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Post by Clive Shiriki Iliopoulos on Dec 7, 2021 15:03:53 GMT
Clive buckled up his coat as soon as he emptied his backpack of everything he didn't want to take with him. Actually, he initially considered leaving the backpack at home altogether, but he didn't want to leave without his Japanese-English dictionary. The thought made him cringe with anxiety. He quickly put his backpack back on.
He held his digivice up to his PC and suddenly felt he queasy sensation of being sucked into his computer.
When he opened his eyes, he saw a world of white and snow. He smiled in admiration and let the chill brush against his face.
As a boy from Chicago, he loved his winter snow. Unfortunately, it barely snowed in Shibuya at all--he heard that could get a dusting of snow maybe once or twice all winter. For the next week, it'd be around ten degrees Celsius, which was far too warm to wear a winter coat.
The blue-violet smartphone digivice in his hand lit up, and a small ball of fire appeared next to him.
"Desdemona, what do you think?" he asked cheerfully. "Do you like the snow?"
The demimeramon looked at all the frozen water surrounding them and stiffened. This kind of thing... She didn't like it at all! Wouldn't it put out her fire?!
Panicked, the demimeramon fled, rushing into the door of an open building.
"Desdemona?!"
Clive quickly chased after her.
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Post by ricochet6-Mandrake on Dec 8, 2021 5:09:04 GMT
Mandrake and Lothar made their way through the snow with the Wizardmon known as Mandrake waist deep in the white powder his winter clothing not helping in the snowy conditions in deep snow. Meanwhile Lothar saw his dilemma and hoisted Mandrake out of the snow settling the Wizardmon on his back basically giving him a piggyback ride. Lilly let out reptilian squeaks from within Lothar's bag clearly getting fussy with the temperature outside which was why she refused to come out until they were someplace warmer.
Soon from his perch on Lothar's back he picked up the mental signatures of two beings also out in the snow with his telepathy. "Lothar, there are two others out here but I haven't yet sensed your parents. Perhaps they aren't home right now."
"Possibly but if there is someone trying to get out of the cold, Mom and Dad's cabin is the nearest building around here. Seems like my parents will be seeing other guests than you, I, or their new granddaughter." Lothar said as he picked up his pace soon spotting what looked like a DemiMeramon zipping for his parent's cabin with a young looking human boy dashing after the fiery digimon. With powerful strides Lothar soon caught up to the boy but stuck to staying right behind the boy for the time being.
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Post by Clive Shiriki Iliopoulos on Dec 9, 2021 2:02:55 GMT
Clive's boots crunched against the snow as he raced inside, chasing his fiery friend.
The ball of flame drifted ahead of him, lighting the dark room. The curious little demimeramon looked around with a befuddled gaze as she wondered where she was this time.
"Desdemona, careful!" huffed the middle-schooler, following after her, incidentally thumping snow from his boots onto the floor.
She largely ignored him. Since she was made of fire, he was always warning her to not spread her flames all willy-nilly, and this warning just went in one ear and out the other. She observed the interior of the building, taking note of whether it was made of wood or mud as well as eyeing for any flammable objects.
Flames licked around her face while she slowly turned around to face her human.
Unfortunately, what she faced was not only her human but what looked like another human riding on top of... another muscular human-like thing with a lot of hair? He wasn't wearing as many clothes as her human or the "human" riding it was, which seemed strange to her.
She tilted her head, not quite realizing these two were digimon.
After a moment, she stiffened and raced to hide behind Clive.
The young human moved to wrap his arms around her to keep her from running about.
"What's gotten into you?" he asked softly, adjusting his glasses before noticing her nervous gaze above his head.
Feeling something amiss, Clive slowly turned around to face a lion man and... a man in a witch's hat?
"We're s-s-s-sorry!" chirped Clive in shaky Japanese as he uneasily stepped backwards. "Sh-She just got scared and raced in here! We didn't mean to break into your house!"
His heart raced a hundred beats per minute.
Desdemona, what have you gotten me into?! he wondered, somewhat accusingly.
