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strawberryicemoon · 1 month

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Why I can't watch the Ducktales Finale

I'm not the kind of person who struggles to watch the last episode of something. I love to finish a show, and let it sit in my brain. I'm the kind of person who often enjoys spoilers because it adds to my understanding of the media. I love to view the media in their entirety just as much as I love a journey to get there.

But I can't get past the first few minutes of Ducktales 2017, The Last Adventure. And it's because of spoilers that I couldn't deal with. I don't like them, and even years later after I've had time to digest, and have seen so many finale clips, that I still can't just sit down and watch it. And I've made attempts. I've looked through the summary of the episode to prepare. But I can't.

And there's... a couple of things that rub me the wrong way about the Finale that keep me from being able to just watch it.

1. Webby is Scrooge's Clone Daughter

2. Webby is April, of April May and June

3. Donald and Daisy are going on vacation.

Now, I don't actually hate any of these... conceptually. And I'm well aware that Frank Angones has stated the Webby twist was planned from very early on. And usually I am completely down for whatever a finale is, as long as I can tell that this was something the creator really believed in.

I'm a fan of such "controversial" endings as, Amphibia and Digimon Adventure 02, because I know exactly why they ended like that. It's written in the themes. Even if it took me time to understand Adventure's ending, I've grown to understand it and love it once I learned more about the original Japanese version and the shows production (and also grew up myself). Amphibia ended exactly as I expected based on one of the very earliest things I heard about the show from Matt Braly: "an ode to past friendships". Even if I think there are things they messed up I GET IT. I wouldn't want them ending any other way.

So I understand WHY the decision is made. Conceptually it does make sense. Webby exists as a composite character of April May and June, and I believe shares the same name as April in one language. Webby being Scrooge's clone daughter is an effective way of full-circling her relationship with him. Strangers in each other's home to father and daughter. She's family not BECAUSE of Blood, but because of Love. She still loves her Granny, it's just the non blood relationship wasn't the one she thought it was. And Donald deserves a vacation, and to have the more down to earth life experiences he wanted, especially after raising his sisters kids alone for 10 years.

But they still twist me up inside.

And I think it comes down to three reasons: 1. Lack of Continuity between episodes 2. An over-focusing on Scrooge 3. Handling of Word of God

1. Lack of Continuity between episodes Part of what got me to fall in love with Ducktales was S1 and the continuity of the Spear of Selene subplot. We got hints at a semi-regular pace, but it successfully overhung the entire series. It was what separated Scrooge and Donald. It was why Della was gone. The subject matter was of course not something that needed to be overstated, as most of it was being kept hush hush. Sure it was a mystery, but not an urgent one. Dewey had never had his mom, so it wasn't like he couldn't focus on anything else for a while

But in S2 I started noticing that the show stopped explaining or foreshadowing things. Maybe it always did, I haven't re watched it properly. But I definitely noticed something off about the storytelling then. But it was definitely a problem throughout the show.

Webby never brought up Lena after her sacrifice until the relevant episode.

Lena living with the Sabrewings was something never brought up until episodes later we saw her with them.

We had Della talking about the boys with their "Uncles" setting up the pain of not knowing how things fell apart after her departure, only to get no payoff.

We didn't get ANYTHING about Webby's parentage until the final episode, and barely a hint in 1 season 3 episode.

Almost every finale episode changes the status quo in some way. The question is how much. Lots of final episodes kind of have things going back to the way they were before plot kicked off but better (like with new friends or a new government). Sometimes someone dies.

Webby being Scrooge's clone is paradigm shifting. And that kind of thing needs to be set up. You CANNOT catch your audience off guard with something like that.

In Digimon Adventure 02 the series ends with everyone on earth with a digimon partner which is controversial but at least built up throughout the series at hints of other digidestined until an arc near the end showcased many international digidestined. Hilda ends with the reveal that Hilda's mother is half-fairy, and despite not being present throughout the first two seasons, it was hinted at through the third season, and contextualized some of the few things we did know before about Johanna's childhood. The Hollow's first season ends with you finding out it was all a game, but it had been hinted at before with the video game nature of the world. Sure Avatar didn't hint at Aang getting the power to take away bending, but we knew he was a pacifist who didn't want to kill so was looking for a solution, getting the power to remove bending (ie power over others) works thematically, in the same way Anne using the power of the stones and getting brought back to life by a god like being worked. Sure, Scratch turning out to be a wraith at the end of The Ghost and Molly McGee was rather sudden, but people had been theorizing that Todd was Scratch's body for a long time, so it wasn't like there weren't any hints, and while the show was cut short and had to rush to end, the build up of Scratch's memories at least gave some sort of foreshadowing link to what was going on.

There's a reason people rarely throw in new characters at the very end of a show. It can absolutely work. Amphibia and The Owl House threw in "God" at the end, but that gets a pass for being the kind of figure they meet once and then move on with their lives. On the other side, you can sometimes have secret big bads that were pulling the strings the whole time too. I can't speak for the finale of Ducktales (because again, can't bring myself to watch it), but adding two new characters on top of changing the entire dynamic of how the family is set up at the very end of the show does not sit well with me. We won't get to see how this change in status quo effects the characters. We saw how learning about their mom affected the boys relationship with Scrooge, her return and having to build a relationship with her and her presence conflicting with Launchpad's. But we don't get that with Scrooge and Webby? Basically too many status quo shifts in the finale all at once.

All we got was Beakley was a spy, was overprotective of Webby, and a few episodes before the end it was revealed Beakley was lying to her. Webby didn't seem to care about her parents. And this was a girl who was very dedicated to unraveling the secrets of clan mcduck. Couldn't they have had one hint at some point in the show where it was unclear if it was the boys or Webby who were recognized as a McDuck? Some offhand mention where the boys ask her about HER parents, because she helped them with her mom?

You couldn't tell what was or was not going be important in the way they dropped. It's very hard to set your expectations when you had no clue what to expect. And while there is something to be said for unexpected surprises and twists in a story, an audience really needs to know what is or is important or they're going to go on wild goose chases and get disappointed when they build up hype for something the show then refuses to address.

In HINDSIGHT, I find it extremely odd that Huey and Louie, prior to finding out about Dewey's investigations, did not pry at ALL into the fact that hey: if Donald was an adventurer with Scrooge, then he had to know their mom. Like that’s weird right?

2. An over-focusing on Scrooge Scrooge is the Center of the Universe.

I'm not a Disney Ducks fan. Aside from 2017, and pop culture osmosis, I know very little. But the thing is I am someone whose first inclination once I become a fan of something is to check out the wiki pages for information. Find about what longstanding fan mysteries there are. I understand the importance of cross continuity callbacks. I'm a fan of other longstanding series and have rubbed elbows with several others. I get really long franchises with several iterations.

Which is to say that I, despite not having a horse in this race, understand how this works and how it should work.

Now a bit of this is the fact Ducktales is ABOUT Scrooge. But Scrooge isn't the center of the Duck universe. Something I find pretty interesting is the fact that Donald has reasonably fleshed out family trees on both sides of his family. That's cool. That's how real people work, a meeting point of the stories of those who came before. But Ducktales doesn't care, the only adult the show cares about is him. I get that to a certain extent it was the show execs insisting on focusing on the kids. And again, he's kind of the main character. But you brought back Donald, and Della. There are other characters here with rich lives, he doesn't need to take over everything.

It's especially egregious ANY time the McDuck clan gets involved. Could Matilda be the youngest child now? Sure. But that's a really arbitrary change, that they don't use for anything. And even if that was purposeful, the fact is that the first thing they established is Donald's mom is still Scrooge's sister, so Donald is the grandson of Fergus and Downy McDuck. Not nephew? Surely they could recognize him? But where is Hortense and Quackmore? They brought them up in the first episode, and then they never made any appearances aside from references. Why were Donald and Della staying with Scrooge for Christmas? Never clarified. Fans (reasonably) assumed they were dead. Scrooge called Donald his ward (admittedly when he also called him Fergus and Downy’s nephew rather than grandson). I mean where else would they be when their DAUGHTER DISAPPEARED. Would they not want to meet their grandchildren? But that was never clarified. And I've seen some fans alternatively interpret them as bad parents, which I think is just really unfair. Scrooge gets to be the good parent? It's once again Scrooge to the rescue. The CAPITALIST? I mean it's also a little bit just a family issue in general: It's Uncle Gladstone and Cousin Fethry when they are theoretically the same: technically cousins but old enough to be honorary uncles. It's fair enough. But really that brings us to the Duck family in general.

Grandma Duck? What about Gladstone and Fethry's parents? Gus Goose? Are they all dead? Does Fethry have any siblings? Do the boys not know or not care about the Duck side of the family? They know Gladstone but no one else? I mean Scrooge's parents, who should be dead, were magically kept alive but nothing for the duck family. Speaking of which, they constantly bring up how old Scrooge and occasionally refer to the causes of his supernatural age, but that does not explain how young Donald and Della are compared to him. Overall, we get nothing on the Duck family except for its existence at least, so even removed from the context of Disney Ducks legacy its weird to introduce a side of the family and just gloss over it.

The one episode about the Duck family legacy is a Webby episode. Which, fine, she's not a Duck, but she's part of the family. Except wait. She's Scrooge's daughter/clone, and you gave her the focus on the one episode about the Duck family not the McDuck's? You couldn't leave Scrooge out of anything?

So for Webby's great twist in the finale, was taking not just one, but two characters NOT related to Scrooge (April and Webby), and tying them to Scrooge. I think I could deal with Webby being April, and (HUGE MAYBE) Webby being Scrooge’s clone or April being Scrooge’s clone but not both. Not to mention April, May and June are DAISY's nieces... not random three girls who are her boyfriends uncles clone and and boyfriends uncles clones clone? It doesn't sit right with me that a character who I thought was supposed to be learning that he was sometimes in the wrong, and not the center of morality (see how he made Glomgold a villain through his own ego), continue to be made the center of the universe in ways he simply shouldn't be.

He's literally an old rich guy. Like there is historical context for why this character is like this, but why does the world revolve around him in this show.

3. Word of God Word of God is useful. As are interviews and statements made by the creator. It helps to provide insight into the themes. I love seeing the person behind the art.

But here's the thing. Word of God is clarification, insight into how you should look at the work to set expectations. It's supplementary. It doesn't replace text.

This is a little bit difficult to really talk about now that I'm several years removed from the experience, so grain of salt and all, but I really think the way Word of God was handled did the show a disservice.

Back to Lena becoming a Sabrewing, we didn't get that in show. Lena just dropped off the face of the earth, not until S3’s premier we got a clarification on that in show.

We never got Della's reaction to learning that Donald and Scrooge were estranged, she just suddenly stopped speaking under that assumption.

So Word of God became an essential part of understanding the text, because a lot of necessary information was left unexplained by the canon its a huge problem. And Word of God is often fluid. It can be changed later if during the writing process something changes. (We should probably cover this topic in show and want to do it a bit differently, I have a great Idea of what we can do to turn that error into foreshadowing, I was lying to the fans to keep a secret).

