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Important edit: If your contribution may potentially spoil one of the game's endings, please put a disclaimer in the title or include a "read more" button for others' viewing convenience. This blog will also tag any necessary spoilers. Let's not ruin the game for those who don't want to know!
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*critiques and character analyses are okay, but this isn't a Shuuji roast fest
I decided to revisit a concept I started during @surviveweek (and reuse a prompt!), where I illustrate the non-canonical "Bad Endings" for Takuma I see in my head. You can see the first piece in this series here.
This one is also based off of in-game dialogue, but from the beginning of Chapter 8 this time, when (SPOILERS!) Miyuki rescues Takuma from the Master's domain and they end up in the Real World. The Master’s quote is also from the game, though I think from a different section (might be the beginning of Chapter 4… but alas, I don't remember).
Other inspirations include Adventure/02, namely the scene of the Older Chosen getting kidnapped in Hurricane Touchdown (because OF COURSE that movie is on my mind all the time always, yes I really AM that predictable), and episode 24 of the original Adventure, where Koushiro has a run-in with Vademon.
Technically this Bad Ending is not concluded yet, but it's going to take me a while to make a part 2. So feel free to speculate on what might happen in the meantime (mwahaha) >:)
Relevant screenshots under the cut!
(Emphasis mine)
Miyuki: And it's not just me. You were in danger just now too, Takuma.
Takuma: Do you mean that if I hadn't come to the light, away from the darkness...
Miyuki: You would have been captured, just as I was. No, I think you would have gone even deeper. All of your soul, life, and existence... gone.
Takuma: It really was a close call, then.
???: Power, knowledge... Existence, soul, heart... Bring them all... to me!
No longer alone uwu They bff and keep talking to each other with honorifics for at least a year, fight me.
Was miraculously able to finish another piece for @surviveweek, just hoped I could have done more orz but I loved to have the chance to keep drawing for the game that keeps destroying me in all possible ways~
... have i become a professor fan. is this who i am now.
anyway, ough the backstory behind haru and miyuki... the fact that inevitably haru loses her again, even if she comes back. the fact that the one thing keeping miyuki, who has lost half of her soul, at peace, is having something resembling her brother with her...
to the next stage of our adventure!
digimon survive week 2024
day 7: post-game / future
personal thoughts under the cut - less about the artwork and more about shuuji and lopmon themselves. a long rambling containing major spoilers and heavy topics. will cause whiplash. proceed with caution.
other than the fact this may be boring and long-winded, cw and tw:
there will be mentions of self-harm and suicide.
if these topics make you uncomfortable, please step back.
if you're sure, then alright.
i'm aware this is a weird place to ramble about shuuji and lopmon considering the notorious highlight of their story would match the themes of day 5 (villains) and day 6 (dark & loss) better. unfortunately (ironically?) i never planned to feature them for those days, so...
pretty sure i'm not the only one feeling this, but when i discovered that a good part of the fandom seems to loathe shuuji with utmost passion, even after they claimed to have completed the game, i was confused.
the way his death happened and (understanding) the cause made me uncomfortable for a while, but never drove me to the point of hate... once i recovered from the initial shock, what i felt towards him was more pity, then respect (on truthful route).
i feel shuuji should have been one of the most appreciated characters in survive. yet it was the opposite that happened.
(between you and me though, knowing there was this discourse with the fact digimon survive is a visual novel, i'm not that surprised it turned out this way...)
from my point of view, lopmon evolving into wendimon then killing shuuji symbolizes suicide, the act of taking one's own life. it was the climax of shuuji's mental breakdown, leading him to basically self-destruct, causing damage to everyone around him and ultimately himself.
lopmon evolved, just like he hoped. but failed to do it like other kemonogami partners (maintaining control of themselves and fending off enemies). the next and final outcome was death, through his own partner actually eating him alive too.
it reminds me how when someone thought they have prepared well for something important yet it failed spectacularly, the devastation and frustration would eat them in the same way from inside. and they probably would for one second think, "i'm better off dead".
the more i pondered about it, the more it hit home, so of course, the last thing i could do is hate him, when his struggles sound similar to my own - having to rely on consistent achievements to prove your value, to feel you are worth living and not a waste of resources.
the part where shuuji went all abusive on lopmon felt like the equivalent of pushing yourself to the extreme to reach your goal, to the point of neglecting your own needs. it's like a student so absorbed in their study, sacrificing food and sleep, until their body eventually snaps and shuts down for good (...this in fact happened to one of the students at my previous workplace. she was in her last year of high school. life was just about to truly start for her when her classmate informed us of her sudden death).
