#Maybe Matt and Tai from Digimon would be a better fit

[depressedhatakekakashi]

long ask and kinda random but- wouldn't it be so funny if two characters are shown throughout a story, not together just yet but it is confirmed they know each other. They talk about each other constantly, and you wouldn't notice it at first glance but man its there once you notice it.

Character A is the type that is very friendly and casual, suddenly becomes polite, maybe even a bit too polite and almost distant talking about them (in a way thats obviously them restraining themselves) to the point u can't quite tell if they do genuinely care but they do know a lot about the other. Meanwhile, Character B has been cursed with a resting bitch face and makes talking about anyone sound like theyre insulting them. Their very short way of speech does not help especially out of context and without proper explanation (think; "I would chain them down to a chair if i could." But they meant that as in out of worry since A is so fucking reckless. Its maddening.) Anyways, other people think A is suddenly polite (out of apprehension?? being wary?? noone knows) but otherwise willing to talk about them (B) nicely. While people think B whose normally calm and relaxed, is always very pissed at A (yes and also no.)

The first time their on screen together basically amounts to a huge explosion on both ends with Character A nervous and unsure how to introduce them but reluctantly settles with simply. "Oh. their a good friend of mine." but B who is normally pretty quiet, just. absolutely goes off. "friend?? FRIEND??? We did not go through the shit we did, and survived together for the shit we went through for you to just call me a good friend."

listen its till death do us part in this household, i am your comrade in arms, your ride or die when you plan on overthrowing the government. I may only know maybe 2/5 of your hobbies but i know what you look like in near terror at the thought of ur loved ones being threatened and rising up in the flames of fury to protect them, and then a sobbing mess when you finally break down. Friend is fine but also man you could do to hype me up more over here-

I just need two emotionally contipated besties on opposite sides of the spectrum is that so much to ask- (also loudmouth and friendly but distant x quiet and stern but also ball of emotion ready to explode, is 💞)

Oh, this is a dynamic i’d actually love to see more of. The ‘are they friends or do they hate each other? I’m getting mixed signals here’ but then you see them in a room together and realize ‘oh, ‘friends’ doesn’t even BEGIN to describe what they two are’

No one has a definitive answer

They’ll kill for each other but also be the first to stop each other from killing

They’ll bite anyone who insults the other, but character B always seems ready to insult character A at a moment’s notice yet never does.

These two are thicker than theives. They’re the best of friends yet so much more. The very concept of their bond is too difficult for any mere moral to understand. Even the gods don’t understand what the heck is going on with these two.

I can think of a few pairings that sort of match this but also, this is so very specific and perfect i wouldn’t want to try and assign it to any character because it’s just…

Easily the best pairing ever. Thank you anon your brain is SO BIG.

[genork-the-fandork]

Digimon x Genshin Impact Headcanons

At first, I wanted to do a full drabble of this type of crossover/AU I came up with, but I honestly don’t know where I’d go with such a piece. SO, instead I have some headcanons about what the Digimon Adventure gang would do were they to be thrown into the world of Genshin Impact. I will possibly become even more of a simp after this, but let’s pray I don’t collapse on the spot.

@digiweek​

Tai would wield a Pyro Vision. I'm not sure if he'd use a Sword or a Claymore (Tai with a Claymore is a terrifying thought honestly), but I selfishly wanna give him a Sword. He would probably hail from Mondstadt since freedom is his jam and I can see him standing on one of those windmills with the wind blowing his hair around. Probably walks out of the city and is immediately attacked by monsters. Every. Single. Time. He’s also part of the Knights of Favonius but goes on adventures a lot because... Tai.

I know technically Gabumon uses fire and not ice, but Matt just fits Cryo so well. Mr. Knife of Ramen would use a Sword because they don't really have daggers in Genshin. While he's a lot like Diluc, I feel like he would come from Snezhnaya. This is making him sound more like Kiriha from Xros Wars, but I cannot ignore the drama of Matt being in the Fatui. He and Tai stare at each other across open fields and it's really dramatic.

Sora would also be Pyro. She would have some healing abilities and probably be a Catalyst so she can be more flexible in a fight. I can see her coming from Liyue but knowing a lot about other nations to be more welcoming when helping her mother run an inn there. (I'm cheating a little, I know.) She met the misfortune of being around when Tai and Matt ran into each other there.

Izzy is an Electro GOD. No, but really, he'd also be a Catalyst and just be casually shooting hilichurls from hidden places like a sniper. (I know that sounds like Bow, but HEAR ME OUT—) I can see him hailing from Inazuma and doing all sorts of experiments with Electro and other elements. He has probably visited Mondstadt a lot because he's a worldly boy, and he loves seeing alchemy things that happen around Teyvat. Tai nearly kidnapped him once (well, not really, but it might as well have been…).

Mimi is probably a Dendro Polearm, and I say this because I can see her moving very similarly to Xiangling. Dainty but tough. She also comes from Mondstadt and I can see her either being part of the Cathedral or just wondering around being Mimi. Most likely a nobleman's daughter who runs around Mondstadt helping people because I believe in charitable Mimi.

Joe is a Hydro Bow user, not because of his resemblance to Uryu from Bleach, but because—actually, no, it's because he looks like another megane anime character. But even a panicky Joe probably shoots a bow better than me, so… He comes from Liyue and is ALWAYS in tea shops trying to calm down, so if the whole Rex Lapis thing happened while he was around, you can bet he's running around ringing alarm bells. Poor guy. He just wanted to research all the ruins a bit, is that so bad?

T.K. is an Anemo user, and he's most likely from Snezhnaya as well. However, I can see him having moved to Mondstadt because the Fatui does not seem like his jam, so there's some drama there for you. Because it's kind of funny, he could possibly be a Claymore user, so that would be extra amusing to see. He probably joined the Knights of Favonius because he believed more in their cause than in the Fatui's. (And maybe to spite Matt a little bit.)

Kari is harder, so I'm not sure if she would actually wield a Vision. Of all of them, Anemo speaks to me most, so perhaps that? And of the weapon classes, I can see her as a Catalyst or Polearm most of all. Again, she's harder to pinpoint considering her Digimon is a cat-angel. In any case, she's from Mondstadt like her brother, and she probably helps out at the Cathedral or around town like the good egg she is. She goes on adventures with Tai to keep him safe more than anything (because she probably has some healing abilities.)

[kingdomblade]

Digimon Kizuna thoughts

All spoilers will be under the cut!

Fresh off of Tri when Kizuna was announced, I wrote up some hopes I had for this movie. Without looking back at that list, I'm pretty sure this movie managed to not hit any of the things I wanted off of that list - but I'm still walking away completely satisfied. The characters, the story, the setting all feel like completely natural progression from how I remember them, it manages to tell a compelling story in a fairly short movie, the animation and designs are drop dead gorgeous. It's clearly a labor or love and I'm thankful for everyone who worked on it. In some ways it leaves me wanting more - I'd love one more entry with the 02 group as a focus, and I think there would be a lot of value in an entry that focuses more on Digimon intigrated with the human world rather than yet another story about kids discovering Digimon. But if this is the last time we see these twelve in this form, what a way to go. 

This is absolutely stream of consciousness writing while I’m on my second watch through of the day (In lieu of livetweeting - I’ll spare my followers that much lol). Is it rambling? Absolutely. It may or may not be of interest, but I thought it would be something fun to do regardless. If you decide to read, I hope you enjoy!

----

Tom Fahn’s Agumon is noticeably a bit lower pitched even compared to Tri, weather he can’t take his voice up as much or if it’s a different portrayal I’m not sure but it still fits him really well - Tentomon’s voice feel slightly different too. Funny enough Gabumon is somehow lighter and more childish than his original portrayal, but it also fits him well.

Both Tri and Kizuna have such a weird process to their casting - They got back actors that as far as I can tell haven’t done much if anything since their days on Digimon, they’ve gotten back actors for side characters with bit parts. They’ve hired new actors that seem to take the original voice into account and take their own spin on them, and then they hire actors with absolutely no regard for how the original sounded to the point that it just plain conflicts with the established character. It’s all over the place and it’s weird.

Johnny Yong Bosch's portrayal seems slightly different from Tri, maybe he's playing him slightly older, maybe it's the slightly different personality, maybe I'm imagining it. Something about it reminds me of Doug Erholtz's portrayal, which is an added bonus when JYB was already one of the best of the recasts. Minutes in and I'm completely sold on Nicholas Roye's Matt as well, it sounds like a natural progression from his Adventure voice.