But when word of god is necessary, word of god becomes essential for tempering expectations about the show.

This is probably going to be less of an issue for people who come and watch the show later. Sure, things are still unexplained, but when you can binge the show Lena's unexplained absence is less obvious, you're so busy moving on to other things that Della's change in understanding about the situation is clearly unimportant and you can move on.

But what ended up happening is that Frank Angones struggled to balance clarifications, keeping show secrets, and a sometimes changing story. Which sometimes left characters completely sure on where the story was sitting, only for it to be ripped out from under them. Also, tying back to the first point, of plot points being dropped until the episode where they where they were relevant made it VERY difficult to tell what was or wasn’t going to be relevant, and what emotional beats to get emotionally invested in.

Prior to the finale there was a bit of a community of Webby/Triplet shippers. Personally, I see that as a complete dismissal of the themes of the show and a bit heteronormative. I avoided all such content. But at the same time, shipping doesn't hurt anyone. At the end of the day, the boys and Webby were not related by blood, and hadn't even met until age 10. There wasn't... really a reason you couldn't ship them. There are TONS of shows out there with 10 year old characters and love interests. Just off the top of my head: Any Ship with Ash Ketchum, Sprigivy, Phinabella, Kenyako, Sorato. Even if they don't get together at 10, (or at all) the fact of the matter is 10 year olds getting shipped is old news. I'm still attached to Pokeshipping and Takari to this day, even if I tend to see them more as platonic relationships these days. So I avoided all shipping with them, but I understood why people (particularly younger people) were shipping them. Until the finale hit, and the ships that people thought never going to be canon, but were safe, weren't. To a certain extent, that's the game you play with shipping clearly noncanonical ships. But I feel that the way questions about shipping were answered didn't help, because iirc he tended to say the show wouldn't focus on that more than he explicitly stated the kids were family. He called Webby/Triplet shipping highly unlikely for example, giving it more legitimacy than a no, which leant to it being taken as a solid fact prior to the finale that Webby was definitely not related to the boys, because a lot of what else was said was solid fact.

4. (Bonus): of course, I do also feel it kind of isn't enough to justify breaking the found family. So much of Webby's arc was being accepted into the family. Becoming the 4th triplet. So for her to have been blood all along is a little cheap. Sure it doesn't break the becoming family despite blood before. But, having meta-knowledge of Launchpad probably finding family with Gosalyn and Drake Mallard, it's just Beakley whose left as not blood related (and she's technically the help...). And yeah, there's the Granny/Grandaughter adopted relationship. But....

Webby is one of four kids. Again, she became one of the kids. So yeah. I'm happy that she became one of the kids. Able to call him uncle scrooge. But it feels weird to me that she, the kid who already lived in the manor with Scrooge even if they kept their distance, displaced the triplets as Scrooge's natural heirs. The uncle relationships in this show being parental/grandparental was already good. Not all families look the same, some people parent their siblings' kids for one reason or another. Scrooge's presumed "heirs' ' was his sister's descendants, not his, but he loved them like his own. That's good. So to not only break the "not blood related at all" to "actually daughter", kind of ALSO meant a "my niblings are my legacy" got overtaken with "my daughter is my legacy".

And maybe I'd feel less sour about it if we had more time after the show. But on a fundamental level it didn't just alter Webby's place in the family, but her grandmother's, and the Duck Twins and Triplets. Again, especially with the triplets. I wanted the four of them to become functional equals. The 4th triplet. But for her to have a secret Scrooge connection that overtakes the one she was jealous of the triplets of having doesn't sit right to say the least.

I feel I could get over this one, especially maybe if they gave us more time. But it just didn't make it worth it to me.

5. (Bonus Bonus): Now I don't use the term Mary Sue lightly. But what I do think of canon Mary Sueism is a tendency to make female characters on predominately male casts "special" in some way to justify their presence. They have to be the level headed smart ones and the ones with . They have to be likable so they're robbed of character. I wouldn't say Webby is a particularly bad example of this, and it's not like Ducktales lacks other flawed female characters (Della my beloved).

But the way Webby is treated reminds me of April from TMNT 2012, and Allura from Voltron Legendary Defender (and kinda Larmina from Voltron Force). All are 80s characters in shows that had a predominately male cast of characters, and who were both an outsider, and defined by being a girl. And then the reboot both doubled down on making them special, integrating them into the group more, but also making them generally tougher the boys in some way, and also sometimes more in the know about things. Webby is aged up to match the boys age rather than aged down to match the boys age like April but the effect is still the same.

The girl is now a peer to the boys, 4th triplet, rather than a little sister. Webby is more capable and well-read than any of the boys. And at the start of the series she's socially awkward enough it feels like it will work. And I'm not saying Webby isn't flawed, she is. But when it comes to the things the family finds important: adventuring, she doesn't have any obvious shortcomings. Louie quits easily and isn't as coordinated, Dewey is reckless and generally uneducated, and Huey isn't flexible. And Webby... used to be socially awkward???

It’s kinda trading 1 sexist trope for another. And yeah, all shows do have OTHER female characters who kind of avert this. But it doesn’t change the fact the leading lady is more “special” than the boys. Like being a girl has to be special.

In short, at the end of the day Webby being Scrooge's daughter doesn't help her character, her grandmothers, or the rest of the family. It kinda helps Scrooge’s character, but while I haven’t seen the episode myself, I’m not sure there would be enough time for it to be meaningful. And again, I think a lot of the characterization and worldbuilding of other characters were already sacrificed for Scrooge’s sake in the show already.

Oh and the Donald/Daisy thing.

The reason Daisy/Donald's trip doesn't sit right with me is we barely got any Donald and Della having to coparent. Get used to each other again. We barely got any of them and we're heading back into separation. It doesn’t feel cathartic when we still have unanswered questions from this stage in their life. And even if the trip is well, a trip. It feels weird.

It feels kind of unexpectedly "conventional family", even if it's still really unconventional. Donald is going to go be happy with his love interest, away from the boys he raised who aren't actually his sons (and yes, I know he takes May and June with him but still, knowing that May and June are by default Daisy's nieces kind of has "new kids with new wife" implications to me but that's neither here nor there). Adding this to "Webby being Scrooge's daughter is a good plot point for him" and it's just really weird, and kind of feels like the final nail in the nontraditional family dynamics coffin. If feel only way they could have buried it more is if Beakley died or something.

I was already kinda uncomfortable with the “Daisy being the only one to understand him” thing because like. That’s sweet. His soulmate is the only one who really hears him. But also that’s a fucking speech impediment Donald has. Are you telling me that no one in his family cared enough to effectively communicate with him despite his disability? Like if it is REALLY that much a problem he should have an effective communication method. Sign-language for example?

The triplets he raised don’t always understand him. His twin sister doesn’t always understand him? But this random woman does? I am all for Daisy and Donald being basically soulmates. But uh? This feels both ableist and allonormative in a show that really wasn’t those things before. (well okay it was kinda ableist about Donald but it felt less weird to me when there wasn’t one person who could magically understand Donald). And Daisy understanding him still could be a big thing? The first person who understood him without getting to know him first/wasn’t literally raising him/raised with/raised by him?

I want to like Daisy so much, but she just feels a bit like Webby does: a legacy female character they are trying to make too cool, who gets some of their coolness incidentally defined by a male character, rather than a full-fledged character on their own. (For instance if we saw Daisy with anyone other than Donald, her overbearing boss and… whatever Storkules is).

I feel some of these may have been resolved with more time. But some of these problems had their seeds planted as early as S1. That said I think if the quality of S1 was maintained they would have been fine. Overall, I think Ducktales is a good reboot, and a good show, but it really could have been better. Was so close to being better.

#ducktales 2017 #it's been years and I'm still thinking about this #for my part #I disregard the finale #Webby has dead parents that she knows about hence never needing to learn more #I disregard the family not understanding Donald #because Daisy being the first STRANGER who understands him right away is just as sweet #idk what I’m doing about Boyd or April May June yet though #I can do what I want its not like Ducktales was wholly original or anything #probably still better than vld's finale #but I started to have critiques in s3 #and all of s8 was a dumpster fire so I was emotionally checked out by the time it actually came to that point #again I haven't seen it so maybe I'd like it more if I did see it #but the fact that knowing this has put me so intensely off watching it really isn't a good thing either #and I have never had this issue with a show before even if it's bad #to be clear though I do overall like 2017 Webby and Daisy I just wish they were allowed to be a little MORE #to fuck up a little more #I really do want to finish my abandoned ducktales fics but also staring at the finale and trying to figure out what I should do with this #ah #ducktales

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haro-hawayu · 6 months

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Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning

Watched Digimon 02 movie the other day with my friend in theaters~ not gonna go too much into details but just some general thoughts:

Random thoughts as I recall what happened, things won't be in order tho... but just wanted to say that I went in 99% blind. I only saw that ONE trailer where I posted that one screenshot. I had no expectations, it was literally at zero.

Bolero was literally all I remembered of the beginning LOL

I cherished/delighted over/soak up every single moment that had Takeru & Hikari together in the same frame #takari

^ I will 100% screencap those frames when there's a digital release

^ I also guarded myself because I knew there wasn't going to "anything" significant happening (hi Digimon Tri), but hey, I still love them so

I'm pleasantly surprised by the Ken & Miyako moments tho.

I love the designs for grown-up 02 kids, they all look so good.

Love how Daisuke & Veemon just going about at their own pace, and not being too swayed by all the "what ifs"--also love their #ramen way

The shadow/trauma that haunts Takeru every now & then will always gut me TuT I want him to be happy forever (not in the Ukkomon way tho)

Ohhh it's Ogata Megumi. I think I forgot that she was announced to be the VA for Rui, but I'm glad I can recognize her voice.

And Kugimiya Rie's of course.

I felt this weird laugh-cry emotion inside whenever they did the digivolutions, how did we sit through all of them as kids?? XD

Every time I hear Wada Kouji, Miyazaki Ayumu, and AiM, I feel so so so happy, but also feel that bittersweetness (Wada Kouji forever)

Rui in the movie is just like... what if Ikari Shinji existed in the Digimon world instead? (LOL I love Ogata Megumi)

The whole Ukkomon thing was just really creepy (like maybe except for the very very beginning when they first meet, and the very very end when they meet again), like dang, it way dark as heck.

Rui's backstory was just really sad too. Like I said, really dark, especially when things literally started falling/melting apart...

I'm a little sad that we only got to see Taichi out of everyone in the older gen, but I think I can appreciate why this was only about the 02 kids. I'm just glad Takeru & Hikari exist in both gens.

Takeru is old enough to drive and I kinda love that? Boy's all grown up.

Love the cameos we saw around the world too.

