#repeat miyako

[taichi-x-koushiro]

A Summary of Repeatverse {if not Tri as a whole}

Repeat!Daisuke, holding up a Not Great Drawing: Well, basically, to stop the Virus, which Meicoomon was Infected with, from being spread further amongst the Digimon, your group 'originally', in 2005, went off to the Digital World to beat up, and get information out of, one of the key guys who first appeared, that "Alphamon"... then the fake Kaiser showed up!... then the older "Gennai"! Jou: T-Those {drawings} look nothing like them!! Mimi, EXCITED: No, I kind of see it!! Repeat!Ken, Helpfully Adding as Daisuke holds up more drawings: But Alphamon wasn't necessarily a wholly "bad" Digimon, {though Alphamon DID Get up to a Lot of Things...} and the "Kaiser" was a fake who ended up 'being' that "Gennai", who was ALSO a fake. Repeat!Daisuke: So you realized that the guy who's extremely evil was {Holding up scribbled Drawing!!} "Yggdrasil", who has a role in 'maintaining' the supposed "balance" of the Digital World, along with {Holding up Another Drawing} "Homeostasis", that 'being' who keeps trying to possess Hikari-chan! Repeat!Miyako, ADDING: "Homeostasis" also realized "Yggdrasil" was extremely evil and is trying to fight Yggdrasil for control to 'maintain' the "balance", but that makes "Homeostasis" something like our 'enemy' now too, regardless of its original "intentions" being 'good' or not! Repeat!Daisuke: THATS SO SIMPLE THEN!!! REPEAT!DAISUKE, FIRED UP: DEFEAT YGGDRASIL!!!!! A.U!Koushiro: (*facefaulting, along with Taichi by side*) {'I-It's not quite that simple, but let's go along with this for now, then.'}

[koushirouizumi]

Meanwhile with Steve & Frigimon [of DigiAdvs 02 & Co.]

Miyako: Hey, Steve-kun, what are you {and Taichi and Izumi-senpai!} watching?? ? Steve, glancing at Koushiro, who is Watching with full Attention, and Taichi who is Wide-eyed watching Koushiro Watching: Oh, just a fun little thing called "Fiddler on the---" Daisuke: "Fiddler"??? STEVE: :) You'll See--- Daisuke & Miyako, Crowding to Watch Too: ... Daisuke & Miyako, during 1st song: ... STEVE: ("It was tWELVE---") Frigimon: (Steve's seen it more times than Steve can count by now, but it's the first time everyone else is watching.)

[aihoshiino]

chapter 146 thoughts

This chapter (and thus this chapter review) contains discussion of abuse, suicidal ideation and CSA, so if you're not in the headspace for that, skip this one and I'll see you next time.

we are so oshi no back

After last chapter left me fighting for my life to come up with literally anything to say about it, this was one of those chapters where I ended up having more and more to say about it the more I turned it over in my head. It still feels a bit disjointed and has that same issue of ripping through the events of the movie way too fucking fast that the arc as a whole has been having lately but this chapter was such a breath of fresh air I can't bring myself to care.

The chapter itself is more or less split in two, with one half dedicated to 15 Year Lie's in-universe events and the other focusing a bit on Aqua and Kana for, tbh, the first time in way too long. Admittedly, my enthusiasm for 15YL has waned given the reveal of just how much of it is completely made up but like. I'm still gonna over analyze this stuff. Sunk cost fallacy, don't fail me now!!!!

I joke, but the 15YL section of this chapter was legitimately bone chilling. That barrage of cuts following Uehara's attack on Airi…. fuuuuuuuck, man.

Airi herself is pure fucking poison this chapter too and I mean it in the best way. I continue to be incredibly impressed with how OnK understands the motivations of a person like Airi what her abuse of Hikaru is really about. When discussing this in 141, Miyako points out just how often victims of abuse can themselves go on to perpetuate their own pain out of a need to try and regain their dignity, but I think what Airi seeks in her abuse of Hikaru is control. We see how often she wields her power over him while pretending that he has as much agency as she does in their """relationship""" and it's repeated here, too; she throws the results of her own sexual abuse of him in his face as a way of permanently chaining the two of them together, all while tearing down his worth as a person as if to 'prove' he deserves to be trapped in her grasp. I've said before that Akasaka is unsettlingly good at writing toxic mothers but I think Airi has made it pretty clear that Akasaka understands and is thus excellent at writing abuse and abusers in general, and for someone like me who counts that as one of their favourite Themes (tm) in fiction, I feel quite well fed.

The abuse Airi hurls at him is also interesting from a perspective of paralleling Hikaru even further with Ai. We saw snippets of this in 140, of Hikaru characterizing himself as someone desperately trying to construct a version of himself that can be loved by others the same way Ai creates 'Ai of B-Komachi', a version of herself who can give and receive love in the way she thinks her authentic self is unable to. Airi puts this into more explicit words; Hikaru must construct this fake version of himself because there is no 'real' him and thus, he is inherently unlovable. Jesus Christ.

Knowing those words were swimming around in his head, it makes the HKAI scene that follows even more of a gutpunch than it already is. It's the most wonderful kind of miscommunication tragedy - with their respective traumas, there is basically no other way a talk like that could have gone and yet it's agonizing to see it play out. Ai's innocent cruelty in the face of Hikaru's pain and her suffocating smile… the worst part is, while I completely understand why this was so shattering for Hikaru, it's impossible to miss that this was, in a way, an expression of love from Ai; it was honesty, an admission of vulnerability. She herself even says she doesn't want to lie to him. But to Hikaru, what else could that have sounded like but a confirmation of his most godawful fear?

that said. the timeline here is very confusing. this seems to imply hkai were still dating all the way up to the murder-suicide, which seemed to be just before the dome concert but did the breakup really seem that recent during their phone call?? this whole timeline is penised beyond repair.

The art in this chapter in general is incredibly good but something in particular I want to highlight is how much and how often Aqua-as-Hikaru looks like Ai in these panels. I can't put my finger on what it is, but that similarity always makes me feel so warm and sad whenever I see it. For as much as he struggles with his relationship to her, Aqua really is his mother's son through and through.

and. man. what even is there to say about that scene in the rain and everything that follows. I was't sure if the murder/suicide was going to be featured in the movie but even the brief snippet of it that we got and that barrage of scene titles and Kamiki's silent scream… whoof. shit like this makes me really hope we get to see mengo illustrate a horror manga someday because i think she would absolutely kill it.

We cut back to reality to see Aqua reading the script and in perhaps the most interesting swerve in this chapter, we see that he has once again reverted to his double black hoshigans. And uh, am I going to sound like a terrible person if I say I'm really glad for this? LOL.

Obviously I would rather Aqua not be experiencing Suicidal Ideation (Bass Boosted) 24/7, but it's kind of a relief to see that one single conversation wasn't enough to totally shake Aqua out of that headspace. I've talked a lot about how frustrating I find it that 'Ruby finds out Aqua is Gorou' is treated as the finale to her black hoshigan arc and every ongoing thread, internal and external, attached to it was dropped like a rock with no further interrogation. It robbed Ruby of the opportunity for some really important growth and, imo, was just shitty for Kana and Memcho who were treated extremely poorly by her and got no apology for it. I was really worried this would be the case for Aqua as well and that his own dip into that rancid headspace would end on a wet fart which would really sting given just how little insight we've gotten into him this arc. But this chapter makes it clear that while some cracks have started to form in his armor, he's not in the clear just yet.

i mean, even if he was permanently back to one white star, aqua is such a little freak regardless………………………….

