#repeat 02 mimi

[taichi-x-koushiro]

@taikouvember!

Prompt: LIGHT; + What is your favorite aspect{s} about their relationship/dynamic with Hikari? + What is your favorite aspect{s} about their relationship/dynamic with Mimi? {Belated}

{This AMV has background implied KouTai, as typical for this series!} (along with sections for Mimi & Hikari separately, + {Side} Koushiro & Mimi, & {Side} Koushiro & Hikari {Background Implied Only}; Platonic/in Spinoff AUs or Otherwise) * Koushiro & Hikari is only applicable to more fully main-canon compliant timeline{s}; [in that specific case, Taichi & Koushiro are platonic, but in most of my works/AMVs, they're intended as Ship.]

{Polyships can also be read in for A.U. Potentials, including Koushiro x Taichi x Mimi as a trio/OT3!!}

Note: -This video’s embed may randomly not display at times, Showing like it’s “down”, but it’s not at this time! {It usually happens late at night[s] or seemingly when Tumblr is {seemingly} experiencing very high traffic} If that happens, please consider watching the Direct link here! (If it seems permanently down, please leave a comment or tag to notify me!)

Note: Many more AMVs for this series have been made since this particular one, which could be considered an “New Phase” (or in-between point) of the 2nd-to-3rd phase/set of AMVs! (This AMV was closer to the "3rd Phase" stretch) {As in, the next series of AMVs I had initially planned to make; many more have been Inspired to be made since!!} Please see this post, made later than this post was, for most of the rest of the AMVs + edits currently in this series!

{This specific AMV is also a Positivity work for Mimi Tachikawa & Hikari Yagami; [Tri. versions of both + Koushiro & Taichi Included] +both as separate characters. Please acknowledge+respect this if you share!}

Digimon Adventures ~ x Kagerou Project “My Funny Weekend” AMV [music © Jin, singer: Hatsune Miku {Vocaloid}] featuring CHARACTERS/DUO/SHIP[s]: MIMI TACHIKAWA, HIKARI YAGAMI (as supporting characters) + Taichi Yagami [Taichi “Tai” Kamiya in U.S. Dub] x Koushiro(u) Izumi [Koushiro “Izzy” Izumi] ~ {KOUTAI}/[Taishiro(u)] & with bonus scenes for: Jou Kido x Mimi Tachikawa [Joumi] as a main ship Miyako Inoue x Hikari Yagami [Miyakari] Sora Takenouchi x Mimi [So(Ra)Mi] as side main ship Mimi Tachikawa x Meiko Mochizuki [MiMei] {brief} Miyako Inoue -> Mimi Tachikawa [Mimiyako] as implied crush Taichi x Koushiro x Meiko [TaiKouMei] x Mi (Mimi) as equal polyships Taichi x Koushiro x Mimi [TaiKouMi] as an equal OT3 Daisuke Motomiya* x Hikari x Miyako as equal polyship {brief} (* Ken can be read in into the background if you like Dai/Ken[suke] ) [ or DaiKenMiyakari as an equal polyship ] Yamato x Sora [Sorato] / x Mimi [YamaSoMi] as an equal OT3 {brief} [or +Jou for YamaJouraMi] as equal polyships ~ you can feel free to read in whichever of the above pairs you want (or anything else that’s in my shiplist pretty much!) however, please keep in mind the main ship is Taishiro. It is not intended as brotp only but as ship.

PAST AMVS / VIDEO EDITS IN THIS SERIES: Kagerou Daze (Heat-Haze Daze) / Children Record [+Adv Chosen] / RED / Additional Memory and Imaginary Reload music edits for KageDaze / Days (short edit) / Lost Time Memory / Yesterday Evening / Summertime Record / Shounen Brave [+Jou] / Outer Science [+Villains] / Headphone Actor (short edit) / DAZE (short version / TV Size OP) / KOUSHIROS ? CYBER JOURNEY [+Maki] / Brave Heart x Kaien Panzermast [+Chosen Children] / Night Tales Deceive [Yobanashi Deceive] / [KOUSHIRO’S] Imaginary World / Mekakushi Code [Blindfold Code] [+Yamato&Sora&Adv Chosen] / Ultramarine Rain [+Mrs Yoshie Izumi; Izumis] / Imagination Forest [+Mimi&Jou] / Transparent Answer [TaiKou+Meiko] / Jinzou Enemy [Artificial Enemy] / DEAD and SEEK (short edit) / Headphone Actor (Full version Preview) / Otsukimi Recital [Moon Viewing Recital] [Advs Taishiro & 2020 Taishiro] (Note: Check the link for ‘ Otsukimi Recital ‘ for all links to any past AMVs as well as story info / the story introduction link!) (*It’s ok to start on/only watch this current AMV!) [*You may understand the story/implied timeline of things better if you begin from my “Kagerou Daze” AMV, though it’s also not required! “Children Record” is also recommended as a starting point/upbeat song! “DAZE” also serves as a mini Opening theme song and is also upbeat!] {NOTE : PLEASE read my FAQ and “about” sections BEFORE interacting directly with me, my contents / fanworks / this series, or my blog!!!}

[More info + lyrics under the ‘read more’!]

Keep reading

[seventeenlovesthree]

Mimi Tachikawa's clothing style - a meta analysis

While their clothing styles are arguably an underlying theme in both Koushirou's and Sora's ways of self-expression (even if it's never at the forefront of their arcs), no other character lives and breathes the idea of expressing themselves through fashion as openly as Mimi. So after Taichi, Yamato and the two redheads, let's take a closer look at Digimon Adventure's very own fashion queen, shall we:

Adventure (+ Our War Game), age 10/11:

If there is one thing the viewer can immediately tell about Mimi, it's probably her favourite colour: Through the course of Adventure, you will rarely see her wear an outfit that doesn't include one pink item of clothing (or at least an accessory) at minimum. While she also has a preference for red shades, she absolutely loves pink in all its variations - on her everyday outfits as well as on her pyjamas! In terms of style, Mimi loves to combine comfort with "being fashionable". The feminine red cowgirl dress and beige-brown - assumably - shearling boots are not exactly the most practical items to wear during a camping trip; but they perfectly complement her favourite item, the pink cowgirl hat she hides her long, wavy hair under in a ponytail. In general, hat(s), dresses/skirts and boots are a repeating theme for her, as we will see later on.

Mimi didn't exactly start Summer camp unprepared, as she wears brown gloves (in a similar colour as her hair) and carries around a brown bag with camping equipment all the way. On the other hand, as Mimi grew up in a sheltered household, at the beginning of Adventure, she is very prone to let everyone around her know when her comfort is being disrupted. Thus, it's no surprise that she got coerced into exchanging her travel-ridden outfit (probably sweaty and dirty at this point) for a fancy white-pinkish (!) princess dress, as PicoDevimon's intrigue aimed to corrupt her. After all, she was overwhelmed by the situation - and loves pretty clothes and being comfortable, so she (understandably!) gets lost in the convenience of luxury for a bit. Thus even Taichi telling her how "impractical" the dress would be as a traveling fit couldn't shake her out of it for a while. However: As a mix between red's passion and white's purity, pink symbolizes love, nurture and compassion - and so it shall also come as no surprise that Mimi (encouraged by Sora) eventually found her way back to the right path and leave the spoilt attitude behind for the sake of her duty.

Even though she'll leave the beloved hat behind with Palmon in the Digital World at some point as well - it won't be the last hat she'll own. And also not the last pink one!

02 (+ Diablomon Strikes Back), age 13/14:

The transition phase between Adventure and 02 already shows Mimi getting a little more experimental with colours, as she actually added white, blue and green - her signature colour - to the mix. However, the viewer is not prepared for just how experimental Mimi would turn out to be! And neither were the animators, as several of Mimi's incredibly varied concept outfits didn't make it into the anime - but let's go through it step by step:

At the beginning of 02, we learn that Mimi's family has moved to the USA - and if the cowgirl aesthetic hasn't been an indicator before, 13-year-old teenage!Mimi will go all out on the American aesthetic and a style that couldn't be more early 2000s: Wearing a crop top that couldn't be closer to the US American flag if she tried, a white short skirt and high heels with white kneesocks. Most notably, for the majority of the season, her favourite colour pink will be a permanent part of her - as she chose to dye her (a little shortened, but more voluminous) hair pink. Additionally, she has adopted the star motive for herself - which we have previously only seen on Taichi! Mimi herself wears them either on her shirt - or as small hairclips in her hair.

Speaking of hair - unfortunately, the viewer won't get to see most of her hair experiments (namely the dark brown dreads, the highlights and the space buns). In one episode, her strawberry blonde perm (and pants!!!) can be witnessed at least - and eventually, we'll see her return to her natural hair colour. She also returns to the cowgirl aesthetic in Summer, once again wearing a pink hat (!), a white cowgirl dress, boots - and pigtails.

In general, one can tell that Mimi undoubtedly enjoys her youth abroad, as she seemed fascinated by American culture and the idea of "expressing herself freely" as a 10-year-old already. In the Adventure novels, it is already implied that Mimi stood out among her peers in school and - similarly yet differently to Koushirou - may be considered an "odd" in contrast to more "more traditional" Japanese customs (such as Sora's kimono-wearing mother as a traditional iemoto). Mimi also never fit into lifestyle aesthetics like Gyaru or Lolita, but definitely thrives in experimenting with extravagant, less traditional clothes and hairstyles through Summer that draw attention and display her personal interpretation of femininity; outfits that are funky, stylish (mainly crop tops, short skirts/shorts and high boots) and, most importantly, individualistic.

By the end of the season and the start of winter, she goes in a bit of a different direction: Her winter outfit is probably one of her most iconic ones - as well as the most high-femme she's ever been: Mimi fully commits to the spirit of Christmas by wearing a pine green goat and hat, accompanied by her long(er) flowy hair, a mahogany red skirt and light brown boots - it's cozy and mature and very Christmas-tree-y! A similarly mature vibe is maintained during Diablomon Strikes Back, as she wears a yellow turtleneck, a mahogany red skirt, a star necklace and brown boots. She doesn't exactly grow out of the experimental expressionist phase - but gets more balance into it. It's all very symbolic for 02!Mimi, who isn't just incredibly self-confident, but has also grown out of her "spoilt princess" tendencies. Instead, she has her own mind and insists on it - in a constructive, self-assured way!

Tri, age 16:

Tri!Mimi is mostly consistent with the majority of style elements we have discovered so far and actually adds a fashion-related element to her arc. First, let's focus on the things we are familiar with - and add the aspects that are new:

By now, Mimi has stopped dying her hair regularly and mostly sticks to wearing it open and/or with a headband. Sometimes, she does wear a ponytail, still cherishes the cowgirl hat whenever it fits - and in one scene, is even seen wearing unconventional bangs (and bunny ears that almost let me doubt that it was her for a moment, but since she actually wore stars - for the first and only time in Tri -, we can tell that it's her!). Thus, she still likes to experiment with variety!

Clothes-wise, she still prefers (mostly short!) dresses/skirts/shorts, (sandal-)boots - and of course the colour pink in most of her everyday outfits (with splashes of red, green and blue in between), including yukatas! Tri also lets her wear jeans for a change - but rather rarely.

Her school uniform includes exactly two aspects that differentiate her from the way Sora wears it: First of all, she adds a splash of colour by wearing red-white sneakers (whereas Sora wears standard loafers). Second, she wears rolled-up long sleeves in Summer - and is the only one who does so besides Yamato.

Last but not least, let's talk about the formerly mentioned US American influences that got her in trouble for a bit: After transferring back to Japan, she suggests hosting a Hooters-like café for the school festival - and thus her outgoing, funky (and undeniably more revealing) ideas clash with her more traditional, reserved Japanese classmates.

Her general sentiment is that she doesn't see the use in holding back or hiding her true feelings and thoughts for the sake of pleasing others. It's her sense of sincerity, which gets perceived as egotism by her classmates, that requires her to balance herself out again (and not just in terms of fashion, as she also got into a fight with Koushirou over priorities as well):

She has to find a way not to give herself up while simultaneously not stepping on everyone else in the process - and just like when she got seduced by a princess dress at age 10, things eventually get resolved. Working with Sora and Meiko to create an orange-purple cheerleading outfit, her performance and enthusiasm doesn't just impress her classmates, but help her to reconcile with them. Even though the outfit may have shown more skin than they initially anticipated, it was still a good mix between practical, fun and cute for them to seem more open to the idea of experimentation themselves. This subplot also greatly contributes to Meiko's character development, helping her to get a little bit more confident herself!