The hood of his blue coat fell back, revealing his messy blond hair.
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Post by ricochet6-Mandrake on Dec 9, 2021 2:26:34 GMT
By the time both Mandrake and Lothar spotted the young human he had seemed to have caught up to his DemiMeramon partner and seemed to have a hold of her. Seeing the young man's reaction to them was understandable seeing as Lothar was an eight foot lion man in winter clothes but this was a reaction Mandrake himself rarely received seeing most humans didn't seem intimidated by him. Whether it was his height of four feet not including his hat or the fact that he seemed to give off a gentle aura, who knew? Either way the young man was now speaking to them in shaky Japanese. Was it because he was cold or was it because Japanese wasn't his first language? Judging by the young man's appearance, Mandrake guessed the latter and glanced at the snow which was much shallower now before indicating silently to Lothar that he wanted down. As Lothar set Mandrake down on the ground Mandrake sank a bit in the snow.
Meanwhile Lilly was not reacting well to the emotion of fear and had softly began fussing from within Lothar's bag at a volume that would be just hearable to a human as the little Jyarimon was not liking this feeling at all. Mandrake looked up a bit to meet the boy's gaze and, in Japanese, said "Don't worry. You and your friend aren't in trouble. This isn't our house but the house of my boyfriend's parents. They seem to be out at this time but were expecting myself and him. My name is Mandrake and the Leomon with me is my boyfriend Lothar." Lilly was now getting a bit louder but far from ear splitting and as Lothar reached into his bag he pulled out a fussy baby digimon with sapphire blue eyes matching Mandrake's before handing the tiny one over to Mandrake. Lilly snuggled into Mandrake's arm for warmth clearly not that fond of the cold. "And this is our daughter and youngest so far, Lilly."
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Post by Clive Shiriki Iliopoulos on Dec 9, 2021 3:00:18 GMT
Desdemona hopped out of Clive's arms and began floating behind his shoulder, not hesitating in the slightest to use him as a meat shield.
Fortunately for Clive, the two--no, actually three--digimon seemed to be pretty nice?
He listened carefully. He knew that he and Desdemona weren't in trouble, but he struggled with some other words. Kareji, kareji, he thought, thinking hard. Kareji and kanojo both started with the same Kanji, right? They were some kind of romantic friend, but he couldn't figure out which was boyfriend and which was girlfriend.
Looking at the male wizardmon, the male leomon, and the little baby, the American boy steadily reached a conclusion. He wasn't sure he understood everything properly, so he decided to check things for sure.
An "oujo" is a princess, right? So "kanojo" is probably "girlfriend" while "kareji" is "boyfriend."
He first opened his mouth and released some utterly unintelligible Japanese with a crude American dialect before starting again and speaking more slowly and carefully.
"What you are saying is that the two of you are... boyfriends? And this is the baby you adopted?" he asked uncertainly. He had no idea that digimon could have a child together, so he assumed they picked up her up from a digimon nursery. Besides, they both looked male, so they were probably men... right? "She is cute."
Desdemona's eyes flickered with interest as she peeked out at the baby digimon before it. The baby was bright red with bat wing-like ears. Too cute, but the poor thing wasn't on fire yet! Wasn't she cold?
The demimeramon sheepishly moved out from behind Clive to look at the child. Perhaps she ought to blow some fire at her to warm her up?
Clive instinctively moved his arm between the two and lightly pushed Desdemona away.
"Whatever you're thinking of doing," he said to her, "don't do it."
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Post by ricochet6-Mandrake on Dec 9, 2021 3:57:25 GMT
The young man definitely wasn't fluent in Japanese as was shown by him trying to make sense of Mandrake's words before the young man spoke himself with Japanese that was not understandable with a dialect unfamiliar to the Wizardmon but one thing was clear was that he spoke English. Then the young man went back to speaking Japanese but more slowly and carefully. Yes Mandrake and Lothar both understood English and Japanese but it seemed the middle schooler was trying to get better at speaking Japanese so Mandrake didn't interrupt. "Actually Lilly was not adopted but was created from Lothar and I's data. Digimon, though we have gender identities, are technically genderless and theoretically any two digimon who love one another can create a child. Lothar and I do have a son we adopted some time ago though so as you see adoption isn't unheard of in the Digital World." Mandrake said before thinking for a moment before he said "Lothar and I also speak English if you feel more comfortable with that until you get better with Japanese."
