Jun 1
Starting Pride Month off with Digidober
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Starting Pride Month off with Digidober
digidober interaction
digidober comm for anonymous :]
my uma foil heart charms are available now on Etsy! HIMEJOSHIS RISE!!!!
How Can Something Digital Mean Anything to Dober? (Digidober, 4k words, Drama/Romance)
(The Ao3 link as usual if you want to instead read it there. Also, happy Birthday Agnes Digital!) How? Over and over again the question ran through Digital’s mind. How was she here? How was she the one invited? How could she be honored like this? And most importantly:
How was it that Dober of all people would even consider talking to her?
The shy princess of the Mejiros was an angel who descended upon Tracen. Her divinity shone with every breath and step she took. Even amongst the grand clan of Mejiro, few could even compare, not when she was such a perfect confluence of tropes! The soft hearted tsundere who struggles to speak her mind, the shy, quiet girl who must break free of her bonds to achieve her dreams, the ever fighting maiden who won’t refuse any answer than the one set in her heart and a billion other things that made her stand out and deserve her time in the spotlight! Compared to someone like Digital… No. Comparison wasn’t even possible. Not now, not ever.
So again, the very basic question of how? ‘You’re Agnes Digital, correct? W-Will you accompany me to my event on Sunday?’ That question had made Digital’s heart stop when she’d heard it earlier that week. Not that that was new. An oshi causing a panic attack from perceiving her? That was par for the course but her legs had locked up in the moment. Instead of running, she’d been stuck there. Rooted in place before the goddess before her. It had been so embarrassing, especially when she’d made it quickly clear she knew way too much about the event. How could she not though!? A fan event with Mejiro Dober that was meant to be an intimate AMA? She had planned for a MONTH the perfect spot to stand where she would get the best view of Dober while not distracting her because she was supposed to be out there! Not backstage, waiting for the curtain to rise!
And yet she was still back here. Because she couldn’t let her oshi down. She could never let that happen. Not when it would break a thousand rules that let her claim to be normal instead of a… Digital reached down and squeezed the end of her skirt hard enough to turn her knuckles white. She hated seeing her racing gear right now. That was the first sin she’d committed today. Coming in this like she’d been told instead of having something, anything else in her closet to wear. She looked like a fan like this. Like some giddy idiot.
How was she supposed to sit next to a Mejiro like this? Because she had a job to do. She was supposed to keep Dober company like she’d requested. Be there for her despite the fact that them planning this was literally the only time they’d ever talked to each other. That was definitely a smart move on Digital’s part. Not saying no on those grounds was just another sin of hers. How was she supposed to help with a meet up like this when she only had her bizarre stalking habits to go off of for answers? She couldn’t say those things! She’d completely ruin everything then because… because she’s a…
She raised her hands to her temples, clutching her hair as she shook her head vigorously. No no no! She couldn’t panic like this either! She’d only make herself more likely to look like a fool to the crowd then and Dober would look bad just by association! So she should just get it out of her system! Let Digital out and try to be more like someone better like Agnes! Someone normal and not a freak like h-
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
All eyes turned to the source of the sudden shout. To those outside the curtain, snickers ran along the crowd as they assumed it was a member of the staff having committed a mistake or the like. Behind the curtain though, it caused a small yelp to escape the small uma who still had her hands up and was quickly moving them to now cover her mouth.
And a pair of purple eyes that stared as she felt her heart sank as she asked the same question she’d been asking since this event was planned.
Neither one spoke though. Dober merely turned her head away when Digital glanced over at her and then the otaku just stared at the ground as she gripped her skirt once again. Silence was all that filled the space between them while the thoughts and words that either wanted to say stayed trapped in their minds. Loud as lions and yet quiet as death. At least until a producer showed up and said, “One minute girls. Are you ready?”
They both looked at the man before simultaneously mimicking their better and placing a hand on their chest as they nodded and Digital even managed an, “Indubitably.” That got her nowhere near the first odd look from Dober she’d earned but it was better than another scream at least. It made Digital suck in her lips and remind herself of her rules for the day. Speak as little as possible, with as much eloquence as possible and pretend that she was cosplaying a Mejiro. She couldn’t say which because to pretend that she could even play pretend as one was impossible but it was the best she could do. It was the only thing she could do as the two stepped out from behind the curtain and a roar from the crowd deafened everything.