To quote Mimi in the English dub here: "Fashion demands courage."

Kizuna, age 21:

Kizuna represents a small shift in Mimi's expressionist attitude - or rather, as she stepped into the world being an entrepreneur, running her own online business, she interprets some of her prior style elements a little... Differently, depending on the situation:

She still loves (short) dresses and will never give up on pink - however, her everyday outfit appears a little different than what we are used to with her. It's still colourful and funky, complemented by earrings and bracelets with splashes of colour. But gone is the cowgirl hat - and the hair she used to wear open for most of the past ten years has been tied back into a (loose) bun. The style is very difficult to describe and even though it's very much Mimi-esque in the way it's individualistic - it looks a little more kindergarten teacher-esque as well. In contrast, her business meeting outfit - a strapless long-sleeve shirt, a black belt and a high-waist skirt in burgundy red - combines familiar elements of Winter02!Mimi and Tri!Mimi.

The epilogue, approximately age 38:

38-year-old Businesswoman-slash-experimental-TV-star-cook!Mimi elaborated on the look of 21-year-old Businesswoman!Mimi - and while her look definitely evolved, she also returned to her roots again, finding a balance between "more traditional" and "individualistic": She's back to wearing her hair open, it's a little shorter and, depending on how she styles it, either wavy or frayed. The pink cowgirl hat is back too - as well as the whole cowgirl aesthetic, because, let's be real, she would always find a way back to it, considering how it had become such a reoccurring theme for her.

Final thoughts (and headcanons):

Mimi being as experimental as she has always been, trying out all the different things - in both fashion and life itself - absolutely stands for her honest, pure nature. She absolutely has her own mind and trusts her intuition a lot - and this experimental yet straightforward mindset will lead her to make decisions in the end: It helps her to learn exactly what she wants/likes and what she doesn't want/like. Go big or go home, don't hide who you are deep down inside!

It's a very progressive, empowering mindset - and so it shall not even come to any surprise that it's mainly (but not exclusively!) female characters she inspires with her way of thinking. Whether it's Miyako who heavily idolizes and wishes to be like her as she blushes and smiles serenely to herself; Meiko who gains a lot of self-confidence through Mimi's support and encouragement and kisses on the cheek, so she bursts through her self-destructive thoughts and gets "out of the closet box" at least a little more; her female classmates who actually adore and admire her school festival outfit and performance; or, last but not least, there is Sora, who used to take Mimi under her wing, and is, as an adult, reassured by her in return to "spread her wings freely" herself. Personally, it's very difficult for me not to see Mimi's influence and general theme as a metaphor for self-discovery in terms of gender-representation and sexuality as well. (I've made similar points for Sora and Koushirou in their respective analysis posts as well; the former is such a strong contrast to Mimi not only in the way their personalities, styles and arcs contrast each other, but in how Sora struggles so much with her own self-representation in return. The latter's temporary crush on Mimi may even play into the idea of self-discovery as well, but that's a topic for another day. Mimi - in my personal opinion you don't have to agree with! - actually has a lot of aroace energy, as she never actively pursues romance herself in the series. But at the same time, the wlw vibes she causes when she's in the same room with other girls cannot be overlooked! Also, not to say that she doesn't inspire male characters - such as Jyou, Koushirou and Taichi - at various points as well, but that's the beautiful part of Mimi's theme: even more empowerment AND power to the bisexual vibe!)

However, as it is often the case with themes of self-discovery, that kind of sincere, outgoing attitude may not be to everybody's liking. It may even cause Mimi's more revealing/emotion-based choices to clash with other people's preferences and ideals. And, as Tri suggests, it may even be controversially considered self-centered and indecent instead of self-confident and empowering by some.

For example, the fact that she spent most of her early teenage years in a - in comparison to Japan - more open society in terms of fashion choices may be met with suspicious eyes among some of her Japanese peers. 02!Mimi did pick more revealing clothes after all, which were typical for Western teenagers in the 2000s - and Tri!Mimi was 100% used to that kind of style, liking to show skin and feeling free and happy while doing so! Which definitely collided with Meiko's more closed-off clothing choices.

(On a different note, it shall not be ignored that she was also the focus of a lot of heavily sexualized/objectified marketing materials back in the Tri era. So while her wearing crop tops, short skirts and high boots absolutely IS a Mimi!thing, Tri's half-naked fan service promo art can and should be taken with a grain of salt. And while it's not exactly linked to her clothes, Mimi had already faced a lot of Digimon (!) back in Adventure hitting on her as a 10-year-old - such as Numemon and Sukamon -, trying to date her in a rather scummy fashion. So her being the center of weird "fan service" and uncomfortable encounters has always been a thing.)

On the other hand, her learning/knowing exactly what she wants also includes her having reoccurring preferences she will always come back to. And thus, as she grew more mature and self-assured, Mimi never gave up on her own personal roots: The comforting power of pink - let's remember: as a mix between red's passion and white's purity, it symbolizes love, nurture and compassion. And, of course, the nostalgic cowgirl hat that will always link her to her literal soulmate - who wears a pink, almost hat-like flower on top of her head.

[taichixmimi]

WELCOME TO THE SECOND EDITION OF MICHI WEEK. ♪♫

THE EVENT

This event has been organised as a dedication to Michi. Michi is the shipname for the pairing of Taichi Yagami and Mimi Tachikawa from the Digimon franchise. It’s a fun way to shine more light on this underrated but wonderful ship. It will take place from September 26 to October 02, so mark your calendars.

THE PROMPTS

All the prompts fit a general theme, namely “karaoke”, but feel free to interpret them however you like. ;)

Monday, September 26: SCORE

Tuesday, September 27: NOTE

Wednesday, September 28: REPEAT

Thursday, September 29: CONCERT

Friday, September 30: VOICE

Saturday, October 01: RHYTHM

Sunday, October 02: CODA (aka Free Choice)

THE GUIDELINES

There are guidelines to ensure this week runs smoothly, so please be sure to follow these:

Be sure to use #michi karaoke as one of the first five tags and/or tag with @taichixmimi! That way it’ll be easier to find your post and reblog it here for all to enjoy!

Everyone is free to chose any kind of art form: edits, gifs, fanfiction, fanart, fanvideos, cosplay, etc. Creativity is always encouraged!

You can add other ships and characters, such as their digimon partners. Just be sure the focus remains on Taichi and Mimi.

This does NOT mean you can bash any other ship or character. This event is meant to celebrate Michi, but not at the expense of others. Spread love, not hate.

You can submit more than one entry per prompt if you want to.

Early submissions won’t be accepted. So please wait until the new prompt has been posted on the taichixmimi blog.

Late submissions, on the other hand, are welcome.

Last but certainly not least, HAVE FUN!!!!!

For more guidelines concerning this event, please check out this page.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll do my best to help you out.

Love, Zoe

[otakween]

Digimon Adventure 02 (Blind Watch) - Episode 17

Wait...I literally just remembered that the parents (plus a bunch of other people) saw all the digital world stuff by the final episode of season 1. What exactly is the IRL awareness of digimon?? The kids have to hide that they're going to the digital world from their parents, but maybe that's more because it's dangerous? Or was there some memory wipe thing I'm forgetting about. (This ramble triggered by a line in the dub where Matt says "Don't tell me Myotismon destroyed the studio again!?" to his dad...)

Anyway, putting my confusion aside, I really enjoyed this one. It had the good kind of callbacks instead of some cheap repeats. It was especially nice to see the S1 kids finally sit down with the new kids and tell their story. Probably should have done that already by now, but better late than never!

There was...no battle in this one?? Wild...

Notes:

-I think the movie director in the beginning of the episode had the same VA as Joe. Low key distracting.

-I liked the concept of not just a ghost being caught on camera, but a ghost that changes its movements every time you play the video back. Not sure I've seen that done before...

-Very heartwarming that they've turned Aug. 1st into a special day of remembrance amongst their friend group. I've seen fans making posts about the date before and maybe I'll start celebrating it too! (I'm an August baby so it feels extra special).

-Aside from Bakemon who doesn't count, I guess this is our first ghost digimon? Really unfair that Wizarmon didn't get to be reincarnated like everyone else :'( I wonder if we'll see him again?

-I sighed a small sigh of relief when we got hat!Mimi back. More importantly, her ridiculous pink/starry hair is gone! I hope this isn't just a temporary change. She looks really cute with pig tails

-Didn't really think about the difference between living with a single dad vs. a single mom until Takeru and Yamato had a discussion about it. Is every single mom in this series a homemaker...? (Nothing wrong with that, but it would be awkward if there wasn't at least one mom with a job).

-They censored the curry in the dub lol. American kids in the early 2000s didn't know what curry was I guess

-This episode featured a bunch of MD players to the point where it felt suspiciously like an ad. I had to google what an MD was and it's a mini-disc (like GameCube game sized). Of course, they just called it a "CD player" in the dub

-Dead at the dub line "Don't mind him dad, he's just not a happy little buffalo!" LOL (American kids also don't know what sutras are apparently)

-They addressed a question I had in my earlier post about how they were stuck using the computer lab to enter the digi-world. Koushiro finally figured out that they could connect from any computer and that the D3 device was more important. (Honestly, they should have thought of this sooner, but I guess everyone's busy with school lol).

-It felt kind of weird to me how Wizarmon was showing up on TV to get Tailmon's attention, but we never really see the kids watching TV or catching any of these appearances. They kinda just stumble across him instead because Tailmon's Wizarmon's senses start tingling. Oh well, all's well that ends well...

-Very rare episode where there's no battle and the digimon only evolve to their rookie forms. I feel like this shows that the writers trusted the kids enough to sit through an episode without all the usual stuff, so that's nice.

-I'm going to go ahead and qualify this as a Halloween episode because ooky spooky

-Wizarmon continues Gennai's tradition of giving super vague and unhelpful information. Thanks for nothing! (I guess he was mainly hinting that Ken is a victim of "the darkness." Okay, Kingdom Hearts...)

-Sad Tailmon tho ;-;

[piracytheorist]

One day I will write a more detailed post about everything that I disliked about the path they chose in Last Evolution Kizuna, but I was thinking today of how they basically wrote themselves into a dead end but expect us to take a positive outcome out of it.

Like, the ending is very bitter with one pinch of sweet. It is meant to make us sad, and just a little hopeful that they still keep the 02 ending canon so we can assume that eventually all Chosen Children (or Adults) reconnect with their Digimon partners.

But I’m thinking, even if you want to ignore tri. (which to me it felt like they were deliberately ignoring everything about it with the exclusion of one (1) mention of Meiko and Meicoomon) where the whole plot happens because a former Chosen Child wanted to reconnect with her Digimon, the same thing happens in Kizuna. Sure the separation of Taichi and Yamato from Agumon and Gabumon was “fated” but Menoa’s actions were what kicked the plot forward.

And so, with what Kizuna sets up, more and more Chosen Children will be separated from their Digimon partners until something happens off-screen and they reach the 02 ending (which to me, doing that off-screen is a huge cop-out but that’s a point for another post plus we’ve still got the upcoming 02 movie to watch so). So I’m asking, how are we supposed to think that absolutely none of those people will go to such extremes like Menoa did? Yeah, maybe we don’t want to assume that of the beloved twelve children from Adventure and 02, but there’s way more Chosen people out there... so are we supposed to assume things go well afterwards?

If anything, in Kizuna, only Taichi and Yamato (because of course only those two) were directly impacted by Menoa’s actions; as a proof, when Mimi and Palmon wake up from their coma, they both consider everything a dream, so I can’t be convinced anyone other than Taichi and Yamato would fully understand the consequences of going too far to be reconnected with your Digimon partner (again, tri. notwithstanding). It’s also only the original eight that are even brought up with the idea of moving forward; none of the other Chosen that were taken by Eosmon are shown to struggle with the concept, they’re just brought in the Neverland and then wake up safe in their hospital beds. Did they even understand what went on, why Eosmon was created, why she fell and why they woke up again? Will they understand what it means when the countdown ring appears on their Digivices? Will they expect and (reluctantly) accept it when their time runs out like Taichi and Yamato did?

