#Digimon Survive spoilers

[jeneco]

best boy and his best bug <3

[holydramon]

[citrus-cactus]

Bad End Takuma #2 (prompt: Darkness & Loss)

Image descriptions in the Alt ID.

I decided to revisit a concept I started during @surviveweek (and reuse a prompt!), where I illustrate the non-canonical "Bad Endings" for Takuma I see in my head. You can see the first piece in this series here.

Technically this Bad Ending is not concluded yet, but it's going to take me a while to make a part 2. So feel free to speculate on what might happen in the meantime (mwahaha) >:)

Some more rambling under the cut!

This one is also based off of in-game dialogue, but from the beginning of Chapter 8 this time, when (SPOILERS!) Miyuki rescues Takuma from the Master's domain and they end up in the Real World. The Master’s quote is also from the game, though I think from a different section (might be the beginning of Chapter 4… but alas, I don't remember).

Other inspirations include Adventure/02, namely the scene of the Older Chosen getting kidnapped in Hurricane Touchdown (because OF COURSE that movie is on my mind all the time always, yes I really AM that predictable), and episode 24 of the original Adventure, where Koushiro has a run-in with Vademon. Digimon likes doing this sort of thing a LOT, doesn’t it?!

Relevant screenshots from the game for extra-thoroughness (emphasis mine):

Miyuki: And it's not just me. You were in danger just now too, Takuma. Takuma: Do you mean that if I hadn't come to the light, away from the darkness... Miyuki: You would have been captured, just as I was. No, I think you would have gone even deeper. All of your soul, life, and existence... gone. Takuma: It really was a close call, then.

???: Power, knowledge... Existence, soul, heart... Bring them all... to me!

[mintaffy]

my friend’s reaction when I showed them this scene. I needed to share with the class

[mercuriart]

digimon survive week - day two, cooperation

spent the entire day thinking about what to draw, settled for talking about some of the ways i like to think of our protags and their partners helping each other.

aoi and labramon are quickly rising to be among my fave digimon&human duo. i like how they complement each other. for a personal headcanon, i think they both tend to focus on the details before the big picture, but since they focus on different details (thanks to labramon being. a dog.), it works.

i am also in full support of labramon as an emotional support animal, if not a full-on service dog. how did the kids survive all that without anything major, i don't know - specially aoi. girl you got into so many situations.

i also really like how the game shows the digipartners doing stuff other than fighting. this means that i cheered every time labramon smelled something. she's a dog. i love her.

y'all know i love shuuji and lopmon. didn't draw them today but i adore their dynamic, specially during truthful. i like to think of lopmon's presence, once his bond with shuuji is stronger, to be somewhat... naturally relaxing. so when shuuji's upset or panicking (or both! boy. you need help), lopmon just. climbs him and wraps his ears around his face or something.

ryo and kunemon. i don't have to say anything else. they're my other favorite duo.

i AM saying something though. semiverbal ryo is canon to me and part of the reason why he and kunemon can understand each other. if he's too upset to make any sound kunemon "talks" for him.

[rnsk-kousatsu]

On Cherubimon's evolution

One thing that people often don’t realize about Shuuji, despite it being fairly obvious from the beginning of the game, is how easily influenced he is by those around him. Although he seems stubborn on the outside (at least initially), he’s actually quick to yield to external pressure and bend to others’ wills. You could argue that, initially, he only kept giving in because he kept getting outnumbered. However, this tendency to relent to others is still apparent even in the Truthful route, where he’s no longer pressured by numbers the way he was during the beginning. For instance, when he suggested moving in order from the shrine with the strongest barrier, Aoi objected, insisting they should start with the weakest one instead, and they ended up following Aoi’s suggestion. This shows that he hasn’t fully shaken his habit of giving in to others even when he’s outgrown his other early game traits.

Part of why I think this behavior remains in Shuuji is because of the way he was raised by his father. While it’s true that Shuuji — very much like Aoi — has a strong sense of responsibility, I believe this sense duty also comes from his need to meet the expectations others have of him. His urge to fulfill these expectations seems to be driven by a desire to be accepted, as his father has made him believe that living up to these expectations is the only way to gain approval. In short, he constantly seeks external validation by repressing how he truly feels and following through what other wants.