Except to an otaku who noticed the moment one of her oshi’s presence vanished. She looked back when the sound of a second set of cleats stopped and saw Dober just standing there. Staring at the crowd. It was large. The entire venue rented for the gathering was packed from wall to wall. All with their eyes on Dober. Like they should be but…
No. No no no. Those thoughts were only going to cause problems. She should just take her seat and wait. These were her fans after all. They would know better than even her how much she feared stuff like this. They’d give her the patience she needed. That was the best answer for Digital. To keep her hands folded on her lap and keep her mouth shut, especially as the way Dober raised a hand to her chin made her want to squeal from how cute she looked. That would only make things worse.
“It seems Miss Dober is more comfortable standing than sitting! She is still quite excited to meet you all though and we can begin with your questions like this.”
Was the man insane!? No matter how cute Dober looked like this, she wasn’t ready to answer any questions! This is why she didn’t usually do interviews after races! Was this a fan club or a lynching!? Digital’s hands pressed against the soft velvet of her seat as she prepared to stand but then she froze as she looked back. Dober was pale but she wasn’t running or the like. Maybe she was just overreacting? Yeah, that was probably it. This wasn’t some fanfic after all and this was her shot to be a main character. She didn’t even like stories like that so why was she trying to emulate them?
The same man who had helped let Dober save face now came closer to her with a microphone in hand. He kept it close to him as he said, “We are all here for you, Miss Dober. There’s nothing to worry about. Now, do you have any opening words for your fans?”
Dober swallowed hard as she took the microphone and sucked in her lips. She opened them to speak and you could hear the crowd hold their breath in response. And then exhale when she lowered the mic. Then once again as she lifted the mic to her mouth. Then a noticeably louder sigh as she turned it away. Only on the third attempt did she whisper, “Um, th-thank you all for inviting m-me. I-It means…”
And then nothing. Digital sweat bullets as she heard the murmurs from the crowd and her eyes moved to the microphone next to her. She was… She was just being polite like this. A greeting that anyone should do. She just had to keep herself under control. So she slowly picked up the microphone and eyes turned to her as she did so. Now she was the center of attention, even if briefly.
Digital swallowed hard before saying, “Hi.” And then nothing as she hung her head in defeat. Anything she had to say would be putting words into Dober’s mouth and she didn’t have that right. Not when this wasn’t her show.
The announcer blinked a few times before asking, “Um, so who is this? A friend of yours?”
Dober shut her eyes, quiet for too long before finally managing, “Just another student.”
The chatter from the crowd only grew more intense at this. Murmurs were now words. Words were now terse and quick. They had come to hear from Dober and instead they were barely getting anything from her and some random girl who looked like she fell out of an uma gift shop? What was going on?
The announcer, for his part, tried his best as he said, “Um, surely not just that. Do you two do anything together? I know one of the most requested questions we got before this was what you do during your time off. Are you part of a club with this-”
“Nothing. I do nothing.”
The answer was almost gasped out as Dober now clutched her chest. When she opened her eyes, tears pricked at the edges of them while the faded purple irises shook like she was about to crack. Like any second now, the last of their color would vanish and everything would fall apart. The sort of desperate look she’d worn so many times to a race but without her trainer or her siblings there to stabilize her so she didn’t end up looking like a fool. But they didn’t see that. They just saw the Mejiro who was nothing but a fre-
SLAM!
“THAT’S A LIE!”
All eyes turned to Digital who now stood front and center before the crowd, microphone in hand and bright blue eyes shining like supernovas. She wore a smile as wide as the valley between buttons on Fuji’s shirt and stood with a bounciness that could make one think of only Marvelous things. Not that Dober was thinking that. She was thinking the same thing she’d asked earlier this week:
How?
How was she supposed to handle this? How did she get roped into this? How did anyone think this was a good idea, let alone her fans? How was she such a closed book that her fans didn’t know this was going to give her a panic attack? How was she supposed to stop them from seeing this side of her so vividly now?
“Dober, are you okay?”
Dober jumped out of her seat at the stern voice before she whipped around to face the surprise uma. Not that she needed to look to already feel her cheeks burning. She raised a hand to her face to hide it a little but it was almost certainly too late. Air Groove was better than to be deceived by something as simple as a quick cover up. She could at least try to save face as she said, “I’m fine. Just figuring out a problem.”
Air Groove sighed as she placed a hand on her hip and shook her head a little. This was par for the course but she hardly had trouble pushing uma to where they needed to be. That went double for when there was indeed no hiding one’s problems from her. “A problem like facing a fan meeting without your family?”
Whatever heat had touched Dober’s face now cooled to ice as she turned pale, just as had happened every time she repeated that fact to herself. A meetup for Dober, not for a Mejiro. That was what they wanted to do. Let her shine through, rather than her family name. It was a nice sentiment but who the hell was she supposed to bring then? Taiki, who would probably spill her secrets? Air Groove who she couldn’t imagine bothering like this or looking weak in front of for so long? No. It was just impossible and she placed a hand on her chest as she tried to calm herself.