So, with the way the topic is written and explored in the film, it doesn’t become an object lesson to that many people, so it’s bound to happen again. There’s nothing in the film to disprove this, and even if we assume that Koushiro would issue a warning among the Chosen Children network about what’s fated to happen (which again, is work we’d do off-screen in order to make the film make sense), I cannot safely assume at least one of them wouldn’t go as far to try to stop it or undo it as Menoa did.

It’s not just a mostly bitter with a bit of sweet ending the film gives. It’s so sloppy that upon closer inspection it falls apart and only fates itself to be repeated.

[elecmon]

24 - and all means all!

24. Favorite songs of all seasons?

Jokes on you I only listen to the digirap on repeat 24/7

Adventure-

Hey digimon + Si tu lo Deseas (Latino American Spanish dub opening) + Butterfly (but with preference to the final version where it's all the kids & their Digimon singing)

Adventure 02-

Here we go, Run Around, Let's kick it up, Brave Heart

Tamers-

Biggest Dreamer (Latino American version + Japanese opening)

Frontier-

ENGLISH DUB FRONTIER OPENING ON LOOP FOR 3 HOURS, also fire & with the will are FANtastic

Data Squad//Savers-

BELIEVER

Xros Wars//Data Squad-

NEVER GIVE UP AND NEW WORLD ARE BOTH AMAZING

Young Hunters-

STAND UP

Appmon-

DIVE IS ICONIC

Adventure 2020 Psi-

I don't remember the name but that ending song where doing random slice of life stuff and Mimi and Palmon are dancing

Ghost Game-

Faction and I've only seen like 4 episodes so idk about other songs yet rip

[koushirouizumi]

“A {HOLY} Ring?” - Hikari {See: “Holy Ring” @ Wikimon for more cross-canon medias info}

“YES. Filled with everyone’s {Kibou}” - Tailmon

kibou – 希望 (きぼう) : a noun meaning ‘hope’ in Japanese. Depending on the context, it can also mean ‘wish’, ‘desire’, or ‘expectation’.

希 : a kanji character used to express ‘hope’ or ‘wish’. In the past, it used to express something rare. 望 : a kanji character used to express ‘hope’.

- (via link) / Takeru’s Crest name {“Kibou no Monshou”}

“Izumi-senpai, I’m sending you the Kuramon. We leave them to you.” - Miyako

“Great idea, Iori-kun. ...” - Koushiro {in response to Iori’s actions helping}

“Augh! How do you turn this off?!?” Mimi, pointing at the Tech

{in the credits: Koushiro finally gets some sleep. [Passed out on the table] Mimi teases him a bit, but her expression is clearly meant to intend the scene as friendly, along with AiM’s song playing.] (AiM is Mimi’s seiyuu/J.P.N actress)}

{DigiAdv 02: Revenge of Diablomon} (J.P.N Version) ~ Koushiro[u] Character Traits + Koushiro & Mimi / {Friendly} Moments & Interaction + Koushiro & Takeru & Hikari / {Friendly} as Supportive/Group Efforts + Koushiro & Miyako / {Friendly} Moments & Interaction + Yamato & Sora / Moments & Interaction + Taichi & Yamato & Sora / {Friendly} Moments & Interaction {as Group} ~ DigiAdvs Lore: Holy Ring + “Kibou no Hikari” / “Light of Hope” {and how it functions with Imperialdramon in this Scene} ~ Daisuke Character Traits + Daisuke & Ken / MOMENTS & Interaction {KENSUKE}/{DaiKen}/{KenDai}

{Clipped by Me} {DO NOT re-post} {DO NOT remove caption} (Please ASK to Use) [Disclaimer: I Do Not own DigiAdvs / DigiAdv ( C ) T0ei @nimation]

(Note: This is mainly intended as Canon reference + Koushiro-informative + 02; Hikari-informative. Please respect that if interacting, Thank You!)

[earlgreymon]

Koushiro and Hikari's Summer Break ☀️🏮 ft. Jenrya Lee (Digimon Tamers) and Hoi Brothers (Digimon Adventure 02) for @digiweek​ 2021 day 5 // crossover

(click the images for a more readable full scale!) remember when i said: 1) i had a friend with jenrya/hikari as otp, 2) she made me write a 8k words fic of koukari going to hongkong where she met jenrya and ended up dating? it would be a hassle for me to translate it and trust me it was so cringe lmao, so i made this instead. it was hard and tedious, but i told myself i had to show some love for koukari in digiweek—and i did! i could even show some love too dear jenrya too! i always wanted to make something again out of my #digicentfancast anyway~

inspired by @dianaagron​’s digimon social media edit some usernames taken and inspired from @tangledupblue​’s instagram edit and @fromsorawithlove​​ ;)

fancast by maysnow - deng enxi as hikari yagami - fei qimin as koushiro izumi - leo wu lei as jenrya lee

more ramblings and further explanation below the cut!

let’s assume hikari and jenrya are in the same age.

the series never mentioned hoi brothers first names, so i took the liberty of choosing them; using bruce lee and donny yen’s first name. i know a lot of hongkongers have a western name, but i have a hunch that the hois are quite the traditionalist.

hikari is indeed an avid nichi users.

and yes, koushiro is trying his best to look cute.

i had to open my instagram and looked how my japanese friends named their account. i remember they rarely use their full names. instead, from what i learned, they often: 1) prolong some alphabets (like miiiiiyako), 2) use a lot of numbers, 3) also use repeated dots and underscores. idk whether this is true or not, but that’s just base on my investigation.

14 is taichi’s shirt number in da:2020

koushiro should’ve been born on 1989. i took @dutchforstrangers​​ headcanon where she said koushiro was born on august, hence 898.

1 in japanese is “ichi” - so you can read 1jouji as ichijouji.

also, sora’s username was created by mimi, and even though she’s kinda shy about it (“why do i have to blatantly use the word ‘love’?!”), she didn’t have any other username idea.

yes, takeru and hikari just love to tease each other and never really date. gah.

her “oh” is more because she was surprised, not she was being mean.

hikari posted a lot of cats in her instagram. no surprise.

howlatthemoon is the script’s song yamato’s username, of course.

jenrya lives permanently in hong kong in this universe, but his family is planning to move to japan anyway. DO YOU THINK THEY WILL END UP DATING? #theoriesarewelcome

[izzyizumi]

Digimon Adventure{s} (+Adv ~ Tri + {Side} / {A.U.} Adventure: [2020 Reboot]) ~ AMV [Anime Music Video] - Tomodachi no Uta {Song of Friends} (sung by: Nanami Kashiyama) {from originating series: Kagerou Project} featuring DUO/O.T.P/Poly-ships: - {Main} KouTaiMi / TaiKouMi (Mimi x Koushiro x Taichi); - (Heavily Implied) KouTai (Koushiro x Taichi)

PAST AMVS / VIDEO EDITS IN THIS SERIES: Kagerou Daze (Heat-Haze Daze) / Children Record [+Adv Chosen] / RED / Additional Memory and Imaginary Reload music edits for KageDaze / Days (short edit) / Lost Time Memory / Yesterday Evening / Summertime Record / Shounen Brave [+Jou] / Outer Science [+Villains] / Headphone Actor (short edit) / DAZE (short version / TV Size OP) / KOUSHIROS ? CYBER JOURNEY [+Maki] / Brave Heart x Kaien Panzermast [+Chosen Children] / Night Tales Deceive [Yobanashi Deceive] / [KOUSHIRO’S] Imaginary World / Mekakushi Code [Blindfold Code] [+Yamato&Sora&Adv Chosen] / Ultramarine Rain [+Mrs Yoshie Izumi; Izumis] / Imagination Forest [+Mimi&Jou] / Transparent Answer [TaiKou+Meiko] / Jinzou Enemy [Artificial Enemy] / DEAD and SEEK (short edit) / Headphone Actor (Full version Preview) / Otsukimi Recital [TaiKou+Chosen] / Shissou Word [Never-Lost Word] [(Yamatox)Sora(xMimi)(xJou)]+[TaiKou]+[Chosen] / My Funny Weekend [Mimi+Hikari+Chosen] / Kusanagi Attention [(Ken x)Miyako(x Hikari) (xDaisuke)+Mimi+02 Chosen+Advs Chosen (+TaiKou)] / Shinigami Record (Short Edit) [(+2020!)TaiKou] / [KSHRO’s]? Theory of Happiness [Adv~Tri TaiKou + Special Appearance] / Imaginary Reload (Music Edit Ver. 2) [Adv Chosen+2020 Chosen] / Children Record Re:Boot (Music Edit) / Children Record (Nijisanji Cover version)

Digimon Adventure{s} Franchise © Toei Animation & Bandai

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. This is FAN-MADE. No $$$ is being made off this fan-work * Please do not re-post, re-distribute, edit, or use my specific editing of any work in this series without asking my Permission! I do not allow my works to be re-produced for any usage, including A.I.!

Notes:

There are some spoilers for Tri (mainly Ketsui); {as well as a much smaller ‘moment’ of Mimi & Sora from “Kyousei”}; a scenery spoiler from the very opening moments of “Kizuna” also included (No character is shown!), as well as scenes from DigiAdv 2020 Eps 49~50, which feature an important mid-end series (second-to-last big) battle. The 2nd to final scene included has audio left in (though I still have to add in subs); of that battle’s aftermath; {the enemy itself is not seen in this}

This A.M.V. is part of the “A.M.V.s Route” of my Digimon Adventures Koushiro Izumi-centric, semi canon compliant A.U.s series; REPEAT?_VERSE (Please note all notes on that series if you choose to view it!) This one is an A.U. spin-off of sorts, with a pretty, “calm” song, and can easily be watched as a stand-alone!

A fan-translation for the song (not by me) can be found here! You may want to read the lyrics first before watching!

Side ships, AMV specific notes, & Lyrics/Translation under ‘read more‘!

also featuring - {as Poly, Friendship or Side-shipping}: -- Michi / TaiMimi (Taichi x Mimi); -- JouMi (Jou x Mimi); -- YamaMimi (Yamato x Mimi); -- MimiSora (Mimi x Sora); -- MiMei (Mimi x Meiko); -- Yamato x Jou x Mimi x Sora (YamaJouraMi); {as canon-compliant!} - (so long as KouTai is still included somewhere, regardless of combinations above involved)

{Other Original Notes}:

Notes:

This A.M.V. is currently technically incomplete; I’m aiming to see if I can add in a few finishing touches; (as well as sub-titles!) However, as this has already taken me 1 hour and 45 min or so of editing, along with another full hour of simply previewing; (And this was made during in-betweens of a large storm near my area on top of that!!); Those finishing touches may have to wait just a bit longer, so hopefully this pre-view can suffice!!

{Lyrics}

I walk home alone in this transparent city.

In the depths of these tearful eyes, my vision blurs, and I can’t see.

Within this scenery that never changes, I found something precious to me.

I don’t want to lose it, so I’ll carry it with me forever.

Ever since I met you, so many radiant and gentle words have piled up over TIME.

They’ll always be here.

I look back on today, that was full of smiles and dreams, while holding your hand.

Yeah, I fell down and cried yesterday, even if it’s embarrassing to remember…

This “LIGHT” is so small, so blurry.

Yet it SHINES so softly, so KINDLY.

IT’S my TREASURE.

- Mimi, about Mimi’s Friends {in this A.U.}

{Additional note: this post is mainly intended AS [SPECIFIC] SHIP/O.T.P (KouTai/Taishiro); [along with] (this work) KouTaiMi / TaiKouMi and etc. listed Poly-ships; please remember + respect this when interacting please tag only while including ship names and DO NOT tag as only “brotp” or the like only*, thank you! } (*It is ok if you tag as “friendship” or the like along WITH the ship names!!)

[Note: Tags/replies that are Positive/respectful are OK!]

