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shihalyfie · 4 years ago

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An analysis of Iori and his character arc

Iori has a particularly interesting position in 02′s narrative (and, even more widely so, in perhaps all of both Adventure and 02) in that his base profile is rather unusual-looking even from the get-go -- the youngest child in both groups, yet with a (seemingly) mature demeanor that surpasses even his seniors. On top of that, Iori ends up having a very deep relation to 02′s themes and plot itself in a way that isn’t initially apparent, but actually makes him a very vital centerpiece of 02′s story.

Before we get into Iori’s role in 02′s actual plot, it needs to be established that a very, very large amount of Iori’s character is heavily shaped by his family background and upbringing. Prior to the start of the series, the Hida family had a large void in it, with Iori’s father Hiroki having been killed in the line of duty. Being a mere five-year-old child who had lost his father barely into actually being sentient and basically had to live the following three years going off hearsay on what he was actually like, Iori ends up raised by his mother Fumiko and his paternal grandfather Chikara.

While not in exactly the same way as the Takenouchi family (which is literally working in cultural preservation and study), the Hida family is very traditionalist Japanese -- Fumiko makes traditional Japanese food and snacks like kanpyoumaki and ohagi, and a lot of attention is given to the butsudan altar in their house where they honor the late Hiroki (also note the tatami flooring). That, combined with Chikara’s naturally strict personality, led to Iori being raised with “very strict manners”, and by a set of very firm guidelines on honor, respect, and the like.

Having been raised into this kind of formality, Iori speaks almost exclusively in polite-form Japanese. This happens to initially make him come off a bit like Koushirou -- likely a deliberate parallel, given the Knowledge connection between the two (being the kind of person who admits that you don’t know everything and wants to know more requires a bit of humility, after all). That said, Iori’s way of doing this has some key differences from Koushirou:

Unlike Koushirou, who was largely polite out of an attempt to keep distance from everyone and thus had a streak of being somewhat non-confrontational, Iori is perfectly willing to say harsh or critical things -- in other words, his way of speaking is formal, but it’s not necessarily polite, and in fact Iori is probably the single most passive-aggressive person in this cast. He has absolutely no qualms about dunking on whatever he feels truly deserves the dunking, and he’ll certainly do it with a lot of grace, but he is very capable of being extremely cold when he wants to be.

Koushirou stuck to formality out of detachment and intimidation, to the point that, as per Adventure episodes 38 and 54, he was compulsively unable to bring himself to speak casually unless he forced himself. Iori, on the other hand, often “slips” -- on top of willingly defaulting to casual form whenever he’s talking to himself or (occasionally) to the Digimon (who are outside Japanese levels of propriety), he also has a tendency to start using casual form whenever he gets particularly emotionally compromised. (While it doesn’t quite come off in the translation, the above screenshots from 02 episode 10 are an example of this, with Iori losing his temper at the Kaiser and slipping into casual form -- and a bit of fun foreshadowing, guess who’s the one to successfully calm him down? Takeru. Remember this for later.) In other words, Iori’s formality is not compulsive, but a conscious thing he tries to maintain as he holds himself to high standards, and is unable to completely uphold during times his emotions get the better of him.

Ultimately, Iori may come off as “mature and composed”, but he’s still an impressionable nine-year-old child, who’s effectively parroting the rules his grandfather instilled in him because he sees it as The One and Only Guide to Living Life. In trying to figure out the right thing to do in any situation, Iori ends up constantly trying to fall back on “this is the right way to do things!” and taking it rather badly whenever things start falling outside of the expected pattern. Despite being the one responsible for Iori’s tightly principled life to begin with, even Chikara himself comments that Iori’s not being flexible enough in his thinking in 02 episode 5 -- because it’s not like he’s expecting Iori to be like this, but Iori is simply having a hard time applying these principles practically when he’s working with the limited range of being a nine-year-old child.

And as much as it may be tempting to see Iori as stoic, watching his expressions and way of emoting throughout the series, he does very much have the full range of emotions and curiosity and even cheer of a nine-year-old child -- it’s that he’s just constantly holding himself back for the sake of being principled and well-mannered. This has the unfortunate side effect that Iori is, as the Animation Chronicle calls it, “clumsy at expressing himself as a child”. Because he’s constantly restraining himself like this, he has a hard time expressing himself or letting himself enjoy things in the way a normal child would.

It also goes a long way in explaining why Iori is never seen hanging out with any other peers his age, and is exclusively depicted in the company of either the rest of the 02 group, or his own family. While part of it is simply because (as per Japanese school procedure) he’s too young to be formally enrolled in any clubs, 02 episode 3 goes out of its way to show Iori being left alone in the classroom with only a teacher stuck supervising him, as he tries to force himself to finish his lunch due to his stubborn adherence to principle (even though he seems to hate tomatoes). In other words, it’s heavily implied that Iori’s own behavior ended up isolating him from his peers. Considering that the 02 group is generally made up of kids who are socially displaced in some way, it naturally follows that, despite being significantly older than him, they end up welcoming him into their friend circle and treating him as an equal.

When the series starts, Miyako and Iori seem to have gotten a certain degree of closeness (with Iori as one of the only people Miyako drops honorifics on). It stands to reason that Miyako, being open-minded towards people and rather aggressively friendly, would be willing to befriend her neighbor despite the three-year age gap between them, and so they already seem to have developed a rapport where Miyako’s willing to come over to his place to help work on the Hida family electronics in exchange for food.

So, you know, this and that happens, Iori becomes a Chosen Child, and this is the start of where Iori’s “principles” start coming into conflict with each other. The nature of the Digital World crisis is a no-brainer -- the Kaiser is doing terrible things, and Iori’s just been given the tools to do something about it, and so for him, upholding his principles to do the right thing means proactively doing something about it. But getting involved in this territory war will mean “fighting and hurting other people” (bad) and “hiding things from his family and sacrificing obligations to them” (also bad). Chikara advises him in 02 episode 5 that he still needs to be the one to decide what he wants and needs to do at any given moment, but it’s clear that this is still a new concept for Iori to swallow.

It’s also important that 02 episode 5 is also the episode that introduces Jou, who very much understood the dissonance between “adhering to principles in spite of how practical that may not actually be”, which means the two of them end up bonding over...ditching real-life obligations to come to the Digital World. This bonding happens despite the fact that they have the largest age gap out of any two given kids out of the Adventure and 02 group (Jou is 15, and Iori 9) -- and yet, they’re able to bond over being like-minded like this. And while they come from different contexts, there’s also a parallel drawn between the two on “the importance of personal choice” -- because back in Adventure, Jou’s story involved channeling his desire to help others in a way different from his usual expected path as a doctor or as a Chosen Child, and, likewise, it will be up to Iori to find his own way towards what he thinks is right.

Iori’s “adherence to principles” also needs to be distinguished from Jou’s in that Jou was someone more likely to be stuck to “practical” rules (one might call him Lawful) such as waiting for adults to help them with things, or what to put on eggs. Iori, on the other hand, has self-enforced rules that are far more ideological -- he doesn’t actually care that much about institutionally-enforced rules (note how he has absolutely no issue with sneaking into school with his friends in 02 episode 6) as much as he enforces a moral code on himself about “the right thing to do”. For instance, that he has to show his respect to Jou by formally finishing his introduction, even if it’s clear they know each other by now already.

But, again, it bears repeating: Iori is a nine-year-old child. The rest of the kids respect him enough to not treat him like a younger child -- other than a brief moment of emotional compromise that Daisuke quickly apologized for, the group is never really depicted as paying particular mind or care to the fact that Iori is so much younger than them, and for the most part treat him like an equal. But Iori himself is conscious of this -- after all, it’s why he’s constantly speaking politely to everyone all of the time, but 02 episode 16 also implies he’s very self-conscious about this. The plot of the episode kicks off when Iori momentarily gets caught up in his excitement about potentially getting a new Digimental, and, once things start going south, he starts blaming himself for causing all of this and lashing out at the others for (at least, in his mind) singling him out to be the one to escape on the grounds of being the youngest. After all is said and done with the incident, Submarimon lets Iori have a moment of something Iori really does need: a bit of a chance to actually get to enjoy himself as a young child instead of restraining himself so much.

Speaking of 02 episode 16, this is also where we first get to see how the pressure of maintaining Iori’s moral code starts to emotionally tear at him. It’s the first time we see Iori lose his composure this much. To everyone else here (and, perhaps, the audience, to some degree), Iori’s making a mountain out of a molehill -- he’s calling himself an unworthy person for telling a lie that even Jou himself clearly didn’t mind. But remember, Iori is someone who’s still learning a lot about how the world works at such a young age and is inclined by default to fall back on whatever his grandfather’s told him (to a point that even said grandfather considers to be overdoing it). Right now, Iori has basically built his entire view of morality based on this kind of thing, so putting a dent on it is like encouraging a slippery slope of potentially falling into moral depravity.

The reason why I say Iori’s character arc has a lot to do with Adventure and 02’s storytelling itself is that it’s a surprisingly pragmatic series when it comes down to it -- “it’s okay to lie, sometimes” is not exactly the kind of moral you’d expect out of your average kids’ show, but, perhaps a bit unusually, this series prefers to skip all of the preachiness and focus on pragmatics. (After all, back in Adventure, a lot of the final arc revolved around the question of “is fighting the right thing to do when there might be casualties?”, with the probably-kind-of-uncomfortable-but-frankly-very-practical answer of “it certainly beats having more casualties that would happen if you sat around and did nothing.”) Iori’s character arc is, effectively, this in a nutshell -- what’s the “right” thing to do when following principles alone doesn’t seem to be doing it? In the end, both Adventure and 02 are big on this -- preachy words and moralistic principles mean nothing in the face of striving to practically minimize damage and help others.

And so, Jou -- who himself grappled quite a bit with the dissonance between principles and pragmatism back in Adventure -- is the one to successfully reframe it in a way that Iori understands: most of all, Iori doesn’t want to see people get hurt, and whether “lying” or “not lying” is the right thing to do is not as relevant as “whether people are getting hurt”. Iori not lying would have caused a great deal more of hurt than lying, and it’s through understanding this kind of principle that Iori accepts that he still has a long way to go in terms of exercising his duty to others. The secondary Digimental arcs have a heavy theme of “acknowledging your deficiencies and resolving to improve”, and in the case of Iori and the Digimental of (this thing has been translated half a dozen ways, but, effectively, honoring your obligations to others), it involves his first major moment of coming to terms with the idea that the principles on paper he’s been stubbornly following aren’t going to do it by themselves.

Once the Kaiser arc concludes and the group is posed with the question on how to handle Ichijouji Ken, Iori’s reaction to him is the most infamously extreme: Ken is a Bad Person who is completely beyond forgiveness, and Iori wants nothing to do with him. It probably needs to be made clear that Iori’s stance on not wanting to forgive Ken is not inherently unreasonable. Ken really did some awful, horrible things in the first half of the series, and it is completely within Iori’s rights to decide that he doesn’t want to forgive or like Ken thereafter.

The part where Iori’s behavior starts posing issues is not the part about whether he likes Ken or not, but rather that Iori gets so hung up on that lack of forgiveness that he becomes very bad at observing the practical reality in front of him. Or, in other words, Iori gets so fixated on the principle of what happened in the past that he’s unable to make good judgment calls on what should happen going forward. It is abundantly clear to everyone by (at the latest) 02 episode 26 that Ken is not going to easily lapse back into his old ways and would like to make an effort to repair the damage he caused; regardless of whether they like him or not, it’s in their best interest to cooperate with him and let him help out (and even keep an eye on him to make sure bad things don’t happen again!), especially when the factor of Jogress comes into play and turns out to be a very valuable asset in the fight ahead. But Iori has a a rather squeamish, petty response when he tries to claim that they shouldn’t need Jogress (in the midst of everyone else being excited about the possibilities it poses, even without Ken in the equation) in 02 episode 28, and even when he does go along with everyone working with Ken in 02 episodes 28-29 during the Giga House Incident, he approaches it like he and Ken are bartering favors and that he’ll have to “repay” Ken before he can properly return to pigeonholing Ken as an Unequivocally Bad Person.

And so the issue here is: Iori being so determined to fixate on trying to stuff Ken into a neat box of a Bad Person isn’t good for himself, either, because it basically means he’s going out of his way to run pointless mental loops and maintain the feeling of stewing in a grudge against him, even when it’s helping absolutely nobody. Note the metaphor drawn when Iori practices kendo with Chikara in 02 episode 24 -- he keeps doing the same motion over and over again despite the fact it’s clearly not going anywhere, and Chikara has to warn him that doing nothing but aim for the head isn’t how you’re supposed to do it. Right now, Iori is having a hard time parsing things in ways besides shoving things in neat boxes of black-and-white morality, and this lack of flexibility is severely restricting his ability to be productive.

What starts to really cause Iori to make a major shift in his thinking process is none other than his connection with Takeru, a subplot that had already started kicking off all the way back in 02 episode 19, when Iori witnesses Takeru suddenly taking a violent shift in mood against the Kaiser to the point it scares him. Iori, of course, considers Takeru to be a “good" and “kind person”, but someone like that should (in his mind) logically not be making sudden, violent outbursts like that -- and especially once he starts advocating for BlackWarGreymon to potentially be killed if it comes down to it, going very against Iori’s fundamental principle that killing anything that’s sentient is unforgivably immoral.

This “contradiction” is what leads Iori to realize that he needs to do much more if he wants to understand Takeru properly, and it’s also the start of how Iori grows into the trait of his first Digimental, “Knowledge” -- or, more specifically (as defined by Koushirou in Adventure episode 24 and 02 episode 2), “curiosity and a drive to know more”. In the case of Iori, this manifests in “I want to know more about other people.” It’s Iori effectively understanding that his very limited view of the world and how people work isn’t sufficient in itself, and this concept becomes the crux of his character arc for the rest of the series.

After tussling around and getting increasingly confused about Takeru’s seemingly paradoxical behavior, Iori finally goes directly to Yamato to consult him about it in 02 episode 35, and Yamato explains the backstory behind Takeru’s trauma from losing Angemon back in Adventure episode 13, as well as a reminder that as much as it may have been his own fault, Ken technically went through some pretty similar trauma, and everything that’s happened since his fall from being the Kaiser hasn’t exactly been sunshine and roses for him either. Iori reflects on this as he goes home, with the important statement attached: he understands Takeru’s feelings. He’s now able to understand why Takeru acts the way he does, not on the grounds of principles of what’s right or wrong, but based on the fact that Takeru’s simply a very messy human being who’s not handling his own tendency to suppress his emotions well.

Because Takeru is such a convoluted person, and because Iori’s fundamental issue with approaching things involves unraveling some very deep-seated tendencies in his mentality, the way the two finally connect in order to properly Jogress requires something a lot more convoluted than just happening to clash in a single magical moment like Daisuke and Ken or Miyako and Hikari did. Iori starts off the episode catching himself when he’s about to fall back into “principles over practicality” again -- he starts railing on the others for (in his mind) taking the impending BlackWarGreymon fight too lightly, before Armadimon reminds him that he’s hungry, and Iori realizes -- again -- that he cannot effectively enforce “the right or wrong thing to do” without taking other people’s feelings properly into account. Realizing that this is is a barrier between him and the others, especially Takeru, Iori tries to adjust his thinking pattern and even becomes the one to advocate that everyone get some proper food and rest instead of charging into the fight unprepared.

The meal results in Iori getting yet another rare moment of letting himself truly enjoy something without restraint, and is also followed by Takeru speaking openly to him about their potential Jogress -- openly, honestly, not covering it up, not even with the same light playfulness he would usually put on (including what he had with the very same topic at the beginning of this episode). It is an acknowledgment from Takeru’s own part that he’s been watching what Iori’s doing and also wants to connect, and an open and serious statement from someone who had constantly tried to cover up everything with a smile up until that point, and, with the two reaching an understanding, they finally achieve their Jogress at the end of the episode.

This connection with Takeru, and the understanding that came from it, is what allows Iori to start applying a bit more flexibility towards approaching other situations. 02 episode 38 has him finally accepting Ken’s invitation to his Christmas party, after so many episodes of despising so thoroughly -- because now that he’s taking Ken’s position and feelings into account, he’s able to properly recognize him as someone doing his best to make amends going forward and be friends. Later, in 02 episode 44, despite having originally been the one more staunchly against it on principle, Iori handles the shock of having to kill an enemy with somewhat more grace than Miyako does, because not only had he already started considering the difficulty of fighting an enemy that cannot be reasoned with and wants nothing but wanton destruction (back during the end of 02 episode 29), Takeru is there to remind him that their priority must, first and foremost, be “saving lives” -- like, for instance, the girl in a wheelchair in front of him.

And so, the final episodes of 02 put everything Iori’s learned to the ultimate test, when he learns that the major perpetrator behind it all is none other than a friend of his departed father.

Up until this point, much of Iori’s mentality had been shaped by the rather saintlike image everyone had put up of Hiroki -- it’s almost certain that he must have had his own flaws as a person, but the resistance to speaking ill of the dead, and the generally positive influence he’d had on his friends and family and his untimely death by “protecting someone”, painted him as effectively a perfect, impossible ideal for Iori to strive to. Much of Iori’s justifications for his own behavior had consistently been reliant on “my father said this” or “would my father would have done this?”, such as his reason for forcing down his lunch in 02 episode 3, or using him as a mental model in 02 episode 44. For Iori’s former mentality of “good person” and “bad person”, this is the ultimate contradiction that threatens to rip apart everything Iori had built his own values system on -- that someone so incredible and saintlike and virtuous would be friends with someone so unambiguously doing horrible things like Oikawa. Iori, taking this as an awful emotional blow, parses this with a desperate desire to understand the motive behind why someone would do this, because it’s not enough for him to continue until he does.

And in 02 episode 49, we see Iori effectively forced to confront the fact that he can’t keep relying on the model of his father anymore as the sole basis for his way of life when, in the end, his father will never return. Iori doesn’t even know him that well; he can’t conjure up an image of him talking, or anything beyond just a flat, serene smile. And when the image of his father finally disappears, Iori almost immediately accepts it, as if he’d known the whole time.

It’s also significant that Iori declares that what he’ll do next is introduce Armadimon to his mother -- because, in the end, Iori is at least now capable of “moving forward”. He can’t get his father back, and the best thing he can do is make use of his existing support group and keep pushing forward with the people he does have in his life -- quite the opposite of Oikawa, who responded to the loss of that exact same person by clutching onto the remnants of the past they shared, and never becoming able to move on.

Hence, 02′s finale ends on none other than Iori, and when you think about it, this is actually a pretty unusual position to be in for someone who’s not the lead protagonist (Daisuke) nor the most prominent focus of the story (Ken)! But it’s a testament to just how important Iori is to this narrative on a thematic level -- all of the struggles about the morality of fighting and the disparity between principles and practicality (which dated all the way back to Adventure), and 02′s prominent theme of coping with loss and regrets and figuring out how to best move on, are all tightly entwined with the character arc of this nine-year-old child. (If you want to take the parallel between the Adventure narrative and Iori even further, Iori and Armadimon sharing the same voice actress is possibly one of the most prominent ways of indicating how a Digimon partner is fundamentally meant to express one’s inner self.)

And especially since Iori is the person who should have been the most vehement about having any kind of sympathy or compassion towards Oikawa -- just remember how determined he was to be cold towards Ken only half a series ago! -- and it leaves a strong impression of the huge, huge journey Iori had gone on through this series. Iori’s arc closes on him understanding the nature of what Oikawa had wanted this whole time, and understanding exactly what it meant for him to make that sacrifice right after finally meeting his partner, and ends the story the most emotionally affected by it -- because, after all, that’s the sort of truly kind person Iori is.

Iori after 02

By the time of Spring 2003, when Iori’s had some time to reflect on it, we learn from Iori that he still does not forgive Oikawa. That in itself is fine; remember, Iori is perfectly within his rights to not do so after all that he’s done. However, again, a distinction must be drawn between whether Iori forgives him, and whether he still considers it to be important to understand the mentality behind why Oikawa did what he did, and to reflect meaningfully on that instead of running himself in circles fixating on a grudge. Again, it’s about going forward with what he knows and has, instead of getting fixated on past deeds -- and with that, Iori resolves to “study”.

In The Door to Summer, we also learn that Iori allegedly has a “girlfriend” -- or, at least, someone Daisuke calls his girlfriend (Daisuke is a bit of an unreliable narrator here, given he’s also totally blown Hikari’s “rejection” of his beach hangout offer up as if it were a full-on total rejection of him completely). It is, perhaps, interesting that Daisuke is capable of getting this impression about Iori’s relationship with someone outside the 02 group, given that he’d been rather isolated from his peers all the way back in 02 episode 3...

Iori occupies an interesting position in Kizuna, because we only have one point in time where we got to intimately know him, and that was back when he was only nine years old -- and between that and Kizuna, there is a massive eight-year timeskip. He's 17 now, and we don't get any kind of catch-up period in the middle like we did with Takeru and Hikari in 02, and that is a time period where a lot of changes in demeanor could have happened with him compared to all of the others.

At first glance, it seems that he’s gotten much more stoic -- but this is actually something that should reasonably be expected, because now that he’s a teenager, it stands to reason that he would be much better at actually controlling his emotions and not necessarily get overwhelmed as easily. Plus, it’s not like he’s shown to be completely emotionless throughout the movie; he’s just doing a much more graceful job of holding himself back (look carefully at the credits and you can see him sweatdropping at Armadimon barging in on his practice), and moreover you can still see him deliver some pretty direct bluntness about the ramen in New York. Still with formal language, but nevertheless, no flattery is to be had here; Iori will dunk on you if he thinks you deserve it (even if it’s to do with mediocre ramen).

But there are some other interesting observations -- for one, the official website profile states that he’s actually settled on his future career in law at this point, and has made himself extremely busy in order to do so. (On top of that, he at least seems to be on friendly enough terms with his peers at school that they’re happy to greet him on their way out.) The drama CD indicates that Daisuke considers him the busiest out of the entire 02 group -- yet he and Takeru went out of their way to pick him up from school, because he’s that important to them. (Think about it -- how often do you see university students going this far to go retrieve a high school kid to hang out with them?) And likewise, Iori doesn’t even hesitate to state that he’ll make time for them, and throughout the movie he’s conspicuously seen in his school uniform, implying he really is moving things around to make it happen, because they’re that important to him.

He also engages in the single most chaotic action from this group, which is getting Armadimon to break into Menoa’s lab. It’s not that he’d inherently been against this kind of thing before, especially for something important (recall that he’d been happy to sneak into school for Golden Week with the others back during 02 episode 6), but it does beg the question of where and how he got this information that Armadimon could break electric locks. Perhaps he’s become a bit more, ah, pragmatic of a person since 02...

So, in the end, Iori does become an attorney, and specifically a defense attorney (the Japanese law system does draw the distinction). The person who once wanted to stick people he considered to be doing wrong into a “bad people” box and call it a day eventually came to embrace a career that involves understanding people and advocating for their perspective, or at least bargaining for something other than defaulting to the harshest assumption and a solution that allows all of the parties to best productively move forward.

He also has a daughter, who seems to have been raised to be as well-mannered and formal as he was. But, thankfully, he himself is there to help raise and guide her as she grows up.

#digimon #digimon adventure 02 #digimon adventure last evolution kizuna #kizuna spoilers #hida iori #iori hida #shihameta

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jennagrinsoverml · 3 years ago

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20 Questions: Writer’s Edition

Thanks @kasienda for the tag!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

197,322

Although this includes two fics co-written with Karen, the other half of my main, so my personal total is lower. Of course, it also excludes quite a bit of writing I did before I created my AO3 account, so it probably evens out lol)

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

I’ve written for more fandoms than you see on AO3 since I haven’t transferred over any of my old stuff (and have no intention of doing so.)

Unless I’m forgetting any, there’s 8: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel the Series, Charmed, Sailor Moon, Digimon, Avengers, Darkest Powers, Miraculous Ladybug. There’s also the Magic Mike fic I wrote as a joke for my friends back in 2004, but we don’t talk about that lmaooo

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Standard Deviation (Steve/Tony, Avengers)

The Closest Thing to Love (Love Square, Miraculous Ladybug)

Extrapolation ( (Steve/Tony, Avengers - the E-rated sequel to SD)

You Know Where My Heart Is (Love Square, Miraculous Ladybug)

La Soeur de Mon Coeur (Love Square, Miraculous Ladybug)

5. Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I definitely try! I’ve fallen behind and haven’t answered comments in a couple of weeks, but I will be playing catch up at some point. I just like to thank people for taking the time to comment, but I especially love when readers comment on a specific aspect of the fic and give me an excuse to talk about my writing lol

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Love Without Weakness ends pretty angsty, although I fix it in the sequels. And although I’ve been trying to write a second chapter to all this hope you sent into the sky (by now had crashed), I haven’t managed it yet, so as it stands its ending is pure angst.

7. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Most of my fics end pretty happily! The Closest Thing to Love, La Soeur de Mon Coeur and On Bended Knee all end with (SPOILER ALERT) engagements, which is pretty damn happy! So until I get around to writing that wedding fic I’ve been planning, I guess I’ll have to say these.

8. Do you write crossovers? If yes, what’s the craziest thing you’ve written?

My very first fanfic was a Buffy/Charmed crossover lmaoooo. It might still be floating out there somewhere, I don’t know, I’m too afraid to check. I also have a half-written Sailor Moon/Digimon crossover fic on my hard drive that I started I think in high school? It will never be finished lol I’m not really interested in crossovers anymore though, and doubt I’ll write any in the future. Although I will be subtly stealing characters from other shows to round out the cast of my Big Bang fic since if I wanted to invent a million OCs I’d write original fic lol

9. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Yes. I’ve been posting on the internet since 1999 and ff.net was terrible for that.

10. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I do, but feel like I’m definitely in the minority for that in ML fandom. Most fandoms I’ve been in ALL the big fics end with smut (or start with it or feature it throughout lol). But ML seems to prefer the more innocent stuff.

