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The Feeling of Independence (Open Thread)
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Post by Mikazuki Nakamura on Sept 22, 2019 15:24:14 GMT
How could one truly describe the surreal experience of being alone in another reality and yet feel... at ease there, despite almost dying there with no one but two kids for comfort?
Such was the question Mikazuki was asking himself as he comfortably sat on a bench at the local plaza and let the wind wash over him while Lopmon ate an apple absentmindedly. Once, this would have made him sad but now? It was a quiet day to ponder just how exhilarating the situation was. He didn't stop loving the everloving snot out of his family, but to be away from them and fending on his own? It did wonders for his Ego.
"Hey Lop-Chan?" He prompted the digimon, who just turned to address the question. "Is it wrong that i'm very glad to be here? Like... to the point where i don't miss my family?"
Silence came as the beast pondered what to say for a moment. "Well, considering you've always had people around you, from what i've been told by Yuko and Junpei, it does make sense." The bunny explained with a surprisingly wise streak in his tone. "The most exhilarating feeling for a beast is the notion of its own strength. To know that it doesn't need others to fend for itself." he turned towards his tamer with a smile and jumped on his head, deftly balancing himself in it. "Maybe such is the feeling going through your head right now. Human or Digimon, all animals have their instincts. You're just getting in touch with them for the first time."
Mikazuki's face was one of surprise at the words of his companion. "That was... were you always this intelligent, Lop-chan?" he asked, prompting a bit of a smug laugh from his companion, who proceeded to jump back into his lap and grab the apple again. "You never asked." it prompted, finishing the apple. "Now how about you get those hands working and scratch my head a bit?" The tone was demanding yet playful and Mikazuki, being the lovable oaf he was, was more than willing to oblige, as shown by the hearty laugh. "My wish is your command, Lop-chan!"
And thus, there the two were, playing like boy and pet, both just having a quiet time beneath the shadow of a tree.
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Post by Alan Pantell on Sept 22, 2019 17:52:05 GMT
A blonde young man and a Veemon wearing a grey ivy cap where also enjoying themselves that day in Whitewater. In addition to being a gorgeous locale, they secretly enjoyed the company of some of the more... what was the word... "promiscuous" individuals to be found there. However, during the day, it was mostly the sun shining over the walkways, and the cool ocean breeze they partook in.
"...Seriously, Alan, you always wear sweatshirts when it makes zero sense," said the Veemon, these being the first words that the pair on a nearby bench would be able to make out, if they listened closely to the others approaching.
"Correction:" stated the human boy, "I always wear sweatshirts. So I wear them when it does make sense, too." It was then that the human and the dragon caught sight of another tamer-and-digimon pair sitting near them as they were passing by. Far enough away to not be suspicious, they eavesdropped a short while. It was interesting to meet new people, especially when they were tamers and other digidestined they had never seen before.
"It's true," Alan slipped into the conversation after not hearing much. "It's a good feeling, knowing you've got strength. But if I could tell ya now... no matter how much strength you have, no matter how many challenges you can overcome alone... sometimes isolation is what crushes you."
"Well, that's pretty rude, barging into a conversation just to project your problems onto them~" teased Levi.
"Hey! I'm just saying! Maybe they already know! Can't hurt to say it!" Alan would turn to Mikazuki and the Lopmon. "Speaking of isolation, would you mind if we joined you? I always like meeting new people! I'm Alan!"
"And I'm Levi!"
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Post by Mikazuki Nakamura on Sept 22, 2019 23:23:02 GMT
"Hm?" Lopmon could only stare at the two, trying his best to read them. The Digimon seemed friendly if only a bit too snarky for his tastes. The human, on the other hand, seemed wiser and more well-inclined than the usual company Mikazuki kept around. So he only jumped back into the floor as he watched the blue dragon with a neutral gaze.
Meanwhile, Mikazuki was more than happy to jump up and, despite towering over the other teen, a wide smile plastered on his face. "Hey there, Alan and Levi!" he greeted with a lot more energy than necessary. "I'm Mikazuki Nakamura, and this is Lopmon but I like to call him Lop-Chan! Nice to meet you!" And thus, Mika stepped forward as if he was about to give his new acquaintance a hug, but stopped himself at the last minute, settling for a handshake.
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Post by Alan Pantell on Sept 23, 2019 18:08:12 GMT
Alan smiled at the excited greeting he received from Mikazuki. Ah, he remembered when he was that fresh and excited...
