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Post by Diego Lacosta Santos on Nov 7, 2019 2:28:21 GMT
"Empty my mind of all thought..."
"Should be easy for you!" There was no malice or ill intent in Psychemon's teasing, but that didn't mean it didn't bother Diego. The whole point of this meditation exercise was supposed to be that calmness and serenity, outside and in, was supposed to help the young man be a little less anxious in his everyday life. The only problem is there were two minds in his skull, and he only had any control over half of them.
"Psychemon, please." The conversation was one-sided from the point of view of most people. It looked and sounded like this 13-year-old was just muttering to himself. Only he could hear the constant interjections of the spirit of the mind, and he had no direct control over them. The best he could do was try to bargain with it. "I can't do this if you... do that." "Well what am I s'posed to do?" "Do it with me." "I don't wanna! It sounds boring!" "I'm begging you, please." Diego was taking measures to make sure at least he didn't make himself a public spectacle. He was off any of the beaten paths, plopped himself right down in the middle of the grass with hopefully no one around him. He was also trying to keep his voice down, but as Psychemon continued to upset him his volume rose slightly. "I need to try this. But I can't do it unless you do it with me. It's not gonna work if my head is quiet but yours keeps buzzing. Can you just do it for... for a half hour? Please?"
"...OK. You said please." At last! Diego sighed out of a huge relief, one of very few he seemed to get anymore. As he finally closed his eyes and attempted to relax, she added, "But I'm keeping time," breaking his concentration yet again. "Stop it!" he finally broke out and yelled.
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Post by Toki Akiyama on Nov 7, 2019 11:33:52 GMT
The day had been peaceful. Toki's classes were going well, miraculously. Despite the break he took to deal with recent tragedies, he somehow managed to hold onto the work ethic he's held for most of his life. In fact, the studying and focusing on his human world life was the breath of fresh air that he needed to clear his mind of the recent traumas he had faced. Still, his mind wandered to the Digital World again after he finished reading a chapter in his school book. As much as this break had been good for him, he wanted to return soon. That world was just as important as this one was to him now, and it still needed help.
He closed his book and looked up at the sky with a genuine smile. "Another step forward..." He said to himself. "Maybe soon both worlds will be able to walk side by side and take the next step in history together." He mused. That was the ideal scenario for him. So many feared the Digimon. Some for legitimate reasons, though others because they didn't understand them. Digimon feared humans for the same reason. Were they really so different in that case?
Toki's pondering was cut short when he heard the loud, distressed yelling of a boy. Not wanting to leave him when he was clearly distressed, Toki figured he'd approach him. He knelt down near them and offered a sympathetic smile with not a hint of judgment in his expression "Hey there. You alright?" He asked. "Something's clearly bothering you...is there something you'd like to talk about or get off your chest? I can't promise I can offer any life changing advice, but having someone to listen to can really help a lot." There was a sincerity in his voice. He didn't seem like the kind of person to mock or ridicule.
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Post by Diego Lacosta Santos on Nov 8, 2019 0:32:32 GMT
Another strong big issue with the move to Japan? The language barrier. Diego could hardly speak a word of it. However, he got by with a little help from someone who did. The only problem? She was keeping her trap shut for once. For a little while, Diego put on his best neutral straight face (whose effectiveness was boosted by lots of practice and experience) and waited patiently for Psychemon to tell Diego exactly what this older stranger had just said to him. It typically happened at the speed of thought without any further prodding for him. She didn't. He waited another second. She didn't. Diego kept trying to maintain his straight face, but it wasn't working. His teeth showed in an awkward smile. His eyes got a bit wide. He felt a little hot under the collar. Boy, this was awkward, wasn't it? It looked like Diego was gonna have to take some initiative to get this whole interaction moving again. He tried to move his lips as little as possible and make himself inaudible to Toki as he uttered, "...Psychemon?"
"Oh, I can talk now?"
"Yes, please..."
"Make up your mind already!"