What this means in the long term is a little hard to pin down, both because we've had so little insight into Aqua's headspace this arc and because the exact nature of black hoshigan as a symbol has always been a little Calvinballed, but in this context and for Aqua specifically, I think we can read this as his conviction in the messy endgame of his revenge play being shaken up. I, personally, have been reading the black hoshigan as of late as an expression of the sort of futureless despair that can become suicidal ideation, at least for Aqua; since immediately after Ai's death, we have gotten incredibly strong hints that Aqua is suicidal, his guilt-fueled desire to die and his desperate want to experience a happy future at war within him. He more or less explicitly says as such in 106, expressing that this break in their relationship is necessary for Ruby to be able to live on 'after he's gone' - which strongly implies that Aqua's revenge play is intended to end with his death.

Knowing that Ruby is Sarina wasn't quite enough to shake his conviction, but their talk in 143 was. I do think Ruby just giving him some straightforward affirmation was a good starting point but I also can't help but wonder, with the context that his white stars were not indicative of a permanent change, if hearing just how deeply Ruby still relies on 'Gorou's' presence in her life struck a nerve for him. Paraphrasing her from 143, she straight up says Gorou is the one who gives her life meaning. And if that's how it is, what exactly will happen if he's gone again..?

Obviously this is all still speculation because even when I am begging on hand and knee Akasaka is refusing to give us Aqua introspection but at this point I have to make a guess at SOMETHING if i am going to say anything remotely coherent about aqua in this arc, so

ANYWAY!! AQUA AND KANA HAVING A NORMAL ASS CONVERSATION FOR THE FIRST TIME IN GOD KNOWS HOW LONG!!! Ngl, it did give me a bit of a chuckle to see Kana voice the question of whether Aqua was getting too immersed in his role, given that people were accusing her of that back during the first round of the RBKN conflict.

I was also really surprised to see Aqua just outright say that yeah, he is at least flirting with suicidal ideation. Like - that's the first time he's said that out loud, to anybody??? In 143 he voices the less damning but still not great sentiment that he feels guilty for being alive but this is to my knowledge the first time Aqua has expressed his suicidal ideation out loud, let alone to anyone else. And… fuck, man! That's an absolutely terrifying thing to hear a friend say. No wonder Kana reacts like she does.

Because of my powers of Claire-voyance (read: basic pattern recognition and being in fandoms for 15+ years), I'm pretty sure people are going to be Very Mean to Kana about the way she chooses to respond to Aqua here but honestly? Not only did this tough love response feel very IC for her, but the clumsiness of it felt very honest to me. I think a lot of people in fandom lately just want characters to talk like fucking therapists all the time and have the Correct And Unproblematic Response to… well, situations like this. But Kana is an 18 year old girl who has her own share of issues and her friend she knows is dealing with his own huge amount of baggage just casually dropped an "i wanna kms" on her. All things considered, I think she handles it surprisingly well.

Because like… look at what Kana really says to Aqua here. She gives him some of their usual banter to diffuse the tension but then makes herself very clear: she does not want Aqua to hurt himself and makes him promise that he won't. It's clumsy and rough in the way Kana often is, but I think the important part - her sincere care for Aqua as her friend - really does shine through.

also cute that other people caught: Kana squishing Aqua's face seems to be an intentional callback to one of their on-stage interactions in Tokyo Blade, right down to Aqua making a identical scrunchyface to Kana. Extremely cute. I love it when Aqua is cute <3

Kana also being a person able to shake Aqua out of his black hoshigans also leans into something I've been hoping is going to pay off for a while now; the idea that Aqua's salvation is not going to come from any one, singular character but from the many different people who Aqua has built relationships with coming together when he needs them to support him. One of the things OnK has continually highlighted is the way isolation and lacking support systems warp and damage people's mental health and I think it would play excellently into that theme to have Aqua's support net, so to speak, to be wide enough to catch him no matter where he falls.

the product placement was very stupid but i did laugh pretty hard at it and then immediately go buy myself some potato chips so i guess it worked. genius mangaka aka akasaka.

All jokes aside, the note their talk ended off on was so lovely too. Aqua being honest enough to admit that being with Kana is fun and Kana getting all dokidoki and then quietly admitting she feels the same when she's alone… cute! But more than that, it highlights something about the AQKN dynamic I think is really important, regardless of whether their relationship is romantic, platonic, in laws, mlm/wlw hostility or whatever else; Kana is his friend and he can just be a normal boy and have normal fun with her without any ulterior motives. It's something Aqua doesn't really have in any of his other relationships so getting a reminder of that and what it means to Aqua was really good.

honestly i think i am just so starved of nice things happening to my son that seeing him opening up to one of his friends and admitting he has fun (HIS LAUGH!!!!!!) was like a shot of heavenly ambrosia for me. please can hoshino aqua have just one nice day.

OR UH… BASED ON THAT LAST PAGE…. PROBABLY NOT ANYTIME SOON….!!!

this is what i mean about this chapter giving me 5000000 things to talk about. kamiki is TALKING TO RUBY IN THE FLESH FOR THE FIRST TIME and i almost completely forgor.

why is he dressed like a dad about to take her out on a fishing trip, though

Ruby looks unusually solemn while she's praying, which is interesting. She's been pretty bright and high energy since 141ish so I'm curious what has her looking so comparatively dour. She's praying at a shrine, too, which means there's probably something on her mind. Nik (@akane-kurokawa) theorized that she's anxious about the upcoming scenes in the movie (LIKE, YOU KNOW, HER MOM'S DEATH) and until we get further insight on that, that's what I'm gonna assume too.

putting aside how Shrimptresting it is that Kamiki turned up out of nowhere like that, I can't help but note a certain horrible parallel between Uehara meeting young Hikaru in the rain with a black umbrella and Kamiki doing the same for his daughter…

cannot wait for that entire talk to get offscreened. lol.

break next week……………………………

[seventeenlovesthree]

Digimon Writing Challenge - Mix and Match: Takeru + Gabumon + Light

[Yamato] [Takeru] [Hikari] [Sora] [Taichi] [Koushirou] [Mimi] [Jyou]

Summary: Takeru has committed himself to the task of getting his brother's lost Digimon partner back. But the course of events doesn't go as planned and the growing despair within him causes him to end up at an all too familiar place... [1st part to: Hikari]

Word count: 675

TW: Declining mental health, spoilers for "The Beginning", read at own risk!

„Not fair…“

The sound of waves breaking at the shore was quiet, weirdly distanced.

“It’s not fair…”

It was as if a tin wall was standing between him and the outside world, blocking him, muffling all noise.

“Not fair, not fair, not fair…!”

The outside world… Waves…

Takeru had never been here on his own account before. He dreaded it, despised it with every fiber of his being. Always had, always would.

And yet…

“Why did this have to happen…?!”

He tightly gripped the phone in his hand. He wasn’t even sure if it had been the reason that the gate had opened. Or if he had opened it himself. By sheer will. Or rather – sheer despair.

He had been looking for a clue, anything. Together with Koushirou, Miyako, Ken… There had to have been a reason, a cure, a sign.

They had promised each other to meet again. To always stay together.

He still saw their eyes. Taichi’s gloomy expression. Patamon’s teary glance.