Cherubimon’s evolution scenario seems to address this persistent trait of his and attempts to make him grow out of it even if just a little. Due to the simplistic scenario presented in it (much like any other affinity-based evolution scene in Survive), perhaps not many notice it’s meant for that. However, ever since the first time I watched it play out, I’ve been intrigued by how this line by Cherubimon is worded:

“シュウジが責任感だけじゃなく、自分の中に見つけた『正しさ』を信じたから、ボクにも力が湧いたんだ”

This line (very literally) translates to “I was able to find strength because you (Shuuji) didn’t just rely on your sense of responsibility; you also believed in the ‘rightness’ you found within yourself.” Something to note is that I couldn’t quite come up with an appropriate word to translate “正しさ”, but we’ll get back to this later. English localization has it translated to “Believing not only in your duty, but in your own righteousness, you filled me with strength,” which isn’t wrong per se (it’s correct and it flows more naturally than the very literal translation I’ve come up with, in fact), but translating “正しさ” as “righteousness” in this context doesn’t really click in my opinion. Let me finally explain why.

While translating “正しさ” as “righteousness” isn’t necessarily wrong, “righteousness” often has a stronger moral or ethical connotation, implying a judgment of moral superiority or adherence to a strict set of principles. For me, this feels too heavy or “formal” in the context where Shuuji is simply discovering and trusting his own sense of what is right rather than claiming a broader moral high ground, which I believe is the case here. It’s probably why it’s written in quotes (『正しさ』), perhaps implying subjectivity since it comes internally from Shuuji’s own judgment.

Now, to connect my interpretation of what “正しさ” means with what I said earlier before about the line intriguing me: the line makes it seem like Shuuji’s sense of responsibility/duty (責任感) isn’t necessarily the same thing with what Shuuji believes to be right. The way Cherubimon puts it implies that duty is external, and this new thing that Shuuji discovers comes from within and it’s what has triggered the evolution. In other words, Shuuji finally finds it in himself to just follow what his heart believes without getting too concerned about what others think of it, instead of constantly focusing on fulfilling duties and obligations in response to external expectations, which is represented by his strong sense of responsibility.

The dialogue that comes after that line drives home the point even further too — Shuuji wonders if what Cherubimon calls his “rightness” is just his ego talking (the Japanese word used for this is literally also “ego”/“エゴ”). Instead of saying he’s wrong for thinking about it like that, Cherubimon reassures him that he doesn’t care whether his “rightness” is driven by his ego or his selfish desires (身勝手), because to him, it still holds value if it can be shared with and understood by others. Essentially, Cherubimon is saying that Shuuji’s own personal beliefs or actions are valid as long as they resonate with someone else, making them his form of justice or righteousness (as a note: “正義” usually translates to “justice” in English, but I think this is where the word “righteousness” would be appropriate to use). He wants Shuuji to realize that personal motivations can still lead to something meaningful and just when they connect with others. I personally find how this is incorporated in Cherubimon’s evolution beautiful — it’s in the way  Shuuji finally allows himself to embrace his personal beliefs after struggling with trusting his own heart (since it’s been long overshadowed with his need to meet the expectations imposed on him), and by doing so, he doesn’t just empower himself, but also enables Lopmon to reach his final stage of evolution.

Note: Something else I noticed just now, even if not very relevant to this writeup, is that Cherubimon uses the pronoun boku/ボク in that particular line, which is inconsistent with the pronoun he usually uses (watashi/ワタシ). I wonder why that is, but I figure it’s simply just a slip-up.

[chroniclesmacaque]

As above, so below

For @surviveweek day 5: Villain!

[Image id 1: Digital ink and watercolor painting of Shibuya Aoi from Digimon Survive. She's standing with her palms facing up and her arms open, like her pontificating Plutomon pose. She's drawn seen from below, and she's looking down with a calm, eerie smile. Behind her, there's Plutomon's torso, with the red core positioned right before her head. Plutomon's tail circles her legs, and on the bottom corners, there's the dog hip pads. The background is yellow with diagonals that point to the red core.

Image id 2: Digital ink and watercolor painting of Shinonome Kaito from Digimon Survive. He's drawn seen from above, looking up with an enraged grimace. He's standing with his fist up, in a boxing pose. Behind his head, there's Volotobautamon's huge head, with its mouth right behind Kaito's, looking as if it's about to devour him. There's the shoulder skulls from Volotobautamon's design right beside its face, as well as the swords with skull handles positioned over the bottom diagonals visual lines. The background is a rich, wine-like red with folds, like Volotobautamon's cape.]

[garmmy]

digimon survive evolution scribbles 🦖

contains spoilers under the cut, thanks!!