Oh, who was he kidding? Alan went giddy every time someone new approached him, and he would have had it no other way!
"It's nice to meet you two, too, Mikazuki." He turned and bowed to Lopmon. "Lop-san." "Yup, it's a pleasure!" added Levi, his excitement not feigned in the slightest.
Well, now it was up to them to keep the conversation going, and that would be pretty easy. Being a tamer gave people plenty of topics to use. "I take it based on your conversation earlier that you two are a relatively new team? First of all, congratulations! It's a wonderful thing, as long as you treat each other well and don't get reckless until you know you can afford it. I can give you some advice, if you want! A disclaimer, though: nobody can be absolutely sure what the "right" way to go about things is. Your best bet is to ask lots of different people for what they've learned based on experiences, and usually you can apply that to yourself in some way."
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Post by Mikazuki Nakamura on Sept 24, 2019 15:31:28 GMT
That was a lot to take in at once.
Not that Mika didn't get it, of course, but the better part of the seconds was spent on him smiling and nodding while silent as his mind wrapped itself around all the volume of information that was presented to him. "Will do! Thanks for the info, Alan-Chan!" he exclaimed excitedly while Lopmon's attention focused on the Digimon in front of him. "So you don't refer to yourself by species?" it sounded curious at that, and the way it cocked his head as he appraised the V-mon in front of him was both cute and a bit awkward.
"I may have been a bit of an isolationist when it came to the customs of your species, so would you mind explaining to such a simpleton why you do so?" The bunny beast was not subtle at all about its confusion about the tradition being broken and it was not lost to his tamer.
"So... Digimon don't usually use names other than their species, Lop-chan?" the boy-giant asked, scratching his head, earning a headshake from Lopmon. "It is unusual, yes." the Digimon responded, briefly glancing at Mika. "Most of us use only our species for simplicity's sake. To find a Digimon that distinguishes itself by name is highly unorthodox."
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Post by Alan Pantell on Sept 24, 2019 16:22:02 GMT
Wow, thought Alan. Is everyone "chan" to this one? "No problem! Just so you know, I don't mind it one bit, but a lot of others would prefer you stick with "san" until they give you the go-ahead, 'least from what I understand. I'm from America, so I wouldn't want to make any presumptions myself, of course."
Levi would blink a few times back at Lopmon's question. "...Oh! Uh, yeah! To tell you the truth, I don't actually remember if I came up with this name or someone else did, but it helps to be distinguished whenever there are multiple Veemon about. It's common for other species to not be able to pick up on subtle differences in appearance that members of a species can amongst themselves. But I'll have to agree with you on the "isolationist" part: it's become far more common for digimon to use unique names than I imagine it has been in the past! Not that I mind being called "Veemon" every now and then."
Alan would then continue to make small talk. "So I take it you haven't known each other long. I'd ask you how you met, but we don't really like answering the same question, so... What brings you to Whitewater? A recommendation? Just exploring? We tend to go wherever we want just for the heck of it, so we can relate to that!"
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Post by Mikazuki Nakamura on Oct 3, 2019 14:58:24 GMT
"We, um..." Mika shyly rubbed the back of his head as he tried explaining the situation. "Kinda got pulled into this world by total accident and just... settled here until we can return. My friends, Yuu-chan and Junpei-kun, and I were having a good time swimming around in the river back at shibuya until a portal sucked us in... in only our swimsuits." he laughed at that, prompting his partner to jump onto his lap and allow Mika to pet him. "Then we found Lopchan along with Scout-chan and Jokah-chan. They saved us from a rogue Wendigomon and we've been here since."
The explanation was prompted by Lopmon releasing a content sigh and curling its ears as it started napping. "They brought us here aaaaaaand that's the end of it."
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Post by ryouta on Oct 3, 2019 17:33:19 GMT
"Hmmm? Levi, Alan, is that you?"
There's not much point in wearing much clothes, but apparently today Valt the XVmon (instead of his usual Vmon form) is in what looks like a hula shirt. Strangely it doesn't look too much out of place with his vacation shades. The dragon is holding what looked like a tropical punch.
"Fancy seeing you two here. Are you here for vacation too?"
"Hmmm? Valt, what's up?"
And there he is, the partner of the XVmon. Thankfully not in that sort of tacky clothes, but instead in beach parka, sleeveless to accommodate his arms size. He's not wearing anything underneath. Said clothing is accompanied with swimming trunks and sandal. Ryouta looks a bit wet too from swimming. "Huh? Mika, is that you? So you're chosen too huh... Oh, Alan and Levi too... that's interesting combo." Ryouta commented.