Watching the DemiMeramon come closer before her tamer stopped her Mandrake looked at the small firey digimon. "If you were trying to warm Lilly up with your flames, little one, that would be a bad idea since she isn't a being made of fire despite being able to sneeze flames. She just is like myself and Lothar when it comes to not liking the cold."
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Post by Clive Shiriki Iliopoulos on Dec 10, 2021 3:26:04 GMT
The adult digimon said something about data and something about adoption before giving Clive the option to speak in English. His eyes sparkled with relief.
"English, then! I only moved to Japan recently," he explained in American English, "so there are a lot of words I don't understand. You two... merged your data to create Lilly? And then, you said you also have a son you adopted?"
He knew he was slacking on practicing Japanese by switching over to English like this, but he craved a break sometimes. His only excuse for using English was with talking with Desdemona, watching, or reading things. His mother made him use only Japanese in the house, and his tutor was pretty strict about it, too. Even his classes were all in Japanese!
More importantly, what was this business about digimon sharing data to make more digimon? His cousin hadn't mentioned anything like that, but he thought eggs just... generated in places like with his own digimon.
It took him a moment to comprehend all these different ideas. Even though both digimon had masculine appearances, they could have children--in a sense.
While he stared into space as his thoughts ran wild, the demimeramon gazed back at Lilly with eyes full of dangerous burning passion!
When Desdemona was told that this baby was not a baby of fire, she became confused and gazed at the other beings around her. Then, as if comprehending something, she turned toward Clive and gazed at him with an expression full of betrayal and comprehension.
Her human wasn't a being of flame either! Was he her true family after all or just a kidnapper?!
Clive's eyebrow twitched when he noticed her expression.
"If you want to play, then why don't you de-digivolve into mokumon? You're not as likely to burn anything that way," he advised.
Gasping in awe, Desdemona immediately began shrinking into a ball of smokey irritant-free gas.
Adjusting his glasses, Clive began to speak awkwardly once again.
"How exactly do, uh, pass on their data and have a child? Is the baby species always the same? Can just any digimon do it?"
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Post by ricochet6-Mandrake on Dec 10, 2021 3:58:55 GMT
The young man switched to English before asking more questions while Mandrake listened patiently. "Well technically Lothar and I have three children with Lilly being our youngest. Our oldest son, LJ, was also created from our data as well. Our adopted son, Kshin, was an orphan living on the streets we took in."
Meanwhile Lilly was trying to figure the strangers out with her face scrunched up as she took in the emotions of those around her. At her age being an empath was confusing as she sometimes struggled with trying to figure out if the emotions she picked up were hers or someone else's but there were quite a few emotions she felt from some that she didn't like at all. Making little reptilian squeaks she watched Desdemona dedigivolve into Mokumon. She had seen other digimon do this before so it wasn't so strange to her. Then she looked down at the snow before making a face that was clear that she wanted nothing to do with the cold white fluff on the ground voicing her concerns with an irritated squeak. Mandrake looked around spotting a patch of grass sticking out near the home and used his telekinesis to lift Lilly into the air before setting her on the patch of grass so the two little ones could play receiving an indignant squeak from Lilly in return. "Don't take that tone with me, young lady." Mandrake said sternly to Lilly causing her to scrunch her face into a pout before she looked at Desdemona as she was definitely different from the last little digimon she played with.
"No when digimon pass data the species is not always the same but data from parents can possibly influence what species a digimon will be. LJ is now a species very similar to Lothar called Leomon X but he shared the same fresh, in training, and rookie forms as Lothar. The only difference in LJ's case was he was royal purple in color like I was as a rookie. Digimon can also inherit abilities from parents as well though we don't know yet if Lilly has done so. As for your other question, in theory, any digimon couple can possibly produce a child."
