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tillythemagpie · 2 years ago

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“The Moon has kissed you.”: An analysis into the relationship of Renamon and Impmon from Digimon Tamers, why it possibly has sound basis in the canon, and why they could possibly be one the most layered relationships in all of the Digimon franchise. [PART 1]

PART 2 HERE

PART 3 HERE

Well, this project sounds ambitious, but I’m ready for it!

I’ve been a fan of Digimon for years, since I was small, if I’m allowed to speak with honesty, I’ve done it all. Seen the fandom, seen the ships, all good and well. However one couple has always intrigued me, and yet I’ve felt the fandom has either not appreciated them well enough or mischaracterized them. I’ve always been intrigued about their relationship, and I feel they have a little more in common than what sees the eye at first. I saw there wasn’t much written about them out there in the internet, but I’ve been part of the fandom, noticed our passion, and thought “why not? This pairing is ripe for a good analysis”.

So that’s the project: An essay series about the characters of Renamon and Impmon from Digimon Tamers, their relationship, and why I think they have the potential to possibly be one of the most iconic couples in the series. (Yes those are some big bold statements right there, and I’ve got the receipts for them)

Before we start, a disclaimer to make my points get across and for you all have more context where I’m coming from with this analysis: I’m only familiar with Digimon till Frontier, I haven’t watched later seasons (besides Tri and Kizuna, but again, that won’t add to my analysis), but I’m only taking the Tamers season canon into account, since the writing staff and production can vary so much from season to season (and it can even vary with movies; see the Taiora mixup between Hosoda and Kakudou from Our War Game). I know about the popular couples (Taiora, Takari) in the fandom and so, but I won’t comment on them save for a small preface as to how I see that romance is portrayed in the Digimon franchise. I won’t compare RenaImp to other couples in the series; but I will compare them to common imagery for couples in other media, since their relationship is quite unique in the world of the Digimon franchise. I’m basing my analysis and interpretation off the original Japanese dub, since the form of dialogue can also add a lot to characterization that can get lost in translation. I’m not Japanese, tho, and watched the series with subtitles so forgive me if some points of information or analysis I’ve got are incorrect. While I’m taking into consideration Konaka’s online notes and some trivia I’ve read of the series, I’ll mostly add to my analysis what is presented in the finished product, because production and initial thoughts can vary a lot when creating a piece of media. Lastly, I’m only taken for hints in the original series, since hints in further media might discourage or contradict what is played out in the original series, since outside influences or new writing teams might sway the writing into another direction. Also, when I mention the main characters / mons, I’ll mainly speak of the main 3, their Mons, Culumon, and Impmon; since they have the most parallels and character development in common for the analysis to work. And while I’ll mention some bits of analysis about some other characters here and there (Ruki, Juri, Guilmon, Ai and Makoto etc), since their storylines are so interconnected, I’ll mainly focus on Renamon and Impmon, or how the other characters parallel them, cause otherwise I’ll write a whole bible I feel.

Also, I’ll be using their Japanese terms/names, to further avoid confusion.

Also, my favorite seasons are Adventure / Tamers (like most basics lol), and my favorite characters are Renamon, Impmon (naturally), Jyou, Koushiro, Ken, Daisuke, Sora, Takato, Jen, Gomamon, Guilmon, Terriermon and Tailmon. While I find some other ships cute, RenaImp is the one I’m fully and totally dedicated to.

With all that said, on with the show!

· Basic ideas about the two of them / Introduction

So if you’re reading about this meta I assume you’re familiar with Digimon Tamers (and if not…then darling this meta ain’t for you hehe), the third season of the Digimon franchise that’s beloved by the community at large for taking bold chances by experimenting with the writing. Characters dying, an introspection into trauma and family issues, the conception of the Digimon, can artificiality grow a human conscience, yes yes. We all know the show, we all praised the show, we’ve all done metas about the show. On with our main players, whom I feel have a lot of untapped potential to write meta about.

Renamon and Impmon are Digital Monsters that are part of the main cast of Digimon Tamers. They are distinguished from the rest by being the two Digimon that go through character development the most this season, something unusual by the standards of the franchise, where the character development is usually reserved for the human characters. While all the main Digimon are given a personality, only Renamon and Impmon are given arcs; so to say, to give them conflict and showcase them to display a complex world and a complex viewpoint of their relationships and of the world.

Renamon is the partner Digimon to Ruki, the only girl of the main cast (Juri’s importance comes along much later). Reading behind the scenes, the writers were asked by the producers to design a different type of female character, since sales pointed out that the “girlier” previous female leads of Digimon didn’t sell so well (I know, it’s not good, but that’s how it went, and I cannot ignore history), so the writers attempted to change the model in a way that would seem more appealing to “stereotypical” boys watching the series. Ruki was based on Trinity from the Matrix, and given a more assertive and cold personality as well, to contrast against the motherly Sora or the perky Mimi of Adventure fame. Similarly, Renamon is also contrasted greatly against the other female-coded Digimon. Whereas most female Digimon beforehand were written to be very affectionate and feminine-coded, Renamon is much more aloof and…agender, so to say (Konaka wrote that idea in his character notes, and she notes it in dialogue as well in the series- Still, the characters use she/her pronouns in the show to refer to her, so I’ll do that here to make the writing easier). At first glance you wouldn’t tell her gender, unlike the previous Digimon, who were written with certain characteristics that would make it easier for audiences to know/assume their intended gender: the very pink Piyomon or Palmon, who carries a flower in her head (flowers often associated with femininity).

Renamon at first is presented as this great warrior, cold and intimidating, utterly devoted to fighting and nothing else. Follows Ruki’s commands without hesitation, even despite the fact that initially, both of them form their comradery based on purely selfish interests. Add to the fact that she barely talks, and she’s rather bizarre when compared to almost all other main partner Digimon we’re used to; who are much chipper, friendlier and cuter. For first-time audiences, she seems rather scary.

However she is not just a destructive killer machine; she’s shown she cares, even before developing into a softer figure. In the third episode, before attacking Guilmon, she hesitates once Takato gets near the newborn creature. If she was just wild and bloodthirsty she wouldn’t hesitate about collateral victims. Just at the end of the episode, she does the same once Terriermon interrupts the fight with Guilmon, urging for him to get out of the way.

While cold and stoic; it’s shown even at the beginning that Renamon has a soft, empathetic side, even if it doesn’t show at first. For one, she’s fiercely devoted to Ruki from the start, even when their relationship is far from ideal. Once Ruki accepts to see her as an equal, she starts blooming into more of the “big sister” role in the group: the cool, mature one to Terriermon’s jokester and Guilmon’s newborn. Even so, she still manages to often be by herself most of the time, not fully ever integrating herself properly into the group. When you finish watching the show, you get the sense that Renamon, aside from fighting, is rather an introverted figure, to the point that even making friendships seems a little hard for her. The narrative implies she’s programmed to have a “servant”-like role originally with Ruki, and even though they mended their bond, there are still parts where it feels like she doesn’t feel an equal to her partner- see in the final episodes, how she eats by herself while Guilmon and Terriermon happily bond over food with the Tamers’ parents.

Incidentally, a lot of her more empathetic moments are displayed when she shows concerns over Impmon’s wellbeing, and manages to listen to his advice, more often than not. Aside from Ruki, he’s the one character she shows the most concern over the course of the series. She gets along fine with Guilmon and Terriermon, eventually, but there isn’t this level of awkward intrigue and fascination like the script implies with Impmon.

Amidst the formidable warrior lies a caring soul, hence why she evolves into Sakuyamon, a Digimon that focuses more on Defense than Attack. Some people think it’s a character regression for Ruki; but seeing how Renamon was also developed in this arc, I think her evolution further showcases her character as well. The elegance and grace and caring nature she always withheld has finally evolved into a comfortable goddess role, where she can defeat the monsters and defend her beloveds as much as her heart desires. It’s a very nice contrast, when she initially started the show in a “subservient” role, to end up basically embodying a Queen/Goddess (Perhaps a subtle nod that her Tamer is the “Digimon Queen”…Heh). Hard and soft power in the same hand; for a queen must know when to fight, and when to care for her people. She cares, she always cared, even if she might struggle to show it at first. That does not mean she must lose her agency, or anything of the like. She still participates in the many battles and defeats the villains alongside her friends.

Now, on to Impmon.

Impmon, Impmon, Impmon. The rogue Digimon. The wild card. The prankster turned hero turned reborn hero. Definitely the break-out star of the series, and the riskiest character as well in my opinion. A Digimon without a tamer, with his own character development? A Digimon that turns basically into one of the main villains at one point in the series? A lot of the series’ success depended on if Impmon ended up being an engaging character for audiences, because otherwise I feel he would’ve come off as too bratty or monstrous for us to root for. Remember, he has his own arc, he doesn’t depend on Ai and Makoto for his character to work. He’s not an “accessory” Digimon, so to say. Audiences wouldn’t have cared too much for him if there wasn’t a human partner for him to bounce off from. For the writing to depend entirely on his shoulders, without relying too much on his partners (they appear pretty much only 3-4 times in the whole series), the writers had to be confident in the character they were writing, knew he had to be engaging on his own. And it worked! How?

Well Impmon goes through an archetypical redemption arc, where he’s conscious of the decisions he makes and tries to make amends for it. But he’s not cruel, or viscous; unlike a lot of typical villains. The best way to explain Impmon’s character arc is seeing it through the eyes of a child learning what true power and responsibility is like, and turning into a man due to it. He’s more selfish and irresponsible than a true villain, which is what makes him stand out against another villain in a similar situation to him. It’s interesting to point out in Tamers that outside of the D-Reaper, none of the villains are evil for evil’s sake; they’re acting for their own preservation and self-benefit. Selfish, yes, but it’s understandable, and the Tamers get to understand Yamaki’s and the Deva’s position once they start openly talking with them.

In episode 8, we have a microcosm of one of Impmon’s main flaw: he can bite more than he can chew. He doesn’t understand that power needs responsibility to work well; otherwise it’s a hose without control. He’s proud and doesn’t admit neither his flaws, nor his true strengths. He picks and teases Devidramon until the Digimon is freed upon the city and unleashes chaos. It’s like a micro of what his actions as Beelzebumon basically amount to in episode 34 onwards. Same thing in episode 19, as well, where not wanting to accept an unfavorable aspect of himself (his weakness) almost has him die by Indiramon’s hand. Only that when he teased Devidramon he ran away, and Indiramon as well. Part of his development is well, accepting his strengths and limits, and working from that point on. Instead of running away or hiding behind pride, he finally accepts how things are, how he is, and works from the ground up. That’s part of his development, accepting what true power is, like an adult would, and using it responsibly.

Of course, tho, one thing to note is that he envies power, he craves power, he admires power. That was his goal at the start, his initial “wants”. Hence why he awed at Devidramon plummeting Guilmon in episode 8, and initially why he was drawn to Renamon first, I believe - she was at the start of the show the most powerful of the main Digimon; no wonder he felt an initial admiration towards her. But it’s a very shallow reading of power- the way a child would admire power, basically. Less about using it to help others and more for the self-benefit. Part of his arc is trying to understand what the true power is and where it lies on (he shares this arc with Renamon, basically; whereas she amended her relationship with Ruki, he got worse to the point that he almost lost himself to the Devil-figure of the show).

So, we know get a good idea of our two characters. Let’s see what their hidden meaning is.

· Preface: Love in the Digimon franchise

This entry will be short, but I’ll try to explain about how love and romance are often portrayed in the Digimon franchise for us to get a better understanding of how the possible development between Renamon and Impmon could work. I know in the Disclaimer I said I wouldn’t touch upon this, but it’s important to keep in mind to understand the analysis.

(I’m also basing this on the amazing Sorato analysis @jippy-kandi does. Seriously, go check them out, their stuff is great)

Usually, in children’s anime, unless the genre is a romance or the show is explicit in its context, the couples usually portrayed in it will have hints, symbolism and elements of foreshadowing, rather than the typical Westernized form of “open interactions and development”. Of course, some anime couples do, as well, but often times, if the romance isn’t a strong focus of the series, it’ll just have little hints and that would be enough to leave viewers pondering.

Case in point? The “main” Digimon couples, in Adventure and 02, follow this structure. Sure, we have many scenes of the couples interacting, but most of their development comes from imagery, hints, symbolism, pictures where they’re standing, etc.

Look at Yamato and Sora, for example. True, they do not share many scenes together, but you look at imagery surrounding them, and you see a connected pattern. Takeru considers Sora “family”; after Jyou, they’re the most caring towards the group, taking on a parental role towards the others; both tend to care for the others to the extent that they end up ignoring their personal needs; and in real life, often the feelings of Love and Friendship are interconnected.