"Ahh, righteo, you're the kiddo Aniki helped that got lost before, yeah yeah..." Valt nodded. "Found your friend OK? Did you guys took the wrong train or what that you ended up in Digital World?"
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Post by Alan Pantell on Oct 3, 2019 18:54:23 GMT
Alan tilted his head with some bewilderment at one part of Mikazuki's story, though he understood the rest. "Wait... you were having fun? Swimming in the Shibuya River? I'm not judging - I want to be sure I heard correctly! But anyway, whether you want to return home or not, there's a train station that leads back the Shibuya over in Terminus City. They also sell devices over at the city's mall that let you make portals to and from each world. Surprisingly cheap! But that's just for your information; you don't have to return if you don't want to, or have any other reason not to. After all, we-"
"Valt-sensei!" called Levi, recognizing the approaching ExVeemon. "How've you been? We've never really had any lasting committments, but if you're asking if we're not here on any sort of business, then yeah, I guess you could say we're on vacation!"
"Oh, hey, Ryouta!" said Alan. "Hey, Valt! Wait, 'interesting combo?' For the record, we only met Mika and Lopmon a few minutes ago, ya know. Man, you really know a lot of people."
"We're so glad you're here," chuckled Levi. "We've been having a nice chat, but we didn't want to go giving too much tamerly advice without someone far more experienced on hand!"
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Post by Mikazuki Nakamura on Oct 4, 2019 13:48:17 GMT
And then, there was glomping.
Normally, Mika would have been able to control his urges and respect the feelings of his friend. Usually, he'd just have waved his welcomes to the boy. But this time, no such luck befell the raven-haired Ryouta as suddenly Mika lunged at him with the incredible speed of a Cheetah and, almost as if ignoring the size difference between them, trapped the tamer of the X-Veemon in a bearhug strong enough to cause most people to gasp for air.
"RYOUTA-SAAAAAAAN!" he had yelled beforehand while Lopmon lost its balance and fell to the ground, clutching its head to ward away the pain of the fall.
"I'm so glad to see you here! Well, not really because it means you also got here and probably had to deal with worse things than we did, but I'm also happy becauseit'sbeenhorribletodealwithallthiseversincewegottothe" Mika inhaled deeply and yet again started motor mouthing as he told the tale of his disappearance from the real world and journeys into the Digital World. Needless to say, there was a lot to tell and he continued hugging the boy.
Lopmon sighed as he suddenly apologized to the two Digimon "Apologies for this. Now, if you'll excuse me." he took a sprinting stance and suddenly leapt up, kicking Mika in the back.
The effect was instantaneous as the big boy yelped and let go. "Lop-chaan!" he whined. "Why did you do that?!"
"You were making a fool of yourself, Mikazuki. Not to mention ignoring the other one and causing discomfort to 'Ryouta'." The explanation was followed by Lopmon bowing gracefully to the newcomers. "Apologies for the inconveniences. I am Lopmon, Mikazuki's chosen Digimon." he introduced himself, throwing the group an absolutely adorable smile. Then he turned to Alan "Thank you for all your help, Mister Alan." the bunny thanked the glass-wearing individual. "I'm sure our comrades will be pleased to know of all this."
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Post by ryouta on Oct 8, 2019 14:05:39 GMT
"Good good, just surveying nice spot for a date at later date... does that makes sense? Either way, if you guys have nothing to do why not just swim or enjoy the place? There are so many things to do in Whitewater, considering how it's pretty much the tourism spot for Digital World. Even if you're not into extreme sports r what have you, at the very least you should try doing a bit of relaxation in this city."
Though honestly, what's up with the huge guy hugging Ryouta outta sudden? Valt just raised a nonexistent eyebrow. He knows that there are some people who immediately go for hug, but...
"Riiiight, can you... release me, please, Mika?"
...Seriously, ever the hyper guy huh.
"Right, I won't get it if you don't talk to me slowly, you know... So what happened? You got transferred here outta random or what? And Alan I just meant it's funny to have two acquaintances together in same place. "
Comrades huh... So he's not alone. "I guess you're with your two friends got transferred here? Did you guys tried to explore about Shibuya's Seven Mysteries or something so you ended up in Digital World?"