even in truthful route where shuuji and lopmon survive that point, things aren't immediately nice and easy for him. you can see that he still has self-doubts, and what i think is impostor's syndrome. he could be making a great contribution to the team and still put himself down for having done "nothing".
i have found it interesting that artists and writers tend to be especially fond of shuuji. so perhaps it's not just the matter of one's upbringing - whether you were raised in a harsh, competitive environment and/or with family with (unreasonably) high standards so you can relate more easily to him - but also whether one can see just what every struggle shuuji and lopmon went through symbolizes shuuji's mental state.
out of all survive characters, i think shuuji and lopmon pulled off this thing called "surviving" the hardest, no joke. which is why i almost always gravitate to drawing them happy because that's what they deserve :')
after all this, what i also would like to say is, it's okay if a character makes you uncomfortable. it's okay if you hate a character. but never, ever bring down the character to people who like them or even consider them their favorite or comfort character. if you must, do it in your own space and only with like-minded people.
In my hand is my hospital card, now crumpled. Every day, I'm investing my time on simple fantasies...
For @surviveweek day 7: Future
Did you know the characters for Saki’s name in Chinese (沙希) mean sand and hope?
[image id: Digital pastel drawing of Kimishima Saki. She's holding and tilting an hourglass with her left hand, which is placed in the center of the page. Her expression is one of a grimacing smile. The background is a cool blue and everything is rendered in a cold temperature, as if frozen in time.]
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Digimon Survive Week 2024
Day 7: Post-Game/Future
And here we have our heroes breaking into Shuuji's house via his window.
Was gonna talk about/renew my Future Jobs at JIES post from last year but instead...
I'm using this prompt to finally finish and post this chapter. And if you've been following my Survive Week posts, I've ended up using Digimon Survive Week prompts to shamelessly mention Shuuji (at least once every day). I was going thru my unfinished fics and drabbles and realise most of them feature Shuuji (if not outright about him) - and I should really just polish those drabbles and post them up - I have too many. So now I've decided to use this week to get back into writing Survive fics, doing art, etc and hopefully be able to continue.
And with that, Survive Week is officially over! Another great week of wonderful content! Thank you to everyone who participated, as well as to everyone who shared the content created for this week. This fandom really is so wonderful and creative, even with all the pain we endure through some of the tougher moments of the game.
Naturally, if some of you are running late on some prompts, feel free to continue tagging this blog or using the tags! I will reblog any entries that come my way. I realize January has been a year for some, so I understand completely!
Thank you again to everyone! This has been a great week, and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for us!
Digimon Survive Week 2024 – Day 7: Post-Game/Future
Aged up Shuuji design by @kbondoxxxxav. I've always wanted to draw her designs! I initially wanted to draw all 8 of them, but trying to get the bike right exhausted my drawing energy lol
EDIT: tagging @surviveweek
anyway, a personal headcanon about future!Shuuji under the cut.
I like to think that Shuuji, during his university years, switched to anthropology from his initial major that his family pressured him to take (perhaps medicine?)–not only that it fits him following Professor's steps (who researches and teaches folklore as an anthropology course), it'd also make a nice throwback to Kido Shuu in Digimon Adventure 02.
[image id: Digital charcoal drawing of Miyuki and Haru on brown toned paper. Miyuki is behind Haru, resting her arms on his shoulders and clasping her hands. She's smiling and tilting her head to the left. Haru is standing upright, with a huge grin on his face and holding Miyuki's right arm. They're both framed by a black rectangle tilted to the right.]
Image Description: A reference sheet of an older Kaito Shinonome who's around 17 to 18. His hair has grown out more but it's still dyed yellow and is in a ponytail. He wears a blue tank top and a thick brown belt. His pants are green with disks sowed through around the thighs. Strands of fabric go down to the rings of the pants below the knee. He wears black platforms with silver shoelaces. He also has a silver locket with Dracmon's eye on it.