Finally! Psychemon rapidly relayed Toki's message. She even know what Diego wanted to say and helped him pronounce his own answer. "I'm fine, thanks." The boy meant to be polite but curt, but the fact was he was naturally slightly suspicious of an older stranger approaching him. "I was just giving a try to this- this meditation thing." From his tone, it was apparent it wasn't really working."And I... talk to myself sometimes. I just don't- I mean, I do- I do that sometimes. It's normal. For me."
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Post by Toki Akiyama on Nov 8, 2019 11:38:36 GMT
Toki tilted his head worriedly as he took a while to respond to Toki's questions. Must be wary of strangers, which was perfectly understandable all things considered. He didn't look Japanese, so maybe he struggled speaking the language very well. Still, Toki patiently waited and sat down a ways away, legs crossed. He gestured to himself "I'm Toki Akiyama. Nice to meet you." He said, a little slower this time. Being in a different country where you couldn't speak the language well must have been really stressful.
Eventually, he spoke, though it began with a few mutterings that Toki couldn't quite hear. Then he thanked Toki for his worries "Don't mention it. You just seemed so stressed out, I figured I'd see what was wrong. Did you just move here? I can imagine how difficult it must be to live in a place you're unfamiliar with."
He looked interested once he mentioned meditation "Ah, meditating are we? That's a healthy habit to get into. Really good for clearing your mind and relaxing. I come from a family of martial artists, so trust me when I say I understand how valuable it can be." He said, that optimistic attitude beaming through.
"Talk to yourself, huh?" He crossed his arms and thought for a moment. "I don't see a problem with that. I do it from time to time myself. It can help me keep things in order if I don't have a chance to write something down or just need to focus on something." He looked around, wondering who exactly he was telling to shut up. "Hm." Since no one seemed to be around, at least no one that was interacting with the kid, Toki had a thought. Without directly saying anything, he took out his Digivice and idly scrolled through the menus. If his suspicions were true, he'd talk more about it. If they weren't, he'd pass off the device as something he had custom made.
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Post by Diego Lacosta Santos on Nov 11, 2019 1:54:44 GMT
Most people might have thought that was an appropriate time to leave the child in peace. Toki, apparently not. At the very least, Diego was able to get the young man's name and greeting without Psychemon's help, that being a completely everyday occurrence. Most of the rest of it, though, he missed on his own. He would've just stood there staring and looking like a moron the whole time if the helper in his head weren't interpreting it all for him at the speed of thought. Nonetheless, who was this guy? I guess if the worst comes to worst... Psychemon can take care of him.
Not that Toki was acting suspicious, really. If anything there was a bit of charm to his unusually sincere calm optimism. Besides, Psychemon wasn't expressing any suspicion. "Psychemon?" he mumbled. "Seems cool to me. Just a goody two-shoes who saw a kid screaming at a tree."
So the boy watched without objection as the stranger took a seat across from him and elaborated. The stranger was sympathizing with Diego being uprooted and apparently knew a thing or two about meditation. "So it works for you?" Psychemon taught Diego how to say in Japanese, this time in good enough time not to disrupt the flow of conversation. His Uruguayan accent was still thick and very noticeable, but his grammar and pronunciation were technically correct. "Well, you're right. It's been a few months, but still. You know martial arts?" Apparently these two had a little common ground, even more than Toki could have reasonably suspected. "I do Brazilian jujitsu!" His speech was becoming noticeably more confident as time went on.
"So if you know how to meditate, maybe you could help..." The reason Diego trailed off wasn't because he lacked confidence in asking for help. Heck, at this rate, he needed just about any he could get. His pause was because Toki intentionally exposed his big secret - intentionally, for sure. Diego couldn't be fooled quite that easily. What were the odds of that kind of coincidence? But even more shocking, the boy recognized the model. It wasn't like that other boy's. It was like his. Diego jumped to his feet. "What is that?" Of course he knew what it was. That was just an expression of surprise. In his excitement he had reverted to his native Spanish, but he repeated himself in Japanese. He then pursed his lips and spoke low. "...How did you know?"