She only truly got to breathe again though when Air Groove’s hand slipped onto her shoulder. Her idol’s gentle squeeze was enough to ground her, if not just a little. She also already knew the problem so… “Um, I know things like this are just what any uma has to deal with but, um, I’m allowed to bring someone and I’m not asking you, you shouldn’t have to deal with this but…”
Air Groove was silent for a moment before sighing. “There is indeed someone I can think of who could do this. They might just be perfect for it in fact. However,” Air Groove said as she squeezed Dober’s shoulder tighter and narrowed her eyes slightly, “I won’t give her name as a recommendation. By all means, the student council tries to ignore her existence as we recognize that is her preferred position in the school. As such, if I am having to acknowledge her at all, you are to take it as a command. You will go speak to her immediately and she will say yes, this much I can guarantee you. Understand?”
A person the student council couldn’t even recognize? Was she talking about Goldship because of how bad she made the school look?
Was she talking about the interdimensional challenger, Stay Gold, who was a complete menace to those around her and was questionable to show up at any given time, giving her an air of mystery and mystique?
Maybe instead she was talking about Mr. C.B. because of her penchant for wandering off? But then again, she was also next to Rudolph all the time.
Perhaps it was Tachyon, who’s experiments went well beyond what the school’s rules would allow but in turn pushed people in ways that no other uma could?
How many uma were really enough trouble to even be considered for something like this? If it was Air Groove’s perfect pick though, Dober couldn’t say no. Not when she was this desperate. “I’ll do it, I promise.”
Air Groove nodded before saying, “Good. Go to that bush then. Agnes Digital should still be distracted by trying to figure out who I meant.”
Who?
How could she stand before all of these people when before, she’d looked as terrified as Dober had been? How could she call her a liar when she’d claimed to have been willing to help but had done nothing so far? How could she even claim that when the two didn’t know each other? How could she claim she did anything more than-
“Let’s start with the basics!” Digital wagged a finger in the air as she began to high step across the stage and her cleats gave a sharp clack with each stomp. “First, there are the things expected of any precious uma like her. Her penchant for shopping, though it rarely manifests as gifts for herself. No one here should be surprised by that though as our daring Dober has a hard time seeing herself for the goddess she is and so would only be motivated to give things to her friends and family.”
Precious uma? Daring Dober? GODDESS!? WHAT WAS SHE SAYING!?
Digital nodded along with assenting mumbles from the crowd before holding up a second finger. “Much like other Mejiros though, she does have a weak spot herself for certain treats. I am soooooo blessed by being able to watch her eat parfaits at the cafeteria. She’ll often excuse it by having one with someone else like McQueen but when she has them by herself, you can tell how hard she’s trying to leave no evidence which makes the bits of cream that get on her nose the most adorable thing in the world!”
Dober’s hands flew to her nose to cover it, like there was any risk of something being there. She then immediately threw her arms back, trying to act like she hadn’t just confirmed what Digital had said. How did Digital say that though? Did she have literally no shame or filter or anything to stop her from this unhinged rambling?
“Three!” Digital said as she threw her hand up like she was Rudolph winning the Kikuka Sho, “is her piano playing! She is not a master meant for the concert hall but that doesn’t mean her melodies don’t melt all of our hearts. She often puts uma like Sweepy, Urara or Flower to sleep when they listen to it and I’ve once fallen out of the rafters because I was lulled by her melodies.” SHE was the mystery creature that dropped from the ceiling that day!?
“But,” Digital said with a thump on her chest, “all of that pales in comparison to her true passion. The thing she does more often than anything else with her spare time but that none of you fans would know. Not without being a super fan like me. The thing she keeps so close to her chest, you’d think it’d kill her for it to be shared.” Wait… Wait with everything else she knows…
“The thing that lights up her eyes so that they shine like the most beautiful amethysts in the world.”
No.
“The thing that makes her chest heave in a way that lulls one into her softness more than a hundred parfaits.”
NO.
Dober opened her mouth to speak just as Digital turned to her. Turned to her with eyes that reminded her of too many in the mirror. Of the same gaze she’d given herself a thousand times in the locker room. Hatred. But not for anyone other than the one those eyes looked back upon, even as Digital wore the biggest smile in the world. One more genuine than Dober believed she could ever manage.
“Writing.”
Dober shut her eyes as she braced herself. As she waited to be ruined. As her hesitation ended her life, just like it ended so many of her races.