There are two fullbody drawings and two bust up drawings of Kaito. The first fullbody drawing has him standing away from the camera but looking over his shoulder to look behind him. His right hand is in his back pocket while the other rests against his waist. The first bust up drawing is Kaito rubbing the back of his neck with his right arm while blushing from embarrassment. The text "Affinity with Kaito up!" is displayed next to him. The second bust up drawing is him stretching after a supposed fight. He has bandages wrapped around his arms and bruises are randomly placed on his body. His right arm is stretched upwards while the other is reaching behind him. The second fullbody drawing is of Kaito standing and fidgeting his hands together while looking off to the side. He wears a leather jacket which covers up his necklace and shirt. The background is blue with a white border and his name is displayed on the right side of the drawing. End Image Description.]
Day 7 of @surviveweek: Post Game/Future
Headcanons under the cut (along with another doodle)
Full disclosure I've only played the Harmony route of Survive so my opinions will probably change in the future to become more accurate if anything's off.
Older Kaito tries really really hard to not get into fights and control his anger. He still has episodes but he knows every calming strategy under the sun and with Dracmon by his side, he's able to envision himself in a happier place and relax.
He runs daily early in the morning to not only stay active but get rid of excess energy if he's stressed. You can bet he's listening to hardcore metal most of the time during his jogs to really go all out. Sometimes Minoru joins him on a weekend and they take a slower pace together and vent out frustrations about family.
Despite the times they've butt heads, Ryo and Kaito hang out a lot one on one after Survive. They often are silent most of the time, but enjoy each other's presence. Aoi joins them every now and then to eat together or watch a movie.
Kaito has many videos downloaded on his phone of relaxing music to listen to while working. Even if he isn't the biggest fan of technology, he loves music and it helps improve his mood a lot. He has an MP3 player to use on his runs and Miu helps him download youtube videos of relaxing music to fall asleep to.
Kaito wears a locket with two photos: one of the gang together after a party and the other of him, Miu, and Dracmon. Whenever a major panic attack is building, he holds it close and looks at the photos to try to calm himself down.
While he's still on the antisocial side, Kaito has gotten better at being friendly and more trusting towards new people. Yes, the survive crew matters the most to him, but he tags along with his friends to certain school events to be more open.
Kaito loves to jokingly wrestle with friends. He and Takuma fight sometimes while hanging out and Aoi will indulge and arm wrestle every now and then. If Minoru and Kaito fight while playing sports together, they often chase each other around while Dracmon and Falcomon watch in amusement. Also, Miu loves to go on his shoulders and back. Not only to feel more tall but to make fun of Kaito if he shows any sign of struggle or weakness supporting the growing Miu. She does appreciate him trying for her but doesn't admit it
After survive, Kaito tried to let Miu handle her issues by herself more. He recognized that his violent habits often made things worse with her social life, so he agreed to back off. He only broke this promise once when he stumbled upon a couple of boys a year under him made fun of Miu and attempted to get physical with her. He ended up telling Takuma and they both scared the bullies off with as little violence as possible. Miu did get upset at Kaito, but forgave him after they sat down and talked about the situation.
also final headcanon (feat in progress older Miu design):
[Image Description: A digital doodle of the matthew gay lol meme as Miu and Kaito Shinonome. Kaito holds his head in his hands as he looks hopelessly a tv displaying "Kaito gay lol" in comic sans. Miu takes a selfie of this with a cat face and a thumbs up. She wears a purple shirt, lots of miscellaneous jewelry, and green fishnet gloves. The walls of the room are brown. End Image Description.]
i didn't have a ton of time today (doing pre-new year cleaning, and also my kid woke up with a fever) but i took a little time to make some progress on this doodle from a while back <3 happy survive week, everyone! i'm excited to catch up on some of the stuff for this week i haven't had a chance to peruse yet :)
boy oh boy do i love fangmon. Didn't quite do its design justice but it was such a good villain on this game, truly scary creature. why do you have so many teeth mr wolf? for what.
overall i really enjoyed the villains on this game. good selection of digis to make the bad guys, good selection of motivations ranging from "simply evil" to "sort of desperate".
i do kind of wish i had drawn a bit of the fog. as much as i love some good villains, i also enjoy the concept of The World Itself as the thing causing harm. also where i live we get incredibly thick fog in winter, so it was nice for something to replicate the "something's there im sure of it" feeling.
Here is a masterlist of the works I contributed to Digimon Survive Week 2024, hosted by myself over on @surviveweek . Thank you to everyone who participated and everyone who liked and reblogged my work!
