must do to better himself.

Jureimon: YOU MUST DEFEAT YOUR RIVAL!!! Yamato: Rival? Jureimon: (points) Go take a look at yourself in that lake. There, you will see the rival you must defeat. Yamato: I must defeat... my rival.... Gabumon: Yamato....

Yamato approaches the lake, peering into its waters.

Gabumon: Ah! Yamato: Th... That's...!

Slowly but surely the image of Taichi emerges.

(Honestly, who else was it gonna be? Mimi? Hell no. Yamato'd best not come slinging this shit at her 'cause she's got a mean answer to that now.)

The dub's delivery of Cherrymon's pronouncement is incredibly undercooked. Jureimon screams it as a dramatic, climactic revelation. The apex of what this conversation has been building to. Cherrymon lays it out all casual.

Cherrymon: Alright, kid, I'll help you out. First off, you're gonna have to defeat your rival. Matt: My rival? Cherrymon: (points) There. In that lake, you will see the face of the one who is preventing you from becoming as strong as you could be. Gabumon: Where are you going? Matt: I know it sounds pretty bogus but... Might as well look. Gabumon: Listen, Matt. You don't really believe him, do you? (Tai's image begins to emerge) Gabumon: Ahhh! Matt: TAI!?!? COME ON!!! WHAT KIND OF TRICK IS THIS!?!?

Matt absolutely refuses to sell the idea that he's buying what Cherrymon's selling at all. He's basically rolling his eyes while being dragged around by Yamato's decision-making. The original keeps what's going through Yamato's head here ambiguous. He's considering Jureimon's words but doesn't appear to have committed one way or the other.

From here, we go to commercial and come back to the Garbamon chase.

Garbamon: Don't think you can escape! Take this!

The Garbamon form up, back-to-back, and rotate in circles firing their Unshi Bazookas into the woods. in all directions. This achieves nothing, and instead Adult evolutions of all the Partner 'mons emerge. Everyone but Angemon, Tailmon, and Garurumon, that is.

The Partner Digimon converge their attacks on the Garbamon, creating a huge explosion. This seems effective until the smoke clears and reveals no trace of their targets.

Taichi: Great work! (Smoke clears; Nothing there) Pinocchimon: Hahahahaha! Did you think those puny attacks would be enough to defeat them!?

(This is a Dragon Ball moment; Their absence proves they got away before the blasts hit. But Digimon disintegrate upon death so there'd be no trace of them either way; This doesn't really work.)

In the dub, the lead Garbagemon gets philosophical.

Garbagemon: Ha! Don't you know that wherever you go, there will always be garbage? Okay, ready guys? MAKE A MESS!!! (The Garbagemon spin and fire into the trees. The Partners emerge and blast them.) Tai: WAY TO GO!!! Joe: That trash is thrashed! Puppetmon: Hehehehehe.... (Smoke clears; Nothing there) Puppetmon: Great, you've totally ruined my garbage fun! I'm beaten! I'm going home! PSYCHE!!!

Oh my god. Remember "PSYCHE!!!"? The 90's/early 00's!

"That trash is thrashed". Nice wordplay, extra Joe line.

With the team's failure revealed, the assault begins anew.

Pinocchimon: Look behind you!

A Garbamon rushes towards the Children from... Wherever they got off to, taking aim with his poopzuka.

Mimi: No.... Garbamon: GOT YOU NOW!!! Mimi: NOOOOOOOO!!!

Mimi lets out a bloodcurdling scream, activating her Crest and Super-Evolving Togemon into Lilimon. Bursting into existence, Lilimon tackles Mimi and pushes them both out of the way of Garbamon's shot.

In the dub:

Puppetmon: Look behind you! Garbagemon: WRAHHH!!! Mimi: It's trash! Look out! Garbagemon: (takes aim) Here's mud in your eye!

The dub takes its second commercial break here instead of where the original put it. Fair; The original's commercial did come surprisingly early.

Then we return, replaying the shots from Mimi and Garbagemon's previous two lines.

Mimi: Oh no! Help! Garbagemon: JUNK CHUCKER!!! Mimi: NIGHTMAAAAAAAAAARE!!!

On the hand, screaming NOOOOOOOO is incredibly overwrought and cliche. On the other hand, screaming NIGHTMAAAAAAAAARE is just silly.

I think they were stuck on that one because of the lip flaps. The word for no is ie, pronounced "eee-yay". It's two syllables, with Mimi's lips moving between them. It's hard to get two syllables out of NOOOOOOOO.

Once Mimi's safe, Lilimon soars into the fight.

Lilimon flies straight for Garbamon, but a second Garbamon suddenly emerges from behind them.

Garbamon 2: You fell for it! Lilimon: Wait, what!?

The pair of Garbamon open fire at once. Lilimon deftly maneuvers between their shots, but then the third Garbamon pops up behind them.

Garbamon 3: NOT DONE YET!!!

Lilimon's line here made me a little sad, because she says "Uso!" which means "Lie". It's an expression of disbelief; In this case, she fell for their trick completely and is conveying her surprise and confusion.

But for a moment, I thought she said "Kuso!" which is a Japanese curse word and literally means "SHIT!!!" Which would have been very apt in this situation. Alas.

In the dub, the Garbagemon remain poetic.

Garbagemon 2: TWICE IS NICE!!! Lillymon: Ah!? (The Garbagemon shoot; Lillymon dodges) Garbagemon 3: TRASH THAT PETUNIA!!!

Well punned.

Unfortunately for the Garbamon, Lilimon finds her footing and goes back on the offensive.

Stepping on the face of the Garbamon in front of her, Lilimon bounds up into the air to meet the third.

Garbamon 1: Do I look like a stepstool!? Lilimon: FLOWER CANNON!!!

Lilimon shoots Garbamon 3 point-blank, vaporizing them into pixel dust.

In the dub:

Garbagemon 1: That chick is heavier than she looks.... Lillymon: FLOWER CANNON!!!

Something about the replacement gag is getting my hackles up but I can't quite put my finger on it.

Inspired by Lilimon's counterattack, Taichi steps up.

Taichi: Yes! Now!

In the dub:

Tai: Alright! Finish them off!

Greymon Super-Evolves into MetalGreymon and fires off his Giga Destroyer. One of the two remaining Garbamon is still stunned from getting stepped on, but the other counterattacks with Unchi Bazooka.

The poop ricochet's harmlessly off the Giga Destroyer missile, doing nothing to impede its path.

Both Garbamon go up in a massive explosion that blows Pinocchimon off his treetop perch. While Pinocchimon hangs on for dear life, the errant final poop lands squarely on his forehead, provoking a furious and agonized shriek.

From here, we return to Yamato and Jureimon.

Yamato: Taichi is... my rival...?

Suddenly, Yamato stands up and starts laughing.

Yamato: Sorry to disappoint, but I've never felt that way about him. Not even once! Jureimon: Ha ha ha! That lake reflects whatever lies in the heart of the person who looks into it. Yamato: What!?

Of course, we know Yamato's not being honest with himself here. We've seen the friction between the two boys throughout the series, especially where Takeru was concerned. He may never have contextualized Taichi as a "rival" but he and Taichi have been locking horns since File Island.

You can tell how little Yamato believes in his own claim by how quickly he abandons it. Yamato says "LOL nice trap", Jureimon says "It's not a trap", and Yamato replies "WAIT WHAT!?!?" and resumes falling for it.

Yamato looks into the lake again. Then, after a moment, he pulls his gaze away once more.

Yamato: (struggling) I refuse to fall for this.... Jureimon: Do not avert your eyes! Properly face yourself!

At Jureimon's urging, Yamato gives in and looks down into the lake again.

In the dub, Cherrymon calls in from offscreen like a game show host while Matt's confronting the ugly revelation of the lake, which sounds absolutely hilarious in his Godfather Voice.

Cherrymon: Behold! The face of your rival! Matt: (hesitantly) ...so you're saying I have to fight Tai, is that it? (Matt stands up and starts laughing) Matt: Ahahahaha! Nice try, foliage-face, you had me going there. But you'll have to do better than that. Cherrymon: Hahahaha! I had nothing to do with it! The Lake of Truth reflects only what is in a person's heart; Hence the name. Matt: (shocked) You've gotta be kidding! Cherrymon: Sorry, kid; It's never wrong. (Matt looks again, then averts his eyes) Matt: That right? Well, I've got news for you. It's off this time! Way off! Cherrymon: Well, you can argue with me all you want but you're really only arguing with yourself.

Remarkably different approaches from Jureimon and Cherrymon. You can really feel Yamato's youth in the original; The way he responds to the booming voice of an elder authoritatively telling him what to do on a complicated issue he lacks confidence in himself to know how to resolve.

Jureimon has managed to manufacture an atmosphere where he can speak to Yamato as if he were a domineering parent commanding his child. Yamato's insecurity and uncertainty has created a vulnerability for an older predator to exploit, by speaking in a confident and certain tone.

Cherrymon takes the opposite approach, appealing to Matt as more of an equal. He pushes the issue but he's gentle and even sympathetic, going so far as to apologize to Matt for what he saw in the lake.

Cherrymon weasels himself into Matt's grievances with Tai as if he were just a passing bystander and not, you know, the guy who told Matt to look in the lake to begin with. He's metaphorically kneeling down on Matt's level. Hey man, it really sucks about that thing that's definitely just a fact of life and has nothing to do with what I said or did.

Yamato bends. He returns his attention to the lake, while Jureimon keeps pressing him.

Jureimon: I understand. Though you are both Chosen Children, everything you and that boy Taichi stand for are complete opposites of each other.

As a subtle psychological cue, Jureimon says Taichi's name with a scoff, as if the word itself tastes rotten and hollow in the mouth. He's monotonous and matter-of-fact except when he spits out Taichi's name as a curse.

Flashback montage of Yamato and Taichi's clashes through the series. We start with their fistfight on File Island, when Taichi wanted to abandon the rest of the group to go see what's beyond the ocean. Then Yamato snapping at Taichi at Digitamamon's diner. Then wrap up with their bitter argument over the graves Mimi built.

(Yamato was in the right in 2/3 of those.)

Jureimon: Whenever Taichi says or does anything, you can't help but react to it. That's how strong Taichi's presence in your heart has become. Until you overcome those feelings, you will never grow beyond where you are now. You must fight Taichi. Only when you free yourself from the hesitation in your heart will you be reborn!

What makes this interesting is that Jureimon isn't necessarily saying that Taichi is holding Yamato back. But rather that Yamato's feelings for Taichi are holding him back, and that those feelings can only truly be settled when he finally lets them out and has it out with Taichi. He must face the truth within himself before he can evolve.

Yamato feels like he's trapped in his cocoon and unable to hatch. Jureimon tells him that he's unwilling to hatch because the direction he must hatch in goes through Taichi.

Jureimon is telling Yamato that he needs to destroy the shadow of Taichi's influence over his mind before he'll be able to grow as an individual.

In the dub, Cherrymon... (sigh) ...makes this about who gets to be the show's main character.

Cherrymon: It's about time you face the truth. The one you call Tai is your leader; Everything he says, you do. Everywhere he goes, you follow. And yet, in your heart, you resent him because you know you're just as qualified to be the boss as he is!

The dub cuts the File Island flashback before Tai and Matt can start throwing punches, like they did in that episode itself.

(Digitamamon flashback) Tai: STOP IT!!! Matt: WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, HUH!? (Mimi's graves flashback) Matt: WHO DIED AND LEFT YOU IN CHARGE OF THE WORLD!?!? Tai: Huh? What do you mean? Matt: I'VE JUST ABOUT HAD IT!!! (Flashbacks end) Cherrymon: Do not be ashamed of your resentment. Do not hide it. Embrace it, for in your anger lies your strength! Only when you recognize that will you at last be free to grow. To change. So face your rival! And prove you are his equal! Or better! By defeating him!

Cherrymon gives Matt a full-blown Emperor Palpatine Dark Side speech. You hate Tai because you deserve to be the team leader, not him, so let your anger grow and strike him down. Thanks, I hate it.

