From the finale of Digidestiny, Archmagusmon gave Gary Pasternak a copy of Magimon's hat. And from there, I knew I needed to draw Gary not only in the hat, but with an updated outfit to match it. So here he is!
Design process:
Keeping in line with Gary's Magician outfit he gets mid game, I wanted to keep the idea of a vest + dress shirt/dress pants the same, but changed the vest colors and shape a bit to compliment the hat and new additions of the outfit. I gave him red velvet gloves in place of his grey magnetic gloves he wore in the digital world to further tie into the red accenting of the outfit. I kept his hair fluffy/curly cause it compliments the hat better than the slicked back hair, and it matches how Magimon looks when he wears the hat. Then finally, I added a cape mainly just cause I'm a sucker for capes and thought it'd look good, but also realized that Magimon's whole line pretty much has capes, so it further ties into that.
A lot of the design choices were both for outfit synergy as well as being representative of Gary's growth and his bond with Magimon across the campaign. That's what the hat is a symbol of after all.
I had fun with this one and am super happy with how it turned out!
Took me a while to actually finish this, Reiner's part was difficult lol. Him and Impmon are great characters, I'm just not used to writing them I think, so they might be OOC.
~~~~
Impmon was kicking cans around the kitchen, listening to his partner cooking behind him. He was bored and tired and worried, left with nothing to do. Everyone else was either resting up or off having fun somewhere else in the city. And Reiner was ‘too busy’ to hang out with him…
The can he kicked went flying, bouncing off the cabinets before clattering next to Reiner’s foot. The human paused what he was doing, glancing down at the can, then at his partner with a raised eyebrow. Impmon, though nervous, crossed his arms and returned the look with a defiant pout.
“What are you lookin’ at?”
“…A bored little kid?”
“Will you quit callin’ me a kid?!”
“I will once you stop acting like one,” Reiner retorted, turning his back on the mon. Impmon glared at him, kicking another can that smacked against Reiner’s leg. “You’re not helping your case.”
Impmon grunted, flopping against the cabinets with his arms crossed as his tail curled. “…I’m bored.”
“And? What do you want me to do about it?”
“I dunno, entertain me or somethin’. Don’t you know any cool cookin’ tricks? Like the uh, flipping food onto a knife. Things like that.”
Reiner slowly turned to shoot a glare over his shoulder. “No.”
Impmon glared back. “You can’t do it? Or you don’t know any?”
“No, I won’t be doing any of that, whether I knew it or not,” Reiner retorted, turning back to his prep. Impmon curled against the cabinet, turning his head away. There was a sigh from the human, before he added, “Least I won’t do it right now. This stuff is a bit too important to burn or cut wrong.”
Impmon’s tail twitched, wriggling in an almost happy manner, before he pinned it down with his hand. “Fine, fine, whatever. How long you gonna be doing your prep stuff?”
“A while. Why don’t you take a nap or something?”
“Do I look like I need a nap?”
“Yes,” Reiner deadpanned. “You looked tired earlier, and exhausted now. Take a nap.”
That wasn’t a suggestion so much as it was an order. Impmon glared, even though his Tamer was very much right – He was absolutely wiped. But he didn’t want to acknowledge it. Refused to, because he wanted to avoid his dreams. His mind was a bit too messed up for it. “I ain’t tired.”
Reiner paused, looking back at him. He was stern, but there was concern lying underneath it. “Quit it with the tough guy act. What, are you afraid of sleeping?”
Silence.
“…You are afraid.” Realization dawned on Reiner’s face, the longer he stared at his partner’s defiant glare. Impmon bristled and Reiner raised his hands, trying to ease the other’s nerves. “Do… you wanna talk about it?”
He sounded awkward just saying it, but the offer was on the table. Impmon paused, considering it uncertainly, then shook his head. He didn’t… but he kinda appreciated Reiner asking. Kinda.
“Alright, I’m a little tired,” the imp admitted with a scowl. “I’ll go take a nap, but you gotta make me whatever the heck I want when I wake up. Deal?”
“…Deal.”
