Day 7: Graduation [Free Day]

Happy Odaiba Day!!! 💜 I think I've been wordy enough, haha, so I'll just say- my favorite time of the school year was October. I've mentioned plenty that Kitsukomon's line was inspired by Halloween, so for my freebie, I wanted to draw her after a night of Trick-or-Treating ✧

Day 6: Exam [Challenge]

I think I've been pretty well out of my comfort zone this whole week of posts, haha. I think the Digimon group I'm in helps me out a lot with that, as well as the encouragement of my friends, and in particular, Galen. I think I'm getting to know myself better, and striving for the things that bring happiness to my life, little by little, whether I can say I deserve it or not... I do see that I've come a long way, and though I do of course fall into old habits from time to time, vulnerability comes fairly easily and I have a lovely support system -^_^-

just trying to be a gentle person is what I want most, and I feel capable of just that 💜 I'd like to think that if I were a Digi-destined, partnered with Kitsukomon, she'd be supporting me too ✧

Day 5: Festival [Crossover]

 another love of mine is Kingdom Hearts! Though I'm not nearly as knowledgeable as most fans, I've loved it since it first came out [best of all worlds!] and enjoy it how I enjoy it. Again, not trying to get too heavy, but someone in my past made me feel like I couldn't love it anymore, even though I really wanted to. It was my then-boyfriend-now-husband, Galen, who helped me figure out a lot about myself, and as I believe people deserve to be happy, he cares about my happiness, and I should too [he even proposed to me with a paopu fruit ring!] 💜💜💜 In my little head canon, if I were in the Kingdom Hearts game, I would come from a world where I'd met my Digimon partner, and would have her Mega form, MoonQuartzmon, as my creature companion, calling her "Tsuki." I thought it works well with my Halloween asthetic and Keyblade, "Hocus Pocus," to have my Halloween Digimon. Plus, I joke that since Disney had the rights to the Digimon dub on XD for awhile, the Digital World can be a Disney world in Kingdom Hearts canonically- a stretch, I know, haha ✧

Day 4: School's Play [Drama]

I've touched on a few things already with the previous posts, but I did not feel at all likeable when I was a kid [and still struggle a lot with confidence today]. My best friend was my cousin Greg, but for many self-loathing reasons, I'd ended up pushing him away when I'd started middle school. Him and Poppy [my grandfather] were the people I was closest to, and coincidentally, Poppy's health started to decline right as I was already isolating myself. I started hanging out with someone I knew would put me down, and just felt like I deserved it. She'd call me fat, stupid, and ugly, and tell me how I didn't make friends, and how anyone I thought might be my friend was faking it, trying to get to her by using me. I felt worthless... ✧

come seventh grade, my confidence was shot, I thought I was disgusting, and as Poppy's health got worse, I needed an outlet... I'd dropped Digimon during Tamers [I was weirdly mad at them for making the first two seasons I'd cared so much about somewhat meaningless], but gave it a chance briefly due to Kyubimon, then dropped it all together when they got to the Digital World I think? Though it probably hadn't even been a year, it felt like so long since I'd watched Digimon, so when I'd randomly caught Frontier when I'd gotten home from school, I was too excited! It was the first time that despite not catching it from the very beginning, I was going to watch a show from where I tuned in and not worry if I was "missing something" [I'd later learned I'd only missed a few episodes, it was Kazemon's appearance that I'd started on]. ✧

I was hooked! Here was this cute girl my age turning into a very attractive Digimon [I was somehow unaware that I was attracted to Kazemon at the time haha], and though I'd definitely say I was jealous [she's cute, turns into a Digimon, and is making friends despite saying she doesn't make friends easily, and here I am, friendless and gross], I loved Zoe. I was rooting for her and thought it was great she could do anything the guys could do albeit with feminine flair [I also hadn't realized my dislike of being "the girl" and my love of "the girl" characters being one of the guys, just prettier, was my goal-self (I've always strived for "beautiful boy/ethereal girl, but not really either gender," but had always been too self-conscious to admit it with how garbage I felt]. ✧

I'd lost Poppy that December, and was crushed. I didn't have people, and I didn't have my own back enough to reach out to anyone who would've cared/helped. Having Digimon Frontier each week [I think it was like every Wednesday or something? I may be misremembering...] was the huge help I needed. It gave me something to look forward to [not to be too heavy, but I wasn't the biggest fan of being alive, so every little joy I could muster helped] and I really liked the characters' dynamic. This group was not exactly the best of friends, and I'd missed how they'd gotten together, but they were a team, and they made each other better! I thought, "I'm so tired of 'with friendship, you can do anything!!!' when it's always only friends you already have.. Why can't I watch new friendships form and see it not working at first? People like me who struggle to connect. I can do things too?" I really felt like I could get along with this group, and wished so hard to be Zoe... ✧

Day 3: Recess [Humor]

I didn't have many close friends growing up, but my best friend was my cousin, Greg, and another very happy memory I have is going to Digimon: The Movie for my eleventh birthday. I didn't know at the time that he hadn't gotten into Digimon [I wouldn't normally assume things, but we were usually into the same things, and I was such a big fan that it hadn't even occurred to me that maybe he didn't stick with watching it], and I got a bit self-conscious that I hadn't even thought to ask if he liked Digimon when I'd asked him to please celebrate my birthday with me by seeing a movie about my favorite show. Of course he'd want to celebrate my day [Greg has always been kind], but, that self-consciousness melted away when the very next week he had a Flamedramon figurine because "he was sooo cool," hahaha. Another memory from that that I love is playing with his new Flamedramon and my Nefertimon figurine by a stream. He'd dropped Flamedramon, and the stream started to carry the figurine away, but, without thinking, I used Nefertimon's moving arms to "catch" him! We were both like, "YAY!!! I can't believe that worked, but YAY!!! What a good team they make!" <3