Extrapolation, mentioned above, is the E-rated sequel to mine and Karen’s Steve/Tony Avengers college AU friends to lovers fic showing that transition to the lovers part of it. It’s not intercourse

Love Without Lies and Love Without Limits are the two sequels to Love Without Weakness that again focus on that transition to a sexual relationship. First through dirty talk/fantasy, and then the reality of it.

Sex, Interrupted has non-explicit smut with married with kids sex. I tried to show something loving and desirous, but with the comfort of having been with the same person for a very long time after that initial passion and excitement has long since faded away.

Sweet, Sweet Fantasy was basically written because I hadn’t written a love square blow job and I wanted to fix that lmaoooo It’s just smut for the fun of it.

I guess all of my smut could be characterized as loving, sex positive and consensual.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! A lovely reader translated Standard Deviation into Chinese and we got all kinds of fanart from those readers and it was a wonderful, wonderful experience. This was almost 10 years ago and it still makes me so happy every time I think of it.

I also got a request to translate The Closest Thing to Love into Russian, which I’ve agreed to.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

Yes, published there’s Standard Deviation and Extrapolation, as mentioned above.

My best friend at the time and I had written more than half of a Sailor Moon Christmas fic back in undergrad, and had the rest of it plotted out. It would’ve been amazing if we had finished it. Sadly she moved on from the fandom before we could finish it, and we’re no longer friends, so it will probably live half-written on my hard drive for eternity.

And @chatonne-rousse and I have a few planned fics, but we haven’t started any of the actual writing yet, so we’ll see.

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

This is hard to answer for me because yes, right now I’m in full love square obsessive mode, but I’ve been here before. And while I’ve never written so much for any other pairing, I don’t know if it’s my ALL TIME favourite ship.

Like, Usagi/Mamoru is my original OTP and the fandom I return to over and over again through the years, even if I haven’t written anything for them since 2002 lol And I’ve found myself returning to Darcy/Elizabeth many times as well. By contrast, Buffy/Angel was the first ship I ever wrote for and it’s probably still the couple I’ve written the most fics for by number, but I don’t really think about them anymore.

Will Love Square be one of those ships I keep coming back to? Only time will tell.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I still feel sad that Karen and I didn’t finish Confidence Interval, our planned third fic in the Statistically Significant universe. About half of that is written, but we kept running into issues with the plot and it wasn’t coming together and then we both lost our Avengers hyperfixation.

For ML, I’m not sure. I know objectively that I can’t possibly finish all of my WIPs. I just don’t have enough time. But I’m still hopeful that I’ll get to them all!

16. What’s your writing strengths?

Dialogue.

17. What’s your writing weaknesses?

Description.

18. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in fic?

I’m not a fan.

I spent a long time in anime fandoms and there was a tendency to have random Japanese phrases and words floating in the fic. I probably did it too at some point.

But it’s kind of stupid? Like, the anime characters are speaking Japanese, the ML characters are speaking French. Regardless of what language you’re writing in, that’s the language of the characters. So when you randomly use words from that language, it’s pointless and usually just fucks up the grammar and syntax and, for me, distracts from the story.

I think it’s okay when you’re using an expression that doesn’t directly translate, or are using the French to make a pun work (because, of course, Adrien would be punning in French) or are using Chat or one of their nicknames. I think it has effect there.

But generally, I just don’t see the point. Sorry if that’s kinda salty.

19. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

My very first fic was a Buffy/Charmed crossover, and then I wrote a bunch of BtVS fics.

20. What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

The Closest Thing to Love. I spent about 6-8 months working on that fic obsessively, to the point where I could barely even handle reading other people’s fics because I kept getting distracted with thoughts of my own. But I’m so happy and proud of how that one turned out! It’s the longest fic I’ve ever written on my own, and I’m so pleased with how it came together.

Thanks for giving me the chance to ramble on about myself, @kasidenda! lol

Tagging: @chatonne-rousse, @somethingvaguetodo, @overworkedunderwhelmed, and anyone else who wants to play!

#my thoughts #life of a writer #ask games #(not really but I don't have a tag for these kinds of things)

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digitaldreams0801 · 4 years ago

Text

Spirit Fuse AU

Posting Note: I was unable to post this until after the story ended because this contains spoilers for the last two chapters, but now, it is here. I typed this months ago, but now you get to see it. Fucking finally. Anyways, on with the show!

It’s been a while since I did an info dump about Frontiers Unexplored, so here we go. This is a long one. The Google document for it is seventeen pages. Yeah. Anyways, the concept of this AU is basically ‘what if traces of the Spirits were left to share bodies with their vessels after the adventure ended?’ I gave all of them personalities, and it took FUCKING forever. Spoilers for Frontiers Unexplored. Enough talk; let’s get into this!

Spirit Fuse AU

In which the Legendary Warriors share mind and body with the Spirits who call human children their vessels.

Each of the Spirits acts as common fragments of the current Legendary Warriors and the Ancient Digimon who once saved the Digital World. They act as checkpoints throughout the lives of both, sometimes taking on certain traits from their hosts or offering what their vessels need most. Hybrid forms are often closest to the personalities of the Ancient Digimon since they have combined broken memories from the Human and Beast Spirits, though this is not always the case.

Warrior of Fire

This collective includes Takuya Kanbara, the current vessel of Fire, along with Aguni the Human Spirit, Vritra the Beast Spirit, and Alda the Hybrid. The body itself is immune to heated temperatures and feels significantly warmer than all others. They are also immune to burns and can breathe in smoke easily. Their strength is replenished when in the presence of fire.

Takuya

Takuya is known for his endless passion and confidence. He is naturally charismatic and a strong leader, though he can be stubborn to a fault. His loyalty and courage cannot be understated, and he cares for those who get close to him above all else. Takuya has a strong sense of justice, but he rarely thinks before he acts, and this can very easily get him into trouble. He hides insecurity involving his body behind his brazen optimism. Takuya is the most casual out of the Warriors of Fire in posture and movements.

Aguni

Aguni is known to be a somewhat chaotic person, and he’s openly talkative with the people around him. He’s a leader at heart, very easily earning the trust and admiration of others without even trying. He can be stubborn at times and refuses to give up even in the face of opposition with every power to crush him. In the Ancient Warrior of Fire, Aguni manifests as the leadership needed following the death of the Ancient Warrior of Steel. In Takuya, Aguni is meant to reflect Takuya embracing his true self following his transition.

Vritra

Vritra is detached and borderline confrontational in his wish to be kept secure. He despises physical contact under most circumstances and is prone to snapping in the name of safety. He personifies the Ancient Warrior of Fire from the start of the war with Lucemon when times were chaotic and lives were being lost constantly. In Takuya, Vritra reflects his host’s struggle with dysphoria and a wish to stand up to his intrusive thoughts. Vritra takes control on bad days and is known for his general snappiness and cynicism.

Alda

Alda is known for his endless confidence and stoic nature. He easily rallies others to his causes and has gained a reputation as a powerful soldier who bows to no one. He also has a strong sense of leadership modeled after his peers and those he looks up to. Alda is analytical by nature, doing what he can to get the upper hand in and out of battle. He reflects the Ancient Warrior of Fire’s time as a fighter during the war after he grew used to a life of combat. For Takuya, Alda is meant to reflect someone who Takuya came to admire and rely on throughout his youth (Chihiro).

Fire Collective

The Warriors of Fire get along well, though the most distant out of their group is easily Vritra, who tends to clash with Aguni while Alda acts as mediator. All of them can be endlessly stubborn at times, though Alda is the best at listening to the issues of others. Aguni is the best at imitating Takuya followed by Alda and then Vritra. Their prominence order is the same, though Vritra notably makes an appearance when they begin to suffer from dysphoria-induced struggles on the worst of days. Since they’re so similar, they both get along very well and clash simultaneously, leading to frequent shifts in dynamic depending on if their various senses of stubborn confidence get the better of them.

Warrior of Light

This collective includes Koji Minamoto, the current vessel of Light, and Lobo the Human Spirit, Garum the Beast Spirit, Beowolf the Hybrid, and Erocia the False Fusion. The body has perfect eyesight in lighted spaces but struggles in darker areas. Their temperature is naturally slightly higher than most humans. They gain strength in daylight and well-lit areas, and they rarely require sleep.

Koji

Koji dislikes interacting with others and prefers his own company. He is rather quiet, but when provoked, he can be sarcastic almost to the point of irritating those around him. He believes firmly that actions speak louder than words. Koji does possess communication issues though, and he’s prone to times of being snappish and angry when rubbed the wrong way. He struggles to convey his emotions, specifically sadness and grief, due to being forced to hide them from a young age. His actions show how closed-off he is, and he only relaxes around those he trusts.

Lobo

Lobo has an incredible sense of justice, always believing in what he finds to be right regardless of what others say. He’s a white knight of sorts, wanting to defend those who are unable to save themselves. He can be somewhat stubborn in his ideals, sometimes refusing to accept it when he’s wrong. He reflects the Ancient Warrior of Light’s wishes to keep the Digital World and its occupants safe from Lucemon’s tyranny. For Koji, Lobo personifies his stubborn wish to defend those he cares for. He is confident in his movements, refusing to bow or otherwise yield to anyone.

Garum

Garum acts as an ideal fighter of sorts, unbending in his loyalties. He’s somewhat reclusive, only showing his face when he has to. He’s somewhat distant from the world but possesses more than enough determination to make up for it. He manifests the Ancient Warrior of Light’s resolve to end the war following the death of most of his comrades. Garum also personifies Koji’s stoic mask that kept him from spiraling into despair throughout childhood, causing him to come off as a brick wall at times. He moves somewhat slowly and often makes uncomfortable eye contact with others.

Beowolf

Beowolf is fueled primarily by his emotions, and he’s incredibly caring for those who are suffering. He’s also empathetic beyond imagination and often offers others quiet motivation to keep them going even through difficult times. Beowolf can be swayed by his feelings at times, most notably when it comes to grief. He manifests the Ancient Warrior of Light’s sadness during the battle with Lucemon when his comrades fell in combat. He reflects Koji’s often excessive emotions as well, causing him to be a bit rash when it comes to jumping to conclusions. Beowolf moves fastest out of the group’s members and has the worst posture.

Erocia

Erocia, unlike many of the other Warriors, isn’t entirely a stable presence on his own. Instead, he’s the combined might of the Spirits of Light and Darkness, leaving him often unstable and difficult to predict. He’s rarely present, but he holds heavy emotions tied to grief and anger that cause him to look rather spaced out at a first glance since he tends to ignore the emotions to keep from being crushed by them. He doesn’t speak much either, preferring to keep to himself. Erocia may take control during times of extreme emotion or chaos since he can defend the others from suffering too much under the weight of negativity. He is incredibly protective of those around him, but Koichi in particular is a target for Erocia’s defensive nature.

Light Collective

The Warriors of Light are close for the most part, but Erocia is somewhat distant from the rest. Garum is the best when it comes to imitating Koji followed by Lobo, Beowolf, and Erocia, though there’s a wide gap between Garum and Lobo. Lobo is most prominent followed by Garum, Beowolf, and finally Erocia. Beowolf and Erocia tend to keep to themselves outside of times of extreme emotion, and Erocia very rarely appears unless he’s absolutely required to ensure that everyone else is kept safe. Erocia is prone to notable bouts of fear and anger, so the rest of the group tries to defend him to the best of their abilities.

Warrior of Ice

This collective includes Tomoki Himi, the current vessel of Ice, and Kuma the Human Spirit, Blizzar the Beast Spirit, and Daipen the Hybrid. The body is incredibly cold to the touch and immune to chilled temperatures. They cannot freeze either, and they feel at their best when in cooler environments.

Tomoki

Tomoki is on the shy side, easily made nervous and anxious by his surroundings. He longs to connect with others but is often too wrapped up in his own fears to actually reach out. He can be rather clingy at times because of how fiercely loyal he is to those who are able to earn his trust. Tomoki has issues with hiding his feelings as well, rarely expressing his pain until it is pushing him to the point of nearly breaking down. He has a heart of gold beneath all of this and hates hurting others. Tomoki moves quickly and often seems rather jittery.

Kuma

Kuma is free-spirited and laidback, uncaring as to the opinions of others. He simply wants to go through life at his own pace, and he doesn’t mind what others think of him along the way. Kuma’s connection to the Ancient Warrior of Ice is that he acts as a fragment of childhood and innocence. His link to Tomoki describes Kuma as the person that Tomoki would have been if not for his traumas, and as it is, Kuma acts so young and carefree to embody the childhood that Tomoki had taken from him. He is energetic and moves quickly with confidence.

Blizzar

Blizzar is careful and contemplative, often abandoning his connection with emotion to concentrate on survival. He’s rather quiet and enjoys reading and meditating. Blizzar acts as the manifestation of grief in the Ancient Warrior of Ice, representing his sadness when the war with Lucemon began to take the lives of Digimon. In Tomoki, he reflects the way that his host cut himself away from his emotions at times to keep from being harmed too heavily by his brother. Blizzar’s lack of emotional connection is a coping mechanism to balance out Tomoki’s overwhelming compassion. He walks slowly and heavily and often appears to be spaced out.

Daipen

Daipen is caring and gentle, handling every subject that comes his way with a certain degree of logic and emotion that balances out perfectly. He is the personification of the Ancient Warrior of Ice’s care towards the rest of his team during the war, and he is incredibly self-sacrificing, though he does understand his own limitations. Daipen acts as the older brother that Tomoki never had due to Yutaka’s treatment of him, and he is seamlessly able to ease Tomoki’s anxieties when he gets afraid or otherwise worked up. He is quiet and firm in his movements.

Ice Collective

The four Warriors of Ice get along rather well all in all, though there are occasional spats between Kuma and Blizzar due to them being polar opposites regarding emotions (all at once versus none at all). Kuma is the most prominent of them followed by Daipen and then Blizzar. Daipen is the best at pretending to be Tomoki where Kuma is the worst and Blizzar falls in between them. Kuma enjoys bright colors and exciting environments such as amusement parks and playgrounds, and he’s the most social of the three. Blizzar is rather defensive and keeps the group from getting into trouble. Daipen is the best at easing Tomoki’s fears, causing him to appear when paranoia hits a peak.

Warrior of Wind

This collective includes Izumi Orimoto, the current vessel of Wind, along with Kaze the Human Spirit, Zephyr the Beast Spirit, and Aero the Hybrid. The body has an incredible sense of hearing along with amazing stamina and speed. They have amazing lung capacity as well and feel strongest in windy areas.

Izumi

Izumi is a kind and caring person who prefers to keep to herself rather than interacting with others. She is naturally empathetic and often maintains a perfect mask of what she wants to show the world with a smile on her face. She wants to make sure that others are happy and isn’t above self-sacrifice to unhealthy extents to satisfy those around her. Izumi has an awful complex regarding perfection though, and she can be self-destructive in pursuit of her goals. She is known for consistently having a demure smile on her face.

Kaze

Kaze is confident and flirtatious in a way that not many others are. She’s playful and bold, often believing that everything will work out regardless of what is taking place. Kaze represents the Ancient Warrior of Wind in youth, nonchalant and laidback about the world around her. Kaze is a manifestation of Izumi’s ideals of the person she wishes that she could be. She possesses incredible optimism that she often uses to rally others into action. She is far more energetic than Izumi, and she moves and talks faster than anyone else in the collective.

Zephyr

Zephyr is detached and emotionless by comparison, the complete opposite of Kaze. She is self-assured and intelligent, but she can get a bit stubborn and wrapped in her own ideas of tough love. Zephyr reflects the Ancient Warrior of Wind when she was a general in the war against Lucemon, stern and unflinching. She is Izumi’s hidden pragmatism made real, a reflection of Izumi’s slipping faith in others following her years of struggling with an eating disorder. Zephyr’s gaze is always unbreaking when she is in control, and she generally seems scarier than usual.

Aero

Aero is soft-spoken and sympathetic, caring for others in a motherly way. She understands the emotions of others easily and is able to slip into the shoes of those around her seamlessly. Aero is a representation of the Warrior of Wind in her older years prior to the war when she shifted her overwhelming energy towards empathy. Aero represents Izumi’s deceased mother as well, and she acts as a natural caretaker. She is the best at pretending to be Izumi, but those who watch her carefully will notice that she walks slower than Izumi slightly.

Wind Collective

Izumi is the vessel for the Warrior of Wind, and she gets along rather well with the other three extensions of herself. Zephyr is the most prominent of the three easily due to the heavy ties Izumi and Zephyr formed when the latter took control after being discovered. However, it’s rare for Zephyr to actually take control unless she finds it to be necessary, instead being a constant close presence for Izumi. Kaze takes control most often followed by Aero and then Zephyr. Aero is the best at acting as Izumi followed by Kaze and finally Zephyr. Kaze prefers social situations to anything else, and Aero takes control when another person needs comfort that Izumi cannot provide.

Warrior of Thunder

This collective includes Junpei Shibayama, the current vessel of Thunder, and Blitz the Human Spirit, Bolg the Beast Spirit, and Thundra the Hybrid. The body is naturally charged with electricity, and they can charge technology if they hold it for long enough. When stressed, they emit small sparks and shock others, and they are immune to electrocution. They feel at their strongest when surrounded by technology or during storms.

Junpei

Junpei is deceptively cheerful around others, showing off his true nature from the very beginning. He’s open about the sort of person that he wants to be and the fact that he wants to make others smile. Despite this, Junpei possesses a strange sense of nihilism, believing that he should be loyal to himself since there’s a chance that nobody else ever will be. He also has anger issues that stem from his self-loathing and inability to satisfy those around him. Junpei moves slowly and often shows off his awful posture.

Blitz

Blitz is a people-pleaser who longs to satisfy those around him. He’s openly very cheerful and enjoys teasing others, almost as if he doesn’t know how to stop smiling. Blitz goes with the flow most of the time and often encourages the mischief of others. He’s the manifestation of the Ancient Warrior of Thunder’s hope for the world. In Junpei, Blitz is an ideal that Junpei wishes he could achieve. He often moves quickly and seems to always be smiling in an over-the-top and goofy way that attracts the attention of others.

Bolg

Bolg is, in a word, volatile. He’s very easily pushed over the edge by the words of others, and he’s incredibly defensive of those around him. He’s not above getting explosive in his anger when it comes to protecting himself and others. Bolg has good intentions but can go too far at times due to the strength of his emotions. He’s somewhat nihilistic, knowing that everything ends sooner or later. He represents the Ancient Warrior of Thunder’s anger at Lucemon for harming the innocent. In Junpei, Bolg reflects and protects from extreme moments of upset. His steps are heavy and often perceived as aggressive even without harsh intentions.

Thundra

Thundra is an incredibly curious soul who longs to learn more about the world around him. He loves tinkering around with small devices, and he is absolutely fascinated by various obscure inventions. Thundra has an amazing mind and always longs to do something productive and creative. He’s the Ancient Warrior of Steel’s creativity and ambition from the war that helped him to survive. Where Junpei is concerned, Thundra is the manifestation of Junpei’s coping mechanisms when he was left on his own. He moves quickly and seems unable to sit still. He also has a wide vocabulary that differs from the others in the Thunder category.

Thunder Collective

The group of four gets along well, but when there are occasional arguments, chances are they are between Bolg and Blitz since they utilize their excessive emotional capacity in different ways. Blitz is the best at acting like Junpei followed by Thundra and finally Bolg. Blitz is most prominent, and Bolg comes after him leaving Thundra last. They tend to do more talking under their breath than the rest of the Legendary Warriors because of their general banter being constant. All of them are talkative to some extent, leaving them to hold extended conversations with one another when left alone.

Warrior of Darkness

This collective includes Koichi Kimura, the current vessel of Darkness, and Lowe the Human Spirit, Umbra the Beast Spirit, Rhihi the Hybrid, Dusk the False Human Spirit, Velge the False Beast Spirit, Malkako the False Hybrid, and Erocia, the False Fusion. The body is slightly colder than others, and they possess perfect vision in the dark while struggling to see in overly bright areas. They regain strength when in darker areas.

Koichi

Koichi is unsure of how to interact with others due to his fear of reaching out and making a connection. He fears being a burden on others, causing him to retreat into his shell when he feels that others are trying to get too close to him. Koichi is immensely kind and curious though, and he will do what he can to cheer up those around him without getting too close. He is shy and sweet, and even though he’s introverted, he is rarely hated due to his caring nature. Koichi is slow when he walks, and he often keeps his eyes locked on the ground.

Lowe

Lowe is on the introverted side, tending to keep to himself above all else. He’s quiet and takes a while to open up to people, but he possesses a gentle sense of charm that most others lack. He’s also positive and optimistic, there to soothe others enduring tough times. In the Ancient Warrior of Darkness, Lowe acts as a manifestation of the middle of his life when the war was going on but he did his best to remain optimistic. Lowe also reflects Koichi’s hope for life to get better in the future, and the two get along well due to their similar soft-spoken natures.

Umbra

Umbra is the quietest out of the Warriors of Darkness, rarely speaking unless he absolutely has to. He’s reclusive and chooses to keep to himself when he can. He’s starved for attention and, despite wanting to be around others, fears making connections with others. Umbra acts as the manifestation of grief for the Warrior of Darkness in the time leading up to his death. For Koichi, Umbra reflects how he would hide his problems out of hope to not inconvenience others. As such, Umbra holds considerable amounts of sadness and fear for the future.

Rhihi

Rhihi is upbeat and talkative, easily able to connect with anyone he comes into contact with. He has an endless sense of optimism and creativity, loving the arts and spending much of his time making anything that he can to get out his extra energy. In both the Ancient Warrior of Darkness and Koichi, Rhihi reflects childhood and the potential for infinite possibilities. Rhihi represents the way that Koichi would have been had he not been distrubed by his trauma from such a young age, and despite being the Warrior of Darkness, he rarely allows life to get him down.

Dusk

Dusk is honest to a fault, and he’s known to be rather confrontational. He speaks his mind regardless of how others will react, and he can be quick to anger, causing many to find him to be abrasive and harsh. Dusk is not a manifestation of the Ancient Warrior of Darkness since he originates from the corruption of the Spirits of Darkness, so he only holds memories of Koichi’s past. In Koichi’s case, Dusk represents his anger towards his father, and Dusk absolutely despises Kousei despite Koichi’s (albeit hesitant) attempts to make amends with him.

Velge

Velge has a reputation for being anxious and easily unsettled. Nearly anything out of the ordinary will upset Velge and send him into a panic, often leaving him defensive and agitated. He sometimes goes to unsettling lengths to feel secure in a situation, and he chooses to not interact with people unless he deems them safe. Much like Duskmon, Velge holds no memories from an Ancient Legendary Warrior. Instead, Velge acts as a manifestation of Koichi’s insecurities brought on by his unorthodox upbringing, and Velge makes sure that everyone is able to survive when times get tough.

Malkako

Malkako is confrontational and angry much like Dusk, though he doesn’t ever seem to need a reason to be upset unlike Dusk, instead carrying himself with an aura that makes him seem dangerous. He chooses to not spend time with others when he can. While Malkako is open to speaking with those he finds to be safe, it takes a lot to reach this level, and he’s a harsh judge of character. He holds no Ancient Legendary Warrior’s memories. Malkako holds Koichi’s desires to be cared for by his father, so he has a strong grudge against Kousei just like Dusk.

Erocia

The fragment of Erocia that Koichi holds is completely different from Koji’s half. This version is rather soft-spoken and doesn’t talk a majority of the time. He is similar in appearance to the other variation of Erocia, always seeming to be off in a world of his own. Erocia holds immense sensations of sadness and fear, specifically the fear of death. He prefers to write as opposed to speaking, and he can very easily be pushed too far by the words of others. He is distant from most others out of his own paranoia, but he feels a certain connection to Koji due to the two halves of Erocia caring about each other even from afar.

Darkness Collective

Despite the varying personalities found in the Darkness Collective, they do get along rather well and rarely get into full-on arguments with one another. They make up for one another’s weaknesses and look after each other when times get tough. In order of prominence, the list is Lowe, Umbra, Rhihi, Velge, Dusk, Malkako, and Erocia. When it comes to imitating Koichi, the best is Lowe, followed by Umbra, Erocia, Velge, Rhihi, Dusk, and then Malkako. This group is the least open to trusting new people, and it takes a long time to earn the full confidence of any member of the group, much less each Warrior of Darkness. They are all notably defensive over Erocia, and they fear death above all else.

Warrior of Earth

This collective includes Chihiro Ayumu, the current vessel of Earth, along with Aeoel the Human Spirit, Cybele the Beast Spirit, and Yaia the Hybrid. The body has perfect balance and cannot be knocked over. They can smell better than most others and possess immense physical strength and stamina. They feel best when outdoors in particularly rocky environments.

Chihiro

Chihiro generally keeps to themselves out of a pessimistic belief that the world is a difficult place to be in. They are incredibly stubborn about remaining detached from the rest of the world, often ignoring their issues until they blow up in their face. Chihiro is rather snarky and sarcastic, using jokes as a way to keep people from getting too close. They are independent but struggle to rely on others, and they can be rather temperamental when rubbed the wrong way. They walk with detached confidence as a way of silently keeping others at bay.

Aeoel

Aeoel is known for being snappish and almost rude at times, and they are blunt and honest in all situations. Their number one priority is self-preservation, and if they have to resort to being mean to do it, they will. They are caring deep down, but they prefer not to let emotions interfere with their work. They act as a bearer of trauma for the Ancient Warrior of Earth, recalling the life or death nature of the battle against Lucemon and the pain that came with the deaths of their comrades. For Chihiro, they are a defender who prevents others from crossing any lines. They walk roughly and heavily and have a broody aura about them.

Cybele

Cybele is defensive in the same way that a caretaker is, and they care greatly for the other members of their collective. Despite their stoic nature, they act similar to a parent to the others found within the collective, doing what they must in order to keep everything running smoothly in and out of the group. Cybele represents the Ancient Warrior of Earth from times of chaos during the war when they worked to help others above all else. For Chihiro, Cybele is meant to act as something that they never had: parental connection. As such, they look after their host as they would their own child.

Yaia

Yaia has a strong sense of charisma and leadership, knowing how to get the attention of others and use it to their advantage. Despite having a laid back and casual personality, they know how to get down to business when needed, and they use their endless confidence to rally the spirits of those around them. Yaia acts as what the Warrior of Earth was before the war, always looking on the bright side and believing that everything would work out fine despite evidence to the contrary. For Chihiro, Yaia is meant to represent an ideal that they always wanted to reach, and they're incredibly similar to Chihiro’s best friend from childhood (Takuya).