Then, there’s Takeru and Hikari, who are not canon but they are hotly debated about to this day, and even if so, I do find their parallels noteworthy. They are connected not only due to shared interactions, but because of the imagery that surrounds them; their Digimon are the only Holy Beasts of the groups, Hope and Light are often associated in religious texts, Pegasus and Sphinxes are mythological creatures that originated from the same culture (Greek; though Sphinxes also have Egyptian roots), In their 02 outfits they both share yellow in their designs…

We see this as well with Takato and Juri, who are explicitly stated to have a crush on one another. Juri is the first of Takato’s friends who accepts Guilmon as he is and adores him (ea, accepting Takato’s true self), they share a Psychic Link, a Mental Connection, which in the Tamers universe, it’s only seen to exist between a Digimon and their Tamers (and later on, with another example); and later on as the story develops Takato plays the role of Gallant Knight to Juri’s Princess in the Tower-inspired arc.

There’s even a lot of suggestive imagery with other couples who are not as canon. Take Koushiro and Mimi, for instance. Before Digimon Adventure Tri, not many thought to link them together (yet they were very popular in Japanese fanzones), but the imagery of bugs and flowers is strong with them. Even Tailmon, who had little time with Wizarmon, manages to have a symbolic image associated with him; as she mourns the anniversary of his death, in 02, we see her carrying a bouquet of red roses while she’s tearfully remembering him. Red roses are often associated with love, so add to that plus her grieving = she mourns the loss of her best friend / possible first love. (This is rather incidental, but the imagery is quite strong. Plus the association Tailmon and Wizarmon have with wizards and their cat familiars was certainly done on purpose, I think…)

And well, then we see little things like characters holding on to each other and posters and the like. It’s small, but it says a lot.

So, how does this work with Renamon and Impmon? Easy. If the other characters had limited scenes but a lot of imagery, symbolism and foreshadowing, and that eventually lead to them turning into a couple/having romantic imagery, it could be easily applied to Renamon and Impmon’s relationship as well, since they also carry a lot of interactions with a lot of imagery on the side.

· Interactions

Here is where we point out both the scenes they share together and what they could mean on a larger scale.

I think it’s fascinating to point out that early on, the Renamon focused episodes also tended to feature Impmon prominently as well. It’s something that’s more prominent in the first twelve episodes, but it’s still noticeable that in each Renamon-focused episode of the first arc, Impmon also had a prominent scene in it. Of course, he did appear in other episodes with the other Digimon, but it is interesting how he serves as a sort of “guide” for Renamon early on, where she’s doubting of her strength and her relationship with Ruki.

Their first scene where they meet is in Impmon’s introductory episode, episode 6, which is also the first Renamon-focused episode. What is interesting to note is that while Impmon appears early on in the episode, to the first Digimon he introduces himself to properly is to Renamon, precisely. And instead of being teasing or cruel towards her, like he’d be with Terriermon or Guilmon; at first he seems to try to attempt to start a conversation with her. It’s almost unlike him…At first. But you start to see what he’s trying to do here- he’s attempting to make her understand his world-view; the narrative later on suggests that just recently he ran away from Ai and Makoto, so he’s probably experiencing first time relief in a long while, and he doesn’t want to get rid of this sensation. So he sees her, doubting, and would try to reason with her about why he made the best choice. In a way, it’s misguided compassion, but it’s not outright malice at first. He sees her in in similar doubts and pain, and was probably counseling based on what he thought was the best choice.

At the end of the episode it’s also implied he was witness to her evolution into Kyuubimon, which, while he sees with initial sneer, it can be read as disappointment that she followed Ruki instead of his advice. Maybe also a little hidden envy, since she achieved evolution before he did? Who knows.

Next time, in episode 10, they meet in a Shinto temple (foreshadowing to Sakuyamon, I might add), and he seems excited to meet her at first. But then it turns into nothing once Impmon starts urging Renamon to fight with Terriermon. It leads to nothing, of course, except for Impmon to think to get a reaction out of Terriermon, but it does suggest that he looks forward to seeing her again.

Again, their next scene together is in a Renamon focus episode, ep. 12, again; where we’re also subject to Impmon’s past for the first time. She’s absolutely curious about his point of view regarding evolution and strength, since, again, she’s at odds with Ruki. And while we’re witness to his past, she isn’t, since it’s shown in a flashback, but I think she’s perceptive enough to have linked his shuddering with the crying children in the window below. Still, she follows him, not to judge or criticize, but to further gets answers; Impmon seems the most knowledgeable about the subject matter, so maybe he can give her answers.

A subtle one occurs in the episode where the Snake deva attacks in the subway (ep. 15). Beforehand, Renamon finds Impmon staring with jealousy at Guilmon playing with the kids in the park, and although he shows disdain, Renamon carefully points out that he seems too “heavily involved” to just despise them. He got mad, of course, but that’s typical of him, he tries too hard to deny and his true feelings, of how jealous and envious he is of the other Digimon just getting along with the kids so well…But at this moment he’s too proud to ever admit he probably committed a mistake by running, or even admit help from the other Digimon.

And of course, I must remember that this episode, a hint was shown coming from him (often it’s Renamon who displays a lot of their most affectionate actions); when Kyuubimon and Galgomon are beaten hard by the Deva in the subway, Impmon notices and immediately goes to alert Takato and Guilmon, who were completely unaware by having fun in the park. He might try to act like he doesn’t care or is too cool, but again, if he was truly wicked or cruel he wouldn’t have gone out of his way to alert the others to come save the day, I think. Actions speak louder than words.

Of course a big source of their interactions comes in ep. 19, where it’s the first time Impmon gets a fully character-focused episode. In it we see him endangering himself in front of Indramon and later on with the police, and it’s up to Renamon to save him (this is a recurring pattern; she’s always saving him when he does something reckless or stupid); in it Renamon gets the closest of all the characters to understand his psyche properly, to get there’s more to him than just the pathetic Imp harassing the playground. That yes, all the prankster bully persona is an act, and he’s very vulnerable and pitiful without a partner and without the means to evolve. Yet even as she knows it’s desperate to fight Indramon, he pleads her to let him fight; without any scorn or mockery in his voice. Renamon, unused to that side, respected his wishes that time, even if she knew it was suicidal. Yet it still that at this episode, Renamon has gotten to understand Impmon’s character much much more than the rest of the cast, and like I stated before; she’s an observant person; I reckon she probably already how initially she felt hunting for data with Ruki and can see parallels with Impmon- he’s obsessed with power but due to his circumstances he’s pathetically weak. I think she sees a side of herself in him, hence why she wants to help him so much.

Later on, in episode 20, amidst the chaos of the Deva, the kids also try to look around for Impmon. Even Renamon searches for him on her own in the abandoned place she took him in ep. 19; it’s a small scene but it says leagues about them, that she can find him and connect with him without getting the rest of the kids into their dilemma. Shows she’s mature enough to understand he would prefer having his own space, too.

After their incursion in the Digital World they don’t have many prominent scenes together for a long while…Until they meet again in ep. 30. This is important, since while they do not interact for a while, their characters follow similar scenes and patterns later on (and I’ll discuss this later on).

And I do love how in ep. 30, their scenes are followed by one another. Just after a Renamon scene ends, Beelzebumon’s first true scene is immediately showcased. And fascinatingly, in the same episode where it’s established Cyberdramon has need for fighting and gaining power to control, it’s also the episode where we have a first display of Beelzebumon’s power, completely unleashed and unrestrained. Yes, he’s happier than he’s ever been, but we know that power comes with red strings.

Aaand and and…Kyuubimon is the one that recognizes Beelzebumon, not the others. She doesn’t even need to be lead on by a witty remark, she senses his presence enough (either that, or the bandana was a clue), but again, this is recalled later on, where two times later, she can hear him or notice him when nobody else can.

Later on, here comes the big one; ep. 34. Impmon has absolutely fully engulfed himself into his power and completely believed the Devas’ crap about killing the children, so he goes as planned. It’s fascinating because he’s not even acting out like how when he previously killed other Digimon, in a careless manner, again, similar to a child playing with a dangerous objetc. He’s clearly seething and throwing his bile at the Tamers here, all the hurt, all the resentment, the feeling of “betrayal” since he never properly bonded with them (they tried to be friendly but heee…uuh…he’s also not good at making friends) and how he felt humiliated after Indramon beat him (but again, he forgets that the others were ready to save him, too). And of course, it’s interesting to point out how he’s insisting on killing Kyuubimon first, once the whole gang is reunited. He beats the crap out of Rapidmon and Growlmon when they jump at him, but he even points out he’ll “guard them for later”. No, it’s Kyuubimon whom he’s interested in killing first, even though she’s injured and unwilling at the moment to fight back. And frankly, even Kyuubimon is willing to talk first, even when Rapidmon and Growlmon have already given up. She pleads for him, in all dubs, to open his eyes, even while she’s bleeding on the floor. Why is this? Maybe he felt if he killed her first it’d be easier, since he would never kill her if she was kept for last, or maybe just his conscience just asking him to retain a little bit- remember, he’s at his Ultimate/Mega level, and a very powerful form at that; and he could easily kill all of them without pause. However, the fact that Growlmon and Kyuubimon keep him at bay a little while makes me think that he’s still subconsciously holding back (babe, no, you’ve started caring, no, babe, leave your friends alone, hahahah…)

It’s only in the next episode, ep. 35, after he’s killed Leomon that Kyuubimon accepts, resigned, admitting that he’s turned into a demon. It kinda really shows that she still held back, still believed in his inherent, internal goodness and potential (and as I mentioned in ep. 15, he had it there), but after how brutal he murdered Leomon and beat the others, she has come to accept that her odd friend has basically turned into the monster they must defeat. (The show LOOOVes the whole “give in to the monster” narrative so I’ll talk about it later)

And episode 40! Once again, it’s Renamon who notes Beelzebumon’s in distress, she hears his cry from afar, and she’s the one willing to give him a chance once again, even after all the horrible things he’s done, when the rest of the gang has given up on him. And they’re running out of time, they know it, if they miss the Arc they can’t go back home, and anyone less forgiving would be in favor of leaving him behind (Hirokazu even points out to Ruki how it’s crazy to bring him “after all the evil he’s done”)…But she can’t. Again, her gentle nature resurfaces. And considering this is the episode after Renamon evolved into Sakuyamon, I think the Mega is starting to influence her. (“A good Queen puts her people first”).

Also…Ruki and Renamon find Impmon, abandoned and worn in the desert…it’s the first time he calls her by her name instead of a demeaning nickname or “you”…And this is IN ALL THE DUBS. Japanese, German, Engl, Both Spanish, etc etc etc. And Renamon always always always, no matter the dub, sounds very concerned when she reaches for him and asks him if he can stand. There’s only 3 times she ever sounds super worried throughout the whole series, and two times concerned Impmon/Beelzebumon’s being. She was worried, y’all.

I just noticed how the pattern kinda breaks mid show but then forms a new pattern; while in the first Renamon focused episodes impmon played a prominent part, once we get to Taomon’s and Sakuyamon’s evolutions he doesn’t feature in at all…YEEEET the episodes afterwards do feature him prominently, and Renamon worried for his well-being. Probably just a coincidence, but again, to me it shows how the two of them really are interconnected and really, their influence has rubbed on each other.

Ep. 41, nothing really big happens, but Renamon carries him in the Ark on the way back home while he’s sleeping. Again, nothing really big, but it’s a cute moment (even Jen smiles at it ;)) -It’s even stated by dialogue (from Jen, no less) that it was Renamon’s wish through and through to see him safe, while the other kids are going on about Ruki’s crazy fantasies instead- Jen was always the “big brother” of the group, and he has bonded with Rena earlier, so I like to imagine he can sorta infer there’s something bigger there, without having Rena or Ruki openly telling him it. And uff, she’s the one that sees him vanish amidst the crowd once they return to the real world…! Ruki manages to raise her eyes to see him but Renamon, Renamon never left her sight from Impmon…!

Ep. 43 is a big one for Impmon, for he reconciles with his Tamers and starts aiding the older Kids with defeating the D-Reaper. Note how initially, the only one who doesn’t reject him is Taomon; she’s surprised at his sight, while Rapidmon and Wargrowlmon are just skeptical. And once his attacks makes an effect on the Reaper, SHE is the one who supports his attack, making the others follow suit. (Incidentally, it’s also the episode where he admits he feels Blast Mode is his true form after all…JP language only, but it seems to suggest that really, being Beelze feels more true to Impmon than being stuck in his Child form).

In ep. 48, it’s Renamon who recognizes his figure, tied inside the Reaper. It’s also interesting cause it’s the climax of Impmon’s whole character development, where he has accepted the crimes he has committed, and instead of asking forgiveness, he will just right the wrongs, even if it costs him his life.