[koushirouizumi]

-Two excerpts from Infalliable {x} / The Past World {Series} {x}, originally included as a "future" "missing scene" of "Chosen of Faith" {currently not up}, can be considered as a Timeline/AU spinoff of REPEAT?_Verse {x} (These specific excerpts were written by May 6, 2022)

Originally, this kind of "concluding" scene was meant to conclude Koushiro's Arc ("IGNORANCE"), of "Chosen of Faith", coming around halfway exactly through the full fic, after a Takeru's Arc, Jou's Arc, Mimi's Arc, and a belatedly decided-on Ken's Mini-Arc {it was originally planned in a "reverse" of "typical" "Crests [placement]/['official'] order" beginning with Light}; my much earlier original 'verse featuring my 02 FDDs. Ken's Arc was decided on {+actually 'finished'!!} after I realized I wanted to expand upon Daisuke's storyline a bit, but didn't feel I had enough material to justify a full arc for Ken; Meanwhile, Daisuke's (POV) story becomes more and more involved and developed as a whole by the end of Koushiro's Arc especially, and Ken becomes more involved by that point on in a general sense in the later story anyway, as a huge support to Daisuke both on team and "from afar" / whenever they're seemingly "separated".

"Chosen of Faith" can also be considered as a prequel timeline to "REPEAT?_Verse", even if not the immediate prequel, as there are many, many prequel concepts I've thought of since.

Cap’d by @izzyizumi / @koushirouizumi / @hikari-m​​ {Do Not Re-p o s t} {Do Not Copy} {Do Not Remove Caption {Do Not Reproduce my Work Under Any Circumstances Without my Permission!} [*Including for @.I. Use]

{Please Note my blog rules BEFORE Interacting}

[seventeenlovesthree]

As mentioned in my previous analysis posts, my memory on 02 has been rather blurry, but upon rewatching vital scenes of both 02 and Tri, it’s just interesting how often this general theme is being brought up.

Basically, there are two moral aspects the Adventure universe always falls back on:

Killing Digimon in general (including enemies)

Killing Digimon that are ALSO somebody’s partner and/or a friend

Throughout the first three arcs of Adventure, “killing” Digimon had not been an issue, as there were mainly “enemies” and the children were also (indirectly) on a quest for survival as well. It’s not before the Dark Master’s arc (and the killing of Wizarmon prior to it) that the subject of death becomes one they have to actively debate on (not including the death of Angemon here, even though that definitely left some scarring in Takeru). It’s Mimi wanting to mourn the fallen Digimon, Taichi immediately wanting to press on in order not to see more victims happen and Yamato opposing him on that, saying that he needs to let them process what happened. The everlasting conflict of “being (in)considerate” that lingers between these two here is one (of several) aspect(s) that makes them get into a fight, causing the group to split up afterwards. Mimi (and Jyou) leaves because she doesn’t want to witness more death - even though that is exactly what she has to face in the end. Taichi (who has been personally affected by the trauma of almost having killed his sister when they were children) becomes even more contemplative - and it’s him trying to reason with Yamato, trying to get them all to work together and snapping out of his “silly rivalry attitude” in order to stop all of this, not wanting the prior victims to have died in vain.

In the end, they all had to come to the conclusion that there are sacrifices that HAVE to be made. That - even with the Village of Beginnings existing - there will be losses they cannot avoid.

That is also why Yamato is the one who - in return - punches Taichi three years later during 02 once he is faltering. Agumon getting corrupted is one of the first instances where they actively have to face the idea of “killing a friend”. And due to their experiences before that, they quickly come to the conclusion that it may not be avoidable in order to achieve peace for the greater good.

And that is the theme that gets repeated again and again. While Daisuke, Iori and Miyako visibly struggle with this theme throughout the entirety of Adventure 02 due to never having had to face the idea of killing a living being, all the others have already personally seen death happen before their very eyes - and one might argue that they’re not dealing with it well either. Takeru had SEEN his own partner getting killed before (and will struggle with the prospect of it happening again in Tri once more, even hiding the fact out of sheer fear of facing it once more, as he is already dealing with abandonment issues). Hikari had witnessed Wizarmon die (and also doesn’t deal very well with whenever it happens to other innocent Digimon as well). Ken still deals with the aftermath of his brother’s death as well as seeing Wormmon die in his arms due to the mistakes he made, having to overcome the feeling of guilt as well as rediscovering his own self-worth.

If we take Hurricane Touchdown into consideration as well, it is no surprise that the prospect of killing a corrupted (!) Digimon partner of a newly found friend is terrifying Daisuke and reduces him to tears of empathy. 

And then we have Hikari’s reactions seen above; let’s remember that Taichi has a tendency to be indecisive once faced with a situation that overwhelms him, so he may or may not need Yamato to punch him out of that state. To remind him to make rational decisions again, to remind him what they’re there for. That’s why we see him so calm and collected here in 02 (albeit also looking very grim about it). It’s not because he likes the idea of killing, but he knows that he has to do it and at this point in time, he has fully grasped the meaning of it. He’s also aware that the younger kids will have their issues with it due to their lack of experience and exposure. That’s why Hikari looks so tormented. She knows it as well. She doesn’t want it - her dream is to live in a peaceful world of symbiosis in which humans and Digimon can live in symbiosis without fighting one another, without having to face sacrifices again and again. It physically makes her flinch to think back to the events of 1999 once Taichi mentions it.

And interestingly enough, they will have a conversation like this again - with similar yet different circumstances.

The entirety of Tri revolves, once again, around a Digimon partner being corrupted and the children having to make the decision to end it for good. And once again, Hikari absolutely doesn’t want it to happen. She is aware of the necessity to fight, always has been, yet Taichi eventually coming to the conclusion (AGAIN) that they have to go for the kill (AGAIN) distresses her. Saying that every being of darkness has a side of light as well that deserves to be saved, hoping that there will be a way to succeed without having to compromise. And yet...

“I...”

“But that is also why...”

Taichi’s whole deal throughout Tri has been that he had felt like a coward for not being able to act. That he thought he could have seen things more clearly when he was still a “kid”. Yamato basically yelled at him again for not being sharp enough as well, for not remembering what was important, even if they had come to the same conclusion again and again and again. And it’s not like Yamato doesn’t struggle with it himself - on the contrary, it’s the main reason WHY he gets so angry at Taichi throughout Tri, because after all this time, he expected Taichi to be on the same page, to understand all this (and probably hating to see him faltering in the same way he himself once did). And yet - Yamato has his doubts about allowing a friend’s partner to get killed himself, but is also aware of the necessity.

In the end, these emotional “contradictions” (if you want to call it that) are just too understandable. Because as much as we may know that something is “the right thing to do”, doesn’t mean that it’s “the easy thing to do”. (We may even come full circle taking Kizuna into account, as this one basically demands both Taichi and Yamato to “sacrifice” their partners for the greater good as well. This time, they’re not corrupted, but the theme of sacrifice remains the center of the conclusion, as it is the price they have to pay for having lost their ways before.)

[pyrokinesis]

Digiweek 2021 – Day 2: Voyage

A place in the Digital World you would like to visit/explore?

A place I would definitely like to visit is Digitamamon's restaurant! I know that place has usually negative implications in a few different media, but apparently food there is great and I would love to visit it!

For those unaware, Digitamon, a perfect level egg Digimon, owns a restaurant in the Digital World and serves cheap but pretty tasty food. In Adventure 1999 Joe Kido and his Digimon partner Gomamon came to Digitamamon’s restaurant to eat after the original Digidestined split because of Taichi Yagami’s disappearance. Joe and Gomamon didn’t have any money so they had to work in the restaurant to pay their bill back – that’s how Yamato Ishida and his partner Gabumon found them and that’s what led to the two of them working for a while until they found out Digitamamon was working with Vandemon and Joe didn’t have to work back for weeks for a simple dinner.

Second time Digitamamon’s restaurant appears is in Adventure 02, when the new generation of Digidestined goes to eat lunch and they only have Japanese money, yen, instead of dollars, and it seems like it’s going to be a repeat of the previous season – thankfully children are saved by Mimi Tachikawa, 1999’s Digidestined, and her American friend Michael, who pay the bill.

Third time we sort of see this wonderful restaurant is in ReArise, where Digitamamon is scammed by Etemon, who offers to co-own the restaurant with him, except Etemon wants to earn the money fast and he raises the prices enormously to earn fast cash. Etemon’s scheme is discovered by Gabumon and his friends, and Digitamamon gets his (now unfortunately ruined by unsatisfied customers) restaurant back.

In all cases Digitamamon starts as a bad guy, but he’s really not, and I think oversized cracked egg with green legs is one of the funkiest Digimons you can find, especially if he owns a restaurant.

[miminorenai]

Surprised by the sudden question, I reach back into my memory, but I don’t recognize him... He hands over me something like that — “—··· I hope to see you again.”

CHAPTER 02

The man with crimson eyes “...Have we ever met somewhere?”

Surprised by the sudden question, I reach back into my memory, but...

MC “...I don’t think we ever met, probably...”

MC “Because I just came to this place a month ago...”

(...At any rate, it just doesn’t seem that I’ve forgotten. I think I’ll never forget such a beautiful person if I ever meet one.)

The man with crimson eyes “Really...?”

MC “...? Yes...Ah!”

When I *get a hold of myself, I notice that there’s a wagon with flowers is placed beside the person.

(*領き返し - 領 means territory, reign, possession, something you acquired, get hold and owned, while 返し means return, put back and restore. It’s still in hesitation, but I put my own mixture and analyzation that the sentence means ‘something that you possessed being returned and restored’, hence getting hold of herself. But if other readers have better explanation, or perhaps better translation, drop in the comments or DM, alright?

The flowers are unprotected and exposed to the snow, dyeing the petals white.

(That’s not good...!)

MC “If we let them get hit by snow as it is, the flowers might be ruined, you know? Let’s carry it over there!”

I put my hands on the wagon and run towards the eaves of the confectionery in the snow.

(...They won’t get hit by the snow here, right?)

MC “...I’m glad they are all right. It would be sad if such beautiful flowers wither.”

The man with crimson eyes “...”

The moment I feel relieved, I realized the person is staring intently at me, as if to probe into my heart.

MC “...I’m sorry. Did I do something unnecessary...”

Then, the person in front of me gently shakes his head.

The man with crimson eyes “No...thank you.”

After saying that, he suddenly turns his crimson eyes towards the flowers in the wagon, and touches the flowers with beautiful gesture.

And then, the person makes a bouquet of colorful flowers in a blink of time, as if he’s using magic.

The man with crimson eyes “Hmm, this is fine. If it’s this big, it should fit in your arms.”

The man with crimson eyes “Here, as thanks for your help.”

A big bouquet gently jumps into my chest.

MC “...I can’t afford to receive such a big bouquet. I didn’t do much...”

The man with crimson eyes “Just accept it.”

The person untied his pursed lips and smiles sweet enough to captivate me instantly.

The man with crimson eyes “Since I was so happy.”

The man with crimson eyes “Well then, I’ll go with this.”

With a delightful smile, the person puts his hand on an empty wagon and starts walking through the snow.

MC “Excuse me...”

When the person stops walking, he looks up at the sky again...and draws an arc on his thin lips.

The man with crimson eyes “Oh...the snow will stop soon.”

(Huh...?)

Staring at the similar scenery as reflected by the crimson eyes, the snow gradually becomes sparse...

Then, the snow stops.

(...It was a sudden snowfall.)

As I look up at the sky, leaving behind only the signs of snow, a clear voice flows into my ears.

The man with crimson eyes “—··· I hope to see you again.”

When I look back in a sudden, there is no one there anymore, 

I feel like I’m dreaming while it was snowing...

(He was a beautiful person...)

(Somehow it seems that he’s a human, but sort of like not human too...he was such a person. Even so —)

I wonder why did he look at me as if we had met before?

(...Have we ever met somewhere after all?)

While I’m thinking about it, I heard footsteps right next to me.

Leonardo “I’m sorry to have kept you keep waiting, Mimi. Huh...? What’s with that big bouquet?”

Leonardo “Leonardo-san! To tell you the truth, just now —”

***

Leonardo-san grunts and stifles his laughter as I tell him the whole story of what happened while it was snowing.

Leonardo “I think he was happy with your kindness. ...Hmm?”