Separated, always separated, never meant to be together…

‘It will be okay, Takeru! We will bring them back!’, Patamon had chimed through the tears.

Months had passed.

His brother still mourned quietly. By himself. All alone.

Like it had been before, years ago, all these years…

“Why does it have to repeat itself again and again…?!”, Takeru screamed towards the Dark Ocean as the foam of the wave licked at his feet.

He had been happy, hadn’t he? He still had his friends. His own partner. Whereas Yamato had nothing left.

Why couldn’t he make his brother smile? Why couldn’t they grow closer again? Why did he have to suffer, lose Gabumon, every possible link…?

“I couldn’t even call him before it happened…”

He still saw the golden particles whenever he closed his eyes. He saw it vanishing again and again and again.

They only glimpse of hope he had left, all in vain…

“Is this my punishment…?”, he pressed through gritted teeth, grinning bitterly, glaring at the darkness around him. “For trying so hard to find Gabumon for my brother…? For wanting my family to get back together…?!”

They had theorized about it. Maybe the Digimon had just ended up in a different world. Maybe if they had found a way to hop through the gates…

Now they didn’t have any digivice to reconnect anymore.

That was when the darkness, the frustration, the fear had swallowed him whole. Leaving Patamon, everyone behind. With no way of turning back. Sinking deeper and deeper, swallowed by the sand, the water, forcing his eyes to shut, drowning in his own thoughts…

If only he hadn’t let it overwhelm him, if only he had remained as positive as Daisuke; he had known how to encourage Rui to renew his partnership after all…

“Taichi-san… I’m so sorry…”

If only he had maintained his own childlike wonder, never fearing the threat of death and decay…

“Patamon… Please don’t leave me too…”

If only he knew how to turn the guilt and anger into something greater, something… Lighter.

“Nii-san… This cannot be the end… I won’t let it happen again…”

He couldn’t see anything as he sank even deeper, he just felt something swell inside of his chest – and something else poking into his side.

“Ts-… Tsunomon…?!”

His eyes snapped back open – was this a miracle? In the middle of hopelessness? How was this possible, was he dreaming, hallucinating? Had his wishes actually manifested as he had crossed a forbidden border, not ready to give in, unwilling to sacrifice everything they had worked for?

Without really feeling his limbs, Takeru tried to pull the small Digimon in closer, cradling its unconscious body against his own as much as he could.

He wouldn’t let go again, he wouldn’t lose, even if the tears were stinging in his eyes, even if the rest of his body – despite his heart hammering against his ribcage – felt completely numb…

“Hi-… Hikari-chan…”

There was a light and he would hold onto it, no matter at what cost. A warm, familiar light…

“… Takeru-kun!!!”

tbc...

[hello-vampire-kitty]

Servamp Chapter 132 translation "To become gold"

The chapter is on Mangadex, however this post might not show up I used a link. After you read the chapter please check out the translation notes!

It's been a long time, but I finally managed to finish up this scanlation that I've started while I was still working...Now that I've quit I can translate the remaining chapters.

So, one line in this chapter made me go crazy for how long I had to contemplate on its meaning and maybe I still didn't understand it, but I try my best to explain.

TRANSLATION NOTES

On the first page, you can see that some words were written in parenthesis, to distinguish the furigana readings from the other ones. The translations are based on the furigana.

過去 (past), furigana 思い出 (memories)

未来 (future,) furigana これから (from now on)

It was weird to see that Shirayuki uses the honorific "san" for Yumikage, but I think it's because the traditional ways of the Tsukimitsu family. Maybe it's more common with historical settings, which I haven't seen much of.

About one of Shirayuki's lines, because it wouldn't have made sense in English, I wrote "goodness!" in order to express that she was shocked about what she heard Yumi say.

He used the pronoun 俺 "ore" which is the informal "I" and that's what Shirayuki repeated. Because English cannot express the degree of formality regarding "ore" and other pronouns, I couldn't have make her say "I" in the translation.

Shirayuki apparently had a problem with Yumi saying "ore", but Iori also uses ore. Maybe it's because she was more stricter with Yumi because he was the youngest and Iori was too old to be reprimanded for his language.

I also had some difficulty with Miyako's line and I used a direct translation because haven't found much alternatives, so I used "no substance", which was primarily how I found the Japanese phrase translated.

Some of you might have seen in dramas, anime/manga that teenagers who are delinquents would dye their hair blonde.

Because it's associated with being a teenager, I'm interpreting that Iori might have wished that he could enjoyed more of his adolescence like Yumi, because he was appointed the head of the family when he was eighteen.

Okay now, for the most difficult part I had with this chapter.

This is the page where I spent a few days trying to figure out what Hugh is saying because I can't tell precisely if he was speaking about Saint-Germaine or another subject in the panel before the last.

I've tried to break down what Hugh says :

奴はそういう機構だとしか解釈できぬ。

What gave me such a hard time was the word 機構 (kikou) which means system, mechanism, organization, structure.

It was tough to figure out how to apply these meanings, so when I was looking trough definitions and examples with this word, I wondered if maybe Hugh was saying "That is the only way he works/functions", regarding Saint-Germaine, when explaining to Yumi.

If you recall from previous chapters, the word "system" which was written in katakana to transliterate the English word, that used for the Servamps, referring to their structure basically, how they work.

Among synonyms for 機構 (kikou) I have found 制度 (seido) which was used by Tsubaki when I believe it was the first time that the word "システム" (system) was mentioned in chapter 87.

So, it could be that Hugh is implying that Saint-Germains's can only be understood (interpreted) [しか解釈できぬ means "interpreted only /no other way] only possessing that kind of system to him, in other words maybe something like mondus operandi, which involves the stuff Hugh mentioned (projecting and interfering with reality).

Basically, he's defined only in a single manner, he's described as being dangerous, that's what Hugh is telling Yumikage.

Or I could totally misunderstands Hugh's word, because omg like I said, it was the most complicated line in the whole chapter for me to adapt *cries*

I'm sorry if what I tried to explain doesn't make sense ;;

That's all for this chapter, still have a few more to work on and because I never got to look over most of the dialogue in those ones due to the fact that I didn't had the time when I still had my job, I hope that I won't have to deal with such difficult lines.

[missmyloko]

Hi! Can you describe a typical day of a maiko during Miyako odori. Thanks!!

Wake up, breakfast, and prep lasts from 9am-10am before heading off to the kaburenjo. At the theatre they then do their makeup and then are dressed in turn by the otokoshi and other dressers depending on their outfit for that day (whether they're in a maiko outfit or sou odori outfit). By the time that's done they usually get a quick snack before preparing to go out on stage. The first performance is at 12:30pm, the second at 2:30pm, and the third at 4:30pm. The second the final performance is done they all prepare to go to work for the night, with the first ozashiki starting for them at around 6pm. Since ozashiki are packed during this time, they tend to work until around 1am, arriving back at the okiya around 1:30am where they then change into pajamas, have something to eat, go to bed, and repeat this process again the next day for an entire month. If there's a day where they have to go to the hair dresser's then they'll wake up around 8am and go then ^^

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Novel liquid metal nanoparticles for cancer photoimmunotherapy synthesized

Liquid metals (LM) such as pure gallium (Ga) and Ga-based alloys are a new class of materials with unique physicochemical properties. One of the most prominent applications of LMs is photothermal therapy against cancer, in which functional LM nanoparticles convert light energy to heat energy, thus killing cancerous cells. LM-based phototherapy is superior to traditional cancer therapy owing to its high specificity, repeatability, and low side effects. In a new cutting-edge study, Associate Professor Eijiro Miyako and his colleagues from Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST) synthesized multifunctional Ga-based nanoparticles that combine cancer phototherapy with immunotherapy. The synthesized novel LM nanoparticle (PEG-IMIQ-LM) contains a eutectic gallium-indium (EGaIn) LM alloy and an immunological modulator imiquimod (IMIQ), both embedded inside a biocompatible surfactant DSPE-PEG2000-NH2. The findings of their study were published in Advanced Functional Materials.