In a vacuum Griffin Burns is a decent Davis, but he's one of the recasts that immersion breaking because not only does he sound nothing like Brian Donovan, but his take on Davis is higher pitch than Donovan's so it's impossible to hear him as older. The fact that Donovan was supposed to reprise his role is just salt on the wound. With the insane amount of delays that this dub got, they surely could have brought him back onboard... It's a  shame that 2 our of 3 roles I've heard of Burns have been a replacement of another actor, hope he can get more roles where he can shine more. On the other hand, Bryce Papenbrook as Cody is brilliant casting coming from his 02 voice for what little we get to hear of him.

Yolei didn't sound to great in her video message, but by the time we see her in person her VA has gotten into the role and captures her really well. Hawkmon sounds fine enough, but I'm way more upset than I should be about Armadillomon's voice considering he doesn't have many lines. A recast was mandatory here, and 'medium-deep southern accent' should honestly be pretty easy to replicate but what we got was horrific. What casting director knew enough about the characters to know that Hawkmon had a British accent but not enough to know what an armadillo sounds like??

Mimi is just straight up Sakura now! I actually thought Kate Higgens would have made a great Yolei, kinda funny to see her here as Mimi now.

Not only did Agumon's "Polly want a cracker?" line slay me, but there's something about Tom Fahn's portrayal that really hits me, even though he's not even my favorite Digimon. It hasn't even been a long time since I've heard it - Tri wasn't that long ago, and I just rewatched Adventure/02 within the past few weeks, but hearing him made me a bit emotional, ha. Same thing happened with his first appearance in Tri, and that was after having seen it in Japanese and knowing what was going to happen!

The opening battle is like a complete screw-you to Tai's arc in Tri with Greymon smashing into buildings and Tai completely unfazed. I'm here for it, lol.

The remastered Digivolution sequences are nice but in true nostalgia fashion I kinda prefer the originals, haha.

Izzy's computer is counting down a 'time rimit'.

Agumon says something to the effect of “Aren’t I always hungry?“ and I don't feel like it’s a reference/jab at Tri, but it got a chuckle out of me anyway.

Tai's classmate is blatantly voiced by JYB too, ha.

Matt gives his location as 'inside the restaurant' when calling an ambulance which seems... not helpful. Love that Tai's reaction to a girl collapsing is a confused "Is she drunk?"

An article on Tai's phone is written in perfect English and he gets message from the name Izzy specifically so I'd assume this is a change for the US release. Subtitles would have been perfectly fine but it's a nice effort to keep immersion.

"The ol' Izz-master" I’m so, so glad they got Jeff Nimoy to write this script, bless Toei.

Only 4 of the Digidestined participating in the battle against the Digidestined is kinda disappointing until I realized that it was a throwback to Our War Game - TK and Izzy get to participate more this time around! As per usual Tentomon (Kabuterimon) manages to sneak in a hilarious line here.

'Lime Magazine' just doesn't have the same ring to it...

TAI'S MAGAZINES...

Tai calling Agumon 'little buddy' is the second scene to hit me right in the feels.

Matt is the only one to reach out to the 02 kids during the movie, I wonder if he felt guilty about what went down in Tri and kept in touch with them a bit more since.

Seeing Kari and TK tied up in a dark room like that is actually one of the more shocking scenes in the movie. That could have ended very differently if this was a different movie...

Meiko shows up for literally one scene with Meicoomon which has... interesting implications. This movie retroactively makes her more tragic as well, as even if she didn't sacrifice Meicoomon there's a chance their partnership would have dissolved anyway - almost a complete lose-lose, there was no way for them to be happy together.

Himekawa is also retroactively more tragic as it's possible she would have been able to see Tapirmon again here - one shows up in the crowd shot!

Honestly this is the movie Himekawa deserved - she was a really interesting character that got wasted and underused in Tri, and while Menoa parallels her in a lot of ways her stoicism just isn't as interesting and Hime's decent into madness was.

L'il Joe has black hair now?

I'm pretty sure Menoa doesn't say "Oh shit" but honestly I'm gonna pretend she does.

I mentioned on Twitter how Leomon doesn't die in this one because he never showed up, but there's one fighting an Eosmon in what I think is Osaka and he doesn't die, and GOOD ON HIM, HE BROKE THE CYCLE!

Omnimon having limbs sliced off got an audible gasp from me.

Matt ACTUALLY got to curse in this movie, character development!!

"Just one thing: Meow" I had to pause the movie, I lost it

Story wise, theme wise, character wise I get it, but mad Sora got screwed over in this movie. Would have been nice if 'To Sora' was included inside of the movie at least.

I still don't like Agu and Gabu's new evolutions, but they did feel really earned and a natural extension of the plot. What better way to spark an evolution than such a huge sacrifice? Izzy's perfectly timed 'prodigious' was the icing on the cake, coming at such a fitting emotional moment and possibly being the last time we'll hear it from Izzy.

When the Eosmon start disappearing all over the world there's a shot of an exhausted lone Numemon who had clearly held off the Eosmon with all the poop that is strewn about. THAT is the next story I want to see.

Unfortunately this movie is in the Tri School of Only Using Champion Level. It's actually pretty inexcusable that we we don't see WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon one more time, but even the other characters should have gone up to Ultimate if not Mega for one final sendoff. I wish we could have seen them truely fight as a team once more, even just for fanservice.

My strongest complaint with the movie itself is that it just kinda... ends. The ending is super emotional, but it just skips ahead afterwards and says 'things are going to be ok!' and ends. I would have liked to see the rest of the kids once more, seeing how they handle the fallout or how they might support Tai and Matt - or maybe a little about what Tai and Matt have taken away from this whole things. Just felt like we needed an extra couple of minutes.

Will we see these particular versions of these characters again? From what I can tell this movie did well in Japan and it’s trending pretty well on Amazon, so who knows. I hope if we do, it’s because the writers come up with an idea they really believe in and not just for the sake of a sequel. But if not, I’m definately greatful for what we have.

[tanyatakaishi]

So as a great apology for my severe writer’s block and crashing nearly every night at 9pm after the kid is in bed and I have no energy because of the school year starting, I give you a sneak peak of a memory in the next chapter of Remember, the sequel to my digimon fanfic, Innocent Games.

Yolei wants to to have sex. Davis solicits advice. Humor, sexy times, and fluff. Daiyako. (a little steamy, nothing explicit)

Full story links: AO3 & FFN

“Yolei wants to have sex.”

“Oh.”

Ken is looking at me like I’ve grown an extra head and I groan, falling back on my bed. “I mean I want to, too. But… what if I’m bad at it?” “I don’t think I’m the best person to talk to about this.” I sit up and my eyebrows sort of have a mind of their own, creasing together in the middle of my forehead. “Why not?” “Lack of experience?” “But you’re smart.” Ken frowns. “You guys are ready for that?” “She’s a college girl now and I’m…” My mouth turns down to match his. He already knows how insecure I am being the younger one in the relationship, still stuck in high school while Yolei goes on adulting, so I bypass that issue and go straight for the next. “I kinda thought it’d happen by now, but you know, stuff always gets in the way. Parents, digimon, roommates, maybe if you remembered condoms, we're not doing it in a car!” I finish the last few lines in my best imitation of Yolei’s voice, scolding me. “Maybe you should talk to Tai,” Ken says and I immediately feel relief flood over me. “That’s perfect! His first time was with Mimi. If he can tap that…” “Davis.”

*

“It was awful,” Tai says, looking at me over a laptop and a pile of textbooks. I’m pretty sure I’m interrupting him writing his term paper, but he doesn’t let on that he’s bothered. “I mean, she wasn't, but I was. She didn’t complain per se, but I could tell.”