Loved the scene when everyone's Digivices just lit up the entire world, so pretty~

Random thought: The biggest brain move they could have made was have the movie released on 02/29/24 since it's kinda around the corner--maybe for digital release XD

Final thoughts: I'm glad that this movie just came as just one movie. I don't think I can handle it if it went on as long as Tri did, so that nothing gets too dragged out and resolves itself in one movie. No offence to Tri--I loved how Tri started, but things got weird and the resolution was kinda lacking imo, but I still appreciate all the good I remember of it tho. I think for Digimon 02 movie, I was able to just enjoy it as a standalone or alternative episode without thinking too much of how it ACTUALLY fits in to the bigger plot. Like the beginning, they talked about a Route 1 or A, and there's also a "Route 2"--I just think of this as a different route that our Chosen Ones could have taken. In my heart of hearts, their bonds are real, and their friendships are forever whether they have their Digivices or not, and whether they are together or not (Kizuna, I'm looking at you).

#digimon #digimon adventure 02 #anime #takari

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otakween · 6 months

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Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning

So, I saw The Beginning yesterday at an AMC theater. I saw it subbed to keep things consistent. I'm gonna split up my reaction into two parts: experience and the movie itself. Angry rant ahead...

Side note: Why is this movie called "The Beginning?" Are they planning more...? (I mean, they're always planning more I guess lol).

Theater Experience:

Always such a delight to see an anime movie in theaters, it's becoming as common as every-other-month these days which is very exciting! It's very rare that I get to see a movie like this that's a continuation of a series. Usually I'm not caught up enough to do that (although I did watch the Shirobako and Jujutsu Kaisen movies without watching the shows lol).

I had no idea that they were going to give me trading cards as I walked in!! This seems to becoming a more common gimmick these days. When I saw the most recent MHA movie they gave me a mini manga. More of this please! I know it's just cheap junk, but it makes the whole thing feel like an experience :D

Theater was more crowded than I expected and full of geeks, of course. I heard someone's ring tone go off and it was a Digimon sound effect. When the ad for the vital bracelet played one dude proudly shook his wrist in the air. I saw a Gatomon plush and the dude in front of me got so hype for the digivolutions that he started filming it on his phone (which I don't condone, but it was kinda funny seeing how into it he was).

Not a single child in the crowd. I guess this movie is obvious millennial-bait tho, so that's to be expected. (Also it was 7pm on a dark Thursday).

Cute little intro interview with the director was cute. My brain had to adjust to reading subtitles on a big screen. I guess I just don't watch foreign films outside the home too often.

Movie Reaction (MAJOR SPOLERS AHEAD):

WTF did I watch!? This movie was batshit crazy and I have many conflicting emotions. I feel like it was simultaneously super intense and really bland at the same time? Let me elaborate...

Putting aside the new dude for a second, the 02 cast really didn't do much in this at all. They all kind of acted as a collective instead of feeling like distinct people with their own roles to play. Their entire motivations/existence revolved around Lui's plot line which is really a bummer. Some characters, like Iori and Hikari were especially sidelined and bland (not that Iori was that great to begin with lol).

The only scenes I really liked with the 02 cast were when everyone (especially Miyako) was telling Lui to cut the edgy crap and just talk to them. I like when aloof characters are called out like that. Also, I liked the part where Miyako accused Daisuke and Ken of flirting teehee (queer baiting!? In MY digimon??) That got a laugh out of the audience too.

Okay...moving onto Lui's story. Jesus Christ. I liked where it was going at first and thought the whole grimdark, Madoka angle (major Kyuubey vibes) was interesting (if not a little too over the top), but then (in my opinion) they COMPLETELY bungled things!! So essentially, Ukkomon kills Lui's parents and potentially multiple children in their efforts to "make Lui happy" by making all the humans in his life behave "correctly." Horrifying and effectively creepy (especially in the scene where they "puppet" Lui's parents). This all culminates in Lui "killing" Ukkomon and losing his eye (which then gets replaced with Ukkomon's eye). I was on board for this horror angle, but then the 02 kids were like "awwww, poor Ukkomon~" WHAT. THE. FUCK. A kid tells you that a monster thingy killed your parents and your reaction is "but did you try being their friend??" Nooooo! So basically the rest of the movie is the kids victim blaming/gaslighting Lui into submission and he's like "you know what? It IS my fault that my parents died! I should have been a better friend." NOPE. This madness just ruined the whole thing for me. Like, what the hell were they thinking? Anyway, rant over. I'll go back to talking about the not as heinous things now.

I liked Ukkomon's sea angel-based design. I didn't exactly find them cute but they were good at being creepy. It was definitely disturbing to see what happens when a digimon partner is HATED by their human.

The "Unkomon" joke was funny but they didn't give a translator's note or anything so I was wondering how many people in my theater got it lol (I guess it depends on how much anime you've seen).

Lui's digimon eye looked really stupid and I think they knew that because they covered it up for most of the movie. I think it was more effectively shown in brief closeups but anymore than that it was just too goofy looking to take seriously.

The scenes about digimon bonds and the (obviously fake) threat of losing them were boring and cheesy. I think they were going for heartwarming, but something about it was very forced. The stakes definitely never felt real.

At the beginning of the movie they used smartphones to digivolve instead of their D3s...wha...?

Speaking of D3s, when they faded away (weirdly slowly) at the end and Hikari was like "what even was the digivice for anyway?" I had to laugh. That's what I've been saying! The lore around digivices, D3s, Arcs (or whatever Tamers wanted me to call them) has always been so vague. Anyway, I feel like they should be more concerned. Doesn't this mean they can't digivolve now...? (They acted like the power of friendship would just make it happen somehow, but I'm not convinced).

The updated digivolution scenes were fun (and funny to see on the big screen), but after watching Tamers, they still seemed lazily done comparatively. I still dislike that they show the greater digivolution at the start of the sequence. What's the point of that?

The movie started with Bolero, because of course. I had to roll my eyes at the nostalgia pandering. We also got a random reference to the first Digimon Adventure short film. That felt jarring since the animation style is so different.

So like...Lui time traveled and told his abusive mom to "be nice cuz your son loves you" and that just stopped all abuse forever? Riiiight...What is it with anime's crappy handling of child abuse lately? They pulled this same shit in Belle. You can't stop domestic violence by going "tsk tsk" to the abuser!

Rolling my eyes at Lui's introduction: "He's the first kid to ever partner with a digimon AND he has a super special eye AND cool grey hair AND his digimon can grant wishes." Serious "My OC don't steal!!" vibes.

Wait...I don't think they ever followed through with the "Ukkomon is connected to a digimon God" plot thread. Is that for the sequel or something? (Digimon 02 2 - The End? lol)

We got a little shipping stuff with Miyako and Ken at the end there. They had zero chemistry in the show and they continue to have zero chemistry in the movie...yaaaay.

I feel like, other than Daisuke and Lui, they just gave all the other guys the same haircut and they faded into the background lol. Ken just looks like some guy now.

Ukkomon's eldritch design was cool. I wish they just let him be evil instead of misunderstood...

So yeah, the writing in this was kind of a train wreck but I had fun regardless! Very curious to hear the dubbed version someday. How many people reprised their roles?

#digimon adventure 02: the beginning #digimon adventure 02 #digimon #movie #film

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moochi-daisies · 8 months

Text

2012. 02.

- 18+, Minors DNI

Content contains: smoking, swearing, drinking, tension and moments

- In Summation: Two people fall in love, which would make for a much shorter story if they had better communication skills.

Find the rest here!

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The bus ride felt like thirteen hours. Time did not magically speed by as much as I expected it to. I clambered on with my backpack and plopped into my seat, watching the others file on to find their own place. I was the only person under 40 by the looks of it. Lots of grizzled old men shooting me concerned or quizzical looks. Some polite smiles but beyond that, none of us said a word to each other.

In the beginning of the trip I was elated, my heart beating so hard I could feel it down my arms. Nearly bursting out of my fingertips. I jostled my leg impatiently and put my headphones in, humming quietly to myself. I was off on an adventure, to a new place, off to meet new people.

An experience.

I savored the moment as much as I could. That is, until the anxiety starting creeping in. Yoongi hadn't replied after I told him I was on the way. Bile churned in my stomach looking at the long hours stretching ahead of me, giving me all the space I needed to think more critically about what I was doing.

The "what-if" game started playing in my head.

For those who are unfamiliar with the "what-if" game, it's when your brain starts to conjure up every single "what if" that could happen regarding a situation. I suddenly felt very small on the bus. Instead of feeling like a grown woman, daringly headed wherever life was taking her- the sinking feeling that I was just a dumb kid crept through my chest.

The carefree attitude I'd had when I got on the bus was fleeting and I clutched my bag, pressing it against my body like a safety blanket.

What the hell am I doing? I scolded myself internally, What the actual fuck do you think you're doing?

A ding on my phone jerked me out of my anxiety spiral. A new message from Yoongi glowed on the screen.

All right. Let me know when you're close by. Watch out for creeps ok?

The air rushed out of my lungs like a deflating balloon. I hadn't even noticed I was holding my breath until that moment. Just a single message and my anxiety melted away like it had never been there in the first place. We hadn't talked much, but Yoongi had this ability to calm me down with the few words he did say.

I was excitable in the way I spoke, a sing-song voice that didn't hide the emotions I was feeling. Yoongi was less flowery than I was, the words he said were deliberate. They had a weight to them that made me slow down and listen.

I loved that about him.

He made sense to me in a world full of people that I never understood or felt understood by.

With renewed peace, I drifted off to sleep. Waking up to take smoke breaks and stretch my legs whenever we stopped. After many, many hours I passed the sign for his city and sent him a message:

Ok, just passed the city sign. Should be a couple minutes now :) I have on a bunny jacket.

The bus turned off the freeway and onto the quiet city streets. Snow had fallen already and big white patches dampened any sound, it was so much quieter than where I had come from. It was also, so much colder than where I had come from. My bunny jacket was fuzzy and soft, with long floppy ears attached to the hood. I zipped it all the way up and pulled my hands inside the sleeves.

The bus turned into the station where I saw a car in the parking lot with about 5 people standing around it, smoking and looking towards the bus. My heart pummeled its way into my stomach when I recognized Yoongi as one of them.

Why were there so many of them?

Come to think of it, I never asked about his roommates.

What if they all hate me?

What if they all think I'm some insane weirdo who came all the way out here and Yoongi just said yes because he felt sorry for me?

Wait-

I am kind of an insane weirdo who did come all the way out here without even stopping to question why Yoongi said yes in the first place.

I looked down at my nails that I had quit biting and painted red. Cursing myself for stopping the habit I tried to find some skin to pick to calm me down.

Well, it was a little late to be backing out now right?

The bus came to stop, air pushing out as the doors opened. The chill sweeping through in full force. My legs felt like a newborn deer and I tried my best to remember how to walk as I shakily clambered down the steps. Yoongi and his friends didn't walk up to greet me warmly like I had hoped. Instead they all stood together, watching me walk up to them.

As I got closer I realized they were a group of guys. A group of cute guys. A group of cute, cool guys that were looking at me like I was an alien.

I tried to accumulate moisture in my mouth to make my voice sound as confident as possible before speaking.

"Um hey, uh-" I cleared my throat, "Yoongi right?"

The guys all laughed, one of them playfully hitting him on the shoulder. Yoongi was even cuter in person, just slightly taller than I was, his black hair tucked behind one ear and wearing a heavy looking black denim jacket over a zip up hoodie. He hadn't looked at me yet but briefly glanced at me before speaking up.