Fortunately, Gabumon is still not buying into any of this, and is ready to be the voice of reason.

Gabumon: That's a lie! It makes no sense at all! Taichi is your nakama. Don't be fooled, Yamato! This is a trap!

As a reminder, nakama is a group of people brought together for a particular activity or goal who form tight-knit social bonds with each other through their mutual pursuit of it. Like a military squad or a sports team.

Taichi himself started using the term to refer to the Chosen Children when he was getting the band back together in the PicoDevimon sub-arc. The term nakama was a big deal for Yamato and was part of what they fought about in the Digitamamon episode; Yamato internalizing and accepting Taichi and Jou as his nakama was what made his Crest of Friendship shine.

So Gabumon's tactical use of the word here is significant. The concept of nakama means a lot to Taichi and Yamato's relationship.

Yamato snaps suddenly as if breaking out of a daze.

Yamato: T-That's right! We're nakama....

Yamato turns on Jureimon furiously.

Yamato: A NAKAMA DOESN'T FIGHT EACH OTHER!!! Jureimon: Heh! Nakama, you say? You don't even believe that a thing like that exists. You can lie to the others, but you can't lie to yourself! Yamato: (suddenly quiet) ... Jureimon: Ha ha ha ha! A perfect picture of yourself, isn't it? Gabumon: YAMATO!!! Jureimon: Nakama. Tomodachi. Yuujou. Pleasant words, but they're all illusions. Nothing but a fleeting emotion. You can't let yourself be exploited by ephemeral things like that! Am I wrong, Yamato-kun?

Jureimon's list here is basically untranslatable because he says the same word twice. Nakama is commonly translated as "friendship" even though it has a much more precise meaning, as mentioned above. Tomodachi actually does mean friendship. And then Yuujou is also friendship, but more formally.

Yuujou, incidentally, is the specific word for Yamato's Crest. Yuujou no Monshou, Crest of Friendship. Jureimon picks that one for last because it has the most meaningful punch.

So trying to translate this list literally would be "Activity group with tight-knit bonds. Friendship. Friendship in a suit and tie. Convenient words, but they're all illusions."

A pragmatic translation would probably be something like, "Colleagues. Buddies. Friends." Switching the focus from the feeling to the objects of said feelings, while still ending on friendship for that punch.

The dub, again, is going to have to make this work without being able to lean on nakama. Though in this context, it'd be easy to just use the conventional "friends" translation. A bit of meaning would be lost, but that's pretty much doomed to happen since we couldn't use nakama in the Digitamamon episode either.

Gabumon: Don't listen! He's just trying to cause trouble! He's playing games with your mind. It's all part of some kind of trap! Tai is your friend, Matt. (Matt snaps out of it) Matt: He's my friend, yeah. He may not always act like it, but.... (Matt whirls furiously on Cherrymon) Matt: He's right! Tai is my friend. You don't fight your friends. Cherrymon: Friends? Ha! Now that's a good one. You don't even believe that such a thing really exists. Matt: Huh!? Cherrymon: Not in your heart of hearts, anyway. Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Hit the nail on the head, didn't I? Gabumon: What's he mean? Cherrymon: Friendship. Loyalty. Comrades. Fine-sounding words, but that's all they are. Words. Delusions. And you're wise enough to see that now. You know that, ultimately, the only person you can depend on is yourself. Isn't that right, Matt?

Cherrymon starts with the meaningful punch and then lists out the other words from there, rather than building up to it. Odd choice.

He handles the friendship redundancy by translating the other friendship and nakama as "loyalty" and "comrades".

Yamato hesitates to answer Jureimon's accusations.

Gabumon: Is that true, Yamato? Yamato: I... I don't know. Gabumon: Yamato.... Jureimon: Listen, I will say this once more. If you want to improve yourself, you must fight Taichi. Unless you have the determination to do that, you'll never be able to change. Unless you face this trial, you will never become the person you want to be!

Now that Jureimon has vanquished Yamato's objection to his words, he doubles down and reiterates his line of attack. Pressing the issue again onto the now more vulnerable Yamato.

As Jureimon makes his pronouncement, the wind kicks up, picking off leaves from his branches that blow over Yamato. Symbolizing him becoming lost in the mayoi no mori that Jureimon embodies.

Yamato: I don't know what to....

Yamato falls to his knees, helpless.

Yamato: (voice breaking) Damn it.... What am I supposed to do!?

In the dub:

Gabumon: He's wrong, isn't he? Matt: (voice breaking) I don't know.... I... I don't know.... Gabumon: You don't!? Cherrymon: Alright, then! That's enough moping around for now. Look, kid, stop staring at your shoes; The choice in front of you is simple! If you truly want to change, to reach your full potential, you must defeat Tai. It's either that or be content to live your life following in the shadow of him forever. (Leaves blow from Cherrymon over Matt) Matt: What a choice.... (Matt falls to his knees) Matt: What do I do? Oh, what do I do!?

Cherrymon comes closer to the original topic this time around. But he still ropes in the dub's idea that Matt's just pissy he doesn't get to be team leader.

Also, Matt doesn't curse when he falls to his knees in the dub because of course he doesn't.

Yamato, here at the height of despair, pulls out his Crest.

Yamato: The Crest of Friendship. Why does someone like me have the Crest of Friendship!? Gabumon: Yamato! I understand, Yamato.... You should do what you think is right.

Yamato jerks up suddenly, having caught the tone of this conversation.

Yamato: (vulnerable) Gabumon...? Gabumon: Charging boldly ahead like Taichi does can't always be the right answer. There are some things that only you can do, Yamato. Yamato: Things that only I can do? Gabumon: Let's look for those things together. And if you do need it so badly... Then I will fight for you, Yamato! Yamato: (shocked) Gabumon...? Gabumon: Even if it means making an enemy out of the others, I will always be with you, Yamato! Yamato: (crying) Gabumon....

Gabumon's proclamation is so affecting, Yamato's Crest reactivates once more.

Gabumon doesn't agree with Jureimon. He hasn't agreed with anything Jureimon's said. He's still convinced that this is the wrong answer, and tells Yamato as much.

(And he's right. Gabumon is right. Yamato was right in two out of three of those clashes with Taichi! And others, like the time Taichi got weirdly misogynistic about Sora's parental issues.

Taichi struggles to empathize with other people. This is a consistent flaw of his, and frequently the spark that sets Yamato off because that is something Yamato does far better than Taichi. Jureimon has poisoned his mind into individualist ways of thinking when Yamato's greatest strengths come from what he brings to the collective good. That's why he has the Crest of Friendship.)

But out of love for his Partner, Gabumon is willing to walk down the wrong path hand in hand with Yamato.

In the dub, the Crest continues beeping and making malfunctioning noises when Matt takes it out even though it... It has no mechanical parts. It's a lanyard with a magic rock inside of it.

Matt: Oh, that's a laugh. Wouldn't you know it that my Crest had to be the Crest of Friendship! Gabumon: Matt... There's one thing he's right about. Whatever you're going to do, do it! Matt: But do what? Gabumon: You've got to hear what your own conscience is telling you and not listen to anyone else! Not Tai or Cherrymon or me! You've got to have faith in yourself, Matt! Matt: What if I make the wrong decision? Gabumon: I know that whatever it is, it will be the right one. Because I have faith in you. And whichever path you take, I'll be there with you. Matt: You mean that? Gabumon: You do have a friend. Never forget that. I'll always be there, Matt, no matter what. Matt: (crying) Gabumon....

This. Is entirely wrong. Dub Gabumon washes his hands of the entire (much shittier) moral conundrum on Matt's hands, telling him "I'll back whatever you decide and that's that." He makes no attempt to engage with the conflict resting on Matt's heart in a scene where he's supposed to be the voice of reason.

This is a bittersweet scene where Gabumon's devotion to Yamato is contrasted by him literally saying, "Yes, I will go fight our friends for you if that's what it takes." But he still makes clear that he disagrees with this course of action, and offers Yamato guidance about a better solution to Taichi's influence over his heart.

In the dub, Gabumon ironically agrees with Cherrymon. Original Gabumon says, "Bold and decisive action isn't always the right answer," and dub Gabumon is like, "You must make a decisive choice right now!"

Original Gabumon offers guidance, and Dub Gabumon says "You must figure your shit out yourself and accept no guidance from anyone, not even me."

Americans suck at recognizing when individualism is bad.

Then the dub kicks up the opening credits Digimon theme song as he evolves, like this is a triumphant moment... Before we head off to go betray our nakama and beat the shit out of Tai.

Speaking of which, Gabumon Warp-Evolves into MetalGarurumon.

MetalGarurumon: Let's go, Yamato! Yamato: Yeah.

MetalGarurumon and heads off with Yamato. As he does, both Jureimon and MetalGarurumon reflect on what went down here.

Jureimon: Ha ha ha! That went perfectly. Jureimon: (thinking) Still, I'm surprised by the strength of their bond. Pinocchimon doesn't have a heart like theirs, so he may still be defeated if he isn't careful. MetalGarurumon: (thinking) Yamato... I know how you really feel. You truly want to believe.... In nakama. In tomodachi. In yuujou.

MetalGarurumon quotes Jureimon's list from earlier, noting that even though Yamato doesn't think he cares so much, he does.

MetalGarurumon lost the battle because he misunderstood the turmoil that was raging in Yamato's heart. But he intends to win the war, because he understands Yamato's truth better than anyone.

In the dub:

MetalGarurumon: Ready. Lead the way. Matt: Right. (The pair head off) Cherrymon: Hahahaha! Yeah, I think that went rather well. Cherrymon: (thinking) Still, I'm surprised by the strength of the bond between them. It took every trick I had to undermine it. If Puppetmon isn't careful, this game could still be lost. MetalGarurumon: I meant what I said, Matt. Cherrymon was wrong! Friendship. Loyalty. They're more than just words, they're real! And they matter. I'm going to prove it to you!

It's... honestly not clear if MetalGarurumon is thinking or saying those words out loud. His lip flaps aren't moving because the original MetalGarurumon is thinking, not speaking. But his tone is conversational, rather than introspective.

In any case, MetalGarurumon makes his intent more clear here.

Both of these carry on from where the previous scenes left them. Original MetalGarurumon is determined to work through this together with Yamato and believes Yamato already has the right ideas in his heart.

Dub MetalGarurumon thinks Yamato well and truly does not believe in friendship, but wants to show him a positive example of friendship in order to sway the decision he makes for himself.

Both of which they intend to do by fighting Taichi/Tai because that's what Yamato/Matt mistakenly thinks he needs right now.

His work complete, Jureimon reports to Pinocchimon, finding him washing his face at a nearby creek.

Pinocchimon: Shit! How dare they throw poop at me!? They'll all pay! Jureimon: Pinocchimon-sama, my plan has worked out perfectly. Pinocchimon: What was your plan? Jureimon: The two Ultimate stages, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon, are going to fight each other. Pinocchimon: Eh!? That sounds fun! Jureimon: If those two fight seriously, neither of them will come out unharmed. No, at best, they might even kill each other. Once the strongest are out of the way, you'll only have to pick off the weaklings. Pinocchimon: Great! I should hurry up and check that out! I don't want to miss such a Super Battle!

"Super Battle" is said in English, for a similar effect as snarking (TM) onto the end of a phrase.

In the dub, Puppetmon seems to be threatening the Garbagemon.

Puppetmon: Yech! Splattering me with their gunk. Those bucket-brains will pay for this! Cherrymon: There you are. The plan went perfectly, just as I thought. Puppetmon: Plan? What plan? Cherrymon: You should have seen it! I played that trusting sap like a violin. He's gonna do our dirty work for us, Puppetmon. Puppetmon: Well, sounds like a plan. Cherrymon: Any second now, we'll hear the sounds of WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon locked in mortal combat. Puppetmon: You're serious!? Cherrymon: Oh, yeah. With any luck they'll destroy each other. With the two strongest Digimon out of the way, the rest will fall like rotten fruit. Puppetmon: Mortal combat!? This I gotta see! Let's go! What are we waiting for!?