And episode 49! Goodness it has so many moments. After Beelzemon falls, Sakuyamon is the first to rush to his rescue (see? She’s always saving him); and gosh darn she sounds desperate, this is nuts to hear because Renamon/her evos, no matter the dub, always keeps her cool, so to again; hear her voice just scream and tremble urging him to fly and get up… And then once Grani saves Impmon, he lends Impmon for Sakuyamon to carry. Rather it’s the most practical choice, since she’s the only one who can carry him, since SaintGalgomon is too big and Dukemon is kept busy with his shield and lance, but still…She sounds so relieved when she urges to rest in her arms, as they keep battling the Reaper…

And of course, like almost every other plot point, their relationship is also resolved in ep. 51. When the whole team is relaxing at the park, relieved after they defeated the D-Reaper, Impmon appears, and once again, who notices him first? That’s right, our favorite fox. And again, her usual monotone breaks just to show relief to see him safe and sound. Even he, before he addresses Juri, seems to reassure her over the rest. I like how it’s a little moment, but I love that in the last episode, the writers managed to give a wink to their little relationship that carried on throughout the whole show. The writers knew they had to tell their story (his story), and they knew how important it was to see it to a satisfying conclusion.

· Similarities / opposites

Ok, so we’ve gone over why their scenes together matter. Big deal, what else is there?

Well, it’s not only the fact that they share many scenes together, is the fact that their characters are written to be eerily similar in many aspects.

They both initially look up to power, believe in the ideal that Digimon are only made for fighting. Later on we discover that is pretty much the law in the Digital World, but for us, the audience, they’re the two that bring up this idea the most when we first start seeing properly the series.

She’s stated at first to be the strongest Digimon in the main cast, while he’s the weakest. That’s a parallel, keep that up in mind.

They’re also the two Digimon to have a proper arc and character development, something that the others really don’t. And incidentally, they carry a similar arc- both initially are mistreated by their Tamers which makes their relationship and views of humanspoor; but while Renamon manages to get better with Ruki, and therefore stronger; Impmon just denies himself and goes on a self-destructive path.

Also, his proper introduction in the series is in the same first episode where Renamon gets focus. I know I said it before, but it bears repeating. And he presents himself to her first of the whole group! It’s also implied he witnessed the whole battle and Renamon’s first evolution into Kyuubimon, too… I tell you, it’s there. These stories aren’t written by bots, it’s a bunch of people that decide what element is added here and there to make certain things work.

When the series called Impmon a child…They were not far-off, for, as I wrote before, he’s written to act similar to a teenage kid- bratty, irresponsible, selfish…But not cruel, not truly, just undisciplined. Funny enough, it contrasts nicely with Renamon, for as “mature” as she seems, she lacks a lot of knowledge in things, but due to her nature, she’s not to go around asking as much. (See, in comparison, Guilmon and Terriermon, who are much more confident in their placement in the world and their relationship with their Tamers; and Guilmon is written to be seen as a baby /little dog for most of the series). If she was as “grown-up” as we imagined, she wouldn’t have initial hang-ups and doubts about her placement as Ruki’s partner.

The episode with Vajramon is also fascinating to consider because, much Like Impmon, he first appears to Renamon with a similar vocabulary: to abandon the humans to create their own destiny. Vajramon’s crush on Renamon is much more openly displayed, and yet he seems to try to impress her with the same talking points as Impmon did earlier. Remember that Impmon only tried to suggest Renamon to join his side, yet with Terriermon and Guilmon he was just tricky and antagonistic. Also remember the Devas at this point are just cruel and menacing to the Digimon, but Vajramon…Well, he takes a liking to Renamon, and it’s pretty obvious (calling her “beautiful” many times and such).- We’ll get to Vajramon’s crush later, but I wanna pinpoint this as a parallel to Impmon’s development with Rena.

Vajramon: We weren’t meant to serve humans. Come with us, to serve our god, and you’ll discover your true purpose! (paraphrasing but that’s what his dialogue basically amounts to)

So, if the villain who openly crushes on Renamon has the same talking points as Impmon, then...

Similarly, episode 24 is the one where both allude to their deaths. It’s the episode where the children decide to go to the Digital World to find Culumon, and each of them prepare in their own way to say their goodbyes. Ruki is about to tell her grandmother as she discovers It by her own by finding Renamon, and isn’t surprised at all at the giant furry fox. She even confides in Ruki that she thought Renamon was a spirit sent to protect her granddaughter.

(Sidenote, but that makes Renamon’s design make so much sense, since I have this theory that each Digimon/their evo were chosen to reflect the development of their Trainer; hear me out. Takato was originally written to be a self-insert for kids in the audience, so he gets the Digimon that evolves into stereotypically things that little boys like: dinosaurs, robots and superheroic figures (Dukemon has a red cape probably as an allusion to Superman). Jen is the most tech-savy of the three and his father aided in the creation of the Digimon in this verse, so it makes sense for Terriermon to mechanize more and more with each evolution. Finally, Ruki is Japanese ethnically, of course, yet her behavior and style of dress seems more…uhm, Western, so to say; until you see what type of house she lives – a fancy old Japanese style mansion; in comparison to Takato and Jen who live in humbler flats. Considering that Ruki’s arc was meant to discourage her loneliness and bring her closer to friends and family, it makes sense that Renamon -her humanity, her heart, her character development- is the Digimon with most Japanese callbacks in her design: she’s linking Ruki back to her family. Something similar happens in Adventure; Piyomon is pink to call back to Sora’s love, motherly nature, and connection to her mother).

So, we were where Ruki is planning to say goodbye to her family, like the other kids, since they’re determined to go to the Digital World to rescue Culumon. Grandma seems untroubled, and finds Renamon charming as well (even says she’s “beautiful”); but just asks our foxy to protect her grandchild.

Renamon declares that she’ll protect Ruki no matter what, even if it comes to her death. Ruki is seen openly touched at hearing that.

Meanwhile, Impmon has pretty much given up at this point. Defeated and humiliated by Indramon, he’s hidden in the sewers and expects nothing to come at this point. He feels hurt, betrayed, lost, without anyone at his side (but that’s mostly due to his actions; since he left his kids on his own accord, and the Tamers were ready to welcome him with open arms, as long as he behaved, yet he just didn’t know how to make a stable friendship with them) The Digital World calls to him, but he reacts less like an adventure, and more like a release. He sees no point in going forward, in going back…He’s given up on everything. And once Catsuramon calls to him, in the little portal to the Digital World, he goes there less because of adventure, and more because well…What else is there?

So while the other Digimon look forward to the Digital World as an adventure, Renamon and Impmon are the only ones that allude to it in a deadly manner…

And there’s also the matter of which when they both evolve to Mega…Which I’ll further address in other points in the meta, but I’ll comment that they’re dark parallels / opposites between them. While he evolves to Mega for selfish gains, for purely his self-interests, even if means he’ll have to kill innocent children for it; Renamon obtains her Mega after sacrificing herself to the D-Reaper, saving Culumon and giving time for the other kids to flee. Selfish desire vs selfless action. It’s at the apex of their character: his darkest hour vs her brightest time. While he goes to the point of no return, this is the climax of her character development.

The two of them tend to be loners by nature, and while they both do crave friends, they’re kinda awkward about gaining friends. Impmon initially doesn’t know how to make friendships outside of pranking and teasing; and the last episodes, while the whole team is together, Renamon maintains her distance from the others more often than not. Even if she’s at her most compassionate self, she still feels a little off, never fully a part of them. No wonder they connected, tbh, if even at a subconscious level.

Before I forget, it’s good I talk about the Psychic Link, because otherwise I would’ve forgotten about it. In the Digimon canon, it’s often established that Digimon have really strong bonds with their humans, so it’s natural for them in a way to share their minds and thoughts together. Ruki and Renamon at times early on had psychic conversations together. So, nothing wrong with that, of course, makes sense for the canon of the series and strengthens the bond between human and tamer.

So, it’s interesting to consider that Renamon and Impmon also have a slight connection; so to say. Renamon recognizes him before anyone else does, Renamon hears Beelzebumon’s cries of despair from afar; and she’s always aware of wherever he is or whether he’s in trouble.

You could say it’s a simple connection between the Digimon, since in Tamers it’s established the Digimon can sense each other by instinct, since the Tamer Mons can notice whenever a rogue Digimon is nearby by scent or instinct…Yet neither Guilmon nor Terriermon show this attitude when it comes to Impmon.

And of course, note, nobody else in the series has this connection, aside from the tamers and their respective mons...It would be an anomaly, maybe just a Digimon thing…BUT…A couple also does:

Takato and Juri, who are the main “couple” in the series. From the first episodes it’s stated Takato has a crush on Juri, which seems to be reciprocated from her side. And in the final episodes, as the whole team attempts to save Juri from the Reaper’s center; Juri is able to hear Takato’s voice, even when the others technically couldn’t since he’s fused into Dukemon (clarification for the Eng Dub only viewers: in the original JP and other dubs, the Mega Digimon have their own voices instead of the “Two-voice” thing the Eng. Dub attempted. So we hear Dukemon/Guilmon, SaintGalgomon/Terriermon, Renamon/Sakuyamon speaking when they’re talking in public (ea their usual voices, except Dukemon who got a different voice actor, since Guilmon’s childish voice wouldn’t fit the heroic knight character Dukemon represents). We only hear Takato, Jen and Ruki when we’re privy to their insides (inside the Digimonn basically)- so ea, Hirokazu or Kenta can’t hear Takato if they’re talking to Dukemon directly.

Yet Juri can listen to him, even if the others can’t, even if they’re far away. So, to reiterate- the humans and their Digimons’ bond is so strong that they can feel each other’s thoughts and pain. This is what allows them to fuse in the first place, and it’s something special that no other characters have. Except for the main romantic couple of the series, Takato and Juri…And Renamon and Impmon, naturally. Which...Means a lot more than one thinks.

More on Part 2! Then stuff gets juicy...

#Digimon tamers #Digimon meta #Digimon tamers meta #RenaImp #Imprena #Beelzemon #digimon #Digimon couples #Sakubeel #beelsaku #Sakuyamon #my meta #RenaImp meta

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shihalyfie · 2 years ago

Note

If there's something interesting is that a few Digimon media entries has the kids nicknaming their partners (like, V-Tamer Taichi and Re:Digitize/Decode kids, as example) and some other entries where the kids only call them by their species name/evolution form names.

Even within the, say, Adventure universe (as another example) we got Koushiro's mom calling Tentomon by "Tento-san", and in tri. having Meiko calling Meicoomon by "Mei-chan" and Mrs. Yagami calling Agumon & Tailmon by Agu-chan and Tail-chan (if i'm not wrong...)

Or Daimon Sayuri calling Savers!Agumon by "Agu-chan" as well in Savers...

Oh, i'm not saying those who don't call their mons by nicknames are bad partners. Still, i find interesting the different ways a Digimon human character can express their affection for their partners.

To be honest, I'm kind of surprised we don't have more nicknames in this franchise, if only because I feel like they must get different Digimon of the same species confused otherwise. I know the meta reason is that it's already tricky to get kids to remember all the species names so it's done to make them not have to remember more, but...

(Even Pokémon doesn't do it much; off the top of my head I can only think of Adventures/Special, some uncommon occasions in the anime, and very rarely in the games.)

#tomorrows2top #shiha's ask box #digimon multi series talk

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dutchforstrangers · 3 years ago

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How, in Kizuna, both Yamato and Taichi know what Sora is up to and even though Taichi and Sora grew apart, they still have a special connection that's here to stay forever and shouldn't be left unsaid

Before you read on, two warnings:

Kizuna spoilers!

LONG POST!

Also, a little note and disclaimer: I can see people percepting this post as a Taiora-shipper heavily vouching for romantic!Taiora and bashing Sorato. Interpret it however you like, but just know that's not how I approached this meta. It's Sorato-friendly and Sorato-appreciative. Sure, it gives reasons for romantic!Taiora to have potential in canon, but it's mostly directed on how I see the -platonic- connection between Taichi and Sora and how it's portrayed in the Kizuna movie.

That being said, I do not own Digimon and therefore this is my view on it. I also didn't read the Kizuna novel, so everything not compliant with the novel is due to that. Anyway, happy readings!

Who remembers the Digimon movie Diaboromon strikes back probably knows how Sora is not present during the fight because she's on the tennis club trip. Or actually on her way back. We learn about this, because Koushiro asks where Sora is and Yamato -being her boyfriend obviously- is the only one who knows the answer. Cute boyfriend, truly!

In the Kizuna movie we see a little call back to this particular scene when Yamato and Taichi are eating together and talk about what all the others are up to (and how they seem to be the only ones who have no clue about their future yet. I feel that, unlike Koushiro I didn't run a freaking tech company at 21??!!! Seriously, who does that?!). Taichi sums up all the 01 Chosen Children + Daisuke, except for two: Takeru and Sora. Of course Yamato knows what Takeru is up to, so Taichi leaves that for Yamato to tell.

As for Sora... I think that's a bit harder and I've been thinking about this since the first time I saw it. Especially after I saw this post floating around on my dash every once in a while (and yes the Taiora-shipper in me wants my Taiora-heart to be soothed BUT this is not the main reason, believe me) and I just think Yamato isn't the only one who knows. Now let me try to explain myself.