Read more.

[cherriemiumiu]

MIYAKO SAITOU I REPEAT MIYAKO SAITOU✨💗

[digimoninteractions]

Miyako & Holsmon (02x06)

[ID: Gifs from Digimon Adventure Zero Two episode 6 showing: (1) A backshot of Miyako hopping on Holsmon's back as he runs beside her. Then a front shot of them flying forward. (2) A back 3/4 angle of Miyako riding on Holsmon. She glances behind her, then looks forward again. (3) Miyako rides on Holsmon as he flies forward to the right and shoots two red beams from his eyes. (4) The same animation but mirrored. (5) Two evil-ring-controlled Roachmon dual attack Miyako and Holsmon with a kick, who dodge. They repeat with arm chops, and they dodge again. End ID]

[ramblinguitar]

Thank you @jeffament @imdistressed & @langdonsluxiouslocks for the tags <3

List 10 songs you’ve had on repeat lately:

1 : Maboroshi no Miyako - Buck-Tick

(Look it’s a bop, okay, guys? I’m a sucker for that drop in vocals, too)

2 : Jaws - Sleep Token

(They’ve kinda taken over a lot of what I listen to lately)

3 : Coming Home - Falling In Reverse

(I really just love this one)

4 : Soldier Of Fortune - Opeth

(Rediscovering this album lately)

5 : Famous In Hell - SH!NER

(Newer artist, think I’ve shared some of his stuff here before but I recommend Kasey’s work, he’s got a lot of talent)

6 : Break The Fall - EMBASSYROWE

(Eddie Vedder voice : Soundgarden Soundgarden Soundgarden (vibes)! )

7 : High Waters - Royal Blood

(Been on repeat since Inês shared it with me)

8 : Sleepwalking Past Hope - HIM

(This album in general is way underrated but this song is one of the best examples of Ville’s range. Again, that drop in vocals… (the opening is simply cool, too. Oh, and the riff. That helps)

9 : Sugar - Sleep Token

(“Sugar, Ive developed a taste for you, now” - yes it’s stuck in my head…)

10 : Francesca - Hozier

(One day, I will write an analysis of this album. Whenever I get over the emotional roller coaster it invokes in me, along with the poetry manifested in sound. Idk when that’ll be, though)

This was fun, thanks :)

Tagging : @emometalhead @glam-hutchence @therockywhorerpictureshow @reignoerme @kneesnipplesandnonsense @blessedhypocrite & anyone else (no pressure)

[detectiveichijouji]

Case 9 - Hikari has a secret admirer!?

[AO3 version!!]

Tailmon is a mature cat with lots of responsibilities, but she also could lose a few brain cells to please Hikari. At least she and Hikari are doing well now!! Since the day she was rescued from Vamdemon’s hands, life has turned into a pleasant adventure for her. Even with the deepest struggles and despair they had faced… Tailmon and Hikari had the help of their friends, and Taichi, to surpass all the sadness and misfortune in the world.

But… Today’s case… It’s a little complicated.

“... Ichijouji-kun… I need your help.”

Ken was looking at Hikari, who suddenly appeared at the end of his classes and in front of the entrance of his school. Wormmon looked at Ken, who glanced from Wormmon to Hikari in confusion.

“Yes? How can we help you?”

Oddly, Tailmon was not in her usual digimon level form -- she was devolved into Plotmon. This brought some suspicion to both Ken and Wormmon. Seriously, what’s going on there?

“I can’t talk here…” she used her free hand to grab Ken’s arm gently and drag him on a walk, “Can we go to your home, please?”

Ken blinked. What does THIS mean!? His curiosity just hit him badly that he decided to accept the idea. And while they were on the way to his apartment, he noticed Hikari looking behind, and around… Continuously. So… Maybe she has been stalked? -- Ken mused.

Once they arrived at the Ichijouji’s residence, he asked if she wanted something to drink, because he definitely noticed her being quite wary. Hikari accepted a warm tea cup, and then he prepared it for both of them.

“So… What’s wrong?” Ken finally had the moment to ask for the details.

“Someone… is stalking us,” Hikari said, a bit timidly and awkwardly.

“Ah I see” he sipped his tea, then made his next question “Do you know who is?”

“No. All I know is… They left a letter on our apartment’s doorstep”

“Hmm…” Wormmon mused, while Ken did it in silence, “Why do you need our help, Hikari-san?”

“I thought about going to the place they asked us to go and…”

“... And?” Ken and Wormmon repeated.

“... Tell them that I already have a boyfriend...”

“I see…” they said together.

“... And I’d like to ask if you could pretend to be my boyfriend in front of them.”

Ken and Wormmon spat their tea on each other’s faces.

“W-what!?” Ken babbled, “I don’t think this would work… I mean, I think you should’ve asked Takeru-kun or Daisuke for that--”

“Takeru-kun and Daisuke-kun wouldn’t look like the perfect match for this plan… Takeru-kun might be nice but he’s a little scary and I don’t want to have him threatening whoever is this secret admirer. And Daisuke-kun… W-well, he’s Daisuke-kun…!”

“He would end up messing this up” Plotmon explained, “Besides, he doesn’t seem the kind to intimidate someone.”

“Daisuke’s going to murder me…” Ken muttered.

“True, Ken-chan is boyfriend material” Wormmon nodded sagely.

“W-Wormmon!!” Ken blushed. Then, he asked: “Did you tell anyone else about this? Taichi-san? Miyako-san? Iori-kun?”

She and Plotmon shook their heads gently, but frowning. Hikari added: “No, because we didn’t know what to do… Until I had this idea from a TV show I was watching recently.”

“Then, how do you plan to make it work?” Ken and Wormmon said in unison. 

“We do this quickly and then we get away with this, without anyone knowing about this plan, ok?” Hikari replied with a timid smile.

Ken did not ask for this, and he hasn't cogitated about Iori as a fake boyfriend because Iori’s younger than Hikari. But deep down Ken knew this wouldn’t work well, but Hikari is so good at manipulating people that when he realized…

“Please, I… I trust you to discover who they are and intercept them”

“F-fine… But… I’d like to say one detail: I like someone else, and I hope we can keep this person away from this…”

“Oh okay! Let’s don’t do anything like that in public, only when we meet that secret admirer.”

… it was too late to go back.

Hikari met Daisuke and Takeru at class the next day, as usual. But Tailmon kept in Plotmon form, which wasn’t usual at all. Daisuke and Chibimon were the first ones to suspect of something wrong:

“Maybe Tailmon got sick!” It was Daisuke’s theory.

“Have you ever seen a digimon sick before?” Takeru asked, innocently.

“I’ve seen one sick! Chibimon got a cold once! He sneezed like a hedgehog!”

“H-hey!!” Chibimon protested.