That threatening remark might be meant for the kids but "bucket brains" sounds like a jab at the trash cans that the Garbagemon were in.

Were they shouting out the Mortal Kombat series?

I love Cherrymon's enthusiasm here. He runs up like a happy kid shouting "Look what I did! Look what I did!" The dub handles this scene pretty much perfectly.

Pinocchimon turns to go see the fireworks, but Jureimon has a warning for him.

Jureimon: Please be careful around the Chosen Children! If you don't take this seriously, even you could be defeated by them. Pinocchimon: (stops, suddenly serious) I... might be defeated...? Jureimon: They have something that you lack, Pinocchimon-sama. Pinocchimon: (quietly) I lack something? You're saying that I lack something? Jureimon: Yes, it's-- Pinocchimon: THERE IS NOTHING THAT I LACK!!! BULLET HAMMER!!! Jureimon: WAAAAAAUGH!!!

Furious at Jureimon's insinuation, Pinocchimon erases him with his Bullet Hammer. Jureimon lets out an agonized scream and disintegrates into pixel dust - taking his critical insight to the digital grave with him.

(Which Mimi will not be making.)

Pinocchimon: Hmph. I don't care who it is; no one gets away with making fun of me.

Pinocchimon's childishness has become his undoing. He misunderstood what Jureimon was trying to say, interpreted it as mean-spirited mockery, and retaliated with ultimate force before Jureimon could even get a word out to explain. Pinocchimon killed Jureimon in the midst of a temper tantrum.

In the dub:

Cherrymon: Wait a minute! We gotta be careful! The DigiDestined are strong! Stronger than I expected, and to underestimate them could be disastrous! Puppetmon: What!? Are you saying... I might lose? Cherrymon: I'm only saying that I think you should take them seriously. There's something about them. Puppetmon: Something? Hmm... You mean like something I might be missing!? Cherrymon: (backpedaling) Well, not totally.... Puppetmon: I have everything I need to take care of you! PUPPET PUMMEL!!! Cherrymon: OH THE HORROR!!! (Cherrymon disintegrates into pixel dust) Puppetmon: Huh. Man, that kind of negative attitude really brings me down!

You know, from my perspective going over both languages, there's something hilarious about the way Puppetmon keeps trying to rerail the conversation back to the original script but Cherrymon refuses to actually say the things he's supposed to be saying here. XD

Jureimon was trying to warn Pinocchimon not to underestimate their feelings for each other. Pinocchimon doesn't have a heart and can't truly comprehend the strength of the bonds they share - bonds which may be a threat to the entire "Pit them against each other" plan. If he doesn't play this carefully, Yamato may yet turn back against him.

That context didn't make it into the dub, so Cherrymon's forced to say the kids themselves are super strong; Maybe stronger than Puppetmon.

Similarly, Puppetmon's final line doesn't quite convey the childishness of the original. This is overall a weaker scene.

Meanwhile, against all reason, one of the Garbamon actually survived that Giga Destroyer.

It's the one that Lilimon stepped on. Bootprint still on their face, they pop out of their trash can.

Garbamon: Alright, fine. I give up. JUST KIDDING!!!

Garbamon picks up their trash can; A powerful vacuum begins pulling everything into it.

Garbamon: YEAH HAHAHA!!! There's a Black Hole in here! I'll suck all of you into it!

Most of the kids cling to tree to avoid being dragged in. Hikari and Taichi hide behind MetalGreymon's leg; He's dug his claws into the earth to stabilize himself.

Taichi: Damn it. They still had a trick like this up their sleeve.... Hikari: (loses her grip) ONII-CHAN!!! Tailmon: HIKARI!!! Taichi: HIKARI!!!

Hikari and Tailmon both go flying, though Tailmon appears to have jumped and can be briefly seen swimming through the suction to reach Hikari. I don't know what she's planning but she intends to try something.

We'll never find out how Tailmon intended to rescue Hikari, because Garbamon is suddenly killed by a surprise Cocytus Breath from behind. The black hole trash can freezes and shatters right alongside them.

In the dub:

Garbagemon: Okay, okay! I know when I'm beat! You win! I surrender! ...JUST KIDDING!!! HYA HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! (Garbagemon starts sucking everything into the trash can) Garbagemon: Trash Day; Everybody in the can! If you're lucky, you'll get recycled! Taichi: This nasty little creep's really starting to get on my nerves! Kari: (loses her grip) TAI, HELP ME!!! Gatomon: KARI!!! Tai: KARI NO!!!

Garbagemon doesn't mention the black hole inside the trash can, so it's not super clear what happens to things dragged into it. But it's still clear that getting dragged in would be bad, which is the important thing.

With the last Garbamon dead and MetalGarurumon revealed, things begin to escalate right away.

Tailmon: MetalGarurumon!

Yamato steps out from the woods; Everyone's ecstatic to see him. Taichi has the biggest smile on his face to be reunited with their lost nakama member.

Sora: Yamato! Taichi: (running over, ecstatic) YAMATO!!! Where have you been this whole time!?

MetalGreymon degrades back down to Agumon and sprints across the field, smiling as well.

Agumon: Thank you! That was really close, so thanks!

MetalGarurumon says nothing, but fires a warning shot. Blue lasers shoot from his eyes, exploding next to Agumon and startling him. The children all gasp in shock at the unprovoked attack.

In the dub:

Gatomon: It's MetalGarurumon! (Matt emerges) Joe: Matt!

The dub puts a commercial break here. We return right where we left off, with Joe's extra line basically filling in as the respective ends of the commercial. Joe popped in to shill products before we resume the scene. :P

"Matt, you're back! Have you heard about ice-cold Pepsi Zero?"

Joe: Matt! Sora: Matt, you're back! Tai: (running over, ecstatic) BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!!! Where you been, buddy!? (MetalGreymon powers down to Agumon) Agumon: Thanks for saving our necks but did you have to cut it that close?

Agumon is ungrateful and deserves to be shot with lasers.

Now that the stage has been set, MetalGarurumon faces off with Agumon.

Agumon: W-Why!? MetalGarurumon: Agumon, I challenge you! Evolve to Ultimate! Agumon: The hell!? Why do I have to fight you!?

MetalGarurumon answers his question with another warning shot, firing off two missiles that detonate to either side of Agumon.

Following the reaction shot when MetalGarurumon first shoots at Agumon, Taichi whips back around to face Yamato but says nothing. It honestly feels like he should say something here if we're going to the trouble of animating him turning back around and facing Yamato, so the dub puts one in.

Tai: What's he doing!? Agumon: Hey, what is this!? MetalGarurumon: What do you think!? It's a challenge! You might want to Digivolve, and fast! Agumon: What have you been eating out there in the forest!? You want to fight me!?

MetalGarurumon's more aggressive here than his Japanese counterpart. Original MG is laying this down as a formal challenge, using the stock shonen phrase shoubu da, which basically means "Compete with me!" Often times in shonen that competition is fighting, including this one, though it doesn't necessarily have to be. The point is simply to face one another in a contest that will decide a victor.

Dub MG is saying the same thing, but pushes it harder with more threatening language.

I love Dub Agumon's translation of Nandayo!? as a censor-friendly "ARE YOU ON DRUGS!?" Beautiful reaction line.

Sora the peacemaker tries to confront Yamato over this.

Sora: Yamato! W-What... What are you doing!? Taichi: Hey, Yamato! Hurry up and stop him! Yamato: (coldly) No. This will happen. Taichi: (shocked) This will happen...? You....

In the dub:

Sora: This is insane! Matt, what's going on!? Is this some kind of joke!? Tai: Matt! I don't know what he's doing but call him off now! Yamato: (coldly) No, Tai. I won't. Tai: What did you say!? You won't!?

Sora and Taichi are both too shocked and confused to form words properly. Sora stumbles over her "Nani" as she tries to create her sentence.

Taichi initially doesn't realize that Yamato's in on this too and thinks MetalGarurumon went crazy for no reason; When he realizes the truth, he repeats Yamato's raw line straight back to him as if he can't process that those words came out of Yamato's mouth.

As usual, the dub kids are quicker on the uptake. Sora and Tai don't understand why he's doing this but they have an easier time delivering their flabbergasted lines.

With Yamato unwilling to call off MetalGarurumon, all eyes return to Agumon.

MetalGarurumon: I won't miss the next one. Now, evolve to WarGreymon quickly! Agumon: (steeling himself) You're serious about this.

We cut to Jou, Koushiro, and Hikari watching with apprehension. Takeru calls out:

Takeru: Onii-chan!

But Yamato's gaze remains cold and he doesn't acknowledge his brother. Finally, we close on Pinocchimon watching from the treetop perch that got him shitfaced earlier.

Pinocchimon: Hehe! I made it just in time. This is sure to be loads of fun!

Will it be loads of fun? Find out next time, when things will definitely go well for Pinocchimon, who is lacking nothing.

In the dub:

MetalGarurumon: I'm warning you! Hurry up and Digivolve into WarGreymon because I won't miss next time! Agumon: (surprised) ...I think he really means it!

They use the various reaction shots to have offscreen characters continue talking.

MetalGarurumon: Well!? Time's running out, Agumon! T.K.: Tai, stop him! Tai: I wish I could, but there's only one person who can stop him!

Yeah, instead of calling out to Yamato in startled confusion, T.K. yells for Tai to make this stop. I have no idea why.

The episode then closes on Matt's silent stern face; Itself now a response to Tai instead of to Takeru. Pinocchimon's final bit is cut.

Narrator: Will Matt succeed in destroying the DigiDestined from within? Find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters.

This is how far off-track we've drifted. We've gone from "In order to break free from Taichi's influence over his heart, Yamato mistakenly thinks he must fight and defeat Taichi in a formal contest of arms," to "Will Matt SUCCEED IN DESTROYING THE DIGIDESTINED!?!?"

Assessment: This one's a lot of sitting and talking. The Garbamon fight breaks up the discussion a bit, but the focus of this episode is Jureimon and Yamato's conversation.

It is a long talk because, while it's true that Yamato and Taichi are diametrically opposed to one another, it takes a lot of convincing to turn Yamato temporarily into an honest-to-DigiGod shonen rival. They don't really have that kind of relationship. In fact, the scene where they unlocked these Ultimate forms for their Digimon was all about the ways their Crest attributes complement and strengthen one another.

Yamato does need to figure out the emotional blocks holding him back from the true expression of himself that slips out when he's not thinking about it. But this ain't it, champ. This is Jureimon's nonsense.

Jureimon is, honestly, a pretty cool villain. I took him for granted as a kid because he's a big tree that just talks for like ten minutes. But as the physical representation of mayoi no mori, he's fascinating. The episode namedrops those words in the title, but the inescapable forest of lost souls never really appears.

Because, of course, it's not a place. It's him. The deep unnavigable wood is the semantic web Jureimon weaves around Yamato over the course of their talk. He fucks up Yamato for basically the rest of the show. This sets Yamato on his final character arc: The path to his true self-actualization down the road.

A conversation which the dub handles decently well in places but makes critical missteps about important points, particularly pertaining to Jureimon and Gabumon's respective interpretations of Yamato's feelings.

[seventeenlovesthree]

Digi Dynamic Shipping Game

Send me two names among the following 12 and I’ll write a short analysis post about them:

Taichi Yagami | Yamato Ishida | Sora Takenouchi | Koushirou Izumi | Mimi Tachikawa | Jyou Kidou | Takeru Takaishi | Hikari Yagami | Daisuke Motomiya | Miyako Inoue | Iori Hida | Ken Ichijouji

Whether canon provides input on them or not.

Boy, do I love to refer back to "Butterfly" and how it basically framed Taichi as the male main character and Sora as the female main character throughout. One might argue that this is a combination that has been occurring in quite a lot of anime - particularly kids and Shounen related - back in the 90s and early 2000s, so... Asking whether or not canon provides input on them is like asking if water is wet. They've known each other since elementary school, have been in the same class ever since (and will continue to be classmates until graduation) and even attended the same football club for a while. They start the series as "almost telepathically connected" football club duo (basically a novel quote right here), adventurous and hands-on plot drivers, the courageous leader and the tomboyish but caring voice of reason right by his side. You instantly get the impression that they are familiar and close with each other and it's a theme that continues throughout the entire first season; not only because they consistently jump into action and call out, care for and protect each other, but because they, their bond, their loyalty and development are basically responsible for the fact that the kids get through everything alive in the end.