Leonardo's fingertips touch the light blue petals that bloom quietly among various kinds of flowers.

Leonardo “Forget-me-not flowers shouldn't bloom in such a cold winter. Is he growing them in a greenhouse? Or.”

Leonardo “—*Off-season flowering, huh.”

(*狂い咲き - 狂い means insanity, madness and crazy while 咲き means to bloom. Literally it means a crazy flower that’s blooming out of order

Shakespeare sets foot into an old castle and finds the lord of the castle in a beautiful garden.

Vlad “···— 𝅘𝅥𝅮 ···”

Wearing a coat that’s darker than the night, the figure that’s gazing on the flowers illuminated by the moon is so beautiful that you leave it as it is. 

Slowly approaching, Shakespeare stands next to Vlad and opens his lips.

Shakespeare “My lord, is there anything good happened to you?”

Vlad “Yeah, something really nice.”

Nevertheless...as he mutters, the pair of eyes with different colors directed his gaze towards the flowers that are blooming in the flower bed.

Shakespeare “Forget-me-nots shouldn’t bloom in this season, and this flower too. ...Ah, this flower too.”

Shakespeare “How on earth are you growing them...?”

Vlad “Rather than that sort of thing, it’s rare for you to come here, Will. Don’t you have something to talk about?”

Shakespeare “...”

Shakespeare’s expression becomes stiff when a straight gaze is directed towards him.

After a seemingly eternal silence, a faint shaking voice echoes through the night.

Shakespeare “In search for tragic real experiences for my creation, on that day I left the mansion...I joined hands with you.”

Shakespeare “I’m in pursuit of tragedy, while you’re trying to revive the great men for your ambition. Our interests were aligned.”

Shakespeare “My heart was certainly moved by the person you revived for your experiment.”

Vlad “...”

Shakespeare “But things like disregarding lives and treating them with disdain, I just can’t accept it no matter what.”

Shakespeare “...I understand that it’s a selfish excuse, but I don’t want to get my hands dirty anymore —“

Vlad “Hey, Will.”

Shakespeare “...?”

Vlad “Do you know why forget-me-nots came to be called by this name?”

Although confused by the sudden question, Shakespeare easily/leisurely repeats the words.

Shakespeare “Knight Rudolph tried to pick flowers that bloom on the river quay for his lover, but...he accidentally fell into the river.”

Shakespeare “I know it got its name from the anecdote that was left behind saying [Don't forget me] at that time.”

Vlad “Yes, that’s correct. As one would expect, a rare playwright has an extensive knowledge.”

Vlad “I think, the great men in the Count’s mansion look a lot like this flower.”

Vlad “Although their lives have ended once, they were afraid that their existences would disappear from this world.”

Vlad “That straightforward obsession so far as cruel and abnormal has brought them back to life again. Hey, Will.”

Shakespeare “...Yes.”

Vlad “They will surely be the cornerstone to grant this heartful ambition. That’s why I have to choose.”

Vlad “—··· A strong person to help me, right? I thought you understand what I wanted to do.”

His voice is calm like a calm sea, but the air Vlad’s cladded in is too sharp and ferocious...,

But Shakespeare raises his voice to encourage himself.

Shakespeare “I can’t dance in your palm anymore, but I’m the first one who took your hand.”

Shakespeare “If you want to kill me, do it then. Since for you...I’m an unnecessary flower.”

Vlad’s hands extend towards Shakespeare’s neck.

Shakespeare “— !”

But, the beautiful hands on his small neck move away on a whim.

Shakespeare “...Why...”

Vlad “’Cause it seems like a severe punishment for Will is to continue living and suffering. See you then, Will.”

When Shakespeare’s figure disappears, the footsteps of Charles and Faust echo in replace.

Faust “Is it fine to overlook the playwright easily, Your Excellency? It seems to me that the treatment is very sweet...”

Charles “Lord Vlad has Lord Vlad’s own *consideration. Isn’t that right, Ōsama?”

(*考え - thought, idea, intention, expectation

Responds with only a smile, Vlad turns his beautiful crimson eyes towards the night sky.

Vlad “The world is still beautiful today. That’s why I can’t give up this ambition in my heart.”

Vlad “We still have a long way to go, but...I’m sure it will be done.”

Charles & Faust “...”

Without minding both of them who are becoming speechless at the profile with appalling madness in his beauty, 

Vlad straightly crouches down on the spot and watches forget-me-not flowers intently.

Vlad “Don’t forget me, huh. Did that girl forget about me?”

Vlad “We met on a distant snowy day...”

Charles & Faust “...?”

Vlad “I hope we can meet again. Fuaa~...”

Charles “Eh, Ōsama?”

Charles “...He falls asleep.”

Faust “Sleeping in a place this, after muttering an incomprehensible monologue.”

Faust “Truly a selfish old man. Shall, I’m going back.”

Charles “Eh, let’s carry him, Doc.”

Faust “If you leave him alone, it seems that he’ll wake up soon.”

Charles “Eh? People would usually die if we leave them behind in this cold winter.”

Faust “Your Excellency is unusual, so there’s no problem.”

Charles “But, he’ll catch a cold, right?”

Faust “Haa~ He’s really such a troublesome old man.”

The profile of Shakespeare who’s leaving the castle is as lifeless as a doll.

As he looks up at the night sky with dark eyes, the moon, which is about to transform into a full moon, comes into view and brings back a certain memory.

A month ago, a woman who appeared in front of him in what sort of fate, was an ordinary human without any talents. 

Vlad doesn’t need that kind of person...he thought so, and didn’t give any information about Mimi.

— That’s to say, he put up a façade.

Somehow she felt like a factor that could change this chaotic situation, for better or worse.

He felt that even God didn't know if Mimi’s fate and that beautiful person would cross.

Shakespeare “What can I do right now is keeping an eye on what’s about to occur after this, and if anything happens, I’ll *firsthand —”

(*身を以て - with one's own body/action/experience

Every time I went to the city from that snowy day, my eyes came to search for that person who looked like a snow spirit.

However —

(...Isn’t it hard to find him in this big city?)

(If only I asked for his name at least, I could get a clue to search for him.)

I want to convey a proper gratitude for giving me an armful of flowers.

Also...I can’t put it well into words, but I wish to meet that person again, truly from my heart.

MC “I don't know when, but...I want to see you again."

As I mutter alone, I could smell something like floating spring mixed in the winter air.

When I follow the scent that gives color to the cold winter —

The man with crimson eyes “...”

The person is beside the wagon with plenty of flowers, as if he’s bringing along the spring.

(...At last, I met him.)

As I approach him, his crimson eyes slowly catch me —

The man with crimson eyes “I found you ‘again’, after all.”

[ahundredtimesover]

A Still Day or A Hurricane Feedback/Comments (02)

Anonymous asked: Hi I got an email about your new story. Didn't realize it was you coz it seems like you changed your name in ao3 ? Anyways, I am so excited about the new story. Its a different take on a single mom coz I have always read a fic with the chikd being already born. So this is something exciting. Love that JK is so persistent but of course in rl, one would be irritated.

Hi! Ooh, I’ve always been mimiswriting on ao3 hehe. But I’m glad you’re excited! And agree - the whole pregnancy itself is a major plot point that’s why their story starts there. Lots more will happen, though 😉 And agree about irl, this would be kind of irritating, which is why I had to emphasize OC’s bluntness, her denial of JK’s attractiveness, and JK’s friends vouching for him. Thank you for reading. ☺️

Anonymous asked: Although the story and the situation is a bit westernised to be based on Seouk, but I am open to reading it and looking forward to the future chapters

Hii! I won’t deny that! I prefer setting the stories in SK since I have an image of how the guys are like there, and taking note of the cultural appropriateness or relevance of things is quite the challenge and I do apologize. I would assume, though that the whole idea of artificial insemination and single parenthood isn’t a completely foreign idea there (although I just learned that they only do AI for married couples).

A lovely reader at ao3 mentioned Sayuri, a Japanese woman living in SK who’s a single parent by choice (The Return of Superman). I just wanted a different take on this and it’s a situation that maybe some can still relate to. I appreciate your openness and I hope you enjoy the rest of it 🙂🥰

@afangirllikeme-blog asked: 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘💘

Oh Mimi enjoy the emojis while prepping yourself for my feedback on chapter 1 later.

DO NOT RUN AWAY. I REPEAT. DO NOT RUN AWAY.

These emojis are my reactions while reading 😏

Loving the mixed emotions (and it’s just chapter1!) Looking forward to it! Always love hearing from you 🥰

@codeinebelle asked: Oh my GOD I didn’t give you proper feedback but I LOVED a still day or a hurricane!!!! Oc did what I wanna do in life because I won’t wait for a partner to have a baby lol

I’m so glad you’re enjoying it! It does happen right! I think it’s a one way of taking control of our bodies and lives. Appreciate your message! 🥰

Anonymous asked: Hi! Do you update weekly?

Anonymous asked: Are you going to release one chapter every Wednesday? I just want to look forward and be prepared 🫰🏻✨💖

Hi anons! There will be 2-3 day intervals of releases. I’ll post the masterlist with the dates shortly. 🙂

[shihalyfie]

A meta and analysis on Hurricane Touchdown

Hurricane Touchdown sure is one of the Digimon entries that’s really difficult to describe. Often said to be “confusing” and “like an acid trip” (for pretty good reason, honestly), it somehow also manages to have a lot of hold in public memory, partially due to being one of the three movies that got widespread international distribution via Digimon: The Movie. Moreover, its relevance has started to re-emerge thanks to Kizuna, the director of which has stated Hurricane Touchdown to be his favorite movie (multiple times). Rather recently, there was even an editorial written by a journalist who had been covering Kizuna, professing that he had watched Hurricane Touchdown as a kid and hated it, only to rewatch it as an adult and appreciate it much better.

With all that, plus the fact that the movie recently got a new translation, it’s probably a good time to go back over the movie and analyze it! Despite what popular sentiment may have you believe, the plot of the movie isn’t that fundamentally incomprehensible, just buried under some rather unusual production and execution decisions. But there’s a lot to be said about the themes and story of the movie, so let’s dig in!

(All screenshots and quotations from the movie are based off the Hudie translation.)

Hurricane Touchdown in meta franchise terms

The full title of the movie isn’t technically Hurricane Touchdown by itself, but rather “Digimon Hurricane Touchdown!!/Transcendent Evolution!! The Golden Digimentals”. (The Japanese fanbase tends to shorten it to “Digimon Hurricane”, or, for even more shortening, “dejihari”.) The double-titling there is because of how it was originally screened; it was the 02 “summer movie”, screening in July (between the airings of 02 episodes 14 and 15). Functionally, the franchise has thereafter treated it like a single movie, but at the time, the fact it was technically “two” movies gave it the longest running time of any Digimon theatrical movie, clocking in at a little over an hour. (The tri. movies are officially considered OVAs and not theatrical movies due to their limited-screening nature, so as of this writing Kizuna, at 95 minutes, is the only theatrical movie to break this record.)

The movie itself has a pretty fascinating development history – for one, Akiyama Ryou was originally planned to be the starring character instead of Wallace. It’s also the first Digimon movie to be in “questionable canonicity” territory – this is very normal for Toei tie-in movies, since development for these kinds of movies usually starts at the same time or even before the TV series itself, making it hard to reconcile canon, but unusual at the time for Adventure, which had both its first and second movies be plot-relevant to Adventure and 02 respectively. It is generally understood that the movie takes place in “summer” – possibly between episodes 14 and 15, at the same position it screened in real-life – but, interestingly, the Western and Japanese fanbases’ opinions on why it’s questionably canon tend to differ: in the West it’s usually based on the appearance of Tailmon and Patamon’s higher-level evolutionary forms (which shouldn’t be possible as per 02 episode 27), but in the Japanese fanbase it’s based on Wallace’s existence posing a timeline contradiction (according to Adventure episode 45, there shouldn’t be any Chosen Children before 1995, but the movie states that Wallace had been one before then). Add to that The Door to Summer, which seemingly contradicts the ending of the movie (in which Wallace and Gumimon find what’s implied to be Chocomon’s egg, whereas The Door to Summer has the line “Chocomon isn’t here anymore”), and everything is just a tangled mess.