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Post by Alan Pantell on Oct 11, 2019 18:36:57 GMT
Alan thought about what they could do at Whitewater for a moment. "I think swimming would be pretty fun; I don't really do it often enough."
"Yeah! We should all go swimming together! And we'll splash each other with tidal waves!" cheered Levi, though he would quickly add, "D-don't... don't actually do that, I don't think the humans or... anyone else at the beach would appreciate it."
The sudden display of affection to Ryouta would come as a shock to them. They weren't put off by it, but it seemed that Ryouta and Valt might have been. "Y-Yeah, I don't think they're really the touchy-feely types, for future reference..."
It was true that Alan and Levi were also curious about the details of Mika's arrival in the digital world, but they didn't want to pry too much, especially after someone else was already asking. "So... I take it everyone here's available then? Would you all like to go swimming together, or maybe get a bite to eat? We can continue talking somewhere a bit more comfortable, I'd say."
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Post by Mikazuki Nakamura on Oct 13, 2019 19:54:46 GMT
After a sigh and effort to get back as acting as his tamer's hat, Lopmon described the experience yet again in better detail than Mikazuki could. "Actually, he and his two friends were dragged here through the portal underneath the Shibuya River after going there for a swim." the bunny explained. "We met after they fell and a Wendigomon decided it would be an exquisite pastime to gorge itself on our data or their meat. We managed to drive it off, but it wasn't easy."
Mika nodded, almost shaking Lopmon off his head (much to his frustration) and confirmed every part of the story.
And then they all suggested Swimming.
Two things happened at that moment. A) the bunny digital creature's countenance turned to one of dread while Mika's was even more radiant than before. "Do we?! Heck yeah i do!" he exclaimed, pumping his hand into the air excitedly. "I haven't eaten the entire day and It's been years since i went swimming at sea!" And with that, the boy-giant sprinted forward, waving to the other males and their V-mons to follow along, nearly dropping Lop-chan in the process.
Meanwhile, the smaller digimon could only look as deadpan as a priest in an atheist convention. "Somebody smite me..." was all he could grumble in response.
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Post by ryouta on Oct 19, 2019 16:32:22 GMT
"...Ha!?" leaked out of Ryouta's mouth without him able to stop it. He quickly looked at Valt, who... looked as confused as he is. He honestly had no idea if he heard this right, but...
"...Alright, alright, pause. Mika, repeat that again?" should he did, he just... looked at the boy blankly. "...Question, did anyone forces any of you to do that? As a dare maybe?"
...he can't think anyone who would.... voluntarily jumps in that river honestly. One, it's dirty, two, it's riddled with trashes, junks from Digital World... and three, public image. He guess Mika wouldn't care so much about it, but seriously? He wouldn't even try to jump to that tall canal either... What on earth...?
"...Mika... next time please don't swim in there, alright? There are pools, there are.... better places to cool off... I don't know what sort of river you're talking about, but for swimming ain't it."
...And honestly, it could cause more than simple injuries anyway... the river's wall is about five or so meters tall? Maybe more... Oh god, the image of people looking at people who tries to go swim there... He just hope that onlookers thinks these three are actually cleaning for trashes and not... actually swimming. Dear lord.
Anyway, time to return to his and Valt's rented seaside cabin.
"Let's go somewhere else. I know a better place."
...Price is high, but you can certainly rent a seaside cabin (and its beach). it's small, but for private reason? It's more than enough. It's marketed toward humans rather than Digimons, and for Ryouta and Valt... Let's say they just want to find Valt good place for his small date in the future.
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Post by Alan Pantell on Oct 25, 2019 17:50:10 GMT
The fact that Mika had claimed he had gone into the Shibuya River for a swim almost slipped past Alan until Ryouta had such a strong reaction to it. After this, the boy wouldn't say anything to interrupt him, but his eyes certainly widened a bit, and he shook off the shocked expression for a more thoughtful, polite one. "Yes... I would hope that you're talking about a different Shibuya River with a different portal inside it, but that would be pretty wishful..."
This would be an improvement for two reasons, the first being that it means Mika was not swimming in a dried up trash river, and the second being that it would mean there were more portals to the digital world, and more chances for people to find it! Such were the priorities of Alan Pantell, though he was usually quiet about them, and understood why others did not see things the same way.
At that point, Ryouta would offer to lead everyone to a place he knew where they could spend time together that day. "Alright," said Levi, "lead the way!" The Veemon had ample faith in Ryouta and Valt's tastes at this point, and was excited to see where they would be going.
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