Trying to describe the extent and depth of their relationship would probably end with me writing a whole novel, so I will try to keep this brief, because... You know them. Similarly to Taito, Koumi and Takari, Taiora has been a staple in the shipping scene ever since the conception of Digimon Adventure back in 1999 - and for good reason. As mentioned, there used to be - and still is - a trope to pair up the main boy and main girl with one another and this case is no exception, considering how well they play off of each other, supporting and saving each other time and time again. Digimon Adventure is a special series though - a series whose creators intended to break through tropes and stereotypes, turning those on the head whenever possible. So while Taichi's and Sora's bond may be so significant that the idea of them ending up together seems inherently plausible - this is not how their story ends.

The tomboy, who struggles with her sense of femininity and identity, cannot deal with her best friend gifting her a hairclip - and while they seem thoroughly devoted to and on each other's minds, they develop in different directions. There is a theme of miscommunication between them as they grow older, little quarrels here and there - but at the same time, there is still an incredible sense of mutual fondness and protectiveness that, despite a growing physical distance, never completely vanishes. "If you love someone, let them go", is a quote that may come to mind when you take a look at the screenshot above and are aware of its context. Whether that kind of love was romantic or platonic at this point? We may never know.

This is the story of two close long-term friends, who were not meant to be together - wrong time, wrong place.

... Which doesn't mean that there isn't a potential "right time", right...?

Whether I think why and how they’d work.

What I mentioned above seems to be somewhat cryptic and what I'm about to outline may or may not break canon to a certain degree, but HEAR ME OUT.

While this headcanon is, for now, nothing more than a headcanon, but I am a big supporter of @dutchforstrangers' interpretation of the epilogue, leading to the idea that Yamato and Sora might not remain together/married. This post is not meant to be Sorato slander in any way and I will not go into detail here as to why I think this is a valid headcanon - just know that there are a few subtext aspects in regards to their behavioural patterns and body languages that leave room for speculation. And that's all there is to it: SPECULATION!

The point I am trying to make here is, once again, that Taichi and Sora may not have been ready to be in a relationship early in life - because they first had to come to terms with themselves, their real dreams, aspirations and needs. They had to become comfortable with themselves (particularly after the loss of their Digimon partners) to bridge the (physical and emotional) distance that had festered between them through the years. Because if you think about it, due to their underlying insecurities, they both chose the same approach in their early twenties: Isolating themselves from the rest of their friend group. And I feel like they both have to come to the conclusion first that this is a state that could never bring them long-lasting happiness. They're both social beings that shrivel when they're left alone for too long. (They may also need the encouragement of their friends - particularly Mimi, Koushirou and Hikari - to get there though.)

So it may take a while, weeks, months, maybe even years, to reconcile, step by step. Rekindling their bond, making up their minds about their true passions and career paths, rediscovering old and finding new hobbies and similarities along the way; whether it's about their shared love for their friends, football, adventurous and sporty activities, probably therapy???, whatever it may be... Until they'd reunite with their partners and, with a gleeful but weary smile on their faces, realize that they just had to grow up to this point to eventually find each other as well.

Whether I’d prefer them as platonic or romantic ship.

In case the way I've been talking about them hasn't made it obvious yet - I do love Taiora a lot. While I hadn't started actively shipping Digimon characters until I started watching Tamers, I always had an incredible soft spot for them and up to this day, Taichi and Sora are my second favourite choice for each other. You could say that, in every possible universe in which Taich doesn't end up with Koushirou, he WOULD end up with Sora if I had anything to say. It's also no secret that Taikoura is my absolute favourite OT3 and I really think they COULD work out beautifully together. In the end, both romantic and platonic Taiora is absolutely beautiful to me - especially because it brought some very special, wonderful people into my life. Long story short: As long as their closeness persists in any way, shape or form, I'll be happy.

I also still maintain that the reboot timeline could potentially go there, but I will not get my hopes up... Yet.

[akehoshimystar]

Kiho's Personal Story

Roka: To this wonderful night... Cheers!!

Kiho: Cheers.

Roka: Mika!

Takeru: Sure, sure.

Roka: Fufu... Fufufu.

………

Flap

Kiho: Oh.

Roka: Zzzzz…..

Takeru & Kiho: ……..

After saying a toast for countless times, Roka slumped against the counter with a smile on his face. I looked at him for a few seconds. I caught sight of Mika behind the counter, and we both laughed and said, “Good work”.

Takeru: As always, the way he fell asleep is just like a baby. He was noisy until the very end.

Kiho: I thought he’d ask for another round of fortune telling. He ran out of energy now.

Takeru: Seems like he played putter golf with Shinobu and others on the rooftop during the day. He must have been pretty tired from the start.

Kiho: The rooftop here?

Takeru: Yeah. He bought a toy set from somewhere, and was playing in the office at first, but Ai-chan kicked him out.

Kiho: Must have been tough for Ai.

I took the glass, which is now filled with nothing but ice, from Roka’s hand and handed it to Mika.

Takeru: Thanks. What about you, Kiho?

Kiho: I don’t mind if we call it a day now…... But let’s see…. Can I have just one more drink?

Takeru: Of course. I’m about to start cleaning up now, but don't worry about me. Just take your time and drink.

Mika gracefully poured me some Ginjo and began closing up the bar as previously declared. As I watched him while enjoying my last drink of the day… I heard a muffled voice next to me.

Roka: ...I’ve come up with a great idea...

Kiho: What is it?

Roka: Nagashi somen for Christmas.

Kiho: We already did that last year. Water got all over the floor and Urara scolded us like we have just killed someone. We learned it hard way, didn’t we?

Roka: Fufu... Nghnnnn...

Takeru: Seriously, you’re way too sociable. Why bother replying when he’s already in his dreamworld?

Kiho: To my surprise, he can remember things when I ask him later. Maybe his brain is still up and awake.

Takeru: Even if that's the case, when I see you two together, I still feel strange.

Kiho: What’s strange about it?

Takeru: Who would have thought that you two would become such good friends for this long?

I gulped down the chilled sake in my mouth. And laughed lightly at what Mika said while he was polishing the sink.

Kiho: Mika, didn’t you say the same thing in the past?

Takeru: Oh, really? Well, I've been thinking about it for quite some time now.

I do understand why Roka is attached to Kiho, but Kiho also accepted him and that's why we’re where we are now.

I can’t guess at all what would lead you guys to this point.

Kiho: Accept him? I don't mean to act like I was playing hard-to-get.

Takeru: I think it's difficult for you not to act that way when that’s what you are. Well, not that I care.

Back then… Kyoya, Sei, Shizuka, Mao... Not sure if I should say this, but didn’t Kiho like hanging out with that kind of people?

Kiho: Interesting conclusion you’ve reached there. Well, if I were to sit next to someone on a long trip, I'd prefer someone among that list.

Takeru: I know right. In fact, I've never seen Kiho close the distance with someone crazy like Roka. That's why I find it very strange.

Even if he was one-sidedly attached to you and you found him annoying, you could have dealt with him however you wanted, but you didn't.

Kiho: Dealing with him?

Takeru: Smiling while giving him a cold shoulder. You're good at that, aren’t you?

Kiho: Oh. Now you’re slandering me.

Takeru: Who said I did? I don't think you have to worry about it, though.

Kiho: Haha.

I see... So that's how Mika sees us.

Then, I could say the same. The fact that Roka got attached to me is certainly strange.

Takeru: Maybe it’s not rocket science at all. Perhaps, it’s simply admiration.

Because Kiho has a lot of things that Roka doesn't have and wants.

Kiho: ...I'd be honored if that's the case.

Takeru: It's like crying for the moon. I think it's more or less a feeling that arises when people interact with each other.

Well, it's not every day that you find someone as dynamic as Roka. “A calm, intelligent leader who is respected by everyone”

Kiho: Haha. I feel bad for Roka, but I can't imagine that at all.

Takeru: I kind of agree. However, if I have such a dynamic idiot close by….

I might be able to think it's silly to worry about such trivial things like having high expectations or wishing for things that will never come true.

Kiho: …….

He makes me think that everyone can want what they want, step forward, reach out and grab it. I think anyone with self-strict personality would feel comfortable around Roka. There's a level of force and carefree attitude that allows you to surrender yourself to him.

Takeru: Unexpectedly, he can save the day.

Looking at Mika, who suddenly stopped and looked at Roka with gentle eyes, I thought to myself he is also one of the people Roka has "forgiven".

Kiho: (Crying for the moon, huh?)

Kiho: ......It hurts.

Takeru: Huh?

Kiho: Ah... Sorry. I’m just talking nonsense. My head just hurt for a moment.

Takeru: Oh no, are you okay? You still have that migraine after all.

Kiho: No, I probably just drank too much and got a little carried away today.

Thanks for the drink. I'll take Roka home.

Takeru: Just sit down for a bit. I'll call Shinobu now.

Today he went to the dormitory to clean Shizuka's house. After that, he would be drinking with Soyogu and others, but I think they should start talking about leaving now.

If he comes over here and I tell him he can take a taxi home with Roka, he’ll be happy to come and pick him up for sure.

Kiho: He’s drunk as a skunk and a bit of a pain right now, are you sure?

Takeru: That kid is probably drunk too. Here! Drink this and wait.

Kiho: Thank you.

After quickly handing me a glass of water, Mika went down to the staff room.

Kiho: (.…I ended up making him worried. I should have made a different excuse.)

(I can't think straight at all. I'm really a little drunk tonight.)

Roka: …….

Kiho: ……

I stared at the back of Roka’s head, motionless and as quiet as a dead body. I vaguely thought that it's been a long time seeing that his hair has gotten this long. I couldn’t really remember how short his hair was when we first met.

Roka: Hey, Misumi. I'm thinking of growing my hair out too, is that okay?

Why? There's only one reason. I want to be cool like you!

Not just as a host. As a human being, too.

Kiho: (.….Idiot.)

He has had something special from the beginning, but only he himself doesn’t know its value. Without realizing it, he chased after someone else, harboring unnecessary admiration. He's stupidly pure, he tries his best, and he loves people. There’s just no way anyone can hate him. He's the kind of person who is destined to be loved.

Kiho: It's not that I didn't reject him. I just couldn't, Mika.

I murmured the words I hadn't said earlier to the empty counter. I could see it from the moment we first met. If I had negative feelings about “this”, it would be the end. So I accepted him, and I won't reject him even in the future. If no one can see your true feelings, it's the same as not being there.

Kiho: (That's why….. You'll probably never know for the rest of your life.)

I reached out for the card I'd put aside in the corner. And flipped it over and saw what’s on it. I couldn't help but let out a dry laugh, which made Roka flinched. I find a tip of his hair swaying like a tail annoying for some reason, so I chuckled.

Kiho: Get up. Time to head home, Roka.

…….If I hate you, I’ll be swept away for sure.

[ozoraslegend]

Here's a funny idea, Hiro and Takato are asked to help find a way to calm Kiyoshiro down from his panic attacks by Jellymon. She loves her partner very much and she does not want to see him in the Hospital. How would the do it?

First of all, panic attack is not a "funny" topic. And I am a blogger, not a therapist. So I won't be able to give completely correct solutions, and no information on sources like this should be used in real life. This won't discuss much about panic attacks. If you have ability to deal with very mild discussion of this topic, you can continue.

Technically, I won't call Kiyoshiro's "times" as panic attacks. It can be near, but not ones. Takato is also not the best one to solve panic attack, saddenly. He is easily affected by his own emotions, and watching others panic is just a trigger for his own panic attacks. (I certainly will call Megidramon, Leomon's death and D-Reaper as panic attack trigger.) Plus, Jellymon won't believe such a soft boy just like her Kiyo, and a strange, young one to help...