"Yeah, ya found me" his voice was deep and low.

One of the boys, a taller one with a boyish charm piped up.

"Give her a hug man, don't make it weird." The boys eyes caught mine and he gave me a wink. His lip piercing glimmered under the light of a nearby streetlamp. I smiled back sheepishly, my cheeks burning from more than the cold.

Yoongi also seemed embarrassed but he moved towards me, reaching one arm out to give me an awkward hug. Our faces nearly brushed together before he jumped back and turned away from me.

"Uh, so these are my roommates. Jungkook-" he gestured towards the boy who had winked at me. "Jin-" another tall one with fluffy hair waved, "Namjoon-" the last of the tall ones and the sturdiest looking one, nodded his head. "Hobi-" a sweet looking one flashed a friendly smile, relief flooded through me as I returned it.

"Tae and Jimin are back at the house, we couldn't fit them in the car" Hobi offered after Yoongi had shut up abruptly.

"There's more?" I squeaked out, feeling sweat bead up under my jacket.

The boys all laughed again, well, all except for Yoongi. He had turned towards the car and remained silent, refusing to look at me again.

The pressure to say something was heavy in the air and I tried to stay positive that this wasn't going to be the most uncomfortable trip I'd ever been on.

"Well, thanks for having me. I know this must be weird but I'm excited for the show" I half laughed out. The boys, minus Yoongi, smiled warmly at me, a medley of "happy you're here", "let's get going it's fucking freezing" and "glad you made it" came as response. And in unison, they all began moving to get into the car.

Yoongi still hadn't said anything but opened the car door closest to me, gesturing for me to get inside. I thanked him quietly, trying not to notice how the smell of tobacco and spices coming off of him made me feel. He closed the door behind me and walked around to get into the passenger side seat.

Jungkook slid into the back seat with me, Hobi and Namjoon squeezing in on the other side of him. Jungkook laughed, apologizing for his shoulder pressing against mine. I waved him off, telling him how anything felt better than being on that bus.

"This girl's just been on a bus for 13 hours! Let's go get some beer!" Jungkook piped up to the rest. Five faces turned to look at me, waiting for my response and I nodded. Whoops filled the car, Yoongi even chuckled to himself before turning to look out the window.

Jin was sitting in the driver's seat, asking me my preferences before the other's started in with their questions.

How had I heard about the show?

Why did I want to come?

Did I also make music?

What did I like doing?

What did I do?

Yoongi stayed looking out the window, one hand up against his chin, seemingly uninterested in any of the conversation taking place around him. We pulled up to a gas station, Jin hopping out to get gas and the others getting out to get the beers.

"C'mon out and stretch your legs a bit. You must be sick of sitting" Hobi beckoned at me before turning to follow the others.

I was very much fine sitting and trying not to hyperventilate but Yoongi got out of the car, walking around to once again open the door for me. I pushed myself out of the car, shivering now that the shock of meeting everyone was starting to wear off.

"It's cold here huh?" the words came out feebly as I looked at Yoongi.

God he was so cute.

He looked me up and down before frowning a bit, and grumbling out a response.

"Uh yeah, we wear layers here.".

Oh.

He must have realized I was making an effort though because he sighed and took off his denim jacket, handing it out to me stiffly.

"If you didn't bring a jacket you can wear this while you're here" he said, looking at me directly.

"You have pretty eyes" I blurted out while reaching for the jacket, "Ah, I mean thank you.". He really did though, my eyes were a dark brown but nowhere near the deep dark brown that his were. They were nearly black, like little onyx pools. Lights seemed to sparkle and reflect back out of them.

Yoongi's lips pulled back on one side into a small smile and Jin behind him chuckled to himself.

"Shut up" Yoongi rolled his eyes at Jin, who held his hands up feigning innocence.

I started to relax a bit, the tension in my shoulders easing. The warmth and smell from Yoongi's jacket bringing a comfort that washed away some of the fear. These guys seemed all right and were incredibly welcoming to a random stranger who they just picked up from the bus stop.

Yoongi pulled out a cigarette, raising his eyebrows at me as he offered the pack in my direction. I focused all of my energy on stopping my hand from shaking as I reached for one and put it between my lips. He pulled out his lighter, cupping his hand around the end and lit it for me before I could register what he was doing.

Glancing at my shocked expression he laughed before lighting his own.

"Pretty girls don't light their own cigarettes" he blew out smoke, following it as it trailed into the sky.

I looked down smiling to myself and took a drag of my own.

"I didn't know that" I said softly. And a comfortable silence fell between us.

Jin came over for a drag before starting a conversation with Yoongi about something that warbled through my ears like a foreign language. The tiredness from the trip hit me like wrecking ball now that adrenaline and fear weren't keeping me going. I walked to a patch of nearby snow, listening to the crunch of ice beneath my feet, taking careful steps and watching green blades of grass peek through the broken up pieces of white.

The loud voices of the other boys broke me out of my trance and Yoongi waved me back over to the car. I put out my cigarette in a puddle of melting slush before tossing it in the garbage can by the gas pump. When Yoongi opened my door for me this time, I shot him a shy smile as thanks.

After he closed the door, I saw him smile to himself as he walked back to the passenger seat.

"So you came here without knowing anything about us huh?" Jungkook asked, holding a paper bag of beers in between his knees.

"Yeah ha, pretty wild decision now that I think about it" I mumbled.

"You're gonna have fun, don't worry. We're lots of fun, aren't we Yoongi?" Jungkook nudged Yoongi, wrinkling his nose as he smiled.

"Shut up" Yoongi said, not looking back. And the boys all laughed.

"Yoongi's like that but he must like you if he said you could come" Namjoon's face peered around Jungkooks wide shoulders. The dimpled smile on his face was reassuring and I smiled back at him before remembering Yoongi's first response to me.

"Wait- you guys were all okay with me coming right?" I asked the car, suddenly aware of how little Yoongi and I had discussed my coming here.

There was a moment of silence as Yoongi's head swiveled around to look at the others.

Hobi, who was squished between Jungkook and Namjoon broke through the silence with a cheery voice, "Yeah of course! We're really glad you want to support the show. Yoongi's been working so hard on it!" And the brief moment of tension fizzled, everyone's shoulders relaxing as the others broke out into jumbled praise for Yoongi's work on his music.

I wasn't trying not to listen but I couldn't stop staring at Yoongi. Pulling his jacket up to cover more of my face, I sank down into my seat for the rest of the ride. Breathing in the warmth and letting a "what if" game of reasons for Yoongi saying I could come drift through my mind.

After some time had passed, the car slowed down and pulled up to the house and I jolted out of my tiredness while everyone filed out onto the sidewalk. It was a two story house that looked like it had some history, paint peeling off the wood. It wasn't run down but it wasn't new either. Like it had spent it's time really being lived in. A worn down couch sat on the front porch and the light inside glowed yellow through the glass mosaic on the front door.

"Welcome, welcome!" Hobi threw his arms up with an infectious energy. I giggled and curtsied before him as I made my way up the front steps behind Yoongi. Once the front door was opened we all piled in and a soft "oh" escaped me as I looked around.

Inside the home was like a comfort paradise. A giant couch took up most of the living room, covered in pillows and blankets. A TV was propped up on a heavy wood dresser, game consoles and wires spilling onto the floor beside it. A variety of art pieces splattered across the walls and art supplies were tucked around in different cabinets and boxes. Books piled up in various corners and shelves, some peeking out from under the couch.

To my right was a hallway, that led to Yoongi's room and the bathroom Jin explained to me. Two wooden staircases, one going up and one going down, were also in that hallway and they led to the other boys rooms. An open doorway on the right side of the living room led to the kitchen. I couldn't see it, but the yellow walls softly glowed, spilling out into the living room.

The exhaustion shot back through my body at the sight of it all. Maybe it was the realization that this was a safe place. That I had travelled all this way and was going to be staying in a place that felt more like home than my own ever did. I slid down to the floor with a thump, gaping at everything around me.

The boys looked back at me and gently laughed, "You can sit on the couch you know..." Jin joked before he slipped into the hallway. "TAE, JIMIN! SHE'S HERE!" he yelled and my mush of a brain tried its hardest to comprehend that there were two more people to meet.

Jungkook had plopped onto the couch, pulling the beers out of the bag and calling me over. Namjoon had disappeared off to his room and Hobi had walked into the kitchen, rattling sounds echoing out into the living room. Yoongi had walked immediately to his laptop and started messing with some music programs.

Pulling myself off the floor, I staggered as gracefully as I could to the couch before sinking down into the cushions. It was softer than I expected and knocked me off balance, my torso flopping down so I was laying on my side. The top of my head pressed against Jungkook's thigh but the energy to move or feel embarrassed had been drained out of me.

"Oh my god" I laughed, feeling delirious, "I could just fall asleep right here.". I felt Jungkook's hand patting the top of my head and ruffling my hair as he laughed with me, "Aw, little sleepyhead" he said sympathetically.

Yoongi's voice cut across the room, annoyance clear in his tone. "You could just go to sleep in my room, you don't have to stay out here.". And I jerked myself upright, feeling my throat close up. He was letting me stay at his place and barge into his life, the last thing I wanted to do was make him mad. I looked to Jungkook, unsure what to do. But all I got in response were big doe eyes, puffed out cheeks and a beer.

"No, I'm okay. It's really comfy in here, you guys have a nice place." I cracked open the beer and didn't have the nerve to look at Yoongi. Was I sleeping in his room? With him? Yet another thing we hadn't discussed. This was beginning to feel like a fever dream.

A thunder of footsteps interrupted my thinking as two new boys ran into the living room. One was a cherub of a man and the other looked like he belonged in an art studio. The cherub stepped across the room to lean down and hug me, "I'm Jimin! You must be our very special guest, welcome to our humble abode!".

The artist bowed before theatrically posing like a hand model, "And I'm Tae. Charmed I'm sure." He wiggled his eyebrows at me and we both laughed. I responded with my "nice to meet you's" and "thank you for having me" before looking more closely at Tae.

"Hey! We have the same beauty spot!" I exclaimed, pointing at my cheek with one finger and his with the other. He briskly strode over and sat next to me on the couch, grabbing my hands and pulling them to his chest. Looking into my eyes he breathed out, "I knew it. You must be my soulmate..." and I couldn't help but play along.

"Oh my darling, I never dreamed this day would come and here you are, right before me!" Fluttering my eyelashes until my eye twitched.

Jimin and Jungkook chuckled while Tae smiled widely at me, giving me a nod of approval before reaching to grab a beer.

"I like her Yoongi. She's fun." Jimin threw out while grabbing his drink, Yoongi grunted in response without looking away from his computer. My eyes drifted over to the workout bar hung in the doorframe between the living room and kitchen.

"Hey, what's that for?" I asked, taking some sips of beer. Jungkook's eyes lit up and he bounced off the couch, Jimin gracefully flopping down to take his place. "It's for cool shit like this!" Jungkook began pulling himself up on the bar, demonstrating what I imagined to be every single possible variation of a pull up. I don't know what got into me, I couldn't even do a pull up. But I set my beer down and stood up before saying, "That's really cool, can I try something real quick?" And Jungkook dropped down, smiling excitedly while he moved back to the couch.