Impmon grumbled, dragging himself over to a nearby chair where Reiner put his things. He curled up on it, using Reiner’s jacket as a blanket, and glaring through drooping eyes. He stayed like this for a few moments, listening to the sounds of the kitchen and Tamer, before finally drifting off to sleep.
Reiner glanced over, and chuckled. “Sweet dreams, ya damn kid.”
~~~~
Diogo was sitting underneath a tree in a nearby park, staring at his sketchbook in frustration. Sunflowmon was standing somewhere nearby, chatting with local Plant Digimon. She sounded like she was having a good time, her laughter filling the air.
He glanced over in her direction, watching as she waved her petals around dramatically while talking. A small smile crossed his face as he saw her, before going back to his book. He hummed, squinting, before an idea struck him. His small smile grew into a grin as his idea came to life on paper.
Sunflowmon continued talking, though she could feel her energy drained from the earlier bout against the thieves. She decided it was time to take a break from social interaction, ending her conversation easily and waving to her newly found friends before heading over in Diogo’s direction.
He didn’t notice her approach, not until she flopped down next to him and leaned against him. He jumped, startled, and scrambled to catch his sketchbook before it fell. “Flor– Sunflowmon! You finished your conversation?”
“Yes, and I am now tired,” the Digimon replied, closing her eyes as she placed her head on his arm. “So I am going to sleep. One moment.”
“I– Okay, sure–”
She began to glow, and he shielded his eyes, waiting until the glow died down. When it did, he lowered the book, and saw Floramon now leaning against him. Her eyes were closed and her body was relaxed. Her presence was warm and reassuring next to him, causing him to give her a fond smile.
Diogo continued with his sketch as Floramon rested against him, enjoying the general peace of the park. It’s been a while since they’ve all taken a break – The last time they did was when they had that Smash Bros tournament, which he had surprisingly won. It was nice when they were able to get moments like these, where they could just take a break and breathe.
As he continued sketching, Floramon shifted where she was sitting, restless for some reason. One of her eyes opened and she decided to take a peek at what he was drawing, focusing on the sketchbook. She raised an eyebrow. “What are you drawing now, Diogo?”
He flinched a bit upon hearing her, not expecting her to be awake. He looked down at her, giving a nervous smile. “Oh! Just, an idea that I had in mind.”
Floramon looked up at him, then down at the picture again, humming. “…That looks like me.”
Technically, the drawing looked like Lillymon, or at least a fairy-like warrior that was similar to her. There were a few differences here and there, such as the long hair she sported and the shape of the wings on her back. Diogo nodded, a bit sheepish. “Sorry. The idea just came to me and I thought to put it to paper before I forgot.”
“No need to apologize, Diogo,” Floramon replied, watching him as she leaned against him. “It looks very nice. I approve.”
He chuckled at that, focusing on the paper again. “Well, I am glad to hear your approval.”
She hummed, as he continued to sketch, eyes following the lines his pencil left behind. Eventually, her eyes began to droop, and she drifted off again, slowly. Diogo noticed and quickly shrugged off his jacket, ignoring the sudden cold nipping at his skin. He dropped it over her, flashing her a smile in response to her questioning gaze.
“Sleep well, Floramon,” he said, as she smiled and dreamed.
~~~~
Gary was shuffling through his cards, leaning back into the van’s driver seat and listening to his Metallica CD. He frowned, noticing how his deck was starting to get rather low now. Shouldn’t be much of a surprise really, given how often he used them during fights. And how often they ended up getting destroyed along with/by the enemy, or lost because he had missed.
Hmm… I’ll ask Riot if I can use the Data Re-Organizer after he’s done with it. Maybe I can make a different set of cards to use too…?
I need cards first though… Oh, yeah. There was a literal magic Digimon in the car with him.
“Hey, Mistymon?” Gary asked, looking over his shoulder at his partner. The mage digimon looked up from where he was sitting reclined into a beanbag, closing the notebook in his hand. “Yes?”
“Do you think you can summon a deck of cards for me? I’m running low on mine and need some for the Data Re-Organizer.”
“Ah, of course. One moment.”
The Digimon stretched out in his seat, still holding the journal. He then reached out the other hand and snapped his fingers.
…Nothing happened.
He tried again. Same result.
Mistymon frowned. Gary raised an eyebrow. “Are you… alright?”