About your situation, it seems like they want to find a way for solving this problem. I think Takato will be worried and try to help as quick as possible, but Hiro will just find for him a therapy. And certainly not only for Kiyo, but for all of characters. (Four Holy Beasts know Kouichi, Takeru, Ken, and much, much more especially need it.)

To be honest, a big common therapy for all characters will be very… interesting. About panic attacks, I don't think the solutions will be much different from standard protocol for real life panic attacks, except hugging their partners, I suppose. Before they can get a therapy, I suppose Takato and Hiro will try to comfort Kiyoshiro, talk with him, help him breath, and other things you would do. And ask others to support, of course.

...I advice you to be cautious with topics like this. Ghost Game has quite good fanbase, but the four first seasons (Adventure - 02 - Tamers - Frontier) tend to create many argumentative discussions. Many meta analyzers and fanfic writers can forget this, and everything roll down very fast.

Have a good day~

[detectiveichijouji]

Case 19 - A wannabe Taichi?! The jealous kid

[AO3 version]

He was kinda afraid yet curious about what would happen if all Seven Deadly Sins were gathered. What was that purpose…? And the Halloween festival at Amanogawa High was… That same weekend.

“... Only Envy is left… Yet we don’t know why that Impmon and those other ‘pals’ want those…”

“Ah, I think Taichi-san will come to see us!” “Really? He’s been too busy lately…” “Hikari-chan, don’t you want to prank your brother this year?” “Hmm… What should we do this year??” “I don’t think it’s a good idea…” “Daisuke-kun, we know you want to prank him~” “M-me!? No!! I don’t! T-Takeru, why would we do that!?” “Well, maybe we can prank Yamato instead.” “Yamato-san is scary! Hikari-chan you don’t agree with that, right?” “Hmm… What if we prank both??” “.................... H-Hikari-chan… 💦”

“... Hmm… I wonder if…”

“HEY, NOEL!” Daisuke approached with a grin and gave the boy a pat in the back.

“GUH!” and Noel got caught off guard, almost losing his balance and falling on the floor.

“A-ah, sorry…!!” Daisuke babbled awkwardly.

“I-it’s okay…” the blonde boy said, smiling at him, “You three are excited for the Halloween festival…?”

“Yeah! Now that Takeru’s back… We can all enjoy it together!!”

“Oh… So, the others will come…”

“Yep! I think even our seniors will come too! But they’re busy peeps… But it would’ve been cool if they came!”

“Oh, you mean… Yagami Taichi-san’s group…?”

“Oh? I bet you heard about them from Catherine!” Patamon butted him, “Right?”

“Catherine… Y-yeah, I did…!”

Takeru blinked, why did he sound like he didn’t know Catherine…? -- and thought.

“Aah… I didn’t find anyone to play with today…” the eyepatched Impmon sighed, “Geez, those humans and digimon are no fun!”

Suddenly, they saw one of those oldest Chosen Children dealing with a legit 11 year old child.

“Please teach me!” the kid said, “I’ve been looking up to you, I wanna be cool like you Yagami Taichi-san!!”

“Uhh, I… I don’t know?? The last time I was given that responsibility I ended up blowing it up…??” Taichi blinked, “Uhh, Agumon can you handle this for me?? I need to… work.”

“H-huh!?” Agumon tilted his head, not sure what to say to either of those humans.

“W-will Agumon train me!?”

“Taichi, I…”

“Please Agumon,” Taichi begged his digimon, “Just a little… Until I come back.”

“But…”

“A-Agumon, I will obey every command from you!” the kid bowed his head.

“Aaah, Taichi--” But Taichi left, and Agumon was left behind with the kid. It’s weird how Taichi has been acting a little strange lately… Is it what they call ‘being an adult’?? But he felt Taichi not wanting to deal with that little kid was off.

“What should I do…” Agumon frowned.

“So, what should we do first?” the boy asked, excited.

“Uhhh… Um, what’s your name again?”

“Taisuke, Kamiya Taisuke. I’ll be 11 years old in two months,” he introduced himself, “And I’m going to be cool like Yagami Taichi-san!”

The kid carried a Botamon plush, possibly made-or-bought by his parents. Agumon had been unsure what to do right now. He should’ve been used to it, since Daisuke was kinda like that as a kid…

“Um, alright…” Agumon scratched the top of his head, “Taichi said to keep watching you until he’s back so… Let’s play something while we wait for him…?”

“Ooh!! Nice idea, teach Agumon!” Taisuke nodded excitedly, “The arcade has the best ways to improve your mind and stamina!”

“No, I mean just playing to distract oursel--”

“LET’S GO!!” and he left.

“A-ah… Um, W-wait for me!!” Agumon went after the kid, but then he just witnessed Taisuke stopping and talking with a hooded digimon, “Huh??”

“I know you envy those people with digimon, especially the one you admire the most” the mysterious digimon said, “Say, would you like to use that envious heart to achieve your dream?”

“T-that’s bad!” Agumon muttered to himself, “I have to warn Taichi--”But it was too late. Taisuke accepted a forbidden Digimental fragment and used it on the plush… Which evolved into a BlackAgumon.

After school time… The Take-Dai-Hika trio was leaving on the way home when they found Agumon running in their direction, desperately. 

“Hikariiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, Daisukeeeeee, Takeruuuuuuuuuuuuu!!”

“Huh? Agumon?” the kids and their digimon exclaimed.

“Big trouble!!” he stopped in front of them, exhausted, “A kid named Taisuke got one of those strange shards you were talking about!”

“W-what!?” Daisuke exclaimed.

“Taisuke-kun?” Hikari frowned.

“Do you know him, Hikari-chan?” Takeru asked.

“Yeah, he’s a kid wanting Taichi to pick him as a student…” Tailmon shrugged.

“Like someone else used to do” Patamon smiled, Daisuke blushed.

“I-it was a long time ago…!!” Then he looked at Agumon, “Where’s him? Which digimon did he evolve into??”

“He didn’t, he…”

“SPITFIRE!!”

Agumon and the group dodges from a fireball shot by BlackAgumon, who was in front of Taisuke. The kid pouted, “Ow, stop running away and fight me!!”

“I don’t want to fight you!!” Agumon shouted, “You shouldn’t use that shard on you--”

“Shut up! You’re such a coward! Face me! I will show you I can be a Chosen Child too!!”

“Hey, kid” Daisuke stared at him, clenching his fist, “If you wanna fight someone… Do not use dirty tricks like those shards! Give it to us, now… Before your digimon runs amok!”

“Do you think I will fall for it? BlackAgumon is fine, Now… Fight me.”

“Alright… V-mon!” Daisuke cracked his knuckles, “We will have to take it by force!”

“Got it!” and V-mon ran towards BlackAgumon, “BOOM BOOM PUNCH!!”

That opponent was fast and dodged V-mon’s punches. BlackAgumon then shot another fireball against V-mon. Luckily, V-mon managed to hop to the side, escaping from the fireball.

“They’re fast…!” Takeru exclaimed.

“W-what!?” Daisuke squinted his eyes, meanwhile the kid was grinning. This made Daisuke feel more irritated.

“Hehehe!!” Taisuke laughed, “Now, BlackAgumon!!”

BlackAgumon moved too fast for V-mon’s speed, and he got hit by a flurry of kicks. V-mon couldn’t escape or block them all, so he got hit!! Then, BlackAgumon used an uppercut on V-mon and finished with a fireball. V-mon was hit and thrown closer to Daisuke and the group.

“V-MON!!” the 02 trio, their mons and Agumon screamed in shock.

“Gah… ack…” V-mon fainted. Daisuke went to him and took the poor digimon from the ground, helding him in his arms.

“V-mon, a-are you… Are you okay?? Talk to mee, V-mon!!”

“Tsk, So this is the legendary Motomiya Daisuke’s power?” the kid scoffed.

“Y-YOU! LITTLE--!!” Daisuke was furious, but Takeru put a hand on his shoulder, making him look back and then the blonde boy shook his head.

“Now, Agumon… Will you fight or run away like a coward?”

“We won’t allow you to keep harassing Agumon or Daisuke-kun like this!” Hikari snapped, then she took her D-3, “Light Digimental Up!”

“Oh, I know what you mean…!” Takeru nodded, and took this digivice as well, “Hope Digimental Up!”

Both Tailmon and Patamon Armor-evolved into Nefertimon and Pegasusmon respectively. Then they used their combined technique to form a net of golden strings and catch Taisuke and BlackAgumon. Then, the kids and Agumon mounted on the armor digimon and left, taking V-mon to Joe.

“Ghn!!” Taisuke growled, “COME BACK HERE, YOU BULLIES!!”

Someone appeared in front of the kid and the digimon. It was… Noel.

“H-hey, mister can you help us?”

“...”

Joe treated V-mon’s wounds, and he opened his slowly, regaining consciousness and glancing at the humans and their digimon around him.

“V-mon!!”

“Uugh, what happened?” the blue digimon was hug by Daisuke tightly, “O-ouch, Daisuke--”

“You only got obliterated by another Agumon,” Patamon said, but he wasn’t joking. He was quite worried, “Are you okay now?”

“Uh… A bit…” Daisuke let him go, and he then looked at the group “Daisuke… Everyone… That digimon….”

“Is not a digimon,” Agumon finished V-mon’s line.

“H-how??” Daisuke blinked.

“It’s a plush turned into a digimon!”

“Like a Dark Tower digimon?” Takeru asked rhetorically, “Then it wouldn’t be hard to undo the spell…”

“Taisuke has the fragment…” Agumon frowned, “I remember seeing it turn into a fake digivice… Since he got it, he started challenging me… He changed drastically from the boy we know…”

“Envy, hmm??” Noel’s right eye was not covered by his bangs this time, “Interesting that they picked someone closer to Yagami siblings… Kamiya Taisuke. You’re the son of one of the Yagami siblings’ cousins, am I correct?”

“A-ah…!! H-how do you know--”

“You just confirmed it.”

“W-what!? H-hey, please mister, help me out…!!”

“If you gently hand the shard you have to me, maybe?”

“If I do that I won’t be a Chosen Child anymore!!”

“Then good luck trying to get out of there.”

“W-wait I… I will give you the shard!”

“Very well, so… un, deux, trois~” he snapped his fingers. Espimon came and removed the net over them, “Now hand me the fragment, please?”

“Ah, thinking about it I won’t!” and he put his tongue out, “BYEE!!” he and BlackAgumon ran away.

Noel watched the boy running away, with a throbbing "cross popping" vein in his head.

“He… he fooled you, didn’t he?” Espimon commented awkwardly.

“... Well, it doesn’t matter. This only makes things even more interesting.”

“Y-you can’t be serious…!” she babbled.

Taisuke and BlackAgumon kept running through the streets, until he accidentally bumped into Ken.

“Ack!” the little child shouted, “Hey, look where you’re goin-- Oh!!”

“Hm?” Ken blinked, “It was you who came running into my direction…”

“You… Fight me! Fight me now!”

“I don’t think we should fight because of that…” Wormmon panicked.

“It doesn’t matter, I have to fight the Chosen Children if I want to be one!

“Isn’t this the kid Daisuke-san told us to look for?” Wormmon asked Ken, who nodded in response.

“Wow, I’m getting famous! People are hearing about me now!!”

“Look, I agree with Wormmon and we don’t need to fight,” Ken said gently, “You’re in real danger if you keep using that shard. Please, let me have it.”

“Ugh, you’re also after my digivice!?” Taisuke pouted, “I won’t give it in! Bye--” But when he started to run, Wormmon used his Sticky Net ability to pull him back, like a yo-yo “EEK!!”

“Sorry, but we can let you take any risks” Ken said seriously, he tried being reasonable with the kid again, “Please, hand me it.”

“NO!” The shard-digivice started to shine, and BlackAgumon evolved into MetalGreymon (Virus). It tried to attack Ken, but Wormmon jumped in front of his partner and evolved into Stingmon. 