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Post by Clive Shiriki Iliopoulos on Dec 10, 2021 4:14:32 GMT
The recombination of data to form offspring brought to mind a brocaded scarf made from combining various different dyed silks together into a beautiful woven pattern to make something new. Even if the colors used were all the same, the combinations and patterns could vary dramatically.
"In that case," asked Clive, full of curiosity and wonder, "would it be possible to have more than two digimon parents share data to create one child? That way, a digimon could have four moms or five dads or something?"
Polygamy could have a whole different meaning in the digital world!
The mokumon cheerfully chased after Lilly. Now that she'd gotten familiar with the adult digimon, she wasn't nearly as timid as before. On the other hand, she was quite excited to have someone around her age to play with. Clive was too mature sometimes, and that pink bird of his cousin's wasn't much fun either.
Desdemona merrily floated around Lilly as she spiraled downward, leaving a spiraling trail of smoke in her midst to show off her smoke art. Once she reached Lilly, she stopped moving and puffed out her body proudly.
Weren't her smoke skills amazing? They were amazing right?
Best of all, they didn't stink or make people cough!
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Post by ricochet6-Mandrake on Dec 10, 2021 4:53:28 GMT
Mandrake thought for a moment on Clive's words. This was something he didn't know about but if it were possible it could have many possibilities and not just in species variety the baby could be. "I honestly don't know if a child can be created in such a way." Mandrake said as he honestly didn't know if such a thing was possible.
"Maybe such a thing is possible given how the Digital World can be strange for even the natives." Lothar said speaking up for the first time since they came across the young tamer and his partner.
Meanwhile Lilly was watching Desdemona float around leaving an artistic looking trail of smoke behind. Lilly had forgotten in that moment about the snow and the cold as she watched the Mokumon. Her ears wiggled as she squeaked and giggled while smiling at the fascinating new sight in front of her. Lothar looked over at Lilly and said "I'm beginning to get the feeling Lilly is more like you than she is like me, Mandrake. She is far more inquisitive than I was. Definitely one of your traits." At some level Lothar wondered if she took after him at some level but maybe it was too soon to tell at that point.
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Post by Clive Shiriki Iliopoulos on Dec 12, 2021 4:02:20 GMT
Clive marveled at the mystery of digimon reproduction (digital production?). His eyes sparkled with possibilities. This thing would be really interesting to investigate! The question was, how? It wasn't like he had a bunch of digimon himself to experiment with, and how could he command someone to have a baby?
He glanced at his naught mokumon with some trepidation. He wasn't sure if his partner would ever be suitable for parenthood.
Meanwhile, the mokumon was delighted by the praise in her new friend's eyes. After a moment, a light, freezing breeze blew away her design. She shivered before making a new one.
She made a long line and zigzagged her way down on one side before making the other side of her smokey symbol match. Although crude, Clive was able to identify it as a rough stick figure of a Christmas tree. He wondered if the digital world even had Christmas trees.
He didn't know much, but information about winter holidays were all over the internet as data, weren't they?
"Do you... Do you celebrate any holidays out here?" he asked, shaking from cold as he pulled his hood back up.
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Post by ricochet6-Mandrake on Dec 12, 2021 4:37:05 GMT
When the wind lightly blew away Desdemona's last design Lilly looked at the Mokumon with eager anticipation as she started to bounce softly squeaking much like a baby crocodile despite not really resembling one. Mandrake and Lothar watched as well as what looked like a stick figure of a Christmas tree was created by Desdemona's smoke. As for Lilly the new design the Mokumon made had her giggling and bouncing again.
"We digimon do infact celebrate various holidays. Like in the Human World some are different depending on culture or region. Then there are the various human holidays such as Christmas that is also celebrated here. Some traditions seem different in the Digital World but one that seems to be similar is spending time with loved ones." Mandrake said thinking of the other human holidays that the Digital World also celebrated showing just how much more the worlds were connected.