Earth Collective

The Warriors of Earth rarely get into disputes with one another and act as a family of sorts. Even though Aeoel and Yaia are polar opposites in many respects, they still get along well and look after one another through thick and thin. When there are issues among the members of the group, Cybele takes on the role of a mediator and calms things down before anything can go too far or cause serious damage to their relationships. Aeoel is the most prominent out of the group’s members, and Yaia follows them while Cybele takes up the rear. The order is the same as far as imitating Chihiro is concerned as well. Despite what one would expect, it takes a while to earn their trust as a whole, though Yaia is the most open to accepting the good found in others.

Warrior of Wood

This collective includes Yumiko Mihara, the current vessel of Wood, and Fiore the Human Spirit, Calanthe the Beast Spirit, and Lyseir the Hybrid. The body possesses a natural ability to ease the worries of others, eliminating panic easily. They have a natural green thumb as well and can talk to plants in a limited capacity. They feel best when outdoors in areas with many plants.

Yumiko

Yumiko is rather shy and reclusive, preferring to spend time alone rather than with others. She has an incredible sense of compassion that can overwhelm her if she isn’t careful. She tends to repress her emotions rather than expressing them out of a wish to not inconvenience others. Yumiko is naturally graceful and elegant as well, easily earning the trust of others even if she isn’t enthusiastic to hand out faith of her own. She possesses a naturally calming presence. Yumiko tends to somewhat hide herself when in control, rarely making eye contact unless she trusts the other party greatly.

Fiore

Fiore is a dreamer above all else, tending to drift through life without a care in the world. She is a wonderful dancer and always seems to be moving rhythmically or humming a song. Fiore is a representation of the Ancient Warrior of Wood’s past as a performer prior to the fighting starting. She also acts as a manifestation of the person Yumiko was prior to her trauma. Fiore glides everywhere that she goes, and she has a relaxing aura that can almost put others to sleep. She’s also an incredible singer, putting even Yumiko, another talented performer, to shame.

Calanthe

Calanthe is incredibly shy and tends to avoid speaking with people where possible. She’s very easy to overwhelm and absolutely detests being touched. She enjoys writing poetry and taking care of plants and animals, operating under the logic that none of those things can hurt her. Calanthe is the manifestation of trauma and grief from the Ancient Warrior of Wood, leaving her as a hollow shell of her former self. She’s the embodiment of Yumiko’s fears, prompting her to be easily frightened and agitated by Yumiko’s triggers involving assault. She moves quickly in an attempt to keep from being touched and speaks softly and carefully, sometimes stammering if she’s particularly nervous.

Lyseir

Lyseir is proud and firm in herself, possessing a confidence that many others lack. She exudes an aura of pure power, the type of boldness found only on the battlefield. She can be rather morbid without meaning to, saying something casually tragic like it’s nothing due to her experience in combat. Lyseir personifies the Ancient Warrior of Wood’s battlefield prowess and preparedness from the early days of the war with Lucemon. In Yumiko, Lyseir is an ideal companion, the type of person who can defend her from anything negative. She walks confidently and at her own pace, making others wait for her rather than the other way around.

Wood Collective

The group rarely argues, if ever, possessing incredible skills of communication that allow them to easily understand each other. Fiore is the most prominent followed by Lyseir and finally Calanthe. Fiore is also the best at pretending to be Yumiko, but Calanthemon is second in this category, leaving Lyseir last. Lyseir protects everyone in times of turmoil while Fiore cheers them up in dark moments. Calanthe soothes the group similarly to Fiore, but her primary job is to keep Yumiko from giving in to her overpowering empathy and spiraling as a result.

Warrior of Water

This collective includes Hinoka Sakatami, the current vessel of Water, and Oceania the Human Spirit, Aquaria the Beast Spirit, and Cerulea the Hybrid. The body can see, breathe, and hear perfectly underwater, leaving them immune to drowning. They feel at their strongest when in the presence of water, and they heal quickly when completely submerged in liquid. They also enjoy rainy weather.

Hinoka

Hinoka is gentle and jittery, often keeping others away out of a fear of getting hurt. She is open about her anxiety and doesn’t even try to hide it when she’s struggling. Hinoka finds herself to be weak and longs to be strong without being nervous over how others feel about her. She is incredibly emotional both for herself and others, but she has a lot of compassionate energy that doesn’t seem to have a place to go. Hinoka is very kind as well, almost to the point of naivete. She moves quickly and awkwardly, and she often seems rather jumpy.

Oceania

Oceania is a shy and soft-spoken person, and she struggles greatly with anxiety and the fear that comes with being around others. She takes a long time to open up to others, believing that it’s rare for other people to be worthy of hearing about her struggles. In the Warrior of Water, Oceania acts as a manifestation of youth from before she had a sense of confidence and struggled greatly with self-esteem. For Hinoka, Oceania holds anxiety and fear, and Oceania bears part of Hinoka’s trauma so that the vessel of the system doesn’t have to. She speaks the least out of the group’s members.

Aquaria

Aquaria is described by many as the manifestation of strength, rarely allowing the words of others to get to her. She has an undying sense of confidence and faith in herself, and she helps out others with a heart that many would describe as endlessly noble. For the Warrior of Water, Aquaria reflects her personality during the war when she completed her journey of self-discovery and set out to aid those who were struggling under the weight of the fighting. For Hinoka, Aquaria is an ideal that she longs to reach but finds to be impossible, leading to Hinoka admiring the Beast Spirit of Water greatly.

Cerulea

Cerulea has a maternal aura that allows her to easily connect to others. Many find her to be easy to trust, and she is seen as a shoulder to cry on when times grow to be difficult. She has a naturally soothing presence to counteract the stress placed on other members of the group. For the Ancient Warrior of Water, Cerulea acts as the halfway point between Oceania and Aquaria when she was focusing on finding herself in the final days leading up to the battle with Lucemon. In Hinoka’s case, Cerulea is the mother figure that Hinoka always wanted but never got due to her mother’s various personality flaws.

Water Collective

All four of the Warriors of Water are very close, and they rely on each other through thick and thin. They never get into arguments since they simply understand one another well and know how to talk out issues when they arise. Since they can soothe one another’s anxieties well, the Warriors of Water help to ensure that Hinoka doesn’t fall apart under her issues with stress, greatly improving their shared quality of life and mitigating the impacts of severe anxiety and depression. Oceania is the best at imitating while Aquaria is the worst, leaving Cerulea to rest in the middle. Prominence is a different story entirely though, and Cerulea is the most prominent most of the time followed by Aquaria and then Oceania.

Warrior of Steel

This collective includes Saki Fushida, the current vessel of Steel, and Lyra the Human Spirit, Onyx the Beast Spirit, Aeris the Hybrid, Seraphi the Hope Celestial, Ophani the Light Celestial, and Cherubi the Destiny Celestial. The body can read minds and move small objects, though the ability is limited and can induce severe migraines if care is not used. They can also touch electronics and immediately access the data contained within. Their memory is also above average. They feel best when the presence of excessive amounts of metal.

Saki

Saki is a distant strategist, always wanting to find the best solution to a situation. They care about survival more than anything else, and they refuse to hurt others unless the person in question is a threat to Saki or those around them. They hide their emotions as a defense mechanism, unwilling to show weakness in case those they distrust exploit it. Saki struggles to open up to others, but their intelligence and quick thinking is second to none. They always move with a purpose, shoulders pressed back and watching everyone critically to frighten those who may pose a threat to them.

Lyra

Lyra is emotionless at a first glance, always viewing situations from a pragmatic and logical eye. They have an incredible natural feel for tactics and strategy, and they often notice even the smallest actions and note what they mean about a person. Lyra is the manifestation of the Ancient Warrior of Steel during the war against Lucemon, reflecting their stoicism as the team’s strategist. For Saki, Lyra is the embodiment of a wish for survival, and they will do anything to ensure that prolonged safety is secured. They move stiffly and tend to glare without meaning to.

Onyx

Onyx has immense ambition and a powerful sense of what is right and wrong. They want to defend those who have been hurt by others, and they detest those who misuse their positions of power to harm those around them. They act as a defender of the weak when given the chance. Onyx reflects the Ancient Warrior of Steel’s righteous anger at Lucemon and others who willingly inflict pain on others. In Saki, Onyx acts as an idol figure who will keep them safe from the pain that others have caused them. They move quickly and with purpose.

Aeris

Aeris is easily the most passionate and emotional out of the Warriors of Steel. They fully understand the wide range of emotion and how to properly utilize it. They are a strong leader and know how to appeal to both the emotional and logical sides of others. Aeris is the personification of the Ancient Warrior of Steel at their peak before their death when they acted as the leader of the Legendary Warriors. In Saki, Aeris embodies the feelings that Saki spent many years repressing and ignoring in favor of control. Aeris moves with a sense of casual authority.

Seraphi

Seraphi is the personable type, and he excels in strategy as well. He’s caring as well, believing that all creatures are deserving of care. He has a fatherly aura, and he often attempts to understand the perspectives of others. Seraphi has an interest in reading. Since he is not a direct Legendary Warrior, Seraphi does not embody anything in the Ancient Warrior of Steel or Saki. Instead, he simply holds all of the memories of Seraphimon from the Digital World after Saki scanned his memory data. He walks with an air of authority.

Ophani

Ophani is charismatic and confident, knowing what she wants and how to get it. She’s elegant and tends to attract the admiration of others without even trying. She’s a natural leader and can easily get others on her side regardless of the situation. Ophani cares greatly for those around her and will do what she can to cheer them up when possible. She is not connected to an Ancient Legendary Warrior or Saki, instead only manifesting as the memories of Ophanimon prior to Saki’s scanning of her data. She is known to have a motherly aura.

Cherubi

Cherubimon is the shyest and most reclusive out of the Celestial Three. He tends to keep to himself and is rather passive. He dislikes conflict but suffers from an awful sense of paranoia that can leave him worried and anxious. Cherubi wants the best for others but isn’t the best when it comes to expressing his emotions. He lacks a connection to an Ancient Legendary Warrior, and he isn’t linked to Saki either. Instead, he holds the memories of Cherubimon from before he was scanned. He moves slowly and avoids eye contact.

Steel Collective

There are rarely issues of dispute between the members of the Steel group. Lyra is most prominent in the group followed by Aeris, Onyx, Ophani, Seraphi, and finally Cherubi. Aeris is the best at acting in Saki’s place followed by Lyra, Onyx, Ophani, Seraphi, and Cherubi. The Celestial Three are nowhere near as prominent as the Warriors of Steel, often preferring to stick to their own devices. There is communication among all of them, but the Celestial Three spend more time with each other than the Warriors of Steel when push comes to shove.

Warrior of Energy

This collective includes Mayumi Reiku, the current vessel of Energy, and Kiris the Human Spirit, Sheyu the Beast Spirit, and Aether the Hybrid. The body is naturally energetic and can operate incredibly well even under stressful circumstances. They also have incredible speed and can sense the chaos and energy found inside a person. They can give limited doses of energy to those around them, and they feel at their strongest along other energetic people.

Mayumi

Mayumi has more energy than she knows what to do with, and she’s incredibly chipper. She’s incredibly optimistic and has a natural way of rallying others to look at the bright side of a situation. She often takes risks without thinking the consequences through, leading to her being somewhat clumsy and disorganized. Mayumi has a short attention span as well, but she always puts her heart into something when it captures her full focus, and she’s filled to the brim with love. She moves quickly and practically never stops moving, always fidgeting with a small toy if she can.

Kiris

Kiris is an unapologetic trickster who doesn’t care what others think of her in the slightest. She’s hyperactive and bubbly, and she almost never stops moving. She has a strong sense of humor and always knows just how to cheer others up. Kiris acts as the manifestation of the Ancient Warrior of Energy’s youngest years before she found a purpose with her allies. For Mayumi, Kiris reflects childhood and optimism prior to when Mayumi suffered abuse at the hands of her mother. Kiris moves similarly to Mayumi, but she never stops smiling regardless of the situation.

Sheyu

Sheyu is rather somber and expresses guilt and detachment from the rest of the world. She fears being a burden and wants to be as productive as can be for the sake of satisfying others. Sheyu is an extreme contrast from the others under the Energy name and is calm and self-deprecating by comparison. For the Ancient Warrior of Energy, Sheyu is the manifestation of guilt prior to her betrayal of her allies to side with Lucemon. In Mayumi, Sheyu holds negative emotions regarding the way that Mayumi was treated and cast aside throughout childhood. Sheyu moves and talks far slower than anyone else in the group.

Aether

Aether is confident and outgoing, putting her all into the subjects that she cares for. She is charming and can be a bit of a flirt at times, playing around with others as a way of getting them where she wants. Aether cares for those around her though, and she wants to keep them safe. She manifests the Ancient Warrior of Energy’s endless love for the rest of her team. As far as Mayumi is concerned, Aether is a protective figure, the type that Mayumi idolized for being strong throughout her youth. She walks the fine line between Kiris’ speed and Sheyu’s slowness when it comes to movements.

Energy Collective

The four get along well and bounce off each other rather well. They know how to lift one another up when they’re down, taking their unique perspectives and helping one another through them. Kiris is the best at imitating Mayumi followed by Aether and then Sheyu. The order of prominence is the same, starting with Kiris before shifting to Aether and finally Sheyu. During negative times, Sheyu’s prominence rises because she’s closer to Mayumi when she has an awful issue with her mental health. They talk to themselves a lot since they’re mostly energetic and upbeat.

Warrior of Cosmos

This collective includes Haroi Tsurumaki, the current vessel of Cosmos, and Orion the Human Spirit, Cygnus the Beast Spirit, and Sirius the Hybrid. The body is usually calm and also operates well despite outside stressors. They have an amazing capacity for knowledge and an incredible memory. They are drawn to areas of peace and can sense a person’s balance. They naturally calm those around them without needing to try. They feel best in spaces far from others, especially if the sky is easily visible.

Haroi

Haroi is relaxed and calm, always thinking through every situation that comes his way. He’s logical and quiet, preferring to observe rather than act. He enjoys seeing the people that he loves happy more than anything else, and he’ll do what he can to cheer them up. Haroi often worries about bothering others though, and he sometimes makes excuses when others hurt him due to his low self-esteem. He tends to get caught up in his head a bit much at times, causing him to often stay within the confines of his comfort zone. He’s focused when in control, and he can be spotted due to his habits of people watching.

Orion

Orion is endlessly curious about the world around him, and he tends to talk to himself almost constantly. He yearns to figure out more about how various things work, and he loves fiddling with both technology and scientific subjects, though astrology is his favorite topic for obvious reasons. In the Ancient Warrior of Cosmos, Orion shows off how he behaved in his youth before the war disturbed his years of development. Orion is a manifestation of how Haroi would have acted if not for his trauma as well with Orion showing signs of being outgoing despite Haroi’s introverted nature.

Cygnus

Cygnus is the most outgoing out of the members of the group, and he isn’t afraid to speak his mind, though he’s always careful to be respectful to those around him. He has endless energy and practically never stops moving and spending time with others unless he hits the point of crashing. He’s the best at handling social situations since everyone else in his collective is so shy. For the Ancient Warrior of Cosmos, Cygnus reflects the charisma and respect he needed as a general in the early days as a war. For Haroi, Cygnus is an ideal that he wishes he could reach, causing him to admire Cygnus greatly.

Sirius

Sirius is introverted and quiet, greatly enjoying reading and writing in his free time. He is more than content with his own company despite easily getting along with others. He is also analytical and logical, easily able to find answers to puzzles that have no solutions at a first glance. For the Ancient Warrior of Cosmos, Sirius is a manifestation of a need for self-preservation born of the war’s existence, something that ultimately led to the Warrior of Cosmos turning traitor before being killed by Lucemon. For Haroi, Sirius holds negative memories of the past, most notably those involving his insecurity after his mother abandoned him.

Cosmos Collective

The members of the Cosmos Collective mesh well and are easily able to communicate their problems thanks to their desire to avoid long-running conflict. Even though most of them are quiet, Cygnus still gets along with the other members of the group, always willing to pull them out of their shell when they need it most while still respecting their boundaries. Sirius is the best at pretending to be Haroi followed by Orion and finally Cygnus. On the other hand, Cygnus is the most prominent with Orion in the middle and Sirius at the end of the list. They all share love of the world around them, and they have a common hobby in stargazing due to their elemental affinity.

Warrior of Heaven

The Warrior of Heaven refers to the combined might of all of the Legendary Warriors when placed together. They share fragmented memories of Susanoo, the Warrior of Heaven, and Luce, the Angel of Hell, that grow stronger when they are near one another.

Even when separated, the Warriors all share similar passive effects on their bodies. They are able to understand animals when they focus enough due to their inherent connection to nature. They develop muscle faster than normal humans as well, and they rarely tire despite their differing levels of stamina. The Warriors can all sense one another’s presence as well, and they can temporarily indulge in the passive abilities of the others if they put enough effort towards it. Being able to sense one another and use the abilities of the others are both side effects of becoming Susanoomon and merging to become one being temporarily. These effects are all permanent.

Susanoo

Susanoo has a strong sense of justice and is very rarely deterred by any of the ups and downs of life. They are eternally confident and get along with others well. While all of the members of the group hold fragments of Susanoo that reflect their power and loyalty through their own personalities, the strength of Susanoo grows when they are together. They are all bound by Susanoo’s thread between them, and while Susanoo lacks the ability to take control, the various Legendary Warriors are able to share thoughts when they are close enough physically as a full group of twelve. Susanoo is characterized by all of the group’s members talking in sync, though this is incredibly rare.

Luce

Luce is the complete opposite of Susanoo. Rather than being passionate and confident, Luce is detached and quiet, rarely finding interaction with others to be worth their time. Unlike the Digimon they are based on, Luce isn’t downright malicious, instead simply choosing to keep to themselves. Since they are scattered into fragments across the Legendary Warriors, Luce is nowhere near as prominent as the others, and they even lack strength in comparison to Susanoo. When Luce is in control, the group also talks in sync, though this is even rarer to see than Susanoo being in full dominion of the Warrior of Heaven.

Heaven Collective

As a whole, the Legendary Warriors have a powerful dynamic, something that can be shown through their connections of Susanoo and Luce. Susanoo is the stronger out of the two by far, and their sense of justice can be seen in all twelve of the Legendary Warriors thanks to the time when they united as the Warrior of Heaven. Luce is benevolent and quiet, though since they are less open with their emotions, they tend to slip between the cracks. The prerequisites for the members of the Heaven Collective to appear and take control are already notably difficult to overcome, causing Luce to be widely unheard and unseen.

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commentaryvorg · 3 years ago

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Digimon Data Squad Dub Comparison Episode 8 - The Singer’s Secret

This is a companion to my commentary on the original Japanese Digimon Savers! Reading my commentary on the original version of this episode (which you can find here) is recommended before reading this dub comparison.

Original name ~ Dubbed name

Masaru Daimon ~ Marcus Damon

Yoshino Fujieda ~ Yoshino “Yoshi” Fujieda

Tohma H. Norstein ~ Thomas H. Norstein

Chika Daimon ~ Kristy Damon

Captain Rentarou Satsuma ~ Commander Richard Sampson

Hitoshi “Neon” Hanamura ~ Neon

[Since several characters share the same name between the original and the dub, quotes from the dub will always be in italics, while quotes from the original will not, in order to distinguish them.]

Since the dub constantly varies which character reads out the title card for each episode, I have to side-eye the fact that it’s Marcus and not Yoshi reading out the title card for Yoshi’s episode.

Marcus: “And now it’s eatin’ time!”

I am amused by the variation on Marcus’s “it’s fightin’ time” catchphrase. Gotta find something to replace the very-Japanese itadakimasu, and this sounds less awkward than a lot of things would in a very dorkily Marcus way.

Reporter: “We won’t name names, but only because we haven’t discovered who she is… *yet*.”

The dub appears to be leaning into the seediness of this whole gossip thing even more than the original, which I guess is fair, since it was already pretty seedy to begin with.

Megumi: “What’s the meaning of this?”

Miki: “How did you, the meekest of us all among DATS members…”

Megumi: “…Manage to snag Hanamura Neon?”

~~~~~

Megumi: “You’re dating Neon?!”

Miki: “That ring a bell, Miss Keep-Secrets-From-Her-Friends?”

Megumi: “We read all about it in the newspaper!”

I actually somewhat prefer Megumi and Miki’s angle in the dub. Instead of being jealous and putting her down as if she doesn’t deserve to date a celebrity because she’s too “meek” or whatever, they only appear to be upset that she didn’t tell them this because they consider themselves someone she’d share this sort of thing with. (Whether they actually are that is another matter; Yoshi never seems especially close with these two. But at least that is a less tiresomely misogynistic thing for them to be being unreasonable about.)

Megumi: “We’ve been getting phone calls one after another since morning!”

Miki: “We’re also getting loads of hate mail from Neon’s fans!”

Megumi: “They’re demanding to know who Fujieda Yoshino thinks she is!”

~~~~~

Megumi: “We’ve been getting phone calls all morning long asking for Yoshi to give interviews!”

Miki: “Not to mention the mail from Neon’s fans. My papercuts have papercuts!”

Megumi: “Everyone wants to know who ‘Yoshi’ is!”

Neon’s other fans are also apparently being a little more reasonable in the dub. Rather than being jealous and hateful (“who she thinks she is” very much carries connotations of them acting like she’s too ordinary to deserve to date a celebrity), they instead seem to be suddenly treating Yoshi like a celebrity as well. Even though jealousy and hate is definitely the way a fanbase would be likely to act to something like this in real life, I do not mind at all that the dub is toning this part down.

Yoshi: “…and I wore a hat. That’s a foolproof disguise!”

Apparently Yoshi subscribes to superhero universe logic if she believed that that was ever going to work. She had a hat and sunglasses; totally couldn’t have possibly been recognised.

Thomas then pulls up the photo that was taken of Yoshi after she took her hat and sunglasses off, amusingly implying that that’s the only reason she got busted and she totally would have been fine otherwise.

Thomas: “Your name, phone number, even your favourite music… Hmm, showtunes.”

Based on his tone, Thomas appears to be judging Yoshi for her taste in music, which doesn’t really seem like the kind of thing he would do. The dub just threw in that quick gag without thinking about if it fit the character.

Also, if, according to the dub, the information published about her included her phone number, why isn’t Yoshi herself the one getting all the phone calls and not her workplace? The dub does not mention her workplace being one of the details that was made public about her, so why Miki and Megumi have been swamped with letters and phone calls about this is a mystery.

Agumon: “What’s an undercover investigation?”

~~~~~

Agumon: “Under what cover?”

Oh hey, dub, remember how Agumon shouldn’t know a whole bunch of human terms because he only recently came into the human world? And hey, look, you can make jokes with that, too, rather than making jokes with things that it doesn’t make any sense for Agumon to be saying!

Tohma: “So if we carelessly break in, we’ll be kicked out before we know it.”

~~~~~

Thomas: “So if we rush in, the Digimon will know that we’re after him.”

Gaomon: “And he’ll run.”

The dub actually gives a much better excuse for why the building’s hi-tech security system means they can’t just rush in: not because the security guards will kick them out, since they should be able to pull DATS authority on that, but rather because it’ll alert Keramon than they’re coming. Good job, dub, fixing a plot hole!

Unfortunately, despite the dub’s attempts to remove Miki and Megumi’s jealousy of Yoshi and turn it into them just having wanted the gossip, which I appreciated, the dub can’t really change the part where they jealously complain that they weren’t the ones to get to (fake) date Neon. Their animations for that are too extreme to really be interpreted as anything else.

Yoshino: “Neon is my childhood friend.”

~~~~~

Yoshi: “I knew Neon when we were children.”

Yoshi doesn’t mention the fact that he was specifically her friend. Their conversation later in the episode is still going to clearly establish that they were indeed on friendly terms back then, but I feel it’s a bit of a shame that their friendship isn’t something Yoshi outright mentions here. Her friendship with him is obviously quite important to her and to how she approaches investigating him; it makes sense that she’d want to bring it up.

Yoshino: “He’s completely different than before. He was shorter than me, and he was fat. When he debuted, I didn’t recognise him at all.”

~~~~~

Yoshi: “He’s so different than he used to be. He was just a shy little boy back then. I would never have guessed that he’d become such a success story.”

I am very disappointed at the dub leaving out the part where he used to be fat, because that’s an important detail that makes it significantly easier to imagine that he was probably bullied back then. Yoshi doesn’t mention that she literally didn’t even recognise him as a singer, either. The dub’s take on this is focused more on his personality and less on his image.

Under normal circumstances, that shift in focus might be a good thing, but in this particular context, image is an even more relevant thing in the celebrity world than personality is. And image also tends to be more important in terms of how likely a kid is to be bullied. This is watering down the interesting parts of Neon’s character and it makes me sad.

Yoshino: “Hitoshi!”

~~~~~

Yoshi: “Hi, Neon!”

Another very significant change: apparently, Neon just is his real name in the dub? Or, if it’s a stage name, Yoshi doesn’t care and is happy to call him by that rather than by whatever name she knew him by as a kid. Neon having an ordinary real name and Yoshino insisting on using it (and him not liking her doing so in public) was a neat aspect of the original that helped showcase the vast contrast between who he used to be and who he is today – again, kind of the whole point of Neon’s character – so I’m very sad that the dub loses this, too.

(The dub also hasn’t mentioned his surname and just calls him “Neon” at all times. Which really doesn’t actually matter at all, because the connotations of the surname Hanamura that I talked about in the original post would obviously be lost on a Western audience (unless they changed his surname to a Western one with similar connotations – now there’d be an actual reason to give a Japanese character a Western name, for once!). But I am disappointed about it for a very silly reason anyway, because Neon’s English voice actor happens to also voice one of those other Hanamuras that I mentioned in that post (who incidentally happens to be one of my favourite fictional characters, which is probably the only reason I care about this), and it would have been a hilarious coincidence for him to have voiced two Hanamuras. He still sort of did anyway, but only sort of.)

Neon: “I told you not to call me by my real name.”

Yoshino: “What does it matter?”

Neon: “You haven’t changed at all.”