Stingmon took Ken and dodged the attack. MetalGreymon caught the kid and flew away.

“... I have bad memories about that digimon” Ken sighed, it was like watching a phantom of his past being revived.

Ken warned the group about what happened and they felt it would be even harder to stop Taisuke now. V-mon was hurt, but maybe Patamon and Tailmon could solve it…? Miyako started using the power of the internet and social media to locate MetalGreymon.

The group were sure he was after Agumon and, to some extent, Taichi. Hikari didn’t want her brother to get hurt, so she decided they had advantage in hands if they used Angewomon.

“I found them!!” Miyako said on the phone, “They’re in the deck area.”

Hikari, Takeru, Ken and Iori went there instead. Daisuke stayed in the university hospital with V-mon and Agumon. Maybe… Just those four can be enough. Miyako was working as their navigator through phone calls and messages.

“Taisuke-kun! Please stop!” Hikari begged politely, “This will hurt you if it goes out of control!!”

“NO!” the kid pouted, “I WON’T GIVE IT IN, THIS IS MY DIGIVICE AND MY DIGIMON!!”

“He’s not a real digimon!” Takeru shouted, “That MetalGreymon is just a puppet!”

“HOW DARE YOU…!! MetalGreymon… Get ’em all!!”

“Takeru” / “Hikari” / “Iori” the digimon looked at their partners. Stingmon was also ready to rumble. 

“Right!” the kids nodded, and then got their D-3 digivices.

The digimon evolved (and super-evolved, in Tailmon’s case) to their adult (and perfect) forms. MetalGreymon attacked, releasing his Giga Destroyer missiles against them, but Angemon and Angewomon destroyed them with Heaven’s Knuckle and Holy Arrow techniques. Ankylomon and Stingmon tried a melee attack, by using Tail Hammer and Spiking Finish at the opponent, but MetalGreymon kept being faster than a normal digimon… perhaps because of it being basically a plush come to life.

“It’s not working…!!” Takeru gasped.

“HA, are you losers ready to give up??” Taisuke smirked, “Me digimon is stronger and faster than yours--”

Suddenly faster than the naked eye got the shard-digivice from the boy’s hand. Yes, it was him… Arsenemon.

“GAH! MY DIGIVICE!!” Taisuke panicked, “H-HOW DID YOU--”

“Oeil de Chat” he snapped his fingers and a small black cat with green eyes magically popped in front Taisuke’s face. The cat’s eyes met with Taisuke’s and suddenly the boy fell asleep in Asrenemon’s arms.

“What did you do!?” Angewomon flew in his direction, but the burglar just gently put the child in her arms, “H-huh…??”

“He’s asleep,” he said nonchalantly, “Now it’s your chance to beat MetalGreymon. I suggest using your holy powers on it, that plush might be too precious for him to get permanently destroyed.”

“... Why are you helping us again?” 

“Why wouldn’t I help you? Think about it being a trade-off for this little piece here.”

“Did he…” Ankylomon looked at Iori and the others.

“I think he did indeed…” Iori, blinked. When he looked at Hikari, she was definitely giving that digimon a deadly stare.

“What?!” Angewomon also stared at him under her helmet.

“Au revoir ~” and then he just vanished before Angewomon could even strangle him.

“W-well… Angemon, can you turn MetalGreymon into a plush again…?” Takeru tried to change the subject.

Angemon super-evolved into HolyAngemon and used his sacred powers on the plush, which also stopped moving the moment Taisuke fell asleep. And thus, the MetalGreymon enemy turned back into a tiny Botamon plush.

“It was a bad choice,” the eyepatched Impmon pouted, “We should’ve caught that tall guy called Yagami Taichi instead!” and then he left… only to accidentally find Noel on the way “Gah?! A human--”

“What you’re doing is unforgivable” he said, staring at the small digimon with his green eyes, “Consider it a warning: If you mess with any of those Chosen Children again, or anyone closer to them…”

“Oh what? What will a human like you do?”

“... You might not want to know,” and then he left.

While returning home, Ken and Stingmon just caught (by sheer accident) that scene, but… There was something else they caught…

Noel had been tossing something to air and catching it. Something shiny… Was that one of the forbidden Digimental shards?

“... I need to talk to Takeru-kun about something.” Ken told Stingmon, “Please, take me to his building.”

“Alright.”

What would it be…?

[sakurarisen]

fill out the angst application below.

basics

> NAME - Seraphina Fair

> AGE - 21 (24 in Rebirth and Genshin verses)

> SPECIES - Human (elemental phoenix/human hybrid, unknown to her)

bold what applies (italicize what somewhat applies)

drinker ; smoker ; done/does drugs ; knows what a broken heart feels like ; has committed a crime ; suffers a physical disability ; suffers a mental disorder ; has experienced severe trauma

details

> BIGGEST FEAR -  Dying without making any kind of difference or change in the world. Although Sera isn’t clueless and knows ‘changing the world’ is very much unlikely to happen in her lifetime, no matter how much she tries for it and would love to see it herself, it terrifies her to die without having left even the tiniest of impacts - To know she was nothing more than a drop of water into a vast sea, unable to change anything for anyone, or even help anyone. There’s so much to change, so many people who need help in a world so designed to beat them down, the thought of leaving them without doing everything she can... That’s genuinely a nightmare in itself to her.

On the same level is losing her family and loved ones; her husband is frequently involved in dangerous work, they have kids she doesn’t doubt are always in danger due to having them for parents, her brother is oftentimes in the line of fire for his own work, her friends also have dangerous jobs... All it takes is one slip, and that, too, is a nightmare that often plagues her when she least expects it.

> RECURRING NIGHTMARE - Sera tends to relive her various traumas in her nightmares at least two or three times a week. If she’s lucky enough to not have a nightmare about her trauma, it’s one involving losing her family or being captured by people who want to do them/her harm, or, on rarer occasions, being lost in absolute darkness with no way out, no light, and no body to hear her scream. Thankfully, these nightmares slow to one to two times a week when she’s able to sleep next to her husband, or when her brother is visiting,but they’ve never stopped completely.

> SOMETHING YOU MISS - Her lost siblings, Ami and Takeru, the childhood she never had, and several people she met during her travels she, unfortunately, no longer has contact with. Friends she hasn’t seen in long periods also fall under this category, as well as her brother, Thoma, when she’s unable to see him due to the (physical) distance between them.

> BIGGEST REGRET - Not knowing anything as a child, and being unable to save Ami and Takeru. Although she had no idea what was really going on until shortly before their passing, when they told her as much themselves, Sera has never stopped regretting she hadn’t done things differently, or tried everything in her power to save them, somehow. This regret is doubled when she discovers Thoma is her brother rather than her cousin, both having been raised to believe the later due to his being given up to their aunt and uncle, and realizes they never questioned their obvious similarities as children, missing out on the bond they now share up to this point.

She also heavily regrets when she’s unable (or inable) to help others, and walking away, for any reason, or being unable to stop someone’s pain even long enough to bring them the tiniest of smiles, constantly weighs on her. Logically, she knows there are some things she just can’t do, change, or handle, but it still hits her hard, and lingers.

> A SECRET - Sera is, at her core, an elemental phoenix - Specifically a snow phoenix - who has slowly assumed human form over her multiple lives and rebirths. At this point, only her core is an elemental being; She’s long since shifted fully into a human and is technically a human past this; Aria, the snow phoenix, has buried herself down deep and, for all intents and purposes, ‘gone to sleep’ in her attempt to be a human. This has resulted in the ‘frozen lake’ Sera often feels/mentions sits within her and knows there’s a great deal of something under, and occasionally can access a bit of ‘water’ from from the occasional crack in its surface, but can never break through - The ice is too thick by her own unconscious doing in every lifetime, this one being no different, and subconsciously, she knows breaking the ice would end her life... Even if she has no idea she is Aria, or that the phoenixes ever exist/existed, or that her brother, Thoma, is Aria’s twin, the fire phoenix Aelius, tucked away in him much the same and born first due to their rebirth cycles falling out of sync, turning the twins into ‘older brother and little sister’ instead.

pick one

fire or water

mother or father neither-

to hurt or be hurt

eerie or gory

unrequited love or no love

TAGGED BY: It’s been in my drafts so long I CAN’T REMEMBER-

TAGGING: @waltzofphoenix​, @yoroiis, Snag it! <3

[darkershining]

Just watched episode 36 of Hirogaru Sky! Pretty Cure, in which Ageha is at a loss for what to do when she discovers that one of the kids at the nursery school she's been teaching at is moving away.

The episode begins with Ageha playing with some of the kids at the nursery school, including Takeru, who almost slips up about Ageha being a Pretty Cure when he asks her to put up more of a fight during their play-pretend, reminding her of the elephant monster she fought. Luckily, the other kids don't catch on, and Ageha manages to subtly remind him that it's supposed to be a secret.

Takeru runs over to help another kid who was trying to make a small tunnel in the sandbox, with Ageha noting how well Takeru's been looking out for the others and noting she needs to keep working hard as well.

Later in the night, Tsubasa wakes up to hear Ageha talking in her sleep. He notes that she fell asleep in the living room again, and puts a blanket over her, noting how much she enjoys spending time with the kids at the nursery school as Ageha continues talking about them in her sleep.

The next day, Ageha notices that Takeru seems to be in a bad mood, and learns from one of the other teachers that Takeru and his family are moving away. Ageha attempts to cheer him up, but he's in no mood to spend time with her. Later that evening, Sora and the others can tell something is bothering Ageha. Ageha initially tries to dodge the subject, but the others see right through her, and Ageha explains what is going on.

Ageha admits that she doesn't know what to do to cheer Takeru up, and that she feels she's still far from being the best nursery school teacher. Tsubasa asks Ageha exactly what being the best nursery school teacher means to her. Ageha recalls how when she was younger and had to move away from her sisters, she was sad for a while, even when at nursery school. She recalls that a kind-hearted nursery school teacher looked out for her, and helped her through those times. Ageha wishes to be like her, and wonders what to do. She tells the others not to worry, saying she'll probably figure something out by tomorrow, but Tsubasa is still concerned for her.

The next day, as Sora and Mashiro get ready for school, they note that Tsubasa seems to have gone out as well. Arriving at the nursery school, Ageha discovers that Tsubasa in bird form stowed away in her bag. Tsubasa gives Ageha some words of encouragement, telling her she doesn't need to force a smile and that she can just be honest with the kids.

It's Takeru's last day, and Ageha keeps trying to figure out what she can do. After briefly having to go help out with the baby class, Ageha returns to look after the older kids when it begins to rain. Takeru won't go back inside, trying to finish the tunnel he was making with the other kid the other day. Ageha decides to join in from the other side to get the tunnel done faster. While making the tunnel, Ageha reflects on the time they've spent together. As Ageha begins to cry, Takeru apologizes for being so cold to her the previous day. The two of them both promise to meet again and to keep doing their best looking out for others.

Skearhead appears nearby, summoning a Kyoborg using a leaf and some acorns. Tsubasa has his bird friends fly off to find Sora and Mashiro, while Ageha tells Takeru to go warn the other kids and the teachers. Tsubasa and Ageha transform and begin to fight the Kyoborg, while Takeru gets everyone in the nursery school to evacuate. The Kyborg proves to be able to move its projectiles around Cure Butterfly's barriers, catching her off-guard. Sora, Mashiro and Ellee arrive, transforming into their Pretty Cure forms and joining the battle.

Cure Prism and Cure Majesty manage to deal with the Kyoborg's projectiles, but note they won't be able to keep it up forever. Cure Butterfly eventually has an idea, and leaps into the air, creating a barrier above the Kyoborg. Skearhead calmly comments that it didn't work the first time, but Butterfly uses the shield to jump even higher rather than using it to block the projectiles, causing them to miss her.

Cure Butterfly uses her Butterfly Press attack to weaken the Kyoborg, and the Cures then purify it. Cure Butterfly tells Skearhead to never threaten the nursery school again, before Skearhead leaves without another word.