The first reaction Taichi gives after Yamato drops the insights on Sora's life is a kind of bored (maybe even a little frustrated?), almost sighing and slightly stretched "Eeehhh" which can be translated to "Yeah...". In the English dub Taichi's 'yeah' sounds even more frustrated and almost... disappointed? Also look at the face above! Taichi doesn't look pleased in my opinion, at all. See it for yourself.

Anyway, when we take all of the above in consideration, we could interpret Taichi's reaction in two different ways:

"Yeah. Ok. Cool. Not interested."

"Yeah. I know. It stings. Thanks for reminding me, dude."

And to be honest, I can't imagine Taichi not being interested in Sora (from a platonic perspective), so I'd go with the second option. Taichi knows that Sora's into Ikebana (and if we believe the one Christmas Tri interview, Taichi also knows about Sora's designer aspirations), but he doesn't include her in his enumeration, because why the heck would he talk about his friend's girlfriend??! Besides, talking about Sora seems a bit more painful to him than talking about the others. A reason for this for example could be that it's pretty painful to see and feel yourself slowly fading away from your oldest friend due to the difference in life paths. Yamato on the other hand starts talking about her, because it's his freaking girlfriend so OF COURSE he wants to talk about her.

This also brings me to the part that Yamato knows that Taichi knows what Sora is up to. After Taichi gives his sighing reaction, Yamato reacts by stating something very painful YAMA MY BOI WHY DO YOU BREAK TAICHI'S HEART LIKE THAT??!!! the obvious no one likes to admit.

"Things can't stay the same forever..."

Look at Taichi's sad and pained face!! The fact that Yamato says this seems to hit something in Taichi, especially after briefly talking about Sora; Taichi's oldest friend... It could even point in the direction of Yamato knowing Taichi and Sora grew apart, as if he wants to make clear to Taichi that it's okay to let go of old friendships as it's part of life (and not because Yamato is afraid to lose Sora to Taichi or whatsoever).

You know, that really pains me. Ugh, this movie will be my death one day... Carry on!

Throughout the rest of the movie, however, we see how Taichi and Sora still maintain some kind of 'connection'. For example how they were silently in pain, waiting for the inevitable, while the rain poured down (I know that's scenography, but it could even be a weird-ass nod to the Our War Game Taiora drama in the English dub...), their scenes following up each other. Also note how both Piyomon (+ Sora) and Agumon stare through the -left panel of the- window... Sad. ~See this edit~

How Yamato is stopped by Takeru, Jyou and Mimi (a.k.a. team Hope) and Taichi only by Hikari and Koushiro. Clearly there's someone missing in team Light and that someone must be Sora on Taichi's side.

And of course the whistle (I still don't get Yamato's dub-line "I used to hate that damn whistle," like, where did that even come from??!! It's stupid) blown by Taichi to which Sora reacts by literally calling out his name with the extra of a hand on the glass, reaching out to him, but unable to help because she's seperated (feels distanced...) from him. ~See this edit~

I even found this little thing you might miss with the blink of an eye. Or maybe I am just an idiot and I only spotted it now and everyone else is like: "Yeah, we already knew, old news." Gonna meta on it anyway

So anyway, in the 'staring to the pouring rain' scene, where Sora tells Piyomon she decided to not take part in the fight anymore (because SAD reasons obviously), we see Sora tracing two raindrops with her finger gliding down the window, becoming one raindrop.

Then, fast forward in the movie to the scene in Koushiro's office before Taichi and Yamato travel to the Digitial World to save the others and find Menoa. Yamato wonders how if they find Menoa and will have to fight her, the Digimon need to digivolve for that fight, which will probably speed up the vanishing of Gabumon and Agumon. Taichi is aware of that, going into some kind of brave sacrifice mode for the sake of the others, and Yamato asks if he's okay with that. And right before Taichi tells Yamato "No, I'm not. But someone's gotta do it!" we see this one raindrop... gliding down the window... seperating into two raindrops..!!! (To all the gif makers; please be my guest...!)

It HAS to mean something, because it's so obvious and it actually ties those two scenes together! It's an 'Aha!'-moment, a moment where the events turn and will probably mean something like 'Our paths cross and became one all those years ago and now is the time for our paths to seperate once again. In order to do so, we have to let go and start growing up'.

But we could also interpret it in a way it says something about the decisions they make and how they differ from each other. One (Sora) chooses for herself not to fight to stall the process of saying goodbye, the other (Taichi) chooses to fight for the sake of others and with that speed up the said process.

This shows us how Sora and Taichi differ from each other, maybe even have grown apart because of that for that matter. But it could also be a hint to their bond and how they still, unknowingly, learn from the other's actions, thoughts and insights in some way. That it's useless to try to avoid the inevitable when it's clearly approaching full force. Because it's fate. At the point the two raindrops come together, both of them don't want to see that fate yet, but when the raindrop splits again, they've come to the conclusion to just take things the way they are (it's the 'Aha!'-moment for all the Chosen really, but it's so typically staged as a Sora vs. Taichi thing, as a symbol for everyone. Take it from someone who works in the theater field and is schooled in theater practices and making choreography. This is exactly how I would like to show my audience their bond in a subtle way without words and how that contradiction symbolizes the decision everyone in the group has to make eventually).

And for all we know, (this is so painful to say...) that one moment that raindrop splits again as Taichi makes his decision... Sora finds her peace with her decision as well... and this could be the exact moment where she loses her partner and becomes the first of the group with that loss........ Of course that's just speculations. But wouldn't it be the best 'strings of fate' trope-story between these two clearly connected childhood best friends?

So yeah, fate will always bring Taichi and Sora together (in canon: platonic. In fanon: could be any kind of relationship you like). And please, don't be ignorant of that! Whether you ship Sorato, Taiora, Taiyama, Taiorato, other Taichi, Sora and/or Yamato ships or none of them at all. These two soccer buddies hold a special bond with each other one could almost call t e l e p a t h i c~... Here's a little Digimon novel reference to that:

Taichi and Sora may have grown apart for now and Yamato is aware of that. But I believe Aang can save the world these two old friends have a connection that will last a lifetime and they will grow closer again over time as they grow up into beautiful adults!

Actually, the Kizuna events will bring the whole group closer together again and that's a headcanon that lives rent free in my mind <3

That's all folks!

#digimon last evolution #digimon kizuna #taiora #sorato #taiorato #digimon meta #by me #digimon #taichi yagami #yamato ishida #sora takenouchi #tai kamiya #matt ishida #taichi #yamato #sora #tai #matt

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ahiddenpath · 3 years ago

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Survey Results + Writing Plans/News

SURVEY IS IN! More on that and my writing plans beneath the cut- PLUS my (tentative) ideas for a (potential) Digiwrimo event during Nanowrimo in November!

So the results are as follows:

Tri: Integrity Lens: 5 votes

Chosen Minor Arcana: 4 votes

Koushiro/Tentomon/Taichi oneshot: 3 votes

Four Years Profiles and Book Binding After August: 1 vote each

Thank you all so much for your feedback and interest! I truly appreciate it.

I took the results and tried to figure out what to do, and my stunning conclusion is... That I’m a crazy person, lol! I can’t possibly keep all of these balls in the air, so here is what I’ve decided:

First priority: Finish the last Four Years chapter before the hiatus. It’s sexy, which means I’m struggling with it, but... Gotta finish that first.

Second: Write the Koushiro/Tentomon/Taichi oneshot for Odaiba Day, make any art/grab screen shots for it. I at least want to draw a cover image with Kou-chan and Tento-chan.

Third: Tri: Integrity Lens. I have 19,000 words for Ketsui, which means that, while I have a fair amount... I don’t even know if it’s halfway done. Probably about halfway? So I’ll have to decide, do I wait until I finish the whole thing, or do I post the “Mimi” half every other week, pause, then post the “Jyou” half?

I am seeing much more interest in the tarot/Minor Arcana than I expected, frankly! So I will get to that, but for now, it will just be in the “what exactly am I doing” stages. I might pick a single card for the twelve Chosen, I might make a post per character and talk about any/every Minor Arcana I think applies to their arc... I don’t think I can do the whole Minor Arcana (56 cards). Like, I just don’t think there’s a good match for every card. So the approach is more complex than the Major Arcana (pick one card per Chosen, essentially).

What I’m getting at here is that you might not see much new material from me until Odaiba Day, when I will post my oneshot (other than the FY chapter I’m working on now). July is going to be dedicated to the oneshot and working on TIL. Hopefully I finish the FY chapter before July- I’m not kidding when I say that sexy stuff is the hardest stuff.

I’ve been posting consistently since January 2021, but now I need to take a pause and sort out my next step. I can’t say I like it, lol, but it has to be done!

Digiwrimo

I will probably make another standalone post for this, since I’m sure a lot of my followers don’t follow my fics (which is perfectly understandable, no shade). BUT YOU BABES GET TO SEE IT FIRST, also please help me bounce ideas around, lol!

SO HERE’S THE THING.

I have always wanted to have Nanowrimo buddies, but joining Nanowrimo is a hard sell. Basically, entrants try to write 50,000 words in the 30 days of November, or 1,667 words/day. It’s brutal, and a lot of writers (reasonably) don’t want to touch it with a ten foot pole.

I would love to create with my fellow digimon fandom writers for a month, so I wondered... Would anyone be interested in a modified Nanowrimo, aka Digiwrimo? Here are my ideas:

Setting goals

Entrants are encouraged to set individual goals that fit their needs. Sample goals include:

-Word count: The traditional 50K, 30K, 20K, 10K, 5K written in the month of November (or whatever month we decide on, it actually... does not have to be November).

-Writing habit/session goals: Make a promise to yourself to write for 60 minutes a day, 30 minutes a day, 15 minutes a day every day in November. They say it takes about a month to establish a habit, so this could be a fun way to set up your daily writing habit!

-Project goals: Finish that oneshot you’ve been meaning to write in November! Write 1, 2, 3 chapters of your fic! Write that meta collection/drabble collection!

There are no prompts/rules/shipping restraints/season restraints/canon or au restraints for your projects. It just has to be digimon content of some kind.

If we work together, it’s much better!

-Discord for Digiwrimo with weekly write-ins

-Declare your project and share updates on the Discord

-A Digiwrimo blog to reblog all posts tagged with an agreed on tag

Share your work

-Digiwrimo entrants are encouraged to edit/complete their Digiwrimo manuscripts for a month or two. Then, anything posted on personal blogs with an agreed on tag will be reblogged on the Digiwrimo blog for signal boosting.

Those are my initial ideas! I have no idea if people would want to do this, I just... I’ve heard a lot of variations on, “I want to try Nanowrimo, but it’s just too much.” I thought this event might be helpful for people? But I’m also not sure if I’ll have time to run it and do my own Nanowrimo project, so I would need help, I think. (Or it could take place outside of November and Nanowrimo, so I don’t make myself crazy trying to do both). I also would love any ideas! For example, I’m not sure what one does at a virtual write-in on Discord.

Would anyone be interested in this? Or maybe there are just way too many events lately? Let me know :D

#writing news #digiwrimo #survey

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citrus-cactus · 6 years ago

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The Cactus Recs Fanfics, June ‘18

Will this be a reocurring feature? Darned if I know. But heeey, here’s a post about the fanfic I’ve been reading recently (and… not so recently?). This is a good reference for me too because I still need to finish/drop reviews on some of these :o

@florencetheflowerfairy has written a ton of stories that are either clever, delightful, heartwrenching, or some combination of all the above. “Sunflowers Along the Road” is an excellent series of vignettes about the Eternal Favorite and the Also-Eternal Favorite (that’s Taichi and Koushiro for those who are keeping track at home). She also did some great stuff for Digimon Femslash Week and if I HAD to pick my favorite… well, actually I don’t think I can pick a favorite. They’re all great for their own reasons, so here are links to them all!

“A Girl Like That” (WHAM! POW! Right in the feels) “All the World’s a Stage” (so adorable!!) “Jinkies!” (LOLLLLL) “Battle for Meiko’s Heart!!!” (HOW DID SHE KNOW THIS WAS EVERYTHING I EVER WANTED IN A FANFIC????) “Almost” (BAM THERE GO THOSE FEELS AGAIN BRB SOBBING)

I’ve also been making my way through some of @aiko-isari’s multi-chapter digimon fics! She is exploring some really cool concepts for characters that don’t always get a lot of love, like a Frontier AU starring Tomoki’s brother Yutaka (“a comet’s tail’), a character study on Himekawa (“your mouth to god’s ears”), and a Meiko/Hikari roleswap/what-if set during the Myotismon arc (“a queen’s plague”). She excels at writing scenes with an “in the moment” urgency that I find quite captivating.

Speaking of Frontier, SilvorMoon’s “The Spirits Within” is one of my all-time favorite Frontier fics. I remember reading it in grad school when I was, er… probably supposed to be doing something else ^^; But if there ever was going to be a Frontier sequel (hah!) I would still want it to be an adaptation of this fic. It is, sadly, unfinished-- but hey, fanfic is just as much about the journey as the destination!