“Um, any pointers on what not to do then?” “Don’t do it drunk.” “Perfect,” I say. “So what about with that other chick? Second time a charm?” “That’s not,” Tai starts and then he closes his laptop to smile at me. “You guys are gonna be fine. You love each other, right?” I try not to go red, but it's happening anyway. I give an enthusiastic nod and realize I look way too eager. Thank God Tai’s so cool. “Just take it slow. Use protection.” “Thanks, Mom.” “Look, if you’re wanting details, all my good advice is going to be from my most recent relationship.” Going pale, I jump to my feet and grab Veemon by the tail, yanking him off Tai’s bed. “But Agumon was getting cookies,” he cries. “Abort!” I yell, giving Tai a horrified look. “Abort!” *

Matt stares at me. “Google it.” Why didn’t I think of that? * “Google has traumatized me.” “I warned you not to click on the ads. Do you want me to install a proper antivirus software? Yours is outdated.” “That is not the problem, Izzy.” “Why don’t you try the library?” * Cody starts to type my request into the library database and does a double take. “Please don’t involve me in this,” he says. "I'm running out of options. The guys on the team were the worst. They all started heckling me for being with the same chick for three years without getting some.” (“You’re counting the breaks?”) “So what if we didn’t do it yet? They just don’t get Yolei. She's gonna want it to be perfect and she's got all these ideas on how things should go. I can’t keep track of ‘em. Like, get this, she told me about how gross this guy dating her sister was just ‘cause he spent the entire time slobbering all over her t—" “Why don’t you talk to TK?” “He’s dating Kari.” “Point taken.” * “I need medical advice.” I open a book in front of Joe’s nose the moment I enter his apartment. “How accurate is this?” He lowers his glasses to look at the pages and suddenly turns pink. “I’m not sure if my opinion on Kama Sutra would be considered medical advice.” “Why doesn’t anyone know how to have sex?” “That’s not, oh God.” “Oh, honey,” Mimi pipes in, emerging from the bathroom. I didn’t even know she was there. She slings an arm around my shoulders and grabs the book from my hands. “You’re looking for advice from the wrong gender.” “Do you live here?” I ask her. “Sometimes,” she says. I stare at her in awe. “I have so many questions for you.” Joe immediately bolts out the door. * There are literally so many feelings tumbling over and through me that I’m not sure what I say first: “wow” or “sorry.” I think it ended up coming out as a combination of the two, because Yolei is looking at me with a sort of a weird expression. Her eyes are so much easier to see without an inch of glass in the way. The brown is nearly gold, something I never really paid attention to until we started kissing each other (she always takes the glasses off so I don’t smudge them with my “face grease”). I don’t think she’s ever looked prettier than now, hair all a mess and her face soft, with those eyes and her flushed cheeks. Some of the makeup around her lashes smeared and I rub it with my thumb which makes her bat my hand away. “Don’t be sorry,” she says, combing her hair back before she turns on her pillow. We barely fit there together and my eyes take in the clock behind her head, making sure we finished well before her roommate is done with class. “That was totally normal.” My eyes shoot back to her. “That’s it?” I ask, trying not to feel offended. “You just said sorry.” “Okay, true.” I groan. “Ugh, I’m sorry.” “Seriously, stop.” She’s smiling and she slips her hand over my chest, nuzzling her face in my neck. “It’ll be better next time.” I smile so wide my cheeks hurt. “You’re not gonna dump me?” “For finishing without me? I don't think I was going to get there anyway." She flicks my nose when I pout and I snatch her hand. "It was our first time. Jeez, Davis.” I put her palm on my mouth and her fingers cover my eyes. “It didn’t hurt too much, did it?” “Only a little, same as the dozen other times you asked.” “Sorry,” I say again and she wiggles her hand out of mine and tickles my ribs. I nearly knock her in the gut with my knee, so she ends it with a firm squeeze and I feel every part of her again, pressing on every part of me. I squirm, super uncomfortable. “Okay, I gotta do something about this. I’m gross. How do you cuddle after that?” She laughs when I stand up and she has the nerve to watch me deal with things. “The movies are full of lies.” When I come back to her tiny twin bed a little less disgusting she welcomes me into her arms. My thighs trap her left calf and her stomach rises and falls under my chest.  I feel sleepy and rest my cheek on her, closing my eyes. Her fingers rake under my hair and down my neck. “I heard you borrowed Kama Sutra from the library to prepare,” she says. I slip my arms between the mattress and her back, pulling her in tight. “That was intimidating.” “Mimi said you scared Joe right out of his own apartment.” “He was totally unhelpful,” I mumble into her skin. “Mimi was amazing though.” Yolei pinches me right on my bare ass and I let out a really undignified squeak. “You should’ve just talked to me,” she says and I lift my face out of her boobs to see her squinting at me. Damn her terrible eyesight. “I've had a lot of unsolicited advice from my sisters," she says and then as an afterthought, she adds, "and Mantarou." Her tongue hangs out like she's gagging and I'm tempted to grab it with my fingers,  but I know that pisses her off and I'm gonna be smart when all my most vulnerable parts are still exposed. “Aren’t you the expert?” I grumble. “The point is, I had an idea of what to expect. You should’ve told me you were nervous.” I scoff even though it's true so she looks at me with her serious face and says, "This was supposed to be between us.” Oh no, she set me up. "You know what else is between us?" I can’t even keep a straight face. I let out a ridiculous sounding snort and her groan vibrates in her chest. I kiss her jaw before she starts to get mad and her hands relax on my back. “I’m sorry,” I tell her again, moving to the spot behind her ear. “You should be,” she says and her voice is all air. I used to have this list: a bunch of boxes I needed to check off in order to think of myself as a man. If you had told the past me I’d be checking any of them off with Yolei Inoue, I would’ve died laughing. But now that we’re here, I can’t imagine being with anyone else. If you don’t count the argument about who should put the condom on that delayed the whole thing awhile, she made it easy. All the awkward moments we spent fumbling were filled with mutual giggles and a few snide jokes neither of us took too seriously. I don’t even care about those stupid boxes anymore. “I love you,” I tell her, kissing her ear, her cheeks, her lips. She rolls me underneath, all laughter and smiles, and says it back.

[lovehatinganime]

Koumi/Mishiro headcanons

This is how I imagine the process that lead Koushiro and Mimi to start dating, trying to make it as close to canon as I can. Some, seeing how long and detailed this post is, will wonder why didn't I make a proper fic out of it. Well, let`s just say I'm lazy.

First of all, Mimi and Izzy are the same age thus, they have known each other for quite a long time... 

Childhood

I imagine them being in the same grade but different classes. 

I am assuming boys didn't  leave poor Mimi alone even back then.  

In some cases it was the classic `when you like a girl, being a dick and getting on her nerves will get her attention´ (which is hella toxic by the way. I never understood the logic behind this mentality. Nevertheless, it is, indeed, something that happens at a young age).

Others did it just because they didn't like her super girly personality and had a great time playing pranks on her. Maybe they tried to scare her off, hiding bugs in her suitcase or idk, that kind of stuff (is funny how I always think of kids as super awful and annoying little shits).

The thing is, Izzy was an exception because he was always in his own world and couldn`t be bothered by all those childish games. She found him very interesting (Mimi is the most individualist digidestined and it makes sense for her to enjoy people who are out of the norm).Someone not paying attention to her was something completely new for Tachikawa. At first, she used to really like it. 

She could just approach Koushiro to have some peace and quiet when she needed it, which wasn't often. Mimi is an extrovert and can totally handle people. However, if someone was just too mean, she did need some space to go and just cry her eyes out. That is when she always went to the room where Izzy used to expend recess on his own. 

Even if Koushiro didn't react (sometimes he wouldn't even notice her) little Mimi thought it was better than being completely alone.That`s why she started defending him when others said he was a weirdo for always carrying his computer everywhere. 

Eventually, it reached a point where Mimi felt she was going after him all the time, trying to get his attention and miserably failing. 

Insert the digimon adventure timeline here, where she gets mad at Izzy for ignoring her.

Of course, the experience in the digiworld makes their bond stronger, as it happens with all the others. However, I believe that, when they finally got back to the real world, Mimi and Izzy parted ways soon after the summer. I mean, in Digimon Adventure she is shown to have her own group of friends. Koushiro would not fit in there and probably kid Mimi wouldn't even try to drag him in.

They used to greet each other and talk a bit more than they did before, but that is all.

Teenage years (while Mimi is in the U.S.A.)

At some point, Mimi went through a really bad phase and felt so lonely over there. She tried to get in touch with her primary school friends but most never answered back, so she decided to try with the digidestined.

Tk and Kari weren't an option as they are younger, probably they wouldn't t even have a phone or own computer at the time.

She didn't rely on Matt neither because, honestly, they are the ones who have less direct one on one interactions and I plainly don't see him over the phone, comforting someone miles away (at least not her. They are so different. Maybe Yamato, who is so perceptive, would indeed notice Mimi is not all right. However, I definitely don't believe he would be able to make her feel better).