~~~~~

Neon: “Hey, wanna blow off work and come to the beach with me?”

Yoshi: “Sorry, I can’t. Too much to do.”

Neon: “Oh well, I guess it’s your loss then.”

Because Neon doesn’t have an ordinary real name in the dub, we also lose the exchange that told us some interesting things about Yoshino and Neon’s characters and how they see each other and their relationship, replaced with completely meaningless fluff. (Inviting her to blow off work and come to the beach with him is a significantly more usually-romantically-coded thing than anything else they actually do in the episode.)

Masaru: “Is this really a mission?”

~~~~~

Marcus: “You do know this guy’s a criminal.”

Miki & Megumi: “Alleged criminal!”

Marcus: “Gimme a break!”

Instead of being exasperated by relationship nonsense, Marcus is instead really sure already that Neon’s a criminal and writing him off as not worthy of respect as a result. Miki and Megumi are being totally reasonable to point out that it’s only allegedly for now.

Masaru: “But Yoshino…”

~~~~~

Marcus: “Yoshi, he’s hiding a Digimon.”

Marcus is way more sure and making a much bigger point of this than Masaru.

(Masaru may have already basically decided as well that Neon’s probably the culprit, but even if he had, I don’t think he’d really have cared. He’s not here for the crime-solving and human-focused side of things – so long as he gets to fight that Digimon, that’s all that matters to him!)

Yoshi and Neon have basically the same conversation about carrots as in the original, but it doesn’t have quite the same meaning without the detail that Neon used to be fat, implying that Yoshino was probably encouraging him to eat them to try and help him lose weight.

Yoshino: “I was exercising parental love because I wanted you to eat healthy and get bigger.”

~~~~~

Yoshi: “Hey, I was just making sure you grew up big and strong by eating your veggies!”

The one real difference here is the lack of her mentioning parental love, which is a shame because I liked it emphasising the idea of Yoshino the mom friend. Perhaps they removed that because they’re trying to make this relationship seem more actually romantic. I also liked the idea that it really wasn’t that romantic in the original, at least on Yoshino’s end.

Yoshino: “I remember you were never able to do anything on your own…”

Neon: “Thanks for the meal.”

~~~~~

Yoshi: “This has been so much fun. It’s really a shame that you have to work tonight.”

Neon: “Wish I didn’t.”

Another really meaningful and interesting line about Neon’s kid self (and his subtly telling reaction to it) gets removed and replaced with more fluff. This isn’t even the dub accidentally losing meaningful bits because they’re missing the point; this is clearly them removing these interesting parts on purpose. Why. Neon’s character was one of the most compelling things about the original episode. All they’re doing is deliberately making this episode significantly less good.

Chika: “Neon is so cool!”

Masaru: “What part of him?”

~~~~~

Kristy: “Oh man, that Neon is so cool!”

Marcus: “Yeah, right.”

Marcus sounds so weirdly bitter here, like he really has firmly decided that Neon sucks and doesn’t deserve anyone’s admiration because he’s A Criminal. Why the hell does he care so much? Masaru was just bewildered as to what the big deal about him was in a way that had nothing to do with the suspected Digimon-harbouring.

Chika: “Obviously, the part where he tries so hard to protect his girlfriend!”

~~~~~

Kristy: “Do you think I’ll ever date someone who’s as cool and sweet as Neon?”

Kristy also does not specify that she admires Neon for trying to keep his girlfriend out of the limelight, which I appreciated Chika doing.

Kristy: “Just have him make it out to ‘Superfan Kristy the Most Beautiful Girl in the Whole World’.”

Geez. Kristy: still noticeably more of a brat than Chika.

Masaru: “Look, Chika, you wouldn’t like it if other people were prying about who you like or date, right? It’s the same with Yoshino. That’s to say nothing of the fact that you’re demanding his autograph just because he’s a celebrity…”

~~~~~

Marcus: “Look, you wouldn’t like it if people kept prying into the private details of your life – I mean, if you had any. Well, Yoshi’s the same. Besides, Neon is probably sick of signing autographs for annoying fans.”

Marcus is technically giving the same sort of advice here, but my god, he is being way more of a dick about it than is necessary. The dub is ruining Masaru’s adorable fatherly-advice moment and turning it into a Marcus Is A Jerk™ moment instead and I don’t like it one bit.

Kristy: “You think I’m annoying, Marcus…?”

And so in this version, Kristy is actually pretty within reason to get upset, because her brother was being a dick. (Though she was also being slightly more annoying and bratty about the autograph thing than Chika was in the first place.)

Promotional video: “Hey everybody! Have you heard the new song by pop sensation Neon? Download it today, and tell all your friends, too!”

The dub version of the “promotional video” actually has a voiceover and therefore is vaguely more believable as an actual promotion than just a weird silent two second loop. Fixing another minor plot hole, dub, well done.

The dub completely cuts out the security guard who confronts Masaru at the door, probably because they didn’t want to include the part where Masaru assaults the guy. This is despite the fact that in the original episode, Masaru implicitly gets in trouble for this later when the guy wakes up, and otherwise generally comes across as having acted very rashly and unreasonably for this whole situation. But nah, apparently we can’t have our kids’ show protagonist do a bad thing, not even when the story presents it like it was kind of a bad thing to do.

Marcus: “Open the door, I’m here to protect you!”

Masaru never actually mentioned that he’s here to protect Yoshino, even though the possibility that she was in trouble is most of the reason why he came. Marcus making an explicit point of this is him making things a lot more about himself than Masaru did, like him coming here is mostly him wanting to seem like the Big Hero, rather than him genuinely just being worried about his friend.

Yoshino: “Masaru! What are you…?”

~~~~~

Yoshi: “Marcus, what are you doing?! You’ll blow it; Neon’s here! Go away!”

Yoshi gets a longer line here – they’re probably filling in time lost from cutting the security guard – but in the process I can’t help but think that Neon should have heard the “you’ll blow it” part, since he shows up at the door just a second later. Which in fact would have been Yoshi blowing it and not Marcus.

Masaru: “Don’t play dumb! This was all part of your scheme!”

Neon: “Wh-What are you doing? Who are you?!”

Masaru: “What are you plotting, using that Digimon?!”

~~~~~

Marcus: “Don’t play dumb; I know what you’re up to!”

Neon: “What do you mean? Who are you?!”

Marcus: “Just confess and tell me what you have planned in that mind of yours!”

So, despite Marcus having been significantly more convinced than Masaru ever was that Neon is definitely hiding a Digimon, he’s… not bringing up the Digimon for some reason now that he’s actually confronting Neon, even though Masaru did. What the hell.

The dub cuts the moment of Yoshino slapping Masaru, albeit not very convincingly, since there’s still a shot of him briefly looking like he’s just been slapped, and then a visible mark on his face a shot later.

Yoshino: “How dare you suddenly intrude into other people’s houses! How about you consider *not* being a nuisance to others for a change!”

~~~~~

Yoshi: “Who do you think you are, barging into somebody’s house just for a measly autograph?! I don’t care how big a fan you are, you better learn some manners, kid!”

I do enjoy Yoshi putting on even more of an act here, trying to make it look like Marcus is some crazed fan desperate for an autograph. Though I’m not sure that angle entirely matches with Marcus’s behaviour of grabbing Neon and demanding that he confesses what he’s up to. Then again, Neon is going to figure out people are onto him from this either way, so I guess it doesn’t matter how convincing Yoshi is or isn’t.

Masaru: “Hey, wait! I said wait! What was that for?”

Yoshino: “You’re ruining my undercover investigation.”

~~~~~

Marcus: “What was all that for, Yoshi?”

Yoshi: “To stop *you* from blowing my cover and all of my hard work.”

I enjoy Yoshi being more pointedly annoyed about this with her emphasis that he’s ruining her hard work. She has a right to be.

Masaru: “What the hell, I was just worried about her.”

~~~~~

Marcus: “Well, I’m so sorry for trying to save you!”

Marcus! This is not about you! Masaru wasn’t trying to make this about himself; he was just worried about his friend – but Marcus is making this all about him Being The Hero and him being the one to save her.

It’s not that I don’t hypothetically enjoy characters who have issues along those lines, but that should not be the point with Marcus here. The dub isn’t going to go anywhere interesting with this because it wasn’t a thing in the original, so instead this just sticks out as another thing making Marcus more self-absorbed.

The security guard showing up here now is still there in the dub, even though they cut Masaru knocking him out earlier.

Sampson: “Keramon’s making it seem like Neon’s selling more songs than he is.”

[…]

Kudamon: “The more popular people think he is, the more albums they buy.”

They have an interesting point here not brought up in the original, that even if Keramon is only making Neon look more popular by messing with the figures, that’s going to result in actually making him more popular. In the original, it was unclear exactly what kind of manipulation Keramon had been doing (until the obvious stunt last night) and I sort of vaguely got the impression that it’d been actually making people download his songs even if they never wanted to. Then again, that might be obvious enough that people would have reported it, so perhaps things were always meant to be how the dub is explaining them to be here. Good job to the dub again for making that clearer. (…Or so I thought; hold this thought.)

Thomas: “Clearly, Neon’s making a fortune through fraud.”

I don’t especially like the dub adding this, though, because Neon should not be doing this for the money. He’s doing this for the popularity. Admittedly Thomas is only speculating and wouldn’t know better, but him stating it like this makes it seem like this is the correct conclusion to make about Neon’s motives.

Neon: “To think that you were one of them…”

Yoshino: “It’s prohibited to give a Digimon refuge!”

~~~~~

Neon: “I just can’t believe you were a part of this. I trusted you!”

Yoshi: “Yeah, that’s why you told me all about your illegal Digimon!”

I enjoy Yoshi actually somewhat responding to the accusation of betrayal by pointing out that he was hiding something from her as well. Though I also do think Yoshino’s response of completely avoiding the topic says something interesting in and of itself.

Neon: “Don’t order me around!”

~~~~~

Neon: “Don’t you judge me!”

While the “don’t order me around” perhaps touched on Neon’s past of not being able to do much on his own, “don’t judge me” would also potentially touch on his past of being bullied. However, I can’t help but think that’s more by luck than judgement on the dub’s part, since they went and deliberately removed so many of the other hints of Neon’s past even being like that in the first place.

Neon: “He distributes my songs around the world and manipulates music charts…”

Wait, so Keramon actually does forcibly distribute the songs even to people who don’t want them, and not just fake the figures so that people will be more likely to check out what the fuss is about?

Yeah, actually, this line is basically exactly what Neon said here originally, so I guess that is what was meant to have been going on after all. Sampson and Kudamon must have missed that part when they were discussing things earlier.

Yoshino: “Hitoshi, stop this!”

~~~~~

Yoshi: “You have to stop this. Fraud is a criminal offence!”

Though the lack of her being able to call him Hitoshi is a bad thing again, I do appreciate Yoshi pointing out that fraud is a crime. Even aside from DATS’s rules that nobody’s allowed to have a Digimon unless they’re a DATS member, Neon has still been breaking the regular law anyway, and the original didn’t really emphasise that very much.

They cut out the moment of Keramon grabbing Yoshi by the neck, but they do still show her being held like that in a shot a second later.

Neon: “No way! Keramon is my partner!”

~~~~~

Neon: “Keramon is my partner just like your Digimon! I wouldn’t betray him any more than you’d betray them!”

Dub-Neon is very deliberately making the parallel to DATS’s Digimon rather than only accidentally invoking it by happening to use the same word – but it really isn’t a parallel he should be making deliberately. Keramon is not a person. It hasn’t spoken or expressed its own desires or sense of self at all; it’s just giggled creepily and done as he’s ordered it to. There is no actual meaningful bond of friendship here for Neon to care about not wanting to betray.

I think the dub added this in because the dubbers actually think that it’s basically the same deal going on with Neon and Keramon as with DATS and their partners. But it really, really isn’t.

Neon: “Thanks to him, my songs are played throughout the world! He’s making me famous!”

~~~~~

Neon: “He made me rich and famous!”

Famous, yes, but the money is not the point, dub. Neon in the original never mentioned money as being part of why he’s doing this.

Also, the past tense implies that it’s only because of Keramon that Neon became famous at all. Which I really doubt is supposed to be the case, because there’s no sense given at any point that Neon just burst into the public eye out of nowhere within the past month since he’s had Keramon. He must have been already doing reasonably well on his own merit before he started using fraud.

Masaru: “What’s this crap about him making you famous?! It’s not through your own efforts! If you wanted to change yourself through your music, then do it using your own merit!”

~~~~~

Marcus: “Your whole career is a giant lie! You haven’t actually achieved anything! That Digimon of yours did everything for you; you’re nothing but a phony!”

…But it seems the dub really wants us to think that it’s only because of Keramon that Neon got anywhere at all and he was never genuinely good enough to deserve any amount of success whatsoever. I think the dubbers might have missed the point of this as well and believed that that was actually what was going on in the original episode.

And of course, because of this, we lose the interesting nuanced moment of Masaru being really good and pointing out that Neon should have kept working at this using his own merit. Instead we just get Marcus boringly shooting him down completely.

Yoshino: “Stop!”

Lalamon: “Stop!”

~~~~~

Yoshi: “No pictures!”

Lalamon: “Give me that camera!”

Lalamon demanding the camera further emphasises the point of Yoshi choosing to do this instead of fight, and it gives more of a vague impression that maybe she really does take the camera and wipe the pictures offscreen, even though we won’t be seeing it. I approve.

Neon: “Everyone needs to quit making fun of me!”

~~~~~

Neon: “My career’s ruined now, and you’re gonna pay!”

Unsurprisingly, after everything the dub has already removed about Neon’s interesting aspects, they also remove probably the most interesting line – the one that very strongly hints he used to be bullied and that this has all been about him breaking away from that in a way that gradually became more and more desperate and obsessive to the point of illegality.

Instead, dub-Neon is somebody who wanted to be rich and famous just because, apparently had genuinely no actual talent or merit to base that on whatsoever, and just faked his entire success story (which the dub expects us to think he could have believably done within a month) using Digimon-driven fraud. That’s just… boring.

It also makes it significantly less interesting and meaningful why Keramon evolves in response to these words, though I suppose a burst of vengeful anger at them for ruining his fraudulent career is still reasonable enough to do it.

Masaru: “Change places! Let’s go, Agumon!”

~~~~~

Marcus: “We’ll take ‘im! It’s fightin’ time!”

I am mildly sad at the loss of the sense that Masaru sees this as him tagging in for Tohma and being equal teammates with him, rather than trying to grab all the glory himself.

Neon: “Even the memory of when we met again?”

~~~~~

Neon: “Even the stuff about you and me?”

In the dub, Neon makes this just about losing what their relationship is now and nothing else. I liked the sense that, after all the fraud had been uncovered and he’d basically given up, original-Neon was mostly sad to lose the memory of seeing her again, his childhood friend who was there for him during that tough time and could be proud of how far he’d come.

Overall differences

This episode has quite a few significant differences, with a lot of them being bad, but at least there’s a small handful of good ones too, for once.

Let’s start with the good ones. This episode’s dub actually has a couple of small fixes to some minor logic issues the original had. They explained that they can’t break into Neon’s building because the high security meant that Neon/Keramon would see them coming and run, which made a lot more sense. Then they gave the promo video a voiceover, making it a lot more believable as a promo video than some weird silent two-second loop.

Yoshi also has a few minor good bits: leaning more into the story that Marcus is a crazed fan when he shows up at the door, pointing out that fraud is a crime. I also appreciate that they attempted to tone down Miki and Megumi’s harshness towards her at least a little.

But onto the bad stuff: the really huge glaring problem with the dub of this episode is Neon. Neon’s character was the big saving grace of this otherwise not especially interesting episode to me in the original, and none of what makes him that way is present in the dub. All of the hints of him being weak and helpless and probably-bullied as a kid are watered down into him simply having been kind of shy, there’s no hints of him remaking his image (no mention that Neon is a stage name; for all we know in the dub, that’s somehow his real name), and way too much emphasis put on him doing this for money, not just fame. If Marcus is to be believed, he had absolutely zero talent and got where he was entirely through Keramon’s meddling, which is extremely unrealistic to have happened in a single month without anyone questioning it and is also way, way less interesting. Dub-Neon is just some boring flat villain greedy for fame and fortune, rather than an interestingly messed-up character.

And it’s really strange to me that this character assassination is so complete and consistent that it must have been deliberate? The dub writers consciously decided to remove everything that made this episode’s focus character interesting. Why in the world would they choose to do that.

Then there’s this episode’s treatment of Marcus, which is standard fare at this point but still frustrating enough that I am always going to talk about it when it happens in any significant amount.

He’s more insistent that Neon’s harbouring a Digimon from the start despite the lack of proof, but then, bizarrely, doesn’t bring up Digimon when he breaks in even though Masaru did. He makes the breaking-in part a lot more About Himself by making a point that he’s here to save Yoshi, which is a very different thing than Masaru coming there in case Yoshino needed saving but not actually caring whether she knows it or not. Marcus is also more of an unnecessary dick to his sister in the bit where she’s asking him for Neon’s autograph. And the interesting nuance that Masaru had in his speech to Neon, about putting in effort and changing yourself through your own merits, is lost in favour of this new boring narrative where Neon apparently had zero talent and deserved none of his fame in the first place.

Oh, and the bit where Masaru attacked the security guard was cut, because I guess your kids’ show protagonist isn’t allowed to attack a responsible adult, even when the narrative presents this as a bad thing that he shouldn’t have done and implicitly gets in trouble for.

#digimon #digimon savers #digimon data squad

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fizzingwizard · 4 years ago

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Ok so episode 42 is really fun! I was trying to decide if it’s a big improvement on episode 41, which had higher stakes but didn’t make me feel much for Yamato or Takeru.

This episode - I feel like I ought to be less thrilled with it because, in spite of taking Taichi along, he’s just support and doesn’t have much to do say or do. Which is a pet peeve of mine - when there’s a lot of characters I get that not everyone can have equal screen time in every episode, but when there’s only two they need to either interact with each other a fair bit or have separate tasks that matter equally. I think it’s just lazy writing to do otherwise.

However, I’m not feeling that way as much as usual with this episode, because it just did such a good job with Koushirou and the Digimon guest star. in terms of emotional impact, episode 41 with its story of brotherly bonding seems like it should be a sure winner, but I think the way Koushirou connects with Garbagemon this episode was surprisingly more compelling.

There’s also the animation as well - episode 41 had better animation quality overall, but episode 42 had wonderful background art, wonderful storyboarding, great lighting, and great music accompaniment. It’s the same music as always but I felt that they laid it in better than usual. So while the character art was a bit choppy, the rest more than made up for it.

My one complaint WOULD be that - yeah, Taichi didn’t need to be there. In fact, the episode might have been better without him, because it would have set up Koushirou and Garbagemon even more up closely. I was hoping to see Taishiro friendship strengthen this episode (we do see them working together at least). I don’t mind that it was Koushirou’s episode instead, but I do think they needed to get rid of Taichi somehow.

I’ve yammered on longer than usual above the cut so let’s get to the actual review!

^A kid who was an absolute star this episode

More below!

So the episode is set in a junkyard. Smelly? Sure. Great ambience? Absolutely xD

Taichi and Koushirou are on their scouting mission from last week... though just what they’re scouting for is kind of vague. Personally I think they’re both just curious explorer types and can’t help themselves, they have to go on adventures, they hate just sitting around lol

They meet Garbagemon, who in spite of being gross is a lot more palatable than his 99 incarnation. Garbagemon explains that he’s a scientist who analyzes the garbage that falls from the human world into the digital world. There’s a cute running joke in which he insists it’s not garbage, but “materials,” and then the instant Taichi points to something Garbagemon says “Oh, that one is garbage though” lol.

Taichi: *gasp* Cup ramen!

Agumon: *drooling* Can we eat it can we can we??

Koushirou, aka Party Pooper: Guys, it’s expired (duh)

Taichi and Agumon: Awww...... :’<

I love little moments like these. Taichi... maybe it’s worth him being in this episode just to see him get all excited over the idea of eating expired cup ramen... xD

Garbagemon then tries to take Koushirou’s tablet computer to “analyze” but Koushirou stops him. Garbagemon then invites them to come see his lab.

Koushirou: Lab?? A real scientist’s real lab?? Really real scientist’s really real lab really go see for real????

Garbagemon: Cool your jets weirdo...

Yeah, Koushirou’s excited. IT’S AWESOME. He instantly bonds with Garbagemon over their mutual love for scientific analysis lol. He found a kindred spirit. Koushirou is always at his best when he’s overflowing with the joy of discovery. Garbagemon as well seems happy to talk to someone who gets it, even if he’s less exuberant lol.

Taichi has not a lot to say, but if he were to talk, it’d probably just be jokes and poking fun so I guess nothing was really lost there.

Meanwhile, tunneling his way through the heaps of trash... MY DARLING RAREMON

Seriously this is one of my all-time favorite Digimon. I love him. He’s so gross. I remember being 8 and seeing Grimer and Muk in Pokemon and not feeling a thing. Then a while later I saw Raremon in Digimon Adventure and was like WHOOOOA COOOOOOOOL!!! Yeah, Digimon turned me off Pokemon lightning fast xD (I still liked Pokemon but I pretty much ceased to pay attention to it.) The episode in 99 where Koushirou fights Raremon was one of my favorite episodes of that series, so I was super happy to see a nod to that in the reboot.

Garbagemon makes Taichi and Koushirou drive his cart back to his lab like the pack mules they are lol.

Koushirou finds this flash drive amid the garbage in the cart and Garbagemon says he can have it. We don’t deal with it again in the episode (unless... I missed it...?) so maybe it’ll come up again soon.

Their journey is stalled by the appearance of Raremon The Beautiful! Just look at that gorgeous face.

Raremon: Grarrrr?

Taichi and Koushirou quickly get to work. Their partners evolve and fight back and it’s pretty disgusting. I loved this little moment where Garbagemon is all impressed by the way the humans help the Digimon to evolve. Taichi’s focused on the battle, but Koushirou notices and appreciates Garbagemon’s interest. Of course, later he has to stop him from trying to “analyze” his digivice as well lol

WHAT IS IT WITH THIS SHOW AND ATTACKING DIGIMON IN THE MOUTH??? It’s officially A Thing! XD It happens aaaaall the time! Lmao I’m sure it’s probably meant to be connected to how Digimon gain energy by eating other Digimon in this season... something like that but in reverse... it’s just so weird haha

So here’s an example of a scene with storyboarding I really liked. This bit in Garbagemon’s lab uses so unusual angles and I can’t really put into words why it changes how I feel but it does... perhaps it’s just that I enjoy seeing things done a bit differently.

But I think there’s something more too - in the scene, Garbagemon explains that he used to have a whole team of Chuumon who helped him with his research, but Raremon ate them all except for the one who’s left. It’s a pretty tragic story. Garbagemon is an interesting character: if he were human, he’d definitely be some wizened, Einstein-haired, bent over old man whose cares and troubles are worn into his face. Idk how I get that impression from a garbage Digimon but that’s what good writing and voice acting can do!

So, for Koushirou and Taichi, they’re being let into Garbagemon’s world and it’s not one they can entirely related to, yet their hearts go out to him. I feel like the unusual angles reflect both that attempt to connect and the distance between them.

This was my absolutely favorite: this peek through the shelves at their little huddle as they talk about the weapon Garbagemon’s been making to defeat Raremon. We are kept distant, yet our focus is zeroed in on the group. THIS IS SOME AWESOMESAUCE CINEMATIC GENIUS Y’ALL lol

The group goes to find Raremon and we get a REALLY EPIC moment from Koushirou: as they’re flying into battle, he reflects on why Garbagemon is fighting, and this is what he thinks:

“Revenge... It's not a good thing, but there's surely a pain there that only the one left behind can understand. For humans and Digimon...”

It’s such a grown up bit of reflection that we just haven’t had much of this season. I think the character who’s connected the most with other Digimon is Mimi, but thinking isn’t her style - she’s all emotion and action. Koushirou is probably the only one we’ve seen so far really reach out with both heart and mind like this. And it’s absolutely intentional and important - at least I believe so. This is Koushirou, who other kids may have a hard time understanding, because he’s always caught up in his own thoughts. It may be easy to think of him as someone who doesn’t value emotions, but that’s not true: he is introspective and doesn’t put his every thought out into the world. He’s also probably the type who values privacy, his own and others.

I think there’s very likely something here that’s meant to hint at Koushirou’s own personal pain as well. We don’t know what it is yet, but the last time it was mentioned was in the human world, from which we can pretty much assume it’s something to do with his home life. It may or may not be the same situation as in 99 Adventure. We’ll have to see. But I think it played a part in Koushirou’s ability to empathize with Garbagemon in this episode.

And what’s more - thinking about revenge, at ten years old, and not taking a black and white position, in a show about kids for kids - I mean, that kind of not talking down to kids style was one reason I loved 99 Adventure, and this is the same sort of thing. It’s a grown up thought. It’s Koushirou understanding the world more fully. And we really have not seen much of that this season, so it’s encouraging that we’re even getting this bit now. The show has been black and white good vs evil in a lot of ways, but only on the surface: first Taichi connected with Ogremon, then we were pretty much told that Devimon’s actions were not entirely his own sane decision, and then SkullKnightmon turned out to be a part of Tailmon in some way.

So the show is definitely trying to be more interesting than good vs evil. I really don’t know why it took so long to get here, but I’m glad it has at last.

Then Garbagemon jumps into a borderline suicidal attempt to shoot his bazooka at Raremon, and succeeds at freezing him into an ice sculpture. But the black lightning starts to shoot into Raremon, making his eyes glow red... very creepy... buhahaha...

That is one hell of an evolution scene, lol

Taichi: I don’t think even YOU look that cool when you evolve

Greymon: Sorry for not having the charm of a MUCK monster

Raremon evolve to... Rareraremon!!!

XD That name cracks me up buhahahah

Rareraremon is a gross as you might expect - reminds me somewhat of beast form Envy in Full Metal Alchemist actually. Not as scary though.