Higuchimon has been on my Digi-author radar for a LONG time, so I was really happy to see she had written a fic for Appmon! “Captured and Confused” is a multi-POV story filling in some of the details about Yuujin’s capture during the Ultimate 4 arc, exploring some interesting angles while remaining true to canon. She also has a pre-Tri fic about TK and his hat from 02, which you KNOW gets my seal of approval!

More Appmon fics! Note these are pretty much all SPOILERS for the end of Appmon, so act accordingly: “blurred eyes” by reminiscence (Yuujin POV), “The Dying of the Light” by Walpurgisyiff (Haru talks to Yuujin’s mother, post-series but pre-epilogue. GUYS I LOVE FICS AND META ABOUT YUUJIN’S MOTHER YOU HAVE NO IDEA), and “Realization” by WalkTheTyrannosaur (an adorable-sounding setup for an Appmon sequel!)

And finally er… we’re all adults right? Put the kids to bed and lean in real close.

I haven’t been reading much M-rated stuff lately. But Kirishtu’s “My Light, Your Light” is a very nice five-years-later Haru x Yuujin fic, if you’re into that sort of thing!

So, that’s what I’ve been reading! Now tell me, what have YOU been reading? Let’s spread some fanfic love!

#the cactus speaks #fanfic recs

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seventeenlovesthree · 1 month ago

Note

I havent watched the videos yet (i need more braincells for that than i have currently available) but the bit about the thing preventing evolution being on the moon and Yamato being chosen for that really rocked my boat! I always thought that in retrospect Yamato had enjoyed his adventures in the digital world and the exploring and wanted more of this explorer life style. So the next step was to became austronauts with Gabumon. And more on meta sphere i found it funny that they send the guy with the friendship crest out in space so he can make friends with potential extraterrastial life forms.

But this is why the adventure continuity is so precious to me. I know people are somewhat tired of it but the world of adventure has so much potential for many different stories, from a detective series with Ken and Iori, to political dramas with Taichi, to scifi with Yamato and Koushiro! Especially since they allowed the characters to age with its audience already, they easily make ovas about every character, their digimon and their struggle in this new half digital world. Maybe its a blessing in disguise they didnt make something like that, but damn... i would give a leg and an arm for a detective series with the 02 cast akin to the Cyber Sleuth games.

No worries, I haven't watched all of these videos either, but they're really fun for referencing, so please take all the time you need!

The interesting part with Yamato is that the writers of Tri onwards seemingly did not have these notes and tried their best to SOMEHOW make his career choices make sense. And while the course of the series STILL didn't really make it more plausible (at least in my eyes), we at least got a glimpse of his more investigative nature. And thus, what you described above could really have made for a super interesting third season of the Adventure verse. But for now, it's fun to think about all these headcanons and what they may lead to for each respective character.

I also agree, I would really love to see more of how the others would have developed. Who knows me also knows how much I dig Takeru's fanfic writing skills revolving around putting Taichi, Yamato and Koushirou in sci-fi related scenarios (because ever since Our War Game, they are basically predestined for that and Takeru KNOWS it). And yes, detective stories with Ken and Iori, political and investigative stuff with the three mentioned above could be super intriguing. I would obviously also REALLY know more about the girls, because they have been heavily underutilized (and I cannot die before I have seen Sora getting back on track again, similarly to how I physically and emotionally need to see Taichi finding happiness again). With Kakudou's notes, there are so many stories you could tell (Jyou working with Doctors Without Borders, hello???), all the struggles, growing pains, achievements and learnings, basically... Infinite potential so to speak.

We may really have to watch this as another timeline split in case it won't be congruent with the stories Tri, Kizuna and The Beginning have told, but I, just like you, really love how much variety Adventure offers. March is still so far away, but I am already feeling giddy about this PV.

#personal #answered #dgmn #i love my babies so much #i need more stories of them as adults

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florencetheflowerfairy · 7 years ago

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I watched the first half of the stage play! I’m enjoying it so far. There’s a lot of great character moments, and I adore the puppets! I also think that they did a great job of making it an ensemble piece, so everyone gets their moment to shine.

My favorite character is definitely Sora, which makes me very happy. <3 She has a WONDERFUL actress! She gets Sora just right! Her responsible, introverted, caring nature; her anxiety; her hopes; her bravery... If I have time, I’d like to make a post with all of her moments! I hope that she continues to shine in the second act. (I think maybe I have a little crush on her aaahh.)

Taichi is the hardest for me to understand. I think that his actor is overacting? He shouts a lot, while his personality is more subtle in the Tri cartoon.

I have mixed feelings about Etemon. Some of his jokes work for me (especially his meta jokes where he comments about the TV show or the stage) and some don’t. I hated the kiss, and I didn’t like that Koushiro had to point out that Etemon had a “feminine” voice. Basically, I’m worried that they’re playing on the stereotype of predatory queer men.

It seemed clear to me that they implied that Sora had a “crush” on Yamato, so I might make a post for that later. I guess that I’ve already gotten more “romance” than my low expectations. :P Maybe they will interact more in the second act, but I’m not holding my breath. Fortunately, I can assure you that Sora is definitely more concerned with her future career and growing up than she is worried about romance.

I’ve heard that Taichi and Koushiro interact more in the second act, so I’ve got something to look forward to. :)

#Digimon Stage Play #Digimon Stage Play spoilers #Digimon Adventure Tri #long post #ish #my analysis #preliminary thoughts

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taikouvember · 1 year ago

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Rules & FAQ

Even though most of the general rules for the week were already written down in the Event Announcement Post, we would still like to specify some of our Do’s and Don’t’s to make sure Taikouvember will turn out amazingly for everyone involved!

Do's & Recommendations

The event goes from November 6th to November 12th, one day for each of the 7 prompts.

You may choose either one or both of the contrasting prompts to use for each day. Interpret the prompts as you like, you can find some helpful tips in our Prompt Guideline. You may submit as many entries for each prompt as you like.

Every kind of entry will be allowed: Fanfiction, Drabbles, Poems, Fanart, Comics, Sketches & Doodles, Music, Playlists, Music Videos, Picture Sets and Edits, Gifsets, Meta, etc.

You can of course decide which series or medium you want to focus on: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02, all corresponding movies, Digimon Adventure Tri, Digimon Adventure Last Evolution: Kizuna, Digimon Adventure 02 The Beginning, Digimon Adventure: The 2020 Reboot, games, manhuas, audio dramas, novels, the stageplay, etc.

You are free to choose how to interpret the relationship of Taikou - whether that's romantic or platonic is completely up to you!

Other canon characters are allowed to be included, as long as the entries contain the original ship Taikou, the original characters, Taichi Yagami and Koushiro Izumi, and/or in extension, their partners, Agumon and Tentomon. You can also include multi-/polyships, OT3s, etc. as long as they contain Taikou.

Crossovers, Alternate Universes (AUs) or Own Characters (OCs) are allowed, as long as the entries contain the original ship.

When posting your entries, please make sure to @ us directly as @taikouvember in the entry post or use the following tags: #taikouvember2023, #taikouvember 2023, #taikouvember. You can also submit your posts directly to our blog.

We will search the different ship tags for your entries too, so regardless of what spelling you use, we will try our best to find it. Late entries beyond Taikouvember are perfectly fine, we will search the ship tags until at least the end of November. If we missed your entry, please contact us directly! #taikou #koutai #taishiro #taishirou

Old content may be reblogged by using our handle @taikouvember, so we can find it or you can send us content you would like us to reblog for consideration. We highly encourage creating new content though!

On Day 7, you may post whatever comes to your mind in regards to the ship, something you always wanted to shout into the world, but never found the opportunity to do so! We’re excited to see what you have in mind!

Don't's & Restrictions

Do not post any ship or character bashing/hate concerning any other Digimon ships/characters. It will not be reblogged.

Only post your own content, art theft etc. will not be tolerated.

Spoilers for the most recent movie, "Digimon Adventure 02 The Beginning" will only be reblogged if tagged accordingly and/or put under "read mores"!

Not Safe For Work (NSFW) content may be submitted in moderation and in line with tumblr's guidelines, but only if it is hidden under "Read Mores". Any kind of adult themes and triggers need to be tagged accordingly. Please understand that we might not reblog explicit, disturbing or any kind of discriminating content.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us directly! Have fun!

#taikouvember #taikouvember 2023 #taikou #koutai #taishiro #taishirou #taichi yagami #koushiro izumi #koushirou izumi #tai kamiya #izzy izumi #ship event #event faq #event rules #digimon

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izzyizumi · 3 years ago

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{Pretends to be Shocked TM at how close it sounds.}

From the official (U.S. dub based/produced) {NOT written by Jeff Nimoy, FYI, And Yet} [still-official] guidebook: [Note: It’s written from “Tai”’s point of view!]:

“Izzy might be the smartest kid I know. And there’s really only one way to describe him - Izzy’s a computer nerd. One of the first questions I ever heard him ask about {the} DigiWorld was, {Dub version}: “Do you have Internet access?” He carries his laptop computer with him everywhere he goes.”

{Digimon P.S.P Game}:

{Sub version[s]}: (Huh, what a strange coincidence):

“{Dub version-implied} CDs make him think about information storage, not his favorite rock band. But I have to give the little runt a hand - he’s pretty brave, and his understanding of computers sure has come in handy in this digital world.”

{Sub version} [+02 Epilogue!]:

[from the Digimon Adventure official novels] (written by Adventure+02 head director/writer Hiroyuki Kakudou; Hiro Masaki, Koushiro’s main writer, also contributed about 1/3rd due to having experience in writing screenplays, thus, Kakudou asked him for help on it):

(Pictured Above: the one part of my diagnosis I’m actually comfortable sharing. That’s because other parts of it are private medical info y’know.): [Pictured below: my original Digi-T.C.G. collection. [Most still on hand] Still in original folder from childhood at time were my V.H.S. tape Bonus cards with the 1st 7 Chosen, as Kari was not included]: (Do you see some of the wear on the folder?)

“{Name} spent the entire time closed up in {their} room on the computer. Digimon and P.O.K.E.M.O.N are {their} passion. {They} spend countless hours on the computer writing stories about the Digimon characters. {They} have encyclopedia knowledge regarding these characters,”

[2020 reboot!Koushiro {even} knowing completely Unnecessary TM encyclopedia-like knowledge about WALTZING!!! of all things]

[“Your valued possessions”] {See: Autistic Koushiro series} [SPECIAL Interests + {Possible} Protectiveness over them]

(Multiple times, even in the 2020 version; Koushiro acting possessive over computers/tech and/or tablet):

“...has collected all the cards, and could talk incessantly about Digimon if a listener allowed. {Blanked out for private medical info reasons} most children are...”

{See: Posts relevant to formal speech patterns} [x] [x] [x] [Koushiro in the original version is also implied to speak using ‘formal’-esque Japanese speech.]

(Sora: “What about you, Koushiro-kun?” Koushiro: “Y-Yes!” [“H-Hai!”] {only light stammer being suddenly addressed, then firm): “I’ve always believed in Taichi-san before this, in any case.”)

“...over, never talks on the phone and is difficult to even take to the shopping mall unless {they} are going to purchase a Digimon item. If {they} are allowed to, {they} would spend the whole weekend watching taped Digimon and {PKMN} shows, and writing stories on the computer.”

“{Name} is perfectly content not having to interact with the outside world.”

SO YEAH. IF IZZY - or (Sub version TOO) Koushiro - was ever a character you HEAVILY (in any series!!) RELATED to - you might want to look into (if wanted!) an Autism diagnosis, because they sure thought I WAS. (The above was my middle school ‘evaluation’ that led to my eventual re-confirmed/re-evaluated diagnosis.) Thank you for your time!! Hope this can help someone / any Digimon fans!!!! (You’re welcome)

{Some Digi-Fans @ Me: ‘Explain Koushiro Izumi!!!1!’ mE: “ YOU ASKED!!!1! ”}

{ALL GIFS/PICS BY ME} {DO NOT re-post} [DO NOT re-post my diagnosis copies outside of this post] [I. WILL. KNOW] {PLEASE ASK TO USE, I spent some 5~+ years compiling them all!}

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50cyg · 7 years ago

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Hey there any predictions for the romance and teasing? Do you think they'll get resolved or left in the open?

Answering two questions in one here :)

I’ve previously stated in this post how as far as I rememberthe Tri staff only said they were working within the framework of the epilogue.To me this simply means they are working towards an ending that hints at afuture where Digimon and Humans coexist, everyone has a partner, and the HumanWorld recognizes the Digital World.

I do not consider the spousesof the children to be a part of the framework. When I think of the framework ofa story I think of its essence and key focuses. Who these kids married doesn’tchange the essence of the story or the key message, not really. Whether Takeruand Hikari or Koushiro and Mimi got married doesn’t add anything to theircharacter arcs. Sora and Yamato being married doesn’t matter either, in myopinion.

The fact that they havechosen to include Meiko means they intend to at least change aspects of theending (since Meiko does not appear in the original epilogue). Or, it couldmean that Meiko will die, or go her own way by Tri’s conclusion.