I reached up and grabbed the bar, before flipping back and lifting my feet up to hook my knees over it. Once I was secure, I let go of the bar with my hands and wiggled my fingers, "Ta-da!" I beamed. And the three boys on the couch erupted with supportive applause.

Hobi came running out of the kitchen only to shriek with surprise as he nearly collided with my dangling upper body.

"Wow! Okay, are you hungry? I'm making ramen. Anyone?" he pushed my torso to the side like a curtain to peer out at the rest of the group.

Yoongi raised a thumb and the others affirmed before Hobi nodded to himself.

"Ok, someone go check if Jin and Namjoon want some. How about you?" He squatted down to look up at my face and I nodded. The realization of not eating anything all day sent a wave a weakness through my body and after Hobi moved back to the kitchen, I unflipped myself. Waiting for the blood to leave my head, blinking out the sparks behind my eyes.

While Tae had gone to check on the other boys, Jungkook and Jimin had started a conversation that I didn't want to interrupt. I grabbed my beer and one for Yoongi before walking over and nervously settling next to him. He had been sitting on the floor the whole time, shoulders hunched over and pursing his lips in a concentrated expression.

I sat in a version of child's pose, propping myself up on an elbow before handing the beer to him and taking a glance at his computer screen.

"Here you go. Thank you again for all of this, I, um. Is this what you're working on for the show?" He grabbed the beer from me without taking his eyes from the screen, opening it with one hand to take a sip before setting it down.

Unnecessarily hot of him.

He nodded and continued with his work. Maybe if I had been less tired I would have been worried about him not wanting me there. Or that I was invading his space or distracting him from his work. Maybe it was my delirium but a comfortable silence fell between us again. I had no idea what he was doing but I liked how he looked while he worked. Unlike with Jungkook, the sudden awareness of our proximity to each other rippled through my body like an electrical current.

The heat coming off of him radiated through both jacket layers and settled deep inside my chest. I pretended not to notice his knee in my peripheral vision or how his hands looked moving across the keyboard. I sat up to drink more beer, unintentionally brushing his shoulder with mine. A jolt shot through denim and fuzz, sending shivers down my arm and into the pit of my stomach. We both stared straight ahead until Jin and Namjoon came shuffling out of the hallway.

They both looked down at us, Jin smirking and Namjoon smiling gently. Like they knew something we both didn't. I bit the metal rim of the beer can, feeling my cheeks flush.

"Look at you lovebirds." Jin cooed, laughing when I covered my face with my hands. Too scared to look at Yoongi I stood up and swallowed down the rest of the beer. Sticking my tongue out at Jin I shook the can, "Where should I put this?" and he reached out to take it from me.

"I got it. How about you get another one and chill out, you're the guest after all." He raised an eyebrow at me before walking into the kitchen. I looked to Namjoon confused, he shook his head before walking me back to the couch. He nudged Yoongi with his foot but Yoongi didn't budge, his grip denting the beer can as he glared straight ahead.

Hobi and Jin came out with the ramen for everyone. After dispersing bowls and new beers we all quieted down to eat, little jabs made here and there. Hums of appreciation for the food and burping competitions carried on while Yoongi stayed where he was. It didn't bother me that he was doing his own thing, I admired it.

It bothered me though, that nobody had given him a new beer. Checking in on him felt so instinctual and impulsive, I couldn't help myself. I didn't stop to question it. As quietly as I could, I walked over and placed a beer by his side, taking his empty and now mangled can back with me. I trekked into the kitchen and found the recycling, taking in the odd antiques hung around the walls, the different pictures and polaroids stuck to the fridge.

After settling back down, I found myself glancing at him again. He was shifting back and forth on his knees trying to find a comfortable position.

Turning behind me, I grabbed a pillow and walked back over to him.

"Here." I held the pillow out and he turned to look at it. Pausing for moment, before nodding and taking it, placing it under himself and adjusting his position.

When I walked back to the couch, 6 smirking faces greeted me. I didn't even think about them noticing. Goddammit.

"Cute" Jimin said, "I can see why he wanted you here.".

I threw my hair over my shoulder and huffed indignantly, "I don't know what you mean in the slightest.". Sitting back down on the couch between Jungkook and Tae, I started to fight to keep my eyes open. The sound of conversation and the coziness of the house lulling me to sleep, the muscles in my neck gave out and I dropped my head onto Jungkook's shoulder. My head felt too heavy to lift so I stayed there, Jungkook didn't move away but adjusted his shoulder to alleviate any strain on my neck.

This is nice, the thoughts floated through, I'm glad I'm here. I'm glad I came.

"Ahem." My eyes flickered open at Yoongi's fake coughing sound. He was standing up, grimacing at me with his hands pressed into his hoodie pockets.

"We should really get to bed now guys." He said, staring at Jungkook's shoulder. "C'mon."

And with that he turned and walked away down the hallway.

I glanced around at the boys on the couch who were looking at me with raised eyebrows and poorly concealed smiles.

Okay, I guess he means he and I are going to bed now. Nervousness fluttered in my chest, dampened by sleepiness and the beers.

"Do you want me to help clean up or anything?" I fumbled while standing up, rattling the cans on the table and steadying myself on Jungkooks shoulder. One of his hands reached out to grab my waist while I found my balance, earning a "what the hell dude" look and head jerk from Jin. He quickly dropped it and I made my way around the table.

"You're the guest lady, don't worry about it" Jin shot a wink and finger gun at me. I winked and finger gunned back, thanking them all again and saying good night before turning to the dark hallway.

Exhaling as deeply as I could I walked towards the open door to Yoongi's room. Straining my eyes in the dark, I took in the sight before me. More art covered the walls, a guitar and keyboard were in the corner with an amp and loop pedal, chords swirling around each other on the ground. A mattress lay on the floor next to a big window, moonlight shining through it and spilling onto the blanket, turning it a moody shade of blue.

Yoongi stood by the mattress, looking at the floor even in the darkness.

"Which side of the bed do you want?" he asked and the annoyed tone would've gotten to me if it had done a better job masquerading his consideration for my comfort.

"Um, by the wall please." I threaded my fingers together, the thought of sleeping next to him forming knots beneath my ribs.

He nodded, barely visible and quickly muttered, "Ok, go get washed up then get in bed. I'll go after you."

He held out my backpack for me and I quickly grabbed it, turning towards the bathroom in a rush. I was grateful for the opportunity to go on autopilot. As I stood there brushing my teeth, the person in the mirror didn't look like me. There was a pink flush on the cheeks, the hair was messy, strands tucked haphazardly and parting in an unfamiliar direction. Maybe it always parted that way and I just never noticed before.

Splashing cold water on my face I looked at my reflection one last time.

She's whoever she wants to be, I thought before nodding to myself like it was some sort of affirmation.

The voices of the other boys zoomed in and then faded as I walked out of the bathroom back to Yoongi's room. He didn't say a word to me when I came in, just marched directly to the bathroom, leaving me standing alone in what felt like a sanctuary. This house alone felt like some special corner of the universe, a place where being yourself wasn't chastised or persecuted but celebrated and supported.

Yoongi's room to me, was equivalent to a secret garden within that special corner of the universe. A place where things were grown, cared for, nurtured. A space where things were created and loved. I must have been standing there longer than I realized because Yoongi came back in only to huff at me.

"Why aren't you in bed?" he asked like I was an idiot.

I shook my head to clear it, "I'm sorry, I was just thinking..." I trailed off without finishing the thought and made my way into the bed. Facing the wall, I felt the weight of him laying down next to me and my heart skipped a beat. He tossed a heavy blanket over me, saying a coarse goodnight before falling still.

I rolled over, realizing too late that he was closer than expected, my body hugging against his back. We both jumped and he scooted away from me. His back staying turned to me, I froze, staring at his back in the darkness. I was in awe I guess, that this beautiful person had let me into his special place in the world. That his friends had accepted me so genuinely. That all I had to do was ask and here I was.

His voice broke through the silence and I held my breath, clinging to every word.

"I'm happy you're here."

#btsfanfiction #bts x reader #bts imagines #yoongi x reader #yoongi fic #bts angst #yoongi angst #bts fanfic #suga fanfic #bts suga #suga angst #suga fanfiction #bts slowburn

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citrus-cactus · 11 months

Note

I know you're a major Daisuke/Wallace shipper, but may I ask which other ships with Daisuke you like too, if any? (^・ω・^ )

(in my case i multiship him with a ton of characters... Lately more into TakeDai thanks to Shiha lol)

Ahhh, sorry it took so long for me to answer this!!

Oh, Ni. NI. Do you really want to open up the floodgates of shipping with me?? (bless you)

So, I developed the habit of just not talking about Digimon ships on the Internet many years ago, despite it being the primary thing that was fueling my creative output for a significant period of time (like… 2007-2014, probably??). But yeah, for most of my time on Tumblr, there was no way I was gonna talk directly about Digimon ships, because I’m always scared about the potential backlash such posts may receive (trying to get over that, though!). A few ships have breached brain-containment: Wallsuke and Taijyou, obviously, Taishiro and Nishihime maybe less-obviously (these days). But I feel more comfortable talking about those since they’re (mostly) rarepairs, the haters are minimal/nonexistent, fans of those pairs are chill and awesome, and I guess they just feel “safer” than some of the rest of the Adventure/02/tri/Kizuna shipping minefield XD

I would LOVE to make a chart like the one @reliablejoukido did showing my OTP thru NOTP feelings though! Back in 2012 I know I made a numerical matrix-type thingy for my preferences, but I never published it anywhere and I’m guessing they’ve changed a bit ^^; If I ever found time to make my own template in this day and age, I’d do it, but alas, time makes fools of us all! 🥲

All that is to say, I’m also a multishipper, and I absolutely have other Daisuke ships!! I have ended up on kind of a personal crusade to put more Wallsuke out in the world these past few years, which is why it kind of accidentally ended up being my primary Daisuke ship (oops). It doesn’t mean all those other ships are gone and forgotten, though!

I’m generally using REALLY OLD American English Fandom ship names in this post, only because that’s how I refer to them in my own head. Please don’t think too hard about the spelling/order/capitalization/punctuation of them, because I’m not! I assure you these designations don’t mean anything in this context other than “the relationship between these characters in some platonic or romantic way, explanation to follow.” TL;DR for everyone reading this: don’t be rude about shipping on this post, and don’t nitpick my terminology, please! I’m old, and so, so tired of fandom drama.

And now, without further ado, and in no particular order… DAISUKE SHIPS! ᕕ(ᐛ) ᕗ

Daiyako (Miyako/Daisuke)

I love them as friends hanging out or casually dating. They’re so!!! Well, they’re pretty similar in how strong their convictions are and how open they are about their feelings, which means they agree on a lot of things but also have the potential to clash a lot, which is a dynamic I REALLY enjoy for them. In a romantic scenario, I can definitely see them as going from arguing about something inconsequential to making out in about 3 seconds flat (maybe with a side of “how did we end up here??” ehehehe). IDK, they both give off disaster bisexual vibes to me, and I’m 100% here for that!