“But it was a funny sneeze sound that I wish I had recorded for myself…”

“Maybe she’s not sick,” Patamon mused, “Digimon in this world tend to run their energies so fast to maintain higher forms…”

“Ah… That’s true,” Daisuke blinked. Chibimon agreed with a nod.

“Maybe we should ask Plotmon herself?” Takeru suggested, with a warm smile on his face.

“Tailmon devolved because she’s tired” Hikari interrupted them, “Because she got a little sick yesterday. So both are right.”

“Yes, I don’t recommend staying close, it might be contagious,” Plotmon added.

“C-contagious!?” Daisuke and Chibimon gasped.

“It’s just a cold, nothing to worry about,” Hikari giggled.

“No, it is” Plotmon disagreed, with a serious tone, “It might be too contagious so better you, Takeru and Patamon don’t get any closer. Hikari is fine because she’s infected too.”

“W-W-WHAT!? AND YOU WENT TO SCHOOL WHILE SICK!?” Daisuke panicked.

“Um… I-It’s not that bad…”

“HIKARI-CHAN PLEASE GO HOME, NOW! I’LL TELL THE TEACHERS! You can get my notebook for the lessons you miss, but please GO HOME NOW!”

“Plotmon… Forgot to say this is only with Chosen Children!”

“E-eh!?”

“Exactly!” Plotmon added, “Non-partnered humans and digimon cannot get infected. They’re safe. It only affects Chosen Children and partnered digimon.”

Takeru looked at Patamon for a moment and whispered to him: “Hikari-chan and Plotmon are acting weirdly today… That’s definitely a lie.”

“Yeah, but it’s working on Daisuke and Chibimon…” Patamon pointed at the other duo just… standing away from Hikari and Plotmon.

“... I forgot Daisuke-kun and Chibimon are the kind to believe in everything without hesitation…” Takeru sighed.

After class…

“I can’t believe Hikari-chan is sick and we can’t stay close to her!!” Daisuke sighed.

“... Daisuke-kun,” Takeru looked at him seriously, “Did you do something to Hikari-chan and Tailmon?”

“W-what? No! I didn’t!” Daisuke growled,  “Do ya think it’s my fault now!?”

“No… It felt like she was trying to keep both of us away from her…”

“Did you do something instead?” Chibimon asked, but innocently.

“Nope.” Patamon answered with a shrug.

“But why would she…” Daisuke seemed concerned, he was glancing at the street while he and Takeru were eating some burgers at a fast food store.

“Should we investigate it?” Chibimon asked the boys and Patamon.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Takeru confessed, “It would be better if we wait until they can explain it to us.”

“Besides, stalking is a bad idea,” Patamon said, looking at Takeru, “Right, Takeru?”

“I don’t say stalking Hikari-chan…” Daisuke frowned, “I don’t want her or Tailmon to get hurt if they’re sick…”

“She’s not sick,” Takeru sighed, “More likely she’s hiding something from us.”

“Yeah… Hmm, do ya think she’s mad at us?”

“If we didn’t do anything wrong, that might not be the case,” Chibimon commented.

“Yeah!” Patamon agreed, “It might be for another reason.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t worry,” Takeru gave Daisuke a smile, “Hikari-chan and Tailmon might be fine, if anything bad happens she will call us five to help her.”

“Y-yeah, it’s not like she got a super secret right?” Daisuke chuckled, but then he saw Hikari on the other side of the street, “Ah, she’s there.”

“I guess she’s waiting for someone… Taichi-san, Miyako-san or another friend outside our group.”

“Yea-- HUH!?”

Daisuke gasped, and then he saw Ken with Hikari now.

“T-TAKERU!” he babbled, “S-SOMETHING IS… UH… WEIRD HERE.”

“Ichijouji-kun? Huh, I didn’t know she would meet him today…”

“But I thought Ken liked-- A-another person I’m not allowed to say because that’s private and if I let anyone else know he might hunt me down!”

“But I thought it was Daisuke who liked Hikari” Patamon and Chibimon said together.

“H-hey!! It’s not like I have a crush on her or something!!”

Well, you’re definitely panicked here about this… -- Takeru thought, shrugging. It’s not a secret that Daisuke has a crush on Hikari, and everyone in that circle is pretty much aware of that, including Hikari herself. But Daisuke… He thinks he’s so good at hiding it to not notice the truth, that he’s too transparent when it comes to his crush on Hikari.

“Takeru.”

Oh no, will he…

“Let’s follow them!”

“Daisuke-kun I don’t think it’s a good idea--”

“Like goddamnit, I just wish they could have told us! We would understand! We wouldn’t do anything to separate them from each other! And it’s not like the-one-who-Ken-has-a-crush-and-I-can’t-tell-ya will be mad either…”

“Don’t you think you’re jumping to conclusions too fast?” Patamon blinked, his face was a legit 😐 right now.

“Miyako’s gonna be disappointed tho” Chibimon frowned, “Hikari got Ken before her.”

“B-before we start panicking about this…” Takeru tried to calm everyone down, “Maybe we should ask them directly. But not now. We have to respect their privacy.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t sound right,” Patamon said, and then ate a french fry, “Here, eat a crunchy french fry!!” He offered it to Chibimon.

“I think I just saw Daisuke-san, Chibimon, Takeru-san and Patamon at the burger shop,” Wormmon commented with the other three.

“As long as they didn’t see us, it will be okay,” Plotmon said calmly.

“But why are we meeting in an alley?” Ken frowned, “There’s something off…”

“It’s what’s said in the letter” Hikari said, “I knew it would be too risky so…”

“You could’ve asked Miyako-san’s help instead… She’s your jogress partner after all…”

“Yeah, but…”

“But?” Ken raised an eyebrow.

“... The reason Tailmon devolved was…”

“Hohoho, there you are my beloved Tailmon~”

Ken put himself in front of Hikari and Plotmon, with Wormmon on guard. The boy just screamed: “Who’s there!?”

“Huh??” the digimon, who looked like a Tailmon costume wore by a humanoid monster (a la Etemon) just popped from the shadows, “Who the heck are you? Where’s Tailmon!?”

“... Betsumon?” Wormmon tilted his head.

“So that’s the reason,” Ken looked at Hikari, “You got the letter talking about someone having a crush on Tailmon, then you knew you were being watched by Betsumon so you lied about the fake date plan and couldn’t put the other in danger. Am I right, Hikari-san?”

“What what what??” Betsumon growled, “you brought this punk with ya!? I asked one thing and you--”

“Miyako and Hawkmon also know,” Plotmon said, “But I can’t Jogress-evolve into Silphymon with Aquilamon. So it would be pointless.”

“Why?” Ken and Wormmon asked.

“Because I have THIS with me,” and then Betsumon showed one of those portable Dark Towers.

“Oh, that makes sense now…” Ken replied with an unpleasant voice tone. Oh of course it’s one of those portable Dark Towers. Again. Someday he will find who’s building those and make them never build one ever again.

“But how can we fight!?” Wormmon seemed concerned, and he glanced at the other three, “You should’ve called for Takeru-san or Daisuke-san’s help.”

Hikari then gave her D-Terminal, “Please, use this.”

“Digimental…?” Ken took it and then… “I got it…” he glanced at Wormmon, “Wormmon, ready?”

“Yeah!”

“What?” Betsumon raised an eyebrow, “Will ya pick a fight against me? I’m a perfect level digimon, you can’t--”

“Light Digimental Up!!”