Her choice was to contact the three she was more close to, which are Jyou, Taichi and Sora.

Jo-senpai, as she likes to call him; answered every text but had very little time to keep up with the conversation, so Mimi stopped regularly writing him because she didn`t want to be a bother. They would make brief calls in specific ocasions such as New Year, birthdays or to inform the other when they achieved something important.

Tai and her started communicating quite a lot after her initiative. It was in a really random way, tho. Mostly because he is a mess and falls sleep in the middle of a conversation or doesn`t answer messages in ages. It is nice when they do talk, however, he is so clueless and provides 0 help when Mimi is sad or needs some kind of advice. 

Enter Sora Takenouchi. She nails it. Mimi and her are best friends in the distance. 

One day, while Mimi and any of the aforementioned are chatting, Koushiro`s name appeares in the conversation and for the first time in forever, she remembers about him. 

The inflexion point

As a consequence, Miimi decided to write him (I am not sure if this would be in an impulse or after some time of deliberation). Surprisingly, this ended up being a great idea. Izzy was less shy with a screen in between. He becomes the one she keeps more in touch with (besides Sora), their most common contact via being the e-mail. 

When she visits...

They spend a considerable amount of time together. 

They learn to be very comfortable in each other`s company. 

Their friendship is strange yet strong. 

Basically what is portrayed in the movies.

When Mimi comes back for good (late adolescence) 

Inflexion point number two

Izzy discovers her attraction and feelings for Mimi. 

He clearly doesn't believe she likes him back, so he is stuck in between trying to impress her (example: dressing better) and repressing his crush.

He is afraid of rejection and the chance of blowing everything (they share friends, is a bad place for things to get twisted)

As a result, he becomes super anxious when she gets close to him (similar to what we see in the tri ovas) and avoids meeting her alone. 

Mimi notices his strange behaviour, tries to directly address it, gets nowhere because Izzy runs away.

She starts asking around, but nobody wants to be the one to spill the super obvious truth.  

The Tachikawa girl becomes suspicious and suddenly, one random afternoon hanging at the Yagami/Kamiya`s she just says:

“... I believe Izzy likes me”

Tai (the only one oblivious enough not to know) gets super excited: that`s my boy, let`s make this happen! 

But Hikari is all: I don`t think that´s true.  

Here the princess gets slightly offended and is determined to prove the younger girl wrong. 

That is how the two trouble master minds (Taichi and herself) create a plan to prove the `Kou is head over heels for Mimi´ theory. 

The Ishida-Takaishi brothers have oppossite opinions (they were also chilling at the household when all this went down).

Yamato believes nothing good is going to come out from it. Still, does not intervene. “This will keep those two busy and prevent them from doing anything against me”.

Meanwhile Takeru remains silent cause he swore Izzy not to tell. He actually likes the idea and thinks of it as good news because Koushiro will finally get what he wants. 

Nobody tells neither Jyou or Sora because they would sure stop all the fun, I mean, nonsense.

All the digidestined have a party, alcohol included (let`s be real) and somehow Tai corners Koushiro into some kind of truth or dare in which he has to confess his feelings for Mimi or kiss her or whatever. It works but...

Mimi looks at Hikari and reacts proudly, shouting: I told you he had a crush on me!

Izzy interprets it as this being all a game for Mimi. He believes she is using him, feels ultra humiliated and leaves the party. 

She follows and they talk things through. 

Mimi confesses, something in the lines of “you have been my favourite since 4th grade” and kisses him right away.

They give the thing a try and it all flows slowly but smoothly.  

As far as I'm concerned, that is how they start dating and have a healthy monogamous relationship (because Koushiro clearly could not handle the social effort of having more than one love interest at a time).

Random notes: I'm actually a multi-shipper and is not like Koumi/Mishiro is my endgame, but I must say it has always been my favourite hetero ship for both of them. I wanted to include Takeru as the wingman because is one of the best shits Tri has given us. Sadly, it didn't quite fit the rest. Taichi takes his place cause we all know he is the second wingman in command. 

 Feel free to ask for more stuff like this if you like it!

[sheisbornadreamer]

Blend in, chapter two

Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon.

Warnings: graphic language

Chapter two

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"Hi Matt! What's up?" Sora greeted her friend happily. She sat down beside him on the bench, placed not far from their lockers. A grin was riveted on her face and she seemed determent to not let it fall off. The blond, however, didn't seem all too happy.

"Nothing."

She shot him a quick glance. "Are you okay?"

"I guess."

Sora's smile suddenly turned into a worried frown so he forced a smile on his face.

"I'm fine, don't worry."

"Okay." She sighed in relief and he smiled to himself. It was so easy to satisfy people.

"So where's Tai?" Sora asked, changing the subject.

"He forgot his keys. Again."

"Oh. Shock."

"Yeah…"

She glanced at him, frowning at his distant yet empty expression. "Matt, I understand that this whole thing bothers you…"

He looked up in surprise. "Huh? What, I didn't even say anything!" he protested, not understanding why he was suddenly being attacked with a psychologist-line.

"Well no, but it's written all over your face." She stated, tilting her head.

He sighed in frustration. "Sora, seriously… if everyone in school thought that you and Mimi went home and had lesbian-sex every day after school, wouldn't you freak out?"

"Nobody's judging you, Matt-"

"Yeah, no one except everyone that heard what I said yesterday. Plus those who've heard it by now. Someone has already written 'fag' all over my locker."

"Matt, it's just a stupid rumor; I'm sure something more interesting will show up soon and take away the attention."

He gave her a long look. "Sora trust me, nothing's more exciting than other people's personal stuff. Especially sexuality."

"And poor little Matty who doesn't even have a sexuality."

Yamato glared up at Taichi, who had just showed up. "Go fuck yourself."

Taichi blinked. "Without you? Are you sure?"

"Tai!" Yamato hissed. "People will hear you!"

"Uh... no they won't, 'cause you're already late for class."

"What?" Yamato looked around. The three students were all alone in the hallway.

"Oh. Well… either way I'm not comfortable with you making jokes about that."

"Mhm, because you're unsure about your sexuality?" Taichi said, rubbing his chin and eyeing him skeptically. It was the second time this morning someone attacked the blond with a psychologist-line.

Sora laughed. Yamato stared at him.

"WHAT! How can you even say that? Didn't I tell you I'm-?"

"Yeah, let's go. We're gonna be late." Taichi smirked and started walking. Yamato looked ready to kill.

"If anyone's a fag here, it's you!"

Taichi turned around. "Ouch. Man, you really broke my heart."

Sora looked at the two best friends. She wasn't that amused by this conversation anymore.

"I can't believe you said that" she said in a low voice.

"Matt would say anything about anyone. Just to fit in. I'm sure he'd talk behind my back if I were gay" Taichi gave Yamato an accusing glare. The blond glared back.

"Um… guys? C'mon, we better go." Sora pleaded. None of them listened to her.

"If I were you, I wouldn't be surprised if people talked behind my back already," the blond said, eyes cold.

"As for me people can think whatever they want. I don't go home and cry like a baby just because no one likes me." Taichi shot back.

"Well maybe if you weren't such a bitch all the time…!"

"If they think I'm a bitch, that's their problem."

"So you're just gonna spend your whole life pissing people off?" Yamato shouted.

"If that means being myself, then yes." Taichi said calmly.

"That's not being yourself, you weren't born to accuse people of being gay!"

"Well if you weren't so damn paranoid-"

"I'm not paranoid!" Yamato yelled.

"GUYS!" Sora shouted, making the two pissed off teens shut up in surprise. "Can you at least wait until lunch break or something? We're gonna be late!"

"Fine." Taichi turned around and headed for his locker.

"Fine." The blond headed for his locker. Sora sighed and followed her two friends.

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Sora's pov

Five minutes left of the lesson. I'm not really looking forward to lunch today. Matt and Tai haven't talked since their fight this morning. And in five minutes we're gonna have lunch. No, four.

Anyway, I'm not gonna stand it if they start again. They've been friends forever, and they almost never fight. Well... of course they fight, but now they're hurting each other's feelings. That's worse.

This is freaky.

"Okay class, I think we'll end it here for today." the teacher announced, looking at the clock. "Don't forget to write down the homework! Have a nice lunch."