"Knowledge of various human holidays has likely passed on via the internet seeing as the two worlds are connected quite closely but, from what Mandrake and I have observed, there sometimes are a few differences." Lothar said remembering the Digital World tradition regarding the mistletoe this time of year was very different from how it worked in the Human World.
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Post by Clive Shiriki Iliopoulos on Dec 15, 2021 15:36:13 GMT
Desdemona's ego began to expand with Lilly's praises. In order to show off how proud and mighty she was, she decided to try acting "cool" and began to puff up her smokey body until it was three times her size.
"A few differences?" echoed Clive. He nodded with understanding. "In the human world, people celebrate the same holiday in many different ways, depending on where they live. Uh... Black Forest Cake in the US is sweet, but is filled with alcohol in Germany. St. Patrick's Day, a day where people wear green and drink too much, is a much bigger deal in the US than in Ireland, where it originated from. Christmas is a huge holiday for stores, so they can make a lot of money. It happens in December every year. In the US, it's all about coming together as a family, eating a nice meal together, and opening presents. I think religious people also go to church? In Japan, though--I just found this out in class--they often use it as a romantic holiday and eat Kentucky Fried Chicken, which is a junk food."
He scratched his cold, red cheek with a bewildered expression. He still hadn't fully comprehended this idea.
"I mean, Kentucky Fried Chicken is unhealthy fast food.... I've never had fast food on Christmas. I wonder what my parents will say when I mention that to them..." His parents appeared busier than ever this holiday. Not only did his dad rarely come home, but he would even go a few days without seeing his mom.
Distracted, he frowned.
Then, he saw his mokumon inflating like a balloon.
"Desdemona, are you really sure... you should be doing that?"
With her cheeks puffed out from holding in so much air and her body stretched to maximum capacity, she slowly nodded.
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Post by ricochet6-Mandrake on Dec 16, 2021 1:57:48 GMT
"I guess the Human World also celebrates a holiday in different ways depending on culture as well." Mandrake said after listening to Clive's explanation though the young man hadn't introduced himself yet.
"Christmas is also a romantic holiday in Japan? I thought that was what Valentine's Day was about." Lothar said looking perplexed but it did explain what a friend of theirs said a short time ago while they were in a mall in the Human World. At the time neither Mandrake or Lothar thought about it since Zack had always seemed to be a bit odd to them even if he meant well.
Then the tamer turned his attention to his partner mentioning her by name as he asked if she should be doing what she was doing. Lilly didn't look alarmed by Desdemona inflating but did look puzzled by it. Mandrake turned his attention back to the human boy and said "It seems when I handled introductions for my family that you forgot to introduce yourself young man."
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Post by Clive Shiriki Iliopoulos on Dec 21, 2021 1:13:21 GMT
Clive wondered about Valentine's Day. He quickly shook his head since he remembered the holiday was completely different
"I think Valentine's Day is romantic both at home and here," he said half to himself. He still considered Chicago to be his home deep in his heart. "In Japan, Valentine's Day is a day where girls give chocolates to boys. White Day is the month later. I was told boys give return gifts back to the girls who gave them chocolate in February. They don't give chocolates the girls, though.
"I haven't lived in Japan long enough to see what happens, so I don't know what gifts I'm supposed to get. Back home, my mom would buy me a little chocolate on Valentine's Day, but we never celebrated much."
After being reminded that he never introduced himself, the young boy turned red from embarrassment.
"Oh, uh, my name is Clive, but my classmates usually call me Shiriki since it's easier for them to pronounce," he muttered after an awkward pause.
Suddenly, a strange squeal akin to a deflating balloon spewed out of Desdemona's mouth with a massive plume of smoke. With a cry, the expulsion pushed the candle-like baby digimon into the house.
She bounced around, making a ruckus as she clashed against who-knows-what and she fell inside.
Clive thought he heard something large fall over with a loud crash.
"Desdemona?!" he anxiously called out, running deeper into the house.
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