So first, let’s explore the possibility that Tri does intendto keep the epilogue couples canon.

Koumi and Takari are in an interestingsituation. It’s pretty easy to concluded that they did not get married because,unlike with Sora & Yamato, and Ken & Miyako, their children look like them and do not hintat having physical characteristics of another Chosen Child:

However, what gives the Tri stafffreedom in this area is that it is not explicitly said they are not married. (Iam not taking interviews or meta into consideration here, solely the text as itis given to us. My reasoning is that, for the purposes of Tri, what the formercreative team has to say does not matter. They are no longer involved, andDigimon ultimately belongs to Toei, not any of the creators.)

Furthermore, unlike Ken and Miyako, Soraand Yamato are never said to be married. Now we can conclude that they aremarried, because their respective children look like the other Chosen Child,but it is not explicitly said. So, if it is not explicitly said that Sora andYamato are married, even though they are, then why can’t it also be thatKoushiro and Mimi, along with Takeru and Hikari, are married even though it wasnot explicitly said. I see no reason why this can’t be the case.

As for Meichi, I know people aresaying it’s definitely going to be canon because of the two tropes we got inKyosei which were:

1. Taichiyelling at Meiko and then thinking about why he did so.

2. Taichisubconsciously grabbing Meiko’s arm, followed by Meiko saying she can run onher own and Taichi apologizing.

None of the other moments were reallyofficial romance tropes, to my knowledge (as someone who has seen a fair chunkof romance anime). The other moments were shippable moments, but don’t fallunder any common trope.

Anyway, the inclusion of romancetropes is not at all a guarantee that something will be canon. Anyone whowatches a lot of romance anime, or anime heavy in fanservice, knows this. Characters will often have romancetropes happen between them, and other shippable interactions, even when theyare not end game, to satisfy the shippers of that particular pairing.

Tri hasdone a ton of this with multiple pairings. Basically, every major ship hasgotten moments thus far with the exception of Sorato (in my opinion). Koumi,Taiyama, Takari, MeikoxYamato and now Meichi got the most, though. The reasonfor Koumi, Taiyama, and Takari getting so much attention is due to their large fanbases(koumi is more popular in Japan than here).

As for Meiko x Yamato and Meichi,Taichi and Yamato are the most popular boys which means having Meiko, who is inmany ways and self-insert character, have romantic interactions with them wouldmake logical financial sense (Though I think it is going to end up back firingon them. Mainly because the majority of the fanbase can’t actually relate toher). As far as I’m concerned, nothing is said and done until it’s said and done(as fans from the Naruto fandom can attest to).

If Meichi does become canon, then it either means that Taichi just leaves his Digidestine Wife at home when hemeets with everyone, or she died at some point during the 22 year time lapse (or possibly they divorced), or the epilogue has had minor to major alterations.

Now, like I stated earlier, Tri isunder no obligation to keep the epilogue couples canon. They never stated thatthey would keep them canon. Ambiguity is my friend in this case. Workingtowards aspects of the epilogue and within an epilogues framework is not thesame as keeping 100% to a previously established conclusion. Furthermore, onceagain I need to remind people that Toei owns Digimon Adventure, not any of theformer writers, directors, or producers. If Toei wants to retcon something,they absolutely have the right to do so. I’m not saying they will, but peoplesaying that they can’t is a false statement. So, the possibility for differentend game pairings, as far as I’m concerned, still exists.

Ultimately though, I don’t thinkany couples will be made explicitly canon by Tri’s conclusion. Anime’s oftenhave ambiguous endings, where future pairings are up to fan interpretation. Thishas become even more frequent in recent years. So, I think an officialconfession or kiss or whatnot is unlikely, especially since romance isn’t oneof Digimon’s primary themes. What I think we will get is an ending that hintsat a future where Digimon and Humans live in harmony, and hints to the future careers ofthe chosen (most of which have already been hinted at), and hints to some pairings.

What I’m saying is I don’t thinkthe epilogue will be shown in Tri. If people choose to take this to mean thatthe epilogue is no longer canon then power to them. I’ll probably be one ofthose people (I’ve spent the past 17 years of my life pretending the epilogue didn’t happen so this would work nicely for me).

I don’t like endings that restrict us the way the epiloguerestricted us. I strongly believe in allowing for fans to continue the story intheir own minds. Having characters confess to each other, or end up inrelationships, or say they want to do something with their future is totallyfine. That’s fine, because if a fan chooses to believe the couple broke up inlater years, or the person changed their mind about their future, then theycan. An epilogue that says “these people absolutely ended up getting marriedand this is 100% what this person did with their future life” annoys the hellout of me, and most people.

So yeah, I hope Tri does not show the epilogue. Ifthey choose to make Koumi, or Takari, or any other pairing canon, then I’m more orless fine with that, because if I don’t like them, I can simply believe theybroke up later (which will be the case for me with Takari and Meichi).

#digimon adventure tri #koumi #takari #digimon pairings #tri spoilers #50cyg musings

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shihalyfie · 4 years ago

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A meta and analysis on Yagami Taichi

Being the face of Adventure and arguably the rest of the franchise, Taichi has the honor of being an important figure in the realm of shounen anime overall, which has the unfortunate side effect of very often being described with things that don’t actually match him at all -- the way people often talk about him (especially mainstream press) tends to portray him like a stereotypical shounen hero who charges aggressively into everything and is hot-blooded all of the time. That’s not...quite on the mark.

I think “impulsive” is certainly a correct way to describe him, but in a very different way than one might think -- and, in fact, Taichi is much more of a multifaceted character than he’s often pigeonholed as. How? Well, let’s talk about it!

Taichi in Adventure

The main reason it’s probably incorrect to call Taichi “hot-blooded” by nature is that, in actuality, he is far more often too chill than otherwise. It’s not that he aggressively charges into everything without any rhyme or reason! Rather, it’s more like he takes everything very easily and has a “don’t worry about it!” attitude.

In fact, I think our friend the Animation Chronicle explains it better than I can:

If he doesn’t know/understand something, he acts while he tries to figure it out...

So in other words, rather than our conventional version of “being impulsive” meaning beelining to the most aggressive possible action, rather, it’s more like “the first thing that pops into his head” -- even if it’s a fairly easygoing or relatively harmless-seeming solution, he just goes for it because it sounds like it’ll work and he doesn’t see any reason why not.

That said, it’s also made abundantly clear by multiple sources that his ideas do come with some kind of consideration:

From the Animation Chronicle: “He appears to move with reckless abandon, but he actually does take in his surroundings and he takes good care of his juniors in the soccer club.”

From the Adventure novels: “Taichi treated everyone without discrimination, as equals. That attitude of his didn’t change, even towards Koushiro. If Taichi hadn’t invited him, Koushiro was sure that he would have never gone to summer camp.”

Sora and Koushirou even back this up personally in Adventure episode 16, when Koushirou points out that Taichi had always been kind to his juniors, and Sora recalls an incident when he’d foregone an opportunity to score a goal because he’d known Sora was more likely to pull it off successfully.

So in other words, Taichi is, fundamentally speaking, not someone who does things for personal glory, but does want to work for other people’s sake. It’s just that, in trying to carry that out, he has a tendency to default to the first thing that pops into his head. Or in other words, Taichi’s primary way of thinking is “act first and figure out the details later” -- and this has both good and bad things about it.

Firstly, the fact that Taichi has such an “action-first” philosophy means that he’s capable of acting very practically in situations when others would freeze up. A very good example of this is Adventure episode 21; after angsting for half an episode considering quitting the fighting and enjoying his life at home, the moment he realizes that everyone else will be in danger if he leaves everyone be, he immediately instinctively steps in to help everyone. It’s not necessarily that Taichi doesn’t feel the stress or danger of fighting; it’s just that when he sees the practical impact of people he cares about getting hurt in front of him, all bets are off, because he needs to help people now.

The second thing is that, as Koushirou points out, he’s very kind to his juniors, and people in general -- he doesn’t really pay much mind to things like seniority, and is more concerned about treating everyone in accordance to their practical capabilities. This means that he’s someone who has a certain sense of charisma, especially since he’s appreciative of people’s abilities.

This is best indicated in Adventure episode 28, when two important things about Taichi are brought to the forefront:

Taichi’s natural charisma and ability to appeal to people makes him someone good at “bringing people together” -- indicated by the fact that the group hadn’t taken long to completely fall apart after he’d momentarily departed in Adventure episode 20, but came back together after he’d rallied them. The Adventure kids, coming from rather different social circles and backgrounds, were not originally the type to stay together or be particularly tight with each other by default, and so, during the first half of the series when they still had ways to go in terms of having any kind of meaningful bond with each other, they were unconsciously dependent on the charismatic Taichi to keep them together.

Taichi is a “natural leader” in every sense -- “leader” meaning not only someone who pushes people forward, but also someone who recognizes others’ abilities and is willing to delegate rather than trying to do everything by himself. This was briefly demonstrated in Sora’s Adventure episode 16 flashback when she remembers that Taichi willingly gave up the opportunity for a goal when he understood she could do it better (it’s reflected in his soccer position, too), but also here in Adventure episode 28, he gives the task of solving the card puzzle to Koushirou because he (correctly) determines that Koushirou, not himself, is best equipped to do the job. Also note that the episode makes clear that everyone agrees to it specifically because Taichi appointed him to the position -- much like how “understanding everyone’s abilities and delegating properly” is an important and necessary skill for a leader, everyone trusts Taichi to make that decision, and therefore trusts in Koushirou because he was appointed by said well-informed decision.

So those are the good things about him. What about the drawbacks?

The first is that Taichi is, unfortunately, a little emotionally insensitive. He doesn’t mean badly, of course -- you can’t deny that his penchant for teasing or trolling people makes him quite a fun person to be around -- but he tends to lack a bit of emotional insight and is prone to crossing the line with his remarks. Again, this is a symptom of him being too chill about things at times; he tends to react with “what’s the big deal?!” -- a statement that one should absolutely not say when arguing with someone, and which tends to get Taichi in hot water, especially with Yamato.

While the trope of “the shounen hero and the cool rival often having friction” is quite common in anime like this, Adventure’s play on it is actually quite different from how it would usually be played elsewhere. In most other shounen anime, this kind of relationship would have to do with something like the hot-blooded protagonist wanting to charge in and the cool-headed person wanting to be more “rational” about it, but in Adventure, Taichi and Yamato are pit against each other due to reasons that have to do with emotions. Yamato, contrary to what his character archetype might suggest, is someone who’s openly passionate and emotional, and is also someone who goes out of his way to care about others and their welfare -- so he often gets into fights with Taichi because he perceives Taichi to be insensitive and not putting sufficient thought into the others.

Yamato’s reactions are certainly extreme -- Adventure episodes 9 very clearly depicts him as the one losing control of his emotions and escalating the argument with Taichi to a full-on fight, whereas Taichi wanted him to calm down -- but he’s not fundamentally wrong in that this is an aspect Taichi needs to improve about, because it is true that Taichi tends to take the first suggestion of “what’ll get something done” that pops into his head, but also has a problem of vastly underestimating how dangerous things might be.

Again -- and this is very important to stress -- it’s not that he doesn’t care about others, and it’s not that he’s unaware of the dangers around him or the potential for repercussions! As Sora says in Adventure episode 16, he is conscientious of his surroundings and aware of potential risks. He has always put thought into his actions, and he doesn’t just charge into things with no rhyme or reason. He just has an abysmally poor sense of judgment, because he’s so naturally chill that he thinks “it’ll be fine, don’t worry!” -- and thus starts stubbornly locking down on what he wants to do because he’s so sure it’ll be fine and that everyone (usually Yamato) is overreacting.

If you want a specific example about Taichi’s tendency to misjudge: in Adventure episode 9, Taichi and Yamato get in a fight when Yamato perceives Taichi as too insensitive about Takeru’s potential welfare, which weirds Taichi out because Yamato’s being awfully overprotective. On its face, it might seem hypocritical because we later find out in Adventure episode 48 that Taichi is just as overprotective of his own sister, but it’s important to note that in the relevant episode, Taichi states that he has to go out of his way because Hikari continually fails to vocalize whenever she’s hurt or in pain. This implies that Taichi sees Takeru as someone who’s clearly capable of taking care of himself because he expresses himself better (and thus, Taichi doesn’t understand why Yamato has to go out of his way for him). Indeed, Takeru ends up latching onto Taichi because he sees him as treating him with the independence that Yamato won’t -- but Takeru has his own very deep-seated emotional issues that he just happens to be very good at hiding, and while Taichi is certainly always looking out for Takeru, he never seemed to have become aware of this problem.

This difficulty in judgment leads into a certain pattern of behavior that Taichi exhibits that only comes up in very specific situations, but is so consistently depicted that it’s basically an inherent trait of his: what I call the “Yagami Taichi stress response”.