[roseatedramon]

WRATH HARMONY

[missilek-ller]

Before I knew, I've started doubting even "doubting" itself

[ranshoku]

Decided to check if chapter 5 has any change/cut content, and it's darker than what we got in the final game: you, as Takuma, was supposed to choose between agreeing with Kaito (abandoning Shuuji) or Aoi (saving Shuuji)

I haven't finished reading it, but uh... I wouldn't want to be making that choice lol

[neorukixart]

Digimon Survive Week 2023 Day One: Red Spider Lilies

Something for @surviveweek but with my own twist using the Sakuyamon Warrior Mode I designed specifically for Miyuki because I’m in the “Miyuki just wanted to be a normal girl” squad and thought she could be more “feral” instead of going the Miko road :3c

To be honest, I was just going to do this illust for being self indulgent but once I saw the prompt for day 1 decided to use it for it instead :D

[citrus-cactus]

If two strangers (sirens) (wolves in sheep's clothing) whispered in your ear (with honeyed words) (with devouring certainty) of a way out, a path to ease the pain of guilt (filling your head with false obligations) (all it would cost is your life)… would you listen? Would you be swayed?

Would you see them (what they truly are) before it’s too late?

My piece for Survive Week, Day 2: Cooperation (Image description in the Alt text).

Did I really take one of the more lighthearted-sounding prompts and turn it into something sinister? Why yes, yes I did. I love the psychological horror of the library. These lines of dialogue are so creepy and fascinating (to me) that I wanted to reinterpret them in the worst way possible. Thank goodness for Agumon being there in the real version!

This is the first part of a short series I’m calling “Bad End Takumas,” focusing on a few times in Survive’s narrative where Takuma almost makes a poor choice or meets an unfortunate end, but doesn’t (at least, canonically). I find the what-if-he-did alternate reality of those moments really interesting to think about, even though I can't bring myself to play the game’s actual Bad Ending! The next one in this series won’t be ready for Survive Week, but I do plan on finishing it eventually >:)

Here’s an alternate, desaturated version I liked just as much, as well as textless versions of each.

[azaracyy]

ultimate joy digimon survive week day 5: relationships

[cypreus-and-willow]

Digimon Survive Week 2023

Day 7 Endings

"Quickly whipped this up, had to do this for Ryo because this message appears in all vanilla endings... something something rescuing friends from cave of darkness"

('Quickly whipped this up' bc I went on a road trip and didn't bring my tablet but got back in time for day 7 iirc)

I tried to copy from when Sora was in the dark cave but she sinks into the ocean and her friends pull her back

Drew this for last year's Survive Week but only uploaded it to Twitter. I was worried about spoilers and such but now I can't keep track of what I'm spoiling anymore.

This also came up in conversation on discord a while ago and I still forgot to put it up 🙃 apologies for my slowness

[rnsk-kousatsu]

Wendimon vs. Turuiemon: Mythological Explanations and Contrasting Parallels in Digimon Survive

This is a rewrite of a writeup I previously posted on my old archived Digimon Survive blog, @digital-survivor

Initially inspired by this post by @digisurvive on the mythological explanations for some of the kids’ partners, out of curiosity I decided to check if there’s anything interesting about Lopmon’s evolutions that I could possibly relate back to their roles in Survive (especially in regards to Shuuji as Lopmon’s partner). What I found turned out to be much more interesting than I anticipated, because it seems very likely that they intentionally incorporated elements from the original mythologies, particularly for Wendimon and Turuiemon — both of whom are Lopmon’s adult forms — even  going so far as to draw parallels between them. More of it under the cut.

TWs: mentions of suicide and self-harm

At first glance, it might seem that Wendimon and Turuiemon have no connection at all, given that they originate from two vastly different cultures with no geographical ties. Wendimon is based on Wendigo from Algonquian folklore (primarily among Indigenous tribes in North America), while Turuiemon is based on Tu’er Ye (Tù’eryé/兔兒爺, literally “Lord Leveret”) from a Chinese folk religion in Beijing. On top of that, Digimon as a franchise itself rarely makes their connection clear beyond Wendimon and Turuiemon being the default adult forms of Lopmon. Despite all of that, there’s actually one theme that they do have in common: they both make their appearance during times of crisis. And yet, they both have starkly contrasting roles in their respective mythology.

Let’s start with Wendigo. Wendigo is told to be an evil spirit that emerges during the harshest of cold winters, when resources are scarce and survival becomes increasingly difficult. It preys on those who succumb to desperation and greed by possessing them and turning them into cannibals. Once possessed by Wendigo, the individual is cursed with an insatiable hunger — no matter how much they consume, they will forever remain emaciated and never feel full.