-'-

I look around the dining-hall, searching for them. Suddenly I see Tai's giant hair. I start walking towards his table. I notice Koushiro sitting next to Tai, and this other guy I've seen around but never really talked to. Then I realize that Matt's not sitting at that table. I look around again and spot his blond hair at the other end of the hall. Weird. Then I see that he's sitting alone. I turn around and walk across the floor and sit down next to him him.

"Hey" I say and try to see if he's upset or something. But his dull face doesn't show any emotion.

"Hey." he mutters, voice just as dull as the look on his face.

"What's up?" I continue in a cherry voice.

"Not much."

"Okay. So… where's Tai?"

He sighs softly. "You can stop now, Sora."

"Stop what?" I ask, not liking how incredible fake my "happy" voice is sounding.

"Pretending that we didn't fight this morning."

I sigh and give up. No use there, right?

"So for how long are you two gonna avoid each other?" I ask, changing my strategy.

He shrugs. I frown.

"Are you gonna be like this all the time from now on?"

He looks at me. "What?"

"You know… down?"

"I'm just tired, okay? Drop it." He looks back at his food, letting me know the conversation is over.

I sigh and start eating. I'm not gonna stand this for very long. Why do they have to drag me into it? And where the hell is Mimi? I need a happy person right now.

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Taichi's pov

Yes, finally lunch! Thought this lesson would never end. Damn, I'm hungry…

I jump to my feet and grab all my books and storm out of the classroom. History isn't one of my favorite subjects. I open my locker and throw in my books. Then I quickly close it before anything falls out. It took a while to learn, but now I never fail. Although I haven't found a way to handle this when I open my locker. But I will. I definitely will...

Automatically I hesitate before I go to lunch. But then I remember that Yamato –that bitch- is definitely not worth the wait, so I continue impassively down the hall on my way to lunch.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Thank god for Koushiro! To tell you the truth, besides Matt I don't have that many close friends. I was just lucky to spot the redhead sitting in the middle of the dining-hall.

"Hey Izzy! What's up?" He jerks his head up and looks at me like I'm an alien or something. Then he smiles.

"Hey."

I sit down beside him. "So how're you doin'?"

"Good. Haven't seen you for a while."

"Yeah, well… you know. Where's Joe?" I ask, not really knowing what else to say. I personally hate it when people ask where Matt is as soon as they take a look at me. Joe is Koushiro's best friend. He's two years older than him, but they've got a lot in common.

"He's got math right now, will be eating later."

"Hey Izzy! Oh, hey Taichi!" Ken sits down opposite to me. He's one of Izzy's friends as well. Also a computer geek. (A/N: This is my story and in my story Ken is a computer geek, dammit! Okay? Good).

"Hey Ken."

He smiles awkwardly, trying to think of something to say. "So where's Matt?"

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Yamato's pov

I can't help but feeling lonely when I see him talking to Ken and Koushiro. Where the hell is Sora? I should've waited for her. But I didn't want to talk to Tai. He's so incredibly stubborn! And he doesn't even try to understand me. Instead of supporting, he makes bad jokes and teases me. That's what I was expecting from others, not him. Jerk. Oh, there she is. But… what the hell? Why is she walking towards them? Is she gonna abandon me too? Great!

I look away and out the window instead. Why do I care? I don't need them. They're all idiots anyway. Why would I have to put up with a bunch of idiots?

"Hey!"

I don't bother looking up. Feeling guilty now, are we?

"What's up?"

Oh, nothing, just that my best friend has abandoned me and that I'm all alone and the whole school thinks I'm gay…"Not much."

"Okay. So… where's Tai?" Oh for Christ's sake…

"You can stop now, Sora."

"Stop what?"

I seriously feel like hitting her in the head. "Pretending that we didn't fight this morning."

She sighs. Yeah that's it, throw away that happy face and deal with it.

"So for how long are you two gonna avoid each other?"

I shrug. Oh I don't know, just for the rest of my life or something like that…

She frowns. "Are you two gonna be like this all the time from now on?"

"Like what?" What do you mean 'like this'?

"You know, down?"

Geez man, let it go! You make it sound like I've been like this for months! "I'm just tired, okay? Drop it."

She sighs and starts eating. I glance at her. It's not like it's her problem, why is she so pissed?

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Sora's pov

God, guys can be such… girls sometimes! They still haven't spoken a word to each other and this is the last lesson for today. Why can't they just grow up?

I reach my hand up and catch my teacher's attention.

"Yes, Sora?"

"May I use the bathroom please?"

"Yes you may."

I rise to my feet and walk out of the classroom. The hall is pretty much empty. Right now Tai would be having music and Matt's got biology. I'm stuck with history. It sucks. All though the teacher likes me so I don't really have to pay that much attention. Sometimes being a girl kicks ass!

I reach the girls' bathroom within a few minutes and it's just as empty as the hallway.

As I flush the toilet and open the stall again, I can see my reflection in the mirror.

Whoa, I look like somebody died or somethin'… Guess it's just because of Matt and Tai. I can't help it. I know they fight a lot –basically because Matt is really moody and Tai's so stupid- but somehow they always manage to forgive each other –after fighting for a while.

This is different. This is serious shit they've gotten into.

I start washing my hands when I suddenly hear an argument from the other side of the wall. Someone's yelling in the boys' bathroom. Or rather a very pissed off blond. Yes, of course recognize Matt's voice. Who wouldn't? I shut the water off and listen intensively. I can't hear what he's saying, but he sounds really upset. Then I hear someone answering with the same pissed tone.

Tai.

I still can't hear what they're arguing about but I can guess –I'm not that stupid… Matt shouts a few more things and then he suddenly stops. I hold my breath, waiting for any noise. Then I can't take it anymore. I've gotta now what's going on! What if Tai killed him! Okay, I think I'm freaking out a little… calm down, Sora, Matt's not dead… he probably just… stopped talking?

I sneak out of the girls' bathroom, relived to see that no one's in the hall. Still.

There's still no sound from the guys' bathroom, so I sneak up to the door –trying not to make any sounds at all- and peak my head inside.

Oh my.

Well, at least Matt's not dead. He seems more than fine to me. He actually seems a bit… excited.

Seriously, I've never witnessed such a heavy make-out in my entire life! Well, maybe on TV, but not for real… okay, there was that one time, but… not between two guys!

I watch the make-out scene for a while with a smile on my lips, trying to come up with a way to take advantage this situation. Blackmail? Meh, should've brought my phone… you never know what you're gonna witness in a school's bathroom.

Matt is almost lying on the sink with Tai all –yes, ALL- over him.

I really hope they'll get embarrassed when they find out that they've got an audience.

They'll blush (at least Matt will) and jump away from each other, both trying to come up with an explanation.

It's funny how I just know what my two male friends would do if I caught them making out. Is life really that predictable? I mean, how the hell would I know that?

Man, they're really into it. Think I better interrupt soon before they do it –in a school's bathroom, where anyone could walk in on them!

Both of them seem more than willing to. I'm actually getting pissed right now. Minutes ago Matt was so damn paranoid and afraid of people thinking he's gay -and now… well, now anyone could get that proved.

I take a deep breath and clear my throat, trying to get the attention. They don't hear me (the kissing-noises, moans and panting are too loud) so I do it again. This time I get a reaction. Two pair of dizzy, pleasure filled and confused eyes are looking at me. I smirk, amused to know that any second they'll freak.

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Yamato's pov

I hate biology. The clock is obviously not working since it doesn't move and I just can't seem to stop yawning. I wanna sleep, but it's too loud in here and the teacher would just ask me a question I wouldn't know the answer to and then accuse me of Not Paying Attention.

What was it we were working with? Can't even remember.

I raise my hand.

"Yes?" The teacher says immediately, hoping that I might have an answer to why the bla bla needs the bla bla bla so that the bla bla can bla… Wouldn't count on it…

"May I use the bathroom?" I say in the most polite way I can muster. The teacher wrinkles his forehead and looks at me for a long time before he sighs and mutters that I'm excused.

"Thanks'" I say as I make my way out of the classroom. Outside I almost bump into a student, who quickly disappears behind me. Weird. The hallway is empty. I head for the bathroom, not knowing where else to go. Wouldn't wanna be caught skipping class, now would we?