Daiken (Ken/Daisuke)

Really great, obviously, either romantic or platonic. They were Jogress partners (cue chorus of “oh my god, they were Jogress partners…”). I actually um. Don’t have a lot to say about this ship, but I do enjoy seeing it on my dash! Daisuke and Ken’s Christmas Carol and the entirety of Revenge of Diaboromon are all-time classics in my mind and I do secretly like one-sided Kaiser/Daisuke or mutual Kaiser/Daisuke Kaiser… shhhh

Daikari (Hikari/Daisuke)

Like, honestly yes. Daisuke, I am rooting for you! I mostly enjoy them as a friendship or in a “falling in love once they grow up and mellow out a bit” context. This is also how I feel about Junpei/Izumi from Frontier, by-the-by. Both pairs give off similar vibes (to me), but I’m more likely to gravitate to thinking about Junzumi because I just. Junpei does NOT get enough love, respect, or attention in general, and I would LOVE to see more portrayals of fat-positive romance for him, specifically.

Daikeru (Takeru/Daisuke)

So, I’ll admit I have a really hard time writing Takeru, which means I don’t do a very good job of imagining him in Situations(tm), but I have read/seen a fair bit of this pair romantically and I like it, I just also don’t have a lot to say about it (I’m sensing a theme!). Once again though, I will happily read what others put out there. Please, fic writers, help me understand how Takeru thinks! He’s such a mystery to me.

Daichi (Taichi/Daisuke)

The admiration Daisuke shows his senpai in canon is very endearing, even if it can seem a bit lopsided (though maybe, by the time Revenge of Dioboromon concludes, the admiration IS quite mutual??). I do like thinking about them as a mentor/mentee pair though, or equals/brothers-in-arms, learning from each other as they compare notes on leadership and decisionmaking.

Daimi (Mimi/Daisuke)

I loooooove their friendship!! IDK, between the NY segment of the World Tour Arc and the Door Into Summer audio drama, it’s there, right? Anyway, I still say these two are the Treat Yo’ Self squad for the Adventure kids, and I love picturing that dynamic for them.

I think me answering this ask is a bit of a stealth request for (short) fic recs that feature these relationships, lmao. I used to casually browse fanfiction a lot more than I do now, I guess I’m too picky or something (plus I have a HUGE backlog of mutuals’ fanfics to read, augh sorry!). And I didn’t mention it, but romantic thruples are good too! I would be interested in reading… oh, I don’t know, pretty much any combination of the older 02 characters in a polyamory situation (Dai/Ken/Miyako, Hikari/Takeru/Dai, Ken/Dai/Takeru, Dai/Miya/Wallace, etc).

So yeah. Shipping!! I love it. Does this mean the floodgates are finally open? IDK, but you could try sending me another Digimon character to see if I’d talk about the ship(s) I have for them!

#thanks for the ask this was fun to think about!#digimon adventure 02 #daisuke motomiya #shipping #multishipping #asks #digitalgate02

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ashes-in-a-jar · 2 months

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The Sheridan Tapes bonus episodes:

I forgot so many of these lol, really like the format of Amy taking us on a tour of possible universes and futures.

Deleted scenes - Moments from Meriwether - the voices over the intercom are hard to understand but honestly fun to listen to for the vibes. Would love to be able to concentrate on the cosmic conversation Oroborous had with Caldwell but the concept went way over my half shut down brain.

Interlude 01 - the silver age - oh wow Paul the superhero... Kinda devastating that that could have been him but in the canon timeline he was revenge fueled without any other life or purpose... Poor guy. Wonder who was the controller

Interlude 02 - worlds apart - omg the Llewelyn and Utkin story, I loved that arc! Hilariously up until now I truly remembered being a whole different podcast, somehow did not remember it from the Sheridan Tapes lol. I love the concept of two people in the north and south poles, being only able to communicate with each other, not knowing of the chaos the world has plunged into around them.

Interlude 03 - music of the spheres - oh god Adam 😭😭😭. What a tragic conversation with the jovian that sure hurt. Good thing the crew will save the world and stranding Adam alone in space with a gene bank to fend off all of the aliens and the darkness chasing after him from earth won't happen, right? Right?

Interlude 04 - worlds after - part two of worlds apart, the best post apocalyptic worlds are the frozen ones. Love utkin being asexual and talking about it. Hope he manages to save humanity along with Llewelyn doing her own thing.

B-side 09 - oblivion - oh god what a horrible bit. Who was the person struck in the wall... poor Connor you should've stayed away from ISPHA 😭

B-side 10 - air - Adrian my radio boy! Again, I completely forgot about this episode lol. I absolutely love Amy's manic energy in all these. The 2 first dear Amy's contradicting each other with the whole you're connected to everyone you've ever known and yet you're always and forever alone. Then the third story about Adrian, did not remember that he decided on his own to come to Oslow to search for the ranger and then got trapped there, truly a bad luck Brian lol

B-side 11 - paradise - Bill and Rob having a beach episode in the source, what adventures will they have! Hehe their conversation about Bill possibly being into Ned was cute, now I have a vivid image of both Rob and Ned wearing these hates and Bill just becoming completely flustered.

B-side 12 - anathema - what a great short tale, amazing trans themes in it too, into Anna's short story collection it goes <3

#i only did one episode yesterday and i had a bit more time today so bonus episodes and three more episodes now here we go #tst relisten #the sheridan tapes

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fifty-ten · 7 months

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(for the ocverse asks (if i'm allowed to do multiple) answer for whichever ocverse you wish)

3, 17, 24

multiple is more than fine! the more questions the merrier!

3 - "any recurring images/elements?"

let's see... for Maroon Z in particular, hearts are a very prominent form of imagery! (Ideally, I want the audience's stomach to drop a little when heart iconography shows up by the end of the story...?! but we'll see ←has been rewriting the back end of the story a ton). They act as an emblem that represents the concept of a magical girl. This also includes both the cartoony "❤️" kind of heart, but also the more literal kind of heart.

To speak way more broadly, I think that hand-holding imagery is really prominent in just about any story of mine ... it's a way to share power, it's a way to show simple affection, and so forth! it's very versatile imagery! and, it's just nice to make characters hold hands. (as an aside, you might read below and think, "oh, did they pick this up from pretty cure?", but this repeated imagery actually stems from tag battle-related pokéani headcanons from when i was a kid.)

17 - "describe the "required reading" to understand your vision. be as pretentious as possible."

to speak more broadly again, pokéani is probably kind of required to understand just about anything I write (lmao?).. it kind of forms a "backbone" in how i interact with making my own stories. at the same time, there's also stuff I watched a little as a young kid that left a big impact on me even if I don't remember a lot about it, like Ojamajo Doremi, or the 4kids show Chaotic, or random manga i picked up from libraries over the years... (though, I guess the question asks for specifics and not broad things...)

When it comes to Maroon Z, Futari wa Pretty Cure is definitely required (and... maybe RGU depending on how much my brain chemistry is altered by the time I finish watching it). In general, I think having an understanding of Pretty Cure is pretty necessary for understanding any of my magical girl OCs, since it's been really influential for me.

For my OCs that are of the "mons genre" ... well, again, pokéani (specifically DP) informs a lot. i think the digimon series adventure 02, tamers, and appmon are also kind of necessary to understanding how I approach the genre? (kinda bakugan too). To give a more specific example, I think that to understand what I'm going for with something like Imagination Defenders (i still wish i had a better title for that...), I think Tamers, Bakugan Battle Planet, and Xros Wars Hunters (←also a Digimon series & it honestly executes exactly the kind of setting I'd been imagining for ImaD...). Video games are an important influence, too! For example, it's easiest to understand Avi Battler if you're familiar with both Appmon and Smash Bros (specifically custom fighters/amiibo fighters in smash 4).

Well, I don't know of all of that is necessarily required reading, but I like talking about the kinds of things that influence the stories I make.

24 - "best scene youve written?"

hm... this one kind of depends on how you define "written". I'm good at coming up with stuff, but not nearly as good at remembering to actually write it down...

When it comes to "published" things, I still like the ending of the Maroon Z pilot comic.

When it comes to unpublished things (and also still not written down things...), I'm actually really excited about how the rewrites for parts of Maroon Z as a whole are going & how they tie things together. Lately, I've also been having fun writing things up for MonRev and Avi Battler (especially the latter, since it's about video games).

#thanks very much for the ask!#fiftytenanswers #maroon z #and the others but they were mentioned too briefly to tag imo

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t4tklonoa · 10 months

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I want to know about some of your favorite moments from Digimon! I still want to watch through the whole show, even if I haven't gone back to finish OG Adventure yet.

AHH WILL. happily share !!!! haven't rll rewatched digimon in a bit (besides tamers) so I may miss some ough. also I watched digimon in spanish so I'll call the digimons and kids by the name they are called in the spanish dub XP

also Idk if ur okay with spoilers so I'll put moments from othe finale of adventure, and all other seasons beside the that under the cut :3

Adventure:

- Patamon's/angelmon's sacrifice is rll. the first taste of how wild digimon is and prolly why I got so obsessed with digimon as a kid... it's just such a cool moment that it rewrired my little kiddie brain

- Gatomon meets with the kids for the first time. after u get more familiar with how digivolution works and bigger equals stronger in ur mind, seeing gatomon solo all the kid's digimons is. sooo cool. u rll don't expect gatomon to be in adult level (that also made gatomon my fav as a kid :3)

02:

- The moment where wormmon dies and Ken realizes what's he's done to digimon it's just. so good... it scared me a lot as a kid but I still watched it so many times. the contrast of Ken receiving the crest of kindness too, along with a partner digimon dying like patamon did to save their kid.... expldoes

- when Ken and wormmon reunite again.... I cried sm at that part as a kid

Tamers: (get ready itis my fav season I may aswell put every single moment of the show here dkndkd)

- Takato and Guilmon meet. the first point tamers wants to show u is that. digimons aren't entirely friendly, they are like animals and especially guilmon who was just created doesn't get what's happening around him. THE PUREE horror Takato feels when Guilmon kills the rats is so awesome also, especially when he was so happy to see Guilmon seconds ago

- Takato finds Guilmon after he scapes for the first time. Takato crying his eyes out after Terriermon tells him his not fit for the tamer title... and him hugging Guilmon. it's too much it makes me explode

- the little moment Impmon and Renamon have at the billboard thing... they are so funny

- Suzie and Antylamon meet. just look atthe episode is there anything else to say. they are so cute

- THANK U GOD !!! ^_^

- WHEN RENAMON CONFIRMS ALL DIGIMONS ARE AGENDER !!!!! WOOOOO (and then Rika's mom is shitty as usual but we don't talk abt that. but I want Rika's mom dead that's all I'm saying)

Ghost game:

- Hiro's and Gammamon's meeting. I'm not a super fan of ghost game but this episode definitely convinced me to keep watching. Hiro's dad telling him that gammamon is now his little brother isso <3

- gulusgammamon's first appearance (kinda). he murdered a digimon isn't that the coolest thing ever. BUT aside from that the whole episode is just a FUCKING. ride man... from Bokomon's death to the fucking.... digivolution of gammamon. the way u can tell something is wrong when everything pauses for a second. IT'S SO GOOODDD

I think the build up to that episode could have been done better, but what we got is still pretty good tbh. I rewatched that episode like 10 times and was obsessed with gulus for such a long time man

ANNDDD I'LL STOP HERE ! would like to add more but I've been here for like. one million hours I need to do other stuff skkdkd

#I skipped over frontiers and savers bc. I dont rll like frontiers and I don't remember most of of what happens in them #although I do rll like the agumon from savers <3 the bloingy #andd I haven't seen fusion and app XP I rll hav to ! I started fusion and shoutmon isso cute #u can see crystal clear. my digimon autism here lmao #ask #mathewryf #ALSO FORGOR TO ADD. I haven't finished ghost game I also rll have to finish it oughh #hoghog awoos #digimon anime spoilers

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screadingchallenge · 2 years

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Behind the Keyboard Volume 32

Behind the Keyboard is a series of interviews with different Schitt’s Creek fanfic authors. The series will last as long as there is interest (from authors) and capacity (from me). If you are an author from the Schitt’s Creek fandom who would like to participate, send a DM to this account.