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Post by Toki Akiyama on Nov 16, 2019 4:24:55 GMT
"Yeah it works. I try not to do it in a crowd, of course, but when I'm by myself and trying to get things done, it helps out a lot more than people think." He said. He smiled when Diego showed interest in martial arts, and even seemed to study one himself! "Ah, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu? That's really popular in the mixed-martial arts circle isn't it? My family runs a dojo for Kyokushin Karate."
He listened to Diego as he mused and thought about how Toki could help out when he seemed shocked at Toki's Digivice. He sighed a bit and gave him a sympathetic smile. His Spanish exclamation wasn't lost on him, either. "I figured as much. Now, since it's clear you have one of these too, how long have you had it? Someone your age with this kind of Digivice? I'll admit that's a little worrying, but I'll answer as many questions about this as you want, okay?"
Toki advocated for the coexistence of Humans and Digimon, but worried about the implications of a kid being a Spirit Wielder. It was arguably the most dangerous type to be for a human. Sure tamers couldn't defend themselves very well, but they could hang back from the main conflicts. "Tell me, does your spirit talk to you? Have they been bothering you at all? If so, I hope it hasn't been an unpleasant experience..."
"How to explain this...you and I are called Spirit Users. Or Spirit Wielders. Or Spirit Warriors...we got a lot of names. We use spirits of Digimon to transform our bodies when we have to fight for whatever reason. We're just one of many kind of people connected to Digimon. Am I going too fast?" He asked as he ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Well, in any case, I'm going to assume your spirit can speak. Mine...used to...but something happened and now he's dormant. Likely forever." He said sadly. "In short, I know what you're going through." He said. He would wait and see if Diego had anything to say about this, and he was pretty sure he did.
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Post by Diego Lacosta Santos on Nov 18, 2019 2:53:13 GMT
Brazilian jiu-jitsu: a martial art that revolved around grappling and taking a fight to the ground. With an emphasis on leverage, holds and locks, and the idea that a smaller, weaker person may still win an engagement, it was about perfect for Diego, being plenty fit but short in stature even for his age. But there was no time for the boy to go into his reasons for choice of discipline: there was a far more profound subject at hand. "He's like you!"
"I can see that."
"And the other kids!
"That was implied, Psychemon."
"But he's old!"
Diego covered his mouth. It wasn't to cover the fact that he was mumbling to Psychemon - obviously that ship had sailed - but it seemed polite to obscure the rare guffaw that the spirit had almost elicited from him. He also thought it best not to reveal what it was that got that reaction from him. "...Yeah. She talks." A pause. "What? Why do you care?" That wasn't meant for Toki, which he could probably tell from the way the boy stopped eye contact. Diego's hand shot to his head. A migraine? It sure didn't last long. "Apparently, she wants credit for talking this whole time. My Japanese needs work. She helps me with that. Happy now?" She probably was, because Diego's temple didn't sting him again.
Diego let Toki go on. Most of the information wasn't new. He knew what they called him. He knew what he could do. He knew there were other spirits in other people. What he didn't know was what he read between the lines of Toki's explanation: there were people who had been a part of this whole insanity for a lot longer than himself and, perhaps more profoundly, who had it all figured out. That was what he gathered from the young man's general confidence and forwardness, anyway. Did he have questions? Oh, boy, did he have questions. The only problem was that they were the same questions everyone had: how? Why? How many?
But there were two more specific questions Diego thought Toki might actually be able to answer. "How did you finally get him to be quiet?" The tone and wording might have revealed something about his view of hosting a spirit. "And- and why do we always have to fight?" Each of Diego's hands gripped the opposite arm's upper arm. "Teacher always said the second most important part of survival is learning how to fight. The most important part is learning how to not fight. But ever since she came- I can't do that anymore."