“Déjà Vu” (Day 1: A New World)
“Team” (Day 2: Cooperation)
“Queen” (Day 3: Other Digi - Er, Kemonogami)
“Safe” (Day 4: Supporting Characters)
“Final Strike” (Day 5: Villains)
“Crack” (Day 6: Dark & Loss)
“Survived” (Day 7: Post-Game/Future)
All of these works were also my main goal for @campdigimonth this year! Thank you to Hidden for hosting the event, and for everyone else for your support! I really enjoyed getting to create Digimon content again <3
Word Count: 1,564
Prompt: Post-Game/Future
Featured Characters: Takuma Momozuka, as well as Minoru Hinata, Aoi Shibuya, Kaito Shinonome, Miu Shinonome, Shuuji Kayama, Professor, Ryo Tominaga, & Saki Kimishima
A/N: This was always going to be my longest drabble, because I have a soft spot for post-canon things where one character spends some time with all of the others in separate situations. I haven't played through the truthful ending yet, so I frankly have probably made some things up here. And ended it real sappy. Because that's my favorite thing to do. In any case, I really enjoyed writing this and my other drabbles this week, and thank you to everyone who read, liked, and wrote some really kind tags! It means a whole heckuva lot! <3
@surviveweek
"Hey, Takuma!"
Takuma looked up from his phone and smiled at the sight of Minoru and Aoi approaching his table. "Hey, Minoru, Aoi. How are you both?"
"Good, good. Falcomon is practically part of the family now," Minoru said, grinning as he sat across from Takuma. Aoi sat beside him, gently balancing the drink in her hand with the muffin in the other. "It's like having a pet, except he can talk back!"
"Mom and Dad love Labramon, she's so helpful," Aoi chimed in, a truly happy look on her face. "She insists on walking me to school every day even though I can go myself."
"Sounds like Labramon," Takuma said. Even though he hadn't seen them in a while, he could vividly imagine Falcomon and Labramon settling in with their partners. It had taken his own mother a bit to get used to Agumon, but the little dinosaur was so sweet and adorable it was hard not to love him. "Have either of you talked to the others?"
"Saki's doing much better now." Aoi took out her phone and showed Takuma and Minoru a picture of Saki smiling in a hospital bed with Floramon right beside her. "She missed a little bit of school, but I take the train to her house every now and then to help her with her schoolwork."
"Ryo doesn't text back much, but it seems like he's doing great. I think?" Minoru chuckled. "I think he just doesn't want to admit he misses us."
"Don't tease him, Minoru," Aoi scolded.
"I hope we can all meet up again soon. It's kind of weird, being all separated like this." Takuma stared down at the drink clutched in his hand. "I know it was only a few hours here, but it felt like weeks there. It was hard adjusting without everyone."
Minoru nodded. "I know what you mean." He got a wistful look on his face. "There's something about sticking together and surviving all that, you know?"
"We'll see each other again." Aoi smiled widely. "There's no way we won't."
"You're right." Takuma checked the time on his phone and grinned over at his friends. "Which reminds me, I need to call Kaito tonight."
That was their cue to stand up. As they gathered their things, Aoi placed her hand on Takuma's shoulder. "Tell Kaito and Miu we said hello?"
Takuma smiled. "Of course."
~~~
"How are Miu and Syakomon?" Takuma asked as soon as Kaito answered the phone and they exchanged their usual greetings.
Kaito smirked and moved his phone camera so Takuma could see Miu playing with Syakomon. He couldn't quite tell what they were doing, but it involved lifting Syakomon in the air, almost like a baby. The sight made him smile and laugh. When Miu noticed Kaito was filming her, she stuck out her tongue, but she waved her sweatshirt sleeve and called, "Hi, Takuma!" Had Syakomon been able to wave, he was sure she would wave, too.
"So that's how she is. How about you, Takuma?" Kaito sat down at a table and propped his phone up somewhere so he could rest his elbows on the table. It was almost like they were right in front of each other rather than kilometers upon kilometers away.
Takuma shrugged and angled his camera so Kaito could see Agumon poking at some of his old toys, a fascinated look in his big, green eyes. Kaito looked just as amused by Agumon's antics as Takuma had been by Miu's. "Agumon's settling right in. I actually just saw Minoru and Aoi today—they say hello."
"Glad they're doing well. It's so weird not having any of you around here anymore. I almost tricked myself into believing you all lived nearby. You know, after all that time together."
"I get what you mean. It's hard actually spending time with the others now that we're back to our lives. Is it weird I kinda miss the other world?"
"Not really. We got used to it after a while." The grin hadn't left Kaito's face, so Takuma knew they were on the same page.