From this point, the episode does go down a predictable path. Inspired by Garbagemon’s resourecfulness and still very much empathizing with him, Koushirou concocts a plan that takes advantage of the oil in Rareraremon.

He gathers some garbage, er, materials - namely this product for hardening oil (like on frying pans etc) so you can scrape it off and put in the garbage, since oil should never be poured down the drain. These packets were also shown earlier in the episode so it’s basically a “eureka” moment for Koushirou

He gives them to Taichi who goes around throwing the packets into Rareraremon’s body, which instantly absorbs them. Idk why he carries his Digivice in the basket too?? that was odd??

Glug glug glug... in 2021 we beat baddies using SCIENCE!!!!

From here I’m not 100% sure about everything in the plan because the audio cut in and out. But AtlurKabuterimon spins Rareraremon around and meanwhile Koushirou has created some device to channel MetalGreymon’s power... I don’t really understand why that was necessary but maybe it was explained in a part where I didn’t have audio.

Taichi: Uh, Koushirou, you sure it’s safe to be sitting there?

Koushirou: What about you? You always ride MetalGreymon while he fights

Taichi: yeah but I don’t sit on HIS GUN

Obligatory best boy pic even if you were very much the third wheel in this episode dear hahahahaha

He attac!!

This causes the heated oil in Rareraremon to freeze fast and he turns into a hardened mass of oil... very ugly... bad way to die lol

For some reason every reboot episode ends with a sunset *shrug* it pretty I guess

While thanking them for their help, Garbagemon’s friend Chuumon suddenly evolves into Searchmon. That was pretty cool. It happens right after Koushirou shakes Garbagemon’s hand so it seems like it was his influence that helped it along.

I’m really surprised by how much I ended up liking freaking Garbagemon lmao

Ugggghhh Taichi you may have been a pointless addition but I’m still always happy just to see your face

So in sum - in case you can’t tell, I really liked this episode! I still hope for actual Taichi & Koushirou interactions in the future... but I just can’t care about that lack this time because it was such a good Koushirou episode. I’ve droned on a lot now and y’all are probably bored to tears so I’m gonna wrap it up. 8/10!!!

Next week:

freaking Etemon loooool

Looks like it’ll be an amusing episode for the most part. As much as I’m enjoying these lighter, character-building moments - I hope we don’t ignore the main plot for too long. The pacing of this season has been WEIRD AF so I just never feel safe :P But I absolutely do not want to go back to the kind of episodes we were getting in the past that were “plot” episodes but mainly just battles with nobody characters and no character moments... no thank you! I will happily watch the kids make fun of Etemon, thank you very much.

posted unedited as always

#fizz watches digimon 2020 #digimon adventure 2020 #digimon adventure:#digimon psi #digimon adventure reboot #digimon

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kurogabae · 5 years ago

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TSUBASA: TRAINWRECK CHRONICLES

And Why Bee Train Are Officially Being Labeled, By Me, As The Boomers Of Animation

PART 1 – PART 2 – PART 3 -- Part 4

[Slim Shady’s “Guess Who’s Back” plays in the distance, muffled but threatening]

Look, I know I usually have something to say at the start of these, but honestly? Let’s just go because we’re starting knee-deep in some bullshit.

Tsarastora (yes... fucking AGAIN):

Well, it didn’t take long for us to return to the land of the walking Not Dead Anymore. Rumor has it that Bee Train was ordered to retcon the S1 finale immediately because who do you think you are to break one of CLAMP’s cardinal rules like that?!? But I’ve never seen any proof of exactly what went down about this plot. But I’m forced to believe Ohkawa materialized behind the director one day and threatened to eat his spine or some shit.

Anyway. We’re here. Again. And for some reason this is where they decide to have Sakura give Yuuko her White Day gift? Instead of in Piffle? Where she made it? With Tomoyo?

Stop stealing my moments Bee Train. It’s like you’re the crew who edited CCS for America back in the day and tried to market it towards boys so you pushed Syaoran as the main character and tried to remove all romance. Let Sakura have friends! Let her interact with people and have a story! LET HER BE BI!!!

So Yuuko has a dress and Fai makes a joke about being in heaven because the place is so pretty and Kurogane says not to, quote, “say such unlucky things” and it’s moments like this that make you wonder if they Knew and just didn’t care about Fai’s past or if they really were just as in the dark as the rest of us. I flip flop a lot between the two.

Either way, now the dads are talking about the kids and how brave Syaoran is (why the bullshit in Piffle prompted this I do not know but whatever I guess?) and basically just about how badly they want them to succeed but without just saying it. Meanwhile Sakura is telling Syaoran about her latest memory and I could not for the life of me tell you which one it was and I refuse to go check. The important thing here is that the lazy animation trick that has given Mokona the power of flight is back and she’s hovering around the gang now. Not sitting on shoulders or anything. Just... flying around like she’s Kero. This is fine. I guess.

And then, after what has to be like a solid half hour of just dicking around Mokona Very Suddenly senses a feather. Why so suddenly? Because they wanted to get everything else out of the way first and it was convenient. No other reason. The feather isn’t moving. Neither are they really. She just decides to turn her sensors on now? IDK. Maybe she needs a tune up.

They find the feather not far away just casually sitting inside a rock and everyone but Kurogane is like “Yay! Easy find! Go us!” because apparently no one can learn anything in this anime about what those fucking feathers do. Spoilers: it’s not a rock, it’s a dragon.

[Kurogane voice]: kin

The dragon fucks off and here we come to a Thing. Now, Kurogane is ready to slaughter this thing and wear its bones basically. He is Ready to Fight in a real way. I found that odd and really didn’t care for it. In Hanshin he seems in awe of Celes when it appears to him and even though it’s mostly fanon that Kurogane respects and likes dragons that makes sense. His family’s guardian was a dragon, his sword was modeled after a dragon. His whole motif is dragons! Why is he so ready to kill this one? Does it not count if it’s not a Nihon dragon? Does only Ginryuu get respect? It just feels bad???

But none of that matters because guess what! Dragon shaped as it might be, the thing is a demon? At least, that’s what they’re calling it. Sometimes. Fai says demon, Syaoran says dragon. They don’t.... agree on the term? Shut up. It’s a dragon.

So they soon realize that they are back in Should Be Very Dead-ville and oh no everyone is going to die again unless we get this OTHER feather because if one feather can buy us a month of living surely one more will fix our deaths forever right? ....right? (On a side note; Fai makes a comment about how weird it is that two feathers fell in the same world while he’s from Celes and knows damn well he found two and is unaware of a third!!!)

Either way the family is gonna help because, you know. Feather. If memory serves, the dragon is hiding in a lake, so what does Kurogane (who is now in charge because of course) have them do? They set the lake on fucking fire. And it delights him. It do not, however, delight the dragon, who, understandably, goes apeshit. Luckily, no one dies and they just hack off the horn that the feather was stuck in. And then they... take it to God again because wow they really do think this will work. Sakura, honey, I know how sweet you are but it only got them one month last time. What good will this do?

The answer is no good!

God basically tells them it’s tough tits, the month long visitation was all they could manage and no matter how many super powered magic bird parts they bring the dead are dead and that’s that. Which sucks for those villagers but haha, bummer for FAi to have to hear. Again. After watching Sakura wish someone to life with a mere piece of her soul. Again. Wonder how that felt. (Short post about Kurogane and Fai’s possible feelings here.)

So to end the episode, Sakura gets her feather back and then the family leaves town but sticks around on the outskirts to watch everyone fucking die again like some sick ass fuckers!!!

I’m not even going to talk about the stupid memory she gets with papa!Clow and learning about how death is a Thing via her dead pet bunny. It happens. It’s inorganic. I hate it. Shut up Clow.

The episode is over and I’ll leave you with this to heal your souls.

I am a simple woman.

Portoria:

WE’RE ON A BOAT MOTHA FUCKER!

If you’re too young to recognize that joke, click the link for... an experience. Wear headphones. Everyone else, please join me in this not-a-Wind-Waker-AU.

We’re gonna skip all of my bad sailor jokes and focus for a minute on Kurogane’s Sinbad cosplay here because yes good hello I am easily distracted.

Anyway, the captain is this world’s version of Koryo’s shitty Ryanban and Kurogane and Fai have a moment to wax philosophical about whether or not souls are inherently good or evil, which is fine and I would hardly mention if, while they were doing this, the “camera” wasn’t stood still on an image of Syaoran and Sakura just... smiling at each other while the dads spoke. Like the kids aren’t even doing anything, they’re just smiling. It’s weird. It’s also almost like accidental foreshadowing because HAHA THOSE ARE CLONES! But I’m not gonna go into it for the sake of this joke.

On the ship everyone has to work, Kurogane is terrorizing his new shipmates into compliance under his leadership, Fai and Sakura are cooking fish, and Syaoran is in the engine room with a child version of Fujitaka AKA his father. Understandably, Syaoran is Feeling Emotions, not that the animation is any indicator of this. He also calls a ten year old daddy so things are going great.

Now yes, Syaoran must miss his father terribly, not only has he been dead for who knows how long exactly (anywhere upwards of 5 years possibly) but Syaoran is far from home without any pictures or familiarity to remind him of Fujitaka, and now he’s got some savant elementary schooler who is an AU version of his dad basically sharing his deepest hopes and dreams. It’s a weird episode. Oh, and there is no feather, but Mokona is sweet as can be and stays so Syaoran can get to know this version of Fujitaka. Which honestly seems more like a punishment than anything to me, but hey.

Also, there’s a sea monster. And a haunted island. And something that sounds suspiciously like Piedmon from Digimon.

Syaoran and Fujitaka get stranded on the island after getting yeeted overboard and the captain telling the rest of the family that his ancestors forbid people from going to the island is enough to stop a rescue mission? Like. Kurogane AND Sakura are sitting there, letting nothing happen. This is fine. Everything is fine.

And it kinda is because the island if filled with old shit and Syaoran is geeking out like a kid surrounded by his special interest would be expected to.

In the end, the creepy laughter was wind, the island isn’t haunted, the family tries to row out to save Syaoran and a sea monster is on screen for all of 30 seconds. This episode was boring. Dull. It wasn’t even particularly angsty because Bee Train has no concept of emotional DEPTH!! Their expressions and emotions are as flat as Fai’s ass and as dry as Clow’s deserts. This could have been a very moving and fascinating filler episode, but Bee Train remains in capable of doing ANYTHING AT ALL EVER! I’m bored. This is boring.

At least Sakura looked cute in her little sailor outfit.

The next episode is “A Date With a Wizard” and that shitshow is getting its own post. Peace.

PART 1 – PART 2 – PART 3 -- Part 4

#my meta #tsubasa trainwreck chronicles #TRC #tsubasa chronicle #CLAMP #i am filled with an undying and unrestrained hate for all things

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secretsantamon · 7 years ago

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Gift for fuzzy-ren

I hope you enjoy your story! :) Happy Holidays. :)

Though ages and years are never explicitly said, I went by technology of around 2004 that Izzy and Ken are comparing things too.

“Thank you for my chess set, Izzy.” Ken said. “I really want to start playing again.”

The two had formed a bond. Ken might not have been a genius anymore, but he was still pretty smart. They had other people in the group they hung out with more, but they really understood each other.

Izzy smiled. “Of course! We should play sometime.”

“Sounds good.” Ken nodded, taking a drink of the Tea that Izzy had prepared for them. “Now about my gift to you…”

Izzy smiled, politely. “I know you don’t have money and couldn’t get me anything. It’s fine.”

“Well…” Ken said awkwardly. “I don’t have any money. But I still have something for you. Thing is, it’s not something I can GIVE to you…. more of a loan.”

“Oh?” Izzy asked, kind of intrigued.

Ken looked away, awkwardly. “You… remember when I stopped being the emperor? How I didn’t come around to the group right away?”

Izzy nodded. It had been a couple years since then, but it was still a sensitive topic for everyone. Izzy really wanted to tell Ken not to bring it up, for his own sake, but he knew there must be a reason he wanted to.

“Well one of the things I did was, before it exploded, I walked around my old base, to see if anything brought back any memories that had been repressed.”

Izzy’s eye’s widened. “Did you have any luck?”

“Not really. But before I went in there, when I first went home, a few memories came back. One of which was about… an old friend, Ryo.”

“You talked about him before. You think he got transported to another world?”

“Yeah.” Ken said. “We know there isn’t just the digital world out there. We know there is the dark ocean, and the world that grants wishes. But there are many more.”

Izzy nodded, stroking his chin. “I’ve theorized that too, but we can’t be sure-.”

“Oh no, we can.” Ken said, confidently. “And that is my gift. I want to show you what I have seen.”

With that, Ken pulled from his pocket, a small rectangle device, with buttons.

“This is what I found in the base. I didn’t know what it was, and most things Wormmon couldn’t help me with, because I…” Ken fought off being down on himself for not being nice to him while he was the emperor. “-Wormmon just wouldn’t have known. But he knew about this, because apparently we both went to other worlds, looking for Ryo.”

“But you didn’t find him?” Izzy asked, curiously.

Ken shook his head. “No… I wish I could though. So why don’t we?”

Izzy looked excited, but skeptical. “Are you sure it’s safe?”

Ken nodded. “Completely.”

“Is there anything dangerous there? Should we take our Digimon?” Izzy asked, still trying to be prepared. If Ken didn’t know any better, he would have thought Izzy was turning into Joe!

“The device makes it so that we are undetected with a type of cloak, unless we want to be seen, we won’t be. The cloak also protects us in case it’s in a different atmosphere.”

Izzy nodded. “Okay, when can we go?”

Ken smiled, as he held up the device. “Right now, if you’re ready.”

Izzy took one more sip of Oolong Tea before smiling. “Prodigious!”

“Okay,” Ken said, as he stood beside Ken. “This will beam out anything within a 5 foot radius.”

Izzy looked a little concerned. “What about the floor?”

Ken shook his head. “The object or life form has to be fully inside the 5 feet, or it won’t transport.”

“Okay.” Izzy said, getting close. “Let’s go.”

Ken nodded and pressed the button. Next thing they knew, they were in a park.

“Where are we?” Izzy asked.

Ken looked around. “I’m not sure. There isn’t anyone aroun-.”

“Gatchmon, be careful, we don’t want you to be seen by anyone else!”

Ken turned around to see a guy Ken’s age, talking to, what looked like, a Digimon.

“He said GatchMON, didn’t he?” Izzy said, blinking.

“I think so…” Ken said, surprised. “Maybe we could talk to him?”

Izzy thought about it. “It would be really cool, but what if he just thinks we’re crazy? Or worse, that we’re his enemy?”

“Good point. But maybe we could just try and talk to him and not say anything about the Digimon, and see if he says anything about it. And if he does react badly, we can just go back to our world.”

“Okay let’s try-”

“Gatchmon!!…” Haru called out, as Gatchmon ran away from him in another direction.

“This is our chance!” Ken said, pressing the button to make them visible.

“Hey!” Izzy protested. “Shouldn’t we have talked about this for a nanosecond more?”

“But we couldn’t have made ourselves visible when they were around, We needed to do it while they were away, to be safe.”

“I guess that’s true.” Izzy said. Before he could say anything else, Gatchmon was right in front of them.

“Wah!” Gatchmon said, falling over in surprise.

“Gatchmon I- … Oh… Hello there…” Haru said awkwardly, as he spotted Ken and Izzy.

Izzy debated for a second about how to handle it, but he shrugged, they had already said Gatchmon…

But before Izzy could say anything, Haru pulled out a device, and Gatchmon seemed to transport into it.

“Sorry about that…” Haru said, trying to think of what to say… “That’s… …. A new awesome toy! Kind of like a v-pet, but it becomes a hologram! It’s really cool!”

Both Ken and Izzy looked at eachother, both fully aware this was a cover, but they decided to go along with it.

“That sounds like a really cool toy!” Ken said.

“Yeah!” Izzy agreed. “Technology really is amazing.”

Haru nodded, smiling. “I haven’t seen you two around here before. Are you new here?”

“We’re just visiting.” Izzy said.

“Visiting family for the holidays?”

“Yeah.” Ken said, “But we aren’t meeting them until later.”

“Wanna get something to eat?” Haru asked happily.

“We would.” Izzy said, looking awkward. “But we don’t have any money…” It wasn’t exactly true, but who knew what kind of currency this place took.

“I have some extra.” Haru said happily. “Do you guys like burgers and shakes?”

Ken and Izzy looked at each other. They didn’t want to impose, but they were curious to do something in this world.

“Prodigious! Let’s eat!” Izzy said, cheerfully.

Haru blinked, confused. “Prodigious?”

Izzy blushed, scratching the back of his neck. “It’s just something I say when I’m happy about something.”

“I see.” Haru said, smile coming back. “The burger place is this way!”

As they walked, they could see more of the city. Izzy and Ken both could tell that they had a more advanced civilization.

Just then, they heard music coming from Haru’s pocket.

“Uh… Excuse me…” Haru said bowing to the others, as he pulled a rectangle device from his pocket, and put it up to his ear. “Hello? Yuujin? Yeah I can meet you later…”

Izzy was in awe. He figured out it must have been a phone, but it was a weird shape. Where was the keypad? Was it in a secret compartment?

As Haru hung up the call, Izzy forgot to act like everything was normal.

“What kind of amazing phone is that?!” Izzy cried out. Ken shot him a look, but it was already done.

“It’s… my WaffleCorp smart phone. You’ve never seen a smart phone?” Haru asked, surprised.

Izzy realized his mistake and back pedaled. “I mean… Of course I HAVE! I just meant, I don’t have one. Mine just has the keypad on the front and you can only make calls.”

Haru frowned. “I didn’t even know they still made phones like that anymore. You guys must REALLY be poor. I’m glad was able to buy you guys some food!”

Ken looked at Izzy with a sad look. He hated the fact that Haru thought they were a couple of bums, but he also knew it was the best way to cover.

“We do alright.” Ken said. “Our family just doesn’t have enough extra for all of us to have a smart phone.”

“I guess that makes sense…” Haru said, as they walked into the burger place. “Order whatever you want guys!”

The boys all ordered, and got their food. As they ate, they talked.

“This food is really good.” Izzy said. The truth was it was a little different from what he was used to, but it was still good.

“Yeah, thank you again.” Ken said, taking another bite of his burger.

Izzy was debating asking a question. But finally he decided to just go with it.

“Haru? I hope I’m not being rude but… could I see your… smart phone?”

Haru smiled, holding up his phone. “Since you don’t have a smart phone, you probably want to see some cool apps!”

“Apps?-APPS!” Izzy caught himself. “Yeah! I always wondered about… what… apps were…”

Ken face palmed.

“Really? You don’t know what apps are?” Haru said, confused. “Well… you can’t afford smart phones for your family, but do you have a family computer or tablet?”

“Tabl-?”

“YES.” Ken interjected. “Yes, we have a computer.”

“Well,” Haru said. “It’s like when you click on a game or a tool on a computer…”

“OH!” Izzy said, excited. “It’s a executable program on a phone! That’s really prodigious!!! … wait… why do they call it an… app? Why not an Executable Program? Or Exe for short?”

Ken couldn’t help but smile at his friend. There was no hope for him. Even so, they should probably be getting back.

“I don’t know…” Haru said, looking confused. “I don’t know that much about computers.”

“Izzy,” Ken said. “We really should be getting back…”

Izzy frowned. He didn’t want to leave, but he knew that they shouldn’t stay too long.

“Aww…” Haru said, disappointed. “Do you have to already?”

“Yeah, we really should.” Ken said, smiling politely. “Thank you very much for your hospitality.”

Haru tried to smile, but you could tell he was sad. “Do you think you’ll ever visit this place again?”

Izzy looked at Ken, and Ken nodded with a smile. “Of course we will!”

Haru smiled. “Good! See you!”

“See you!” Ken and Izzy said, as they walked outside, to an area no one could see them.

“That was fun.” Izzy said. “I felt bad that we couldn’t stay in touch though.”

“We can.” Ken said. “We can just visit here every once in a while.”

“Prodigious!” Izzy said, as Ken hit the button to send them back home.

The End.

@fuzzy-ren, your gift from @takatofan!

#digimonsecretsanta2017 #takatofan #fuzzy-ren #renshideout #submission

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dragonandtiger · 7 years ago

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Digimon 00 - Fragments - 31

The tension in the Ichijouji house was thick, lingering like a dark storm that had long since worn out its welcome. None felt the brunt of the pressure more than Osamu as he sat in the room he shared with his little brother. Even as he tried to type away at the computer, the tension felt suffocating, distracting him from what he was attempting to accomplish. Every so often, he glanced over to his brother, the source of the intense strain on his heart.

Ken sat in front of the balcony, his back to Osamu as he stared out into the city beyond. It would have seemed like innocent wistfulness, if the eldest child didn’t know it for what it really was - a purposeful snub. Ken wasn’t even bothering with the homework that sit on the floor scattered about him, all of it discarded as the Chosen of Kindness focused out the balcony window.

With a heavy sigh, Osamu saved his work and shut his computer down. He couldn’t accept the atmosphere between him and his little brother, especially after he spent so many days fearing the worst. He was too harsh on Ken, he knew that; even if it was for a good reason, his gentle and kind little brother was too soft, and such brutality after seeing horrors he could only speculate about in that world of monsters clearly took their toll.

For the days following Ken’s return, Osamu wavered between emotional peaks and valleys, but throughout it all he quietly wished that things would go back to the way they were before, when he could spend the scant moments of outside of work and study to play with his little brother.

Normally, after every fight between them, it was Ken who brokered the peace. For as angry and rigid as Osamu could get, somehow the kindness of his little brother was always enough to gently lower his guard.

That didn’t happen this time.

Osamu found himself utterly at a loss where to start and spent several minutes just staring at a blank computer screen. He had done the right thing; he wasn’t wrong, but he wanted them to stop fighting. He wanted his little brother back.

Eventually, Osamu cleared his throat, then again a little louder when he noticed that failed to catch any attention. “Ken?”

Ken was silent for a moment, long enough for it to seem like he wouldn’t answer. Just before Osamu was about to try again, the Chosen of Kindness spoke without turning to face his brother. “What do you want.”

“My brother back,” Osamu thought, but fortunately his mind, as always, moved quicker than his mouth. Instead, he chose something else to say, something that he knew needed to be perfect or this tension would never end. “I’m taking a break. Do you want to play that new game dad got for us?”

“You mean the game he got for you?” Ken asked, with no small amount of sharpness in his voice. “Dad doesn’t buy me things, he buys you things, and I get them when you’re bored of them and don’t want them anymore.”

Even on a good day, Osamu couldn’t argue that fact, and this most certainly was not a good day. After spending a moment swiveling in his chair, he tried a more tactful approach instead, as he opened a desk drawer. “If you want it, you can have it. I haven’t even taken the shrinkwrap off, so it’s still brand new.”

After a little bit of searching, Osamu found the game in question, one of the hottest new releases that he knew Ken had been dying to play since it was hyped in advertising months ago. He showed the pristine game box for his little brother’s inspection, extending his arm while hoping a game he knew they both wanted could substitute for an olive branch.

Ken paused before he finally turned about to face Osamu. He looked down at the game before he lifted his gaze to Osamu��s face. “What I want is for you to stop trying to keep me from my friends.”

Osamu flinched, but tried to mitigate his reaction. He suspected this would be the response, but he had been hoping Ken secretly wanted peace just as much as he did. With a sigh, he set the game down and leaned back in his chair. “If you’re talking about Akiyama… then I guess. Maybe.”

Just conceding that much was painful. He had been pointedly ignoring and avoiding Ryo at school despite the many attempts the other boy made to talk to him about the situation.

“I mean all of them,” Ken said, sharply. “Including Wormmon - especially Wormmon.”

There it was. Osamu had dreaded this, but also expected it. Ken just couldn’t give up on the idea of being a hero, of having some magical pet or familiar that could whisk him off for adventures in another world, no matter how dangerous it was. No matter what real agendas these monsters had for such an innocent and gentle boy to fight in their wars.

It took Osamu a while to respond, as bile built at the back of his throat and threatened to burst out to savagely rip into all the monsters that nearly killed his little brother, but he swallowed the acid even as it burned his insides. He knew yelling wouldn’t work this time, not after how spectacularly it had failed before.

“Ken,” Osamu finally managed, wincing at the way his brother’s name came out far harsher than he intended. He tried again, desperately trying to grasp some of Ken’s natural gentleness that had been absent for these many days. “Ken, I know that whatever happened over there in that other world probably made you feel special, like a hero, but you’re eight years old. You’re a kid. We’re kids. We’re not supposed to be fighting wars; we’re supposed to be going to school and playing!”

“You don’t know what happened in the other world,” Ken said, his eyes boring into Osamu’s. “So you have no business trying to tell me that nothing I did mattered.”

“I didn’t say that,” Osamu said quickly. “The fact that these monsters want you so badly means something, but I don’t think what matters to you matters to them.”

“Protecting our world matters to me,” Ken replied. “Which is what they also want.”

Osamu ran his hand across his face and took in a long hissing breath between his fingers. “Okay, Ken, I will concede that much.” He slowly set his hands down onto the armrests of his chair. “I don’t know what happened during the week you were gone - when you were in a coma - because you won’t tell me. But you want to know what I do know? I know no one told me about it. What I knew was that for every minute you were missing, you were spending a day in a world full of monsters that want to kill you, who kidnapped you and Akiyama against your will.”

Osamu made a vague gesture in the air. “For the sake of this conversation, I’ll accept the idea that there really are at least two factions of monsters in this world, and the side that didn’t try to kill you was the one that recruited you. I’ll even, for the sake of argument, accept that they didn’t intend to kill you.” He redirected his hand to point it at Ken. “That doesn’t change the fact that they decided that it didn’t matter if I spent the past week scared that you were dead. Even families of veterans at war get told when something bad happens to the people fighting!”

Ken felt a twinge, as among all of Osamu’s complaints, the last one was the only legitimate one. Still, he wasn’t about to let it go unanswered. “We were used to there being a time distortion. It should’ve only been minutes, not days. We’ve been doing this for so long that we just didn’t think of it.”