Wormmon Armor-evolved with the Digimental of Light to a mythological beast, with traces of the Mayan’s Quetzalcoatl, the plumed and winged serpent: Coatlmon.

“Oh I guess you wanna fight someone bigger than you!” Betsumon laughed.

Apparently, Betsumon was smaller than Coatlmon. Ken, Hikari and Plotmon were just staring at him coldly, as if that opponent digimon was just a big joke. That wasn’t funny though…

“That’s my chance…!!” Betsumon’s eyes flashed like lights, and he took the advantage of his ‘Cold Gag’ technique to try to snatch Plotmon from Hikari’s hands.

But Ken shielded Hikari and Plotmon, giving time for Coatlmon to attack and then coil around Betsumon, forcing him drop the portable Dark Tower on the floor. Plotmon jumped from Hikari’s arms, caught the tiny tower and handed it to Ken, who tossed it to the ground and broke it with his foot.

“M-MY DARK TOWER!!” Betsumon cried, then used his paws to hit Coatlmon’s head like if he was hitting the boke of a manzai show -- his special technique: the Tsukkomi Punch !!

“Ouch!” Coatlmon devolved to Wormmon and set Betsumon free, falling in Ken’s arms… He was mentally drained and couldn’t keep his Armor form!!

“Hahaha, that was my best shot!” Betsumon laughed menacingly, “Now let me get my prize!”

“Not so fast,” Ken smirked, a legit Digimon Kaiser smirk. When Betsumon realized, Angewomon had fled in his direction.

“W-WHAT!?” Betsumon screamed, but he recognized that smirk, “Y-YOU’RE THAT… THAT GUY!! THE DIGIMON--”

And then, Angewomon knocked him down with a punch.

“-- KAIS--ACK!!” And then he was knocked out.

“It had been a while since I heard someone calling me by that name…” Ken sighed, then he looked at Hikari, “Case solved, now we should just send him back to the Digital World and you and Tailmon will be free from him.”

“Thank you, Ichijouji-kun but… Are you and Wormmon okay?”

Ken nodded his head, “Yeah, it just caught me off guard for a little… So those things are still in use…” he looked at the shattered Dark Tower on the floor.

“Ken open the gate,” Angewomon asked politely, with Betsumon on her shoulder like if she was carrying a sack of potatoes.

“A-ah, right…” Ken took his D-3 and pointed to a random space in the alley, “Digital Gate, open.”

The gate opened and Betsumon was dumped into it as if Angewomon was taking out the trash. And then, Ken closed the gate.

When they were leaving the alley, they saw a very very EMOTIONAL Daisuke with Chibimon on his head, dragging Takeru by his wrist (with Patamon on Takeru’s head) -- Ken gulped: They will have to explain a lot of this to those two now…

“KEN! YOU, YOU--!!”

“Daisuke I--”

“-- YOU SHOULD’VE SAID ME THAT YOU TWO WERE PLANNIN’ SOMETHING FOR MIYAKO’S BIRTHDAY ALREADY!!”

“Eh!?” Ken and Hikari blinked. Then Daisuke gestured to the store they stood in front of -- a store with stuff for parties.

“At first I thought you and Hikari-chan liked each other!” Daisuke babbled, dramatically of course “But Takeru and I found that too strange! And I know you like you-know-who so it would be bad if you were like that cheap prince named Wallace, the dude from America, y’know!”

Ken and Hikari looked at each other. Didn’t Daisuke see them leaving the alley, so maybe they could roll with it, right?

“But! But Hikari-chan is Miyako’s bestie, and you’re so tall and chill so it wouldn’t mind carrying a few boxes for her, right!?”

“Uh… Yeah!” Hikari nodded, “I called Ichijouji-kun to help me with the packages! But turns out we had to catch a digimon and send it back to the Digital World, so we did it without calling the others!”

Takeru had been shaken by Daisuke’s gestures (because Daisuke didn’t let go of his wrist) and he was completely exhausted from being dragged like that. Daisuke sighed relieved:

“Ok, I’m glad you two are fine… But what was that thing about not gettin’ close to Chosen Children and partnered digimon to not infect them with a flu?”

“H-huh?” Ken looked at her.

“Oh…!!” Hikari was sweating now, but kept calm, “I know you guys would spill the beans if I told you about Miyako’s birthday surprise party, so… I asked for Ichijouji-kun’s help instead.”

“I see… Well then, next time call Takeru and me! We can handle it! We’re strong too!!”

“Right! I will call you and Takeru-kun if we need help then.”

“Call me for wh--” then Daisuke just turned back, still dragging Takeru by his wrist “He-hey! Daisuke-kun--”

“... Should we tell them later?” Ken and Wormmon asked the other two.

“Yes, we should tell them later,” they replied.

“Now that he mentioned it… Isn’t Miyako’s birthday in May?” and then the boy raised an eyebrow, “We’re in August…”

“Considering it was Daisuke who made that assumption, better not remember him yet” Tailmon shrugged, Hikari giggled.

Suddenly, Hikari’s phone rang and she answered the call, it was Miyako: “Hikari-chan! I’m sorry I couldn’t help you with that sneaky creep digimon! But… Are you okay? Did it work?”

“Oh, it worked! You were right, Ichijouji-kun and I beat that Betsumon and… I think we will have to explain it to Takeru-kun and Daisuke-kun later…”

“Oh… Well, I’ll message them later. Are you with Ken-kun now?”

“Yes, he’s here! Do you want to talk to him?” and then she gave the phone to Ken, and he was… a little confused and tense?

“H-hello…?”

“Hello, it’s Miyako!” Miyako said with a happy voice tone, “A-ah, I’m sorry for that! I dumped this on you because of a school club activity… But it was our only option, the other two wouldn’t work for that job!!”

“W-wait, it was your idea??” Ken blinked.

“Hehe… Sorry~”

Of course it was actually Miyako’s plan. Hikari isn’t the kind to make risky plans… Or ask someone to pretend to be a boyfriend to shoo some stalker out. However, Miyako… Yeah, this explains why Hikari was so tense and nervous. But she was also watched by Betsumon, so…

“... N-next time please explain to me before sending Hikari-san. We almost made Daisuke freak out thinking we were secretly dating.”

“Of course he would put a nail in my perfect plan!” she growled, “But I will explain everything to everyone! Sorry and Thank you~♡”

She hung up. Ken silently gave the phone to Hikari again. Oh that day was… Too stressful, he might go home and crash in bed. He looked at Hikari, his brain kinda fried by whatever happened that day:

“Why did Miyako-san make a plan like this if Tailmon was the target?”

“Uh… We thought Betsumon was a partnered digimon… So we thought it was someone else and Betsumon.”

“That… That sounds right,” he remembered how both Daisuke and V-mon are though…

“We were hiding one more detail though” Tailmon began, explaining, “Someone tried to attack Hikari when she found the letter, and then I protected her. I ran after the suspect, but then I got hit by something and devolved into Plotmon.”

“You mean… Betsumon attacked you?” Wormmon commented.

“Yeah, and then… When I went to look for Tailmon…” Hikari continued from there, “Betsumon found me and asked to bring Tailmon. Hours later, she came home as Plotmon and told me what happened.”

“Hmm…” Ken mused, “That Betsumon was looking after something then…”

“But let’s not worry about it now” Hikari said quickly and awkwardly, “It might be just some love sick Betsumon, right?”