Taichi is the kind of selfless person who prioritizes others’ welfare over himself, and there are times when it will often fall into almost self-destructive levels. (This is a trait he actually shares with his sister, although the two of them naturally deal with it in very different ways.) His first priority is “helping everyone”, and especially “helping anyone who’s in trouble” (especially when it’s happening right in front of him). Which means that whenever he feels that others are depending on him for something, he ends up often taking too much responsibility for everyone’s welfare, and starts cracking under the pressure.

Because Taichi is the kind of person who prioritizes “action first” and figuring things out as they go along, this means that his reaction to stress is basically becoming a completely unfocused mess. Or, in other words, he lets the thought of but we have to do something!! completely consume his head, methodology be damned, and he starts panicking and doing everything in every which way to get it done, to the point he starts lashing out at others or becoming an emotional wreck because of the stress. The first time we see this is Adventure episode 16, where, being the only one with a working Crest and feeling that he and Agumon have the responsibility of protecting everyone, starts pushing himself and Agumon to carry everyone’s burdens, resulting in everything going wrong and the dark evolution to SkullGreymon at the end of the episode.

Again: It’s important to remember that, even at his “worst”, Taichi’s main priority is helping and protecting others, which means that his way of responding to that stress is basically determining that he’ll take all of the responsibility onto himself. That involves things like forcing himself to “work harder for everyone’s sake”, or becoming dangerously self-sacrificial, or at least allowing himself to become an emotional wreck because as much as he knows better, his one strongest thought is always we have to do something!!

Taichi exhibits more of this behavior in Adventure episodes 48 and 49, to the point he gets unusually aggressive with Koushirou (which is also explicitly pointed out as him not acting like his usual self) once he starts panicking about Hikari’s welfare. Again, note that all of this stems from we have to do something!! -- he basically starts panicking because despite Koushirou clearly doing the best he can, once things start going south, it’s just not enough.

So, speaking of things going south: because Taichi often misjudges situations, whenever things go wrong, he takes it badly. This is someone whose first course of action is to “act first and work it out as we go along,” but the number one thing he can’t stand is seeing other people get hurt, and so when other people do get hurt because of the consequences, Taichi shuts down -- for instance, when he learns that his ploy to attempt to get Greymon to evolve ended up hurting Koromon and everyone around him in Adventure episodes 16-17, and when his taking the Digital World too lightly (taking Koushirou’s explanation of it being “like a game world” at too much face value) ends up getting Sora in trouble and his own life in danger.

Which leads to a certain degree of irony: Taichi’s behavior isn’t normally out of solely recklessness -- mainly really poor judgment and a tendency to underestimate things -- but when he does slip up and start having to deal with consequences, he does become reckless. But because this recklessness is out of a desire to “not let anyone else get hurt”, it results in him being reckless specifically with his own welfare -- he’s the kind of person who “takes too much responsibility onto himself”, and his way of responding to the issues of “someone might get hurt” and “but we have to do something!!” means that he, by default, responds to everything with “okay, then I’ll be the one who gets hurt!” Or in other words, his solution to preventing other casualties while still doing something to help others involves becoming dangerously self-sacrificial. Because in the end, Taichi is the kind of person who hates seeing people being in trouble or hurt in front of him, and his instinct is to always protect people, no matter what.

But, again: Taichi’s way of “action first” is not a fundamentally bad thing -- remember, Adventure episode 21 established very well that this trait of his is very good for bringing him out of his biggest bouts of hesitation, because he has a very practical understanding of the need to fight in order to prevent more casualties. This is especially because the final arc of Adventure deals heavily with the concept of “collateral damage”, or the question of how to handle fighting to save people, when people are inevitably hurt (or, in this case, dying) in the process.

Yamato accuses Taichi in Adventure episode 43 of not being conscientious enough about the friends they’ve lost in the process, but once Yamato succumbs to his resentment and personal beefs and starts selfishly picking a fight with Taichi in Adventure episode 44-45, Taichi indicates that he is keeping his fallen friends in mind -- it’s just that, to him, not continuing the fight is an insult to everything they’d died for (especially because, indeed, more people will get hurt if they don’t do something).

And, ultimately, in Adventure episode 50, Taichi does conclude that Yamato, Jou, and Mimi are right about one thing: while he’s always been right about them needing to do something, they do at least need to be careful about how they go about it so that they don’t incur more sacrifices along the way. Fortunately, Taichi is a soccer captain and perfectly capable of quickly coming up with a suitable plan on the fly (he even cites it in this episode, and in fact had already demonstrated an ability to come up with tactics when necessary back in Adventure episode 20) -- it’s not that he’s��never been able to do flexible thinking, it’s just that his natural tendency to be “too chill’ about things and overestimate the efficacy of the first thing that popped into his head was something he needed to learn to think through a little harder.

And so, the final episodes of Adventure indicate him finally starting to tap into his capacity for that -- thus truly becoming the definition of the Adventure group’s “leader”.

Taichi after Adventure

We learn in Our War Game! that Taichi still has a bit of a way to go in terms of the “emotional sensitivity” part, most notably when Taichi starts getting defensive when he accidentally disrupts the computer connection, and Koushirou (most likely correctly) pinpoints this insensitivity as the likely reason he and Sora got into a nasty fight prior to the events of the movie. In fact, while Taichi already clearly had some shades of this in Adventure, when his “teasing” of others or stepping over their boundaries could sometimes go a little too far, it’s especially indicated here that Taichi is very, very bad at dispute resolution, because he keeps trying to deflect blame for his own actions and indirectly accuses Sora of being the irrational one in regards to their argument. (Again, for anyone entangled in a dispute with a friend: “dismissing the other person’s feelings” and going for the ad hominem, instead of at the very least acknowledging them in the process of making your point, is the number one worst way to handle this.)

Of course, Taichi wouldn’t have gotten this far if he didn’t have the natural charisma to compensate -- again, he’s fundamentally someone who cares about other people and attends to them. But, unfortunately, he’s still bad at knowing how to deal with other people’s emotions and learning to deal with them with proper empathy...

...So, in fact, it’s striking that the Taichi we initially meet in 02 is someone who, most of the time, seems to come off as very mature and put-together. The fact that he so willingly turned over his goggles to Daisuke at the beginning of the episode is a really huge deal, frankly -- even if you don’t subscribe to the theory that there’s any major sentimental backstory to it a la V-Tamer, that’s still an item he’s kept on him since he was a tiny child and clearly must have a huge amount of attachment to, yet he immediately handed it over to Daisuke the moment he felt Daisuke was worthy of it.

It’s actually quite a bit of a swerve for those of us used to the more “playful” Taichi who sometimes took things way too lightly, but it’s also important to realize that this is the Taichi that Daisuke and his friends see. This is especially in light of the fact that Daisuke starts off the series with a very severe inability to be assertive, so Taichi, who’s always been naturally assertive from the get-go (almost too much sometimes), is everything he is not, and therefore admires.

Taichi is still Taichi, which means that he’s still subject to the Yagami Taichi stress response, and he gets very close to blowing up angrily at the others when they show up late. But unlike how he had a whole train of being rather out of control when emotionally compromised in Adventure episodes 48-49, he gets himself together fairly quickly and admits that he also didn’t want to force everyone to come if they didn’t want to (to the point where he had even thought about going alone with Hikari in the worst-case scenario -- again, note the tendency for self-sacrifice and putting responsibility on himself).

We also see him about to lapse into it again at the end of the episode, when he freezes up because he’s not sure about what to do in regards to the potential of hurting Agumon in the process of getting him back -- but Yamato manages to get him back on his feet, rather literally, and with a punch to the face.

This punch tends to be really often misinterpreted as if violence is just a fact of life when it comes to Taichi and Yamato, but it is very, very important to understand the context behind this scene and how it differs from the two’s relationship in Adventure. Whenever the two fought back in Adventure, it would be a very vicious argument with the two genuinely angry at each other, and with Yamato accusing Taichi of being insensitive and thus becoming hostile and resentful towards him. In this scene, however, Yamato has become conscientious of Taichi’s own feelings and reasons for hesitating. This is evidenced by the fact he only does a single punch and holds out his hand to Taichi right after -- said punch was strictly meant as one meant to snap him back to reality, and Yamato holds out that hand knowing that Taichi will not take it as anger or resentment, but rather “I did this because you needed something to get you back into focus, I know you also know this and won’t take it as an insult, and I understand your feelings and want to help you.”

It’s important in establishing the level of deep trust Taichi and Yamato have where they understand each other’s positions now without fighting over it -- the two of them even point out in the next episode that the reason they can get away with this is because of how much worse they used to go through before, but now, the two of them treat each other with mutual sympathy, understanding, and support, and devoid of condescension whatsoever. And because of that, Taichi is able to “snap out” of his hesitation much more quickly than he would three years prior, because now he has Yamato’s emotional support, and Yamato even frames the situation in a way the “we have to do something!!” Taichi would understand: if they don’t do something, Agumon will continue to be the Kaiser’s slave destroying everything that he himself would never want to see destroyed, and even if they end up accidentally losing him in the process, it would arguably be a bigger mercy to him than it would to let him continue in this state. It’s all very practical reasoning that works best with Taichi’s way of thinking, and because of that, they’re able to push forward into the events of the next episode.

But just because he’s become more mature doesn’t mean he’s lost his characteristic charisma or ability to be playful or a tease -- after all, Taichi has always had a penchant for a bit of a smug personality, sometimes even bordering on the petulant. This especially comes out when he’s with Agumon, but, really, Taichi is a person who really likes fun.

On another interesting note, however, Taichi sends Sora off in 02 episode 38 when he’s very heavily implied to have caught on that Sora is about to confess to Yamato, and pushes her on without giving her grief for it. Regardless of whether you subscribe to the theory that Taichi has his own unresolved feelings in the situation, the important part is that he understood that this was a grave enough situation for Sora that this did not merit teasing her or insensitively poking into her feelings on it -- in other words, it’s a huge contrast to Adventure episode 26 when he was clearly at a loss on how to deal with her when she was emotionally compromised, and Agumon and Gabumon commented that he wasn’t as mature as Yamato in dealing with this.

But now, Taichi is much more capable of showing actual empathy for others and understanding when it’s the time to hold back on the teasing or potential insensitivity, and for that, Agumon compliments him on the same maturity he’d failed to express three years prior.

By the time we get to Kizuna, the fact that Taichi is one of the lead protagonists is for obvious meta reasons (he’s the protagonist of Adventure, after all), but it also makes sense that a movie centered around the millennial existential crisis -- and, specifically, the issue of career uncertainty -- would have him as a major player in it. Remembering that Taichi is fundamentally the kind of person who operates as “act first, deal with it later,” it makes perfect sense that the terrifying pressure of dealing with something as vague and uncertain as career pressure would be something that Taichi would continually put off. Again, Taichi is a very practical-minded person who usually works best with things that are clearly happening in front of him, so “wide-ranging” things are things he plays badly with.

Despite Taichi being very clearly depicted as “out of it” for this movie, at the very least, certain fundamental personality traits of his haven’t gone away -- for one, he’s still one of the most expressive characters in the movie (to the point many a fan has commented on his jackpot of facial expressions) in terms of petulance, sometimes getting a little defensive, and driving poor Koushirou a little nuts with his tendency to be reckless with electronics. He also gets a bit cocky during the battle with Eosmon, which, again, tracks with his tendency to do that every so often (and to be fair to him, everyone was guilty of severely underestimating Eosmon at the time, so it’s not like this was a major miscalculation on Taichi’s part).

Moreover, much like in 02, Taichi and Yamato are understanding of each other’s feelings to the extent that Yamato is the first person Taichi calls to dump his feelings about his existential crisis over. Even though they’re still prone to some mild bickering at the beginning of the movie, they immediately go back on high-fiving terms right after, so it’s a very far cry from the time back in Adventure when Yamato would look down on Taichi for being insensitive.

But here, we have this one line that basically represents the source of all of the problems Taichi ends up going through in this movie, including the reason for his loss of Agumon: Taichi is trying to “force” himself to become an independent person, and in the process is pushing Agumon away, and, on a more metaphorical level, his own self.

Taichi moved out of his parents’ house under the pretense of not burdening his family, but Hikari’s comment about their mother wanting him to drop by indicates that it’s not likely they necessarily wanted him to move out -- and despite that, Taichi is miserable in his daily routine of walking back and forth from school and working at a part-time job and eating convenience store food. He’s clearly lonely, yet he won’t allow Agumon into his room (it’s stated that his visit midway into the movie is his first time here). He keeps his old goggles and Digivice, yet he shuts it in a drawer and only opens the drawer to stare at it from time to time, and when Agumon finally does visit and finds his AVs, Taichi freaks out and pins it as an “adult thing” before he finds himself in the awkward situation of basically gatekeeping his own partner with a societal standard he doesn’t even understand.