Despite that, it’s pretty remarkable how lasting the movie has been in public memory. Even with all of the factors working against it – the fact it’s often accused of being confusing (or, by many a Japanese kid, boring and slow) or an acid trip – Wallace is a very popular character, more so than you’d expect for a “guest” character in a one-off movie, especially one so controversial. 02 fans often even consider him an honorary seventh member of the 02 group. His article on the Pixiv dictionary wiki is pretty surprisingly thorough, at that. Questionable canonicity aside, the fact The Door to Summer even exists is pretty significant – how many one-off questionably canon movies have you seen getting an actual sequel?

As an aside, Hurricane Touchdown has a bit of an interesting relationship with Ojamajo Doremi, which is in some sense classic Digimon’s sister series (it aired at around the same time as Adventure through Frontier, and was also headed by their producer, Seki Hiromi). Wallace was voiced by Miyahara Nami, a voice actress who grew up in an international school in Austria and thus speaks fluent German and English, thus often putting her in roles that require speaking one of those. (If you listen to Wallace’s Japanese speech through the movie, it has a very heavy accent, which is deliberately affected on Miyahara’s part.) A year later, Miyahara would be cast as major character Momoko in Motto! Ojamajo Doremi, and The Door to Summer would prominently feature Nat-chan, a girl voiced by Shishido Rumi, who voiced Ojamajo’s Onpu (who is generally agreed to be Doremi’s most popular character, and Shishido’s most famous role). Coincidence? Opportunistic casting? Who knows.

The movie itself

But that’s enough beating around the bush. Let’s get to the movie itself!

I’m not going to dwell on this too much because I’m going to be going more in detail about it below, but our story starts off in Wallace’s hometown of Summer Memory, a fictional rural village in Colorado, in 1995. (As mentioned earlier, this is a bit of a timeline contradiction; Adventure episode 45 establishes that “the one who wishes for stability” and the Agents didn’t get the idea of human Chosen Children until 1995, whereas the events of Hurricane Touchdown imply he’d been one before then.) Chocomon suddenly vanishes, and a gust of wind is left behind, implying that he must have been kidnapped. It’s not exactly said by what he was taken by (Digimon: The Movie ties it into Our War Game! by having both be traced to a “virus”, but no mention of such is made in the original Japanese version).

The mystery of what it is that took Chocomon away is never fully elaborated in the course of the movie, but as it goes on, it becomes increasingly apparent that it doesn’t actually matter. Why? Well, stay tuned.

So, timeskip to 2002!

As Takeru and Hikari are visiting Mimi in New York, Hikari, who is known to have a bit of an empathic connection to Digimon, senses that there’s a “crying Digimon” (this will be important later), and Mimi suddenly vanishes – as do the other Chosen Children.

I think part of the reason this movie is often pinned as feeling like an acid trip is that the demeanor and attitude the 02 kids express in this movie feels a little too laid-back for the very urgent situation of their seniors having suddenly up and vanished (which is also not helped by the movie’s overall soundtrack being a lot more laid-back than the events on screen should suggest). This is especially odd because it’s absolutely not like the kids aren’t worried about their seniors at all! Rather to the contrary; “getting Taichi and the others back” is the major motive driving the whole group for the rest of it, and it’s constantly brought up as their goal in dialogue, shaping their actions throughout the rest of the movie. The execution of the dialogue and the overall direction create a bit of a tonal mismatch, but on its face, the actual storytelling checks.

Shortly after, Chocomon – now evolved and corrupted into something – appears, and Wallace and Gumimon confront him.

The fact that Wallace refers to his partners by their Baby-level names (Chocomon and Gumimon) even after they’ve clearly evolved brings up a lot of interesting implications. One is that, not having been privy to any great adventure in the Digital World before, Wallace doesn’t have a lot of awareness of names changing after evolution the same way his Japanese peers do. But another important thing that comes out here is that, through the course of this movie, Wallace primarily sees his partners the same way he did as a young child. A lot of this movie’s story centers around Wallace’s difficulty in moving on from the past and accepting that things aren’t the same way that they are anymore – and so, just like how he has a hard time swallowing that the circumstances have changed, he has difficulty seeing his own partners as having changed, and calls them by the same names despite everything.

Takeru and Hikari catch on, and Hikari’s psychic sense catches on that something’s happened to her brother, too.

Oh, and incidentally, said seniors aren’t in a pleasant place to be in at all.

The fact that the older kids are clearly Not Having a Good Time in the realm they’ve been kidnapped to – it’s depicted as cold, lonely, full of negative emotions, and eating away at their ability to even bodily function – is very heavily connected to what we later learn about what’s been going on with Chocomon through the last seven years. Moreover, the one truly coherent thing Taichi and Yamato can spit out at this stage is concern for their siblings – i.e., love. Keep that in mind for later!

Wallace drops a line to his family (”Amy” presumably being his sister) saying that he’s going to head to Summer Memory, and skips town. Repeat: Summer Memory is in Colorado – he’s doing something as drastic as going out of state to follow Chocomon, which naturally does not amuse his mom very much (as we find out later in the movie). Patamon eavesdrops on the conversation and relays the information to Takeru and Hikari, who contact Daisuke in turn.

So the remaining three kids nyoom all the way to the US using frequent flyer miles (which makes you really wonder whose those are, or what on earth they told their parents to allow three elementary school kids go around unassisted in another country) to go save their seniors, which apparently doesn’t fund their trip all the way to Colorado, forcing them to hitchhike from New York.

(We also get a quick scene implying that Daisuke has better proficiency in English than Iori and Miyako, as he translates some of the statements for the guy they take a ride from. This is pretty surprising, given that Daisuke hasn’t really been portrayed as particularly book smart…but then again, language skills sometimes just happen to come naturally to some people regardless of skill in books, and hey, it might just come in useful for his future ramen chef career in New York…)

We get our first major scene of dialogue between Gumimon and Wallace, and we learn quite a bit about their characters in the process. Gumimon has a similar laid-back attitude to the more prominent Terriermon in Tamers, but beyond that (and a shared voice actress), it’s important to note that they have very different personalities otherwise. In this scene, Wallace and Gumimon get in an argument over how to handle Chocomon, with Wallace insisting that they shouldn’t have attacked him and that they should have just “talked” about it – even though, as Gumimon correctly points out, he was pretty obviously trying to physically attack Wallace.

In fact, at this part of the story, Wallace is being extremely irrational and in denial. You don’t even have to watch the rest of the movie to see that Gumimon’s very practical stance on the matter is reasonable – Chocomon was very much trying to attack Wallace, and getting caught in the fight was pretty much all he could do for Wallace’s safety. But Wallace, still stuck in the past, can’t accept that at this point in the movie, and, honestly, is being a bit of a brat about it too – he’s engaging in progressively more self-destructive behavior over the course of the movie (ditching his family to set off by himself in order to hitchhike to Colorado, for one). We later find out that Wallace is specifically obsessed with going back to the flower field where he lost Chocomon, having independently come up with the idea that this would somehow let everything go back to what it was before – even though there was really no sign this would actually fix anything.

The Adventure universe generally runs on a concept that a Digimon partner is representative of part of the self, and so, tying that into Wallace and his two partners, it can be taken that Gumimon and Chocomon reflect the duality of Wallace as a character – Chocomon representing his desire to latch onto the past and hope that everything can be the same that it was before, and Gumimon as Wallace’s sense of reason, advising him about the reality of the situation and how to practically get through it (and, thus, to move on). In fact, Gumimon is the one constantly advising him about said self-destructive behavior (reminding him that his mom is probably worried about him, but also berating him for just ditching the train as a result instead of thinking about how that’d leave them without reliable transportation for the rest of it).

The symbolism is driven in even further when the only thing Gumimon has to say, in response to Wallace clinging further onto the idea that going to the flower field will fix things…is a cryptic statement that Chocomon didn’t like the heat, then suddenly offering to be a hat to provide Wallace shade. Because right now, Wallace and Chocomon are the same: clinging hopelessly to shards of the past.

The other 02 kids make their way to meet up in Colorado, but run into some snags when Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori end up missing the exit to Denver (Takeru is not amused), and Hikari and Takeru’s train ends up stranded thanks to Chocomon’s interference…

…and, making things worse, Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori try to take a plane back to Denver, only to overshoot it again. (Sorry, Taichi…your juniors are idiots.)

Fortunately, they get lucky by running into the very same boy they’re indirectly looking for on their way to hitchhiking. We learn that Wallace has never had exposure to other Chosen Children before to the extent of knowing there were any Digimon in Japan, nor has he ever been to the Digital World, so for all intents and purposes, his experiences with Chocomon and Gumimon are all he knows (i.e. he has no awareness of large-scale Digital World affairs). He also apparently speaks Japanese, which is convenient for this movie so that they don’t have to have a language barrier, but, amusingly, Wallace claims that it’s because he “had a Japanese girlfriend once”. (Gumimon, who is much more reliable of a source, says that he’d apparently put an honest effort into studying, so an interpretation that Wallace really likes anime or something is not out of the question.)

It’s also interesting to see how the others react to him, especially considering that it’s becoming increasingly apparent that he’s involved with the disappearance of their seniors. Miyako is as openly friendly as she generally always is, Iori presses him very calmly about questions relevant to the disappearances and Chocomon without even batting an eyelid (future lawyer in training here), and Daisuke is suspicious from the get-go…which is exacerbated when Wallace starts flirting with Miyako. The running gag of Daisuke getting angry about Wallace flirting with Miyako has a lot to unpack here – the most obvious standby is the shipping interpretation (or, at least, that Daisuke may be as protective of Miyako as he is Hikari), but there are other points to observe as well. Firstly, Daisuke is a rather abruptly straightforward and overly honest person, and it makes sense that he’d play badly with people who seem dishonest – after all, his suspicions of Wallace started even before he started flirting, and he also shows similar hostility around Takeru (also not a very straightforward person) when he suspects he’s being made fun of. But also, the Pixiv dictionary entry takes the interpretation that Wallace’s personality had gotten a bit “warped” by his experiences – or, in other words, he’d developed this penchant for acting like a flirt, wandering off on his own, and altogether being incredibly wishy-washy because of the trauma of losing Chocomon and his inability to get over it.

And as much as Daisuke’s being a prick about it (to the point that mocking Wallace for it gets him left there stranded with him), he’s absolutely right about the contradiction Wallace’s posing – he’s acting all high and mighty about trying to become an “adult” (meaning that going off on his own and flirting with girls presumably are part of his perception of what Mature Guys do), yet he’s being a total mama’s boy by constantly dropping everything to call her repeatedly through his trip. (It’s even worse than the subs here suggest; he calls her “mama”, the kind of super-affectionate language used by Mimi and Ken.) As Gumimon says, Wallace thinks he’s actually right, but he doesn’t actually have it together at all.

Another interesting thing to note here is that at this point of the movie, Wallace calls Daisuke “Daisuke-kun” (with honorific attached, slight distance). Remember this for later.

Chocomon appears to confront them again, but he seems to not properly recognize Wallace – because, as we later find out, he doesn’t see the current Wallace as “Wallace”, and will accept nothing less than a younger Wallace from exactly the way he was when they were separated. (It is later stated in the movie that this is why he kidnapped the seniors and turned them younger; since he can’t recognize “Wallace” the way he is now, he’s taking anyone he can find with a Digivice and de-aging them in the hopes that he’ll find “Wallace” among them.) Gumimon recognizes that Chocomon is beyond recognition, and tells Wallace to not see him as Chocomon, but Wallace refuses to accept this and continues to intervene in the fight, telling Chocomon that they’ll meet again in the flower field. Again, Wallace’s mentality isn’t that different from Chocomon’s at this point – he may not be delusional to the point he wants to literally turn back time, but he still thinks that reproducing the conditions of seven years prior will fix everything and make it all better again.

During this whole time, the older(?) kids are getting progressively younger, and it’s turning out to impact not only their physical bodies but also their mentalities. At this point, they’re starting to lose awareness of what’s happening to them, as they become more and more connected to Chocomon’s emotions.