“No, it doesn’t seem to be the case…” Ken thought, “But I’ll keep an eye on our surroundings…”

If it was on purpose or just a digimon in love with Tailmon they don’t know. Whatever comes next is uncertain, so better not waste time thinking too hard about it…

[andagii-projects]

These Rites of Severance - Progress 1/?

Good progress today!

Thank goodness I discovered Scrivener's screenwriting template. It's been helping me keep track of my scenes as I rewrite the opening act, and I'm pretty sure it'll continue helping as I progress through the story.

I also scavenged through my audio files and DLC content for VX Ace and grabbed music I'm thinking of using as BGM. I write scenes and environment better when I have the proper music on repeat. The index cards in Scrivener let me note what tracks I listened to, so I don't have to break up the flow of the narrative. Really appreciate that.

Arranging tracks into a playlist as well!

So far, I've written the opening scene, the tutorial battle, and the protagonist's "call to action." Balancing her narration with dialogue is going to be difficult but well worth the effort.

Specific Changes to Note:

Character Names: "Jerdani Maxwell" is now "Jhana Rizan." Her father "Rodrick" is now "Rhias," and the "Wayward" are now called "Anathema."

Location Name: "Tidely Village" is now "Irabu Harbor." The land itself is no longer "Rios," but "Uru," its capital city "Urugami" rather than "Miyako."

Story Flow. The dialogue and narration flow a lot more naturally, rather than reading like A Video Game. At least, that's the goal.

[koushirouizumi]

Meanwhile with DigiAdvs 02 [+O.C.s]

O.C. Shane, sitting in the kitchen of Daisuke & Kens place: ... Ken, noticing Shane's up: Ken: What's wrong? (You didn't sleep again.) Shane: Can't sleep. Sorry. Shane: I don't need a bed tonight, I'll just sleep on the couch. (Again) Ken: ... Ken: Wait here a minute. (Comes back holding a cup of warm milk) Daisuke said you like this. Shane: ... Shane: Thanks. (Takes cup) (Waiting for it to cool off because its still way too hot, but secretly grateful.) ... Ken, Knowingly: Do you want to talk about something? Shane: Not really. But... Shane: Daisuke and Hikaru... they're not... Ken: Married, no. (*Sits down across from Shane*) Hikaru-san wanted to wait and think about it, and Daisuke doesn't mind at all. Shane: ... Ken: Daisuke's {now} the type who will respect Hikaru-san's decision no matter what Hikaru-san chooses. Because Daisuke is never the type to actually pressure someone into something they don't want to do. Shane: I know that. Ken: .. That includes you, you know. Shane, sipping milk: Ken: Shane: I know Daisuke's - and you both - are giving me space. .. Thanks. Ken: It's no problem at all. Ken: Daisuke - and Hikaru-san - gave me a lot of space too. (So I want to pay the same kind of respect forward.) Shane, picking up on Hidden conext without actually in depth Context: ... Shane, has watched Ken converse with Hikaru (and Daisuke) from the Void past a certain point: ... Shane: You've been really cool to Hikaru. ..Thanks. Ken: Ken: (Well, Hikaru was good to me, but even if Hikaru wasn't...) Shane: ... You don't live in 'that' other area anymore, right? (Is it ok for me to ask...) Ken, affirmative: No. I came here to be closer to the rest of the team, (...and Daisuke) so I didn't always have to be travelling. (Every single time new enemies showed up...) Shane: ... What if you had to leave suddenly? K E N: Ken: We'd find our ways. Koushiro-san, Takeru-san, and ... Miyako-... are great at keeping us informed through The Network, and the blog. It's much easier now to stay in touch than it was around 2002, or even 2005. SHANE: ... Shane: (It didn't completely answer my question, but...) Yeah, I Know about The Network. (I used it during its "primitive" time.) But would you stay here--? KEN: Yes. SHANE: Ken: There's really no need for us to be so separated anymore, when messaging has advanced, and all of our homes are open to each other as needed, especially during emergencies. Shane: ... (But would you stay here)-- KEN: Daisuke said the the same to me. SHANE: Ken: I thank you for your concern, but I'll be fine. Shane: No, it's good... (*stands up*) I'm done with the drink, thanks. KEN: ... Again - all of our homes are open to you. SHANE: I know. KEN: And you have all of our numbers. SHANE: I know. KEN: (Shane's vulnerable without Shane's partner, and there's no telling what the Void will do to Shane's mind at any given moment when Shane's alone.) I know you like to do things on your own... but if no one else can help, call me. SHANE: Shane: (... They really mean it, huh.) Yeah, fine. (It may not be that easy, but...) Well, I'm going to (try to) sleep. (*Makes a half-show of getting ready to lie down on couch.*) KEN: (Hopefully Shane can actually get some SLEEP now. ... I hope Shane's there when we're up...)

[aihoshiino]

Oshi no Ko 145: A Story Without 「アイ」

The question of how exactly Aqua and Ruby were reborn is something that floats around vaguely in the early stages of the Oshi no Ko, teased as a mystery that will exist in the background as opposed to one actively pursued for resolution. My theory is that this element of the story was likely more prominent in the version of Oshi no Ko that was originally conceptualized (i.e, the one that did not involve Ai's death) but the abrupt change to the story's dramatic tone and intensity pushed it into the background. As it stands, Aqua's wishy-washy statement that he'll figure it out once he's done enjoying Baby Mode about matches the weight this is given is the narrative, at least to begin with.

Even with the turn in tone and focus the manga takes, we do ultimately circle back to addressing and answering this question via the presence of Crow Girl/Tsukuyomi who seems to be the one responsible for facilitating their reincarnation in some way or another. Admittedly, this reveal in 145 comes a bit abruptly and the implied motivations it ascribes to Tsukuyomi don't… really line up with the things she says and does prior to the Movie Arc. But what really left me a little cold with this reveal is that it does not involve Ai whatsoever. Her name and even her image are not even once mentioned, not even in passing by GRSR.

This made me feel pretty uncomfortable for a variety of reasons I'll get into later but it wasn't until I started going through the manga to look more into how the reincarnation had been discussed before that I realized just why this felt so jarring - it simply wasn't consistent with what came beforehand. While the current explanation excludes Ai entirely, prior discussion of GRSR's reincarnation centers her to an equal and opposite degree.

Both Gorou and Sarina are thinking of Ai as they die, with both of them also (even if only symbolically) hearing her voice in their final moments. Gorou hears her singing as his ringtone plays and Ruby says Ai was "singing in [her] head" up to the very end. Ai's face is implicitly the first thing either of them see after being reborn and Aqua even speculates, as his first guess as to the nature of their rebirth, that it was this strength of feeling all focused on specifically Ai that caused it to happen.

Not only that, but Ai is even centered in the "fake" story of their rebirth that the twins sell Miyako to get her on board.

Perception of this bit in the fandom seems to vary from "it's just a joke" to "Jokes Are The Deepest Lore" and beyond. I myself don't put a massive amount of weight on it. However, in discussions where this is taken even semi-seriously as foreshadowing then it is flatly disingenuous to cherrypick the AQRB crumbs while not giving the same weight to the (imo, equally loaded) implication that Gorou and Sarina were reborn as Ai's children because she herself was favoured by the gods.