I should point out that the AVs are not strictly porn, if you want to be really technical about it; it’s “gravure” videos, involving a cosplayer dressing up in sexy/high-exposure outfits and striking suggestive poses, but it’s not actually explicit porn. Moreover, a toned-down version of this scene exists in the Shueisha Mirai version of the novel, where the issue is not about AVs but rather the fact that Taichi only has alcohol in his fridge -- absolutely nothing non-alcoholic, despite how impractical this is -- because “[he’s] an adult, after all.” So the point of this scene is that Taichi’s being performative, or in other words trying to do Adult Things because That’s What Adults Do. And since a Digimon partner is representative of the inner self, and especially established in 02 to have relevance to one’s “less dignified and more childish dreams”, Taichi looking down on Agumon, i.e. looking down on himself, becomes the reason why he ends up losing him at the end of this movie.

As things get worse for Taichi and the crisis escalates, we actually get another glimpse of the Yagami Taichi stress response -- Yamato confronts him on whether he’s okay with going in to save all of the Eosmon victims despite knowing what’ll happen to their partners. Taichi, frantically (Hanae Natsuki’s voice acting really sells it here), has an emotional outburst and professes that, no, of course he’s not, but, again: they have to do something!! Because in the end, Taichi is a selfless person who understands that bad things are happening to people now, and the important thing is saving them now and dealing with the consequences once that’s done with, and even Yamato admits that, as much as he hates it, this is the correct answer.

Taichi does, unfortunately, lose Agumon at the end of the movie, but there are multiple indications he’s already on his way to getting him back, given that Taichi’s starting to address all of the problems he was neck deep in at the start of the movie. In the middle of the movie, after having shut his goggles in the drawer all of this time and only pulling it out whenever he was depressed, he decides to embrace the courage they initially symbolized and puts them back on his neck, and when we reach the climax of the movie, he uses Hikari’s old whistle to wake everyone up. This needs to be distinguished from all of the “nostalgia” everyone else had been drowning themselves in by looping themselves eternally in old memories from a desire to never move on from them; symbolically speaking, Taichi’s blowing of the whistle represents acknowledging the important things in your past, and making productive use of them to move onto the future, rather than the unhealthy reactions of either drowning eternally in nostalgia, or performatively shutting everything out about your past in a bid to reach some arbitrary standard of adulthood.

Hence, Taichi’s thesis -- the one he had failed to write at the beginning of the movie -- is only filled out once Taichi embraces that past version of himself, because his thesis summary is about reflection on his past experiences, and making use of those to think about how to apply them to the future.

This is, obviously, intended as a lead-up to the 02 epilogue in which Taichi becomes an ambassador -- or in other words, someone who indeed specializes in “bringing humans and Digimon together” and offering proposals on how they can coexist in the future. Agumon, of course, is an important part of this job (look at his suit and bowtie!), instead of Taichi shutting him out and treating him like someone who doesn’t belong in his adult life.

Of the careers depicted in the epilogue, Taichi’s is the most “furthest-reaching”, since, as a diplomat, he has influence over a pretty huge range of things, which fits with Taichi’s tendency to shoot for some pretty high things -- and, also, conceptually, it works well with what we’ve always known since Adventure to be Taichi’s true specialties as a “leader”: having the charisma and understanding to bring people from different places together, and to lead them all forward.

#digimon #digimon adventure #digimon adventure 02 #digimon adventure last evolution kizuna #kizuna spoilers #yagami taichi #taichi yagami #shihameta

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dutchforstrangers · 4 years ago

Text

I need you. Both. - A Taiorato Friendship one shot

Characters: Yamato Ishida/Matt Ishida, Taichi Yagami/Tai Kamiya, Sora Takenouchi Genre: Friendship, comfort Rating: K+ Words: 1500+

Summary: Losing a special someone will never be easy. Fortunately, we all have friends with shoulders to lean and cry on. Even when you don’t say a word, they just know they are needed.

More below, under read more! Enjoy.

A/N (feel free to not read it): For some unknown reason I found myself suddenly rewatching Digimon Kizuna (the english dub unfortunately, because I can’t find a properly version of the original with english sub - anyone who knows where to find it?) and I started wondering: what would Taichi and Yamato have done directly after losing Agumon and Gabumon? What would they say to each other? And how did they find out about Sora, who went through the same happenings on her own probably without letting anyone know... Well, here is my take on that!

Update on 27th of August 2021: So originally I wrote Sora and Yamato broken up (see fanfiction.net for the original one-shot), but after coming to terms with canon and Sorato during the past couple of months and this Kizuna meta I recently wrote, it didn’t feel right anymore. So I fixed it, Sora and Yamato are dating, but on a break (as I can totally see that happening with their personalities).

Just to be clear, one last time: this is a Taiorato friendship! Which means all these dynamics are from a platonic point of view, even the Sorato parts. Also fixed some typos :)

xxxxx

A cool breeze. Quiet after the storm. And the stabbing feeling of a loss.

He tried to fight his tears, burying his true feelings. In his one hand was the Digivice, petrified. He looked down on it, trembling, realizing what just had happened. With his other hand he brushed over the Digivice, then held his other hand preventing it from trembling too much. He needed to be strong. For himself, for the others. For Gabumon.

Gabumon.

Where would he be now? Yamato wondered. That thought freed the flow of tears he was failing to hide behind his eyelids. He wanted to scream. Shout. But what was the use? It wouldn’t bring his partner back. So he just stood there. Crying.

Mourning. The thoughts kept trying to fill the pit he felt in his stomach. As the crying died down because of those deep thoughts, he simply stared, following the flickering lights with his eyes. It being the only movement in front of him.

Movement. Life.

What was life? He knew for example life was not limited to earth only. There was a whole digital realm existing in between this world where he came from and the network where Gabumon had his roots. Was there even more? How far could he go? Space? Maybe space was where he should aim for. As far away as possible from here, from where he stood now. From the spot where his partner vanished.

“Yamato.”

He stood straight at attention upon hearing his name. It sounded vague and far away, though he knew it was close by. He turned around, letting his blue eyes meeting the brown ones now in front of him. He watched his companion scan the surroundings. His friend looked sad to him.

“No Gabumon?”

Yamato swallowed and shook his head, biting his lip to once again fight his feelings. The trembling made his Digivice almost fall out of his hand. He squeezed it tight and with that holding onto everything he knew. Not ready to fully let go yet.

Usually Yamato was the one far more calm and collected. Though this time, for once, it seemed like the guy who tracked him down was better at keeping his cool.

Taichi.

It was just Taichi, no yellow dinosaur following him. Yamato figured out Taichi must’ve gone through the same fate as him. Yamato wanted to be there for him, but he felt his feet stuck in his place. His legs were heavy, as was his heart. Any movement, except from trembling, seemed impossible. So he stood there, questionably looking for answers which he knew his friend neither had.

xxxxx

Yamato.

He just stood there, looking at him as if he had all the answers he wanted to hear. But he had to disappoint. He had one answer: both Agumon and Gabumon had vanished. With that their Digivices had turn into cold stone. Taichi figured out Yamato already knew that.

It had been one hour since it happened and he had been mourning since. But what Taichi knew too was that moping around wasn’t going to make things better. Besides, it wasn’t what Agumon would have wanted him to do, moping around.

Agumon.

Instead he had taken out his phone, the ring of light on the back vanished just like Agumon had. He was glad to see the phone still worked, though it looked like it was a little faded. Maybe he was seeing things. He had quickly updated the others in their group chat by sending them a picture of his petrified Digivice, then closed the chat. He did not want pity from his friends, from his sister, from the others. They did not understand.

In all probability, there was one other person who would come close to understand him. So Taichi tracked Yamato down through his GPS. As he found out his whereabouts, he silenced his phone and made his way to him. Without haste, because he knew Yamato wasn’t going far or fast for that matter, not even with that motorcycle of his. After all, he was mourning too, just like Taichi.

His feelings had been right as there was no sign of Gabumon. The only visible sign was the stone in Yamato’s hand. The same stone Taichi was carrying with him, in both his pocket and heart. Yamato looked completely lost in his feelings, emptiness overwhelming him.

Yamato turned his back again to him. Taichi’s hands balled into fists, at once feeling the urge to fight him just like the old days. Breathing in deep, that feelings quickly faded, replacing it with a sudden feeling of concern. He glanced to the blond, slowly walking towards him.

“I know how you feel,” Taichi said now standing beside Yamato, staring into the same direction. “It’ll be fine eventually. I promise.”

A careful smile appeared on Yamato’s face, making Taichi smile a little as well. It was a careful smile, but it was genuine, the feeling of concern growing bigger. Taichi placed a hand on the blonde’s shoulder closest to him before gently pulling Yamato to him.

An embrace.

Back in the days the physical contact between the two of them were mostly fights with fists, but right now, Taichi knew it wasn’t the kind of touch he needed. What they both needed. Comfort, Yamato needed his friend, a shoulder to lean on.

“I know,” Yamato mumbled as he untangled himself out of Tachi’s grip after a little while. “It still stings though.”

Taichi nodded, completely understanding him, all the while grabbing the phone out of his pocket and switching it on to check the messages out of habit. He quickly scrolled through the messages in the group chat, but decided not to answer and leave them be for now. He looked through his private messages.

One message from his worrying mother. A missed call from a bragging classmate. Another message from…

Taichi gasped. After a brief moment he placed his hand back on Yamato’s shoulder, making him turn to face Taichi. He held the screen to Yamato.

“We need to go. There’s someone who needs us.”

xxxxx

She had been standing near the window for what felt like days, the rain falling for hours and hours. And hours more. The tears on her face joined the crying sky, but there were no tears left. She sighed, swallowing the lump in her throat.

She turned around, briefly looking at her desk filled with both clothing and flower designs. It was loaded with things she loved, but it was empty to her all the same. Then her eyes trailed further down the room to an empty pillow in the corner, one that belonged to someone very dear to her. To someone who sadly wasn’t here anymore.

Piyomon.

The name lingered in her thoughts, making Sora want to cry, but nothing came. She felt empty, like the pillow, lonely and hollow. At the same time she was thankful. Thankful for the time she could have spent with her partner.

Would she still be here if Sora had chosen to keep fighting? Would it have made a difference? Sora wondered, feeling a sting in her heart. It had to happen eventually, so why not now... Because she knew she had to grow up, especially after that message they received from Koushiro about the glowing ring, counting down the time of her partnership. Little did she know that Taichi went through the same thing at the same time.

Somehow it was hard to imagine him growing up. Into a man. To her, he had always been her childhood friend, the one making her feel strong, young and aware. She remembered the echoing sound of the whistle earlier today, immediately connecting the sound to him. By then she knew, even after they grew apart and had barely talked to each other during the past couple of weeks or even months, he was arriving at the same place where she already was at that time.

Partnerless.

“Honey, there’s someone for you.” Sora heard her mother from the other side of the bedroom door, snapping her out of her thoughts. She walked towards the door, sliding it open and stepping into the hallway. Her head turned ninety degrees and her eyes grew wider.

Taichi.

There he was, with his back leaning against the frame of the door, her brown haired friend, as if he knew she was thinking about him. His arms folded across the chest, his head diagonally directed to the ground. Further outside she saw the silhouette of a certain blond boy she knew all too well.

Yamato.

After Taichi had sent a picture of his petrified Digivice in their group chat, she had sent him a reply through a private message. For Sora it was important that he knew and felt he wasn’t alone. But seeing Yamato standing there, leaning against the rail of the gallery, his blue eyes ice cold, she knew that Taichi already knew he wasn’t the only one.

As wasn’t she.

A few steps. Taichi looked up as Sora walked past him. Without looking she brushed over his arm and hand for reassurance, but her focus was on Yamato. It had been a little while since she saw him last. They maintained a steady relationship in the past, but with their busy lives and studies they decided to take a little break to take things slow. Very slow, distancing from each other to focus on their own paths first.

Of course she missed him, and she still cared for him. A lot. And he needed her, she could feel. She knew he did. Standing fully in front of him, she placed her hand on one of his shoulders, finally making him look her straight in the eyes. She smiled her most genuine but soft smile, then carefully hugged him around the neck, placing a small peck on his cheek. She felt his heartbeat slightly increase, so she held on to him until his heart calmed down again.

As she let go and stepped back, Yamato flashed her a painful smile. Sora had to swallow seeing him like that, shifting her gaze to the ground. The touch of a hand on her shoulder brought her attention back up. She had thought she had no tears left, but that one touch did the trick.

Sora swiftly turned around, throwing her arms around the waiste of the owner of the hand on her shoulder. She felt Taichi pulling her even closer as she heavily cried, wetting his shirt. But she knew he didn’t care, because in that moment all he cared for was her. And Yamato.

Stupid.

And they just stood there, the two of them. Until suddenly she felt a warmth behind her, another body becoming part of their embrace. And she knew that whenever she was sad or lonely or in need of a hug, they were there within a heartbeat.

“I need you,” she mumbled into Taichi’s shirt.

“Both.”

#digimon fanfiction by me #Digimon #Digimon Kizuna #Taiorato #Yamato Ishida #Taichi Yagami #Sora Takenouchi #Matt Ishida #Tai Kamiya #taiyama #taito #sorato #taiora #yamato #taichi #sora #matt #tai

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