Each author was given ten questions. The first five questions are the same for every author, the last five will vary.

Let’s meet our next author:

@treluna4 / Treluna

How many fics have you written? 27

When did you publish your first fic on AO3?

02/11/2016

Describe your writing process from “Oh, I have an idea” to pushing publish on AO3.

It starts with some kind of outline. Usually just a couple lines of “this happened, then this happened.” As the story develops, so will the outline. (The outlines for my long fics are multiple pages and have many, many subsections). After the fic is (mostly) drafted, I share it with an amazing beta. With their feedback I edit and edit and read it again and again until I can’t look at the thing anymore. That’s when I post it.

The exception is my Inconvenient Boners series. With that one I made a conscious effort to get out of my own damn anxious, perfectionist head and just have fun with it. I draft it, edit it, read through it an appropriate number of times, and then post it.

Tell me about your most recent fic? What do you love about it? Is there anything you think you could have done better?

While it’s not technically my most recent, I want to talk about You Were There All Along. I wrote that whole thing in less than a month (record speed for me) and I poured everything I have into it. That fic is so close to my heart and I couldn’t be prouder of it. One fic I think I could have done better was I Can’t Pretend It’s Okay When It’s Not. I think I rushed that one. There are some edits I wish I could make even now.

What advice would you give to someone who’s thinking about publishing their fic for the first time?

Get a beta. It’s scary, getting feedback. Putting yourself out there like that but please, trust me, get a beta. Every time I’ve listened to the wise words of a beta, my fic improved tenfold.

Also, after you post, try not to focus too much on how many kudos your fic has. There are a lot of reasons why a really great fic doesn’t have many kudos. Kudos are wonderful and I love them, but they’re not an accurate representation of the quality of a fic.

But the comments. The comments are everything. ♥️

What grammatical error do you make ALL the time?

I’ll be honest with you. I was well into my twenties before I started really using affect/effect and then/than correctly. I’m also firmly in the “snuck is a word” camp. “Sneaked” makes me cringe. Hard.

Tell me about one of your favorite headcanons.

Outlines - yes or no?

Yes. But they aren’t set in stone. Fics can have multiple outlines.

What do you do when you get stuck?

I switch to a different fic for a while. Or waste time on tumblr and YouTube. When I’m particularly indecisive, I’ll bounce around between my WIPs without really settling on one.

Tell me about a story that you wish you could write but that you’re not quite ready to tackle.

Action/adventure and Mystery AUs. The Who dun it/ spy vs spy/ epic battle stories. They are too big for my brain.

#behind the keyboard #meet the authors #sc fanfic #schitt’s creek #schitts creek

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cassarilladraws · 1 year

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Tag 9 People You Want to Get to Know Better

Thanks for tagging me @onewingedsparrow 🥰 Currently Reading: Just a lot of fanfics at the moment. Mostly Lukadrien fluff and Danny Phantom reveals (I like the ones with happy endings! But don’t mind a roller coaster of angst to get to that ending.)

Favorite Color: Colors! I have no idea how to choose so I’ll list several favorites. Purple, Blue, Green (especially lime green), Teal, Pink, Orange, Yellow.... I like bright colors and gradients that look like the sunset a lot.

Last Song: I’m currently listening to “Finally Free” from Julie and the Phantoms (a show gone too soon... which I suppose is ironic considering what the show is about but I’m still sad.) I LOVE that show. One of these days I need to draw them omigosh.

Last Movie: I have a long watch list that I need and want to watch. I watch youtube a lot, but I’m horrible at actually watching movies and shows. When I do watch a show it usually becomes a binge watch lol. The last movie I watched was actually a Barbie Movie with my nieces. (Not that I’m above watching one on my own or something, mind you.) It was cute, Princess Charm School I think was the name. Kind of half way watching but it is technically the most recent movie for me.

Sweet/Spicy/Savory: Yes. Just yes. I just hate when things bitter or have weird textures. I like some pizzazz... and also pizzas. As long as there isn’t a texture I know that bothers me or meat in a dish I’m willing to try it. (To each their own, but this girl is a vegetarian.)

Currently Working On: Turning Tables Miraculous AU (Lukadrien centric) comics and the origins fanfic. Lukadrien honestly has a hold on my brain rn. As far as Miraculous there are some Alyno and Julerose things I want to make soon too. Then there’s a bunch of Zelda and Danny Phantom ideas. I really want to be equally involved in 3 different fandoms tbqh. Maybe one day soon I’ll actually manage that. I’m also hoping to revive my youtube channel and really give it a solid try. Being a full time nerd creator is my dream and I really enjoy creating in that way. I’d like for it to be a mixture of art and gaming with some music sprinkled in. (Shameless plugging I guess lol) Bonus: I’ll talk more about that watch list that is out of control lol and I want to rewatch things that have been around for a while and I’ve missed certain iterations of them. Like TMNT, Ben 10, Transformers, Power Rangers, Digimon, Scooby Doo. I like these franchises a lot and have a nostalgic attachment to certain versions. But I want to try the newer iterations I’ve missed. (The nostalgic ones for me are - TMNT 2003, OG Ben 10 & Alien Force, Transformers Prime, Mighty Morphin’, In Space, Turbo and Ninja Storm Power Rangers, Digimon Adventure and 02 and Scooby-Doo Where Are You?) There’s also newer stuff on the list like Spy X Family and The Owl House. No pressure to do this if you don’t want to of course! 🥰 I’m tagging: @purrfectlypunny @leafweaverryn @mindtripartite @writerriderdirtythirties @pumpkinsouppe @revengemicrowave @nathalielpzart @rottencandyapp1es @zodiac-senpai

#Tag game

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seventeenlovesthree · 2 years

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Let's do the obvious one: Taishiro :P

Oh my God, you just want me to gush over my boys for the millionth time, I swear. I will try my best to keep it as short as possible this time...

Send me two names among the following 12 and I’ll write a short analysis post about them:

Whether canon provides input on them or not:

Well... Duh. Despite them being considered more of a rarepair in fandom (despite it being basically the second most popular Koushirou ship out there besides Koumi), they are actually one of the most developed, most elaborated relationships in the entirety of the Digimon Adventure canon, regardless of which version you want to take a look at: 01, 02, (especially) Our War Game, the novels, the PSP game, the stageplay, the reboot and, to some lesser degree but still palpable, Tri and Kizuna. They're set up as "brawns and brains", the brave hands-on protagonist who always asks his knowledgable strategist for advice, relies on and trusts in him without a shred of doubt, whereas said strategist would also follow him to hell and back, despite sometimes having to shout at him for being too reckless. Without Taichi, Koushirou wouldn't have gone to Summer Camp - and without Koushirou, Taichi would never have figured out a way for them to get back to the real world. They complement each other in their strengths and weaknesses, they may butt heads occasionally, but they're there for each other as good friends and comrades. So that is a very clear YES.

Whether I think why and how they’d work:

Since they're my absolute Digimon OTP, I do believe that they work out very well - not only have I already outlined why they're basically best friends in canon and thus work out nicely in a platonic friendship, but there's also a lot of aspects about them that make me adore them romantically as well. You just take the jock/nerd trope and flip them completely over the head - so you get a very kind football dork, who loves to take care of youngsters and immediately grows attached to the computer nerd who came into his club and is not very good at social interaction - yet. What happens? They become super good, if not best friends, the nerd is getting enabled to become just as much of a hands-on person as the jock, opens up more and more through the course of them spending time in a foreign world together and with the other kids as well, they solve puzzles and riddles together as partners in crime while displaying a sense of unshattered loyalty towards each other. There may be instances, as mentioned, where they butt heads because they're not able to talk about feelings well with each other, but they're still there to support and sacrifice themselves for one another, saving several worlds several times in the face of death and it's just... It gets to me. Tri probably realized that, after Our War Game, these two would probably be unstoppable if they really worked together, which is likely the reason why they didn't let them interact THAT much during their teenager years - however, the connections never really faded. Koushirou watched Taichi throughout all these years, he’s the only one who really knows about his childhood trauma, would always have his back and sacrifice himself for his sake - the boy who once reached out a hand to him at football club. And Taichi, no matter how much he'd isolate himself from everyone emotionally, will always trust in Koushirou in return - the boy who had been by his side through thick and thin, the person who saw him cry his heart out. To me, it's just a wonderful concept to have these two fall for each other romantically as well, as they just seem to be endlessly loyal - ending up working together one day, because their careers just seem DESTINED to be linked with each other (and the Digital World, which will always bring them together).

Whether I’d prefer them as platonic or romantic ship:

As pointed out above, I actually do enjoy both variants - in a universe in which these two end up falling in love with each other and overcoming all their oblivious nut-ness, realizing that that make each other better AND happy once they FINALLY open up to each other, I would cry tears of happiness. However, if I ended up getting a universe in which they'll always remain close friends until they're old and grey, working together while being married to other people (like Taichi being married to Sora or maybe even Yamato for that matter - and Koushirou being married to Hikari or Mimi), I would be perfectly happy as well.

#my two cents #ask me!#taishirou #taishiro #taichi yagami #koushirou izumi #i just love them way too much #meta #analysis

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kimium · 1 year

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For the weird asks: 11, 14, 21, 33 and 34💜

(From this ask HERE)

Thanks for the ask, friend!!!

11. Favourite extracurricular activity?

If we're talking sports my favourite is swimming, especially lane swimming. If we're talking any sort of club in school, then I guess art club.

14. Do you love the smell of earth after it rains?

That depends on where I am. The smell of the earth (like ground and grass) is lovely. I also really loved the smell of rain afterwards while I lived in Japan, especially with all the trees and greenery around me. However, sometimes I also smell wet concrete or asphalt and that's not nearly as charming or romantic.