Takeru's mother and grandmother come to pick him up. Takeru's mother recognizes Ageha, who realizes Takeru's mother was the nursery school teacher who supported her all those years ago. Ageha feels she still has a ways to go before she's on her old teacher's level, but her old teacher assures her that in Takeru's eyes, she's already the best teacher.

The episode ends with Ageha going to see Takeru off in her Cure Butterfly form, using her powers to create a light show for him as the train he's on drives past.

Another nice episode! We get a little more insight into why Ageha decided to become a nursery teacher, and it was nice follow-up on the episode where she became Cure Butterfly, showing how she and Takeru became closer after that.

I'll be looking forward to the next episode!

[digitalworldbound]

takari week, day three

this doesn’t quite fit the theme of today, my apologies!

cold shoulder

characters: takeru x hikari

summary:  "Yamato says that everyone has their first kiss before high school."

"I don't think it's really that big of a deal."

// or the one where takeru complains about never being kissed and hikari sets out to fix that

also on AO3 and FFN

“Yamato says that everyone has their first kiss before high school.” 

Leaning against the railing outside of Odaiba Middle School, Takaishi Takeru ruffled his blond fringe. Despite the chilly breeze of March, his smile remained effortlessly warm and bright. 

Yagami Hikari wished she could appear as comfortable in the bone-chilling cold as Takeru seemed to be.

“I don’t think it’s really that big of a deal.” 

Hikari bent down to unchain her bicycle, pausing briefly to breathe warmth into her numb fingers. She had woken up late that morning, her gloves forgotten beside the front door.

Beside her, Takeru scoffed. “That’s easy for you to say. You’ve had boys falling at your feet since we were, like, ten.”

With her back turned to him, Hikari allowed herself to roll her eyes. Takeru had always been a bit of a drama queen, but as high school entrance exams drew near, his attitude had taken a turn for the worse.

Without a word, the wheels of the bicycle ticked forwards, her stride short to give Takeru time to catch up. 

A breeze whistled through the mostly barren trees, a trail of goosebumps decorating her thighs. Hikari shivered slightly, absent-mindedly wishing the hem of her uniform skirt was longer.

“Ah, I see. You’re giving me the cold shoulder.” Takeru bumped his shoulder against hers, a smirk stretched across his lips. “Your cheeks are also pink. Tell me: Is the mysterious and aloof Yagami Hikari embarrassed?”

“Embarrassed?” The ticking of the bicycle stopped, Hikari facing Takeru head-on. “What do I have to be embarrassed about?”

His cerulean eyes bore into hers, unflinching. “Boys.” 

Hikari could feel her eyebrows scrunch together, the back of her hand pressing against her cheek. Like the weather around her, Hikari’s skin was cold. 

“Boys? Are you talking about Daisuke, or something? I can’t really think of anyone else that has thrown themselves at my feet besides him.” 

Another gust of wind coaxed them further down the street, the warmth of their apartments like a beacon in the storm. 

They walked alongside each other in silence for a moment. Remnants of the last snowfall adorned the street corners in piles of graying mush. 

“Well?” Takeru broke the silence. The tip of his nose was bright pink, hands shoved deep in the pockets of his trousers. Hikari still marveled at how her neck had to crane upwards to meet his gaze, his height surpassing hers long ago.

“Well, what?” 

“How was it?” Takeru kept his focus on the path in front of him. Confusion bubbled in Hikari’s stomach, a strange curiosity pulling at the edge of her lips.

“Takeru, it’s too cold to play twenty questions. If you have something to ask, come out with it.”

She tore her focus from him. Even through her two pairs of socks, her toes had frozen, the journey home more arduous now that Takeru was being obnoxious.

Running his fingers through his hair, a puff of air ghosted in the afternoon sun. As he stalled, Hikari allowed herself to glance over his features. The best time to watch Takeru, she had decided, was when he was distracted. 

His cheerful mask had slipped around the edges, the corners of his mouth downturned. 

Dark circles crowded underneath his usually bright eyes, an uncharacteristic anxiety gnawing at his bottom lip. ‘Whatever Yamato had said must have really messed with him,’ Hikari thought.

Looking away, she gave him a moment of privacy to gather his thoughts. 

“How was kissing Daisuke?”

“Daisuke?” The bicycle screeched to a halt. Hikari couldn’t - wouldn’t -  process Takeru’s implication, shock leaving her mouth open. “Where on Earth would you get the idea that I’ve kissed Daisuke of all people?”

Takeru merely shrugged as if he hadn’t suggested that Hikari spent her spare time shoving her tongue down Daisuke’s throat. “It just made sense, you know? He obviously has the hots for you, and he told me and Ken you both would be official by April. I guess my next question is why haven’t you kissed him?”

Hikari could feel the warm flush of indignation crawl up her neck, effectively shielding her from the cold. “You’re my best friend. If I was dating anyone, Daisuke or otherwise, don’t you think I would have told you?” She paused, knuckles turning white around the handlebars of her bicycle. As she opened her mouth to continue, the wave of Takeru’s hand cut her off. 

“I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just…” His voice pittered out. “I’m nervous. What if I get into high school, ready to finally kiss someone, and I’m horrible at it? Like, where do your teeth even go?” With a frustrated sigh, the pair resumed walking, albeit at a slower pace than before. 

A small giggle slipped past Hikari, the tension in her shoulders slowly melted. “Your teeth? How am I supposed to know?” Takeru glanced at her through his peripherals, but Hikari pretended not to notice. 

He awkwardly cleared his throat, his hand poorly hiding his smirk. “I know you haven’t kissed Daisuke, but surely you’ve kissed somebody.”

Warmth seeped into her cheeks, Takeru’s observant eyes searching her face.  Hikari averted her gaze, pushing forward. If she squinted, the corner of her apartment building would be barely visible through the weaving streets. 

Peeking up at him from the corner of her eye, Hikari balked  as a look of realization settled on Takeru’s features. 

“You’ve never kissed anyone.”

The statement, simple and true, hung between them. Takeru’s energy had somehow been restored, a mischievous grin simultaneously infuriating and flustering her. 

“So?” Hikari managed, doing her best to sound indifferent. Her cheeks were aflame with embarrassment. The brunette uselessly hoped that Takeru wouldn’t notice. 

A single syllable laugh jolted Hikari from her momentary reprieve. 

“I don’t know what your brother said to get you all like,” she gestured vaguely with a free hand, “this, but I’m positive that kissing someone isn’t the end-all, be-all of high school. I’m sure that everyone else is too busy studying or juggling after school clubs to care about who's kissed who.” 

“That’s what someone who’s never been kissed would say.” Takeru coughed into his fist, his chuckles reverberating in his chest. 

She swatted his arm with her free hand, fighting back a grin. “You,” she smacked him, “are one to talk. Now, I want you to tell me something: Why hasn’t the basketball captain and self-proclaimed heartthrob of Odaiba Middle School gotten a kiss from one of his admirers? My theory is stage fright, or a gnarly snaggle tooth.” 

Takeru’s smile faded in the weak ray of sunshine that peeked through the clouds. Hikari could see him retreat back into himself, his cerulean eyes void of their usual glimmer. 

Regret cinched around her heart for the briefest moment, her gait faltering. Their corner approached much too quickly, their time together growing short. 

Words filled her mouth to the brim, balancing on the tip of her tongue. She had to make this right before they went their separate ways. “Takeru, wait, I-”

“No, it’s okay.” He waved her off, lips pulled upwards in an ingenious way, “You’re right.”

As he turned to go down his street, his sneaker collided with the wheel of Hikari’s bicycle tire. His hair fluttered in the chilly breeze as he shot her a look over his shoulder, eyebrows gathered in confusion. 

“Wait,” she breathed, a half-baked idea at the forefront of her mind. 

Takeru paused and turned around. His mouth formed a straight line, blond fringe obscuring his features. 

“Why don’t we…try it?” Hikari could feel her heart pounding in her chest, The words seem to thicken the air around them, the chilly weather long forgotten. Takeru’s head snapped to attention, his eyes searching hers. 

“What?” His voice was no louder than a whisper, his uniform jacket waving in the wind.

Hikari swallowed the doubt that had risen to her chest. Taking a page from her brother’s book, she charged forward. “Well, now I’m scared. I don’t want to go to high school without having kissed anyone either. As Koushrio would say, we have to think logically about this. Why don’t…” With his gaze on her, Hikari could feel her palms grow sweaty, a fluttering of something mixing with the anxiety in her stomach. Her tongue felt too thick in her mouth to speak.

Takeru took a tentative step forward, pulling his hands from the pockets of his slacks. “Hikari?”

Together they teetered on the precipice, neither willing to disturb the delicate tension that encased them. Hikari’s fingers trembled around the handlebars of her bicycle. 

“Could we?” she whispered. 

Takeru stepped even closer, the tips of his shoes grazing her own. From this distance, the light smell of his cologne engulfed her, easing the tension in her shoulder. 

She had to look upwards to meet his eyes.

“Could we what?”

In the midst of her inner turmoil, Hikari almost rejoiced at the shimmer of mirth in his eyes; she almost found joy in the way the corners of his mouth twitched as he teased her. 

“Actually,” Hikari straightened herself, gracefully hopping onto the seat of the bicycle, “I’ve got to run. Mom needs my help cooking dinner tonight.”

[shihalyfie]

Kouji and kouichi’s parents split sounds even more messy then Yamato and takeru’s parents. If the boys’ dad claimed their mom was dead.

It is obviously messy, but one thing to remember is that Natsuko and Hiroaki seemed to have largely been willing to maintain contact because they cared enough about their sons meeting each other knowing that the divorce had happened when both boys were old enough to witness it. According to the testimony in the Adventure novel, even the idea of calling each other to arrange a meeting filled them with dread. The rift between them was enough that Yamato considered the sheer act of meeting his mother to be a "betrayal" of his father. It is very, very, very fortunate that the events of Adventure seem to have gotten them on better speaking terms by the time of 02, but even then Hiroaki sending Natsuko an email in 02 episode 47 is also spotlighted like it's some kind of big deal.

So the divorce was messy even then; it's just that because the boys had also witnessed the fallout themselves, they were in a position to work a little harder for the sake of their sons, but in a situation like that of the twins, when it was obvious they would grow up with no memory of the other parent or twin at all, it probably was much more tempting to just claim the other parent was deceased to prevent things from getting messy until they were old enough.

This is, again, something that heavily ties into not only culture regarding divorce in Japan but also laws surrounding it. Joint custody doesn't exist in Japan, so the child will legally be assigned to one parent and one parent only, and the other parent has virtually no rights whatsoever regarding the other child. Visitation rights have to be negotiated and are rarely allowed (so, again, Natsuko and Hiroaki were going above and beyond), and they're not even really enforced by law. The system itself isn't remotely conducive to what would fit Western ideas of expecting divorced parents to be involved in their kids' lives (on the flip side, a parent trying too hard to visit a kid they don't have custody of might get them pinned as being invasive and violating their ex-spouse or child's privacy rights). Both the system and the surrounding culture encourage making the split cleaner than it does trying to reconnect.

Besides, as much as I have misgivings about how The Parent Trap seems to have had a really nasty impact in terms of giving people a lot of very dangerous ideas about divorce (that an "ideal situation" is to get divorcees to remarry, encouraging further stigma against remarried spouses, etc.), there's a reason that one is also premised on having lied to the girls about the existence of a twin sibling because the parents were capable of getting away with it. It is, unfortunately, always a very tempting thing to keep things from kids when you don't think they're old enough for the truth.

[bokura-no-digital-world]

Takari Week 2022 - Day 1: Focus & Reflection

Days: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Title: Confessions Characters: Takeru Takaishi, Hikari Yagami, Patamon, Tailmon, Sora Takenouchi and Yamato Ishida. Summary: Takeru and Hikari have some moments of reflection regarding how they feel about each other. Notes: For Takari week, I decided to do something different. All stories will be told in first person, from both Takeru's and Hikari's POVs in the same story. It will be separated to make it easier, though. And also, the last two scenes in this one-shot are a continuation, but I separated it because it changes from Takeru's POV to Hikari's. The smell of sand mixed with water filled my nostrils as soon as I stepped into the sidewalk that bordered the beach. It still seemed surreal that one year had already gone by since the Digimon have been rebooted. Unlike four years ago, now they were able to stay on Earth as much as they wanted to without having their energy drained.