Even though they were on a video call, they enjoyed a minute of companionable silence. Takuma was finding it easier and easier, with the companions he'd hate on their unbelievable adventure, to sit in silence with them and not have to fill it with words. He doubted any of his other friends at school would understand such things. But with Kaito especially, it was easy. Maybe nearly dying together was the secret to friendship.
And, as weird as it was, Takuma preferred these sorts of friendships.
~~~
"Takuma?"
Turning around, Takuma spotted Shuuji and the Professor walking down the street toward him. "Oh! Shuuji! Professor! How are you?"
"Well, thank you." Shuuji peered down and behind him, smiling encouragingly at Lopmon as he toddled up to them. "Sorry, Lopmon. Here." The older boy crouched down and picked up Lopmon, setting the bunny-like creature on his shoulder. Had the Kemonogami been able to blush, Takuma was sure Lopmon would be. It seemed they were getting along even better now. "Anyway, Takuma—how are you? And Agumon?"
"Good, good. He's getting a hang of our world slowly but surely. Professor? How are you?"
The professor approached the two boys at a leisurely pace, looking more at ease than he had ever been with either of them. Takuma smiled up at him, and the Professor returned the smile. "I'm well, Takuma. It's been interesting, raising my sister, but, well." He chuckled. "We're making do."
"Please tell her I said hello." Takuma couldn't help but take a mental picture of the scene before him. Lopmon and Shuuji, happy. The Professor, happy now that he had his sister back in his life. It was almost too good to be true, but after the hellish reality in the Kemonogami world, it was real.
"We have to run, but it was great seeing you, Takuma!"
"You too! Please take care, both of you!" Takuma waved as they walked off, glad to see that they were doing well. He'd have to make sure to email them both later. But first, he had to get home with the groceries!
~~~
"Thanks for coming all this way, Ryo." Takuma took a sip of his soda and smiled over at his friend, who despite all evidence to the contrary, was trying to look like he wasn't
"Yeah, sure." Ryo glanced over at Saki, who was eyeing her food with a level of excitement Takuma was used to seeing from Agumon. "Someone had to keep an eye on her."
"I think you mean I'm here to keep an eye on you, Ryo," Saki retorted smoothly, not even missing a beat.
Takuma was reminded of the day they were transported to the other world, when Ryo and Saki had been walking together. Even after all they'd been through together, it was strange to see them together. Still, Takuma knew they were both in good hands when they were together. "I'm glad to see you two are doing well. Aoi told me your surgery went well, Saki?"
Saki ignored the concerned look Ryo subtly shot her and smiled. "It did! I felt much braver about going through it knowing Floramon was waiting for me. Hopefully this will be the last one for a while." Her smile wavered a tiny bit. "I really hope it is." She brightened and rested her chin on her hands, grinning over at Ryo. "And? How are you and Kunemon?"
"Okay. I have to translate for him sometimes, but it's working out pretty well." Ryo slipped his phone onto the table and turned it on, revealing a lockscreen that was of Kunemon sleeping on what appeared to be a pillow. Saki made an "aww!" sound and Takuma smiled. Like with Lopmon and Shuuji, it was nice to see Kunemon and Ryo settling into a rhythm.
"I'm glad to see you two are doing well. Hard to believe it's been a few months since it all happened, huh?" Takuma said, letting out a wistful sigh. "I've only been able to see a couple of you at a time. We'll have to spend some time all together soon."
"That sounds like fun!" Saki clapped, her eyes shining. "We should do it!"
"Been a while since I've had to yell at Minoru. Let's do it." Ryo was smirking, but Takuma could tell he was also missing the others.
Takuma sipped his soda again and nodded to his two friends. "Soon. Let's get together again soon."
~~~
As promised, they all got together in the only place that made sense: the old Kemonogami shrine. Takuma released a contented breath as he took in the sight of all his friends together again, along with their partners. Agumon stood silently at his side, a delighted, toothy grin on his face.
Takuma sat down on one of the steps leading up to the shrine, casting his eyes over all of his friends. Minoru and Falcomon joking with Aoi and Labramon… Shuuji and Lopmon with the Professor and Miyuki… Kaito and Miu with Dracmon and Syakomon laughing with them… Ryo and Kunemon talking with Saki and Floramon… A smile spread across his face. It was the reunion to end all reunions.
They had all survived. They were all okay. And they'd made friends to last a lifetime (but not in Kemonogami world time).
