identifying digital monsters | elements
this is a part of a small series i'm working on! i have been working with digimon for a few years now, and i figured it's time to jot some things down. if you have any questions please let me know! creating digital monsters / working with digital monsters / identifying digimon attributes.
[copied and pasted from the previous post] this is a difficult topic to write about, because i feel as if there are countless ways to identify digimon. these are just methods i have tried out with success, but feel free to work with anything that you feel suits your needs more.
those who are familiar with pokemon aren't a stranger to the notion of your virtual pets being assigned a certain element to control. whereas in pokemon, it would be classified as a "type" - digimon is not very different. they are as follows: fire, water, plant, ice, lightning, earth, metal, wind, holy, unholy, and neutral (or a synonymous term of any of the former). when they are born from a digiegg, like attribute, they are most likely to begin life as neutral, then emerging as one of the other elements as it grows. like its attribute, it may be flexible and not stick to a single element as it transforms.
how to discover attributes.
these are upg, and are absolutely open to criticism. these are just methods i have used, and conclusions i have drawn. feel free to explore these methods (and more) in your own time and draw your own conclusions.
monitoring your digimon itself.
surprise! you're going to need to be attentive for this, and specifically pay attention to your digimon in order to determine its attributes. this can be something as simple as noticing weather patterns (when your digimon is present), seeing what elements seem to really come alive when it's around (such as a candle flame burning much brighter around it), and what, for lack of better term, abilities it has. if you notice a spark of electricity or a sudden gust of wind in the air, pay attention to it (and obviously communicate any safety concerns to your digimon).
summarised associations with attributes.
fire: a hot feeling in the air, fires are easier to start (and seem to burn very brightly), the presence of smoke or fire sparks, your digimon being able to start (or even breathe) fires.
water: a humid feeling in the air, rain seems to fall frequently when your digimon is around, the presence of droplets / bodies of water / flooding in the environment, your digimon being able to manifest water through rain, water manipulation, or just general creating of humidity.
plant (this also includes fungi digimon): a hot and humid feeling in the air (in some cases), a cold and dry feeling in the air (in others), mold / fungi / plants seeming to grow in unexpected places, your home plants seem to have little resistance in growing (and growing, and growing), the presence of density re: plants blooming and growing around you, your digimon being able to help plants grow healthy and quickly.
ice: a cold feeling in the air, snow seems to fall easily, the temperature seems to drop whenever your digimon is around, and your digimon being able to call forth snowy or icy weather.
lightning: a live feeling in the air, storming seems to occur whenever your digimon is active, the presence of static electricity out of nowhere, surges of electricity (particularly when the digimon is upset), your digimon being able to bring forth storming.
earth: a dry feeling in the air (but that doesn't mean that the digimon can't call forth and use mud), the presence of barren plots of earth, soil seeming to give way under your digimon's steps, and your digimon can manifest earthquakes and muddy, or alternatively dry and cracked terrain.
metal: no feeling to the air that is particular to this kind of digimon, however, metal type digimon seem to be very adept in keeping things from being damaged. for instance, if someone brushes their car door against your car, a metal spirit may make it less expensive of a dent. a lack of things breaking, scraping, denting, and your digimon holding manipulation over metal things (iron, steel, rust, etc) will point towards a metal-element digimon.
wind: a bellowing feeling to the air, the air whistling louder than usual, the presence of gusts and whips of wind - both powerful and not, wind digimon can manipulate the direction and speed the air travels.
holy: an almost freeing feeling to the air, digimon who are of the light-element have a large amount of "signs" - something religious or magical, like the presence of other spirits being called to you, or something simple like encountering a brilliantly-coloured feather - to feeling like an angel is watching over you (as a lot of light-element digimon are based on the angelic spirits). they excel in blessings, so if your digimon is happy to charge a blessing or protective spell of yours, consider it potentially being a light-element.
unholy: a more complex feeling to the air, like there's something to uncover. like light-element digimon, dark-element digimon also have a lot of "signs," a lot of them baneful or even outright infernal in nature (and from that, it is dependent on what you consider baneful). in my experience in dealing with demons and dark-element digimon, they are almost unable to be differentiated from each other. you might find your digimon playing (harmless) tricks on you, or being enthusiastic to charge your baneful spells - pay attention to this. also obvious disclaimer here that dark-element digimon, like virus types, are not going to eat you for breakfast. they will love you just like any other digimon.
neutral: neutral is just that, neutral. when nothing else i've described seems to fit for your digimon, it is likely a neutral type. i'd say to only refer to your digimon as a neutral-element when nothing else fits for it.
this is pretty self-explanatory, so i won't go to lengths at this. i would not use tarot for this, but i'm not here to tell you what to do. i would also use this as a last resort, as a confirmation of my suspicions of elements, if you will.
for pendulum, simply write the elements on a piece of paper and divine away. if your pendulum drifts towards more than one, consider your digimon may be preparing to digivolve into a different element.