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Post by Toki Akiyama on Nov 20, 2019 2:38:13 GMT
Toki just smiled patiently as it seemed like Diego got into a slight argument with the spirit. It looked like they preferred to communicate solely with Diego, unless that was all they were capable of. It took a few seconds to realize that sometimes he was talking to his spirit and not to him, but he was patient. He was well used to that sort of feeling. "Ah, so you're struggling with Japanese...I understand. Good for her on helping you translate."
Something about their relationship was a little troubling though. They bickered. A lot. It was almost like Psychemon wasn't being considerate of Diego's well-being or feelings, though he remained quiet for a moment as he waited for Diego to ask him some questions.
That first question, however, was something he didn't appreciate hearing. He frowned for a moment, then understood the relationship between Diego and his spirit. They didn't seem to like each other, at all. "I didn't. He sacrificed himself to save my life. He used his energy to reconstruct corrupted data for our last spirit totem, and that took everything he had." He sighed as he tried to figure out what else to say without getting too angry with Diego. He couldn't have known "I wish he was still here. He gave the best advice and helped me work through a lot of my problems. I became a better person because of him."
Diego's second question took him a little while to come up with some kind of answer "We don't have to fight. I go to great lengths to resolve every situation I come across peacefully. Anyone who says that a Digimon's sole purpose is to fight is clearly lying to you. As for why we fight...? Well I'll agree with you, learning how to not fight is more important, but sometimes things happen and you need to defend yourself and others. Now what do you mean you can't do that anymore since she came to you?" He asked, completely serious as he narrowed his eyes "She's not forcing you to fight others is she? If she is...well, I hope she's listening. He is not someone for you to control and take advantage of. Let him decide how to handle a situation. If there is danger and he would prefer to avoid it, then let him. If he wants to handle a situation peacefully, let him. Fighting should be a last resort or if there's immediate danger to others. Or for friendly sport, but that's a completely different topic."
He crossed his arms and thought about what else to say "The two of you, mostly your spirit in this case, need to make adjustments for each other. Don't distress him, don't force him to do or say things he doesn't want to. That's not how this works. Figure out a way to get along and grow alongside each other through this difficult time in your lives. Do I make myself clear?"
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Post by Diego Lacosta Santos on Nov 21, 2019 4:10:27 GMT
Psychemon was swelling with pride based on the compliment Toki had just given her. Diego knew it. It wasn't some sixth sense or anything; he just knew her.
What he didn't know, apparently, was Toki's spirit and their relationship. It was alien to Diego that Toki claimed to go through much the same as himself and yet felt so different about it. Toki was acting sad about his spirit's dormancy. Really sad. The boy wasn't good at hiding just how taken aback he was by that. He lowered his voice somewhat out of guilt as he mumbled, "...Sorry for your loss," while not even sure if he actually should be. How could it not be a good thing? Hadn't Toki been able to go back to normal life and have his head to himself again? What could he be missing? The young man at least had more intuitive advice for digimon and fighting. It made sense. Being part digimon, or hosting one, or... whatever, it didn't change that not fighting was still better, and it didn't suddenly make some fights necessary. That was already true. If it weren't, well, the martial arts may not even exist. That, Diego realized, was still the same as it had ever been.
But Toki misunderstood what the boy had meant about having to fight. Diego could have just corrected him calmly, but Psychemon? She didn't have quite so much self control. "D, I gotta give this one a piece of my mind."
"What? Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" Again, Diego broke eye contact and murmured in Spanish. That wasn't for Toki, but from his expression and rapid speaking he was still very urgent with his message.
Psychemon preempted him. "I'm not gonna take over, D! But he was talking right to me, and no human's ever done that before. Let me talk back, kid. I deserve that."