-'-

I'm washing my hands, like I've actually used the bathroom. Not that I need to; the bathroom is just as empty as the hall. I just like washing my hands. I like the feeling. I know that sounds weird, sad and a bit kinky but everybody has got a weird habit, right?

I almost cry out when someone pulls the door open and steps inside. I'm really grateful I didn't, but I jumped and gasped. Well, guess you can't have everything... I look back down at my hands and for about ten seconds I actually think it's someone I don't know. Then I turn to walk out.

Tai stands there, leaning against the sink, looking at me.

He looks challenging –like he's waiting to see if I'm going to run out or if I'm gonna say something. I stand there for a while, thinking. On one hand, I want to ignore him 'cause that's my first instinct when I'm pissed at someone. On the other hand, I wanna say something mean, something sharp. But I can't think of anything. Now I've already looked at him for several seconds, I can't just start ignoring him now.

"Do you want something?" Okay, neither sharp nor mean, but it's letting him know I don't feel like wasting any time on him.

Tai continues to look at me, smirking. "What? Are you afraid someone's gonna see you here with me –in the boys' bathroom? Now that would be a scandal!"

I roll my eyes without even thinking. "Spare me. I've got better, more interesting things to do. Biology with Mr I'm Too Old For This Shit But I Need The Money So I'm Stuck With You Brats And Don't Even Think That You're Gonna Pass."

"...well, that sounds great."

I don't answer. When I move to walk out of there, he gets in my way, which makes me stop right at the spot. I'm not surprised, but it's really getting on my nerves.

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Taichi's pov

"What are you, 10? Get out of my way!"

"So you're still pissed, huh?" I ask, knowing he's gonna snap any second.

He throws his arms out. "I'm thrilled, now GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY!"

I continue smirking; knowing this just pisses him off even more. He hates it when people don't take him seriously. Especially when he's dead serious. Anytime now he's gonna push me. Or hit me, whatever he finds most satisfying.

"Tai," he finally says in a calm, almost soft voice. "I don't have time for this. Let it go."

I frown. Not only because I was wrong, but also because he's not yelling anymore. Which means he's not pissed, just tired of me. But I'm not giving up on this. We're gonna talk and that's final.

"Why? So that you can run away from this? Like you do with everything else? You've gotta learn to deal with stuff, Matt!"

He looks at me, blinking in surprise. Blinking twice… 3…2…1…

"DON'T YOU FUCKING TELL ME WHAT TO DO! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO CAN'T DEAL WITH THINGS THE RIGHT WAY! YOU ALWAYS MESS EVERYTHING UP! SO DON'T YOU FUCKING TELL ME WHAT TO DO!"

That's it...

"WHO THE HELL'S GONNA TELL YOU WHAT TO DO IF I DON'T! YOU JUST CAN'T ADMIT THAT YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO DEAL WITH SHIT! WELL GUESS WHAT! SHIT HAPPENS, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!"

Damn. Why does a him screaming always make me yell right back? I was supposed to have the control. And now I've already lost it.

"YOU THINK YOU KNOW EVERYTHING AND I DON'T KNOW SHIT! I HAVE A BRAIN YOU KNOW, SO STOP TRYING TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO OR WHAT I'M THINKING 'CAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON INSIDE MY HEAD! AND LET ME TELL YOU-"

Shut him up, Tai, shut him up, shut him up, shut. Him. UP!

"…THIS, TAI, YOU'RE NOT MY FUCKING DAD OR MOM OR WHATEVER THE HELL IT IS YOU THINK YOU ARE, SO YOU CAN JUST TAKE ALL YOU GODDAMNED OPINIONS AND SHOVE THEM UP YOUR-"

He yelps in surprise and I swear to God I'm not any less shocked than he is. I mean I certainly didn't plan to do that. I didn't suddenly get all romantic while he was screaming his head off, thinking 'wow, those lips looks so soft… I wonder what-' No.

I guess it's just because I've kinda got this reflex that always causes me to (automatically) do stuff that pops up in my head –which could be practically anything. So I could've punched him just as well. Or turn on my heel and walk away. Or poke his stomach. Or… well, you get the picture.

This time, however, the idea of kissing him popped up in my head and so I did, much to my own surprise.

But hey, I shut him up didn't I?

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Please review! :)

[zachwritesstuff]

Digimon Adventure Tri: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

I’ve been a fan of Digimon ever since I was 11, back in 2001. Though I’ve had a rocky relationship with it, I’ve always admitted myself as a fan of those weird little monsters and their wacky adventures.

It’s why I was so excited by the announcement of Digimon Adventure Tri. One of my favorite seasons was, of course, the first, and I was excited to see what they could do with these characters in a more modern setting, with them a bit older and tastes and themes in anime having changed since the heyday of the monster partner genre. Heck, I was even excited by the rumors (that ended up being true) that the season 2 characters would have very little involvement in the plot. I had long stated that Season 2 was my least favorite season, so that felt like the icing on the cake for a great show.

Having recently finished the last movie, and hearing the news of more on the way, I have to say that my view on this revitalization experiment is not as shiny and bright. While I will say it was an interesting thing to watch, especially after such a long time, it was hard to say if it was good or not. So I’m going to go over some positive and negative aspects I found over the several years it took for this entire series to come out.

By the way, as this will be talking about this series as a whole, there will be spoilers

The Good

1.  It was good to see them again

Let’s get that out of the way real quick. Despite overall problems I had with this series, I will admit that the fanboy in me did really like seeing new material with these characters I loved as a kid. Hell, I even kind of enjoyed their appearances in Digimon Xros Wars, even if that was the most pure pandering of all time.

I also liked their updated look, even though it was a bit controversial that they moved away from the classic big head/hands/feet look from the old shows. It helped deliver the message that they were maturing and would be presenting a different kind of story from the original. But with the original voice actors of the Digimon returning to join a brand new cast, it at also said that it wasn’t going to stray too far from the original. Different but not too different. It could work… Right?

But while we’re talking about the characters, let’s talk about…

2. Character Growth

With the maturing characters, they couldn’t really be the same precocious children anymore. It would seem weird to have this people in their teens acting like 10-12 year olds still. So they had to grow up in some way, and to the credit of the writer’s, much of it felt very sensible.

I think the strongest among them is probably Tai. It makes the most sense, as he is the main character. Whereas he was formerly headstrong and first to enter action before, by Tri, he had become more level headed and questioned his motivation a lot more. This made the series a bit more interesting, as it helped give depth to his decisions and not make it as cliche and repetitive that Digimon tended to be sometimes.

Along with Tai, characters like Izzy, Joe, Mimi and Sora also expanded emotionally, though theirs is a little less obvious. Izzy and Joe are shown to be studying and working in their fields a lot more heavily, while Sora is opening up more and Mimi is becoming more of a headstrong leading type. Unfortunately, since Digimon has always had problems with letting specific characters shines, their character advancement didn’t get much notice, and they weren’t given much room to stretch. Because of this, we only got bits and pieces of who they had become after a few years of development.

The ones that came off the worst of the original crew were probably Matt, TK and Kari. Not to say that they didn’t also advance a bit, but they probably had the least of all. Matt still was cool, and was just now older and cooler. TK seemed like he was supposed to be an auxiliary leader of the group, but with Tai and Matt taking most of the leadership positions, he was left with nothing much to do. And Kari, well… I think she said maybe 20 words in the first couple of movies, and mostly stood around and smiled. For a long time, it seemed like she would get no development, but she did finally get some storylines after what felt like forever. Which leads me to my next point…

3. Kari’s Importance

Kari has always been my favorite character of the Digimon series. She came during my favorite arc of the original season, and her character felt a bit different from the other known female characters, who were the archetype Girly Girl and Tomboy. She had weaknesses in her often recurring sickness (always unnamed), but it was soon revealed that she had a deeper connection to the plot, and possibly even revealing a much more perplexing story behind the Digital World and what it might hide.

Then… Nothing happened after season 1. They hinted at her connection to the Digital World during Season 2, including the introduction of the Dark Ocean involving her, but through the rest of the series, she just ends up being fodder for Davis’ crush and generally just being Another Character.