Osamu extended a second finger. “So why didn’t they, your monster friends, who were not in a coma contact me? Or bring me to see you? Or give a damn that there might be people back home who’d miss you if you died!”

“They don’t communicate with humans normally, especially people who aren’t Chosen Children,” Ken said with a shake of his head.

“Not even family members of their child soldiers?” Osamu snapped with more resentment than he intended.

Ken’s cheek twitched, but he tried to keep his temper somewhat in check. “They don’t want to make things more complicated for us than necessary, especially given that people might have trouble accepting them or their existence.” He narrowed his eyes as he gave Osamu a pointed look. “Like now.”

These monsters were good, Osamu noted with no small amount of resentment. They knew just what to say to sway Ken to their side; not unlike a cult’s recruitment. He needed to research how to break cult brainwashing to see how it could be undone, but for now, he needed to focus on bridging the gap between them.

Swallowing a snide remark, Osamu instead took a number of measured breaths as he adjusted his tactics slightly. “I don’t trust anyone involved with you getting hurt. Especially if they don’t tell me about it. You might trust these monsters, but I don’t. I can’t until they prove to me that they actually do care about you.”

Osamu held up a hand to cut off argument he knew was coming. “But. But… If it’s without any of those monsters, I’ll stop arguing with you about spending time with Akiyama again.”

Ken’s eyes narrowed as he clenched his jaw so tightly it made his teeth hurt. His anger was swelling up inside him again, burning hot as it melted what little self-control he had left. As always, Osamu made it about himself - what he wanted, what he felt, earning his trust, proving it to him. The boy genius, without fail, could never see past his own nose to see that not everything had to be about Osamu Ichijouji.

“Without me,” Osamu finally added, forcing the words out. He hated making such a concession, but he needed more information, and this was the only way he could get it. “I’ll let you see this monster, Wormmon, only if it’s in our world, and only if I go with you. I have a few questions for him anyway.”

“Why, so you can try and kill him again?” Ken asked, his voice like a hiss through his clenched teeth.

Osamu didn’t miss a beat. “Not unless he tries to hurt you or me.”

“I don’t believe you,” Ken growled. The vision of Osamu trying to throw Wormmon from the balcony was one that was burned forever into his mind.

Osamu dug his fingers into the armrests rather than into his face as he tried desperately to keep his temper in check. This wasn’t Ken he was talking to right now, he had to remind himself. This was weeks, perhaps months, of conditioning from a bunch of strangers with dubious agendas in a war zone full of monsters.

After one more deep breath to help clear his head, Osamu forced his body to unclench. “Alright. I’m not sure how I can get you to believe me there, so I won’t meet with this Wormmon, but until I do, I can’t trust him, so I can’t just let you see him either. I won’t let him take you to that world again. I won’t let you almost get killed again!”

Ken barely bit back a barb, and his tongue in the process. As something ugly formed in his throat, he heard the words of his friends - of Ryo, Higashi, and Bokomon encouraging him to try and make peace with his family. They were the only family he had, after all. Things might have seemed bad at the moment, but surely they were just doing it out of love and not malice - at least, that’s what kept repeating in his head. It was just ignorance.

Even a supposed genius could be ignorant.

Ken took a deep breath through his nose before he exhaled, closing his eyes. He tried to think of it as expelling all the wound up anger he felt, pushing it out of his body so that he could keep his cool in spite of his brother’s pigheadedness. He then turned his back to Osamu, returning his attention to the balcony. “Please leave me alone.”

Osamu let out a sigh of frustration at his failure. “Look, Ken, I know it must’ve been exciting in that other world, but can’t you see there’s something really messed up about a bunch of monsters with super powers asking a kid to fight for them?”

“I asked you nicely,” Ken said, forcing his voice to stay even. He didn’t trust himself to say much more, especially not after his last outburst. The fact that Osamu kept pushing wasn’t making it any easier. “Please leave me alone.”

Groaning, Osamu placed his hand on his head. “Ken…” He faltered, struggling to come up with something that would pierce through this uncharacteristic stubborn streak his little brother displayed, but nothing seemed to be working. “Okay. Fine. If you won’t talk to me about this, then at least just promise me that you’ll only see friends who’re human. Can you at least do that much for me?”

Ken didn’t respond. He couldn’t respond, as it was a promise that he would never make. It was agreeing to never see Wormmon or the rest of his friends, and it was just a promise he wasn’t willing to make.

Osamu sighed, slumped in his chair with his palm over his face. He was done. He had nothing left. All he had to offer was the game, which he blindly fumbled for before holding it out to his side, no longer looking at Ken. “Here. You can have this. Keep it. Throw it away. I don’t care.”

Ken glanced back at his brother. He didn’t want to take the game, but found himself doing it anyway. Silently, the Chosen of Kindness headed to the doorway and slipped out of their room in to the hallway. He stopped to close the door behind him, but paused as he heard Osamu speak one last time.

“Just…,” Osamu faltered for a moment. “I just don’t want you to get hurt again. You’re my only brother, you know.”

Ken hesitated before he closed the door. He took a few steps before leaned back against the wall. He hung his head, staring down at the game in his hand. Whatever enjoyment he might have gotten out of it was completely tainted, as the mere sight of it made his stomach churn.

“Then why….” Ken murmured, to himself. “Why do you keep treating me like this…?”

#Dreaming To Reality #fragments #digimon #Digimon Adventure 02 #digimon adventure

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florencetheflowerfairy · 7 years ago

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TSOL Chapter 30 Liveblog

For @lightchildofthespring

The Song of Love by Koukacs / Lightchildofthespring is a longfic retelling of Digimon Adventure where Taichi and Yamato never became Chosen Children, so the focus is more on the other children. It’s epic and dramatic and the ladies are awesome.

Supposedly SHOCKING THINGS are supposed to happen in this chapter, so I have decided to liveblog it!

Please, DO NOT READ THIS LIVEBLOG unless you have read “The Song of Love”! There will be massive spoilers!!

Anyway that’s me (I’m both of them), SUPER READY to tackle this chapter!

How much suffering will you get away with, Koukacs?? I’LL FIND OUT!

Thoughts before I begin:

Supposedly this chapter is darker than “For Friendship, Perhaps,” where there was a GRISLY MURDER.

I REALLY DON’T KNOW HOW YOU CAN GET DARKER THAN THAT BUT OKAY.

BASICALLY I AM EXPECTING KOUSHIRO TO DIE.

Though of course he will get better.

Though I also have a wild theory that you will parallel Otae and Koushiro by having them both watch their brothers get killed.

WHAT IS THE REVEAL? Something to do with how Fate was created? Are we going to see that? Was Makoto involved?

Is Koushiro going to get a fabulous hairdo ala “Steven and the Stevens”?

So many important questions. OKAY LET’S DIG IN.

1. “The end of all things”

WHAT A TITLE. I MEAN, WHAT CAN I EVEN SAY ABOUT THAT.

2. “I did nothing wrong, Hikari-san.”

Fate, is that you?? My favorite villain?? Also LOL, “nothing wrong,” you TWAT.

3. YES IT IS FATE. MUAHAHAHA.

4. “You’re not really that logical. There’s a lot of pain in you. And anger.”

Hikari is so perceptive and brave!

5. FATE IS PUNISHING KOUSHIRO?? BECAUSE HE INFECTED FATE WITH GLITCHES OF BEING ABLE TO FEEL EMOTIONS??

AAAAAHHHH AW MAN.

6. OMG I love Hikari being so logical about how Koushiro is the brain and absolutely integral to the team, while Fate is being such an emotional mess about this.

This mysterious conversation is giving me lots of Utena vibes and Fate is like Dios.

7. Okay wait. The person Fate is talking to is NOT Hikari? That finally clicked in my brain. I assumed it was like a Dream Version of Hikari. Um.

8. The mysterious wise Hikari-like person just said that Love is Eternal, awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

9. “You’re just a simulation of her that I created!”

I am suddenly reminded of Sirelo’s Ex Machina fanfic. HIKARI THE ROBOT STRIKES AGAIN.

10. “In the end, you are a part of me, just like those other two!”

The other two?? Are the other two Koushiro and Makoto?

11. The story of the Shepherd Boy STRIKES AGAIN.

12. BACK TO YOSHIE YAY!

13. “Among my friends, I was the one who took the longest time to start understanding my partner.”

This made me emotional.

14. Yoshie isn’t shocked at all by Motimon’s assessment of Koushiro’s personality, and she even talked to Masami about it! It’s amazing how similar she and her son are!

15. Aaaahhhh, Yoshie and Koushiro love each other but are terrible at communicating. SO YOSHIE NEEDS TO PLAY HER VIOLIN FOR HIM! THAT’S BEAUTIFUL! I hope to see that happen!

16. OH HI MASAMI. And Koushiro is unconscious, oh dear. STILL ALIVE, THOUGH. THAT’S A PLUS.

17. Back to Koushiro’s vision which Fate has apparently been planning for ages. Makoto’s face is so similar to Yoshie’s!

DON’T TOUCH ME.

18. Haha!! I like how Koushiro is already trying to outsmart Fate! :D

PLAY IT COOL, KOUSHIRO. YOU CAN WIN THIS THING. BE COOL AND CONFIDENT AS WHOEVER THIS LADY IS.

19. DON’T FALL FOR THE TRAP, KOUSHIRO. SOMEBODY IS GOING TO DIE IN THIS CHAPTER AND I DON’T WANT IT TO BE YOU.

20. Fate would use TENTOMON against Koushiro. EVIL EVIL EVIL.

21. “I can hear Koushiro’s heartbeat” and this is shocking?? ARE THEY ALL DEAD AND IN HEAVEN EXCEPT FOR KOUSHIRO? IS THAT’S WHAT GOING ON? Oh wait it’s literally Hell isn’t it.

22. Aaaaaand now Makoto and Tentomon are acting as though they can “still save Koushiro from Fate.”

23. YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO BE VERY CONVINCING IN ORDER TO GET ME TO TRUST YOU.

24. “Calm down, please. We’ll tell you everything you need to know. It’ll be hard to believe...”

“I’m very open-minded.” The other boy spoke in a defiant tone.

THAT’S MY BOY. THAT’S MYYY BOOOYYYY. THAT’S SOME QUINTESSENTIAL KOUSHIRO RIGHT THERE RIGHT THERE. THAT MIGHT BE THE MOST KOUSHIRO-ESQUE THING YOU HAVE EVER WRITTEN.

I LOVE KOUSHIRO.

“I’M VERY OPEN-MINDED AND ALSO HOW DARE YOU ACT LIKE I’M NOT.”

25. Makoto and Tentomon are the other two computer simulations!! :O

ROBOTS GALORE. IT’S A ROBOT CHAPTER. YAY!

26. “Who were the others? Am I not the first one whose mind Fate abducted? Did those other people... Did Fate kill them all?”

Steven and the Crystal Gems

Come on now don’t be shy

I learned to stay true to myself

by watching myself die!

I mean I knew this was coming so I’m not surprised but STILL.

27. Aaahhh, so many Koushiros, tortured to death. Koukacs...

28. I’m willing to believe that these Sophisticated Imaginary Friends are good people and that they can help Koushiro. I need to believe that!!

29. I’m very curious why Koushiro is older in this place??

30. FAKE-HIKARI IS HERE. SHE’S GOT BLACK BOOTS AND A BADASS PINK COAT. WILL SHE BE FRIEND OR FOE?

31. I’m like barely halfway through this chapter. XD

32. Aaaaahhhh, Koushiro is so afraid that Fate is putting his mother through the same anguish that it did to him. :’’(

33. THE SHEPHERD BOY STRIKES BACK.

34. It’s Real-Hikari! (?)

I CAN TRUST HER, RIGHT?

35. MAYBE SHE’S NOT REAL-HIKARI EITHER GAAAH.

36. MASAMI, SAVE YOUR SON.

37. I have decided that I don’t trust this Hikari after all.

38. “The third question is ‘How many seconds of time are there in Eternity?’”

And Lo, Florencetheflowerfairy answered: Count the number of letters in The Song of Love. Then start from the beginning and count them again. And once you have finally understood all the mysteries in this fanfiction, exactly one second of Eternity will have passed.

39. Anyway, it seems like the reason Koushiro is in this unusual circumstance is because he and his mother have “synchronized.” Not unlike what happened to Koushiro and Sora when Sora was trapped in her own personal hell! The word “synchronized” also makes me think of two hearts singing together, like a song of love. :)

Koushiro and Sora!!! Their friendship!! <3 <3 <3

40. Okay I am TRYING to trust this Fake-Hikari. She seems like a good Sophisticated Imaginary Friend.

41. Aaahhh, Koushiro is being very smart to ask them for information to ask on how to kill Fate! I wonder if that will happen??? (Certainly these computer simulations inside of Fate don’t seem to be as evil...)

42. “I want to know how Fate was created” and then apparently this knowledge is VERY BAD AND WILL HURT. Oh nooooooo. BUT KOUSHIRO IS TOO CURIOUS. HE MUST KNOW.

43. “You really hate the Spirit...” WOW, YOU THINK?

Makoto is sad about this.

I don’t know how this is possible, but is the Spirit somehow made from Koushiro or Makoto’s spirit...?

44. “You’ll be bringing yourself your own end!” Tentomon says. Aaaahh, that old prophecy, finally finally going to happen.

BUT HE’S GOING TO GET BETTER. IT’S OKAY.

45. Aww, I’m glad that Koushiro remembers that his friends and family love him! :’)

46. That’s very clever of the Sophisticated Imaginary Friends to say that they can tell him everything that happened leading up the the creation!

47. And now, they are telling the story of the drabble you posted on your tumblr, when Makoto told the Fairytale to Koushiro...

48. It really sounds like Koushiro and Fate are the same and I don’t know how that’s possible.

49. Oh no, Masami and Yoshie died in this universe. :’’’(

(I’m fine, don’t worry about me. They’re fictional.) (BUT THAT’S SO SAD, REALLY.)

50. “HE”? IS KOUSHIRO FATE? DID HE DIE TO CREATE FATE? TO CREATE UNIVERSES WHERE HIS PARENTS WEREN’T KILLED?

51. “Where have you been?” And Koushiro thinks that the voice sounds familiar? Who else could it be but Koushiro? Or, Makoto?? Somehow??? I DON’T KNOW???

52. Fake-Hikari is deleted, aww. :(

53. Aaaaand Fake-Tentomon is also deleted! Makoto will probably be deleted soon, like I thought at the beginning...

54. Aww, Makoto loved him!! <3 :’)

55. Aaahh, Koushiro promises to tell his parents about him!

56. Makoto dies before Koushiro’s eyes. Just like what happened to Otae! Poor Koushiro!!

57. And now we see the chair from Wizarmon’s vision!

58. “Don’t let that thing scare you! Be brave!” BE BRAVE, MY SON!!

59. “I know you too well.” THIS THING HAS TO BE KOUSHIRO. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY.

60. “But I know I would never do something like that!” I sense a big dose of IRONY is going to smack you in the face, Koushiro.

61. It’s Koushiro. The chapter ends with the image of Season 1 aged Koushiro and Season 2 aged Koushiro looking at each other.

62. WELP

63. OH GEEZ

64. HOW CAN HE EVER GET OUT OF THIS MESS?

65. GOOD LUCK I LOVE YOU AND YOU’RE GOING TO BE OKAY AND YOU’RE GOING TO HUG YOUR MOM SOON.

#lightchildofthespring #The Song of Love #tsol #Florence reads tsol #oh the irony that Fate also happens to be my favorite villain

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couragesun · 8 years ago

Note

Out of the original 8 chosen kids and their digimon can you rank your favourite digimon child partnerships?

You bet I can!

Disclaimer: I really do love all of them, this is just my interpretation of which partner pairs I think compliment and support each other the best. I’m more than open to a discussion if there are disagreements

1) Jou and Gomamon #partnergoals

2) Yamato and Gabumon

3) Takeru and Patamon

4) Taichi and Agumon

5) Hikari and Gatomon

6) Mimi and Palmon

7) Koshiro and Tentomon

8) Sora and Biyomon

More details under the cut!

Jou and Gomamon are my FAAAAVS. They genuinely feel like friends: they tease each other, challenge each other to be better, and are supportive and encourage each other. I honestly think they have the most true and authentic relationship. These two are family; there for each other for the high points and the low points (and during those low points, Gomamon is there with a hug and a smile!). They balance each other out and bring out the best in each other and I absolutely love it. (*buries head under blanket*) I have so many feelings about these two cuties I don’t think I can articulate it. They’re so much more than partners and I wish all the Chosen had a relationship like theirs.

Yamato and Gabumon are so perfect and awkward it makes me squeal on a regular basis. Like, they understand each other on such a spiritual level, and yet they are still so awkward around each other; almost like they don’t know what to do with the amount of love and loyalty that they have for each other. I think Gabumon is the one character in the series that truly understands Yamato, and you can see it so clearly in their bond. When I was younger, I was always a little confused as to why Yamato got the Crest of Friendship, but his relationship with Gabumon really helped him understand what friendship is and what it can be. I really believe that Gabumon helped Yamato become a better person.

Takeru and Patamon also have a beautiful relationship. Even when I wasn’t a huge fan of Takeru, I always appreciated the bond these two shared. Takeru is the only digidestined who has watched his partner die in battle, so I think that he really loves and appreciates his partner in a way that is different than the other digidestined. UGH! And that scene in tri when Patamon was infected!! I was IN TEARS. How DARE they make me FEEL EMOTIONS!!

Taichi and Agumon have a relationship that I find fascinating. It’s a strange combination of Taichi treating Agumon a bit like a younger sibling and also like a trusted battle partner. I’ve rarely seen Taichi have long heart-to-heart conversations with Agumon, and I think that stems from Agumon’s emotional immaturity. Agumon is great, but he’s not on the same level as Gabumon or Biyomon in terms of awareness. When Taichi is uncertain, Agumon’s instinct is to say “We got this cuz we’re friends, and friends can do ANYTHING!” He trusts Taichi to a degree that makes him seem almost infallible – if Taichi asked him to step into traffic, I think Agumon would do so with very little hesitation. He doesn’t have the same role that Gabumon plays in Yamato’s life, where he helps Yamato grow. Agumon’s role is to be more of a safety net – Taichi can screw up, and Agumon will still be there (i.e. SkullGreymon). He is a loyal solider to his general, and will always be there to support Taichi. I think this makes them the best partners in battle, because they trust each other so much, but I don’t think they’ll ever have the same relationship that the former three have. And maybe they don’t need to – maybe Taichi has enough advisers through the other Chosen that he DOES need someone whose response will always be “I will go wherever you go”.

Hikari and Gatomon! Okay, this ranking is completely because I’m the worst. I really need to re-watch 02, because I’m drawing a blank on Hikari and Gatomon’s relationship. I mean I know that they have a really solid partnership AND friendship, but I can’t really think of many specific instances to draw from. Part of this is because they came into the series so late in 01 and Hikari and Gatomon haven’t had too many scenes together in tri (although that mall scene nearly KILLED ME), so I just don’t have much to work with since it’s been so long since I’ve watched 02. Thus, I’ve placed these two comfortably in the middle because the scenes that DO come to mind are pretty great: when Angewoman and LadyDevimon are having their cat-fight and Hikari is on the sidelines cheering like a lunatic, the tri scene at the mall, the entire lead-up to discovering Hikari was the eighth child. Yea, these two are pretty great together.

Mimi and Palmon are kind of the opposite of Taichi and Agumon… Palmon and Mimi LOVE each other the way that besties do, but I think their relationship is different than Gomamon and Jou because Palmon’s role is to bring out Mimi’s genuine self and humility. I’ve always found it appropriate that Palmon is a plant-type digimon because she is so down-to-earth and she balances out Mimi’s over-the-top nature. I always imagine them at a sleepover, braiding each other’s hair (it’s not a perfectly accurate scenario..), while Mimi gushes/rages/gossips about someone or something, and Palmon being that little angel on her shoulder reminding her to slow down and consider all of the facts before making snap decisions. They are friends first, and everything else second. Palmon has helped Mimi grow up a lot, and has no problems calling her out on her bullshit (the Numemon castle episode…), but I don’t see the same level of trust and understanding that the above partnerships have. Mimi and Palmon are awesome for each other, but I’ve never found myself wishing I had their type of relationship.

Koshiro and Tentomon!! I love my nerdlings!!! UGH! Individually I think these two are perfect, but as I was thinking about each of the partnerships I even surprised myself how low I rated these two because I really do love them. And the problem, unfortunately, is Koshiro. I KNOW that Koshiro adores Tentomon, but I have seen enough moments where Koshiro treats Tentomon more like a business partner than a friend. Which, if this situation were like Mimi and Palmon, wouldn’t be so bad if that’s what they needed, but it’s not. Koshiro NEEDS someone to keep him in check, someone to drag him out of his cave every once in a while, someone to remind him that oolong tea can’t be the ONLY thing someone consumes to stay healthy… The other Chosen (Jou, Mimi, and Taichi especially) I think do a pretty good job at this, because they are hard to argue with. I feel so bad for Tentomon because you can see him TRYING to help Koshiro, but Koshiro often ignores him. And that… doesn’t always sit well with me. I think Koshiro can forget that Tentomon is his friend and confidant, instead of a partner on a research project. And then Tentomon has to do something drastic (like the cave of curiosity where he had to devolve until Koshiro snapped out of it, or when he had to sacrifice himself in tri to prove a point) and then Koshiro remembers “Oh no! That’s my friend and partner!”. So yea, they’re great, but Koshiro needs to get his priorities straight…

Biyomon and Sora. Yea, I feel like I might get some hate for this one, but I’ve never liked Biyomon. These two have had the most tumultuous relationship throughout all of the seasons, and while I’m glad that they eventually came to an understanding of each other before the reboot, watching them come to terms with each other was almost painful. For the longest time they didn’t trust each other, and I often got the feeling that Sora didn’t even LIKE Biyomon at the beginning. It wasn’t until Sora’s crest glowed for the first time that I saw anything resembling a friendship between the two of them. Which is okay, everyone develops friendships differently, but I don’t think I ever saw proof of this ‘amazing, loving’ friendship that they supposedly had after that moment. For example, When Yamato was in his depression cave with Gabumon, Gabumon was the one who pulled him out of it by talking to him and showing how much he cared about Yamato and by telling him he didn’t have to be alone anymore. I BELIEVE their friendship, because I saw it! I saw Gabumon fight for Yamato’s friendship and it was beautiful. Sora was in the exact same situation, and Biyomon was unable to pull her out of the cave of sadness. I just don’t see the same level of trust and understanding that the others have with their partners – I’ve been told it’s there, but I didn’t get to really watch the evolution. They just suddenly understood each other, and it felt forced and fake. And THEN we get to tri and the reboot and Biyomon is SUCH a jerk! And, believe me, I’ve read enough “in defense of Biyomon” posts to try and understand the other side, but there was a point where Biyomon was just being intentionally hurtful. I get it, you don’t know her, but how can you rebuild a friendship unless you TRY, and if you’re not willing to try then why are you still there?? I’m glad I got to watch their relationship form throughout that episode, but it still felt a little forced and rushed. I think that these two are just rarely what the other needs, and instead of pushing each other to be better they force the other into a standstill. It’s very frustrating for me to watch. So yea, they’re one of my least favorite partnerships, which is such a shame because I love Sora!!

#50cyg #CS chats #asks #digimon adventure #digimon adventure tri

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shihalyfie · 4 years ago

Text

The 02 epilogue and “realism”

While the following thoughts have been something I’ve been thinking about for a very long time, the official Kizuna Twitter posted some interesting tweets this morning about the 02 epilogue that made me feel very much like I wanted to talk about this in detail today, so I’ve written this up. Considering how historically controversial the 02 epilogue is (or having an opinion on the 02 epilogue at all, really), I’m probably standing on thin ice by even talking about it, but I’ll do my best.

I think there’s no way getting around the fact that the 02 epilogue was really sudden for pretty much everyone -- it pretty much jumps at you without warning at the end of episode 50, a sudden 25-year timeskip when we had just gotten out of Oikawa’s death (and a very chaotic finale in general). But there is another quirk about the epilogue, which is that a lot of what seems “illogical” out of it...is most certainly illogical to someone approaching it as a kid thinking in terms of media tropes, but gains a very different nuance when you become an adult and have a certain degree of life experience under your belt.

(Note: This post does not discuss Kizuna, despite being inspired by something from it, so no fear of spoilers.)

Before we begin for real, I just want to get it out of the way that I’m not trying to “defend” the epilogue in the sense of implying that people are unreasonable for being blindsided. Like I said, it was sudden, and it was a giant timeskip where a ton of incredibly massive changes happened, leaving the audience likely to be disoriented wondering what on earth happened in the middle there to lead up to that. On top of that, although the rest of this meta is basically dedicated to “analyzing the meaning behind the epilogue writing choices from the production perspective”, I will be very honest in that, yes, I do think that, regardless of good intent, it may not have been the best decision to go ahead and make these decisions in this degree of lack of thought as to how the audience (especially one that was expected to be largely comprised of children) would take it -- creativity is a two-way street, after all, and communicating with your audience and understanding how your work will come off is very important.

Still, nevertheless, I’m writing this meta because I think, well...now that we’re all adults, and now that we’ve gotten a plethora of development information over the past twenty years, especially in the light of Kizuna, it’s worth doing an analysis about why these kinds of writing choices were made, because even to this day you get a lot of people who feel completely blindsided about it.

Everyone’s careers

Actually, the reason I decided to make this post was that I was inspired a bit by this morning’s post from the Kizuna Twitter discussing why, despite being a lead-up to the 02 epilogue, some of the cast in Kizuna seems to be in careers or aspirations that are slightly off from the careers we saw them in during the actual epilogue. (Most notably, Sora still working in ikebana instead of fashion design, Mimi being into online shopping instead of her future cooking show, etc.) The official statement was that Seki Hiromi (producer for the original Adventure and 02) personally stepped in and warned them that, in real life, a lot of people will end up changing their career aspirations at this age, and that it wouldn’t hit close to home if everyone had it exactly figured out by this point.