Daisuke is smart enough to catch on that Wallace definitely knows what’s going on, and starts to interrogate him. Recall that Daisuke is completely within his rights to do so at this point – Wallace is not only acting incredibly shady, he’s also being dismissive and refusing to give Daisuke any concrete answers about something that most certainly involves him at this point. As the 02 kids keep reiterating, their seniors have been kidnapped, and it’s pretty clear to anyone that Wallace knows something about this, but he continues to blow them off.

Wallace also doesn’t seem to be very happy about the fact Gumimon had evolved during the battle – remember, Wallace is very resistant to changes in his status quo, and especially when it involves Gumimon evolving in a similar way to Chocomon.

Daisuke continues to pry into what’s going on with Wallace and Chocomon, and Gumimon, who understands that there’s no use in denying that this is a problem, tries to be straightforward about it – but Wallace, still stubbornly refusing to open up about it, won’t even let Gumimon tell Daisuke about the truth.

Daisuke realizes that they’re not going to make any territory as it is, so he decides to have Lighdramon take them to Summer Memory for the time being, bonding a bit more with Wallace in the process.

Once they reach Summer Memory, the kids learn about Takeru and Hikari getting stalled by Chocomon on the train, and the fact everyone else on it had disappeared – meaning that the responsibility that Wallace is carrying for not taking care of this problem begins to weigh further on him. Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori continue to interrogate him about what he knows.

But Wallace, still stubbornly, refuses to talk, and being in Summer Memory only drowns him in further memories of his past with Chocomon and Gumimon. We learn a bit more about Gumimon’s past, too – apparently, he was quite the crybaby…

And when Gumimon finally begins to spill the details of what’s going on – that Chocomon wants to see the younger Wallace and is kidnapping kids with his Digivice and turning them younger as a result – Wallace still continues to double down on his denial. Notice his wording – his specific insistence that things will go back to “how they used to be,” because it’s not just about getting Chocomon back, but also a fixation on recreating that happy childhood he had with him.

(There’s also a bit of a cute moment around here where Daisuke asks Wallace if he needs to call his mom – after having teased him for being a mama’s boy earlier, Daisuke really is starting to care about his welfare. It’s also amusingly mentioned that Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori are broke out of money until they meet up with Takeru and Hikari again…)

That night, Wallace tries to go off by himself to the flower field, not even bringing Gumimon with him – as he implies later, he doesn’t even want to get Gumimon involved with this because he was the closest to Chocomon – but Daisuke, having finally caught on to his suspicion that Chocomon is not only relevant to Wallace but also Wallace’s partner, confronts him about it. Wallace thus finally spills the details – that Gumimon and Chocomon were born from the same egg, that Wallace kept them from his mother and stuck with them during childhood, and that, seven years prior, Chocomon suddenly vanished while they were playing at the flower field.

Wallace: I’ve never been able to forget about Chocomon since then. Not even after moving to New York, not even once. We were such good friends…So why did Chocomon have to end up like that? Does he hate me for not being able to save him? Daisuke: So the enemy we’re fighting is actually your Digimon? Your most important friend?! Daisuke: Of course you’d never be okay with that…

Daisuke is in shock, even though he’d already started to suspect this.

I said, earlier, that Wallace is being extremely irrational and in denial. I did not say that his feelings aren’t valid. Wallace’s situation sucks, and Daisuke recognizes why this hurts for him so much, especially after putting himself in Wallace’s shoes (and in fact it’s even worse for Wallace; Daisuke’s only known V-mon for less than half a year, whereas Wallace is talking about his formative childhood friend).

Daisuke: I’d never be able to do it. If V-mon were to turn into something completely different…Even if he went on a horrible rampage…There’s no way I’d ever be able to bring V-mon down. Wallace: Daisuke… Daisuke: So then, what are we supposed to do? Wallace: It’s not something you need to be crying over. Daisuke: But…

This entire scene is an interesting one for many reasons, especially because of the position in which it aired – this was in the middle of the arc in 02 when everyone was getting their second Digimentals. Daisuke had, only a few episodes prior, expressed trepidation over “friendly fire” – fighting any friend who had become controlled by the Digimon Kaiser. This is consistent with that (and the 02 kids’ general bleeding hearts and difficulty with fighting friends), and it’s even worse – unlike before, when we were talking about evil mind control, Chocomon is pretty obviously a victim of his own madness. And although Wallace continues to insist that this isn’t Daisuke’s problem, Daisuke, for all he’s rough around the edges, is a genuinely kind person who thinks of others to the point he breaks down in genuine tears over the problem, and it’s consistent with not only his prior characterization of thinking about others’ feelings in 02 episode 8, but also how this eventually ties into his indignation over seeing others being hurt (episode 20) or their feelings being trampled on (episode 49).

Another interesting thing here is that at no point in the movie is “killing” ever brought up, but rather the word used is taosu, which literally means “defeat”. In 02 proper, its use is somewhat euphemistic – most famously, it was used in episode 44, when Miyako and Hawkmon have a crisis over killing LadyDevimon (so in short, there’s no illusions about the fact killing is in play here). But in this context, it’s not even really about killing. Wallace doesn’t even want to fight in the first place. The sheer action of physically beating up a beloved friend is painful, with killing as the ultimate unwanted outcome. Everything about this sucks. But Daisuke correctly points out that Taichi and the others’ welfare is on the line here, and everything feels like the wrong thing to do. “What are we supposed to do?”, indeed.

So that’s why Daisuke momentarily indulges in Wallace’s denial-induced pattern of thought, because it really does seem like the only out here. (Especially because, from Daisuke’s perspective, Wallace seems to understands this situation better than he does – even if he doesn’t actually.) If they go to the flower field, they won’t have to fight and everyone will be saved and it’ll be fine! Wallace is irrational and in denial, but you can’t blame him and Daisuke for really, really wanting to believe this.

And Daisuke drops this zinger of a line, too:

Daisuke: So don’t say you’re gonna go alone.

Daisuke’s characterization really is important here, because, again, this movie came out during the first arc of the series, before episode 21 and the second half that centered around Ichijouji Ken’s redemption. At this point in the series, Daisuke was still being extremely deferential to others, especially his seniors, in almost all cases, and although episode 8 was a momentary glimpse into the kind of resolve Daisuke could have when it involved something he really cared about, this movie is really the first major sneak peek into how supportive of a person Daisuke is going to develop into, especially when it comes to Ken.

And Gumimon reaffirms that he’s going to stick by Wallace no matter what – filling the traditional role of a partner that Chocomon won’t anymore.

So they go to the flower field, and everything…fails spectacularly.

Well, before that, we get a glimpse of how the older kids are doing (they’re barely even conscious now), and we finally get to see Chocomon “in his element” and not as a rampaging monster. Things really, really aren’t going great for Chocomon either. He desperately and sadly jumps among the kids, trying to find Wallace among them, and what he really, really wants is just to be with his partner again. But they’re all “wrong”…

At first it seems like Wallace is making headway – for a second, Chocomon even recognizes him as Wallace! – but he continues to insist that he wants Wallace to come “with him”, to where it’s “cold and lonely and no one is there”. The way he starts chanting that he wants to go back is represented by the young Chocomon’s voice getting progressively lost in the monster’s voice, and Wallace, starting to grasp how futile Chocomon’s clinging to the past is, makes his first statement of the movie’s core theme: you can’t go back to the past, the only thing you can do is look forward and think about what you can do from there.

So after witnessing very clearly, in front of his eyes, how Chocomon is not going to listen to reason and will accept nothing less than something he can’t have, to the point of evolving and distorting everything around him, Wallace’s denial finally hits its limits, and he accepts that fighting him will be the only option out. (Again, note the use of “defeat” here – it’s not really about beelining straight to euthanizing him as much as Wallace has finally gotten over his refusal to fight Chocomon at all.) And considering that the situation is clearly rapidly escalating, and that Chocomon himself is clearly not in sound mind and having a terrible time himself, it doesn’t take much to see why the bleeding-heart Daisuke would also end up conceding so quickly. There’s a limit to how much you can hold out with pacifism when that just happened right in front of you!

(Also, Wallace no longer uses the honorific on Daisuke. Friendship level up!)

Chocomon evolves further and further, and his personality starts to actually take a turn for the cruel as he starts toying with the Digimon. In fact, it’s made pretty apparent that they’re no match for him from the get-go – he keeps toying with reality and forcing the Digimon back and forth between forms. He ends up “altering the world” into something reflective of his own heart, and it’s repeatedly pointed out that it’s “cold and lonely” – in short, Chocomon is subjecting the world to feel the same pain and loneliness that he felt, the pain that was enough to drive him mad.

And Wallace finally has this to say:

Wallace: Like Daisuke said, I’m a big baby. But you’re not Chocomon anymore. No, you’re the one who did this to Chocomon…Chocomon was all by himself and lonely, and in that loneliness, he tried so hard…But you took his heart and locked it away somewhere! I’m going to fight. If I defeat you…If that means I can free Chocomon from you…Then I want to fight, too! I need strength…

Firstly, Wallace acknowledges that he’s been a brat – that he’s been philandering around and acting spoiled and stringing everyone around (character development!!). And secondly, Wallace finally acknowledges the truth of Chocomon no longer being recognizable anymore. The ending quarter of this movie focuses heavily on the idea that Chocomon has now become so distorted that he can no longer even be considered the same thing anymore – it’s ambiguous as to whether that “you” that Wallace refers to having taken Chocomon away is actually a separate supernatural entity, or whether Chocomon was drowning in his own loneliness to the point those negative feelings became their own entity and consumed him.

In actuality, though – it doesn’t really matter! 02 as a series would also go on to blur the boundaries between external interference and internal forces – Ken having the Dark Seed as an influence but also being personally responsible for his own emotions driving him over the edge, and having to take responsibility regardless, and Oikawa technically being possessed by Vamdemon but still being goaded on by his own fixation with the past (in fact, notice how all three of these cases have to do with a fixation on things that can’t be brought back). Right now, the only thing that matters is that Chocomon is no longer recognizable, the thing in front of Wallace is no longer the same friend he knew, and even being able to bring back Chocomon’s sense of self is something Wallace wants.

(Daisuke also throws in a more charitable interpretation of Wallace’s actions even when he’s being hard on himself, pointing out that he can’t really be called a “baby” when he also did have genuine determination to come all the way there to find Chocomon despite his age.)

Hikari and Takeru arrive on the scene, and after Daisuke loses his marbles a bit over his happiness at seeing Hikari-chan there, Hikari points out the same thing: “You’re not the Digimon that was crying.”

Chocomon starts turning the 02 kids younger too – and remember, it was established earlier that he was using the Digivice as a guide. That meant it made sense for him to target the older kids, since they had the same model of Digivice Wallace did. But Daisuke and the others have D-3s, and there’s no way to really mistake them for Wallace – so in other words, Chocomon has devolved to inflicting cruelty for no good reason, with the original motive having completely vanished.

In increasing desperation, Angewomon and Angemon decide to evolve, and…look, I don’t have an explanation either, but I have to admit I’m somewhat amused by the fact that even they don’t really seem to have an explanation beyond “well, we’re desperate and hopefully it’ll do something!”

So they evolve, and Chocomon oneshots them. But that’s okay, because they released some golden Digimentals for Daisuke and Wallace to use! So V-mon and Gumimon get shiny new golden forms –

– and Chocomon pretty much oneshots them, too. More specifically, he eats them…and within his body, Magnamon and Gumimon’s consciousness gets eaten apart to the point they start forgetting their partners. Wow, this situation just got worse.

Yeah, so, despite the movie being named after the golden Digimentals, the actual point being here is that power means absolutely nothing in this situation. Remember, I pointed out that even from the beginning Chocomon was straight-out warping reality – they really didn’t have a chance.

So basically, everything devolves into complete chaos. Everyone’s being turned into little kids, with the mentality to match. All the Digimon are being oneshotted and being tossed around like tissues. But the one constant through all of this is that the kids are constantly running after their partners.

Remember how, back when the older kids were first getting sucked into Chocomon’s world, the one thing that seemed to remain intact at first was “love”? That “love” is what reaches out to Magnamon and Gumimon inside Chocomon, and makes them remember their partners again.