That’s why I was glad to see them actually touch on it. They didn’t go too deeply, but they showed that not only did she have a much stronger tie with the Digital World and Digimon, but she also might be able to go beyond, to communicate with Digmon in limbo and help those that might need help. I really do hope that they continue to dive into it and bring her whole deal to a head in future material. And speaking of future…

The Bad

1. Season 2’s Epilogue

This is honestly a little hard for me to think about, and it won’t be the only time in this article I talk about it. So let’s get it out of the way: I, like pretty much every fan in the Digimon fandom, hate the final Epilogue scene to season 2. It made no sense, it gave random jobs to people that didn’t fit their personality, and basically threw an active grenade into the whole shipping side of the show, making that a basically banned subject if you talk to any fan of the series. So when, at first, it seemed like it was going to retcon all of the epilogue, I was over the moon.

But just like epilogue itself, they give hints to it at the very, very end of the last movie. They talk about Matt’s desire for space, TK is now writing journals of his adventures and Tai’s change in career focus. Despite everything fans have said about it, they are going to stick to their guns, and justify the dumb as hell ending they made.

And you know what? I can respect that. They introduced that bit of canon, and for better or worse, they’re going to stick to it. They’re going to try as hard as they can to try and make sense of what was set forth for these kids future, even if it does seem like an impossible task. A really impossible task, to be perfectly honest…

Okay but seriously, they really wanted to try to justify this? It’s basically like badly written fanfiction. Everyone in the world has a Digimon, Matt is an astronaut, Davis has a ramen stand, Mimi has a cooking show, it feels like a madlib. Even the little hints they put in at the end of Digimon Tri felt like more like a mandate than an actual attempt to be inclusive to the original canon.

And if we are going to talk about the consistency, than you have to really wonder about the things they now have to retcon INTO the epilogue. Namely, Mei, and this whole Digimon shadow government organization. Where do they factor into this idealistic future? Sorry, I’m ranting a bit, but it felt like a big misstep that they could have easily written out with little argument, and yet they felt the need to include it. Hell, they didn’t even physically show the characters of Season 2, and yet they still feel the need to bring back the worst part of that season? It’s just dumb, though to be completely fair, that might just be my own disdain coloring my thoughts.

To be fair, it can work, and I would even be okay with them going in the middle almost, keeping some of the general ideas from the epilogue, but coloring them in a more realistic fashion. I think the big problem myself and many people had with it was how it was presented. It was basically bullet points that were presented without any context. If they do decide to delve deeper, I’m hoping that at the very least, they try to connect it to their characters and modernize it a little bit (I.E. making Mimi more of a media mogul than just a Cooking Show host, make Davis more of an entrepreneur than just a guy with a Ramen Cart). I don’t like it, but if it must be there, at least make it sensible, right?

2. Season 2 characters

So as you can probably infer from above, I don’t hold the second season of Digimon Adventure in the highest regard. The characters are no exception. But Jesus Christ, not even I would have treated them as piss poor as Digimon Tri did. Not only did they not even appear as actual characters, they didn’t even bother to update their appearances! I went and looked back at the scene, and as noted in the appearance section of their wiki entries, their silhouettes are basically just wearing clothes they wore in the past (It’s even noted that Davis is wearing his square goggles from the pilot of Digimon 02). They are then barely mentioned until the last two movies, where they are simply props to fuel how evil and twisted the villain is. Never once are they seen as more than shadowy figures, and the fact that they even lived at the end is a couple of lines in the last five minutes.

Now while I don’t love these guys, I do think that this series of movies was their chance to do SOMETHING with them. Either delve into their characters deeper and separate them from the carbon copies of S1 characters, like they were, or turn into the skid and really have fun with people’s perception of them,much like how Dragon Ball Kai and Super did with Yamcha. They could have really done some cool things with this group, but instead, they basically act like they don’t exist until they’re needed as objects to further the plot

Hell, from here, they could even introduce an interesting plot, on how they were literally gone for weeks, maybe months, yet none of the main 8 characters seemed to care that they were near death somewhere in the Digital World. That could make for an interesting dynamic between them, and even play into a meta competition between Season 1 and Season 2. But, deep down, I know that all of those ideas are just fever dreams, and most likely, any further material will continue to leave them in the background.

3. Some Adult Situations May Apply

When I was told that the Director of these films also directed School Days and one of the Persona 3 films, it was one of the least surprising thing I had ever heard. For a series who’s whole deal is being a “kids with monster friends” show, it does not feel like it was made for that demographic at all!

I can understand wanting to gear it towards an older audience. It makes perfect sense, actually. The people who grew up with the original Digimon Adventure were now adults, so wanting to make something for their sensibilities seems like the most obvious decision. No problem at all!

But it really is only good on paper. Looking at the history of kid focused shows being transitioned to older focused shows paints a rather different, and more ugly, picture. You get the likes of Ren & Stimpy’s Adult Party Cartoon, or more recently, the absolutely atrocious showing of DC’s Titans, based on the popular Teen Titans series (note: as of this writing, only the first preview has come out, so there is still time to save it, even if it looks unlikely). True, there have been some good shows made from kids properties, like Space Ghost Coast 2 Coast and Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law, but it comes with the caveat of those shows having nothing to do with what they were originally based on.

On the subject of Digimon, it seemed like they were less interested in making a Digimon movie and more interested in making a Persona movie, even down to the final monster being a giant nude angel beast who’s butt is prominently featured on most of it’s shots. Add in the scenes of Tai heavily injured and covered in blood, and multiple characters either dying or going mad with grief, and you basically have the David Lynch student film that is Digimon Tri.

I think the biggest question is… Why? There was absolutely no need to get this grimdark with it. The people who grew up with Digimon enjoyed it for it’s values in friendship and teamwork, in the world building of this fascinating patchwork world, and in these characters growing up and learning. And especially in an age where streaming services allow for modern audiences to go back and watch the original whenever they want, it seems weirdly outdated to think that they would need to make it more “cool and mature” for the original fans.

I could go on and on about this, but really, I’m just hoping they learn that changing the tone of the story is not necessary. We love the characters, and we want to see them grow and prosper, not suffer needlessly.

The Ugly

1. The Grown Ups

Boy oh boy, was I not a fan of these two. Two government agents at the Incorporate Administrative Industry (I had to look it up because it’s barely mentioned by name), Maki and Daigo are the two exposition machines of this series of films. They try very, very hard to make these two likeable, but it just comes out completely flat and uninspired. Worse, their misguided development takes away screen time from more deserving characters, like Joe, Izzy, TK and Kari.

Their motivations seemed to just be “We’re the government and we gotta stop Digimon”, and they hint at a deeper motive for them. But the hints are extremely vague, to the point where it seems like they didn’t actually know what they were going to do with them in the first few movies. It wasn’t even until the second to last where we learned that, surprise, they’re two of the original Digidestined! And they’re trying to find their old Digimon! Or Something! I’m actually not sure at all…

Then you get to the last movie, and they’re just… removed. Maki is seen wandering off into the Dark Ocean, and Daigo makes a Heroic Sacrifice to save Tai and everyone else. It feels like it should be very deep and moving, but I found myself not caring much because there was never anything to really draw me into either of them. There were fun moments here and there, but never anything an audience could connect or relate to beyond “These two knew each other growing up and dated a little bit.” Though you can’t blame that all on just the general story....

2. The Movie Format, Animation, and the Big Bad(s?)

Pretty much every review of Digimon Adventure Tri has touched on this, so I won’t get too deep into it. Needless to say, releasing this story as 6 movies hurt it immensely. It caused the story, the character development, the tones, to all feel disjointed and hard to follow, especially with the long wait times between each of them. They were released over 4 damn years, and even as a diehard fan, I found myself struggling to even remember what happened in past installments.

Of course, part of their plan with having the big gaps was to continually renew interest, causing people to want to go back and rewatch the past movies, or purchase them when they came out on dvd/blu-ray. And this would have worked, if it weren’t for the fact that these movies aren’t, well… Really well made.

The animation wasn’t awful, let’s get that out of the way. But it was very inconsistent, and you can tell where corners were cut to save money. It’s no more obvious than in the opening, where half of it had fantastic animation, while the other half looked like a fan film made in Flash.

All the disjointedness and inconsistent flow didn’t help the antagonists of the films either. It became extremely hard to tell who was good and who was bad at times. Was it Meicoomon, who had this deadly virus in her that was going to destroy both worlds? Was it Homeostasis, who wants to reset the Digital World, effectively wiping everything out? Was it Dark Gennai and the who King Drasil group, who want to just cause chaos? I’m pretty sure ends up really being them, but it’s not really mentioned until after everything’s taken care of. And if King Drasil is really the Big Bad person he’s supposed to be, than why was he defeated off school, during a time skip? It’s hard to really figure out who the baddie is when most of the final movie is taken up by Ms. Big Butt Angel Demon.