Kizuna is a movie about the Sad Millennial Adult Experience, so of course it is very important that it be relatable to adults in the modern era. But, in all honesty, this principle applies to 02′s epilogue itself as well. Back when the epilogue first aired -- and for the last twenty years, really -- you got a lot of comments like “why didn’t Taichi become a professional soccer player? why didn’t Yamato go into music?” and such. The thing is, though...well, this is a personal anecdote, but I first got into Digimon when I was a preteen, and, having already had an experience where my childhood interests had changed completely, I actually severely disliked seeing people say that because it felt too straightforward. Even that early, that kind of thing felt unrelatable.

Kizuna as a movie, right now, would be impossible to make in the form it is now if it hadn’t been for the 02 epilogue setting that kind of precedent -- because of the idea of your childhood hobbies not feeling as appealing as they used to be and being very lost about what to do now, feeling that everyone lied to you about that whole “having things figured out by adulthood” thing, and maybe you’ll never really figure it out. But even taking out the fact that the 02 epilogue most likely wasn’t written with the idea they’d need to make an adult-relatable movie 20 real-life years later, I think it’s easy to glean that this philosophy was behind the 02 epilogue as well. Especially since, well...Adventure and 02 themselves were both famous for this kind of writing, for depicting the lives of children in surprisingly realistic and close-to-home ways that avoided generic anime tropes.

Actually, Kakudou said it straight-out:

There were a lot of anime normally made with the idea that a given rule must occur, but I decided to do them while having doubts about whether or not it was a good idea to take on such given rules without any detail. Even if we went on with these given rules, I tried to take appropriate steps in showing why such things had occurred through step-by-step arrangements and reasoning. That is why I tried to add a little bit of realness each time to the characters, despite the restrictions that they are from anime.

So yes, that actually was the point -- no using anime tropes unless they felt they could feasibly happen with these characters. Daisuke is commented on as having “the most anime-like” and idealistic personality, but as I commented in my earlier 02 meta, he still doesn’t quite hit all of the check marks on the shounen hero archetype. So after going for a whole series on the line of going into a grounded take on human mentalities and thought processes...it probably would be inappropriate to suddenly shift into an extremely idealized fictional trope-ish depiction of everyone just going into a more exaggerated version of their childhood hobbies.

Again, that doesn’t mean that some of these don’t come off as really sudden -- the most infamous being Yamato becoming an astronaut. This was eventually revealed in 2003 and several times later to be a holdover from the original beta concept for a third Adventure series, so in that light it makes a little more sense -- Yamato probably would be the most passionate about keeping up the fight as a Chosen -- but nevertheless, it’s ambiguous whether that actually still holds (especially since the actual, uh, “third series” was...a bit different), and since we live in a world where that hypothetical Digimon in Space series never happened, it still blindsides the viewer.

On the other hand, though, both the tri. stage play and the official Kizuna profiles only took less than a paragraph to explain the disparity of why Yamato isn’t doing music anymore: he wanted to keep it in the range of hobbies. Which, incidentally, is an extremely common thing for many who experiment with creative work in their youth -- many realize that if they make it into their job, they’ll actually start hating it. Conversely, while I haven’t talked to a lot of astronauts myself, I really do sometimes wonder how many of them actually knew they were going to get into it from childhood.

So that’s the thing. We have no idea what happened, we’re left with very little recourse as to bridging the gap (at least, until Kizuna came 20 years later and helped us out a bit), and that’s why it feels implausible to many -- especially for a kid in the audience who may not have had that experience of having their hobbies change or feel less appealing. In the end, like I said, I’m not sure that going about it this way was the best decision when the very target audience was likely to be confused about this, and since, after all, fiction does have to have some acceptable breaks from reality for the sake of being a followable story. But at the very least, it is very much in line with Adventure and 02′s philosophy towards writing and its characters -- that things would be the case based on what would be these characters’ likely trajectory as actual people, and not as what you might expect “because it’s fiction” or “because they’re this kind of character”.

That everyone has a Digimon partner

I have a very distinct memory of, as a preteen, going around the Internet and seeing a fansite where someone made their “better version” of the epilogue, where their favorite ships got married instead and everyone got the careers they thought they should have, but one major thing that stuck out was that it had the now-adult kids still keep the existence of Digimon a secret, and that it’s kind of a “secret club” that they still have. In general, one of the biggest arguments against the “everyone has a Digimon partner” thing is that this, allegedly, diminishes how “special” the Chosen are when they’re not the super-amazing sole people in the world to have a partner.

When you’re a kid, being the “Chosen One” sounds romantic. You’re a special selected hero with fated abilities to save the world. In the context of Adventure and 02, however, this would actually be very contradictory to the constant reminders given by both series that magical powers selecting you out of nowhere means absolutely nothing if you’re not the one with personal will and volition to do the right thing with what you’re given. In fact, I’d say it’s actually the opposite of what all of those people have said -- if you did something amazing because of fate or because some higher power said you should, it says a lot less about you than if you were given abilities and choices and actively made an attempt to do something good and change the world, by your own volition.

But the other very important thing about the epilogue is that people keep seeing this development of Digimon proliferating all over the world like it was completely out-of-nowhere, to the point I’ve even seen conspiracy theories that the epilogue was a last-minute decision. This is especially funny because the epilogue was one of the first things decided in the entire series -- “the entire series” in this case being not 02, but Adventure -- before they’d even finalized the characterizations for everyone! The 02 epilogue was, infamously, intended to be Adventure’s ending, before 02 was greenlighted and they postponed the plan there resulting in 02 ultimately taking the fall for it.

Because it was a new television series, without an original novel or manga to use as its reference, we had to cut back on the aspect of explaining the character to each voice actor, something that we would usually do under normal circumstances. We only described their basic personality during auditions because it was likely that those personalities would change drastically in the future depending on the plot’s developments. We did not omit the explanations because there were too many characters. I swear.

But in exchange, we began post-recording by saying just this: “This story is one that’s being reminisced on by one of the children in the group who becomes a novelist 28 years later. The narrator here is that child as an adult.” Those who watched the last episode of the continuation series “Digimon Adventure 02” would know that this was Takeru, but back then, that information was kept secret. At the time of the show, it was planned that the last episode of “Digimon Adventure” would end with ‘where are the characters now’ 28 years later. However, in mid-run, production for its sequel “02” was decided and its story contents were established to be juxtaposed to the previous show, so we carried over the 28 years later scene to the sequel series instead.

(From the afterword from Adventure novel #3, from director Kakudou Hiroyuki.)

25 years after 02. 28 years after Adventure. We calculated that very precisely. In 1999, there was Taichi’s group of eight, and there were also eight other people who didn’t appear in Adventure. Before that there were only eight total, and before that only four, and before that only two, and at the beginning, only one. If they were to double every year, then it would be 28 years until everyone in the world would be able to live alongside a Digimon. Threaded through both Adventure and 02 is a story about humanity’s evolution. For everyone to have their own Digimon partner is the final step of evolution. Because there’s not much left for our actual bodies to change in terms of evolution, it is a story about how the hidden parts of our souls use the powers of digital technology to manifest in the real world, resulting in humanity’s evolution.

Statement from Kakudou Hiroyuki, from the Digimon Series Memorial Book.)

About Digimon 10: The initial trigger for humanity receiving partner Digimon was the Hikarigaoka incident in 1996, but at the time the Internet network was not ready and it was too early for anything to happen. The following years resulted in two and then four people getting involved, and after that it doubled every year (twice, because digital and binary). About Digimon 11: Twenty years later, in the world depicted in the final episode of 02, all human beings have received a partner Digimon. This is the ultimate result of Digimon Adventure’s story of evolution.

Statement from Kakudou Hiroyuki, originating from Twitter and later moved to his blog.)

While the 02 epilogue taking place in the year it did sounds like it’s because they just wanted to add an arbitrary neat number of “25 years later” to 02′s finale, in actuality, the original goal was not for that 25 years but to specifically hit the year of 2028 (not 2027, actually), where, calculating the number of humans that could be partnered to a Digimon based on the global population, everyone would have a partner by exactly 2028. The “doubling every year” principle was only brought up in actual anime-centric canon in a drama CD, and even then it was in a context of speculation instead of being stated as hard fact, but it should be noted that even Kizuna is compliant with this principle, since To Sora states directly that the number of Chosen Children as of 2010 is over 30,000, which is the approximate correct amount you should be expecting by 2010 under this principle. (So yes, really, despite ostensibly not being compliant with his original concept, presumably thanks to the nail added by partnership dissolution and how that ties into his theory of Digimon being part of the soul, Kizuna actually goes out of its way to otherwise be compliant with even the more obscure parts of his lore.)

But the really interesting thing that this epilogue concept brings out is that “the adventure of the Tokyo Chosen Children” actually had nothing to do with the proliferation of Chosen Children around the world whatsoever. From the very beginning, even since the original conception of Adventure, the proliferation of Digimon was something that was going to happen whether anyone liked it or not.

In fact, let’s look at what Koushirou actually says in the aforementioned drama CD:

Yes. I’ve figured it out… The meaning behind the term “Chosen Child.” The number of “Chosen Children” has been growing at a steady rate. Having a partner Digimon isn’t really that special. Being a “Chosen Child” means… to cease the hostilities that break out and inconvenience the Digital World. In order to do so, that child gains a partner Digimon faster than another. In other words, we are children chosen to fight. That’s what it means, isn’t it? ... Oh, is that so? That’s surprising. I didn’t expect that not even you would know what countries the Chosen Children come from when they go to the Digital World… It’s Qinglongmon that’s helping you, is it, Gennai-san? Do the other Holy Beasts who have revived not know either? The Digital World is still so full of mysteries. I’ll do my best to look for them over here.

I think a lot of people tend to have misconceptions about the nature of a Chosen Child, and those who picked them, because the way everyone became “chosen ones” is actually very different from how most media usually would play the trope. In particular:

Homeostasis, the Agents, and the Holy Beasts are explicitly not gods nor omniscient. Homeostasis admits their own lack of abilities in Adventure episode 45, and there’s a recurring undercurrent of the “I don’t know” coming from them and the Agents not actually being because they’re deliberately cryptic, but because they really don’t know. In fact, the Digital World itself is depicted as being about as confused about this whole human contact thing as the human world is.

Note that Koushirou makes a distinction between “being a Chosen Child” and “having a Digimon partner”. If you’re deemed someone who might be able to do something important in this very early time when the Digital World is still trying to figure all of this stuff out, in a world where humans overall still don’t understand Digimon very well, you get first dibs because you’re someone who can be a valuable pioneer. In other words, just because everyone else will eventually get a partner doesn’t mean your contributions aren’t still historical, valuable, and important.

The Digital World was mentioned in Adventure episode 19 as being approximately as big in scale as the real-world Earth itself. That means the Digital World is huge. Of course, its time and space doesn’t exactly match up with the real world’s, as demonstrated multiple times in 02 when the kids abuse it to circumvent travel distance, but nevertheless, there is presumably a lot of the Digital World that neither the Adventure nor the 02 kids have seen in their lives. When they meet Qinglongmon in 02 episode 37, he introduces himself as being in charge of the Eastern side -- and we never meet the others. In effect, there’s probably a huge area of the Digital World that needs protecting that even twelve kids from Tokyo can’t cover by themselves. And that answers the question of what the international Chosen Children are there for -- what do you think they’re doing with those Digivices, twiddling their thumbs? The Tokyo Chosen’s adventures were the ones we were blessed with being able to bear witness to, but that absolutely does not exclude the idea that there were other kids going through their own tales of growth and adventure -- especially since, as I said, Homeostasis and the others protecting the Digital World are not omniscient, and there are a lot of known factors beyond their control.

On that note, you might notice that, by the doubling-every-year principle and by running a math calculation, in 1999, there were eight other Chosen Children besides Taichi’s group. This also tracks with the fact that Adventure episode 53 revealed that there were other Chosen Children prior to Taichi et al. who performed an incomplete seal on Apocalymon, ones that even Gennai wasn’t aware of (remember how I said that the Agents aren’t actually omniscient?). While the fact that such an ostensibly huge fact was dropped so casually is jarring for the viewer, in retrospect, the fact that this was dropped so casually was indicative of the idea of how...not very much of a big deal this was supposed to be. Taichi and his friends may have been instrumental in the selection process for Chosen Children back in 1995, but they weren’t the only ones who witnessed the Hikarigaoka incident nor to have contact with Digimon, and they weren’t even the first to save the Digital World, nor will they be the last. But the journey of personal growth they took was still important to themselves -- just because they weren’t the only ones who took it didn’t change the fact that such an important thing happened, nor that we got the benefit of being able to meet and resonate with these kids.

In fact, the Hikarigaoka incident wasn’t even the first point of contact with the Digital World. 02 episode 33 hinted very heavily that what humans have perceived as youkai and other spirits were actually Digital World contact, just not something actually noticeable until digital technology started connecting the worlds. Episode 47 revealed that Oikawa Yukio and Hida Hiroki had made contact sometime in the 80s via video games -- even though they weren’t Chosen Children themselves at the time. In short, the concept of the Digital World and its contact with the human one is something that spans throughout history, of which the Tokyo Chosen Children are only part of in very recent years.

And finally, one of the most important parts: the idea that the Digimon would stay a secret to the world for very long is inherently infeasible. The 1999 “Digimon in the sky” incident was international. It made international news. Everyone in Tokyo has clear memories of the “Odaiba fog” incident, and, as revealed in 02 episode 14, even a boy from America, Michael, has clear memory of seeing a Gorimon. Reporters like Ishida Hiroaki didn’t hesitate to get in on the scene and try to cover what was going on, and 02 episode 38 revealed that Takaishi Natsuko was doing intensive enough press coverage on the Digimon incidents that Oikawa actually sought her out for information on it. They’re probably not the only reporters around the world doing the same. One episode later, Gennai revealed that the government/military and scientific worlds had actually caught onto the existence of Digimon and did make active attempts to research it -- but, fearing that the world wasn’t quite ready to do that without exploiting Digimon for evil purposes, Gennai and the other Agents wiped out any data records so that they couldn’t do organized research or swap notes. But just wiping out data doesn’t wipe out the public memory, and, especially when the number of Chosen Children is proliferating, and with all of the Digimon-related disasters that happened around the world in 02 episodes 40-42, at some point the world is going to start becoming very aware of what’s going on with this whole thing.

And finally, about that thing where a lot of people claim that a world where everyone has a Digimon partner must be some kind of dystopia: I think this camp severely underestimates how adaptable the world is.

This is something that might not be as resonant to those who were very young at the time they aired, but Adventure and 02 were written in what was a very shocking and scary world for adults that were living at the time. The rate at which the world changed and adapted to digital technology in the late 80s and all of the 90s was ridiculous, and in some ways even terrifying. Many tech people have pointed out how much it feels like the entire structure of the world has changed in light of technological developments, AI, and the Internet in only the last few decades compared to centuries before. International policy has changed, daily life has changed, business structures have changed, in time much less than 25 years. Hell, I’m writing this post smack in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic; I think anyone reading this right now at this time can attest to how terrifyingly quickly the world changed itself in only a few months in response to such a thing.

Compared to that, a whole 25 years of slow burn where the Digimon partner rate at least had the decency to double every year and give people a chance to acclimate and make public policy seems practically luxurious. On top of that, while there will certainly be more people like the Kaiser out there abusing their power, Digimon evolution at least happens to be tied to human emotions (unlike many other weapons out there), and there is some stifling factor in less-than-pleasant people being a bit less likely to have the same access to overwhelming power as those who are more selfless and virtuous. That kind of limiter is something I wish modern technology could have sometimes.

So what is the Tokyo Chosen Children’s place in this narrative? At the forefront of such incredibly massive incoming changes were children who were living in a completely different world than that familiar to even people who were born five to ten years earlier -- much like the real children born in the world of technology in the late 90s. The Tokyo Chosen Children were some of the earliest pioneers in this regard, being the ones who had to figure out logistics and Digimon and the Digital World and what it meant to be a partner in a world that hadn’t figured any of this out yet, and arguably wasn’t ready yet.

Yet they did, and they saved both worlds with no precedent nor support on what to do. This, I think, is a massively more meaningful accomplishment than the idea that they were exclusively selected by some higher power.

On romance and marriage

I feel like this topic is one I’m setting myself up to end up with my head on a pike by daring to breach it -- there is pretty much no way I can cover this without setting myself up for some risk of this -- but I do want to talk about it. I really don’t want to make this post into a pro- or anti-shipping discourse post, so you’ll have to forgive me as I try to be about as diplomatic about this as I possibly can. For all it’s worth, I’m a firm believer in shipping and shipping headcanons being an integral part of the fan’s experience (heck, anyone who knows me knows that I often talk about my own ships more than I really should), and so, as I said before, I’m writing this largely from the perspective of elucidating “the most likely reason it was written this way”, and not “should it have been written this way” nor “how I think people should feel in spite of this”.

In any case, I’m going to start off this section by a statement from a friend that left a particular impression on me. I’d introduced them to Digimon recently, with both of us as adults, and one thing they commented was that the idea of shipping any of the characters felt a little too odd, because they were all elementary school kids. They, of course, understood quite naturally that I had been shipping some of these kids since I was their age (and that my current round of shipping usually was more about whether they’d get together later than whether they would during the time of the series), so it wasn’t an accusation of me being creepy or anything -- it’s just that, as an adult coming into this for the first time without a lot of preconceived attachments, it felt too weird for them to ship children at that young of an age, and it was something that made me think a lot about it.

As I said, shipping is often an integral part of the fan’s experience, even for those who don’t do “fandom” -- romance is such a huge priority that it permeates all of our media, and how it’s handled is often one of the first things deeply scrutinized. Part of the reason the 02 epilogue is so controversial is that it went pretty much against the face of the most popular ships in the fanbase, and the two that did go forward (Yamato/Sora and Ken/Miyako) weren’t ones that people would conventionally expect given what you’d generally look for when it comes to fictional relationship development.

But that’s kind of the issue here: remember when I pointed out earlier that Adventure and 02 were trying to stay away from anime tropes unless they found it to be particularly relevant to the characters’ arcs? In actuality, the way that people generally expect romance and romance tropes to happen in a series -- especially a not-particularly-romance-centric series like this one -- isn’t how romance generally works, and especially not for kids at the age we saw them in Adventure and 02. It doesn’t seem like coincidence that the first hard show of romance we get (Sora asking Yamato out during Christmas) is when the relevant characters were 14, which is around the earliest age you can imagine two kids actually taking a relationship seriously and having some depth of what they’re getting into. As if to drive this in further, Daisuke’s crush on Hikari is portrayed as a sign of him acting shallow and not having a good sense of priorities at the moment; the whole 02 main cast, as of 02, is probably still too young to entertain anything serious for at least a few more years.

If you look at actual couples, as romantic as “childhood friends to lovers” is as a trope, it’s actually not very common in real life, especially for “childhood” being defined as 8-12. There might be a slightly higher chance when it comes to the Tokyo Chosen Children, considering they’d gone through some shared experiences others might not understand, but even that gets slightly mitigated by the fact that more and more people around the world are becoming Chosen themselves. So while it can happen, and while it’s probably somewhat more likely for this group in particular, it’s not as likely as the average shipper would probably want it to be. Even those who support the canon ships don’t really favor the idea of them being in a continuous relationship all the way up to adulthood -- my personal experience as someone closely following Ken/Miyako fanfiction and comics in both the West and in Japan indicates a common thread of it being treated as a mutual pining ship until several years later, and the Yamato/Sora fans I’ve personally talked to have a very high rate of feeling that the two of them have experienced at least one breakup before getting back together. Or, in short, even people who like those ships have a hard time imagining a unbroken, continuous relationship all the way from elementary/middle school to adulthood, because of how much that generally doesn’t happen.

I promise I am not writing this as a treatise against the ship itself, I swear I’m just using this because it’s the best example I can pull out at the moment, but I’ll put it this way: I think the clearest example of this is Takeru and Hikari, the only pairing that has the unfortunate distinction of being explicitly confirmed as not being married (by Seki Hiromi in V-Jump), whereas everyone outside the scope of Yamato/Sora and Ken/Miyako is still technically in “believe whatever you want” territory. Takeru/Hikari is, depending on which scale of ranking you use, a ship that consistently ranks as one of the three most popular Digimon ships globally, and them not getting together is cited as one of the most common things disliked about the epilogue. But despite its overwhelming popularity to the point you’d think it’d be easy to cater to such a humongous fanbase by pairing them together -- and so few people would dispute it, really! -- not only were they not made an item, but they were explicitly confirmed as not being one.

Why?

Takeru and Hikari probably feel “baited” to anyone who’s looking at this from a romantic trope perspective. They’re constantly in each other’s company to the point where it almost feels like they like hanging out with each other more than they do others. Takeru is shown as having a particular investment in Hikari’s welfare in 02 episodes like 7, 13, and 31. They’re constantly associated with each other in promotional materials, too. But when you look at them in terms of their actual relationship as children...well, I’ll put it this way with another personal anecdote: I actually had multiple platonic friends like that back when I was their age in elementary and later middle school, and, uh...well, people did actually ask if we were in love with each other, and it genuinely, no-strings-attached, annoyed the hell out of me, because we weren’t, and I hated being pigeonholed into that.

In real life, platonic relationships happen a lot with kids in that age group, and it’s not actually all that surprising that 02 would have wanted to portray a healthy one without any strings attached -- the same way the series also portrayed other unconventional situations with kids, such as Iori being a nine-year-old who hangs out with kids much older than him (there are most certainly kids who can attest to being in that position!). I mentioned in my earlier 02 characterization meta that both Takeru and Hikari are actually rather inscrutable (especially in the first half of the series), and in fact, episode 13, usually quoted as a Takeru/Hikari episode, is actually centered around Takeru having difficulty reaching out to Hikari because, despite the fact he was closest to her at that point in time, she still was too closed-in to open up about anything. They almost never talk about what they actually think about each other, other than obviously having an investment in each other’s welfare and enjoying each other’s company, but, again -- this isn’t unusual for platonic friends at this age. And the fact that this is the one ship where there was actual official word putting a foot down and saying, no, this did not end up in marriage...everyone interprets this like it’s some kind of callous move made to make people miserable for no good reason, but I would say that, given the writing philosophy applied to the kids in nearly every other respect, the intent was likely to make a statement that this kind of relationship can exist without it ending up in inevitable marriage somewhere down the line.

We’re inclined to see “two people being emotionally close means a higher chance of being a couple” because this is how romance has been portrayed in media for as long as any of us have been consuming media, but in actuality, relationships are very multifaceted and complicated, and there are many ways to be “emotionally close” to someone in ways that don’t overlap with being “romantically attracted” to someone. This is especially once you start becoming an adult and end up needing to navigate the web of who’s a friend and whom you might have a crush on, and in actuality the person you start flirting with because you think they’re attractive might have been someone you just met last week, or at least someone you don’t know very emotionally intimately (which is why crushes can be intimidating, even in adulthood). This is also what I think fuels the disparity between why Taichi/Sora gained such a huge following and what actually happened with them, because many, many fans will testify that they felt baited by the ship, but if you look in the actual series in terms of what counts as “romantic attraction” and not just emotional closeness, there’s...not a lot; they happened to know each other before the events of the series (but so did Koushirou!), Taichi had a bit of a mental breakdown about saving her (because he’s not someone who abandons important friends), and in Our War Game! they had a bit of a spat with traces of tsundere (which, ultimately, are circumstantial and don’t necessarily indicate they actually have serious mutual feelings for each other). Official word implies that Yamato and Sora were planned since rather early in the series, and it doesn’t seem like coincidence that “pairing up the main hero and heroine” (Taichi and Sora) was given as an example of an avoided trope in an official booklet, so it lends further support to the idea that “not following typical romance tropes and expectations” was a significant priority.

Again, this isn’t me saying anything about those who ship it or those who have been able to figure out ways in which the relationship could work in some very wonderful headcanons I’ve had the benefit of reading over the past decades, nor those who are having a marvelous time with fanfic and headcanon and comics and being a bit more willing to indulge outside the scope of the series’s canon. (Nor the multitude of very good headcanons and meta I’ve seen about the possibility of Takeru/Hikari at least trying out dating somewhere along the line, even if it doesn’t end up anywhere permanent.) Nor does that mean I think that this was the best way for the writers to go about it -- as I’ve said in this meta already, there is an inherent fallacy of not paying enough attention to how writing will be taken and interpreted by people with certain reasonable expectations cultivated from years of media consumption, and especially by kids who aren’t going to pick up that nuance or don’t have the appropriate relationship life experience. Regardless of intent, there’s still a lot that can be criticized about its handling; in many ways, it could be considered a bit cruel that the series had things known to be considered romantic subtext in most other series that may not have been actually intended this way. But, nevertheless, I do feel very strongly that there’s a high likelihood that this is what they were at least going for, even if it didn’t come off that way to most of the audience.

Extrapolating this concept further, it’s also interesting to see how Adventure and 02 treat romance as a relatively insubstantial thing in the grand scope of things. I said earlier that it’s quite understandable that romance and shipping have become the main obsession for media -- and it’s probably been that way for as long as human civilization has even existed -- but when you really think about it, Adventure/02 treat romance as “a thing that is a big part of your life, but not the sole controlling factor”. Again, note how Daisuke’s precocious crush on Hikari manifests when he’s at his most shallow, and even after Yamato and Sora start dating in episode 38, we really don’t hear a lot about it -- granted, neither were in the lead protagonist cast by that point in the series, but whenever they do appear thereafter, it’s almost always about their work helping out as Chosen than it is about their relationship, which is presumably a private thing going on in the background. It’s a part of their lives, but it’s not the only thing going on with them. Of course, shounen anime with casts of these ages don’t tend to breach the topic of romance much at all, but it’s interesting how it touches on the topic and then leaves it in the background -- again, something probably frustrating and a bit too cavalier for those inclined to see shipping and romance as life or death, but from a real-life perspective, makes sense in the realm of friends’ relationships largely not being your business, even if it is significant.