We can already see several references that Survive makes to the actual Wendigo mythology, the most obvious being Wendimon’s act of devouring Shuuji when he finally succumbs to insanity and desperation, which references Wendigo’s association with cannibalism. Many interpret this scene as a representation of Shuuji’s final surrender to his self-harm tendencies (in short, suicide) — and they aren’t wrong at all, but we can go a bit further by drawing more symbolism from the Wendigo myth: Shuuji is trapped in a self-destructive spiral driven by his constant need for external validation and his unfulfilled craving for approval, particularly from his father. This craving can be seen as a form of greed — not for material wealth perhaps, but for affirmation from others. In the same way that Wendigo’s victims are possessed for their greed and cursed with an insatiable hunger that leads to their ruin, Shuuji’s relentless yet fruitless pursuit of recognition forces him to repress his true feelings, and you can say this leads to his loss of self and eventually his demise, where he is metaphorically — and then quite literally — consumed by his own desperation. It’s also fitting that Lopmon evolves into Wendimon when Shuuji is at his lowest and very much cornered with no choice but to resort to desperate measures, which mirrors how Wendigo only appears during the coldest winters, when both despair and survival instincts are at their peak.

Let’s contrast that with Tu’er Ye, Turuiemon’s namesake. According to Chinese mythology, Tu’er Ye is also known as Yutu (Yùtù/玉兔, literally “Jade Rabbit”), the rabbit on the moon who pounds the elixir of life. Legend says that, once upon a time, he was sent by the Moon Goddess Chang’e (Cháng’é/嫦娥) to eradicate a plague on the land. The people of the land were initially distrustful of Tu’er Ye, seeing that his fur was white and white symbolized death in Chinese culture. However, this didn’t stop Tu’er Ye from saving them — he visited a nearby temple to borrow some clothes that he could wear to cover his white fur. After that, the people welcomed him, and Tu’er Ye successfully saved them from the plague. Ever since then, the people have been revering him as a symbol of protection. He is viewed as a guardian figure, especially for children, and is celebrated during festivals for his role in ensuring health and safety.

Even beyond Survive, the broader Digimon lore references Tu’er Ye through Turuiemon’s profile: Turuiemon is described as a Digimon that hunts down viruses that exploit e-mail, much like how Tu’er Ye’s mission is to eradicate the plague. Survive, however, takes this a step further by contrasting Turuiemon’s role in the story with Wendimon’s: While their evolution scenes take place during the exact same point in the story (that is, the peak of Shuuji’s mental breakdown), unlike Wendimon, Turuiemon appears to save him from a devastating situation, akin to how Tu’er Ye arrived to heal the people from the plague. Additionally, just as Tu’er Ye was initially distrusted by the people and could only rescue them after he gained their trust, Lopmon’s evolution into Turuiemon is only triggered when Shuuji finally places his trust in Lopmon (which in turn also symbolizes his willingness to accept himself for who he is). In contrast to Wendimon, whose appearance causes Shuuji’s death, Turuiemon sustains his life — which is very apt considering that Tu’er Ye is known for pounding the elixir of life, like mentioned earlier.

Aside from their mythological references, you can still draw more interesting parallels between Wendimon and Turuiemon from the story alone to see how they’re opposite of each other. Wendimon has an intimidating appearance and strength which gives Shuuji the impression that he has finally gained the upper hand after feeling weak for so long. However, this strength is deceptive — it isn’t born out of genuine growth, but instead out of Shuuji pushing Lopmon (and himself) beyond his limits. His obstinacy in this is fueled by the belief that the pain will help Lopmon grow stronger, just as his father’s harsh upbringing has forged him into the person he is today. It isn’t wrong to say that Lopmon does grow stronger from it by turning into Wendimon, but Wendimon’s strength is so destructive that it literally destroys Shuuji.

On the other hand, Turuiemon, while not exactly what you would picture as physically strong and imposing, only evolves once Shuuji finally adopts a healthier mindset — one of self-acceptance, most importantly. Sure, he doesn’t look that much more powerful than Lopmon, with his size only growing a little from his child form. However, it’s surprisingly this form of a more balanced strength that truly protects and saves Shuuji instead. It sends a message that I personally find very heartwarming — that real strength isn’t always about how much force you can exert, and that embracing who you are, rather than trying to force yourself into a mold that you don’t fit, is what leads to true and lasting strength to face adversity.