As the murder mystery elements of the story take prominence, this question is left unanswered but resurfaces towards the end of the Private arc with the arrival of Tsukuyomi. Here, too, we see Ai being centered as a key figure in Gorou and Sarina's reincarnation - the chapter is even named 'Mother and Mother', in reference to both of Aqua's mothers for each of his lives.

Most tellingly of all to me, however, is Tsukuyomi's appearance at the end of the chapter. Literally her first speaking line is commenting on how kind the gods must be to bring the Hoshinos together - describing them as (paraphrased) two motherless children and a childless mother and ascribing a great deal of weight to their togetherness.

Even if you disagree that the manga is centering Ai in this context, it is undeniable that the togetherness of the Hoshinos as a trio and specifically as a mother and children is what Tsukuyomi is highlighting as being meaningful here.

We even see a repeat of this in chapter 118 and her first on-screen conversation with Aqua.

I've seen people take this to mean, in the context of future chapter hindsight, that she is claiming the 'meaning' of his rebirth is his connection to Ruby. But if you go back and follow the thread that leads to this mic drop... it's a conversation that's about Ai. And specifically, Aqua is told to consider what it means that his soul was reborn in that body (emphasis mine): i.e, what does it mean that he was reborn specifically as Ai Hoshino's son?

With all this laid out, I really don't think it's a stretch to say that Ai, both as an idol and a person, is treated as a more or less equal part of the GRSR -> AQRB reincarnation as the two people being reborn. Which, like… she should be! She's their mother. But when we do finally get around to concretely answering this question..

Zip. Zilch. Nada. It had nothing to do with her. The closest we get to an acknowledgement that she even exists full stop is her goofy ass bunny mascot's face on (presumably) Sarina's snowman.

As I've said before, the basic beats of this as an answer to 'why reincarnation' are not inherently bad or unworkable. An animal repaying human kindness in some supernatural way is a tale as old as tales and given the ways in which Oshi no Ko plays around with mythological and folkloric ideas, making the reincarnation the result of a Tsuru no Ongaeshi-esque repayment of selfless kindness suits it quite well. The issue here is not one of an inherently broken idea, but flawed execution.

If this is the final word on the hows and whys of Gorou and Sarina's reincarnation - and I feel more or less settled that it is - then Ai has been entirely excluded from the birth of her own children. The sheer amount of weight placed on her role, specifically, as Aqua and Ruby's mother has vanished because after all the build up of why? the answer seems to be just that she happened to be pregnant.

I don't think I need to overexplain why it feels gross for Ai to be reduced to a convenient walking uterus in this regard. This was the element of this answer that made me so uncomfortable when from the get go: Ai's arc is so overwhelmingly about her being denied the right to agency over her own body and sexuality and her giving birth to Aqua and Ruby is, in part, a reclamation of it. It wasn't just an act of love performed for her children but also one for herself - she risked everything in order to give herself the family she had longed for her entire life.

If this incongruity was intentional, I think I would be interested in it as an element of Ai's tragedy - the idea that even the birth of her own children was hijacked by forces beyond her control and warped into something that existed to serve her fans. But I really don't get the sense that this was considered at all and honestly… that's kind of equally sad.

I was wordvomiting a much less articulate version of all the above in the Oshi no Brainrot Discord server and @penguinkyun said a few things that I think really nailed the heart of the issue here:

"theres barely anything of ai here when shes such a central character […] removing ai's own emotional stake in the matter and rounding it up to "crow girl felt bad for gorou and sarina because they helped her that one time and then reincarnated them" just…doesnt hold the same impact."

This is, I think, key to what made this reveal fall so flat for me and highlights this chapter's place in a much broader trend of Ai's place in the twins' lives being downplayed and favour of amping up the intensity of the GRSR relationship. To once again quote Lace because I think she sums it up quite neatly:

"[...] akasaka is absolutely ramping up the soap operaness of grsr with ai as collateral."

And that just kind of bums me out. :(

[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.)

[queen-ofsunflowers]

How are Akihiko and Ryoji's relationship with Ayame and Shiro? Also, how would Shiro react to Kotone living with both Akihiko and Shinjiro? How does Shiro react to Shinjiro?

Okay! I think it's best to remember this little scene before I answer these questions.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t like you.” Minato sighed. Okay, he guessed that the way he acted towards Akihiko said otherwise, but... “My aunt and uncle are protective of Kotone — my uncle especially. When we left for Gekkoukan, he told me to keep an eye on her and keep certain guys away from her.” “...Certain guys?” “He told me to not let any guys like him anywhere near Kotone.” He had done it right before they left, knowing full well that his wife would’ve chastised him for being overprotective of their daughter like this. And that Minato would say yes if they didn’t get caught. “Guys like… him?” Sanada repeated, confused. Minato took out his phone, and in a short few minutes, he managed to pull up a picture of Shiro Shiomi. “This is my uncle and Kotone’s dad,” he said, showing the picture to Sanada. The image was of a man with ginger hair and reddish eyes, much like his daughter’s. However, the most noticeable features about him, however, is the fact that he’s littered with scars — on his fingers, knuckles, his forehead, underneath an eye and on his lip. It was the sight of all the scars that made Sanada wince. “What happened to him?” “Dunno exactly. All I do know is that he used to get into fights a lot. That’s where all those scars come from.” And that was all he could get either of his guardians to say on the matter. At one point, Minato had a bet going with Aunt Tsu that he had been involved with some shady stuff before he met Ayame. “He says that the only good thing that ever came out of it was that he met my aunt. She’s a nurse. So when you, a guy whose mind is constantly on fighting, showed interest in her… I kinda had to do something. ..."

Shiro is very protective of his baby girl to the point where he asked Minato to play guard dog. Ayame is much more chill about things. So with that reestablished, let's get into it.

How is Akihiko and Ryoji's relationship with Ayame and Shiro?

Ayame loves both of the boys. The first time that she had met them was when Minato and Kotone were in their comatose states. She would do her best to heal them, to give them enough energy to hold onto life. It was all that she could think of to do since they had no idea why this had happened yet. She thought that it was sweet that they came to check on them and visit them despite the fact that they were pretty much not conscious. It showed how much they cared.

She also learned of how much the pair did for them, though not to the full extent in some cases (i.e. the whole miyako situation). That just endeared her even more. Needless to say, Akihiko and Ryoji had her full approval fairly quickly.

Shiro, on the other hand, only got word about them through various phone calls and text messages sent from Minato and Kotone while they were in Iwatodai. He got the gist of them through their eyes. But meeting them was a different story. He was wary about both of them, but Ryoji managed to quickly change his mind. Akihiko was a different story, mostly because Shiro saw a lot of his younger self in Akihiko.

...it gets better with time, but Shiro still is firm on the ground that Akihiko has to beat him in a fight if he wants to propose to his daughter. He never expected Akihiko to take the challenge seriously, though.

How does Shiro react to Shinjiro?

Better than he does Akihiko, that's for sure. It all ties back to what Shinjiro did for Ken and why he ended up injured the way he was in the first place. Shiro is never one to judge a book by its cover, and choses to get to know someone before making his decision about them. Getting the story from Minato and Kotone on top of meeting Shinjiro in person was what led him to make up his mind about the guy.

Basically, he likes Shinjiro better than Akihiko. He sees him as being more careful in his actions and less reckless than the latter.

How would Shiro react to Kotone living with both Akihiko and Shinjiro?

He knows that Kotone is an adult at that point and can handle herself, but if those boys don't take care of his daughter, there's gonna be some hell to pay.