“I’ve never had the pleasure of reading it, just like none of us had.”
Wait, what?
“But I know from the way she looks when she’s working on it that it means the world to her. That the same sort of passion she shows on the track is what she pours into those words. She might not be able to talk to us too well like this but one day, we’ll be able to understand her heart and soul through her words. That much I’m certain of because the joy she has typing away on her laptop is so much more pure than any of us fans can even dream of.”
There was a cheer through the room as Digital finally slowed down. Dober found herself just staring into those beautiful pools of blue that were her guest’s eyes. How the way they sparked meant her excited, forceful voice wasn’t an act. She meant every word of it. Every embarrassing, impure, cringe worthy word of it. It wasn’t like Pasa or Sweep or plenty of other uma that Dober was jealous of on campus. They didn’t care if you thought their interests were lame. Digital… Digital appeared to know exactly what she looked like right now and didn’t expect a thank you from Dober. Not in a million years.
It explained why Digital didn’t wait for a response from Dober. Instead, she bounced over to the announcer while furrowing her brow like she was ready to get into a fight. Instead, she pushed him and said, “Now, let’s make this a proper Dober event and get this guy out of here. You’re making her nervous! I’ll ask her the questions from now on.”
And after hijacking the show, the event went smoothly. Where Dober’s voice failed her, Digital was able to pick up the slack. It was bizarre, having someone you didn’t know seem to know everything about you, but it didn’t feel that way either. Not as Digital shot down questions she wouldn’t like or admitted gaps in her knowledge and certainly didn’t press Dober for anything about her. It was like it was a classmate you’d completely overlooked for four years suddenly making it clear they hadn’t done the same with you.
Which made it all the more painful when she didn’t notice when Digital vanished as she bowed to the crowd and said farewell before going to the back where no one was waiting for her. Luckily, the question that entered Dober’s mind was fairly easy to answer.
How?
Digital lacked a certain bounce to her step as she pushed the door open to her room with a bag full of new manga. It was only three days after the fan event and she had avoided Dober like the plague. She wanted to watch her, especially as avoiding her meant avoiding all of the Mejiros, but she couldn’t do it. Not when she remembered the look in Dober’s eyes when she’d turned to her. Confusion, bewilderment, judgement… Everything she should have towards a super fan like her. A freak like her. There was no denying it after her little performance, even if it had helped Dober. Facts were still facts.
Like Dober sitting on Tachyon’s bed. That was just a fact. As indisputable a- “AAAAAAH!”
Dober looked up as Digital somehow clung to a corner in the ceiling like a spider. Her cheeks burned at the reaction and only got worse when Digital dropped onto her bed and began to prostrate herself before Dober as she shouted, “I’m so sorry! Whatever you want, you can take it! I understand, I promise!”
Dober opened her mouth before raising a hand to her chest. To do the same as she had so many times her voice failed her. Luckily, that was why she had made sure to come prepared. So she reached over and picked up her laptop before extending it to Digital. She said nothing and let the whirring of the computer’s fans speak for her. That and the words on the screen.
Dober-senpai’s Sensational Supplicant Signing
Digital just stared at it before looking over at Dober. Her precious uma’s face was as red as a tomato and it only added to her confusion as she looked back at the title. She reached up and grabbed the computer before placing it on her lap and beginning to read it. It was a bit sensational, a bit over dramatic but in the broad strokes? There was no denying what it was. It was the fan meeting that they’d been at, told beat for beat. With one major change.
“I’m sorry! I know a freak like me doesn’t deserve to be in front of you, let alone like that. If you never want to speak to me again, I understand.”
“...Today, you let me feel normal. For that, let me let you feel normal too.”
Dober-sensei reached down, cupped Digi-tan’s cheek and brought her closer and closer until-
WHAM!
Digital’s face mirrored Dober’s as both of them steamed and required about five minutes to reboot while the laptop stayed firmly shut. They then spent the next five hours letting themselves feel normal in the things that normally made them feel like freaks. That made them look in the mirror and see someone no one should cheer for. They only ever let their pinkies touch though with a promise that their secrets were safe with each other.
How could they ask for more when even this felt like a miracle?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGNES DIGITAL!
Third and final Chapter And there was only one bed is out!!! Maybe I was too lazy to post about the second here yesterday, apologies! Everyone wish Digitan a happy birthday!!!
Mejiro Dober, her girlfriend, and her girlfriend's assortment of plushies
Chapter 9 of WCOC is up! Hope everyone enjoys! It was so hot when I wrote this y'all, forgive any clunkiness ;;