All of us Chosen Children agreed to take a small trip to the beach for our seventh anniversary and also rejoice on the fact nothing bad happened to Daisuke and the others. But I still felt a pain on my heart because of Mr. Nishijima's death. I was beyond glad he saved my brother, but still sad he sacrificed himself for that. I looked at Taichi and felt thankful he was doing gradually better at dealing with that traumatic experience, especially when seeing he was one of the first ones to jump into this idea of taking a break.

However, I was feeling something else other than just happiness and gratitude. Looking back now, I couldn't believe how clueless I had been, but I had been looking at Takeru differently ever since we went to Ken's house looking for him last year. I had finally come to acknowledge I sort of pushed Takeru to Meiko by making him seem like he was one of these boys who had a new girl each week. Though I had to admit it was exactly that whenever he had a place to go. But honestly, deep down I was expecting him to ask me out though I wouldn't admit it out loud. Ever.

And yet, I found my cheeks burning and becoming red when he looked at my direction and grinned. "He's charming, isn't he?" Sora teased while she sat down beside me. "What?" I turned around, completely forgetting I was blushing. "You still feel something for him, don't you?" "No. I mean, he's charming like you said and all, but…" "Why don't you act on your feelings and tell him how you feel?" "And ruin our friendship over it? I don't think so." "I did it with Yamato and look where we are now." "That's true, but it has always been reciprocated, hasn't it?" "Well, yeah… but it was still a shot in the dark." "He wouldn't say no to you because he felt the same. Takeru doesn't." "You don't really believe that, do you? It's clear as a crystal that he has feelings for you." "Then we must be seeing completely different things, because it's not clear for me at all." "Are you really sure about that? Or you need to believe it?" "What do you mean?" "Maybe your resistance for it is clouding your judgment and not letting you see things the way they are." "Is it that obvious?" "Even Jou noticed it. And that's saying a lot, since we all know Jou doesn't pick up on these things that fast." "I don't know… I guess I'm afraid of the future. Can you imagine how it would be if we stopped being friends because it didn't work?" "I won't lie and say it's not a possibility, but the positive outcome can also happen." "Is that what you were thinking when you confessed to Yamato?" "It was. I think we both thought the same. We just agreed to take a chance and it worked." Sora placed her hand on my shoulder before jumping from where we sitting. "Think about it. Are you coming?" "I'll be right there." Keep reading it on FFN or AO3

[yui-kuromori]

Okay so mafia AU

The Wonderland’s tea party is an organization led by the Hatter. It’s specializes in drug trafficking, blackmail and selling information.

Arisu and Usagi are it’s newest members. They got recruited on accident really and it’s mostly Arisu’s fault. He was on the subway one day and sat beside this older man wearing sunglasses struggling with a piece of paper on his hand. It was hatter, who was trying to figure out the safest routes in and out of a building for an information robbery from a big company. Arisu had kinda peered at the map, gotten excited because *puzzle*, and offered Hatter some help. After Hatter tells him the “rules” Arisu spends the rest of the ride tracing out paths and tragedies, before leaving a baffled Hatter behind.

So Hatter’s like “we need this kid” and sends Niragi and Last Boss to “Invite him for tea”. Unfortunately for them, when they go to corner Arisu, he’s out with Usagi, and Usagi upon being told by Arisu that he think’s they’re being followed, and notices Piercings and Face Tattoos, goes “I think the fuck not”, grabs her best friend and *bolts*.

And run she does, going full parkour ninja, hauling Arisu’s skinny ass around. Niragi and Last Boss try following them, but after a while, she just looses them altogether. They report back to Hatter who just goes: “He has a ninja girlfriend?? We need them” and he’s really excited about it.

He sends in Chishiya and Kuina to actually talk to them this time and after some coaxing, they agree to at least try out. They both need the money.

What they didn’t expect was for them to be immediately adopted into the found family dynamic. Arisu and Kuina are immediately trans buddies, and Aguni is like “Okay, two more children for me and Takeru”, Last Boss takes the position of scary older brother, specially for Usagi, and even Niragi treats them nicely (in his own way).

Feat. Very concerned friends Karube and Chouta who have no idea what’s happening, their college classmates, who are running a rumor mill, Arisu’s awful family that keeps popping up even after he moves in with Usagi and Shibuki, who’s literally just vibing.

Also, this is probably Arisu x Chishiya

ROLECALL

Name: Danma Takeru

Code name: Mad Hatter

Skills: He is the leader and founder of Wonderland’s tea party. What used to be a two person gang grew into an organization because of his visionary attitude and charming personality. His charisma allows for nice deals and sales, while his ruthlessness keeps their family protected. He doesn’t usually go out on mission, but he’s a skilled fighter and a surprisingly smart man. He also has a keen eye and sharp intuition, especially when picking out new members.

Name: Aguni Morizono

Code name: Bandersnatch

Skills: He is the second founder and Hatter’s right hand man. He is the muscle of the operation, the strongest member on the team. He is responsible for dealing with their enemies, carrying out threats, defending their territory and keeping their family safe. He also trains all members on how to use guns, weapons and fight. He took Usagi under his wing, as he not only could see a bit of himself in her, but their fighting styles could be similar.

Name: Chishiya Shuntaro

Code name: Cheshire

Skills: He’s their doctor. He patches up whoever is hurt and occasionally deals with a dead body or two. He’s also responsible for gathering intel. He often goes undercover in big corporations and rival groups to gather some vital secret information that could be sold for a lot of money, or takes those groups down from the inside. He’s the one who took Arisu under his wing, noticing how good he is at reading people’s hearts, he’s been teaching him how to manipulate and lie and now they usually go undercover together.

Name: Kuina Hikari

Code name: Caterpillar or Absolem

Skills: Kuina is a dealer. She accompanies Hatter when he goes to strike a deal not only because of her charisma and people skills, but because she functions as a secret bodyguard. She’s also usually on robberies and stealth missions, where being undercover is not necessary but they still need to get in and out of somewhere unseen to get shit done. To those, she’s usually paired with Chishiya. She’s the one teaching Arisu how to fight, since their styles are the most similar.

Name: Niragi Suguru

Code name: March Hare

Skills: This is their killer ok? Need someone disposed of? Call Niragi. Need someone intimidated? Call Niragi. Some group is trying to start a turf war? Call Aguni who’s gonna take Niragi and Last Boss and they’ll fix it. Niragi’s also responsible for their weapons and sometimes will help with scheming. He’s decievingly protective of his family and shows affection with acts of violence. If you want any piercings he’ll do it for you.

Name: Samura Takatora (last boss)

Code name: Jabberwocky

Skills: His position is the same as Niragi’s. They are usually paired together for missions. While Niragi takes care of the guns, Last Boss takes care of knives and swords. They are usually sent with Ann or Arisu whenever they have to meet people and their looks alone are enough to intimidate any potential threats. He’s been teaching Usagi how to spear fight and is secretly delighted someone else has taken to more traditional weapons. If you ever want a tattoo, he’s the one to ask for.

Name: Ann Rizuna

Code name: White Queen

Skills: She’s the one responsible for most of their drug operation. While Hatter makes the deals, she’s the one crutching numbers, distributing product and sometimes even cooking up drugs herself. She can also fill in for Chishiya as their doctor and Along with him, Arisu and Niragi, she’s the one tracing most of their plans. If any of them were to die, she would be the one responsible for finding out who did it and helping to hunt them down.

Name: Tatta Kodai

Codename: Dormouse or Arganaz

Skills: Tatta is their getaway driver. He can outdrive everyone and anyone. His knowledge in mechanics helps them with their robberies and he’s been known to pull some Dean Winchester level stunts behind the wheel. He also keeps communication between teams clear and smooth. He’s been learning some basics under Ann’s wing and is getting pretty good at, uh, cooking.

Name: Usagi Yuzuha

Code name: White Rabbit

Skills: She’s a fighter and a runner. When she’s not in a position similar to Aguni’s, she’s doing patrols around their territory, spying on rivals and enemies from the top of buildings and helping Tatta to keep all the teams in the know. She’s usually paired with Arisu in the same way Kuina is paired with Chishiya. She’s also the only one that can keep them all sleeping a minimum of four hours a night and eating somewhat healthy food with a decent frequency. Many suspect that if Aguni retires, she’ll be the one to take his place.

Name: Arisu Ryohei

Code name: Alice

Skills: Arisu quickly become a big part of the brains behind most of their operations. He views plans with Hatter, tracing escape routes and planning damage control. He also goes undercover with or without Chishiya a lot, his innocent demeanor making him appear trustworthy. He’s also the one to analyze their oponents and tell the teams exactly where to look at for blackmail. He wrote down the plans that actually took down some big corporations. He’s been learning how to fight from Kuina, and is steadily getting better. He’s been also slowly learning how to hack, it’s just another puzzle for him.

[imaginedigimon]

What are your thoughts on these headcanons? (Sorry in advance, I’m a bit preoccupied with Osamu orz).

The Dark Ocean can be accessed in one of two ways: following someone who was pulled there (Takeru, Miyako) or after witnessing the death of someone you know (Maki and Bakumon, Hikari and Wizarmon, Ken and Osamu).

Osamu was retroactively created via reality warping when Ken was infected with a Dark Seed so that Ken would want to be smarter. He was also killed via space and time manipulation - he and the driver both saw a green light, and the driver’s reaction time was inexplicably slower for just that split second.

Having said that, there are alternate timelines where he wasn’t killed for whatever reason - i.e., Ryō or some other entity’s interference. In most of these timelines, he and Ken get along better as they get older, though sometimes they need a little nudging.

There’s also a timeline where Ken died and Osamu was manipulated. He created MugenDramon, whose soul ended up in a pocket dimension at the same time as Ken’s Chimeramon’s, resulting in Millenniummon. In a sense, Millenniummon was born from both brothers’ grief for each other and destructive ways of dealing with that grief.

Switching gears/characters: Wallace’s father is a trucker, a career which he mainly chose so that he could travel as part of his job. Wallace inherited his wanderlust from him. Wallace also has a love for nature and eventually becomes a park ranger.

Amy (an offscreen character that was briefly mentioned in Hurricane Touchdown) is a quiet, somewhat nerdy girl who’s usually ignored by her classmates. Wallace is one of the few people who’s consistently friendly with her. She eventually becomes a video game developer.

Shū practiced judo in high school.

Hello again! Sorry for the late response (see my accidental-lack-of-activity these past few months)!

As for your headcanons:

That seems logical, and I wouldn't be surprised if Takeru could access it on his own since he technically lost Angemon once before. Also, I feel as if I've heard this before, so I believe it from the get go.

I'm... never a fan of stuff like this, if I'm being honest. As an older sister myself, I'd prefer not to think about what's-his-face being that evil that his Dark Seeds created an entire person. Also, how would Ken's parents have known about Osamu if he wasn't technically real,,,,,? I dunno, these kind of things make me squicky.

Now alternate timelines I enjoy. Whatever the scientific theory is, I do believe there is a version of Ken that didn't have to suffer that much as a young kiddo. Plus, he deserves some sort of universe where he and Osamu got to be better to each other.

DO THEY MEET UP AND GET TO SEE THEIR OTHER-UNIVERSE BROTHERS? DO THEY GET TO HUG IT OUT? DO THEY HEAL EACH OTHER'S PAIN KNOWING THAT THEY STILL LOVE EACH OTHER? TELL ME MORRREEEEEEEE

No wonder he was able to get around places. I approve. Also, park rangers are cool, he should totally do it.

I,,,,know nothing about offscreen characters, so I have no idea how I'm supposed to have thoughts on them (^^"), but it sounds nice!

From me having to look up who exactly that is for a second and what I read, that seems entirely plausible since he was apparently at some sort of training camp during 01.

Thanks for asking!