years later, I met my now-husband, Galen, and tried to explain my favorite show and just what the heck Digimon were. I of course started with my favorite, Digimon Adventure, showing the Rookies, and gushing about how much I loved them. When showing the Champions, he immediately was drawn to Togemon, like, "wait, THAT'S a Digimon too? For real? Haha, I like it!" I'd never really liked Togemon all that much, much preferring Lilymon, so I was a little bemused that with all I was talking about, that was the center of his attention, hahaha. Eventually, he watched Digimon Adventure with me [we're through 02 and Tamers now, currently watching Frontier], and when Togemon appeared, I watched Galen's first bit of Digimon-nerd slip out XD He loved her, and through his excitement, I can't help but love her too [I can't not think of Galen when I see Togemon, so seeing her just makes me so happy!] He's a much bigger Digimon fan nowadays [I love it], and it's fun to see him planning out a vpet line, so that, of course, he can maybe get Togemon [among other new favorites], hehe ✧

Day 2: Sports Day [Relationship]

once Digimon Adventure progressed a little further, Gazimon was introduced. By this time, I'd already had my In-training, Rookie, and Champion mostly fleshed out [a cat-bat, tailypo-bat, and mink dragon], but I remember thinking, "darn, that one's really cute! Why does he have to be bad? And, working for a stupid Digimon?" [I was NOT an Etemon fan, haha]. I'd wished his ears were a little shorter so he'd be more cat-like than bunny-like with the tail, and that thought [and later Culumon] totally inspired Kitsukomon's ear shape [I'd also later use Gazi's arms as inspiration, as, like Gatomon using SaberLeomon's data or Gabumon using Garurumon's, Kitsukomon uses Gazi's arm/claw data for digging/harvesting food strength (Kitsukomon are confident, but weak!)]. Though I'm eager to claim Kitsukomon as my Digimon partner, without a doubt, a canon-only choice means Gazimon ✧

  when Gatomon was introduced, I immediately loved her as well, again sad that she was portrayed as a bad guy. When she was partnered with Kari [my immediate favorite Digi-Destined], I felt a little like I would have had my "happy to vicariously live through them" character had she been introduced earlier. I guess that's for the better, since I'm happiest having my own Digimon partner, but I wanted so badly to be like Kari as a kid... I wanted to be gentle and read others better, be well-liked in general with a positive sibling relationship, while feeling cute, and with short hair no less [which I'd always wanted]. Also, just not tall for my age- I've been about five foot my whole life, making kindergarten through fifth grade very awkward for me, haha... She was just exactly how I wanted to be. I thought, "I wouldn't be so self-conscious if I were her, AND she has a cat-Digimon!" I just loved their partnership too, they worked so well with each other ✧

my tamer-self [and RL self for that matter] is actually very different from the personality I've given to Kitsukomon [like Gazimon- mischievous!], but the two still seem to work together well despite their differences. Binx is shy, and... not the most confident, but in the end, knows trying something is better than nothing sometimes, and living in their head can have some advantages [over-thinking/planning means at least there's A plan if desperate, right?], and Kitsukomon likes to push Binx to see their finer traits ["if you can have a partner like /me/ you have to be pretty special! J/k, j/k, know your strengths, Binx!"]. Kitsukomon wants to get Binx a little further from their comfort zone, and fortunately, one trait they now share is being verbal about their feelings. Binx isn't the best at guessing what's on someone's mind [their self-doubt makes them worry they're too bothersome], and greatly appreciates the open dialogue they share with their Digi-friend. Kitsukomon may come off a little too confident, but she means well, and the two have each other's back- you can count on that ✧

Day 1: First Day [Beginning]

back when Digimon Adventure first aired in America on Fox Kids, I immediately fell in love with it. A bit goofy at times, I felt like there was a lot more to it, and I loved how the Digimon were able to express themselves, deciding to fight only because they wanted/needed to. I've always been big into character development, and so I was naturally drawn to the show that took such care to develop their [what I felt was a] big cast of main characters. Though I related to Sora's personality [while wishing I was cute like Mimi, haha], I wanted to be a part of the group I was quickly connecting to. Digimon was the first time I decided living vicariously through a character wasn't enough, and so, for the first time, I began to create an OC for a canon show ✧

don't get me wrong, I loved [and still love] the Digimon partners of Digimon Adventure, but I wanted a more mammal-like and fluffy creature as a partner [I hadn't yet seen Gazimon, and Tailmon wasn't introduced to the story yet either]. When I first created my current OC partner, I wanted a cat/bat/misc. creature Digimon, and I think that was around the time the Bakemon episode had come out/October was approaching? With my birthday [a day I could feel special] and Halloween [my tied-with-Christmas favorite holiday (and now, my #1)] fast approaching with October, I created my "Tailypo-inspired" Halloween Digimon partner, "KitKatmon" [now, Kitsukomon] ✧

I didn't want my brother teasing me about making an over-done partner, since he was making his own OC reptile partner [and would want to be leader], so I left bat wings out of my first designs. My In-training ended up more cat-like than bat-like because of this [very similar to Nyaromon, who I wouldn't see for the first time until much later], but it all ended up being a really nice memory with my brother [we... didn't usually get along]. I made plushes of both our In-training Digimon out of socks for when we were the Digi-Destined, and we would act out the part of our rookies we'd designed on paper when the plushes "Digivolved." I remember being so happy playing, while telling myself, "he doesn't know it, but she totally has little bat-wings" haha. Little did I know, I'd decide for myself "it really is too much" and get rid of them again just a few years later [but my In-training's still totally a cat-bat] <3