(Ken and Miyako are a trickier matter because their pairing was allegedly based on their voice actors’ friendship, but considering that it has been cited multiple times across multiple Digimon series production notes that character outlines were often subject to change even mid-series based on impressions of the voice actors’ performance -- it happened in Tamers too, and it’s not even unusual for original anime in general -- it’s still ambiguous as to when in production this decision was made, and, considering the flip between Miyako having jealous pettiness over him in episode 3 to fantasizing over him and considering him exactly her type in 8, I would not be surprised if the decision were made somewhere in between there, especially since the fact the epilogue would eventually happen was already established in production over a year prior. Unlike with Yamato and Sora, we don’t get to see the two of them at a reasonable age to start doing anything serious within the scope of 02, which led to the unfortunate result of the reveal of them getting married in the epilogue being a very startling and sudden jump for many.)

In any case, I’m going to close this with yet another disclaimer -- I know I’m repeating myself too many times at this point, but I really, really want to make it clear that I am not, in any way, trying to imply that I don’t understand why people would be blindsided by the epilogue in any of the above ways (careers, the status of Digimon partnerships, shipping) because, as I said, I do think there is some merit to the philosophy that maybe they should have paid a bit more attention to how people -- especially kids -- would actually see the events rather than the writing philosophy behind why it should be written this way. (And, to be honest, I think I might have this complaint behind not just the epilogue, but both Adventure and 02 as a whole, for a multitude of different reasons.) Moreover, there are a million other cans of worms that could be feasibly discussed regarding the epilogue that I’ve only barely scratched the surface of here, because there are so many different topics to unpack when it comes to it, and I could go on forever (and further increase my risk of ending up with my head on a pike...). And of course there’s the wider issue of how to handle timeskip epilogues in general (they don’t really tend to be very popular, do they), so, really, there’s only so much I can cover in one post before dragging this on for too long. But in the end, even after writing all this, I understand that there are a lot of people who still won’t like it or don’t want to accept it, and that’s fine; it’s not my place to try and convince people to.

But, nevertheless, the reason why I made this post -- and what I hope the take-home can be -- is that, no, I don’t think this was made as a random off-their-rocker decision with the intent to make everyone miserable, nor some kind of fever dream that the writing staff must have pulled out while drunk, nor whatever accusations I’ve seen levied about it as a weird spontaneous idea (and the fact it really did come out very suddenly at people), but that -- regardless of how it landed -- there was some idea behind why it played out, and why, even 20 real-life years later, principles like “not everyone’s going to stick with the same career even in adulthood” continue to hold.

#digimon #digimon adventure 02 #shihameta

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firedragon1321 · 8 years ago

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Hero Training- What it Is and Why It Sucks

This is the sequel to this rant nobody cares about- http://firedragon1321.tumblr.com/post/158868041331/so-it-is-time-for-me-to-rant. I recommend you read that one first, though I will summarize the short version in this rant.

The short version of the above rant will include a definition of Hero Training, which I think is necessary before I start-

“I never liked having my favorites taken down a peg by “awesome” characters who called them weak or whatever- ever since I was young. Is it favoritism? Yes. But also because they didn’t deserve the negative treatment half the time. In a lot of shonen anime, this often leads right into training arcs with painful/impossible/emotionally draining training that makes the character stronger somehow. Often it makes them a bit of a Stu too (since this normally happens to male characters). I call this phenomenon Hero Training.”- Me, 2017, not that anyone gives a crap

Now, the short version of the other rant is “Hero Training is bad, the only good example was in Digimon Adventure with Piximon because it was required for the target character to get his shit together and the half-example in Pokemon’s Battle Frontier (aka- the King of Pokelantis episode) was just piss-poor writing and had no business being there.”

Now that we’re all caught up, it’s time for Rant 2.0. The Uber-Rant. The rant to end them all.

Okay, not really. But it still is a long-ass post, so I hope you’re ready for a read.

Hero Training is the fast and easy way to power up a character, especially when stronger characters are over the horizon. It usually occurs after the main character loses a battle, but it can just pop up whenever it wants. Of course, by “fast and easy”, I mean “every shonen anime does it at least once in some form”, so it’s a stock cliche. Hell, it has a TVtrope. The TVtropes pages even links to sister tropes that make Hero Training what it is (aka- annoying).

So why exactly does this trope grind my gears to the point that I’d write two rants about it? Let’s break it down.

Annoyance 1- Usually, the protagonist did nothing to “trigger” the training (i.e.- new, stronger foes are coming or some other event outside of the protagonist’s control). If they did, it was due to a character flaw they had from Day One. For example, Character XYZ felt like being reckless that day- but he’s always reckless. Not saying that said recklessness can never be grown out of- just that it was always there and a silly reason to “trigger” additional training unless it caused something big (like powers going out of control accidentally destroying a town, but in shonen anime, these are rare cases). Or Character ABC was lacking certain skills that almost no-one else used up until this point (Nen in Hunter x Hunter is an example).

Annoyance 2- So the protagonist loses in battle or encounters some other difficulty due to lacking skill or their character flaws. How does the writer fix this? They either introduce a new character or an existing one fulfills this role (it’s usually the former, but it was sort of the latter in my Marchen Awakens Romance example in the other rant). Sometimes, they even defeated the hero themselves. The problem is, this character is 99.9% of the time an asshole. Okay, maybe they’re just strict. Maybe I’m over-reacting. But come on- it’s ALMOST EVERY TIME.

Annoyance 3- Now that the characters are in place, it’s time for some shaming! Because not having the right knowledge/skill/personality wasn’t bad enough, the new character (let’s just call him “the mentor”) has to list every reason why the hero is weak/stupid/has XYZ character flaw and is therefore weak and stupid. I don’t know about you, but that would make me feel really badly about myself. If the hero wasn’t a flat character from the start, it’s easy to imagine that they’d feel bad about themselves, too. Perhaps this is what leads to...

Annoyance 4- ...the actual Hero Training itself. Low self-confidence combined with a possible looming threat of fifty foot whatevers trying to kill everyone leads the protagonist to accept the mentor’s offer of training. Here’s where shit gets real. The training methods in shonen anime are often extreme and unrealistic. For example (and this is a real one from our friends at TVtropes, from Katekyo Hitman Reborn- “being set on fire...thrown off a cliff with a whirlpool beneath it and made to stand one-legged on a rock in the middle of a mine field”). If any real human tried to copy many of these training regimens, they would die. Sometimes, it’s all too easy to imagine the trainee dying too.

Annoyance 5- If the hero doesn’t die from any of the above (and they usually don’t), then there is a high chance of writing’s worst scourge moving in- Gary Stu. It can be Mary Sue, but this rant will use Gary Stu since this trope mostly affects male characters. Let’s go all the way back to Annoyance 1 and our friend Character XYZ. He landed in this pot of hot water (perhaps figuratively, perhaps literally) because he was reckless. Instead of gradually growing out of his recklessness like most characters would, the trait is suddenly erased after training. If that was XYZ’s only personality flaw, well, guess what, buttercup? He now has no flaws at all. I have three rules to detect a Stu or Sue- the world revolves around them, they face no difficulties and (most importantly) they are everything the author/reader wants to be but “more”, which means no character flaws like real humans have. If XYZ now has his single flaw erased, he is a third of the way to being a Stu. The mentor’s training might have strengthened his body, but (from a writing standpoint), his mind is now weak.

These five annoyances are also the five steps of the typical Hero Training method. They might be repeated over and over through the course of long animes like Bleach. If that happens, the hero is bound to fall into the Gary Stu trap eventually. If the first round of training didn’t do it, maybe the second will. Or the third. Granted, the Gary Stu step doesn’t always happen, but this trope still frustrates me beyond belief (come on I wrote two rants about it).

Oh look, here comes another bullet-pointed list, this time on why, exactly, we need to abandon this trope (not counting the risk of Gary Stu-ism).

It’s a cheap way to get character development done: This is probably the biggest one. I’m dragging out Character XYZ again. Perhaps he has more than recklessness as character flaws, but that’s the one that causes the most trouble over the course of the story. Training it away is the easiest way to get rid of it (other than pretending it never existed in the first place, which most readers or watchers will easily notice...). Therefore, Hero Training is sometimes used in place of real character development.

It introduces unlikable characters, characters that don’t have any use in the plot other than to Hero Train, or both: Of course, not every character has to be likable, but some characters are only in the story to serve as Hero Trainers, then they exit stage right. (This is basically Wing from Hunter x Hunter, who only had small appearances after the Heaven’s Arena arc where he trained Gon and Killua- fortunately, neither Gon or Killua ended up as a Stu). A subversion would be Izumi from Fullmetal Alchemist, who has an actual role in the plot beyond being a Hero Trainer and development of her own.

It makes the protagonist overpowered: This is related to being a Gary Stu, but Stu-ism is not just being overpowered. Being overpowered is a part of Stu-ism. Not all rectangles are squares and all that. The issue with being OP by itself is it makes the story less fun to read. I mean, in a shonen, a character will slowly get stronger in XYZ and beat stronger opponents. That’s kind of the formula. I’m talking about blowing away every single opponent without the slightest of struggles. A character may have average ability at the start, but Hero Training is a quick and dirty way to get them to max power in a few chapters or episodes.

It makes me worried: This is a stupid, selfish point, but I wanted to say it. A lot of the impossible training is harmful physically or mentally to the characters. There comes a point where we stop cheering them on to succeed. At that point, we worry if they’ll even make it out alive. If they do survive- realistically- they have a high chance of being traumatized. Since Hero Training often serves as a shortcut to do other things, however, we never see that trauma- just Gary Stu. Again, Fullmetal Alchemist is the exception as both Ed and Al are afraid to meet with Izumi again. Another subversion is in Boku no Hero Academia, where All Might became concerned when Izuku pushed himself too hard during his training- he was trying to prevent excessive physical and/or mental strain.

I’m not saying protagonists should get the easy road (that leads to Stu-ism also). It is possible to have everyone hate the hero for his or her actions and not deal with Hero Training, such as in the video game Tales of the Abyss. It’s also possible to do Hero Training right like in my Digimon example in the other rant, but that requires a certain type of character and mental state for both the mentor and the trainee.

But Hero Training itself is all too often used as a cheap way to get from Point A to Point B, and it’s the hero themselves who suffers the most.

tl;dr- Hero Training is an over-used plot point that makes me worry for the protagonist’s safety while also serving as a quick and cheap way to develop a character when real, gradual character development is more intriguing to watch and read.

#anime #tropes #shonen #shonen anime #writing #long-ass post #i have an opinion #firedragon rambles

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nichtschwert · 8 years ago

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Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth is slowly killing me (Part 24)

The one where the case that broke me ends.

>>Part 1<<

Okay so last time a man RAN INTO THE INTERNET from Ami, which of course means that Ami now needs to follow using her unique ability which only she has. I just... I still can’t fathom it. But let’s move on.

We find ourselves in Kowloon, specifically in that part where Ami got grabbed by the digital squid monster. You can already tell where this is going. We’re going to have to fight this guy’s Digimon.

#ACAB

He says he’s pissed because the police waste his time with asking him questions and... asking for bicycle registration numbers?

Well, I don’t think so, but the game seems to differ. Don’t put that on me!

Finally, Veggiemon also chimes in.

And since Ami looks so much like a cop, we end up fighting it out.

This is actually pretty challenging (mostly because I play on hard mode for the extra loot) and I have to resort to *gasp* using healing items.

Jell-O has so far not been impressive in combat. Of all three of our main digimon, they’ve consistently had the lowest damage output, but in this fight, they really shine. You see, Jell-O has an attack that can stun the enemy, which delays their next attack significantly, giving Dumbo and Raisin ample time to whittle this beast down.

Et voilá.

Okay, now that we have defeated his Digimon, we can... well... Honestly I don’t really know. I guess we should make a civillian’s arrest, because we think he’s some sort of superhacker for which we have no evidence. Well he did assault us with a Digimon... Then again, we were chasing him, so that could be construed as self-defense. Also I am very unsure about the legal status of EDEN. I mean this guy could have killed Ami. Nobody except Kyoko knows that, though. Quite a pickle. Guess we start talking to him, now that he can’t fight back and can’t run, unless he logs out, which he could...

Uh.

I didn’t leave anything out here. This “exchange” implies that he doesn’t know what happened and Ami suggested the possession thing to him. Where she got that idea, I don’t really get, but I guess it might explain his... extreme views on cops for really minor issues.

He also takes this in stride. Does he know Digimon possessions are a thing? Well anyway, seems his hate for cops was just the possessing Digimon talking. Surely Digimon have a mighty need for bicycles.

Or I guess, he just looks like a creeper and dislikes the police for always treating him like one. This whole possession thing seems kinda... pointless really, like it only existed to give us a boss fight.

Anyway, of course this guy isn’t the Mysterious Digital Face. We know this because he says so.

Oh, well, in that case, move along.

And he does. He just leaves. Well, I certainly feel for him, being targeted again and again by police and their “gut instinct” simply for being different. Is that the message this whole thing is supposed to reinforce? Don’t judge a book by its cover? Don’t assume someone is a criminal without any evidence?

The term is “suspect”, Kyoko. Innocent until proven guilty and all that.

Anyway, that’s a neat little message delivered absolutely terribly.

Yeah, I guess we just suck. Can I go home now?

What do you mean “we”? You didn’t even do anything! Screw you, I’m not doing this all over again and I mean we already had a boss fight, please just leave me be!

Ami leaves EDEN and.. Oh.

Oh hey it’s Matayoshi and that totally not suspicious cop who sent us to grab the wrong guy. ‘sup?

*turns to camera*

HuwwhaaaaaAAAA?!

“just a normal guy in uniform”, huh?

Ooooh, so Matayoshi is the Shinjuku matagi, whatever that means. Mysterious Digital Face knows this guy better than Kyoko does.

Matayoshi then explains how he caught him- This had better be good.

Or hated the police so much that he actually read up on what he considered his true enemy. People can be fanatical about hatred as well as love, you know? I mean you should know. You’re a cop!

Shock of all shocks.

Or you’re just a fucking moron who wears a police uniform, which is probably one of the most suspicious things you can do!

Prison is a riot, I hear.

“Go to Shinjuku”. That’s the clue. The only right clue we gave you.

Well, it’s nice that he doesn’t seem to be as prideful as I thought. He even thanked Ami. What a swell guy.

Okay, so to sum it all up... Matayoshi was bumming about Kowloon asking questions and bumped into Ami who pointed him to Shinjuku. Then he ran into a guy dressed as a policeman and figured out that he wasn’t an actual policeman. Based on the nonsensical idea that only fans of the police would do proper research on them, he cross-examined the guy and got him to admit to being superhacker The Mysterious Digital Face.

This is not grade-A detective work. TMDF is just a complete idiot, running around in police uniforms and immediately confessing when interrogated by a guy with no evidence. It’s honestly worrying that Ami wasn’t able to catch this guy because I’m pretty sure my grandma could have caught this guy.

Okay time for Kyoko to ruin the message of the story.

No, no nO NO NO

Kyoko, you absolute tool! Gut instinct was what screwed over the innocent guy and ruined his damn life! And Matayoshi may be an able detective but he sure as shit didn’t prove that today, because the criminal pretty much caught himself!

Gut instinct has no place in a police investigation. What you need is evidence, because guess what? Serious criminals don’t just immediately confess like that. You need to prove that they did wrong and falsely suspecting someone without evidence like we did today leads to nothing but suffering and people RUNNING INTO THE INTERNET

Okay, blabbedi blab, Kyoko. Where’s my money?

...

You had me meddling in an official police investigation for 150Yen?

150Yen?!

Oh THANK YOU, Kyoko! That’s almost 1.50EUR. Almost! Now I can finally buy that thing I wanted.

For this kind of money I could almost afford a frozen pizza. I can buy one popsicle for this. Or one pretzel with butter and Chives.

Why do I do this job again?

In part 25 we finally tackle another case that hopefully won’t be this stupid.

(Special thanks to my pal Melfice for pointing out to me how insultingly low the pay is. Didn’t even notice.)

#Digimon Story #Cyber Sleuth #review #game review #rant

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thecrazydragonlady · 8 years ago

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“Made for Each Other”- Chapter 2

AN: Can I state how much I love the queue feature on Tumblr? Makes my life so much easier! Anyway, prompts here. Adrinette Month is in full effect and I’m still super stoked for it. Counting down for my birthday too! Enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 2: Rainy Day

Marinette still hadn’t figured out what she was going to do. She hadn’t seen Chat since last week on their joint patrol; they took individual patrols on the other days of the week to help with their busy schedules and to save their energy in case of an attack. Tonight’s patrol was cancelled too which didn’t help. They agreed that bad weather made for slick roof tops and electricity strikes and who would save Paris from Hawkmoth if both its superheroes were barbecue? On top of that, she hadn’t even gotten the chance to speak to Adrien and test out Alya’s suggestion. There just never seemed to be a good chance. Chloé would show up and steal him away or Nino would come up with a new idea for a song. The teachers even got a bit annoying. Just as she was about to ask him something or start a conversation, they would seem to think that now was a good time to start class. She groaned in frustration. This wasn’t going to work. Her destiny was to be torn in two by two different guys.

She walked out of the front of the school with a heavy sigh and just as she started to absent mindedly walk out, a loud crack of thunder surprised her, and she looked up, finally noting that it was pouring down rain. She groaned. Alya had already left for babysitting duty. Most of her classmates too were already gone. Leaning back against the dry part of the school, she looked up, wondering if it was going to stop anytime soon. When the answer was no, she sighed again, slumping her shoulders and accepting her soggy fate.

“Marinette? I thought you left already.”

Turning, she let out a small squeak as Adrien stepped out of the door of the school building, messing with the umbrella in his hands. She chuckled nervously.

“I-I-I was but then….” She pointed skyward. Steeling herself, she took a deep breath. He’s not on a pedestal. Take him down. Follow Alya’s advice. For Chat’s sake. “Then it started to rain and I forgot to grab my umbrella… again….” He chuckled.

“You tend to be good at forgetting things,” he smirked. Popping his umbrella open, he eyed it, then her, then his ride. “Hey, wait here for a second.” He stepped out into the down pour and up to the window. He spent a second talking with the driver before he came practically skipping up to her with the goofiest grin on his face. Well, this was new and surprising. Pleasant smiles yes. Goofy, dog-like expressions? Nope. Never. “Let’s go.”

“Uh,” she blinked. He held the umbrella just a bit higher.

“He’s given me the all clear to walk you home. He’ll drive around to pick me up.”

“Why didn’t we just… ride in the car?” He blinked this time. A peal of laughter burst from his mouth and he held the umbrella out over her.

“Because I didn’t think about it. I like walking on rainy days anyway. There’s something… relaxing about it.”

It was her turn to giggle. “Geez Adrien. I didn’t realize you were a hopeless romantic.” Her tongue felt swollen in her mouth as she noticed a soft red blush cross his cheeks and nose.

“I-I’m not…,” he stopped, adjusted his back, averted his eyes, but finally admitted, “Okay so I’m a hopeless romantic.”

“Wow, I didn’t think you’d actually own up to it.” She giggled again as he glared. They walked across the sidewalk of the school, turning to head towards the Dupain-Cheng bakery. She realized that he was right; it was relaxing to be walking in the rain and for her to be near him. Talking to him wasn’t as hard as she had thought it would be. Her heart tightened. There was no rush in their walk. “So, Adrien Agreste, what else is there about you that the class should know about?” He flinched and she wondered what nerve she’d hit. He chuckled clearly nervous.

“Why are you asking?” She shrugged.

“Call it a moment of clarity. Even though we’ve been in the same class for the last two years, we haven’t really… talked. I figured we should take the chance before it’s too late.” She eyed him. “Unless there’s something you’re trying to hide.” He blushed again.

“N-No….”

“So there is!”

“Is not!”

“Don’t lie! I know there is.” She poked his shoulder playfully. “Come on, share.”

“What do I get in return?”

“Uh?”

“What do I get in return? Equivalent exchange: I share, you give something up.”

“Oh my god. You’re a weeb!” She laughed at his confused expression. They stopped at the crosswalk as it was red. The sidewalk was deserted and it made them feel like they were the only ones in the world.

“You know anime?”

“Uh duh. I was raised by my father after all. You know? The same guy that taught me to play Mecha Strike three? There’s no way he was going to raise his daughter without making sure she knew at least the basics!”

“So you’ve seen Fullmetal Alchemist?”

“And Brotherhood,” she announced proudly. “Plus all your standards: Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Digimon, Beyblade, Naruto, Bleach, Death Note, Attack on Titan….” He laughed.

“Come on. Those are nothing. You need to jump on the less popular stuff.”

“Oh?”

“Well, less popular might not be the right words. Not as big stuff? They’re all fantastic either way.”

“Then you should probably help educate me.” This time, she blushed and quickly looked away. “I-I mean you… It’s not necessary…”

“I wouldn’t mind,” he softly replied. She jerked, surprised. Looking up, she saw true happiness in his eyes, like a little beacon of light in a dark sea. She swallowed. “I’d really like to actually.” The light turned green and they started across the road. “I’m… I’m really happy you asked me to Marinette.” They were in front of the bakery by now but they didn’t move to go in. Instead, they were standing face-to-face under the umbrella. “I thought you… to be honest, I thought you hated me these last two years.” She gaped.

“What? No! I’ve never hated you Adrien.”

“When you are around other people, you’re really bright and happy or in Chloé’s case, really strong and sure of yourself. It just seemed that every time I came around, you became someone completely different. I thought it was because of the gum incident but the longer it happened, I realized I didn’t know. I just wondered if… if maybe you never liked me in general.”

“Adrien Agreste,” she cut in. He looked at her surprised, finding only gentleness and kindness in the blue-sky eyes of the petite girl in front of him. “Adrien, I’ve never hated you. I’m sorry it’s been a misunderstanding for the last two years; I never intended for it to be. But… if you’re willing… we could… try again? Start over?” He smirked.

“I’d like that.” She smiled brightly at him before taking a breath and holding out a hand.

“It’s nice to meet you Adrien Agreste, my name’s Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

He took it gently and brought her knuckles up to his lips. Her whole face flamed. “It’s nice to meet you Ms. Dupain-Cheng. I’m Adrien Agreste.” He smirked up at her, chuckling at her expression, and she glared in response.

“That was completely unfair. You took me by surprise!”

“You’re just going to have to get used to it uh,” he winked. There came the sound of a car horn behind them and they looked to find the Gorilla waiting impatiently for his ward. Adrien sighed. “Well, looks like my ride’s here. I’ll see you tomorrow huh?”

She waved him off from the cover of the bakery. “Tomorrow,” she agreed. He stepped back out in the weather and Marinette watched until he was in the car, waving good bye once more to her, and disappearing off around the corner. She sighed. Tikki popped her head out of the purse.

“I’m impressed. You actually managed a full on conversation with Adrien!” Marinette smirked and looked down at her kwami sadly.

“Tikki, this isn’t good.”

“How’s that?” The young girl swallowed hard, gripping the handle of her bag tightly in her hands until the knuckles were white.

“I still like him,” she whispered. “It still feels so right to be around him and my heart keeps beating like crazy. I’m going to have to make the choice.” Tikki looked up sadly at the dejected expression of her chosen; Chat and Ladybug needed to know each other’s identities for their own sakes but had she’d known that telling Marinette this would have caused her this much pain, she wouldn’t have said anything. So, the little kwami decided to do the only thing she could. She reached out a hand to gently place it on her chosen’s hip. She couldn’t retract the magic, especially now that it had been activated in the school building, but she could at least try to comfort her mind.

“That’s alright Marinette,” she chirped. “I know you’re having a tough time with this. Why don’t you focus on something else for a bit and see if that helps clear your mind?” She smirked and nodded, finally pushing the door open to say good afternoon to her mother, before disappearing to her room to find some kind of distraction for her overly activated mind.

****

There was a problem.

Two girls, sisters by all accounts, sat at a coffee table. One was crying uncontrollably but her sobs were silent which is why many of the patrons ignored her for the most part. The younger looking of the two, a girl with short black hair and soft, milky white skin, looked on in concerned. When Sophia was able to control her words, she choked out, “He said it wasn’t even worth it. My story would be nothing. He said publishers wouldn’t take it seriously. I’ll just be laughed out of the writing industry before I even get a chance!”

“I’m sure it’s not that bad,” her sister soothed. Sophia sobbed again.

“You didn’t hear what he said Maggie, how he said it.” Anger rose in the young girl’s stomach but she swallowed it down. She knew of Sophia’s lifelong dream to be a writer; how she’d stayed up countless nights developing worlds and characters Maggie couldn’t even fathom, and tell the stories of those worlds in eloquent fashion. Only for it to be crushed in a moment by an arrogant editor. She wanted to scream. If she could, Maggie would change the whole universe to make her sister’s dream a reality.

“We’ll work on your story together when we get home,” she assured her. “We’ll make it better.” And then when it’s published, I’ll deck him in the face for you. “Come on. We better get going. It’s still raining pretty hard.” The taller girl nodded, wiping her eyes with a napkin, before following her sister out into the rain. She clutched the manuscript to her chest as Maggie raised the umbrella over both of their heads.

They stepped out into the darkness of the evening.

****

Hawkmoth hummed lightly to himself. He had never attempted this before. It was a risk. He didn’t know how long Nooroo’s power would last if he did it but he also didn’t know what would happen if he did. This was a new situation for him; the dark possibilities bringing an evil grin to his face.

“What a glorious day,” he mused, catching a little butterfly in his hands, “to author and create the fall of Ladybug and Chat Noir.” Darkness swarmed around it until the creature transformed into a pure black one before it flew up and hovered just over his head.

A second butterfly landed in his hands and underwent the same transformation.

Together, they flew up and out his window with his jeer following behind them, “Fly away my little akumas. Transform these troubled souls and bring to me a story for the ages!”

****

The sisters didn’t know what happened.

They were walking in Paris, under the rain, when both of them stopped, their eyes glassing over, limbs going weak.

At the same time, a purple butterfly mask appeared on their faces. Immediately a voice spoke to them with arrogant confidence, “Storybook and Switcher, I am Hawkmoth. You two have been greatly wronged and seek to make the world in your image. I can give you that power. In return, you must bring me the miraculouses of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Do we have a deal?”

The two girls grinned.

“Of course Hawkmoth,” they chirped.

The umbrella fell to the wet sidewalk and was abandoned.

#adrinettemonthday2 #made for each other #thedragonwrites #t-minus 23 days and counting #adrinette

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