21. Something you've kept since childhood?

I have multiple things kept from childhood. I'll name a few because I can't pin down just one.

-Stuffed animals: I have multiple stuffed animals from my childhood days still present in my life.

-Gameboy Colour/Gameboy Advance: Yeah, I still have these tucked away in one drawer in my room at my parents' place. I also have the games for them still. Majority of those Pokémon games, but I also have Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland for the Gameboy Advance.

-Digivices (02 and Tamers): Yeah, I had Digivices, which were essentially bigger Tamagachi. In case anyone is wondering which ones, I had Davis (Daisuke) from 02 and Henry from Tamers.

-The Clow Book (from Cardcaptor Sakura): One of the only items on this list I actually want a better, nicer version of. Mine is obviously very old and I'd like a nice replica version with Sakura's name on the bottom of each card.

33. The last adventure you've been on?

I visited my parents recently and I accidentally took the wrong exit out of town, so I had to loop myself back around to get to the right road. I wasn't very happy.

34. Is there a song you know every word to by heart?

Who doesn't have a song(s) they know every word to by heart? I couldn't possibly name all the songs I know by heart.

(Fun fact: I used to be obsessed with the little booklets that came in CDs because they had the lyrics to songs in there. I used to read the lyrics as I listened to my CDs. I still do that sometimes, especially if I want to see the Japanese lyrics to a song. Or if the English to the song somehow doesn't register in my brain for one reason or another and I need to figure out what the heck the lyrics are.)

#personal #thanks for the ask friend!#feel free to ask me more if you want!

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tillythemagpie · 2 years

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No, Tamers isn’t anymore “dark” than other entries in the franchise - and why we need to drop this “rivalry” people have built up between Tamers and the rest of the franchise (Starting with other Tamers fans, as well)

I guess I felt emboldened to write this, since I always see this discourse floating to built an “animosity” betweens fans of the different entries in the franchises. (And I do admit some Tamers fans (even me) have been obnoxious in trying to bring up a sense of rivalry, of trying to dictamine which season is the “best”- of trying to compete to see their fave season “win” in a popularity contest- but hardcore stans are obnoxious in every fandom)

So, we all have our preferences on which season is our favorite. Some can’t even choose. But I know there’s been this tendency in fandom for years claiming that Tamers was the “best” because it was “the darkest”, therefore leads to “best writing”. But I do not want to think some of us Tamer fans could be akin to typical edgelords that you see in American fandoms, that like brainless stuff with unneeded gore and sex just because in their small brains think it means it’s “better”. (And I do proclaim, I have a tendency to sometimes think like that in my preference of media, but I think we can make an exception for this meta- and after all, “dark” or “light” aren’t synonyms with “smart writing”. Every film with unneeded edge and gore can be just as dumb as any “Flintstones babies”-type spinoff).

Forgive me if this meta is unpolished- I improvised it on the fly with little stuff to back up and I'm tired with million other things floating in my head- next time I'll try to make my meta more polished.

Anyways, I digress.

A lot of fan perception grown up in the Western fanbase (And even by casual viewers, so people that aren’t even in the fandom) like to point that Tamers is the “best” series because it is the “darkest” of the franchise, that they feel “embarrassment”

People like to dumb down the other entries in the franchise as being “light and fluffy”, but I do not feel it can be akin. Since the first season, we see the show tackling themes that could be seen rather complicated for children- isolation, death, expectations set upon you by a demanding family, and divorce are featured prominently in the main children’s backstories, and them coming to terms with these ideas is what allows for their development to flourish.

People love to crap on 02, calling it “the kiddy season”, but it also tackles a lot of themes that would sit comfortably amongst Adventure’s expectations and Tamer’s themes of giving humanity to machines. We see many sympathetic characters die on-screen (Wormmon, BlackWarGreymon, Arukenimon and Mummymon (the last one is doubly cruel- it’d be like killing Jessie and James from Pokemon- those type of characters dying in children’s media is pretty much a no-no)), and the narrative showcases how the loss of a loved one has shaped Ken’s and Iori’s personalities, for the better or for the worst. Grief sometimes pushes out the worst of us, rather than the best of us; and we don’t turn into villains or “reformed heroes”; sometimes we just turn into quiet, forlorn people. (We saw something similar in Juri’s narrative later on) That’s sad, but very realistic. Media sometimes doesn’t really like to acknowledge this aspect of humanity, since it’s even more of a downer (unless it’s a villain origin story/character turning evil), but it’s certainly a reality. There’s also the element of self-sacrifice in BlackWarGreymon and Oikawa’s narrative, and framed in a way that you could read into a suicide reading of it. Again, if this is the “kiddy” season, according to the competitive stans, why do we have such heavy themes in it?

Come to mind, aside from the villainous characters, only one sympathetic character dies in Tamers. (Leomon) (Juri’s mother dies as well but that’s backstory) His death leads to a lot of events that occur later on, sure, but it’s only one death. Compared to Piximon, Wizardmon, Adventure!Leomon, and the deaths from 02, it feels rather small.

And when I’m talking about death, I mean the death has to affect us because it has to be the death of a sympathetic character, or a character we got to know and like. Villains die in all types of media so unless you’re a villain stan, the narrative, for the most part, doesn’t want us to shed tears when the Myotismon-type villains die. This goes the same for nameless, faceless extras. Many shows try to attempt showing massive manslaughter as a reason for us to “care” the story is mature, but our caring only goes so far. We care when a character we like dies. We don’t really shed tears when a bunch of nameless extras die (And this is a problem I also see with adult media like Invincible or Watchmen, but people don’t usually praise those stories with a “people die, therefore it’s good” excuse- like the incorrect praise some people give Tamers).

Alright, so Adventure and 02 had heavy themes, yes, that cannot be denied. Tamers also had it, questioning morality, redemption and humanity. The people probably had the perception of Tamers being “darker” because of the new setting and the marketing surrounding it (those ads that were “not your grandma’s digimon”); that probably lead to it. It’s serious, yes, and the pacing is different from Adv02, but I wouldn’t say it is nihilistic after all. The narrative displays that the hope and illusions of children is what ends up saving the day over the cynicism of adults, after all; the Digi-gnomes are there to wish away, like magic, any element that the techno-babble can’t solve; and Ruki’s narrative is about how opening up to others leads to her strength flourishing. I wouldn’t see those are nihilistic messages. The series also has the first 12 episodes being pretty light on themes, and we have lots of silly filler moments/episodes that wouldn’t be out of place in Adv02 canon.

Still, it’s not like Tamers isn’t dark, since the second arc fully delves into it, but I also feel it’s pretty much an extension of what we saw with Ken’s backstory and Oikawa’s. What the series is that it’s a little more “aloof”, since Adv02 often didn’t mind engulfing itself in the joys of the fantasy genre. The genre they’re based on also affects our perception of the story, since Adv02 is more traditional fantasy ala Narnia, and Tamers grabs from sci-fi like the Matrix. Often fantasy has often been the realm of escapist, whimsical narratives, and often have a more lightweight tone; whereas sci-fi, by taking elements from real life science and technology, and attempting to portray it in a manner that’s plausible, has to be serious for us to be invested in it and say “yeah, I could see that happening”.

Alright, so what lead to the idea is probably the marketing, wanting to point out that this universe was different from the Adv02 canon. Okay, we can buy that. But what also lead the fandom to think this was as dark as they could imagine? Again, I have to reiterate, yes, the series is dark, I'm not denying the impact of Juri’s trauma and how that aided in the narrative, but what I'm saying is that it’s not new to Digimon; since we saw elements of that in previous seasons as well.

What I also think affected was probably the changes made by the dub for the English audiences (which meant the audiences who watched Digimon in the USA...But also Canada, the UK, New Zealand...wherever they spoke English and the Digimon anime was exported to; unless they made a new English dub for that specific region (in which case correct me if I'm wrong)). The Eng dub is...infamous for killing a lot of serious moments with corny or misplaced humor, which probably lead to a lot of Eng. speaking fans to think the show was just another cheesy brainless kid’s cartoon, and therefore wouldn’t tackle mature subjects seriously. I heard Adv and 02 had a really bad case of Stupid Jokes Dub, and that by the time of Tamers the crew got to dubbing the third season the practice had diminished. So, the season that had a dark second part coincided with less jokes in the dub. The coincidence is what probably lead to most fans think of it that way “less jokes = more serious”, never mind that in the original JP dub, the element of seriousness was there from the start in the first season. It doesn’t mean the show was a funeral, either, but it knew better to balance its comedy from its drama (you wouldn’t hear about pizza jokes coming from the final villain named after the Apolapyse, is all I’m saying)

Is it dark? Is all of Digimon dark (or at least, the first four seasons, whom had some of the same crew members during most of their productions, therefore would share elements in common like character designers and composers)? Yes....Compared to other kid’s media we were subjected to at the time. I think I’m safe to say that most Digimon fans probably eschew older, and I'm probably correct when writing this that most of us are from the Western Hemisphere. If so, we probably watched the same cartoons/kid’s shows growing up. And, barring a few exceptions (and barring anime as a whole, since that’s a whole other thing), most media aimed at children didn’t try to be either dark, or deep, or realistic in the 80s/90s. At the time Digimon came out and we were exposed to it, most other shows we watched at our age were probably zany comedies about kids or anthro animals getting into shenanigans. The occasionally Disney movie probably as well, but they also barely if ever dipped their toes into genuinely dark or complex things. Unless your only exposure to media was other anime, super specific niche stuff or action/adventure shows like the DCAU or X-Men, chances are most cartoons we viewed were very light on themes and cheesy (and don’t get me wrong, I love most of the media I grew up with, but we gotta state the facts as they are; I also would think I’d be a sad, pathetic person If I only stood watching on a loop the same stuff I watched as an 8 year old well into my adulthood and never watching newer more age-appropriate things). Serious topics like death or depression or religious imagery (unless it was religious media) just didn’t feature in kid’s shows. Remember, this was the time before ATLA came over, and anime just started to gain mainstream recognition. So Digimon coming over and being open about death, trauma, divorce, exitentialism, etc, at the same target audience who would be watching Pokemon or Rugrats afterwards...Yeah, total cognitive dissonance. So you have millennials growing up, recalling the series for nostalgia’s sake (since they go on and watch different things as they grow up), and then going “omg yeah, totes dark”

And that’s the beauty of Digimon, isn’t it? That it wasn’t dumbed down? If it was just a simple brainless comedy mush with the most basic one-note characters, we wouldn’t be fans of it still talking about it to this day (unless we’re just nostalgia stans and manchildren unable to move on, but uuuh, that’s a subject for another day).

So that’s why I think Tamers is as dark as most seasons, probably just a little bit more because of the pacing and its focus at sci-fi elements (which often are more “serious” than fantasy elements, but that’s an aspect of most media I think), but It’s perception of it being the ‘’goth season’’ feels very overblown by non-fans I feel (and tans making it a competition, but eh, fandom wouldn’t be fandom if you didn’t have ‘’stans’’ making everything a competition).

#Digimon meta #digimon tamers #digimon tamers meta #digimon 02 #digimon 02 meta #mine

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