Which brings me to my final, and biggest, problem with Digimon Adventure Tri.

3. Mei and Meicoomon

These two are a waste of space, and the perfect definition of a Whipping Boy type character. She is not introduced to be particularly strong or special. Her entire purpose seems to be to fulfill two things: To suffer in place of the main characters, and to be a love interest to Tai since Sora marries Matt in the future. She is shown to be meek and unassuming, not talking much and acting shy around other people. At first, things aren’t so bad. Her interactions with Mimi helping her come out of her shell starts to establish a good character arc for her, and it seems like she is organically going to become a part of the group. But then Meicoomon ruins the fun.

Meicoomon is her cat Digimon, based off the Maine Coon. 70% of Meicoomon’s dialogue is her yelling “Mei!” I would tell your more about Meicoomon’s character, but that is it. She exists, then she becomes evil and has to be defeated, while Mei cries for four movies over the fact that Meicoomon is evil. That’s basically the long and short of it. By the end of the second movie, Mei is catatonic, and Meicoomon is a glitch monster who is destroying everything. The end.

What makes it even worse is the fact that, even by Digimon’s standards, her story isn’t that original! It’s basically just a reworked version of Wallace/Willis and Kokomon from the Digimon Hurricane Touchdown movie (third section of Digimon: The Movie in America), of a kid who’s Digimon friend becomes corrupted, and they are forced to destroy them to stop them. The only difference being that Wallace had two Digimon, and his story was over in 1 movie, while Mei’s dragged on for six of them.

All in all, I think that there is still potential for some good Digimon productions, both for Adventure and other continuities. The films seemed to do alright in the limited box office run in Japan, and they were popular enough to warrant another movie being made (which was announced in the middle of writing this). I’m hoping that does better, but I also hope that it’s the final send off for these characters. Two seasons and a handful of movies is enough for them, let’s give another cast a shot!

Also I still hold out hope for a Digimon Tamers continuation. One can dream~

[kingdomblade]

Long, long final thoughts on Digimon Tri

Now that Digimon Tri is mostly over, you know, barring the dubs of the last two movies and all, I’ve been chewing it all over for the past couple of days and decided to post my thought here in one giant word vomit.

Good points:

Regardless of the quality of the series it was great to see all of the characters again and see how they’ve started to change. Don’t tell me you didn’t tear up a little when Tai and Agumon were reunited.

The Digimon themselves got a lot of great moments too, from Gomamon’s conflict with Joe, Gabumon comforting Matt, to everyone watching Gomamon comforting Matt. Tentomon’s snark in the dub is a gift.

If we're being honest then everything Gabumon did was gold though

The dub getting a good chunk of the cast back down to random characters like Tai’s mom and Ogremon, with most replacement actors either able to honor the original voice while putting their own spin on it (Kari), or do a completely different take on the character but still be able to portray them well (TK, Joe)

The dub singlehandedly redeeming the dialouge in Loss and improving the movie (Fingers crossed for Coexistance!)

Seeing all eight kids have their Digimon reach Mega level is every 90′s kids dream come true

Brave Heart Tri version is amazing! Easily

Joe, Tai, TK and Mimi had some nice character development moments - even if Mimi’s had little to do with the overall scenario - with Joe being the standout for me. While Meiko’s story was handled rather clunky, it wasn’t a bad arc either - I'm lowkey Meiko defense squad.

The art style was a departure from Digimon as a whole but was fitting for the tone they were going for with the series. While the art and animation wasn't always consistent by any means it could get quite nice when they wanted to, with Vikemon/Rosemon vs. Imperialdramon and the bit with Meiko and Meicoomon near the end of Future being some of my favorites.

Maki is confirmed for weapons alchemist

"Little Matt"

Bad points:

The characters are written in a way that makes them seem like they don't care about anyone but Meiko for a huge chunk of the series. Leomon dies in front of them and the only one to mention him after the fact is Meiko once - the only one who truly reacts to Leomon's death is Kari, who wouldn't have even met Leomon beforehand.

Tai seemingly dies and there is barely any reaction from the kids for quite some time. Gatomon and Meicoomon fuse together into Ordinemon and only Meicoomon is mentioned until halfway through Future - not even Kari brings her up!

That's not even getting to the 02 kids. Keeping them out of Tri and focusing on the original 8 + Meiko is perfectly fine, but the way it was handled only drew attention to the fact that they were missing more and more. You can't tell me that Mimi wouldn't get in contact with Yolei right away after moving back to Japan, that Izzy wouldn't send word to the others that they met a new Digidestined, or that anyone wouldn't reach out to them after several Digimon battles and getting their own partners back because hey, maybe they know something or could help. Even seeing the Digimon Emperor was treated as seeing an old villain again rather than seeing their friend betraying them. Every instance of finding them or every hint we got towards them was glazed over so much that it reinforces the fact that the Digidestined just Don't Care about anyone anymore. If the 02 characters got the exact same vague MIA treatment and lack of relevance except the kids were actively worried about them, then that would have changed things drastically for the better.

Even with all the characters having grown apart at the beginning of the series, it's out of character that at the least TK and Kari aren't in contact with Davis and the others, considering they were closer with the 02 kids, go to the same school and TK lives in the same apartment complex as Cody and Yolei.

And we have to assume like how nobody noticed the 02 kids were missing, neither did their parents so they didn't reach out to anyone or call the police or anything.

Also the 02 Digimon partners aren't saved because Joe and Mimi just straight up murdered them

The writers had a habit of bringing a lot of lore and callbacks into the series but either not doing anything with them (Ophanimon Falldown Mode and Wizardmon are completely removable) or not doing enough with them. Leomon dying in Mimi and Joe's movie -the two who watched him die before. TK doesn't directly bring up losing Patamon for a second and maybe final time which could add to the overall emotion, and TK/MagnaAngemon battling Devimon again in Future would have been an amazing way to bring his character full circle, defeating an old fear and moving past it. But they consistently decide that bringing up an reference is all they need to do.

I'm pretty convinced that the only reason the Digimon lost their memories was so Sora could have some kind of story - the other Digimon end up rekindling their relationships with their partners so quickly that in both movies 5 and 6 I forgot a memory wipe even happened until it was brought up in the dialogue. Basically the only ramification it has is Biyomon's intense personality change for the movie. While it's still one of Tri's best moments, the whole bit of Gabumon telling Matt that they will always be together loses some impact when Gabumon has technically only 'known' Matt for a couple of days at this point.

Coexistence in it's entirety - not only stopping the movie one too many times to have the same reassuring 'everything will be ok' reassurance for Meiko, but then having her suddenly turn around after all that and decide out of the blue that Meicoomon needs to die anyway so it was all just pointless in the end.

The series ended with a lot of loose ends, which in context of a potential sequel isn't a bad thing but in context of Tri makes for somewhat of an empty experience.

RIP Tokomon and Koromon's dub voices, MetalGarurumon's Digivolution sequence and Garudamon's height

Joe's girlfriend unrevealed, 0/10 series

Bonus:

Making a blatant callback to Tai and Matt holding hands during the VenomMyotismon battle, except not letting them hold hands this time because That’s Gay Now.

All in all I don't regret Tri and there are a lot of things to enjoy, a lot more than I wrote even. But the whole thing has been such a hassle from the beginning - If we 'nade nade' the egg enough then we'll get an announcement - but we did it too fast so they just full on stopped the counter. The teasers were sparse int he beginning, it ended up being a movie format where we had to wait several months between 'episodes' when what we got was still a TV quality show. And our reward for all the waiting was more bad writing, more inconsistencies, more handwaves and unexplained nonsense. It ended up being a mess similar to 02 with the difference being Tri was being written for people who grew up with the original cartoons and this was the result. It honestly kinda sucks that my list of dislikes is so much longer than my list of likes but it is what it is.Ironically enough despite all that, what they did worked. I watched all of the episodes as soon as they aired, went to (almost!) all of the movies in theaters, I'm definitely buying all the Blurays, and if they make a sequil with the 02 cast I'm going to be right there for that too. So I guess despite not putting out a great product, they're getting exactly what they're fishing for. I can only hope that things will be different next time, either better writing or making a TV anime like normal people. We'll see what the future has to hold!