"...OK." Diego looked back to Toki and switched tongues yet again. He was still speaking with his normal tone of voice and didn't change his demeanor, and that was because it was still him consciously speaking. He did, however, vary his phrasing patterns and choice of words. That was the message he was relaying. "'First of all, I haven't made D do anything. And you know what? I could. I'm the spirit of the mind. I'm in his head. I could suppress his free will any time I wanted, and he can't stop me. But y'know what, buster?'"
"Walk closer. Talk angrier." Diego shook his head. He'd be a messenger, but he wasn't getting paid enough to act it out for her convincingly. "I don't. I don't wanna! Humans and digimon, it's true for both of ya: our minds are the only thing we have that no one should ever, ever be able to take away. It'd be sick, sick, sick for me to do that to him all willy-nilly, and I'm not gonna. I only ever did that once, and y'know what? I had to. That Solarmon was PO'd, and this guy wouldn't even use my power. I had to save my own hide and his! He's not saying I make him fight 'cause I tell him what to do. Oh, no, he hardly listens to me anyway. I know why he said it. He thinks everything about his life was better without me, and that's all he wants: to put my pieces back together and get rid of me. Y'know what? If he said to jump, I'd ask how high. It's his body and his head. He darn well knows I would, too, but he just wants the one thing from me I can't give him: to get gone. You wanna talk about making it work and getting along? Start with him." There was a pause at that point. "¿Terminaste?" another brief pause. "...Everyone says I'm sick. I am sick. I see monsters and portals and even people who say they see it all, too. She's the reason I'll never have my life or my old friends back, and my parents think I'm-" Diego interrupted himself. Maybe best not to go too deep down the rabbit hole before someone he'd known ten minutes. "-I bet you get people to talk lie that all the time." That was supposed to be a sincere compliment but also a diversion.
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Post by Toki Akiyama on Nov 22, 2019 14:41:01 GMT
He smiled softly at Diego's condolences "Thank you. Really. It means a lot to hear someone say that. He would be appreciative too." He said. It was honest gratitude. Just hearing that sympathy was enough to bring up his mood a little bit, though he didn't like asking for it.
However, it seemed Diego's spirit took offense to what Toki had to say. He flinched and stepped back a little bit at the angry...well, supposedly angry, ranting by the spirit being almost comically transcribed by Diego in a less than threatening manner. He appreciated her blunt honesty about their situation. "Well in that case, thank you for getting him out of trouble. Sometimes you have to fight to defend yourself...what else are you going to do if someone means you harm and there's no possibility of getting them to just back off with words?"
He thought about the rest of Psychemon's words "I'm sorry I doubted you. I just wanted to have all the bases covered. I take this sort of thing very seriously, and it's evident you do too." He said. He was saddened that Diego wanted the spirit gone. He wanted nothing to do with her and wanted to be rid of her as soon as possible. "Well that's your first problem. As long as the two of you are together, why not try and be friends and understand each other? You may find life becoming a little clearer if you do. For both of you. If you just try to get rid of them like this, you're just stressing yourself out. Making yourself miserable."
He tilted his head as Diego confessed that people think he's sick. After contemplating what he meant for a few moments, Toki scowled and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "For all that is good..." He muttered "...This is why this shouldn't be a secret...!" He said, all of his willpower focused on keeping his cool. "You're not sick. That's ridiculous. Those portals? Real. Those people? Real? They're as real as I am, and if you don't believe I'm real, then...well I honestly don't know how exactly I'd prove that. You heard what happened at Golden Week? Look it up, you'll probably see some interesting, if not heavily censored articles. Unless they did complete media blackout on that..." he said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"The Digital World is a real place if you haven't been there yet. If you have, then it wasn't a fever dream." He said as he crossed his arms. "Are you sure it's her fault? Or is it the others who treat you that way? Is it anyone's fault, really? This is misinformation at its ugliest."
He didn't really know what to say next. He stayed silent for a little while before finally saying "I won't lie. Your life probably won't go back to the way it was. But that doesn't have to be a bad thing. Even if you somehow lose her, these experiences will stick with you for better or worse. Hey, that's life though. Good and bad experiences."
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