And, more importantly, that “love” is what awakens Chocomon – the real Chocomon – inside his consciousness, and he wordlessly makes a gesture begging Magnamon and Gumimon to kill him. And so they do – with understanding and consent from all three involved.

So in the end, the most extreme conclusion was reached. Chocomon died, at the hands of Daisuke and Wallace’s partners. But in that moment before he died, Chocomon’s pain was relieved, and he was himself again – Gumimon says that “Chocomon was smiling”, even in spite of his usual personality being that of a crybaby. They may have failed in their struggle to prevent the inevitable conclusion of having to kill Chocomon, but they did, to some degree, “save” him – so all of it did mean something in the end. And Daisuke promises that this still doesn’t mean the end of everything – they may have not been able to bring back Chocomon, and especially not in the exact way that would make things “the way they were before”, but the future is still there for him to return someday.

So, we clean up loose ends. Taichi and the others are returned safely, and in the end, Wallace decides to still be a vagrant for a bit longer – and to flirt with Hikari and Miyako a bit before he leaves. In the end, Wallace still has a long way to go if he wants to really grow as a person. But as Miyako points out, he’s gotten a bit bolder than he was before – and he’s greeted with an egg in the end, as if opening up new possibilities.

The Door to Summer contradicts the finding of this egg, or at least opens up the possibility that this wasn’t actually Chocomon’s, so it’s ambiguous as to whether the frame of Terriermon and Lopmon at the end of the credits is meant to be taken literally, or if it’s just symbolic. But even in the case of the latter, Chocomon is seen as Lopmon, a form he never got to have in Wallace’s childhood – so, in the end, it’s about different possibilities opening up in the future, rather than replicating that of the past.

All right, let’s recap this movie for those doing a tl;dr! Or, more specifically, let’s recap the events in chronological order:

Sometime before 1995, an egg emerges from Wallace’s mother’s computer, and hatches into twin Digimon, Chocomon and Gumimon.

In 1995, while playing in a flower field in Summer Memory with Wallace and Gumimon, Chocomon disappears for unknown reasons.

For the next seven years, Chocomon is trapped in delirium, full of loneliness and pain from being unable to see Wallace, and starts to become obsessed with the idea of reuniting with him, but, in his madness, accepts only a version of that reunion that involves him being the same young child he was when they parted, as if nothing had changed since.

Wallace, likewise, develops a fixation with getting Chocomon back so that things can be like “the way they were before”, even after moving to New York.

In 2002, Chocomon begins to kidnap kids with the same model of Digivice that Wallace has, and starts to forcibly turn them younger and send them into delirium like his own, hoping that this will bring the “Wallace” he wants back. Wallace starts to chase after him and decides that returning to the flower field in Summer Memory will allow him to communicate with Chocomon and make him go back to the way he was before.

Takeru and Hikari, hoping to find a lead on their seniors’ disappearance, drop a line to Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori, who head to the United States, also hoping to find a lead in Summer Memory. On the way, they run into Wallace, who is evasive about his connection to Chocomon and the kidnapping incidents.

At Summer Memory, Daisuke confronts Wallace and learns about his story, emphasizing deeply with the difficulty in killing an important friend, and agreeing that they should reach out to Chocomon at the flower field.

Chocomon continues to fall deeper into madness at the flower field, and Wallace and the others realize that they have no choice but to fight him. As Chocomon becomes so distorted he’s no longer recognizable, Wallace declares an intent to at least save his consciousness.

As the fight carries on, the kids are de-aged by Chocomon in his madness, and Magnamon (V-mon) and Gumimon are swallowed by Chocomon. However, the kids’ love for their partners awakens Chocomon’s consciousness again, and he asks Magnamon and Gumimon to end his pain.

With everything settled, Wallace and Gumimon are able to face forward into the future in the hopes of meeting Chocomon again and starting anew from scratch.

The Door to Summer

Actually, there’s not much to really be said about Hurricane Touchdown’s spiritual sequel The Door to Summer, except that it revisits similar territory to the movie, observing it more in Daisuke’s context than it does Wallace’s. (The story is very much more Daisuke’s than it is Wallace or Mimi’s.) The short synopsis is that Daisuke, having had a pretty bad time recently, finds himself in contact with a mysterious “winter” (in the middle of summer!) that seems to reflect his own heart…and a mysterious amnesiac girl whom Mimi names Onpu “Nat-chan”, who immediately latches onto Daisuke. In the end, “Nat-chan” turns out to be “a Digimon who’s taken in a lot of evil data,” who goes on a rampage and forces the others to fight and eventually kill her.

Although the reason for Nat-chan going on a rampage is more concrete than what was given in Hurricane Touchdown (it’s portrayed as “data chips” that seem like fireflies), The Door to Summer also makes it very clear that it wasn’t just supernatural influence, but also Nat-chan’s loneliness, desire for a human partner, and jealousy of Daisuke and V-mon’s relationship. Daisuke, while showing immense hesitation about fighting her when she had befriended them, still manages to “save” her in some way, to the point she actually verbally thanks him as she dies. And in the end, Daisuke and the others decide to take her egg and find a partner for her – even if she can’t be Daisuke’s partner like she wanted, she can still start anew with someone else.

Wallace in Kizuna

Warning: The rest of this post contains spoilers for Kizuna.

As said before, Hurricane Touchdown has been said to be the favorite Digimon movie of the director of Kizuna – and certainly, while Kizuna references all four Adventure-series theatrical movies, Hurricane Touchdown’s references are the least subtle, with the plot point of de-aging kids lifted directly from it. (Except, in this case, it’s in the context of trapping oneself in blissful memories rather than being portrayed as the upfront listless torture it is in Hurricane Touchdown.) Moreover, the theme of warning against being fixated on the past is just as present in Kizuna as it was in Hurricane Touchdown, especially when Kizuna’s main antagonist (Menoa) also falls victim to something that’s part supernatural influence and part getting swallowed by her own negative feelings…so it’s only fitting that Wallace himself makes a cameo in the movie. Two cameos, in fact.

The fact that Wallace is established as canonically existing within the Adventure main timeline has thrown a lot of people for a loop, especially since recent franchise events have made it questionable as to how it’s possible for canon to even make sense anymore because consistency has just gone out the window, but the Pixiv dictionary’s chosen rationalization for this is that, at the very least, “(some version of) Wallace exists in the timeline of the main story”. I’m inclined to agree with this evaluation; the fact that people around the globe can agree that the movie is questionably canonical but can’t even agree on how, and the fact that certain franchise entries considered canon (Tag Tamers) have their own contradictions, plus the fact that it’s not like Hurricane Touchdown takes a complete knife to timeline and lore common sense and more that it has some contradictory minutiae that are really easy to sidestep, it’s not actually that hard to say that some timeline of events that reasonably resembled Hurricane Touchdown (with maybe only some minor timeline or evolution differences) happened during the summer of 2002, and thus that Wallace exists.

Assuming that the story of our canonical Wallace is mostly the same or similar to that of the story presented in Hurricane Touchdown, Kizuna provides us with quite a bit of interesting information. We’re treated to two shots relevant to him: one in the form of his name at the top of Koushirou’s list of kidnapping victims, and one where he appears in person at the very end. It’s hard to miss him; he’s wearing similar colors to the clothes he wore in Hurricane Touchdown so you can identify him even at a distance, and he’s also the only loser around here with two partners. That’s right, two! Two!! Chocomon is back – and as Lopmon, exactly like the end credits card of Hurricane Touchdown depicted him!

So it looks like that, one way or another (after Hurricane Touchdown, after The Door to Summer, whatever, make up your own story), Wallace did manage to reunite with Chocomon and start a new life with him. It looks like not all of his habits have died – he’s depicted in a place with palm trees, meaning he’s definitely not in New York or Colorado, so either he’s moved again, is still maintaining the vagrant lifestyle, or just happens to be on vacation.

The other interesting thing here is that Wallace is depicted as one of the Eosmon kidnapping victims. According to Menoa, kidnapping victims were ones who were entertaining thoughts of wanting to go back to the past and remain a child forever – something that should intuitively be against everything Wallace learned in Hurricane Touchdown. But it’s important to point out that Eosmon’s lure is depicted as working on a subconscious level – certainly, if the kidnapping victims in Kizuna were to be outright asked if they wanted to be kidnapped and de-aged and trapped in their childhoods forever, most of them would probably say “no!”, and Wallace is likely no exception! But even if he’s starting his life anew with Chocomon now, it’s not hard to believe that there would still be lingering subconscious regrets about everything he’d lost with Chocomon and the childhood they could never spend together, ones that Eosmon’s allure would end up connecting with, even if the events of Hurricane Touchdown had consciously taught him better. Alas, being a human is hard.

[metatexualart]

Digimon Adventure 02 as Queer Allegory

((I usually reserve this blog for occult analysis but I’ll probably be writing about Digimon on here later anyways))

Digimon is really gay, like i don’t know a single straight fan tbh. But I was rewatching season 2 and wow it’s been a while but this season is exceptionally queer. Here were a few notes that stood out to me.

The kids regularly travel between the real and digital world just as (closeted) queer kids feel the tear between their external world and their inner truth. You can also read it as them logging into a safe space, such as an lgbtq chat room or forum, which were peaking in popularity at the time this show aired. But they need to be careful because there might be predators in that chat. (Arukenimon, mummymon, oikawa, and ken)

The 3 new kids manifest really weird fashion when they enter the Digimon world but the original cast doesn’t because they’re already self actualized. This change of clothes almost literally homages the idea of “coming out of the closet”

Normal digivolution doesn’t work, so the kids must discover new ways to digivolve. Digivolution isn’t a major analoge for sex, but it does represent the spiritual and emotional growth of the children, and this new way of being paraelles the lgbtq+ civil rights movement. They do things differently

Not to mention, this new way of digivolution is called Armor digivolution, and most of the cast gets at least 2 armor digivolutions. Because if the nature of armor digivolution, it appears that the Digimon are literally wearing a costume rather than simply transforming their being. There are many queer paraelles to this, including searching for your true identity, code switching, and even drag.

Armor digivolution comes from the armored digi eggs, at least that’s what they’re called in the dub. Eggs being a symbol of the divine feminine, they’re getting in touch with their feminine qualities. (Not to mention the first egg seen has a big bladed phallus protruding from it)

Yolie is a lesbian. That’s not even a stretch, the way she interacts with Mimi the first time they meet is very very gay. The dub has her saying stuff like “I wish Mimi was my big sister” while showing images that imply much more than sibling hood. She’s also the first digidestined to have an opposite gender Digimon partner. For a middle schooler, she’s very butch coded. Especially relative to Sora who was the original tomboy who struggled with traditional gender roles. silphymon is also the only mixed gendered dna digivolution, which sounds heterosexual at first, but it makes silphymon explicitly an androgenous Digimon (Digimon are canonically biologically not sexual but they are inarguably gender coded)

The Digimon emperor (ken) erects a bunch of black towers that prevents digivolution and invokes mind control on the Digimon who have been collared by his black rings. He built a bunch of phallic structures that cock blocks everyone’s good time and to repeat: LITERALLY COLLARS EVERYONE. Most of these paraelles are pretty allegorical and can be interpreted many different ways but this part is almost explicit in its meaning. It screams of BDSM and, even though digivolution isn’t a direct paraelle to sex, chastity play. He’s also the one most overtly living a double life style.

The kids later discover that there are other digidestined kids poping up all over the world. They’re discovering there are more people like them. If you’re queer then you know exactly what I mean.

Blackwargreymon has an entire arc dedicated to his identity crisis, which is pretty one note considering this season is full of identity crisis themes. You could parallel it to the problems of racial discrimination within the lgbtq community, but I probably wouldn’t lol (need to rewatch that arc before I really analysis it)

In conclusion, I always remembered season 2 as the worst season, but rewatching has made me appreciate it more. I totally understand why it’s a fan favorite, especially among bi and trans fans specifically. I also see why furries are really into season 2 too. Every season has anthromorphs out the ass but season 2’s armor digivolutions as fursuits unfortunately, can’t be unseen (especially since it leaves the main cast with both a humanoid form and a much more animalistic form)

Bonus:

Arukenimon and Mummymon are gay icons the same way Jesse and James from Pokémon are fucking fight me over this