“Yes, perfectly fine,” his partner said quickly, giving a reassuring smile. “I just– Oh–”
He held his head and suddenly glowed, filling the van with bright light. Gary shielded his eyes, turning away slightly. When the glow died down and he turned back, Magimon was sitting in place of Mistymon. He was holding his head, swaying slightly as he let out a small yawn.
“M–Magimon? Are you alright? What happened–?”
“… ’m tired…”
Gary blinked. Tired? Why would he be–?
Oh.
Was he tired from the fight earlier? That would make a lot of sense, but he didn’t do much in the fight as Mistymon… Unless… He did get hit earlier with that one weird attack, from that one fairy-looking Digimon. It didn’t do anything in the moment, but it could have had a delayed reaction…
Magimon yawned again, dragging him out of his thoughts. “Don’t… worry though…! I can still… yawn… grab you some… cards…”
“No no! It’s fine,” Gary replied, quickly climbing into the back seat with his partner. “I can just wait until we head to ToyAgumon’s shop. He’s probably got some spare cards lying around.”
“You sure…?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.” He took a seat on the bean bag next to Magimon, relaxing. “Go ahead and take a rest. If anything comes up, I’ll let you know.”
With permission, the Digimon leaned into his Tamer’s side, almost instinctively. Gary reached over and shifted the Digimon’s cape, turning it into a makeshift blanket for him.
“Thanks, Gary.”
“‘Course buddy,” he replied, before glancing at the floor. The journal Mistymon had was now on the floor, pages splayed out. He reached over and picked it up, taking a curious glance at the pages. He saw two – No, four – different handwritings, responding to one another over the course of multiple pages.
He hummed but did not look into it any further, closing it and placing it next to Magimon. None of his business.
Gary then stretched out, sinking further into the bean bag. It was nice – Music was playing softly, the lights in the car were dim, and his partner was warm as he rested against him. He decided to close his eyes too, taking the moment to rest up until the next adventure.
Who falls for who first out of each of your ships? Can be bulleted or writing snippets
Well that's a fun question! I'll answer with bullets for now, but might write stories/snippets later on.
E.R x Riot: Riot fell first, but never realized it. It was sometime at the end of his bullying era, when he began feeling more and more guilty for what he was doing to the other boy. After he stopped bullying completely, E.R. was the one person who reached his hand out to him, offering him a second chance, and he fell even further.
Gary x Reiner: Reiner fell first. This was during their adventures in the Digital World, where we saw Gary begin to take charge more and more. Reiner admired it and that soon became a small crush. Sammi is aware and teases him about it, though is trying to encourage him to 'man up and confess his feelings'!
Riot x Grayson: Grayson would fall first! He was mostly spared from the bullying because he used to give Riot games and movies in exchange for being left alone. Sometimes though, they just hung out with each other. Over time, he grew more and more fond of Riot, amused by his spontaneous and creative ideas... before realizing he had accidentally grown a crush on the dumbass. Whoops.
Dark Magic (LadyDevimonxMistymon): Mistymon fell for her first. He had mostly begun flirting with her as a joke, to get back at her from when she was Sistermon Noir and he was Wizardmon, before slowly beginning to realize - 'Wait, this isn't just a joke anymore'. He admires her strength and beauty and, while he does still find it funny to tease her, he genuinely means every flirt he throws at her.
Doomed Yaoi Hybrid (Agunimon x Duskmon): Both kinda fell at the same time. They're always trying to rile each other up, taunting one another, before taunting became teasing and then eventually flirting. Agunimon is more aware that their relationship has changed just a tad bit, but Duskmon is not. He at least knows that it has changed, just not how it has.
Floral Heist (Temp Ship name - Floramon x Terriermon): Neither have yet. At the current moment, they have only just begun to hang out and are only in the friendship stage right now.
Bonus ship: 1 Braincell Polycule (aka E.R. x Grayson x Riot) - Grayson falls first for E.R., then for Riot. E.R. was just too much of a lovable dork for him to ignore, and someone who always just there. Who wanted his company, not so he could hack some games, but just because he wanted to hang out with him. He falls for Riot in the same way as he did above.
